Violet Lace

Chapters

An Unforeseen Relationship
Story Telling
Rain
Home, sweet Home
Parchment and Quills
Let There Be Light!
Changing Season
Flashes of Fabric
If the Uncomfortable Shoe Doesn't Fit!
Cracked hooves and jelly Doughnuts
A Day for Connections
A Night for Secrets
Sleeping in Silence
Frosted Windows
Calming Connections
Satin ties and Ruby shards.
Settling Carbonation
A Beautiful Betrayal
Fragments of the Day
We are Airborne!
Shadows of the Past
Shadow Jumps
Faint Light in a Large Room
Torturous Nightmares
Ticking Time Bomb
Hot Sunlight and Thick Curtains
A Deadly Scar
Cloud Covered Moon
Gentle Adjustments
A Nightmareish Resolution
A Subtle Shift
The Key to Everything
The Start of the Changing Seasons
Summer: A Boiling Beginning
Summer: The Burning of Morals
Cloudy day
Acceptance
Exhausted, buzzed, and thankful.
A Frightening Discovery

An Unforeseen Relationship

The sound of an extra pair of hoofsteps echoed in Violet's ears. They sounded so unnatural and different than what she was used to. It almost made her uncomfortable. No longer could she swivel her head or point her ears forward at nothing, engrossed her own thoughts. She couldn't mumble quietly under her breath while having a conversation with herself. She couldn't even change her walking pace to a slow trot when her thoughts got intense and she needed to burn the urge to run. Not without being locked up in the Canterlot Hospital for the mentally and magically unstable.

This is going to be a long walk... She sighed at the thought.

I guess I should do what I normally would... Even though she's new to Canterlot, that's no reason not to treat her with the respect and dignity I give to all of the ponies my age... Mother and Father wouldn't have it any other way. She thought. After all, Cloudy Sun was officially a Canterlot pony as soon as she set hoof in town, so she should be treated as such.

"So what's your favorite color? Mine is blue." Cloudy Sun said cheerfully.

"Hmm?" Violet asked, barely listening. "Oh! umm... That's nice. Blue is lovely."

There was a long moment of awkward silence. What was wrong? Violet thought. I followed my mother's script. What makes this pony any different than the fillies and colts that followed me around at parties?

"So... does that mean that blue is your favorite too?" Cloudy Sun asked, one ear lowered in confusion.

"What?" Violet was startled by the question.

Did she ask me... about myself? That never happened in Canterlot. At least, not with something so... simple. Normally when questions are asked they're about jewelry preferences or her favorite pony starlet. Not colors. In Canterlot, those things changed with the season, with the latest trend. If a new super model or a designer in Cosmare! or Hoof-par's Bazaar goes through an interview and states the color scheme of the newest line, and therefor the newest trend, then that will be 'Canterlot's' favorite thing.

To ask an individual... and expect a unique answer... is unheard of.

"What's your favorite color?" Cloudy Sun asked again.

Violet furrowed her brow in confusion. What was her favorite color? She liked a lot of colors. Royal violet, periwinkle, scarlet, mulberry, indigo... how could she choose a favorite?

"I, um, don't know." She answered. "How do you know?"

"Well, I think of my favorite things." Cloudy Sun said simply, not even hesitating. "It just so happens that most of them are the color blue, or are referred to as.

"Oh..." Violet thought of her favorite things. The ink splotches that appear on her hooves after an intense night of writing. The contrasting pencil led that smudges a paper. Delicate black lace. Black silk. The black sky at night time, dotted with thousands of stars and one huge glowing moon. Black...

Violet's ears perked up at figuring out her new favorite thing. "Black! My favorite color is black!"

"That's..." Cloudy Sun trailed off, thinking of the right word. Violet felt herself blush.

Such a strange color to like... She must think I'm moody, or depressed. I bet she thinks of me as some rebellious filly trying to get a rise out of her mother. She thought about that last one. Well, to be fair, that's not impossible.

"Mysterious!" The strange pony finished, taking Violet by surprise. "Oooo... I bet I can guess your hobbies! Um... Music?"

Violet shook her head.

"Photography?" Cloudy Sun tried again. Though the concept was interesting, Violet had never touched a camera in her life. She shook her head again.

"Um... Acting?" She asked, now a little unsure. Violet shook her head violently.

"Suffering sunbeams, I'm bad at this." Cloudy Sun pouted her lips. "Um... what about... writing?"

"You got one of them." Violet answered. Cloudy Sun started jumping again, making Violet feel kind of awkward.

"Yes! This is the start! I can feel it in my tail!"

"The start?" Violet questioned. "The start of what?"

"The start of our 'Best-Pony-Friends' friendship, of course!" Cloudy laughed. "I'm going to start making you a 'Best Pony Friend Forever' bracelet when I get home. Oooo... It's going to be so much fun!"

"Wah..."

The peach pony squealed. "We can have sleepovers, we can go shopping, we can..."

Violet stopped listening, to absorbed in her own thoughts. What? Why... Who? What is wrong with this pony? What about the other ponies in our class? Why would she want to be friends with me?

"Wh... Why?" The word felt forced out of her throat. Asking a question like that is far beyond Canterlot rudeness.

Cloudy Sun stopped jumping. "'Why'? What do you mean 'why'? Isn't it obvious?"

Violet slowly shook her head. Complete confusion filled her brain.

"Well... I..." Cloudy Sun seemed a little bothered by the question. "You seem nice, certainly not mean. Why... why can't we be friends?"

"I just... nopony's ever..." Violet couldn't find the right words. Why couldn't they be friends? "You just... so suddenly..." This pony didn't know her parents... didn't know her accomplishments. Why would she want to be friends with her? "I can't give you anything."

"Give me something?" Cloudy Sun furrowed her brow. "Why in Equestria would you have to give me something?"

"Because... I can't get you into that many parties... Mother only lets me buy certain things... I can't give you anything. Other ponies, like Shimmering Ruby, and Iron Wing... they can get you so much more, you should be friends with them." A lock of her gray mane fell over her eyes. Violet just couldn't understand this pony.

"Violet..." Cloudy Sun trailed off.

"Cloudy Sun, I'm sorry, but being friends with me will serve you no benefit. I highly recommend you be friends with somepony else." Violet stated bluntly.

There was a brief moment of silence. The storm clouds that collected above them rumbled and growled.

"No."

Violet looked up from staring at her hooves. "What?"

"No." Cloudy Sun said again. "I'm going to be your friend, you're going to call me Cloudy, and only Cloudy, and that's how it's going to be."

The serious look on the pony's face was enough to make Violet's blood turn cold. Her navy blue eyes were slates of cold rock, and her mouth held no hint of a smile. Even her mane seemed to have dulled to fit her behavior.

"I... don't understand." Violet said.

"You will."

...

Violet heard her front door slam behind her with a loud bang! She wandered into the large kitchen that nopony in her home ever really used, and found a note taped delicately onto a fruit bowl.

Good afternoon dear, we hope you had a wonderful day at school! Both me and your father went to a tea party on Fancy Pant's yacht, and will be home late! Make sure you brush your mane 100 times, like we practiced, and work on using those products we bought you!

With the brightest smile,

Mother. :heart:

Violet sighed and began to walk upstairs to her room.

Once she entered, her exhaustion only grew with the grey lighting that filtered though her windows and the her soft looking bedspread.

Maybe... I'm dreaming again. Her dreams were always strange, never really making sense. It was then when she glanced at her mirror. She saw herself, with her plain, matte lavender coat and gray mane. Her blank flank and her lack of accessories.

I just... don't understand.

Story Telling

BANG!

Violet sat up in her bed. She looked around, no longer was she in a beautiful castle, with obsidian beads scattered and weaved into her mane. Now she saw nothing but gray. Fuzzy pictures of nothing. At first she thought she was in another dream. The loud bang being a clap of thunder and the grayness being the all-consuming girth of storm clouds.

Oh... She realized she was in her room. She scowled at her dull, boring walls.

"Hoooonnnnneeey... we-" Hiccup. "Wee'reee hooome! Her mother screamed up her stairs. She folded her ears against her head. Using a quick spell, she locked the door to her room, and hoped that her mother was to intoxicated to be able to unlock it. She listened as she waited for her mother's hoofsteps. She heard the loud thuds on the polished wood and then a loud thunk as her mother tripped and fell to the ground. She tried to ignore the vulgar curses that spilled out of her mother's supposedly dignified mouth. She heard a clang, from when her mother knocked down a vase that was placed in the middle of the hallway. All a routine, and one that Violet knew that she shouldn't be so familiar with.

Her father wasn't home. He never came home when her mother was like this. By the time the third glass of champagne touched her lips, he was gone at a 'business meeting.' Which, Violet knew meant that he just held himself up in his office until the afternoon of the next day... while playing a little bit of poker with his cider buddies.

Her mother always made it home alright, what with the private chauffeur that was hired just for these circumstances. Tragically, she's not really a quiet drunk. The thought of what the driver had to go through caused Violet to flinch.

"Viiiiioooolet! Hiccup. "Mooommmyyyssss sss'little ssslleeeppy!" She slurred. "Shhee neeeds 'er beauty sleeeep!" She ended the tsunami of shrieks and walrus-esque sounds with a loud, Don't wake up Mommy! and the slam of her bedroom door.

Violet wrinkled her nose, imagining the stale wine and cider smell that must have surrounded her mother. She wouldn't be opening that door any time soon.

Suddenly she felt her head swim. Her book case turned into a blurred, swirl of color. She felt her body heat up in a fever, and an empty feeling appear in her stomach.

"I... I didn't eat dinner." She mumbled to herself in her empty room. She glanced at her wall clock and frowned when she saw that school would start in a couple of hours.

She knew that she wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep. Not with the situation that happened yesterday with Cloudy-

"Sun!" She shouted at the black bunny plush that laid innocently on her bed. "Her name is 'Cloudy Sun'. Not Cloudy." She blushed when she realized she was still talking to a stuffed rodent.

With a sigh, she released all of her pent up energy that somehow found it's way inside her chest. With a quick glance around her room, she needed to find someway to pass the time. Her eyes landed on her old typewriter. The black paint had chipped from years of use, and the letters that covered the four huge pedals had been worn down to nothing but faint black dots.

Violet had once read about how griffins using machines with over forty keys, and couldn't believe her eyes. Even when she was typing, she still had to use a basic amount of magic to get the hang of it, due to the fact that it had two more pedals that the average device you would find in schools or just around. She, without thinking, would use magic to grip a pedal and push it down so that her hoofs wouldn't have to move from one key to the other.

But more than forty keys! That sounded impossible in Violet's mind when she first read it. With further research on the topic, she also learned that griffins had talons instead of front hooves, so she supposed that it was a little bit more doable than what she had previously imagined.

She sat down in her desk chair. Gently, she readjusted her papers and began writing.

Her mother insisted that she get rid of her typewriter. She suggested many things. They ranged from the aggravating 'You should just give up writing, dear. It's not a very good looking hobby., to something a little bit more reasonable such as: 'You could switch to your quill, if you're so stubborn. It certainly would be a lot faster, and at least more dignified.'.

Violet considered the last one. She had to admit, she was faster at writing with her magic and quill than any other object. One time, when her typewriter had run out of ink, that was what she resorted to. Pages and pages of her notebook and loose pieces of paper scattered around her room were filled to the brim with her cursive hornwriting. Her mother, being overjoyed and thinking that the typewriter was out of the picture, put her in a calligraphy class. Violet didn't mind it, if anything she enjoyed it. But once she managed to get a roll of inked paper from an antique salespony, it was back to the keys for her, and the drawing board for her mother.

That's not to say that she no longer used her quill. If anything, she used it more than she did anything else. She just simply uses the typewriter when she was home, and it was available. Anywhere else, she pulled out her black feather writing utensil and a small jar of ink and got to work.

What should I write about today? She thought as she stared at the blank pages. She placed her hooves delicately on the keys and felt her shoulders relax as they slid loosely into the circle shaped indents. She began.

There once was a mare.

This mare, was said to be the prettiest and most dazzling in all the land. She would turn heads with the simplest tap of her hoof. She would cause jaws to drop with the slightest flick of her tail, and she could cause dozens of ponies to faint within a mere instant with a smile.

But this pony, had a secret.

She hid her cutie mark from the world. Though most would consider it something of beauty, or perhaps representing a talent like modeling or fashion, something that required her to be so beautiful. But in reality, it was something completely different.

This pony, was me. Or, I guess, in this circumstance, 'is'. I'm not dead... yet.

Right now, I'm at a party. A gala, if you will. I have to keep up appearances.

"Ah, Miss Rose! I hope you're finding everything alright?" A bright blue pegasus with a rather ridiculous looking mane-cut and a face caked with makeup asked eagerly.

It took me a while to remember her name. "Yes, Mrs. Oyal, everything is lovely. But I was hoping I could speak with your husband. Is he not enjoying the festivities?"

"Oh!" Mrs. Oyal laughed. "I'm afraid, darling, that I'm rather timid to show you to him, what with that beautiful attire your wearing. I would like to keep this wedding bracelet on my hoof, thank you very much!"

I chuckled half-heartedly at her attempts at making a joke. "Um... alright then. Thank you very much for the compliment. You look lovely, as well."

"It's no problem, darling! Blue is very much your color!" She smiled. "If I see my husband, I'll let him know you want to see him."

"Thank you." I said as I trotted off to the desserts table.

Once I was there, I admired the spread in front of me. Delicious white chocolate truffles, perfectly iced red velvet and carrot cupcakes. Small, bite-sized souffles, and- Ah! A chocolate fountain. Because there couldn't be a party without one.

Levitating a piece of sweet bread, I delicately skewered it and dipped it half way into the creamy treat. I raised it to my mouth slowly, just enough to for it to do what I wanted, and placed it softly on my tongue. I pulled the skewer out, never letting my teeth touch. I looked down, and feigned surprise and embarrassment at the small brown smudge that appeared on my neckline.

Perfect.

I excused myself to the bathroom, like any lady would, apologizing for what a mess and a klutz I was supposedly meant to be. Once I was there, I examined the room. There was one sink, each side decorated rather gaudily with a bust of Mr. Oyal. The shower was a typical tile, but the freshly polished marble floor was impressive. It took some contorting and the movement of a small table to find what I had been looking for. Two air vents.

Using magic, I moved some towels from the cabinets and placed them securely onto the openings, blocking them. Then raised a small, metallic ball out of the bodice of my dress. Small, perfectly round, and extremely heavy, I teleported the device into the vents and onto the other side of the blockage. I heard the sound of it rolling down the vent, then heard a loud thud as it hit the bottom of a downward turn. I then strained my ears to hear a satisfying 'poof!' and smiled.

"Now, if I was a slimy smuggler, where would I...?" I looked towards the left bust of Mr. Oyal. His head was slightly to far to the left. I felt my eyes roll. Granted, it was hard to see, what with his double chin and all, but still. One thing I hated, was unoriginal plot points.

Slowly, I pressed my gold-painted hoof to Mr. Oyal's face. It tilted back, and made a very audible clicking sound when it reached the end.

There was a rumbling sound, and I turned my head to see that the tile wall of the shower had given way to staircase. At the bottom, I saw Mr. Oyal and his wife asleep, along with a dozen or so henchman and coworkers. In Mr. Oyal's hooves, was a book that, just from standing at the bottom of the stairway, I could tell was bad. Along the walls, were roughly a hundred or so crates of unnamed materials.

"Calling in Agent White, do you read?" A voice buzzed out of my communicator.

"I read." I said into the device. "Targets are down, let's pack it up."

"Alright. Over and out." The communicator shut itself off. I took it upon myself to strip down, after all, blue ball gowns were not made for hasty escapes. Once the dreadful garment was off of my coat, I felt much better. Left in nothing but a tight leather jacket with no loose ends or ties and my straight pink mane back down and falling around my neck. My cutie mark, which, as you ponies probably want to know is a pink ribbon wrapped around a pair of black binoculars, showed plainly.

I think it's obvious now, that I'm not a 'Pretty pony'.

I'm not a pony of 'beauty', or 'fashion'.

I was a pony of espionage. And my cutie mark, proves it.

Violet typed the last words right when a bright sunbeam hit her straight in the eyes. She blinked and flinched. With a start, Violet realized that it was Celestia raising the sun, meaning that it was only half an hour before school had to start. She quickly did her morning bit of brushing her mane back into a ponytail and brushing her teeth. It was when she put her saddlebag on her back did she hear a knock on the front door.

Being too early for it to be her father, and too late for it to be the mailpony, a feeling started to rise in Violet's stomach. She had a sinking suspicion that a bright, overly perky, peach-colored filly was going to be on the other side. She took a breathe, calmed her frustration, and opened the door.

"Hiya!"

Rain

The sky grumbled, as though it was scolding the girls for staying outside. But that didn't stop them from walking in this weather. The sky was a strangely gloomy burnt orange due to the setting sun making it's way through the dark storm clouds. Swirls of black and dark grey, where the clouds were thicker and tighter packed, decorated the sky with a random and oddly beautiful design.

Thunder rumbled.

"Violet." Cloudy's voice cracked. "We should head home, it's about to rain."

Violet didn't listen. She saw what happened to the fillies and colts that Shimmering had picked on. They changed within a matter of weeks. Fillies suddenly seem years older, with faces caked with makeup and circles under their eyes. Colts become mean bullies, and mock and hurt those that made Shimmering angry. They would do anything for her approval, all because she called them a blank flank, or said their mane was out of style. Because she said that they were worthless.

And under no circumstances, was Violet letting that happen to Cloudy.

Because Cloudy was her friend. Her best friend. Her first friend. And she wanted her first best friend to be happy.

They trekked on. They turned on streets and passed hurried ponies not wanting to get their manes wet. They wandered until they got to one of the most forgotten places in Canterlot. The cliff face. Not that many of the elite live here, or did anything here. Only a few had found beauty in the plane rock. Fancy Pants owned a small cottage at one of the peaks of the mountain, simply for the sake of a beautiful view, but that was all. The real reason why it was forgotten was because nopony ever spoke about it. Everything that happened in Canterlot happened in the town square, or in the shops. The castle, the library, the concert hall, the school. None of those things were near the cliff, but were out in the open for everypony to admire.

That was why Violet was curious about it when she was tiny. She wanted to be alone. She wanted a place she could be alone, but not have to travel far from home. This place was the answer. Though it was a long distance from the school, from her house the distance was cut in half. Her parents were always out at parties late and normally kept themselves busy during the day, so they never seemed to notice Violet's absense.

Violet explored, thinking she was going to find an old shop or a small cave she could curl up in. But what she really found, was something beyond amazing.

When the two fillies reached the end of their journey, Violet motioned for Cloudy to crawl through an opening in a rusty gate. Though Cloudy hesitated in trepidation and uncertainty, Violet just held a self-assured smile, already drifting in thought as she pressed between the gaps of two rusted bars and stepped into the gloom hidden beyond.

The roar grew louder, from the echoing call of some unknown beast to the endless siren call of flowing water. After a turn and half a twist the gloom of the cave gave way to a vista of greens and blues hazed with the mists of the torrent just to the right of the maw of the cave that, to Cloudy's surprise and awe, opened up to look upon the glowing emerald of Equestria beyond the mountain.

The mist and dew from the deluge of the waterfall fed a carpet of soft moss, while a curtain of hanging vines crept over the opening, touched with leaves and small but vibrant flowers. The fragrant scent of spring seemed to cling to the vines even through the fall, overlaying the rich, earthy scent mixed in from the soft moss that stretched across the floor. Few places were bare, where water pooled into mirrored ponds, or the circular pit where fires had been lit in the dark of the evening.

She shook out her body, releasing tension and relaxing muscles. She used her magic to pull out her ponytail and shake out her mane. She ended everything with a small sigh.

"... Wow..."

Violet jumped, forgeting that Cloudy was there. She blushed and quickly scrambled to fix her mane.

"This place... how did you...?" Cloudy's mouth hung open. She kept swiveling her head and blinking, trying to look at everything.

"'Just stumbled 'cross it." Violet's will power could barely supress the smug and giddy feeling that came with the vanishing of her friend's sad eyes and frown. She felt like jumping up in the air when Cloudy's coat and mane seemed to brighten and her ears perked up. This feeling was unnatural and unfamiliar to Violet, but that didn't mean she would repress it.

I have a friend! A giggled escaped. The giggle grew and turned into squeel. Violet thought that she would never utter those words, or want to, but now she couldn't think of anything else.

"Shimmering doesn't have anything on this!" Cloudy shouted, joy and happiness practically pouring out of her body. "This is amazing! It's like a secret cave. Does anypony else know that it's here?"

Violet shook her head.

"This is so aw-..." Cloudy never finished the word. She stared at Violet, never moving her eyes off of the base of her horn. Violet grew worried. Did she not like it?

Cloudy walked over. She kept looking at Violets head from different angles. Violet felt a blush spread from her cheeks down to her neck. The sun colored filly then reached up to grip the base of Violet's pony tail, and with a flick of the hoof, released the pressure that was forced upon Violet's mane. She felt her scalp tingle with a sense of relief as the tie was gone.

"Not of your usual quality." Cloudy said. "You had a couple of loose strands around your horn. You look better this way."

Violet blinked. What? She glanced at the gray strands of hair that fell into her eyes. How in Equestria could she look better? Her mane, constantly between the phase of curly or wavy, just ended up looking frizzy and messy when it was down. She appreciated the compliment, but she had to get her hair back in order before she was home.

"Thanks." She said, not wanting to let her new friend down.

"I wish I had a mirror. You really do look nice." Cloudy said, rearrangeing a couple of strands that poked out behind her ears.

Suddenly Violet remembered the chest that she kept in her secret cave. She always had a supply of quills, parchment, sketch paper, and graphite on hoof. She kept a chest full of supplies under a make-shift bench.

And she just so happened to have a mirror.

She always had to fix her appearance before heading out and back into the world of the socially talented. She had a mirror, extra hair ties, clean water (though it was technically unneeded considering the waterfall right outside.), and a hairbrush.

Using magic, she levitated the chest from it's home of a divit in the ground. She opened the latch and placed it neatly beside Cloudy.

"There you go, it should be in there somewhere." She said. "Probably underneath the towel."

Cloudy russled around. When she resurfaced she was holding a silver mirror in her mouth. Violet liked that mirror. She got it an antique shop for a good price!

"'Ake a wuk." Cloudy said, her voice muffled by the mirror in her mouth. Violet levitated the mirror to her face.

Violet saw herself. But, at the same time, not herself. Her mane and coat were the same color as before, her eyes the same dark gray, and her body still small and figureless. But now, her mane tumbled down her shoulders to fram her face. She always looked younger than her other classmates, even though her behavior said otherwise, but this looked turned the tables. Now, she looked older. Her cheek bones looked more defined and her eyes seemed more alert.

"Makes you look mature for your age." Cloudy said, breaking Violet out of her trance. "It looks nice on you. Normally that would be creepy, but on you it actually works."

"Um... thanks?" Violet said, suddenly unsure. She glanced at the mirror again, only to somehow hypnotise herself a second time.

"Hey!" Cloudy shouted. "Please don't become one of those ponies. We just became friends, and I don't wanna lose to a mirror."

Violet laughed. "Alright, alright. I'm putting the mirror down."

Cloudy giggled. "Wow, this is fun. Thanks for showing me your secret place."

Thunder rumbled. It bounced and echoed off of the cold rock walls. The vines that were hanging on the ceiling shook and trembled with the cold wind that found its way into the cave.

"Rain..." Violet whispered. Personally, Violet loved the rain. When nopony was looking, she would stick her head outside of the protection from her umbrella and feel the cold wind graze her cheeks. She loved the cold electricty that appeared when a drop suddenly fell in her mane or onto her face.

"I love the rain." Cloudy added. Violet looked at her friend with surprise. Cloudy stared back. Niether one of them said anything to each other after that. They both crawled their way out of the their secret place, no umbrellas or extra pieces of clothing in sight.

...

"Why in the world would your parents leave?" Cloudy asked her once they reached Violet's front door. When Violet tried to turn the knob, her magic couldn't make it budge. Cloudy, always being optimistic, figured it was simply stuck and tried to turn it using her hooves to no avail.

Violet knew what really happened. Her parents left her. Again.

"They said something about going to some ball in Manehattan." Violet answered. "They must have forgoten to leave the key outside again."

"Can't you use magic?" Cloudy asked her. Violet shook her head.

"Our front door is magic proof. For safety reasons."

"Safety reasons?" Cloudy questioned.

"Most of the population of Canterlot are unicorns. We can't have eighty percent of the population capable of unlocking the door to the house." Violet said.

"I suppose that's true." Cloudy raised her hoof to her chin, thinking. Her ears perked up. "You should come over to where I live!"

"What?" Violet asked, startled. "I would hate to impose."

"Oh, nonsense!" Cloudy bounced up and down causing splashes of rainwater. "My parents have been wanting to meet you since my first day!" She started walking down the porch steps. Violet followed slowly.

Home, sweet Home

The moon was starting to rise, causing the city of Canterlot to seem to be cut in half. One part of the city was bathed in the silver light of the moon and stars. The other side was coated in the last persistent rays of the setting sun that filtered through the storm clouds.

“It’s right over here, behind the big tree.” Cloudy Sun said excitedly. Her hoof was curled around Violet’s, her grip relentless. Violet was shocked that her shoulder didn’t dislocate.

Cloudy’s house was large, but it certainly wasn’t as large as the other houses on their street. It was tucked into a small corner, nearly invisible. A large majority was obscured from view with trees and other plant growth. Tiny flowers seemed to be in bloom everywhere. Some blue ones here, a pink patch there, a few purple ones over there. It was rather beautiful in Violet’s mind. She wished she had more time to enjoy it.

But Cloudy tugged her along, oblivious to her new friends interests. She pulled her to the gigantic wooden door that lead inside. It was huge, clearly made of some thick old wood chopped down moons ago. The wood cracked and splintered at the edges. A small vine of ivy found its way in between the individual boards. A giant purple flower bloomed conveniently in the center. On the ground, were large stepping stones that were worn and smooth with age. The entire house just radiated the essence of ‘quaint’. Violet instantly felt a small pang of jealousy, thinking of her modern home that was decorated with harsh edges and metalic appliances.

Cloudy let herself in, to Violet's astonishment, without using a key. She just pressed the top of her head to the wood and pushed. Completely comfortable, as though she didn't have a care in the world.

"Mama! Papa! I'm home!" Cloudy shouted into the living room. Violet folded her ears back, startled at the sudden loud noise.

The inside of the house was much like the outside. A few potted plants were scattered throughout the main room. The furniture seemed to be made out of wood. There were a couple sweetly scented candles lit throughout the entire first floor, casting a warm glow through the house. The curtains were a clean white, with a delicate lace fringe. There was an old rug, with many years wearing out it's threads and fibers, on the floor beneath a bright yellow couch.

The kitchen was connected to the living room. Though it was small, it was clearly well used. Pots and pans ranging from old and dented to shiny and polished hung from the hooks above the counter. A small pile of dirty dishes lay half-hazardly in the sink. A brand-new mixer stood on the counter, with a couple drops of batter on it's edges. It smelled like it was used. Even from the living room, Violet could smell garlic and freshly baked bread.

"Welcome home, Sweety!" A sweet voice called from the top of the stairs. Violet heard the gentle sound of hoofsteps on wood and watched as a beautiful mare entered the room. Her coat was a warm cream that somehow seemed to shine. Her eyes were the color of pure gold and her smile seemed to light the room. She wasn't 'Canterlot beautiful', with long legs and a flowing mane. She was simply beautiful. Her mane, which seemed to resemble the color of gold, was held up in a simple ponytail with a braid. Her cutie mark, which was of a whisk and a bright blue bowl, was displayed without a care. Her tail wasn't styled, cut, or even colored.

"Oh! You should have told me you were bringing a friend! I would have prepared you two a snack!" The mare walked into the middle of the living room. To Violet's amazement, the metalic shine in the mare's appearance didn't seem to fade like her daughter's.

"Hello!" Cloudy's mother said with a bright smile towards Violet. "My name is Sugar Crystal. You must be Violet."

Violet nodded her head politely. "Hello, Mrs. Sugar Crystal. My name is Violet Lace. It's a pleasure making your acquaitance."

Mrs. Sugar Crystal laughed. "No need to be so formal. You can call me Mrs. Sugar." She walked towards the kitchen. "Would you like something to eat."

She turned and looked at the two fillies and noticed that they were both soaking wet. She released a heavy sigh. "I don't care what you to girls say, I'm making you two some soup."

Violet couldn't really say anything to that comment. She had to admit, once she got inside, she was freezing. Though she and Cloudy clearly loved the rain, a warm bowl of soup seemed heavenly. She didn't eat soup often, what with it being rather messy.

"Sounds good, Mama." Cloudy said. Her mother hummed over her shoulder in response, clearly taken over by her task of cutting vegetables. "Can Violet stay the night? She can't get into her house."

"Oh! That sounds dreadful!" Mrs. Sugar said, looking over her shoulder at Violet. "Of course you can stay the night dear!"

Violet mumbled a few words of thanks before she was dragged off to an unfamiliar direction. Cloudy Sun was pulling her hoof again towards the stairs. As they traveled through the narrow passage, Violet saw some pictures and trinkets lining the shelves above their heads. A fancy looking quill trophy, a picture of Cloudy as a baby, swaddled and holding a cupcake. A few candles, and a flower vase.

Once they reached the second floor, there were two doors. Cloudy went through the door on her left and Violet was suddenly hit in the face with the sweet smell of vanilla. It was just to the point of being noticable, but not annoying, unlike her mother's perfume and her father's colonge.

All around Cloudy's room were curtains. Pieces of fabric were everywhere. They surrounded the bed, draped from the ceiling, and completely engulfed the window. Scarves and random yards of fabric were lying on chairs, her bedspread, pilllows, and a couple stuffed animals. It looked like something out a Daring Do book, or maybe a magazine. All of the magnificent pieces of cloth were blue. From the darkest navy, to the palest azure.

"Mom will have dinner ready for us in a minute." Cloudy said as she hopped up onto her bright blue bed. "You'll love it, I promise."

All Violet could do was nod in response. She felt strangely awkward in somepony else's room. She kept looking around, trying to find someplace to put herself.

"Hey." Cloudy shouted, noticing Violet's discomfort. She then started scrambling around her bed and throwing pillows onto the floor. Violet, confused, watched as she ran from one side of the room to the other, plucking large stuffed animals from corners and cusions from chairs. Once she got a large amount in the middle of the floor, Cloudy then jumped and dove straight into the large heep.

"This is our first sleepover! Let's talk!" She said with a huge grin on her face.

"Sle-Sleepover." Violet stuttered. She had never been to a sleepover before.

"Yeah." Shrugged Cloudy. "Tell me about that 'Shimmering Ruby' pony. What's her deal?"

Violet sighed and made herself comfortable on one of the numerous pillows. "She's Hoity Toity's daughter."

"Oh! I've heard of him! He's a famous fashion pony, right?" Cloudy asked.

Violet nodded. "He's one of the most famous of the elite, here in Canterlot. He had some fling with one of his models and suddenly Poof! Here comes Shimmering!"

"Wow." Cloudy's ears lowered. "That's not very good for his image."

"Yeah, no kidding." Violet agreed. "That's why he showers Shimmering with rubies and gold. To show he still has it."

"That would explain her attitude." She messed with one of the edges of her scarves. "Does she treat every pony like that."

"Only those who she finds weak." Violet comforted. "The trick is not to react. Shimmering wants a show, a performance for her watch and star in. Nothing more. If you don't react, you won't give her any attention. She'll leave you alone."

Cloudy giggled. "Why do you call her that?"

"What?"

"Shimmering. You call her Shimmering, instead of Shimmering Ruby." She answered.

"Oh." Violet her ears droop and a blush of shame to appear on her cheeks. "We kind of grew up together, if you can even call it that. Our parents forced us together because we were the same age. We mainly did our own thing until it was time to go home."

"That is a sad and painful childhood, right there." Cloudy said.

Violet laughed. "Yep! explains a lot, doesn't it?" Both of the girls ended up laughing and clutching their bellies on the floor.

"Girls! Dinner's ready!" Mrs. Sugar shouted from the kitchen.

Parchment and Quills

"All right," Mrs. Sugar said as she was filling Violet's bowl. "We have a rule in this house. You are not allowed a second helping until every drop is gone. One vegetable, one spoonfull of broth, or one noodle left in that bowl, and no more soup for you."

"Yes ma'am." Violet said politely as she stared at the dish in front of her. Soup was never served at her house. She only ever had the delight of eating it when her parents dragged her to a dinner or lunch. But at home, providing the meal was simply too much of a workout and a mess for her mother or father.

She watched as Cloudy suddenly dove in. Earth ponies drank soup in a strange way, Violet realized. Normally, she would see ponies levating their spoons with magic and steadily raising the spoons to their mouths. She's even seen some of the other elite use personal feeders, and literatly have the meal spoonfed to them. But here, in the casual and comfortableness of Cloudy's home, things were a lot different. Though Cloudy wasn't particullarly messy, her way of eating would have been considered rude. At the very least, earth ponies and pegasi should use their hooves when they eat. They should raise their bowl or glass to their lips with grace that implied practice and skill.

Here, that didn't happen.

Cloudy's mouth was partially submerged in her bowl. She didn't slurp or blow bubbles, so it was obvious that she wasn't trying to be messy or rude for laughs. In fact, it seemed somewhat normal to Violet. She had always considered stiffness of spines and tiny bites were just things that came with the process of eating, but something about the ordeal wiggled around in her brain. She would read articles in her mother's magazines about the hottest meals in Canterlot, and she always wondered how the pony had the ability to enjoy them while maintaining such a rigid posture and composure. Now, it all made sense.

She gazed at the soup once again. The color of the broth was a deep, fiery red-ish orange. Floating around in a circle like motion were thin strips of green and chucks of a soft white in the shapes of disks and the occasional abstract, formless appearance that reminded Violet of white pebbles. She sniffed the soup cautiously and was struck with the strong scent of tomato and garlic. She watched as small ribbons of steam curled and tangled around themselves in the air above the bowl.

Her mouth watering, she levitated the spoon that Mrs. Sugar had kindly provided for her, and dipped it into the soup, trying to get a little bit of everything. She gently placed it on her tongue and was suddenly assaulted with flavor.

Tomato. Zucchini. Potato. Parsley. Garlic. Onion. Eggplant. Parmesan. Pepper. The flavors seemed to scream and beg for attention. They blended harmoniously inside her mouth. The large amount of flavor didn't overwhelm or freak out her senses. Instead, they made her want more.

"I take it, that face means that you like it?" Mrs. Sugar asked, seeing Violet's reaction. Violet blushed and could only nod in response.

They continued their meal. Violet watched with curiosity as Mrs. Sugar asked about her daughter's day. They both talked about a lot of things. What she learned, what the dinner plans were for the rest of the week, how Violet managed to get locked out of her own house... small stuff.

"Do we have to have roasted eggplant again? We had it last week." Cloudy whined.

"I'm sorry, dear." Her mother said. "I'm afraid it's meals like that for a while... I just don't understand this weather. You would think that the city that the Princess of the Sun would take residence in would have better weather patterns."

Violet's ears perked up. "Oh, that? The rain is because of the Summer Sun Celebration."

Both the mother and daughter looked at her with confusion. "The Summer Sun Celebration?" They chorused.

Violet nodded. "Canterlot is known for having sunny weather all-year round. We don't have farms, or rivers, or creeks that need watering at that scale, so it would be perfectly reasonable for the city to have less rain scheduled."

"But what about that huge waterfall that falls down the side of the city?" Cloudy asked, a small drop of soup trailing down her chin.

"That's fueled by water coming down from the mountains." Violet answered.

"That doesn't explain why there are so many storms at this point in time." Mrs. Sugar added. "If anything, shouldn't the sky be clear for the celebration?"

"That's why they're making it rain now." Violet took another swallow of her soup. "Canterlot can't afford to lose any business over the course of the year, so they need to make it rain during the one time of the ear when every pony is going to be at their homes. Everypony is in their home town, preparing for their own celebration"

"Does that mean that there's not going to be any rain for the rest of the year?" Cloudy sounded heartbrokes n.

"Well, they could've always misscalculated."

"That's interesting..." Mrs. Sugar looked lost in thought. Violet wasn't shocked. Canterlot was strange compared to other towns, and to be a Canterlot pony was an even stranger thing to be.

"Come on, Violet!" Cloudy said as she hopped off of her chair. "Let's go to my room!"

Mrs. Sugar shook the cobwebs from her brain. "Ah, yes. You two have fun! I'll bake some treats for you two later."

The thought of baked goods prepared by Mrs. Sugar's hooves caused Violet's mouth to water again. What was that one thing her mother used to say when she was waiting for her coat to dry? A watched kettle never boils?

She quickly, but cautiously, ran up the stairs to Cloudy's room. Cloudy was sitting in the spot she claimed before on the pillows. Violet joined her with a small smile.

"Alright so..." Cloudy put her hoof up to her chin in thought. "You wanna play truth or dare?"

"Um... I guess." Violet had read about that game... but she had never actually played it.

"Awesome! You go first!"

"O-okay..." Violet swallowed nervously. "Truth or Dare?"

"Dare." Cloudy said, her body trembling with anticipation.

"Um..." Violet looked around the room for an idea. "I dare you to... jump off the bed into the pile of pillows." Violet barely had time to dodge before a blur of peach and sunshine nearly fell on top of her. She shook her head and turned around to see Cloudy giggling on the heap of pillows.

"That was fun." She said through her laughter. "It's your turn... um, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Um... If you could be completely invisible for one full day, what would you do?" Cloudy's navy blue eyes shined with mischief.

"I would..." Huh, what would she do? "I would sneak into Doughnut Joes, and eat every freshly baked doughnut on display."

Cloudy laughed. "I bet he would think that his shop was haunted!" She snorted. "Okay, okay... now do me."

"Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Hmmmm, If you could be anypony, or any thing, who or what would you be, and why?" Violet asked. This game was fun.

"I would be... Shimmering Ruby. And I would give away her entire week's allowance to Canterlot's public school."

"That would be so epic!"

"Truth or dare?" Cloudy asked her, after another round of laughter.

"Um... dare."

"Oooo..." The filly of sunshine narrowed her eyes to the challenge. "I dare you to let me read one of your stories."

"I quit the game." Violet said without hesitation.

"You can't do that! You took an oath."

"When?"

"When you sad down on that pillow and said you would play." Cloudy answered. "Now, your story, please?"

Violet grumbled and walked over to her damp saddlebag. Luckily, it was manditory for saddlebags to be made waterproof now, or all of her parchment and quills would have been soaked. She fumbled around, looking for a semi-completed one.

"Here, this one I just finished earlier this morning." She levitated her copy of White Rose, the pony of espionage.

"Yes!" Cloudy quickly grabbed at the parchment. She didn't even give Violet anything to do while she read, so the lavender colored filly was left to stand by her saddlebag and twiddle her hooves.

"This..." Cloudy said after what seemed like forever. Hours with nothing but the sound of parchment turning and hums of a comment that wasn't made. "Is amazing!"

Violet blushed. A lot of thought went into her stories, so it made her happy that somepony would like them. "Thanks."

"Oh my Celestia! Agent Rose is so awesome! Is there more?"

"N-not yet. Like I said, I just finished that this morning." Violet felt her blush spread.

"Well, you need to give me a copy as soon as you finish the next chapter!"

"Chapter...? It was just supposed to be a one type thing. Voilet looked towards her bag at all of the stories that wanted to write, and all of the ones she had yet to finish.

"You should have thought of that before you let me read it!" Cloudy said, scanning over the first page again.

"You made me give... whatever. Sure, I'll write another chapter for you." Violet lowered her head in mock defeat, knowing now that Cloudy was never going to let it go.

"Alright!" Cloudy jumped up in the air. "Now, can you answer some of my questions?"

"Sure. What?"

"What was Mr. Oyal's motivation? I mean, I got that he was in charge of some sort of cartel, but why?"

"Well..." Violet thought about it for a few seconds. "I was planning on having him working in the oil business.-"

"Obviously."

"But I figured that, maybe his oil dried up, causing him to start going to the black market for profit."

"That's so cool!" Cloudy's blue eyes looked like shining sapphires. "Who does Agent Rose work for?"

"I was thinking she couldv'e gone to some sort of finishing school... but ended up going to a spy school instead. Like some sort of recruting thing? She was probably snooping around her neighbors house, got caught scaling the backside of the building, and was sent there to learn manners. Instead she ended up learning how to properly poison champange while looking like a lady." Violet felt her blush deepen as she realized she was starting to babble.

"That sound so cool!" Cloudy was jumping higher. "You should make this, like, the third chapter! You need to flesh out this story! Please! For me!" Cloudy shot her the most intense pout in the history of pouts. Her eyes were the size of saucers and her bottom lip was twice it's normal size.

"Um..." Violet's will wavered, on account of it's cuteness. "Okay."

"Woo Hoo!" Cloudy started picking up the parchemt that fell onto the floor in her excitement. "This is so awesome! I have a friend that writes stories!"

Let There Be Light!

Violet felt her muscles relax as she glided her quill across her paper. The elegent swoops and swirls of letters seemed to float effortlessly from her mind and onto the page. A beautiful image there, a metaphor over here, maybe a simile or two right between the two... Everything else in the world was foggy, and the soothing scent of ink and creativity filled her nostrils and motivated her to write even faster.

She suddenly felt a prickle on the back of her neck. It caused the fur on her arms to stand up and an uncomfortable shiver to run up her spine. What was wrong? Did she not like what she wrote down? She reread the sentence... Nope. Perfect. The prickling continued, and was now followed by the disturbing sound of heavy breathing. She felt the skin above her hooves start to sweat and her tail to start to twitch at the creepy feeling.

"Hmmm... I think you should make her a little less sarastic..."

Violet jumped, causing her magic to fumble with her quill. The aftermath was nothing more that a sharp crease in the paper where a smooth line of ink was meant to be. She didn't know whether to be thankful for the fact that the ink didn't take, due to the crease taking a sharp turn in the opposite direction as intended and the fact that ink would have surely filled the crevase without a consideration of Violet's feelings, or angry with the fact that the crease existed in the first place.

Violet turned her head towards the sound. She nearly brushed her muzzle against Cloudy's in the process. Uncomfortable and startled by the sudden close up of her best friend, she quickly moved her head back a couple of inches to avoid any embarrassing mishaps. Cloudy, oblivious to her friend's discomfort, continued to read the last couple of lines before turning her head to Violet's and uttering an all to cheerful 'Hi!'.

Violet pushed her best friend off of her back and restraightened her papers. "You know," She said with a grumpy tone. "When I said I was going to write you a prequel chapter,-"

"Three. You said you would write three." Cloudy interrupted.

"I kind of expected you to let me finish them before you read them." Violet finished.

Cloudy whined. "I'm sorry! It's just that it takes so long!"

"It's only been three hours! And I've already written a dozen or so pages!" Violet said in her defense. Cloudy groaned, clearly not likeing those numbers.

"You need to listen to me more." Cloudy said, remembering an earlier conversation. "You should just drop out of school, and focus on your writing. It's not like we're going to use the knowledge of how to calculate the volume of a sphere in our everyday lives."

Violet sighed. "I've already agreed to wear my mane down because of you. I think I should tone down the taking or- I mean, listening for a while."

"You love the fact that your mane is down, and you know it." Cloudy said smuggly with her hooves crossed. "You got so many compliments today!"

She couldn't argue with that, though she hardly wanted to admit it. Today was, quite possibly, one of the strangest days in Violet's life. This morning, she had woken up in an unfamiliar home, and had gotten ready for school like a starlet pony. Cloudy's routine was freakishly detailed and overdone. Shower, mousse, style mane, a small spray of coat shiner, perfume, and the brutal process of braiding her extremely thick mane. Cloudy and her mother practically begged Violet to let them style her mane for her, and Violet, not knowing what else to do, agreed to let them do it.

Now her mane, no longer in a ponytail, was softly hiding her shoulders and the back of her neck in an elegant example of waves. Violet, regretfully, admited that the process of achieving this look was easy. And it was! She simply washed her hair with a shampoo Mrs. Sugar provided, and kept her mane in a bun until it was time to go to school. To bad though, because after saying how easy the whole ordeal was, Mrs. Sugar insisted that Violet keep the shampoo, and Cloudy demanded that Violet never where her mane in a ponytail again.

Violet groaned, but told her friend that she would wear the manestyle for 'a while'.

At school today, ponies noticed. Shimmering shot her a couple of deadly looking glares, a couple of fillies stared at her and asked her where she got her mane done, and some colts simply stared. It caused Violet to have a permanent blush throughout the entire school day. Both from modesty and embarrassment.

The walk home was even more awkward. The entire time Cloudy had a huge smile on her face and kept mumbling 'I told you so..' under her breath. A one-sided argument sprouted form that, with Violet being the only one who was arguing, and the somehow it ended with the two of them going to Violet's house for her to write. Cloudy spent a majority of time in Violet's room making comments about her bland, gray walls and the lack of creative personality that clearly had potential. She also snooped through Violet's chests and drawers, finding some more unfinished stories, a couple of the sketches Violet drew of her characters that she created, a few of the dresses her mother begged her to wear, and a 'depressing lack' of blue material.

Now, back in the present, Cloudy looked at Violet with the same grumpy expression Violet threw at her.

"Just...write!" Cloudy pointed at the half-written paper in an exaggerated motion. Violet felt her lips curl in a small smirk of amusement.

She went back to writing. It took a while, but she finally seemed to have gotten used to using her quill while her typewriter was right next to her. At first it sat there, looking lonely and betrayed, making Violet feel guilty for not using it. Cloudy wanted her to use a quill, because for the first couple of minutes of her using the typewriter, the sound of the keys and and the paper needing to be slided was enough to make Cloudy batty. And now, Violet and her typewriter seemed to be at an agreement. She promised to use it once Cloudy went home in a couple of hours.

A couple of minutes passed, and Violet was startled once again by Cloudy rustling in the background. She turned on her chair, only to see a way to excited Cloudy holding a large and neat bundle of Hearths Warming Eve lights.

Violet glanced at her closet. To her mother's often expressed horror, her closet was practically empty. If she was going to accessorize with anything, it was going to be jewelry, and even then, not much. Clothes... were out of the question. And so, her bare closet was used for storage space. Boxes of junk, trinkets, and holiday decorations included.

Before Violet could deny permission, Cloudy was on the move. Within a blink of an eye, all around the room lights dangled randomly from her molding.

"How... how did you...?" Violet asked, her mouth hanging open in shock at her friends speed.

"Years of practice." She answered bluntly. "What? It takes skill to hang up all of those scarves."

"I don't even... where did you get the nails? Hoof-tacks?"

"I had a couple on hoof."

"O-okay..." Violet kept staring at the lights, still unable to believe they they were there. Cloudy happily trotted over to Violet's massive mirror, and with a happy grin, plugged in the lights in the outlit behind the piece of furniture. All at once, tiny lights filled Violet's vision. They twinkled and shined. Casting a warm yellow glow throughout her room. The entire space around her seemed to be filled with stars.

"Told you it had potential." Cloudy said, admiring her work.

Violet, after a couple of moments of enjoying the images around her, went back to writing. The lights seemed to fuel her motivation to fill the pages. Soon, the 'first' chapter of her story was complete. Cloudy quickly grabbed at it once it was finished.

"Hey, mom would love it if you came over for dinner again tonight. Are you capable?" Cloudy asked.

Violet remembered seeing one of her parent's numerous notes taped to her front door. Yeah, she was free.

"That sounds amazing." She said quickly. She packed up some extra parchment and ink in her bag, a sketchbook, and just a simple library book to pass the time.

"Woah... I just invited you to dinner, but you act like I'm asking you to spend the night again." Cloudy said as she watched her pack.

Violet blushed. "Well, I... just thought..."

Cloudy laughed. "Of course you can stay the night! We can make it a regular thing, if ya want!"

Violet felt her ears perk up again. "That would be awesome! Thanks Cloudy!"

Both of the friends left the house laughing, excited for what their friendship held for the future.

Changing Season

"Uh, Cloudy?" Violet said as she poked her friend with her hoof. "You have a little something..."

Violet pointed towards her own left cheek, quietly motioning for Cloudy to wipe her own face. The sun colored pony, her eyes still only half open from a mid-afternoon nap, lazily and sleepily rubbed her face. The ink, though now not that intense, now covered a larger portion of her face.

Violet sighed and levitated a napkin out of her lunch bag. "This is what you get for falling asleep in class. You're lucky Mrs. Quill didn't see you."

Cloudy stretched and popped her neck. "It's not my fault I'm not interested in quantum physics. Plus, why are we even learning that?"

"You've been going to school here for four months now, and you've already asked that question enough times to give a decapitated statue a headache." Violet said as she munched on her apple.

"Ha. Ha. You're so funny." Cloudy said as she looked at the statue in front of her. The two fillies were currently enjoying their late lunch in the garden outside of their cave. The area around them was littered with statues. Some with missing legs, tails, and yes, even heads.

"Be happy we got out early today on account of the holidays. Mrs. Quill would have chopped off your tail if she found out. Glad to know that those bells are useful for something besides causing your brains to melt out of your ears."

"That's from your end." Cloudy said, rubbing the inside of her ear with the edge of her hoof. "One second I was laying in a clear blue ocean talking to a giant version of my rubber ducky, and next thing I know, I was getting screamed at by that freaky banshee thing that you wrote in your story."

"Oh, you mean The Machine of a Thousand Wails!" Violet chuckled. "Yeah, I'm happy I put her in."

"I'm not. When you said you were going to try 'steam punk', I thought you were going to go romantic for a change... instead you just decided to throw witchcraft into it and screw up all of the logic!" She flung her hooves up for emphasis, causing a small baked cherry tomato to fall from her lunch and onto Violet's tail. "The banshee doesn't even do anything! The main character even said it herself!"

"I have plans..." Violet mumbled as she levitated the tiny fruit and examined it casually. She turned it upside down to look at the small scorch mark left by Mrs. Sugar's cooking. "So does that mean you don't want the next chapter?" She said slyly.

Cloudy paused. "... No." She pouted.

Violet rolled her eyes. With a small quirk of her eyebrow, she raised the next chapter of Bronze Gears and Hearts and gently floated down to Cloudy's side. Her friend grabbed it eagerly and shoved it into her bag to read for later.

"Come on." Violet said, picking crumbs off her tail and lifting herself off the ground. "Let's go inside, it's cold out here."

Cloudy sighed. "Fine. But I want the next chapter of White Rose and Red Thorns next time, okay?"

Why did I let her choose that name? Violet thought to herself. "As you wish, M'lady." She said mockingly.

The two of them walked through the now usable gate. With a little bit of help from Mrs. Sugar and Cloudy's dad, Yellow Parchment, the two fillies no longer had to crawl on their bellies to get to their secret spot. Just a couple of cuts there, a few trims here and bam. The vines could let the two pass without giving the location away.

Violet, using a simple spell, lit a fire pit that was situated in the middle of the small cave. Not that it was really needed. Though ice was forming on the leaves and the grass outside, it was at least a fifteen or so degrees warmer in there secret spot. The wind never reached the speed or the power to freeze anything. Though the water that trickled through the grass wasn't exactly comfortable to step in, it certainly wasn't going to be solid ice any time soon.

The fire instead was used simply to set a cozy mood and provide the ponies with a source of light if need be.

Violet, now wandering over to her chest filled with quills and parchment, heard a peculiar sound coming from behind her.

"What was that?" She shouted at Cloudy. The filly was currently readjusting one of her numerous scarves that she scattered and hung on branches and uneven patches of rock in the cave walls.

She looked up with a coy expression. "What was what?"

"That... sound. That came from your general direction. The sound that practically oozed melancholy and sorrow." Violet answered pointing a hoof at her.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Cloudy turned away. After a couple of moments, Violet let her ears fall back to rest casually on her gray mane. It was only when the sound could be heard again, this time with much more volume and exasperation, did they perk up again.

"Okay... What is wrong?" Violet asked, getting annoyed with the sound.

Cloudy zoomed over to Violet within a blink of an eye. The first time Violet saw Cloudy move that fast, she honestly thought that her friend was secretly a unicorn and had simply teleported. Only after a couple of months did she get used to the filly's unnatural speed.

"What do you mean when you say you don't want anything for your birthday?" Cloudy whined.

"I'm pretty sure that means 'I don't want anything for my birthday.'" She said, slightly annoyed that they had to go through this conversation again. Four days ago, Cloudy had asked when Violet's birthday was. It just so happened that her birthday was a week from that day, and now a mere three days away.

"There's- there's only three days left! You have to want something!" Cloudy insisted. Violet shook her head.

All of her past birthdays consisted of one thing. A party. Though Violet knew that those were pretty normal on those types of occasions, these parties were different. Violet, not really making any connections with any other ponies at the time, didn't really have anypony to invite. So her mother and father took it upon themselves to invite some for her. The group mainly consisted of her classmates, who clearly only showed up because their parents made them or because they figured that they could play with Violet's new toys, and their parents, who kept to themselves in the garden drinking wine and cider and eating off of platters.

Violet never played with any of her new toys, so she just ended putting them in boxes and giving them away to foals on the playground when her parent's backs were turned.

"I don't want anything." She repeated.

Cloudy looked as though she was about to explode. "But I have to give you something! You got me something for my birthday two months ago!"

Cloudy, being the pony that she was, wouldn't stop talking about her birthday until two moons after it was over. Before the occasion, however, she rambled on and on about what she wanted. One of those things consisted of a new blue scarf from one of Canterlot's numerous boutiques. It just so happened to be in Violet's price range. The smile on her friends face when she opened her present was one of the greatest sights Violet had ever seen.

"That's different. Your the exact type of pony who gets presents on her birthday. I'm not. It's that simple."

"No it's not!" She whined again. "You're just being stubborn. You don't want me to get you anything because you feel bad..."

The pony continued to ramble and babble continously about how Violet deserved a present. It went on for minutes. No matter how hard she tried, Violet could block out the sound.

"Alright! Alright! I'll tell you what I want if you just stop!" She shouted. Cloudy closed her mouth and waited eagerly for a response.

Violet let out a sigh and thought hard about what she wanted, if she wanted anything. "Okay." She said as she placed a hoof on her forehead. "You know that look on your face when you opened your present on your birthday?"

Cloudy nodded quickly.

"I want that. That face." She said bluntly. "There."

For a long moment, the cave was filled to the brim with silence. It was only after Violet could hear her blood pound in her ears did the silence actually break.

"Alrighty!" Cloudy said with a smile on her face. She had a triumphet air about her. Success and happiness practically radiated out of her.

Violet, a little lost for words at the sudden change in direction, twitched her ears and looked around. She wasn't expecting that. Then again, she never knew what to expect from her friend. She eventually gave up on trying to decipher Cloudy's plan, and just sighed.

"Let's go to your place. You're mother is cooking leek stew tonight, right?" Violet said with her ears drooping from a sudden wave of fatigue. Cloudy simply nodded, understanding that now wasn't an appropiate time to talk. The two of them started walking towards the cottage.

...

"Good afternoon Voilet, I hope you're having a wonderful birthday." Mrs. Sugar said through a thick layer of scarves. White puffs of breath found their way out of the fibers and found themselves twirling and curling around the gold mare's bangs and the puff ball on her white knit cap.

"It's amazing now that you're here, Mrs. Sugar." Violet said with a smile on her face. Mrs. Sugar laughed at the compliment.

"Wow, Miss Lace, there sure are quite a lot of ponies here." Cloudy's father and Mrs. Sugar's husband added. Yellow Parchment, or Mr. Parch as Violet likes to call him, found his way to his wife's side. His mane was longer than the average stallions' his age, finding it's way to curl around his ears and occasionally in his eyes. His mane and tail themselves were a light chocolate brown that reminded Violet of the color of aged ink, and his coat was the exact color of old parchment. His cutiemark was that of simple brown book and a red quill.

"Yeah... I know." Violet looked towards her house. Even outside, with the ground covered in a thin layer of snow and ice, she could still hear the sounds of fillies and colts shouting excitedly inside and see the large crowd of adult ponies in the backyard. How they managed to stay warm, Violet never knew. Stallions only ever wore the occasional coat and tie and the mares had a more diverse list of practically everything but the practical.

"Violet!"

Violet turned her head to see Cloudy running up towards her. Seeing her friend gave her no warning however, because as soon as she was spotted, Cloudy tackled her into a bear hug.

"Happy Birthday!" She cheered. On her back was a package, wrapped in a lavender colored ribbon and paper that had a black lace pattern. Cloudy quickly untied the present from her bag and placed it next to Violet. "That's for you."

Violet stared at the gift, wondering what in the wide world of Equestria had her friend gotten her. After their small- and not really angry- argument three days prior, Cloudy hadn't said a word about her present or even brought up Violet's birthday again. It almost made Violet worry about her friends well-being.

"We both got you a little something too, dear." Mrs. Sugar said as she reached to grab at a smaller package.

The gift they gave her was rather small, only taking up a forth of the amount of space as Cloudy's, but it was wrapped in an opposite fashion, with a black lace ribbon and lavender wrapping paper.

"And we hope that you can make it to dinner tonight! Crystal is whipping up an amazing dinner for the special occasion." Mr. Parch said happily.

Just at that moment, a loud cheer could be heard from the backyard. Violet pressed her ears to her head. "That sounds lovely."

She thought about how the rest of her day was going to go. She was going to spend the rest of her birthday afternoon, playing with toys she didn't want or care to have, giving slightly buzzed ponies directions to the bathroom, and holed up in her room to avoid being with ponies she didn't want to be with.

And so, with that train of thought, she did what anypony her age and in her situation would do.

She lied.

"Actually, my mother said it would be perfectly fine for me to go over to your house for the day." She said quickly, thinking on her hooves. Mr. Parch's eyebrows shot up in surprise, while Mrs. Sugar's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Did she now?" Mr. Parch asked.

Violet nodded. "You know how she is! Can't wait to be the life of the party."

"Uh-huhhh..." Mrs. Sugar's eyes reopened, all of the suspicion from her face gone in thin air. "Well then, I guess since we have her approval, then there's no reason to stay. We would be honored to celebrate your birthday with you, Violet."

They started walking the short distance to Cloudy's house. On the way there, however, Violet felt the brief sympathetic touch of Mrs. Sugar's hoof on the back of her mane. Mrs. Sugar had met Violet's mother on more than one occasion. She knew as well as Violet that her parents weren't going to notice Violet's absense. Not unless she didn't return until late, tomorrow afternoon, when her mother was sober and her father had returned from work.

"I think you're going to like dinner tonight!" Cloudy said happily as she jumped all the way to the house.

Flashes of Fabric

Violet was encased in warmth as soon as she set her hoof in the warm, candle-lit cottage that she had grown more accustomed to than her own home. She sucked in a deep breath through her nose and felt her mouth water at the smells of dinner being made.

"It should be ready in roughly an hour or so." Mrs. Sugar said, smiling at Violet's reaction.

"It smells amazing." Violet said, her mood already improving since earlier that afternoon. "How is it being made? You've been spending your time outside of the house for the past couple of hours?"

"This is one of those recipies where patience makes the difference." She answered. "This meal has technically been cooking for three days."

Violet felt her eyes open wide in awe. Three days? Three days! She both eagerly wanted, and eagerly dreaded the meal. Something so time consuming had to be delicious, but at the same time, something that time consuming had to be scary. What if she didn't like it? All of Mrs. Sugar's hard work would be for nothing. Not only that, but Mrs. Sugar had also spent three days preparing this meal. Violet didn't deserve that type of courtesy.

"Don't worry dear," Mrs. Sugar gently patted Violet's head. "You'll enjoy it, I promise."

Violet couldn't get a word in before Cloudy grabbed her hoof and began pulling her towards her bedroom. "That's great mom. Violet and I are going to open her presents."

"I feel as though that's my decision." Violet mumbled. She saw Cloudy's ears twitch, signaling that she was heard, but ignored.

"You two be carful up there." Mr. Parch said as they made their way up the stairs. "We don't want another incident like last time."

Violet felt her cheeks grow warm at the memory. She and Cloudy had done their usual antics of gathering pillows and placing them in the center of Cloudy's room. But this time, things went a bit awry. Violet removed a large bean-bag chair from the corner of Cloudy's room and spotted a brown blur. The mouse, confused by the sudden burrage of the blue light that filtered through the curtains on the window, mistakenly scuttled into the center of the room. Cloudy, now startled by Violet's sudden outburst, panicked and mistaken the tiny creature for a rat.

The room went into a panic. Cloudy, not wanting a rat in her room for obvious reasons, was on a mission to squish the creature with a dictionary that was sitting unused on her bookshelf. Violet, knowing that the animal running around was merely a tiny, helpless mouse, was repeatedly grabbing hold of the objects that were thrown and trying to place them back in their original spots.

None of this was a quiet process. Mr. Parch and Mrs. Sugar suddenly burst into the room, worried about the noises that the ponies were making. It was an odd chance of cirumstances that, as soon as the door was open, the entire room settled down. The only sound being the tiny, frightened squeaks of the mouse that was trapped underneath a glass.

Mr. Parch struggled to hold back laughter. He saw Cloudy, a triumphant smile on her face as she glared down at the tiny rodent in her hooves. Even when the realization that it wasn't fearsome rat, but instead a harmless mouse, her smile never faded. Violet on the other hoof, was struggling to hold both a glass figurine and a freakishly heavy box of scarves with her magic.

Realizing that her magic was flickering out, Mrs. Sugar dove for the figurine. She managed to catch it before it shattered, saving one of them from an evening of picking glass shards out of carpet. Violet, being at her limit, dropped the box with a large and loud thud that echoed through the house like thunder.

Mrs. Sugar, even with her husband's obvious enjoyment of the situation, was not amused. She was in the middle of baking a batch of cookies, and insisted that she was not to be disturbed. Both of the girls recieved punishment, which mainly consisted of late cookies and having to say goodbye to their little mouse friend.

Now, back in the present, Violet made a silent vow to be on her best behavior. Of course, when Cloudy's door was closed, all bets are off.

"Okay!" Cloudy shouted as soon as she slammed her door closed. "Please open mine first!"

Violet glanced at the presents that were sitting neatly on her back. They went together beautifully, it seemed like a shame to tear them open like she was a timberwolf hungering for an extra twig.

"Ummm..." She levitated the two packages and felt the difference in weight. Cloudy's gift seemed significantly heavier than the one her parents had given her. "I'm... I'm going to open the one your parent's gave me first."

"What? Bu-but why?" Cloudy's ears drooped in exagerated sadness.

"Because I'm a horrible pony who likes to watch you roll around in your own agony." Violet said sarcastically. The real truth however, was that she was scared of what Cloudy had gotten her. She agreed way to quickly to get her what she wanted, even when Violet's intention was to stump her in the first place. The smaller, lighter package seemed like a much safer place to start.

With a heavy grunt, Violet jumped onto Cloudy's bed. She scooted herself next to a pouting Cloudy, and sank deeper into the fluffed pillows that consumed the headboard. Gently, she used her magic to peel off the tape, careful not to harm the beautiful lavender wrapping paper. She untied the lace ribbon, and placed it next to her to save for later. She could use it for something.

When all of the layers were removed, the object inside was placed cleanly inside a small, brown box. Violet, getting frustrated at the suspense, hastily pulled back the lid to reveal a mish-mash of black. Lifting the object out of the box curiously, she realized with a shock that it wasn't a solid object. It moved and folded over like fabric. Probably because it was fabric. Lace, to be exact.

She unfolded her gift. She gazed at it in awe. A beautifully detailed and intricate example of lace hovered in front of her. In the center of the the amazing piece of fabric, was a rose that was then surrounded by leafy thorns. The design the began to spread out in loops and less detailed flowers.

"They thought you would like it." Cloudy grumbled. "It belonged to somepony a century ago. My father managed to get a hold of it, thinking that he could restore it. Once it was fixed, though, nopony seemed to want it. So it's been in the attic, underneath a box full of old china and my mother's prom dress."

"It's beautiful." Violet whispered. It was a shawl, meant to wrap around some important pony's shoulders. A lady's shoulders. A pony that is delicate and develish simultaneously. A pony that could break hearts and politely talk her way out of receiving punishment for it. The other gifts she had gotten over the years, the clothes that came from magazines or from the most popular stores in the city, never truely spiked her interest. This gift though, spoke thousands of words all at once. Words about how Cloudy's parents loved her, words about the past and the pony the shawl was once owned by, and the fact that Violet had much different interests than the other Canterlot ponies.

She didn't care about the price tag of a dress or a scarf. She loved things with sentimental value. Things that held a past.

She gently placed her new shawl behind her head. Using the most delicate knot she could imagine, she tied the ends of the cloth loosely around her neck. "How do I look."

Cloudy looked at her, her eyes brightening and a small smile appearing on her face. "You look lovely."

Violet grew giddy. She loved her new gift. She kept trying to look down in order to see the knot she tied and to admire it a little bit more.

"Violet?" Cloudy asked suddenly. Violet quickly looked up to see Cloudy still trying to pout. "Can you open my gift now?"

She glanced at the bigger box that sat innocently at the foot of the bed. It sank into the blue comforter like a stone.

"Um, yeah... sure." She moved the present to her side. The purple ribbon was so innocent, it was mocking. She went through the same process of gently peeling off the tape and pulling the ends of the bow. The brown box looked a little bit more daunting without the lovely wrapping paper. Slowly pulling back the sides, she reveiled to herself a heavy object wrapped in black wrapping paper.

Violet, finally being at her limit, tore off the the paper hastily. The item that was once cocooned in the flimsy material was something that Violet certainly wasn't expecting.

A camera.

"You like it?" Cloudy asked. Violet looked at her with a jolt. Her friends eyes were huge and pleading. They begged for an answer, even if she didn't want to hear it.

Violet looked at the camera that now sat safely in her hooves. It wasn't like the other cameras she's seen. This one was old, vintage, and clearly used. The few and limited cameras that were occasionaly found in the windows of Canterlot were always new, black, shiny models that no pony was ever able to afford without the right connections. And even then, most ponies don't even know how to use them properly. Violet included.

But this one was different. It used film, and was different than the modern magically printed. This camera didn't require a special spell that came in the instruction manual. But the one in Violet's hooves used nothing but light and chemical reactions. She did like her present, if anything she loved it. The presents that she had gotten today, all two of them, were so perfectly her that they were criminal.

"Yes." She said confidently. "I love it."

A smile practically split Cloudy's face in two. Her bright white teeth glowed and shined with so much happiness that it was almost blinding.

"There's more." Cloudy said, pointing a hoof at the not-so-empty box.

Violet levitated the last couple of objects out of the package. Three bottles, and a thick, really big piece of black cloth.

"Those bottles are for developing your photos. The cloth is for you to create a darkroom." Cloudy explained. "I figured you could turn your closet into something you actually want to have."

Violet thought back to all of the empty space that practically consumed her when she entered her closet. The annoying image of storage containers and her mother's old clothes that she couldn't be bothered to donate or simply throw away.

Suddenly, there was a sound from downstairs.

"Girls! Dinner is ready!"

...

Violet got home early, with Cloudy practically stepping on her tail the entire way there. It wasn't haste out of worry, or of fear that her parents would find out about her sneaking off to Cloudy's last night. Instead, it was simply out of excitement, both ponies were eager to get started.

"Okay, so first things first. Lower one of those rods." Cloudy ordered. The construction of Violet's closet always confused her. Shaped like a large 'L', a section of her closet never saw the light of day. Of course, that wasn't enough to make it a dark room. The place needed to be completely pitch black.

Using a little magic, and Cloudy's freakish knowledge of construction, they managed to place the curtain rod in the right spot, sectioning a part off from the rest of the world. It was dark, really dark. So dark that the girls couldn't keep the curtain closed until they installed the portable lamp with a red lightbulb. They set up everything. Trays held the developer, the stop bath, and the fixer. A small timer sat on a tiny shelf, and a tiny clothes line was hung for hanging the pictures to dry.

"Welp." Cloudy said once they were done. "That's it. I wish I could stay, but mama and papa insisted that I be home as soon as possible."

"Hmmm... that's strange. Normally they're not so strict." Violet said.

"I know, but that only proves how urgent it is." She started heading out the door. "I'll see you tomorrow! First thing! We'll meet where we always do, okay?"

Violet nodded. She glanced back at the camera that she and Cloudy had filled to the brim with pictures the night before. "Yeah, I'll see you them."

And Cloudy was gone.

Violet sighed. Her day always seemed gloomier when her friend wasn't around. Like a cloudy of day with no rain, or a night without stars.

With another sigh, she grabbed her new camera, carefuly placed her new shawl underneath her bedroom pillow, and went into her new darkroom.

Carfully going through the process of rolling the film, puting it in the proper container, and letting it develope put her mind at ease. She sighed contently as she placed the film in the slide, used a little bit of magic to shine light through, and watched as the picture showed in the tray of developer. After placing everything in the proper chemicals, she hung each one of them and waited for them to dry.

As she was satisfied the the light woud no longer harm the photos, she peeled back the darkness and winced as the sudden light hit her pupils. Just as she was about to set hoof outside, she saw something beautiful.

A smile.

Cloudy must have taken a picture before she gave her the camera. Staring back at her, was Cloudy's brilliant and glowing smile. Even though it was black and white, it was still beautiful. Suddenly, the gloominess of her day evaporated.

She smiled back.

If the Uncomfortable Shoe Doesn't Fit!

Violet felt the gears in her mind turn as she desperately tried to type everything down. Her hooves smelled like developer and her mane was in its typical morning bun. She didn't care. She kept typing. The keys on her typewriter clicking and the tiny appendages that drove the ink into the paper slapped against the parchment full force.

It was nighttime. Her favorite time. She was admiring her new pictures when she saw the moon gazing at her through her gray curtains. The sudden spark of inspiration took hold. A new story.

I gazed at him from my perch. He seemed rather normal. As normal as a stallion could be when wandering around the cemetery at the stroke of three in the morning.

He didn't seem like the others, though. He didn't go to any particular headstone. He didn't look as though he was suddenly struck with grief or sorrow, like every other pony at this hour. He wasn't young either, simply looking a few years older than me. He wasn't a student, bent on stupidly proving himself to his classmates in a idiotic manner. What was the point of that? Nothing dangerous happened at the cemetery at night.

Not while anypony else is around, anyway.

A clock chimed. I swiftly moved my head to gaze at the huge clock tower. The bell that hung on rusty hinges called out three times, officially signaling the end of the darkest hours of the night.

I moved my head back to the stallion. He was right underneath me now, his bright white mane glowing in the moonlight. He kept walking around my tree. I felt my mane prickle with unease, causing shivers to run up and down my folded wings.

It was during that untimely moment that my instincts started to kick in. My ears swiveled and I could hear the enticing pound of his heart. I subconsciously opened my mouth, smelling the buttery-salt like smell that practically radiated off of him.

Blood. I wanted blood.

One thing I was grateful for, is that my stomach doesn't growl as much as it used to. I quietly crept towards him, careful to stay in the shadows. He was right there... so close.

I lept from my perch. I felt the strangely satisfying soreness as my wings expanded. I bobbed in the air, quickly deciphering my attack. I swooped to the left, distracting his attention towards pointless bushes. I gently glided my way close to the ground, out of site. It was then that I rose behind him, my fangs outstretched and ready to pierce through the flesh of his-

He turned towards me. Startled by the sudden movement, I stupidly slowed down. He didn't leave an opening as he pounced on me and held me down with his hooves. The pinched and pressed uncomfortably into the muscles of my legs. I hissed at him, spitting and expanding my fangs farther outside of my muzzle. He didn't flinch.

It was then when he reached into his saddlebag. Pulling out the emblem of the sun, the princess's cutiemark in all of its gold-plated glory. He pressed it to my chest, and I screamed and hissed as it sizzled and blistered my skin and singed my fur-

There was a knock at her bedroom door. The sound pounded against Violet's eardrum causing her to be pulled from her trance.

"Violet Lace, we need to talk." Her mother walked into her bedroom, a few strands of her mane hung loosely in front of her eyes. Her eyes themselves were carried by a huge set of gray bags that could rival the color scheme of Violet's room.

She sat herself delicately in one of Violet's chairs. She stole a quick glance at her reflection in the mirror and readjusted the stray hairs, smoothing them back into her mane.

"Dear, something of great importance has come up." She said with her muzzle in the air. She looked down at Violet, though her eyes have grown softer as the months passed. She had noticed that Violet was wearing her mane down, and loved the concept of Violet getting some more social attention at school. "Fancy Pants is planning a large ball, and we need to get you the proper attire."

"Ummm...." Violet had a difficult time processing the information. Her mother hasn't insisted that she go to a party, not without it being mandatory in the unwritten rules of the Canterlot elite. "I-I don't think I want to go."

Her mother snorted. "I don't much care for your attitude, Violet Lace. You will go, and that's that." She leaned into Violet so that their muzzles were practically touching. "You wouldn't want your mother or father to look rude, now would you?"

Violet pressed her ears against her head. "No. Not at all, mother."

"Great!" Her mother's face formed a demure smile, as though the past couple of seconds didn't happen. "We'll go dress shopping tomorrow!" She glided over to the door and showed herself out. Just as the door closed, Violet saw her perfectly curled tail whip in her direction, a silent gesture of victory. Or more importantly, Violet losing.

With a heavy sigh, she looked back towards the story she had written. With a quick skim over the pages she realized how dark it was compared to the other stuff she had written before.

How strange... She thought as she read a particular paragraph about the protagonist going through a rather blood-curdling transformation. With a quick train of thought, she slowly got used to the idea of her writing what she had written. After all, it was better to get all of the morbid and freakishly graphic imagery out in one big go, than scattered throughout a story that somepony like Cloudy would read. Right?

Silently nodding to herself, she placed it in the section of her desk where the 'misfit stories' had a place to call home. In a place the story wouldn't be finished, but instead used for further inspiration.

"Now what...?" She looked towards the room, eager to find something to do. She had already written the chapters for Cloudy to read, and she didn't like writing ahead just in case she needed to change something. Her room was spotless, per always, so it didn't need cleaning.

Don't tell me... She winced as a thought appeared in her head. A dreadful thought. She looked desperately towards her bed, but she knew that if she tried to go to sleep now, she wouldn't be able to get a wink in before tomorrow afternoon.

Please, please, please no... She looked at her closet-turned-darkroom. Her pictures were drying, and she hadn't gotten the opportunity to buy new film yet, so she couldn't take any new pictures.

With a dread filled gulp, she looked back towards her door. With enough hesitance to make a snail angry, she pushed open the door.

"Mother!" She called down the hallway to the stairs. "Um... If you wanna shop for dresses now... I have time." She sent a silent prayer to Celestia that her mother didn't hear her, but that prayer wasn't answered when she heard eager hoofsteps on the first floor.

"Grab the white scarf, sweetie!" Her mother shouted, forgetting all forms of decorum. "It'll look fabulous with your mane!"

A small spark of anger flashed in her chest. Her mother shot past her into her own room to fix herself up for the trip. In a simple act of rebellion, she stomped off to her her room to grab her new shawl. Wrapping it delicately around her neck, she walked out of her room without her chin held high or a confidence in her step. Instead, she was herself. Her meek, anti-social, and strange little self.

Her father looked up from the paper he was reading once she got downstairs.

"You look lovely, Violet." He said with a glance. "Don't give your mother too much trouble."

"Yes Father." She said with a smile. Compliments from her father were rare, but appreciated.

Her mother, her stride full of grace, walked down the stairs in pale pink coat with fur cuffs. Gold buttons shined and the initials of her name, SP, were embroidered on her left shoulder. "I just sent them a message. They'll be expecting us! Let's go!"

...

Harsh lights were hitting Violet from all sides. She couldn't seen anything but herself. On all sides of her were reflections of her in a hideously gaudy red mermaid gown.

"I do not 'tink it is de one." The sales pony said, casting a nervous glance towards Violet's mother.

"Preposterous!" Her mother said to the innocent mare. "She looks ravishing!"

Violet felt as though she looked like a phoenix's hindquarters. The entire dress was completely covered in rubies, embers, and jasper stones, making the garment look like a giant flame. The dress was beautiful, sure, but it wasn't Violet's type of beautiful. Not only that, but it clashed with her coat. The structure of the dress was awkward too, with the entire body being form fitting except for a couple of inches above the hooves where it flared out with bright red and orange silk.

"Um... this one is rather stuffy, Mother." Violet said quickly. "I would hate to get all sweaty at the party."

Even the sales pony caught on to what Violet was doing. "Uh, Yes! Yes! De dress does not...How you say, breathe? Very stuffy, very uncomfortable."

Her mother re-examined the dress, this time with a more convenient critical eye. "I suppose..." She looked at the sales pony again, a poor mare that went by Rosie because her actual name is to difficult for anypony here to pronounce. "Go find her another one, quickly!"

Rosie zoomed towards the racks behind Violet.

"No need to be in such a rush, Mother." Violet said as she carefully slid off the gown. "We have all-night reservations."

She glanced at the letter for proof. Her mother used a simple mail spell to send it over to the shop. The shops owner and her mother were good friends, so Rosie had to suffer along with Violet and lose a couple of hours of sleep in order to cater to their needs.

Her mother simply huffed a little air out of her nose and went to look at the other racks scattered throughout the store. Violet jumped as Rosie suddenly appeared next to her with a rack filled to the brim with obnoxious fabrics and dreadful looking beading. Violet caste a glance towards her mother, making sure she was out of ear shot.

"Pssst! Rosie!" She whispered. The pink mare looked up. "If you could find anything with a cold color palete, and a little less bling, that would be great."

Rosie shot a sly smile towards the filly. With her edgy looking green mane, straightened to nearly impossible limits, and cool looking leather pan collar necklace, it was clear that this pony knew what she was talking about when it comes to fashion. Her own cutie mark was that of a rose, turned upside down, and forming the skirt of a beautiful red ballgown.

"Yes. Of course, Miss Lace." She quickly ran back to the rear end of the store. When she came back, she returned with a less awful looking example of a dress.

"Oh... that's... interesting." Her mother suddenly appeared back in Violet's view. "I'm not sure if that will-"

"Silky Peeetttalllls!" A loud voice sang from the front doors. "How's my fabulous mare-friend doing?"

The owner of the shop, Blue Nightingale, entered in all of her glory. Wearing a stunning, shimmering blue dress that reached all the way down to the floor. Her periwinkle colored mane was up in a intricate up-do that framed her face beautifully. She was also wearing jewelry, of course, and was currently sporting a sapphire adorned tiara and matching necklace. Her coat, freshly groomed, glowed a brilliant white.

"Oh! Blue, great to see you!" Her mother smiled sweetly. "I was hoping to get your opinion on one of these dresses." Her mother motioned towards the rack she had chosen. The dresses were every color that Violet knew she would look horrible in. In fact, she was pretty sure her mother only chose them because they were mentioned in the latest issue of Mares Monthly.

"It's glorious darling!" Mrs. Nightingale said, her voice filled with admiration. The only problem? It was directed towards the dress in Rosie's hooves, the one her mother was about to dismiss. "I'm glad to see that my best clerk hasn't lost her touch."

"Ah, well... Great!" Her mother said, stuttering slightly. "Just what I thought, glad to have your opinion."

Violet and Rosie shot glances at one another. With a subtle roll of her eyes, Violet headed back towards the dressing room, with the purple dress following close behind.

She had to admit, getting into this dress was a lot less difficult than the others. When she looked in the mirror that covered one wall, even she thought it looked rather decent on her. As she opened the door, there was no denying it, this was the dress. Not even her mother could argue.

There was still a problem though.

Cursed by her own boredom, and making the foolish decision to look for a dress early, gave her an even worse fate.

Now she was stuck. She had to go to the ball. No excuses.

It was horribly glorious.

Cracked hooves and jelly Doughnuts

"That's it... now place your hoof over there- Don't let go of me! Oh! Don't-"

"Ouch!" Cloudy tripped on her own tail and fell on her rump.

"Ugh!" She groaned. "I'm never going to get this down!" She blew a lock of sun-streaked hair off of her muzzle.

Violet watched as her friend mumbled to herself (something she found herself doing a lot the past few days.) Cloudy, letting her frustration build to absurd amounts, found the habit of pacing. Small grumbles floated out of her lips like growls. Her hair was messy and Violet could see the temporary imprints of frown lines on the filly's face.

"You just need to keep trying." Violet said, trying to console her. "You've really improved over the past few days."

"You're just saying that." Cloudy scowled. "I just...Ugh!" She paced faster. Violet strained her ears to hear her mumbling the steps of the dance.

The now familiar feeling of worry prickled her tail. They were only two days away from the ball, and with every day Cloudy had continued to get more and more agitated. Her mane and tail had grown progressively frayed as well as unkempt. When she hugged her friend- the few times Cloudy let her these days- she no longer smelled the familiar scent of products and body spray.

Violet felt as though she needed to scream. Cloudy looked as though she was going to scream. This was all because Shimmering didn't keep her mouth shut. One sentence, that all that was needed to send the ropes to frays.

Violet could remember the entire day, and she dreadfully wishes she could take it back.

She and Cloudy had just walked into a book shop. The smell of ink and knowledge filled the air (not to mention the strong scent of sandal wood, thanks to the salespony's perfume.) Clean white bookshelves created the shops perimeter, and bright white light radiated from the crystal chandelier in the center of the room.

"Strange." Cloudy said. "I figured you would go to some place more... classical." Old. Cloudy meant to say the word 'old'. Violet couldn't be mad, or even offended- if anything she was flattered to have such a reputation.

"Thanks." She said, wincing at the harsh lighting. "You're right. But it's slim pickings here in Canterlot. If we could hop a train and travel all the way to Manehatten simply for the sake of literature, I would take you in a heartbeat."

They went on about their business. Spending the first couple of minutes together, looking at books and skimming over summaries side by side, eventually they went separate ways in order to actually get anything done. Cloudy stayed in the science-fiction section, gazing at a book adorned by a single robotic, silver beetle. Violet, after finding a rather large amount of material in the fictional-romance section, wandered over to the educational materials.

"Hello there, little lady!" A clerk greeted her happily. "Anything I can help you with?"

Violet looked at him. His smile was bright and his eyes were kind. Certainly not the look of a conpony determined on tricking a filly out of a few bits. His mane was purple and pulled back into a small tail, and his pale green coat was adorned only with a simple yellow colored vest. His cutie mark was an assortment of beads and a purple mask.

"No." She said with a smile. "Not yet anyway."

The clerk nodded and went about his business. Violet watched as he calmly pulled books from the shelves and placed them in a big box by his side.

"What are you doing?" Violet asked.

The clerk looked up. "Pulling old books from the shelves. Nopony seems to want any of these old spell books anymore- some of them have been deemed unusable. Can't sell products ponies don't wanna buy."

"A book? 'unusable'?" Violet looked at him in disbelief. "And a spell book at that. With all due respect, sir, I don't know if I believe you."

The sales pony shrugged. "Have a look for yourself. Heck! You can take them if you want. The only thing they were going to do in this box was take up space in the storage room."

Violet peered down. The box was filled with worn titles. Some looking as though they were once good reads, but ponies simply lost interest, others looking barely touched and instead worn by age. The covers ranged from dreadfully mundane to slightly terrifying.

The Magic Of Dusting: House cleaning Spells and You! was the first book she picked up. It didn't seem that bad, certainly useful if a little boring. She placed it in her bag. She then gathered other titles such as 'Flutter Wonders: a unicorn's guide to animal communication' and 'From Here to There and Everywhere: the best book on all forms of teleportation'

"All of these seem perfectly useful!" Violet exclaimed. "What's wrong with these ponies." Violet quickly skimmed through the pages to find them littered with spells. "Are you sure I-"

She looked up to find nopony there. The sales pony had mysteriously vanished into thin air.

"Hey!" Violet jumped.

"There you are." Cloudy said from behind her. "I was worried you had you nose in a book and left reality without me."

"Oh...Ummm." Violet shot another glace behind her, making sure that the pony hadn't just moved to another section of the store. "Just about."

Cloudy laughed. "Well, I found a couple..." She nodded to few books stacked on her back. "I prefer reading your stuff, to be honest."

Violet placed the other books she had found in the box and levitated it above her head. "Well Cloudy, my amazing, sun beam colored friend, you need to branch out a little more." But Cloudy wasn't listening. She was to busy gawking at the box that was floating above

"Oh my Celestia... Violet, did you even bring enough bits to buy all of that?"

Violet lowered the box to eye level. Cloudy reached inside to grab a book. "The sales pony said I could have them... they weren't selling. They seemed useful, and I figured I could at least entertain myself for an afternoon."

"Magical Etiquette." Cloudy read. "Proper spoon levitation, napkin apparition, and more!... I wonder why these weren't flying off the shelves..."

"Ha Ha." Violet rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I should learn a little bit more magic anyway. The exams are coming up after all."

"Exams?" Cloudy looked at Violet curiously.

"Yeah, you know... the exams..." Violet placed her books on the counter. The sales pony had returned, much to Violet's relief.

"I don't know what those are." Cloudy said. She too placed her books on the counter.

"Why the exams are what Canterlot is famous for!" The sales pony explained. "They don't have anything like it anywhere in Equestria."

"That would explain why I don't know about them." Cloudy said, unphased by the pony's sudden interjection. "But that still doesn't explain what they are."

"The exams are a way of passing our class." Violet said. The sales pony eagerly nodded in agreement. "As soon as this year is over, everypony in our grade has to take a special test. The test results will decide whether or not ponies end up in the one of the three schools provided by Canterlot's academic system."

"What are these three schools?" Cloudy asked, now looking a little frightened.

"Canterlot's school for gifted unicorns- that branch mainly focuses on magic and spells-"

"The school of the Arts. That one focuses on academic classes as well as artistic courses." The sales pony interrupted.

"And the school of athleticism and professional sports." Violet finished. "After all, we need to have a team for the Equestria games and all." The small dash of humor went unnoticed as Cloudy's faced started to crinkle with worry.

"Don't worry!" Violet said hastily. "I'm sure they'll make an exception with you. You did arrive late and all." The sales pony nodded again.

"Yeah, don't worry kid!" He said. "And even if you do have to take the exams, with a cute little face like that, you should be perfectly fine."

Cloudy's face started to relax. Violet saw her muscles become less rigid and her mane flatten. She breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"Your're right." Cloudy said. "They wouldn't make me take the exams, I don't have a Canterlot education." She rubbed her nose on her hoof. Violet tried not to grimace. Right now was not the time to recite The ten rules of Canterlot behaviour, a not-so-tiny list of rules that her mother had attempted to write when she was a foal. Right now, she should try to comfort her best friend and prevent her from having an anxiety attack in the middle of the only book store in Canterlot.

"Thank you, Violet." Cloudy said. Violet offered her a smile and a hoof around her shoulders. "And thank you mister..."

"Marty." The sales pony answered. "Marty Graw."

"Thank you Mr. Graw. You don't even know us and yet you're offering us such a kind hoof." Violet said, a genuine smile on her face. "You're not from Canterlot, are you?"

Mr. Graw shook his head. "Came from the swamps, myself. Traveled all the way over here for a special mission." He winked. "The old owners of the store were closing up shop, figured I would enjoy a change of scenery. And please, call me Marty."

Violet offered him a simple nod while Cloudy offered him an enthusiastic wave goodbye.

"They really aren't that bad...right?" Cloudy asked as they were heading to Doughnut Joe's.

"No, no." Violet answered, trying to ease the last bit of tension out of her friend's shoulders. "They're just a pain."

They continued to walk. Occasionally they would spring into a conversation about the books they had just gotten, but they mainly would walk in a comfortable silence that Violet could always appreciate.

"Hey Violet!" Doughnut Joe said joyfully as they walked into his bakery. "Glad to see my favorite costumer has returned to sit on her throne."

"Hey, Joe." Violet said, placing a few bits on the counter for her usual. "Hope you kept the seat warm for me while I was gone." The two fillies grabbed their pastries and sat down on their favorite spot; a worn futon placed by a window. Violet used to sit here alone, enjoying the scenery of the Canterlot ponies walking past, their noses in the air and their ridiculous personalities on full display. Now that Cloudy was with her, it made the moments even more enjoyable.

"Oh, yes. I would love some more sugar in my tea." Cloudy said, covering part of her mouth with her hoof. "But not too much! I would hate for all of those calories to go to my head- it's big enough already!"

Violet snorted. Taking a bite from her blackberry-jelly doughnut, she gazed at the couple sitting right outside their window. "Oh, don't worry dear." She said in a high pitched voice. "In Canterlot, it's all the rage!" She and Cloudy fell into a fit of giggles.

Cloudy coughed. "Well, in that case- Miss! Oh, yes, Miss! I'll take a separate cup of sugar please- yes, a full cup of sugar! Thank you!"

Violet had to hold her mouth shut with her hooves as the Mareista appeared, and the stallion ordered something absolutely preposterous. Cloudy's words fit the scene perfectly.

"And me as well, darling!" She continued as the mare. "Ah, yes... but you don't suppose I could get the sugar free sugar, dear?" The two fillies burst into laughter at the lame joke. Cloudy's lemon bar was smeared around the corners of her mouth, and a couple of drops of blackberry jelly fell onto Violets chest as she laughed.

"Well if it isn't the fluorescent freak and her rock colored friend." A voice called from behind them.

Violet's head turned to see Shimmering Ruby in all of her gaudy and tacky glory. She was adorned with her usual attire, as well as bright pink sundress. Violet felt her lips curl up for a split second; Shimmering was many things, but fashionably gifted was not one of them. In short, she looked horrible in that dress. Like a black widow wearing a pink bonnet.

"Fluorescent?" Cloudy whispered to Violet. She quickly responded with "beautifully bright", leaving Cloudy with a small smile.

"Hmph!" Shimmering said, not liking the outcome of her words. After the incident that happened earlier that year, Shimmering quickly realized that Cloudy wasn't going anywhere. She then found other ways to get under her skin, most of which included bringing up Cloudy's unique appearance. "Whatever. I heard both of you managed to get invitations to Fancy Pant's grand ball?"

"What's it to you?" Violet responded, quirking her eyebrow. Shimmering shrunk back, still uncomfortable with Violet's responses. Normally she would be answered with silence, not a sharp tongue.

She cleared her throat and fixed a stray hair in her bright red mane. "I'm just making sure to keep my schedule open. I would hate to miss out on the night's entertainment."

"What do you mean?" Cloudy asked before Violet could stop her.

"Why the Canterlot waltz, of course." Shimmering said. A horrid look quickly flitted across her face, only to be replaced with a face look of worry. "It's tradition. If a pony can't preform the Canterlot waltz, well, they're not really a Canterlot pony, are they?"

"My father met Fancy Pants one day while walking back from Canterlot Castle." Cloudy said, her eyebrows furrowed. "I'm sure things were explained... I've never heard of the Canterlot waltz, so I doubt I have to learn it."

Shimmering shot her nose in the air. "Suit yourself. Don't dance, but you will permanently be known as a non- Canterlot pony from then on." She turned away, grabbing a bag of all organic-gluten free cookies. "I suppose that doesn't really mean much to you."

"What...?" Cloudy whispered.

Shimmering reached the door. "Such a shame. And it seemed as though you were just starting to fit in..." She started walking out. "I mean, if you don't fit in know, I don't even want to think about what your poor, cutie markless life is going to be like when the exams are over." The door slammed shut. The chime of the tiny bell echoed in Violet's ears. Cloudy was silent for the rest of the day.

Then the madness began. From that day on, Cloudy had begged Violet to teach her the steps. Days of endless dancing, and nights of secrets. Mr. Parch had found something in the archives as he was restoring some documents, and since then Cloudy had a curfew. That didn't stop them, though. Cloudy simply snuck out her house when Celestia raised the moon high in the sky.

"Yowch!" Violet snapped out of her daydream to see that Cloudy had tripped over her own tail again. Violet felt a sigh of worry creep out of her lungs. There were only three days left, and Cloudy wasn't going to be happy until she learns the steps. The only problem? The dance had been trained into Violet's bones since she was out of her crib. To teach a pony the dance in a matter of days... it was unheard of.

There was another thud from Cloudy's direction. Violet winced.

That wasn't going to stop her from trying.

A Day for Connections

"That's it!" Violet said, clapping her hooves together. "Cloudy, I think you have it down!"

She looked towards her friend, smiling from ear to ear. Cloudy, though a little stiff and slightly unbalanced, had completed all of steps without difficulty.

"You think so?" Cloudy asked. A warmth filled Violet's chest. The voice Cloudy had used sounded like her own, and not the grumpy pony she had been for the past few days. "I think I should practice a little more-"

"You're fine." Violet said quickly. She looked towards the sky. The sun was high in the air and a brisk breeze blew their manes. Though there was no snow on the ground, the pathways were covered by a thin layer of frost and the occasional frozen puddle. "You've learned the dance. The only thing you can do now is not sprain a hoof."

Cloudy was hesitant. "But... the first part of the ball is tonight."

"Just more of a reason to focus on other matters." Violet said. She started pushing her friend towards the entrance of their cave. "We need to get ready."

"But... We have hours-"

"What's your point?" Violet asked. She didn't plan for the last few steps to take up that much time. The two of them needed to get moving.

"Violet, we have plenty of time. What's the rush?" Cloudy asked innocently. It took all of Violet's will power not to roll her eyes.

"'Plenty of time'?" She quoted. "Cloudy, in Canterlot, there's no such thing as 'plenty of time'."

The two fillies quickly- but gracefully- trotted to one of the numerous spa's. It was Violet's favorite one. All organic products and a quaint atmosphere. The air smelled of tea and mint. The ponies were nice- if a little insistent on making appointments.

"Quick, in here!" Violet quickly pushed Cloudy inside. The three ponies standing at the counter looked up in surprise. "I need two number sevens!" She shouted. "Stat!"

Suddenly the ponies were in action. Blurs of pastel blue and yellow quickly donned the fillies with blush colored robes. Violet was yanked from where she stood and harshly placed in a plush orange colored chair.

"Oof!" Cloudy said as the same thing happened to her. A cream colored pony with a lime green mane started filing her hooves. "This seems a little aggressive, doesn't it?"

"Nope." Violet answered. She nearly shoved her hooves in the spa pony's face, eager to get them filed. "This is perfectly normal- but I wouldn't mind if the process went a little faster..." The spa pony got the hint and filed with vigor.

"Violet, you're acting strange." Cloudy said. Violet saw her shoulders relax. The third spa pony returned and started tending to her mane. "Normally you don't like this kind of thing."

"I never said I didn't like it!" Violet said in her defense. "I just don't like doing it for the sake of blending into a egotistical society."

Cloudy arched an eyebrow.

"That...and I might have something planned for later." Violet added.

"Ooooh." Cloudy leaned towards Violet, causing the two spa ponies to jerk back in surprise. "What are we going to do?"

Violet turned and came face to face with Cloudy's loud and bright smile. "You don't have a dress, do you?"

Cloudy sat back and waved off her friend's statement. "I figured I could wear my old dress from Ponyville."

Violet grimaced. "No way in Celestia's rainbow-colored mane am I letting you go to one of the most prestigious balls in all of Equestia wearing something 'old'."

"What do you mean? You've seen the dress and you said you liked it."

Violet had seen the dress, and Cloudy was right, she did like it. The dress was a pale sea green with a bright blue sash. It ruffled and flowed nicely. It also went smashing with Cloudy's complexion.

"I know, and it's lovely." She consoled. "But Canterlot is a harsh place when it comes to this kind of thing. Your dress has to be new, and it has to look amazing, or even the nicest of ponies will eat you alive."

"...Really...?" Cloudy whispered. Violet's ears twitched with guilt as she heard Cloudy whisper 'There's still so much I don't know...'. She should have warned her about these things. She should have prepared her. Of course Cloudy would think so innocently about these things. She's from the outskirts of Ponyville.

Violet mentally facehoofed herself. She had never been to Ponyville, and though she was sure it was a nice place, it was considered below Canterlot society. Granted, for stupid, conceited reasons, but that didn't change the fact that it's still judged. She should have thought about this sooner.

"You know who would like this?" Cloudy asked. "Sea Strike."

Violet smiled. Sea Strike was a character in a small short story she had made Cloudy one afternoon. She lived in a civilization under the sea, forever tempted to leave the large dome that surrounded the city she lived in. Because of her constant wanting to leave, she was known for her cold, slightly self-centered, and rash attitude. But Violet, who strongly believes that every good character needs to have a bad trait, wrote her off as 'charmingly cocky' much to Cloudy's amusement. Due to her personality though, it was a running joke between the two girls that she needed a "spa day".

"Yep," Cloudy continued. "I can just imagine her, sitting exactly where you're sitting, getting a hooficure." Violet looked down at her hooves, and she started to wonder what it would be like if Sea Strike really was sitting right where she was.

δαντέλα στη θάλασσα χτυπήματα ... Violet's ears twitched.

The fillies had their hooves scrubbed clean, buffed, and polished. Violet stuck with a safe silver, Cloudy went with a bold aquamarine. A small spark of jealousy appeared unexpectedly.

"Huh?" Violet said quietly. The spa pony looked up.

"Is there something you need, Miss Lace?" She asked.

"No, no... I'm good, thank you." She said in a daze.

"Hey, Violet?" Cloudy asked, forcefully dragging Violet's mind out of the clouds. "I think it would be really cute if you put one of those on your hooves." Violet looked towards where Cloudy had been pointing. On the wall were several decals for hooficures. Flowers, rhinestones, other designs in a variety of colors started back at her.

"W-which one?" Violet said, her mind still in a fog.

"The lace one, obviously!" Cloudy smiled. The spa pony was putting rollers in her mane. She looked ridiculous, and Violet couldn't help but crack a smile.

"A-alright... if you think I should." She requested the spa pony to place the decal. Only one, though. There was no reason to go overboard, here

That was their life for the next hour or so. They chatted and told jokes. Violet apologized for her brutish behavior earlier that day. But Cloudy understood that Violet was just looking out for her. The entire situation left the spa ponies, Dripping Springs, Strawberry Marmalade, and Daisy Fresh, in a fit of polite giggles and Violet with a small blush coating her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, it's just..." She tried to explain. "This is the first time I'm actually looking forward to going to a party like this. It's almost surreal."

"What do you mean?" Cloudy said as Dripping Springs unrolled her mane. "Your parents drag you to these things whenever they can, don't they?"

"Well, yes." Strawberry was currently trying to smooth out Violet's mane, which was tediously flat ironed. "But I never found myself enjoying the experience."

The spa ponies, pleased with there work, rolled in a large mirror for the two of them. Violet's mane was beautifully straight and shiny, almost looking like a wall of silver. Her coat was shiny and soft and her lavender-gray eyes twinkled. Cloudy's teeth were whitened even further and her mane draped her neck in soft waves. Her bright blue eyes sparkled with glee.

"I just want everything to be alright." Violet said, looking at Cloudy's reflection. "I don't want anypony to upset you." They hugged. The spa ponies, being the eager Canterlot service that they are, quickly tried to fix their manes again. The fillies quickly grabbed onto them as well, and they all enjoyed heart-warming embrace.

"Hope you two girls have fun!" Strawberry called after them. With a quick glance, Violet saw that she had pulled out a pink colored hankie and was delicately dabbing her eyes. The other two spa ponies joined her on bidding the girls farewell.

"Now, to Nightingale's shop. Quickly!" The two girls trotted carefully. Violet kept blowing her mane out of her face as she ran, fearing touching it with her hoof would cause damage to the decal. Cloudy was having even more trouble, after deciding to put tiny white rain drop shaped stones on her hooves.

At last they made it through the shop's doors. Rosie, who was eagerly waiting for her, took a moment to gush at their appearance before quickly taking Cloudy to the back. Her friend look frightened. After reassuring her that Violet would be there once she had changed, Cloudy hesitantly took hold of Rosie's hoof and let her lead the way.

"Do not worry!" Rosie said. "You 'tu shall be de' bells of de' ball!"

Violet quickly slipped into her purple dress and trotted to meet them in the backroom. Before she pushed open the door however, she could hear them talking and decided to listen.

"How come all of you ponies are lending such a large hoof?" Cloudy asked.

"Violet has... she is special, no?" Rosie answered. Violet heard Cloudy laugh.

"She's my best-pony-friend." Violet smiled."I knew we would be friends from the start!"

"I bet she did not 'tink dat." She heard Rosie say. She nodded, knowing her behavior was cold in the beginning. "She es... not a very compassionate filly, es she?"

"Compassionate? Violet's crazy compassionate!" Cloudy nearly shouted. "Have you seen her write, or draw? I swear, if I wasn't there, she would be stuck there for hours on that typewriter of hers."

"Zat es why we are helping you 'tu." Rosie explained. "When Violet came to me, saying zat she had a friend- it was amazing! I had never seen her so happy!"

"Didn't you two just meet? Cloudy asked.

"Mmh-hmm! But with her.. family life... 'tu can see zat she does not have many opportunities du be happy." Cloudy stayed silent. Violet could feel the sting of tears and the harsh lump form in the back of her throat. She knew that Cloudy was a ray of sunshine in her life, but she didn't know that anypony else had noticed a change. When she went to Rosie and the spa ponies, sure they seemed happy, but she figured it was the typical Canterlot, this-pony-can't-see-me-frown-because-that-would-make-me-look-bad kind of attitude. Now she saw that she was wrong. Horribly wrong.

After gathering herself together and wiping her eyes, she used her magic to turn the door nob. She walked in to see Cloudy wearing a navy blue ball gown. Ripples of deep blue ocean water seemed to cover her from mane to hoof. Tiny sequins looked like stars, and the bottom teir was the purest white Violet had ever scene. She had matching bracelets on each hoof, and a tiny blue necklace around her neck.

"You look pretty." Cloudy said. Violet looked down at her. She had added an obsidian cuff and tiara. Rosie took it upon herself to add a few tail-lengths of fabric to the bottom of her dress, making it drag along the ground regally.

"I should say the same to you." Violet said, bowing her head. Cloudy giggled.

"You 'tu look lovely." Rosie said happily. She was about to open her mouth again to overwhelm the girls with compliments, but a tiny bell rang near the door.

"Oh! Customers! I have du go! You 'tu go ahead, quickly!" Rosie quickly headed out the door and shouted her typical greeting.

Violet and Cloudy spent the next few minutes looking each other over, making sure that everything was in place. Violet used her magic, making sure Cloudy didn't damage her carefully painted hooves, to open the door.

"You stupid mare! Speak normally!" A voice echoed through the hall. Violet knew the voice. Cloudy knew the voice as well. She saw her friend shrink back subconsciously out of fear formed by habit. Violet's anger steamed, shrieking in her mind like an angry kettle.

Shimmering saw them. "Why, if it-" She saw the fillies, in all of their glory. Violet felt a smug satisfaction seep in as the looks on Shimmering's friends' faces went from shock to awe. Even Iron Wing, Shimmering's 'special-some-pony' (Though, Violet had a feeling Iron Wing didn't know what that was just yet.), looked at her with clear shock.

"You two..." Shimmering stuttered for an insult. "Could almost pass for decent." She held a smug look, but with everypony else's facial expression, the remark went flat before it could even leave her tongue.

Suddenly, Rosie stumbled into the main room carrying a large bag. "Here you go Miss!" She said. Her breathing was heavy and her mane was disheveled.

"Finally!" Shimmering shouted. "I can't believe my father ordered my dress from this place." She looked around in disgust. "The service here was awful." She looked towards Cloudy and Violet. "As well as their products."

The group of ponies, after tearing their eyes from Violet and Cloudy's appearance, nodded in agreement. They started walking towards the exit, at which Violet could hear a distinct: 'I'll be sure to make my father shut this place down. Anyplace that sells things to the likes of those two deserves to fall to ruins.'.

Violet felt her rage boil over. After everything; the insults, the tricks, and the overall dreadful attitude, she had finally had enough. Her mind went blank. She watched as though separated from her own body as her hoof grasped onto a paper weight on Rosie's counter. She watched it fly through the air and graze against Shimmering's side.

The filly screamed. Not out of pain. Violet never intended for the object to hit her. Not only that, but the weight itself wasn't even all that heavy. Instead, Shimmering was screaming at her own reflection.

"Look at what you did! Look!" She said as she pointed her hoof at her necklace. Violet, after snapping back to reality, found her eyes falling on a dent in one of Shimmering's neck plates. The filly looked as though her face was going to turn the same color as her mane. She ground her teeth and her pupils shrunk down to crazed pinpoints. "You- you little..." She screeched like a wild animal.

Shimmering looked around. She wanted to find a way to retaliate. Her crazed eyes fell on Violet's pack, or more specifically, the piece of lace cloth that was sticking out from under the flap. Violet couldn't stop her, she was still in a daze over what she had just done, as well as everypony else. No one tried to stop Shimmering as she aggressively pulled Violet's shawl out of her bag and sprinted out of the store.

It was only until the door slammed shut, and a small chime sounded did anyone actually break from their trance.

"You...did you just...?" Cloudy asked Violet silently. Violet, feeling numb and slightly hollow, simply looked into her eyes. She felt the overwhelming sensation of tears. She felt the tickle as the fell down her cheeks, as well as an intense wave of embarrassment.

She ran after Shimmering. She couldn't look at Cloudy's face anymore. She ran and ran until her lungs felt as though they were going to burst and the tears stopped falling.

"Violet!" She heard in the distance. She was too tired to continue. "Violet!"

Cloudy ran up behind her. Her breath wasn't even as remotely heavy as her own. "What...what was that?"

Violet remained silent. She couldn't look her friend in the eye anymore- if she even still considered herself a friend after the display she had put on. There was a long, brutal pause.

"I understand." Cloudy said. Violet perked her ears in surprise. She turned around, and met Cloudy's eyes. They were watering, but no tears fell. "To be honest, the fact that you held back as long as you did was amazing."

Violet furrowed her brow. "...What?" She asked. "Cloudy, I-I'm so sorry!"

Cloudy chuckled. Though it was gruff, to Violet's amazement, it still sounded genuine. "For what? Doing something that everypony and their mother has wanted to do ever since Hoity Toity spawned her from the gates of Tartarus?" She wrapped a sincere hoof around her friends shoulder's. "Me, nor Rosie, blame you for what you did. Even some of Shimmering Ruby's friend's don't seem all that upset about it."

"Really?" Violet asked, here eyes wide in awe.

Cloudy nodded. She then looked down. "Such a shame though, your hoof polish is chipped." Violet snorted.

"That's the Violet I know and love!" She said, holding her tighter. After a few moments of embrace, the two friends simply held each other.

"So, what do we do now?" Cloudy asked. Violet looked at her in confusion. "We need to get your shawl back." She clarified. "And we are. No doubts about it."

Violet raised her eyebrows in shock. Cloudy, one of the kindest, most happy-go-lucky ponies in all of Equestria, was suggesting something devious and down right criminal. Violet was about to shoot her down, say that whatever happened to the shawl was well deserved given her behavior, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized she couldn't live without the piece of lace.

"When we were little..." She began, gnawing on her hoof in concentration. "And I made her angry... she would... take whatever I was playing with and store it up in her closet."

"Her closet?"

"That place is the size of your bedroom." She explaned. Cloudy's ears dropped in annoyance and jealously at that statement. "Not only that, but that place is sealed tighter than Celestia's jewelry vault."

"Well, then how do we get in?" Cloudy asked.

Violet grew smug. "I may have found a secret passage leading directly to the place in question... just maybe..."

Cloudy's smile grew. "Alright." She looked towards the sky. The sun was still high, but a few clouds were being moved for the night. "I say we have a few hours- let's get moving."

A Night for Secrets

"Violet, please tell me this is not the place we need to go." Cloudy said. Right now the two fillies were peering over a hedge, staring at a large estate with white walls and gold molding. The lights were on, but from what Violet could see, most of the commotion was taking place on the first floor. The shadows of what seemed to be all of the elite would flash against the windows and the cry of a harp and cello could be heard from where the fillies stood.

"Sorry." Violet said. She was staring at a second story window. From her childhood filled with forced play-dates and sugar-free gum 'mysteriously' appearing in her mane, she remembered how Shimmering's mind worked. She changed her room and ordered everything out of her old one at a moment's notice. Though her father constantly provided her with new furniture, the filly still had horrible taste. Violet easily spotted the bright pink, gold embroidered, sapphire studded curtains even from behind a bush.

"But..." Cloudy whined. "She's so close." Cloudy was looking miserably at a patch of foliage. "The tree that's in our front yard is right there! She's in walking distance."

"Knowing Shimmering, she wouldn't go anywhere near your home, even with a hazmat suit and a life-time's supply of perfume imported straight from Prance." Violet said. She knew they could just walk in, what with the before party taking place. But the real problem was sneaking up towards the second floor. It being Canterlot, Violet was sure that they wouldn't be the only ponies snooping around. If there was one thing Violet admired about Canterlot ponies, it was their determination to get the latest gossip.

"That makes me feel... strangely better." When Violet gave Cloudy a bewildered glance, clearly not listening to a thing she really saying, Cloudy simply shrugged and flashed a content smile.

"Let's just... head inside." Violet said. A small bundle of nerves appeared in her chest. What if we get caught? She asked herself.

"Hey, don't worry." Cloudy said, readjusting Violets dress. "We look like any other ponies in there- and I've gotten a lot of practice when it comes to sneaking around."

"How?" Violet asked, her eyebrows raised in shock. "...And when?

Cloudy blushed. "What? Did you think my parents vanished into thin air when night fell. I had to learn the Canterlot waltz, even if that meant speaking though my teeth and jumping out of my window in the middle of the night."

Violet had barely registered what Cloudy had just said before she was pulled towards the estate. Looking at it now, Violet realized how massive it was. Though it was the average size for houses on this street, the challenge ahead made her seem tiny in comparison.

Cloudy, with a skip in her step and looking beautiful, looked as though she belonged... or like she was supposed to belong. Violet saw her personality shine through her curled mane and pretty blue dress. They also seemed to be the only ponies with a noticeable lack of make-up, which certainly helped.

The before party was a lot smaller than the actual ball. The music was deafening and the sound of chattering ponies echoed though the halls. Violet could only make out a few dozen or so, which was only a pathetic sliver compared to all of the ponies that were invited to the ball itself.

"That's our goal." Violet whispered to Cloudy. She pointed at the door directly across the foyer. Cloudy nodded and they both started to skim the outskirts of the crowd.

On occasion the two of them would catch the eye of a random pony. Violet would simply look away, having pretended that the pony didn't even exist and instructed Cloudy to do the same. It was something she learned as a foal. Most of these ponies have no idea what they were really talking about, and instead were discussing what this or that pony said instead of their own views on things. With that being said, most of these ponies were not entirely to eager to join a new conversation- at least until the pony they were talking to slipped and said something scandalous. With a discrete glance, Violet saw the pony back in her previous conversation. If anything, she seemed to be ignoring the two of them now.

They were so close. Violet could see the entrance to the corridor that led directly to Shimmering's room. If it wasn't for her carelessness, they could've made it there without a problem. She bumped into a stallion who was innocently wandering in their direction for the sake of grabbing a beverage.

"Oh! Terribly sorry about that, my dear." Fancy Pants said. "I hope I didn't cause you any trouble."

"Oh, um..." Violet stuttered. She had been so busy focusing on finishing the game, that she didn't think there were other players. She calmed herself down and quickly cleared her throat. "It is of no discomfort, Mr. Fancy Pants."

Fancy Pants chuckled. "Glad to hear it." His gaze fell behind Violet. "I hope I didn't startle your friend as well?" Violet looked to see Cloudy, her eyes wide and frightened. She quickly signaled her to calm down and follow the Canterlot script that she provided.

"Good afternoon, Sir." Cloudy said while attempting a small curtsy. "My name is Cloudy Sun. I hope that you are finding the festivities as enjoyable as I am."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Miss. Sun." Fancy Pants said, bowing in return. "To be perfectly honest, I'm just simply scoping out the competition. Can't be beaten when it comes to these types of things, you know." He leaned close to the two fillies to whisper. "Between the three of us, I'm also sneaking an extra slice of cake." He winked. The two girls watched in a dazed state of awe as he simply walked away as though nothing had happened.

"If he can act like that, why are the rest of the elite the equivalent to timberwolves?"

"They say there's one born every hundred years-"

"Shut up!" Cloudy said, stifling her laughter. "But seriously, how lucky are we that we ran into him?" She asked. "What if it was somepony else?"

"Our entire plan would be foiled by a pathetic excuse for a hive-mind." Violet answered. She shook her head and focused on the task at hoof. "Come on."

The two fillies at last found their way out of the main room. With the gossip and chatter now behind them, they quickly trotted up the stairs to the left wing.

"Your house isn't nearly this big." Cloudy commented. She stared, wide eyed at the seemingly endless corridor of doors.

"I've only shown you the upper half- and it's going to stay that way." Violet said bluntly. "There's nothing for you to see down there anyway."

Violet quickly found the thing she was looking for. A vent. When she was little, Shimmering always stole her things out of anger and boredom. (And jealousy, but Violet had enough sense not to say it out loud, even back then.) No matter how many times Shimmering changed her room or style, her closet always stayed in the same place: in the highest room of the estate. Traditionally, one would only be able to get there through a single door, which was under lock and key, both magical and physical. It wasn't until Violet found the shreds of one of her favorite books, caught in the vent's draft, did she find her little secret.

"How come you never managed to tell anypony?" Cloudy asked as Violet pried the vent off it's hinges.

"Why in Equestria would I tell them?" Violet pulled again, this time the it opened. It squeaked and groaned on it's hinges.

"Well... I don't know... What if you're not the only pony who has dealt with this?" She theorized. "You could've told them about this."

"It's not like they would have told me." Violet peered into the vent. She gently crawled inside, the outer parts of her back hooves sticking out. She was making sure the vent could support her weight. "In case you don't remember, I wasn't necessarily the most talkative pony back in those days."

"Oh... right." Cloudy blushed. "Sometimes it's a little too easy to forget that." She watched as Violet crawled inside the vent. It only just occurred to her how peculiar this looked. She let out a desperate whisper. "Please Celestia, we promise we're doing this for a good reason..."

"Oh...kay..." Violet said, confident that the vent could support her. "Climb on in." Cloudy grunted as she bumped her head, hissed as she twisted one of her hooves in an odd angle, and let out a gasp as the cold metal met her stomach.

"Tight...squeeze." She said as they started crawling. "Violet, are you sure this is safe?"

"Nope." She called behind her. Both of them flinched as her voice echoed against the metal walls. "But don't worry about the fit. If my memory serves me... there's an opening nearby."

"You know, normally you're the one who thinks things through."

Violet grunted. She was sweating though her gown. Strange feelings of anger bubbled up in her stomach, and the uncomfortable, sticky sensation caused her to regret her decision. Why didn't she think this through? Normally, this wouldn't have even crossed her mind, let alone convince her and leave her crawling though an air vent.

"But hey!" Cloudy said optimistically. "Look on the bright side; now we might pass for White Rose impersonators."

Violet chuckled and thought of White Rose, the spy pony. Her charming, quick witted mind only counteracted with her intense fear of rats. Her determination, her strength. Violet saw her crawling though the vents, same as them, but not complaining and certainly not going so slow. She saw herself moving faster, the lives of dozens, hundreds, even thousands of oblivious ponies at stake.

το λευκό τριαντάφυλλο ανθίζει... Violet twitched her ears and shook her head.

"Did you say something?" She asked Cloudy behind her.

"'White Rose impersonators'?" She said again. Cloudy's eyes were full of confusion. "I know it's not that funny, but I felt as though I should have lightened the mood."

Violet looked ahead. "No, I-" She started. "Nevermind, must just be my imagination." Gosh, this was really starting to get to her. The small seed of regret had sprouted into a noble sapling. It was big enough to be noticed, but not big enough to slow her down. She crawled though the tunnel with sense of spirit. It was as though her limbs had been trekking though vents all their lives.

"Hey!" Cloudy called. Violet looked behind her to see, much to her surprise, that her friend had fallen a considerable ways behind. "Wait for me."

Guilt washed over her. "Sorry!" She called. She waited patiently as Cloudy inched towards her. When they were close again Cloudy's breathing was ragged and heavy. "Are you okay?"

"I should... ask you the... same question." She said between breaths. "How... did you do that?"

"I... I don't know." She said. How did I do that?

The two fillies continued their mission. On occasion, Violet found herself having to stop moving in order for her friend to catch up. After what seemed like days- though it was probably only a few minutes- did they actually reach the place they needed to be.

"Is that it?" Cloudy asked for the thousandth time.

Violet nodded. "Yes. She peered through the tiny openings. Bright fabrics of all textures and patterns were all she could see. Shimmering's closet was brightly lit with five crystal chandeliers that twinkled and chimed. A huge mirror stood against the wall opposite to them, taking up the entire space. To their right was a large jewelry display and to their left was what looked to be a make-up station. Cloudy squeezed next to Violet. Upon seeing the huge closet, the sun-colored filly let out a breathy 'whoa...'.

Violet was about to open the vent to the inside before Cloudy stopped her. In the silence she heard voices.

"Right this way, Fancy Pants, sir." They heard Shimmering's nasally voice though the walls. After several small beeps and the sound of electrical magic being drained from a power source, the two ponies quickly scrambled back into the shadows. The door to the outside was opening.

"Quite a lovely setup." Fancy Pants commented, looking around at Shimmering's closet.

"Thanks- it used to be one of the maid's bedrooms. Daddy made it so much more useful, don't you think?" Shimmering said hotly.

Fancy Pants wasn't listening. He was to busy gazing at one of Shimmering's many life-sized statues of herself. "Hmm? Oh, yes! Mm-hmm." Violet heard him whisper 'What fine detailing! I must get her father to tell me the carver!' It was the first time Violet had seen Shimmering Ruby happy when somepony wasn't staring at her. She supposed having somepony stare at a perfect stone replica of her was the next best thing.

"I'm glad you agree." Shimmering said. She went about digging through her closet, discarding clothes and folding them carefully back into place.

"Tell me, my dear, how does this dashing mechanism work?" Fancy Pants asked.

"It's a magical lock." She answered. Violet saw her sniff a scarf and wrinkle her nose. "It can't be broken- father got the best unicorns in all of Canterlot to make it when I was born." She unfolded the scarf, revealing a run in one of the stitches and a few splotches of a faint stain hardly visible to the untrained eye. Violet saw that Shimmering was looking for flaws- and that scarf being one of the most flawed in the entire closet- Shimmering folded it up into a nice square. All of the flaws themselves were hidden in the folds.

"I'm the only pony who can open it." She said. "I'm the only one who has a key." The words were spoken with a smug smile.

"That's amazing." Fancy Pants said in awe. He cleared his throat. "Sorry!" He blushed. "I used to have a thing for these 'magical machines'... seems as though I've lost my touch."

Shimmering shrugged. She grabbed a loose ribbon from one of her garments and quickly tied a bow around the scarf. "Here you go!"

"Ah!" Fancy pants lifted the small bundle of fabric in the air. "I'm sure she'll love it, Shimmering Ruby. She's been so sad ever since she's lost her old one."

"I'm positive that this one will pale in comparison." She said. The words sounded fake, as though spoken from a script. "But I hope I bring a smile your daughter's face."

With that, the two ponies were gone, off to join the rest of the party. Violet quickly opened the vent and felt the refreshing feeling of cool air.

"Who's Fancy Pants's daughter?" Cloudy asked.

"Satin Scarf." Violet answered. "You've seen her. She's the quiet one that tail Shimmering everywhere she goes."

"The one with the white scarf... and white mane... and white... everything?" Cloudy asked. Violet nodded. She began to crawl out of the vent. Once her full body was out, she stretched and popped her neck and legs. Cloudy quickly did the same.

"So," Cloudy said after a moment of intense stretches. "Where do we begin?"

The two fillies began to look around. It was troublesome, considering they couldn't necessarily dig into the huge piles of clothing or drawers. Not without looking like criminals, anyway. It wasn't until Violet saw a small horseshoe box laying under the white leather couch did they actually find it.

"Yes!" She said in triumph. "Success." Once the shawl was back in her hooves she quickly wrapped it around her neck. It felt so right. All of the happy memories came flooding back; The walk down Canterlot's market with Cloudy and Mrs. Sugar. The passionate ramblings of Mr. Parch when you got him talking about his new job in the Canterlot Archives. The cups of cocoa she and Cloudy had shared after a long day of ice-skating. Putting the shawl back on almost brought tears to her eyes.

"That's great!" Cloudy cheered enthusiastically. "You found it!" As soon as her bright smile appeared, it was gone. The deafening sound of hoofsteps echoed outside the closed door.

"Quickly!" Violet whispered harshly. "Get under the table." She pointed her hoof at the table that stood beside the door. On top of it was a marble bust of Shimmering Ruby's head. Violet quickly joined her after placing the horseshoe box back under the couch. As soon as she tucked the last folds of her dress under the wood of the table, Shimmering sauntered inside. With the loud slam of the door, it was clear that she wasn't happy.

"That Iron Wing!" She shouted at one of her numerous mareniquins . "Doesn't he know that I'm the most eligible filly in all of Canterlot!" She quickly stomped over to her mirror do adjust her mane. "I have everything." She continued. "Money, beauty, power... what more could that feather brain want?"

Violet shrunk back against the wall. She saw, with a flutter of hope appearing in her chest, that the door was open.

"Hmmph!" Shimmering scoffed at her reflection. "How dare he! Dancing with that Phoenix Heart," She spat. "Pathetic excuse for a mare- probably doesn't have a bit to her name! I never liked her."

She trotted angrily to the room where all of her clothes hung, waiting to be worn only once. "I'll show him!" She screamed.

Both Violet and Cloudy sprinted for the exit.

...

They were almost there. The exit, a freshly cleaned glass door, lead straight for the garden. She and Cloudy could cross the low hedges. They could easily jump them, and head straight for Cloudy's house where Mr. Parch and Mrs. Sugar would be there getting ready for the actual ball.

It would have been so easy if a certain stallion hadn't stopped them dead in their tracks.

"Why, hello again!" He said kindly. Fancy Pants stood next to Hoity Toity himself, in all of his pompadoured mane and brown-nosed glory. The grey stallion looked at the girls, with their flushed cheeks and slightly sweaty manes, with an obvious grimace.

"Uh... Hi." Violet said dumbly. She was so eager to get out of the estate, that she couldn't think of a single word to say. Cloudy seemed to be in a worse position, only mustering an audible grunt and a nod of her head in greeting.

"And what are you lovely ladies doing?" He asked. Violet thought quickly. She racked her brain for a phrase that would answer everything, but still give them a reason to continue running towards the exit.

"Hide and Seek!" Cloudy suddenly shouted. All of the ponies, including Violet herself looked at her in confusion. Hide and what...?

"It's a game we played back in my old... city." Cloudy explained. Violet quickly played along, nodding her head in agreement. She also noticed the fact that Cloudy skillfully dodged the term 'Ponyville'. "It's fun. A group of ponies hide, while one pony tries to find them."

"It's all the rage." Violet said, finally finding her voice. Hoity Toity's suspicious eyes turned into eyes of approval when he heard the comment.

"Ah! Good." He said. Violet cringed at his voice. He truly was the true essence of the Canterlot elite. "I should hope that my daughter is playing as well?"

"Of course." Cloudy said, her voice and eyes calm and even. Violet saw, with so much amazement that she hardly hide it, Cloudy's muscles relax and her eyes become calm blue pools of innocence. "In fact, she's the most important player: the seeker."

The two stallions nodded in approval. "What a delight," Fancy Pants said. "having such wonderful fillies in our company."

Cloudy beamed. The smile she gave practically caused Violet to actually believe what she was saying. Her bright white teeth stole her breath, and she could only see Cloudy as this innocent being, like newly blossomed flower or a chick hatched straight out of its egg.

"Thank you, sir." Once she talked, her smile dissipated and Violet snapped out of it. Both of them needed to get out of this house now! But she continued to stare in awe of her best friend, as words continued to spill out of her mouth like the calm bubbling of a brook. "It really is quite fun! And Shimmering Ruby is such a wonderful player, it truly is very delightful that we could be spending our time with such a brilliant pony."

At this rate, all of Cloudy's innocence could be seen through. At least by Violet anyway. The two stallions, especially Hoity Toity, looked as though those words were spoken by Celestia herself. "My name is Cloudy Sun, daughter of Sugar Crystal and Yellow Parchment."

"Yellow Parchment...Parchment... ah!" Fancy Pants's horn flared in recognition. "That's right, your father works at Canterlot castle, restoring documents in the Canterlot archives, isn't he?" Hoity Tioty looked shocked. Violet was surprised that he didn't bow down to the two of them, given his facial expression. Fancy Pants looked at Violet. "And the beautiful Violet Lace- I thought I recognized you, but you've seemed to have changed so much! I didn't want risk it! Yellow has told me so much about the two of you, and your beautiful friendship! Congratulations, girls. I promise you, a friendship like yours doesn't come around to often!"

Hoity Toity had had enough. He looked as though he was about to explode with glee. "Well!" He said with gusto "It is an honor to have you at our little soiree." He bowed. Violet nearly got a mouthful of his manespray-covered pompadour. "Please, continue on with your game!"

"We were hoping to hide in you beautiful backyard garden." Cloudy said. Violet grew even more impressed.

"Of course, be my guest." Hoity Toity said. He stepped to the side to let the fillies pass, which was almost unheard of in Canterlot society. The two fillies delicatly trotted towards the garden.

"Please don't tell Shimmering Ruby you saw us." Cloudy called over her shoulder. "It would make it look as though she doesn't play fair!"

"Wouldn't dream of it!" Hoity Toity called back.

"You girls have fun!" Fancy Pants said in goodbye. As they were trotting towards the exit, Violet heard the words 'Wonderful fillies' and 'I will be inviting them again'

...

"That...was...awesome!" Cloudy said. Her breathing was ragged and shaking. Both she and Violet had sprinted away from the estate, taking the quick rout of crashing through gardens to get to Cloudy's house. Violet had accidentally crushed one of Hoity Toity's beds of petunias, but she didn't care. Adrenaline was pumping through her body and the cool evening air chilled her burning lungs.

"Oh my Celestia!" Cloudy continued as they entered her backyard. "Violet, you should have seen yourself! You were all like: zooooom!. Then you crawled through those vents like a star spider- then just, woooosh! You fly through the hall like a first-place winning wonderbolt!"

"We would have never gotten out of there if it wasn't for you." Violet smiled. "That was amazing! You could talk a dragon out of their gold with that kind of acting!"

Cloudy beamed again. "I told you," She poked Violet's chest with her hoof. "I had practice."

"Even still! That was so cool!"

"You acted exactly like White Rose! You were a million times more cooler than me!" Cloudy said. Violet let the words sink in. She was quick to deny the 'cooler than me' part, but the part about White Rose... Yeah... She did act like White Rose, didn't she? It was as though she and her character were one and the same.

"Come on!" Cloudy said. "We can marvel at our greatness later. Let's head inside and... Violet?"

Violet's vision blurred. A skull splitting headache started to form in the center of her forehead. She felt her mane start to prickle with a sudden heat flash, and her mouth was dry and sticky. She barely recalled falling to the ground. The last things she heard was Cloudy calling out to her parents for help.

She smelled smoke and apples. Her eyes fluttered shut.

Sleeping in Silence

She was in a river. Giant ferns and tree branches would pass through the sky and block out the bright sun for only moments at a time. Bright green light would filter through the leaves. Vines, both thick and thin, would be strung above her; almost cocooning her with an intricate weave. On occasion, a butterfly or a brightly colored bird would fly across her vision. She felt her mane, along with strands of water grass and fresh water plants, gently brush against her back. Her tail pulled after her, feeling heavy and dense. The water was cool. It tickled and licked at the edges of her ears. She moved her hooves and pushed around the water at her sides, reveling in the cold and refreshing sensation of it soaking through her fur to reach her skin. Her body relaxed and her legs let the water pull her downstream.

Her ears flicked. There was a rustling in the ferns a little farther down the river. She rolled her eyes upward, silently wincing at the small headache that formed from the strain and the bright sunlight ahead. She saw a mare, with pretty pearl beads in her braids, and a shy smile.

"Chuuta!" She called. "Matcha lu kuata."

She furrowed her brow and lowered her ears. This was a mistake. As soon as the subconscious reaction began, her ears were fully submerged. The shocking feeling left her gasping and struggling to stay afloat.

The bright blue mare laughed. "Daka lu maka chu?" She said. Did I startle you?

Chuuta shook the water from her mane, playfully spraying her friend. "Daka?!" She said in mock offense. "Daka lu? Muaba le chuaka?" Scare me? Do you know who you're talking to?

Her friend, Muabe, rolled her eyes. "Whatever" She said with a snort. "Just get up, the Chief wants to see you."

She shook her mane again. The feeling of her own beads hitting the sides of her legs hurt, but the familiar sensation snapped her back to reality. "Already? I only just left this morning..."

"Um, hello!" Muabe pointed her bright blue hoof at the sun, which Chuuta suddenly realized was up high in the sky. "The goddess dragged her sun hours ago! If you don't drag your tail along the ground now, the chief will punish you again."

Chuuta flinched at the memory. The village foals were cute, but gathering berries, grinding them to a pulp, and feed it to them was not. The howling and screeching sounds the foals made still gave her nightmares about the monkeys that lived on the outskirts of the village. It seemed like forever since she had gotten a full night's sleep.

She quickly sprinted up the trail to the village. In all fairness, she had to admit that it was fun running this quickly through the jungle she called her home. The trees and plants around her turned into blurs of green and black. Spots of pink and blue would become streaks as she passed the flowers and butterflies that found their homes in the bushes on the side of the path.

Visitors would meet with the Chief every few moons. They would trade goods. Strange bowls and pots specifically meant for holding flowers, bright red and orange fruits, and giant piles of a long, sun colored grass that could feed the village for many nights would be traded for stones and herbs. Chuuta had once thought the visitors were foolish, trading such treasures for such common things found around the small clearing where the village was placed. It wasn't until her mother described the strange world they had lived in, did she understand how rare the village's items truly were to the ponies that were on the outside.

The placed where the foreigners lived was supposedly very different from the village and all those surrounding it. Chuuta didn't know, for she had never experienced it herself. She wasn't old enough. She only had seven bands around her ankle, while those who were free to travel to the foreign land had to at least have more than ten. Those who would come back, and there were very few, would tell stories of huge huts made out of rock, and large banners and buildings made out of thickly woven fabric. Flags would be everywhere, depicting their chiefs with bright colors and symbols. Large places, filled with food and ponies, would be in the center of the large villages where the foreigners made their home. They would tell of so much food! Mountains of it! The smell and taste of it would fill the streets and leave a cloud of aromas hanging in the air after nightfall.

Though Chuuta had always been interested in the stories that were told, she had never particularly wanted to leave her little village. Those visitors had always seemed imposing, and slightly rude. The villagers who would travel to the foreign land would come back harsher, more intense, and slightly mocking. This had always left a bad taste in her mouth. One of her once good friends, a stallion by the name of Lootik, had traveled to the stone village, and had come back without his sacred beads! His mother and father were shocked, but he simply waved a hoof and said that they weren't needed there. The words he used were meant to be reassuring, as though implying that he still had them. But Chuuta has seen him that night, after having a ceremony celebrating his return, he had thrown away his new beads that his mother had given to him as a gift. She had watched with shock and horror as the beads floated down the river like tiny white stars.

Chuuta burst though the curtain of vines that protected the camp from from the harsh rays of the sun. The villagers looked up, some from surprise, others from habit. This wasn't the first time she was called in a hurry. Whether it was from not doing her chores, a spontaneous request to join the gatherers in a round of berry harvesting, or some other reason depended on fate. But no matter what, it had to happen, and it had to happen often.

As she walked closer to the chief's hut, a large dome adorned with so many pearls and pieces of colorful river stones that it almost seemed blinding, she noticed the faces of the villagers were rather odd. Some were smiling, as though excited and ecstatic. Others were creased with worry, some anger, and a few with what Chuuta recognized as jealousy. There were even the strange ones that offered a look that almost seemed encouraging.

A pit of nervousness grew in her stomach. This wasn't normal. She waited, cowardly and small in the shadow of the doorway of the large shimmering hut. The light of the afternoon sun reflected across the ground that surrounded it. All except for one place; the door. The opening was covered by the darkest of all materials, the black branches of the grim oak tree. A dangerous, frightening thing that whipped you if you got to close to the nuts that grew on its branches. The nuts that grew though, were one of the greatest medicines that the village had ever had the ability to find. The chief herself was the first one to gather them. She waited until the tree was asleep, in the dead of winter, and stole the nuts during the darkest time on a moonless night.

Now strands of the branches were before Chuuta, and she gazed at the intricate swirling weave of black and more black.

"You may enter!" The chief's voice called from the inside. Chuuta shook her head and let herself inside. She was engulfed in shadow, the only source of light being the tiny fire kept in the center of the room. The chief always kept it lit, no matter what the occasion or time of day.

"Ah.. Chuuta, great to see you." The chief said coldly. "Hope we didn't waste any of your time..." The chief was an imposing mare, with a white coat and a bright green mane and tail. She had always reminded Chuuta of the few moments of winter, when snow would fall onto the green grass in the clearing. It would only last for a few minutes at the longest, for the village was too warm for the snow to survive. Engulfing the chief's hooves and legs were dozens of black bands. Her mane and tail were completely swallowed by beads and rare stones from the river, showing her wisdom and her years. Most startling of all, were her bright blue eyes that rivaled the sky's color.

"I'm terribly sorry, Chief." Chuuta said, bowing down. "I ran as fast as I could."

The chief merely responded with a grunt. She then bowed down, looking at Chuuta with cold eyes. "You have been called here for a very special occasion."

Chuuta watched with confusion as the chief stepped away. This was more than strange, for the chief was meant to stand in the center with the fire's glow surrounding her like a halo. Now, instead, the chief shrunk back into the shadows, nearly disappearing. Her face then shifted from one of confusion to one of awe and shock. A blue pony, large and imposing, stepped out of the shadows and into the center of the circular room.

The sister goddess. The one that controlled the moon, instead of the sun. Shown through her marking, a moon with the black night behind it, made it so. Though they denied such titles, the villagers knew they were simply being modest. They claimed to be rulers of some sort, like the chief. But when compared to them, the chief might as well have been a foal with a sickness. The villagers themselves almost laughed all those years ago when they first stumbled across their meager little civilization. Chuuta's grandmother claimed it to have been one of the most glorious days of her existence, seeing such powerful beings being so humble and kind. It was obvious that they were descendants of deities, for no other ponies could have the ability to control the harsh blades of light that pierced through the jungle's tree's.

"Hello." The goddess said. Her voice was loud, and echoed slightly against the clay walls of the hut. "We understand that you go by the name 'Chuuta', do you not?" Chuuta nodded, taken by the goddess's voice. Though loud, to be in the presence of such a power was extraordinary.

The goddess continued. "We also have been informed that you have found your mark a fortnight after our previous visit?" Chuuta nodded again. It happened so long ago, she had almost forgotten about the day when she had found her mark. She glanced at it, remembering the day being one of happiness and excitement. Her mark was that of a single ring surrounded by symbols, colored the stain of a magenta berry ink that her village was famous for. She had only recognized one of the numerous markings that surrounded the mark itself, it being a common symbol of her people's alphabet, but after a brief moment she found a vague understanding of the other symbols as well. In the center of the ring, was a small, plain crescent moon. Her mark was for understanding, for translating and connecting.

"Decoding." The goddess suddenly said. Chuuta felt a small flash of confusion, for she had never heard the word before. She assumed it was merely a word of approval, and beamed.

"Though we understand that your mark can take different paths," The goddess said. "We must ask you for a request." Chuuta felt her jaw drop and hit the cold dirt floor. The goddess was asking for a request from her? She watched as the the deity pulled a large object out of her bag. A book. She had seen the returning villagers carrying them around, though most of them were never this big. A few trading ponies had offered them to the village, so a rare few were scattered throughout.

"For you see, your cutie mark- your marking- can aid us in a very special way." The goddess set the book on the ground beside Chuuta's hooves. It was beautifully decorated with moonstones and black velvet. Using the magic that the goddesses, and apparently a special type of ponies possessed, she turned the pages. Chuuta watched as the pages fluttered and flew, until the magic prevented them from moving at all. On the page before her stood a drawing. A drawing of herself, in magenta berry ink.

"We are embarrassed to say such a thing to a young pony such as yourself," The goddess said. "But we must request that you join us on our trip back to the stone village, a village- if you are to accept our request- that will be known as your home from then on."

...

Violet felt the pain of her head find its way though the fog of a dreamless sleep. It pounded and pulsed against her skull. The pain was only paralleled by the soreness of her joints and the sickly sweet taste of what appeared to be slightly rotten licorice that found its way into the back of her throat. It clung there, no matter how much saliva she had managed to create. When she tried to brush away a few damp strands of her mane from her forehead, she couldn't move her hoof any farther than a few inches off the mattress she was laying on.

Suddenly, she heard a sound. Though is sounded like a simple turning of a doorknob, it echoed and rang in her ears like thunder right outside her window. She was startled, and the sudden movement caused her to realize that she was still wearing her ball gown. She felt the fabric stick to her back and groaned.

"Oh! Did you hear that, dear?" A sweet voice asked. "Maybe she's waking up!"

"Crystal, you've suggested that every five minutes for the past hour." Another voice said. A deeper voice. A voice of a stallion. "Just give her time. It appears she's put herself under quite a lot of strain."

"But how?" Mrs. Sugar asked in a harsh whisper. "All she did was walk around! Not only that, but a majority of her day was spent at the spa, and trying on dresses! It's not like she participated in the running of the leaves! Something must have happened to her, something serious! I bet she got mugged! Or some mean colts made her do chores for them! Oh! I know, some pegasi-"

"The doctor said it was mostly from mental strain." Mr. Parch said, trying to console his wife.

"'Mental strain'! Ha! Violet is one of the smartest fillies I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Mental strain seems like a near impossibility." Mrs. Sugar's whispers were becoming silent shouts.

"Right before the doctor headed to the ball, he said that it appeared as though it was built up over several days..." Mr. Parch explained. "Though it may seem impossible for a filly of Violet's abilities to be at her limit within a few hours, he claimed that it was perfectly possible for a filly of her size to be at her limit over a long period of time. We just need to let her rest. Everything will be fine. He said she'll wake up by morning. Then you can attend to her all you want."

Violet heard the door close. She recognized the strong scent of vanilla, and the cool fabric of Cloudy's bedspread. She was in Cloudy's room, and apparently had been for the past hour or so. With a foggy brain, she remembered how... interesting the past few hours were. How foolish and downright stupid she was, sneaking into Ruby's closet! She could've gotten caught. She could've gotten hurt! And even worse, she dragged her best friend into the whole mess, all because of her own connection to a simple scarf.

For a few brief moments, she felt a small amount of justification for her actions. With the thought of her shawl being referred to as a 'simple scarf', her brain went through a rather painful debate. One side reminded her of the meaning behind the shawl, the fact that so much thought and love was poured into it. The fact it came from the closest thing to a family that she had ever known. And the fact that her best friend was the first one to compliment her while she was wearing it. These arguments made her feel slightly less foolish, if even a little daring and just simply rebelious.

Of course, this didn't last long. The other side of her brain, the more logical side, told her repeatedly how stupid she was tonight. Doing something so totally outrageous and reckless was beyond and completely out of character for her. What part of her brain would have complied to such a suggestion? When she was a small filly, she knew that if she got caught nothing would happen. If a maid were to suddenly burst into Hoity Toity's office saying that a strange filly burst through the vents, she would be fired on the spot for making him look bad. If she was caught by Hoity Toity himself, he would never say anything out of fear of making himself look bad. And if anything other than that were to happen, she could simple lean her parents towards saying that she was just a foal at the time, and didn't know any better.

Of course she never got caught then, but now, it was just down right idiotic to do anything similar to what she had down just a few hours previously. And now, she laid on a bed, feeling as though she was going to throw up what little amount of food she had eaten that day. She was in pain, full of guilt and shame, and she knew she looked the sight as well, which only made the situation even more horrible. And on top of everything, Cloudy wasn't with her, telling her everything was going to be okay.

A new train of thought fled down a different set of tracks. Cloudy. Violet groaned again, coming to the sudden realization that Cloudy was more than likely going to be furious with her. Why wouldn't she? She had dragged her into a perilous, moronic, and possibly illegal situation without even considering her feelings. And to top it all off, she was currently laying sick in her bed, while Cloudy herself was probably laying on the couch in the living room.

This is just perfect! She thought bitterly to herself. You couldn't even have a friend for a year! You're so pathetic and heartless- not to mention stupid! She lifted her head to bang it against the pillow in anger, only to have a burst of pain sprout at the base of her skull. She settled for a furious bout of teeth grinding.

"Violet...?" She heard a meek voice call from her side. She realized with a start that Mr. Parch must have left the door open. "Oh Violet, please be alright..."

Violet was shocked by Cloudy's words. They sounded so sincere, so gentle and kind, that it almost seemed impossible to comprehend. Why wasn't she mad? Why wouldn't she scream, or snarl, or growl? Why was she speaking with such a soft voice, as though she actually cared about Violet's aching head? All of these questions raced through her head, making her headache worse. She groaned again.

She heard Cloudy's voice crack. "Violet... I'm so so sorry." There was the sound of fabric rustling, and she felt Cloudy's front hooves press against the side of the bed. "If it wasn't for me... you would have never..." Her voice trailed off, ending with a small sob. Violet lay there, unable to move or comfort her friend, to say that it was her fault, and that in no possible way was it of Cloudy's doing. She felt the weight leave her side, and heard the sound of the door closing; this time, with an audible click telling that the door was actually closed. But after that, instead of the unbearable silence that Violet was expecting, she heard more rustling. Cloudy was making herself a bed out of the spare pillows around her room. She was planning on spending the night on the floor, right next to Violet for what Violet had hoped was the entire night.

Tears burned to corners of her eyes. Even after everything that the two had done, or, for better words, what Violet had dragged them into, they were still friends. A feeling of immense relief flooded through her. Tragically though, after that, nothing was keeping her awake. The relief relaxed her muscles, and caused her to fall back into a black void of sleep.

Frosted Windows

Violet had woken up, thinking that she was dreaming. Though this was a common occurrence, this particular time seemed more than reasonable. She woke up without pain. It seemed like eternity, that she was laying there, feverish and weak. Now, she sat up in bed, her headache and sore joints gone, and the rotting licorice taste non-existent. Even her vision seemed clearer, as she could clearly see the frost covered window and bright white light streaming through the blue curtains. It was dawn.

"Oh!"

Violet stopped staring at the window to see Mr. Parch and Mrs. Sugar looking at her. Expressions of shock, worry, and relief were plain as day on their faces. Mrs. Sugar's mane was disheveled, and carelessly thrown into a bun on the top of her head. Mr. Parch wore a grey robe, and a really worn pair of slippers. Violet felt a small smile as she saw the edge of his hoof poking through the stuffing.

Mrs. Sugar walked slowly into the bedroom. She gently reached for Violet with her hoof, as though she wasn't sure what she was seeing was real. Violet responded by reaching with both hooves, and the two ponies quickly held each other in a tight embrace.

"Oh, Violet! I'm so happy you're alright!" The mare said. She then gasped and looked at Violet again, with a disturbing amount of thoroughness. "You are alright, right?" She looked at Violet's hooves, and peered behind Violet's ears. "No aches, no pains? Are you hungry? Here, let me help you get that filthy dress off!"

"Now, now, honey... Let her get her bearings first." Mr. Parch interrupted. "Do you remember anything, Violet?"

"I...um..." She cringed at her voice, which cracked. "I... remember spending the night with Cloudy... and falling in your back yard..."

Mrs. Sugar nodded, grasping the information without hesitation. "I'll go get you something to munch on." She said quickly. "Clearly you must be hungry." She briskly walked out of the room.

The room went silent. Violet felt a small wave of confusion at Mrs. Sugar's sudden, and rather abrupt departure.

Mr. Parch saw the look oh her face, and chuckled. "Sorry... being such a good cook... It's how she shows her love. Do you remember anything else? Like, what could've caused this? We had the doctor come in short notice, but I would like to be sure..."

"I... I don't remember, sorry." She said with a furrowed brow. Something in the back of her mind told her that she was supposed to know. It was as though... she already knew... but didn't know at the same time. As she tried to remember last night, and what could've caused her sudden wave of illness, a few of her later memories were unlocked from her mind.

"Hmmm... I see. Well, I'll leave you to get some more rest-"

"I remember... my mother. I heard her voice. She... sold me... to Fancy Pants." Violet stared at the bed sheets that were bunched around her hooves. She watched as the bright sunlight rippled and distorted the shine in the fabric. Today was the garden party, the second part of the ball.

The room went silent again. This time, with shock and awkward tension.

"Well... um... I'm sure you must have been..." Mr. Parch paused and sighed, knowing that wasn't the way to handle the situation. "Yes, Violet. Your mother made a deal with Fancy Pants. She... agreed... to have you work for him."

"But that's not real. What he said wasn't true." Violet felt a stir of emotions. Annoyance, anger, sadness, betrayal, and even happiness. Every thing that happened was very sudden, almost to the point where she didn't believe it actually happened. But here she was, still in Cloudy's bed, and her mother no where to be seen.

"That... is also correct." Mr. Parch made is way to the side of the bed and sat down. "Did you hear everything?"

A fluttering sensation appeared in Violet's chest. She couldn't place the feeling. Fear? Sorrow? Happiness? The only feeling that she could name without hesitation was numb. She was bizarrely self aware. It was as though she was floating on the outskirts of her own body, watching her dazed and blank face stare into nothing. She didn't feel cold, but she also didn't feel happy and warm. She felt nothing.

It was then that a realization occurred in Violet's mind. Reality... doesn't want you to win, but it doesn't want you to lose either. It doesn't care. It was willing to leave you alone, to fend for yourself. When you needed help, and deserved it, the world was more than willing to help you. If you tried, pursued, and were determined to be happy, you were happy. But if you didn't try, and you didn't work for happiness, or help, or anything of the sort, then the world- reality, would stare blankly at you without giving you an answer or guidance. It would continue to stare at you as you fell through the cracks.

Violet figured that the realization would hit her like a brick to the face. But instead, it felt soft and somber, as though it didn't actually wanted to admit it's existence and meekly walked into the room. It waved, and flashed Violet a sorrow, but sincere smile.

'Welcome to the real world...', it seemed to say.

Violet, not wanting to give up her naïve mind, rejected it's existence at first. But her thoughts kept getting in the way, and she couldn't quite leave the room that the realization resided in. Her mother, with her way of doing things and the ways she's chosen to live was the prime example of ammo. She willed for attention, success, and status, and that's what she got. That was all that she had. She didn't have her own mind, her own...self. She was nothing but a robot, seeing the world as some sort of trial that she had to get through. Violet thought back to her mother's actions. Her nose turned up to almost a calculated angle, her refusal to even touch a sale rack at a store, the tone she used with talking to ponies she thought were lesser.

She didn't pursue happiness, or friendship, or love. And she didn't get those things. Not even from the person that she committed herself to for life. Violet's father had always been distant, and now she finally new the reason why. Platinum Watch would see her mother, his wife, become a disgrace. He watch her get drunk, make a fool of herself, and gossiped about as though he were an outsider. It was as though marriage was nothing more than a document, a qualification for going up a level.

It was all a game. Her mother and her father viewed the world as nothing more than a game.

And... she almost was the same way. What made her different? It wasn't true to say that it was her personality. Ponies had personality. Shimmering, Rosie, her mother, her father, Mr. Parch and Mrs. Sugar; they all had personalities, and saying otherwise would be wrong and misguided. If anything, Violet's personality would have sped up the process of turning into her mother, what with her scripted childhood and anti-social behavior.

"Violet?" Mr. Parch asked, getting worried about the long silence that lingered. Violet started, shocked by the sudden noise interrupting her thoughts.

"Huh, oh... what?" She asked. She blushed, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"What all did you hear that night?" He asked. Violet couldn't remember if this was the actual question or not. "Or, more specifically, did you hear the end of our little conversation?"

Violet cleared her head of her thoughts, not quite capable of shaking of the numb feeling. She dug through her brain, trying to unearth last night's conversation.

"Fancy Pants left... I have no where to stay." She answered. She looked at Mr. Parch, his expression carefully neutral and unforgiving. It didn't provide her with an answer, but she had a feeling she knew it anyway. Suddenly, the numb feeling was gone. It was replaced with a new wave of feelings, a wave so huge it almost caused Violet to fall out of the bed. First came fear. A fear that she would be a burden. She was afraid of Mr. Parch and Mrs. Sugar thinking of her as a liability, as though the thought of raising her had to be done, or else they would be shamed as cruel and unjust ponies. Then came confusion. Last night was... a lot to take in. It almost seemed as though it wasn't real.

Then came a strange happiness, that wasn't really happy. Instead, the feeling was something between nervousness and excitement. It reminded her of her first sleepover with Cloudy. She didn't know what to do, or what was precisely going to happen, but she was excited and looking forward to seeing how things take their course.

Mr. Parch looked at her expression and sighed, letting his face fall into an easy smile. He wrapped his leg gently around Violet's shoulders. "Me and Crystal are thinking of painting this room. We both know your not fondest of blue. Though I'm sure you don't hate it, nopony would blame you if you got sick of it in a few days of living here."

"I like blue." She answered dumbly, letting his words sink in. "But I think grey would suit me better."

"Grey?" He asked, giving Violet a peculiar look. "It's going to be interesting, having an artist, such as yourself, getting accommodated in our little home. How about white? It would brighten up the room." He started gazing around the bedroom, as though rearranging the furniture in his mind. "I'm sure I have an old bed in the attic... In fact, since this is now your home, you now have the right to go digging around in there as you wish. Would you like that?"

Violet nodded. She had many times wondered about that tiny part of the cottage, locked away behind a lever she was never able to reach. Those few moments when she had seen Mr. Parch walk down the worn wooden steps, she would be greeted with sunlight streaming through the opening and the wonderful smell of age. Dust particles would gently float down, reflecting the bright golden light. It always seemed magical.

"Let's see, what else?" Mr. Parch rubbed his jaw with his hoof. "Crystal already keeps all of your favorite food in the fridge... and we're going to go to the market soon, anyway. We can buy shampoo, bed sheets, a new toothbrush, manebrush... I'm assuming your the type of pony who doesn't like to share those things, right? I never know. Crystal and Cloudy don't care about using the same manebrush, but then again, they practically have the same mane, so I guess with you it would be different."

Violet continued to listen, smoothing out the sheets on the bed. She realized with a groan that she was still wearing her dress from the night before. She honestly wanted to burn the thing. Though now, she wished she never noticed. With the realization that it was on her body, came the uncomfortable feeling of... well... sleeping in a ball gown. She really couldn't compare that feeling to anything else. One could suppose that it was similar to the feeling of sleeping with a load of laundry on your blanket, but there was also the itchiness of the tulle and the constricting feeling of the bodice.

"Hmmm..." Mr. Parch said, contemplating his words. "I suppose we could buy you a new typewriter... actually there might be one in the attic. I'll look later. Your camera is in your bag and we can always buy you new developing materials." He looked towards Violet. "Is there anything else? We could drop by your house for a few moments, maybe pick up some things of more importance?"

Before Violet could speak, the door opened, revealing a partially-flour-covered Mrs. Sugar holding a large plate. On the plate were crispy apple slices, scrambled eggs with zucchini, and buttered toast. Violet's stomach rumbled at the sight. It was moments like this when she was glad to be in the care of such kind ponies. Too many mornings of her life were spent fetching her mother's beauty products and smoothies, and being forced to try and taste all of them.

"Sounds like somepony is hungry." Mrs. Sugar said with a beaming smile. She walked to Violet's side of the bed. Violet then realized that Mrs. Sugar walked out of the room rather conveniently. It was as though she didn't want to face situation of Violet realizing her mother's actions.... interesting.

"Oh!" She said, almost dropping the hot plate. She placed it on the bed before the breakfast food could be permanently tangled in Cloudy's carpet.

"Um... Has Cloudy not come out of the shower yet?" Mrs. Sugar asked. Violet looked down the other side of the bed. It was true. Cloudy's pile of pillows was empty, though there was a clear indentation in the cushions from where she slept.

"No, Pastry Puff, she hasn't." Mr. Parch answered, still thinking of the new flooring arrangements for the room. "She's going to need a desk..."

"Hm. She's been in there a long time... I hope she's doing alright." She said. Violet looked at her curiously. "She slept in her gown too, she got in the shower a few minutes before you woke up."

"Does she know I'm awake?" Violet asked, carefully levitating a spoon of buttery zucchini into her mouth.

The two ponies in front of her exchanged looks of realization. No, she didn't know that Violet was awake. How were they going to tell her? Violet couldn't just wander into the bathroom, the poor little filly unaware of her awakening. She had manners, and didn't want to scare the daylight out of her friends coat.

"I figured you would have told her... while you were cooking." Mr. Parch whispered. His expression showed that he didn't figure that at all, and was just simply suggesting that his wife be the one to tell their daughter. Violet could understand. She was a lot like Mr. Parch in many ways, and with the stress he's been dealing with over the past night, it seemed more than reasonable that he didn't want to deal with his daughter's exuberant attitude. At least not this early in the morning.

"Alright, alright." Mrs. Sugar said. She stole a strip of apple from Violet's plate. "I'll go tell her. You need to take a shower too, Violet." She pointed the partially eaten apple slice at her. "You've been sleeping in that gown all night, with a fever! For all we know, this thing could have been caused by a bug. You need to get out of that dress, and into a warm bathtub immediately."

Violet nodded. She eagerly inhaled her meal and followed Mrs. Sugar to the bathroom.

"Hm. That's strange." Mrs. Sugar said with her ears facing the door. "She's not answering. I figured we'd hear nothing but chaos from the other side when we told her... but there's not even a peep as far as I can tell." She nocked again with her hoof. "Cloudy, honey, are you alright? Did you hear me?" She pressed her ear to the door, only to face Violet a few seconds later and shrug.

"Maybe I could try?" Violet asked.

"Why not?" Mrs. Sugar said, pressing her ear to the door once more.

"Cloudy... um... it's me." Violet said to the closed door. "I'm alright. I'm awake. Are you okay? You need to open the door, I need to take a bath too."

"Oh, um... Violet can come in!" There was a click. The door unlocked. The two ponies on the other side shrugged. She must have not heard over the water running or something.

"Well, that's great, Sweetie." Mrs. Sugar said. "I'll just get some more towels-"

"NO!" Cloudy's voice echoed through the hallway. "Um... I mean, we have plenty of towels. Please... I'm not decent... don't come in."

"Oh, uh... alright." Mrs. Sugar looked more confused than hurt. She rolled her eyes and whispered to Violet playfully. "Fillies." She started walking down the hallway, probably to discuss the more official matters of having Violet in her care. "Call me if you need anything!" She shouted.

"Are you-?" Violet was forcefully grabbed and pulled into the bathroom. Her vision turned into a blur of creams and lilacs. Mr. Parch took responsibility of decorating the bathroom, unlike the rest of the house. He took pride in his ways and replaced the previously installed, modern looking, square tub and shower with an old Celestian style tub, complete with dragon claws for feet. It was huge. The two fillies could probably swim in the thing if they tried. Everything in the room looked as though it was pulled straight out of the historical fiction novel of Violet's dreams. Complete with lilac towels and flowers, it was easily one of Violet's favorite rooms in the entire house.

"Violet!" Cloudy whined. She was hopping from hoof to hoof, and a strained expression was stretching her face to disturbing limits. Her entire body was wrapped in a towel.

"Ummm..." Violet said, suddenly unsure of her friends mental state. "If you had to go... you could've gone... you know... right there." She pointed her hoof at the toilet. "I can leave and give you a few minutes, if you want."

"How could you talk about those kinds of things right now?" She asked. "I have news!" Her hopping grew more sporadic.

"News?" Violet repeated.

"Yessssss..." Cloudy whispered. Violet was starting to get more and more disturbed by her friend's behavior. "I... saw something."

"You... saw... something." Violet repeated her best friend once more.

"Yes. For the love of Celestia, Violet! How you managed to get such high grades, I'll never know. All you do is repeat everything." Cloudy rolled her eyes in an exaggerated manner.

Violet glared. "Okay... what did you see?"

Cloudy then jumped, and nearly banged her head on the white ceiling above her. She swelled her cheeks with her words as they were ready to burst out of her mouth and rampage onto the world. Violet flinched, waiting for the loud and abundant waterfall of noise, only to be sadly let down.

Instead, she saw Cloudy gazing at the skirt of her gown. She kept staring as though Violet had sprouted a fifth leg.

"What?" Violet asked. "What is it?" She started staring too. She couldn't see anything, other than a stained and horribly wrinkled gown.

"I saw it." Cloudy answered. "You have it too, I saw it."

"Cloudy, your being more troublesome than a pheonix with a head cold. What did you see?" Violet asked again, this time getting less annoyed and more frightened. She started groping the edges of her gown.

"Don't lift that skirt!" Cloudy shouted with a tone that one could only describe as demonic. Violet quickly dropped whatever bunches of fabric she had been holding. She was then tackled to the ground.

"Do you not understand how important this is?" Cloudy asked, towering above her. "And you were just about to look, as though you were simply gazing at a ladybug on the ground! What is wrong with you? This is the most important moment of your life!"

"Cloudy!" Violet shouted. "What did you see!" Her ears were pressed against her head in agitation. Her nerves were down to their frays, and she was starting to get tired of her best friends attitude.

Cloudy was quiet. Only after an eerie silence, did she speak.

"A black smudge." She said. Her eyes implied that it was the most important black smudge in the history of black smudges. "On your flank."

Those last words caused Violet's ears to perk up... as well as they could while being pressed against the floor.

"My... flank...?" She asked, suddenly understanding Cloudy's behavior. "Are you implying...?"

"And I saw a white smudge on mine!" Cloudy added. She placed her hoof on her forehead dramatically. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't understand." Violet said, feeling confused once more. "Isn't this a good thing, if it is a thing at all?" She glanced warily at her cloth covered flank. "I mean, those vents were quite dirty..."

"Don't be ridiculous, Violet!" Cloudy snapped. "This is important! This mark will make me reevaluate my entire life, and I don't even know what it is! Is that normal? I don't think so!"

"Don't you think you're over-"

"This is dreadful! My entire life depends on this mark! As soon as I saw the smudge, I wrapped myself in a towel. I could let myself look at it until I knew what it was!" She raised her hoof in the air, giving herself a determined pose. "I will find out what it means!" She faced Violet again, her face deadpan. "What does your's represent?"

"Mine?" Violet asked, startled by her sudden question. "Who's to say I even have mine at all?"

Cloudy's eyes narrowed. "You have a cutie mark, Violet. Face the facts!"

"Um... I... I don't know." She stuttered. The ground was starting to get very uncomfortable. "But I'm sure the mark doesn't matter... not that much!" She said, trying desperately to console her friend. "I mean, your mother is a cook... she doesn't work in a restaurant, right? Plus, you probably do know your special talent, but it's subconscious..." Violet felt as though that last remark was a bit of a stretch, but she was starting to lose blood circulation to the tips of her hooves.

Cloudy pondered Violet's words. After a few moments of silence, she crept off of her friend and stared into the wall in thought. Violet rubbed her now sore legs.

"I... guess..." She said.

"And," Violet added. "Since you've technically figured out your special talent, it can't really be anything bad. You didn't do any bad things, did you?"

"No." Cloudy answered with her lips lightly puckered in thought. She looked down at Violet still sitting on the floor. She gave her a hoof to help her up.

"Thanks." Violet said, glad to be off the ground.

"Sorry." She said. "I'm just... a little freaked out. I've been obsessed with getting my cutie mark for the longest time... you wouldn't understand."

Violet wrinkled her nose guiltily. Cloudy was right, she wouldn't understand, and she didn't. To be honest, she never really cared about her cutie mark, at least, about obtaining it. Sure, she wondered about what it would be and how it would effect her life, but she never worried about how it would appear or whether or not it would be good or bad. She didn't feel like she needed to. She always considered cutie marks to be... set in stone, for a lack of words. She knew you couldn't force one to appear, but you also had to put in effort to expand your talents and work hard on them. And she did that. With an abundant amount of motivation that naturally came from doing something she loved, she wrote and scribbled and broke many quills expanding her talent to it's fullest potential. She tired herself out, working with other materials and using other mediums. She was sure her talent was writing, or probably another form of art. The only thing she had to do, was wait. She had to wait for a sudden realization, or an epiphany of sorts, that told her what she specifically was meant to bring to the world.

If only she remembered what it was.

She struggled to remember her last writing session. She realized that her flank was blank after, so it probably wasn't then. She thought about everything she did the day before. The party, the vent, Shimmering's attitude, Pheonix Heart's dance with Iron Wing, running into Fancy Pants numerous times, running back to Cloudy's cottage... Hmm. Nothing. She remembered quite a bit of pointless details, so she wondered why she couldn't remember the most important one.

"You haven't been obsessed." Violet said after pondering for another moment. She figured once she saw her cutie mark, if it was even there, her memory would come surging back to her. "You haven't spoken about cutie marks in weeks. And those few times that you did, it was because Shimmering and her friends were mocking you."

"Well... Yeah, I guess you're right." Cloudy said. She gripped the towel and pulled it tighter around herself. "But, I've been thinking about it a lot."

Violet hummed in understanding. She had to think of a way to move things along. She and Cloudy couldn't sit on the bathroom floor for the rest of their lives. At the end of the day, the dress had to come off and the towel had to drop. They had to look.

"Um... I could look for you, if you want?" Violet said once the idea popped into her mind. "You can look to see if I have one too. That way, one could prepare the other for what they're about to see."

Cloudy raised her hoof up to her chin in thought. "That sounds like a good idea. But what if-"

"No excuses!" Violet said loudly, standing up and magically unzipping the dress. "It's either slow and painful, or quick and painless. Let's go."

"Um... I..." Violet strained her magic to gently lift Cloudy's towel off of her. The filly, eager to keep her flank covered, quickly stood up. "Okay, okay... I'm ready when you are." She readjusted her towel.

"One..." Violet began counting down.

"Two..." Cloudy said, closing her eyes.

"Three!" They chorused.

There was a deafening silence of cloth falling to the floor. For a brief second, a feeling that can only be described as a nervous bomb going off materialized in Violet's stomach. She quickly swallowed it down and opened her eyes to stare at Cloudy.

Both of the girls were silent. Both of the girls were staring. Both of the girl's eyes were locked in place at each other's flanks.

"Cloudy..." Violet said.

"Yes?" Cloudy's voice was tight.

"You were right. That's not just a smudge."

Cloudy did indeed have her cutie mark. Violet recognized it as those masks that you saw in the theater. The old ones. One of them with a smile, and the other with a sorrowful frown. She wracked her brain, and remembered them to be the comedy and tragedy masks. In the center, between the two masks, was a bright blue daisy. The petals seem to be gradient however, and became white at their edges. Smaller, all white flowers were scattered seemingly at random at the bottom.

Violet couldn’t breathe. All she could do was stare at Cloudy’s cutie mark. Even though she was simply standing there, not even aged a day, Cloudy seemed older and more at peace than usual. That was the power of cutie mark. At least, as far as image goes. It made a pony seem more in control of their lives, wiser, and more experienced… even if that wasn’t the case in reality.

Cloudy was in the same position as Violet. She didn’t move, and her eyes didn’t dart from place to place. She simply stood there, with her muscles locked, frozen solid.

“Well?” Violet asked. “Is there anything there?”

“Um… yes. Yes, there is definitely something there.” Cloudy answered in monotone. Violet could tell her best friend was frightened, as was she. As soon as the words exited Cloudy’s mouth, a new wave of raw terror clawed relentlessly at Violet’s stomach. Its talons raked against her tummy’s lining, causing it to burn and sting. The fear found its way up her throat, and caused small tears to prick the corners of her eyes. She felt like a hypocrite, what with feeling as though Cloudy was being ridiculous in the beginning. Now she understood the fear. She understood how intense the feeling was as her friend gazed emotionlessly at her supposedly new cutie mark.

She would have done anything not to look. But, at the same time, she would have done everything to know what it was.

“So…” Cloudy said, her voice still lacking emotion. “When do we look at our own?’’

` “Should we look?” Violet asked without thinking. Cloudy nodded her head.

“I… I don’t know what yours is… I’m sorry.” Cloudy said quietly.

That caused Violet’s heart to stop for a brief moment. If Cloudy couldn’t describe it… then it clearly had to be something different than the quill or typewriter that she was hoping she would get.

“I can describe yours, if you want.” Violet suggested. Cloudy nodded again.

“Okay, um… you know those masks, which they have to represent theaters and plays? The ones with the frowns and smiles?” Violet felt nervous. It didn’t feel right to introduce Cloudy to her cutie mark this way.

“The comedy and tragedy masks?” Cloudy asked. Violet felt a wave of surprise block out her intense wave of fear. She didn’t think Cloudy would know what those were.

“Yes…” She answered. “And they have-“

“Stop.” Cloudy whispered. Violet felt her ears lower. “I’m going to look." Her eyes squeezed shut and she bit her lip. "W- we can look together, right?"

Violet nodded.

"Okay..." Both girls took a deep breath. "Two..." Violet felt the cold feeling of dread and excitement seep into her bones. "Three!"

The two fillies spun around. Violet saw the bathroom as a blur, the lilac flowers becoming streaks in her vision. She stared at her flank with an unflinching glare. At first, she didn't actually see her mark. Her brain was blocking out the sight due to fear. After a while, she truly looked at it, and many things started to happen.

It was black, just as Cloudy theorized. It was a black heart, with a grey crescent moon adorning it's side. On the other side of the heart, was a simple white silhouette of a feather. It was simple, while also being strangely complicated. Her body jumped, and she saw the smallest shimmer of a metallic lace design on the black color of the heart, that was almost invisible unless the light hit it correctly.

Something in her brain clicked. A memory seemed to be uncovered, as though somepony were to throw off the cloth that once hid it from the world. Voices. She had heard voices yesterday. Strange, familiar voices that she instantly recognized as the voices of her characters. The voices that she imagined herself. In the vent, as well as at the spa, her characters spoke to her... and she became them.

That is silly. She thought to herself. There was no way a simple unicorn such as herself could have such a unique ability. It should be something like writing, or storytelling, maybe she was looking at it wrong. That's it. She was. She was looking at her cutie mark incorrectly...

But she wasn't. She knew she wasn't. The voices... she couldn't deny their existence, or their connection. She couldn't deny the fact that her abilities, and her personality were effected by her talent. It all made sense. Her skill for writing, and her passion for creating these characters, everything was explained. Her sudden speed in the vent, that was White Rose. Her rash, jealous personality that caused the outburst of anger in Nightingale's and the brief moment of jealousy towards Cloudy at the spa, that was Sea Strike.

Ah, but she couldn't be an overpowered protagonist, could she? All of her abilities, being heightened to such degrees does not come without consequences. Her body couldn't take it, and that's what caused her illness and exhaustion. Her body, logically, could not deal with the physical capabilities of her characters, and it simply overpowered herself. Her mind was overworked, as well as her body due to doing things that not even the average mare could do, much less the average filly.

At least, that's what she thinks.

Her special talent was something along the lines of gaining the abilities of the characters she writes. Of that, she was positive. She's physically and mentally influenced by them for a brief period of time. Her body would give out, due to exhaustion or some magical entity thinking that she had too much fun, and she would be... well... more than sick. She could die, simply speaking, if she pushed her body to the limits of her character's bodies. It was the only logical explanation for the entire scenario of her being bedridden and ill. There needed to be a level of balance.

But, the thing was, parts of her cutie mark went unexplained. She understood the feather, being her "quill" and her writing abilities. Her heart was both a symbol for her love of her characters, as well as her ability to gain life from them, for lack of better words. But the other part of the mark, the moon, she could not explain for whatever reason there may be. Maybe she was looking at it incorrectly. Maybe it wasn't a moon at all. Life would be pretty boring if she knew everything about the cutie mark.

"Wow... it just... sets in. Doesn't it?" Cloudy said. Violet jumped, forgetting that she was still in the room with her.

"Yeah." She said in a whisper. "It really does."

"Now what?" Cloudy asked, turning around.

Violet breathed a heavy sigh. "Well..." She levitated a washcloth from the counter and got it wet in the sink. She moved it towards Cloudy, who grabbed it with a curious look on her face. "Your mother wanted us to clean up. I would rather wait a while, wash up, and show them then, than to show them now and ruin the fun by having to take a bath." She grabbed another washcloth and started washing her rather disgusting coat. It wasn't a bath, not by far, but it would satisfy both the girls, and Cloudy's mother for the time being.

"Yeah, I guess your right." Cloudy started washing herself as well. "What does your's mean?" She asked.

Violet paused. "Um... how about you explain your's first. Mine's a bit... complicated."

Cloudy snorted. "Well, that's not surprising, Miss 'Doom and Gloom'!" She saw Violet roll her eyes and laughed. "Mine is acting. I said I was practicing with sneaking out of the house and all... and I guess I'm better at it than I thought. Wiggling us out of that situation, with Fancy Pants and Hoity Toity must be my talent in its purest form."

"Hm." Violet grunted. She had to admit, when Cloudy talked her way out of that bind, it almost seemed magical. Now it all makes sense. Cloudy had a naturally innocent personality and appearance, so who better to have the responsibility of having the talent of acting innocent? Cloudy would never do anything wrong, not without good intentions or it being accidental. Anypony else would take advantage of that talent and use it with malicious intent.

"Sooooo...?" Cloudy said, nudging her elbow against Violet's side expectantly.

"'Sooooo', what?" Violet asked. She wrung out the dirty wash cloth in the sink.

"What does your's mean?" Cloudy asked again. Her eyes were huge, and bluer than ever.

Violet laughed nervously. "How much time do we have?"

Calming Connections

A bright red pegasus soared through the nights sky. She bursts through clouds and and darted across the stares, a crimson colored streak against the navy blue heavens.

She cheered. She had never had this much fun. Then again, she said that every night since the end of the Chaos Times. Flying wasn't nearly this much fun back then. The clouds were always sticky, and the quick changes from day to night gave her a headache.

The pegasus laughed. She charged for another set of clouds, savoring the feeling of the cool water collecting on her coat.

"Red Star!" She heard a pegasus scream behind her. "You come down here right now! It's important!"

She sighed. When mother calls, there was no delay. In fact, she wanted to beat her mother home. Looking towards the stars, a familiar tingling sensation appeared on her flank. Her cutie mark was that of stars and a compass, a pretty silver moon on its outer edges. Her talent was navigation. So long as the stars were out, she knew were to go, the fastest route, and the one with the least amount of obstacles, without flaw.

"I'm on my way, Mom!" She screamed back. She flapped her wings and shot through the air. Her body looked like a red and periwinkle streak in the sky once again.

...

"Another batch, piping hot!" Mrs. Sugar said, placing another plate of cupcakes in front of the two girls. These had little black chocolate hearts on top, firmly set into the lavender colored icing.

"Red velvet is your favorite, right?" Mrs. Sugar asked. She always asked, no matter how many times Violet had nodded her head during her visits, her mouth too full of cake to answer her properly. She took a large bite out of her third cupcake that morning. She wasn't afraid of coming out as indecent, for not only did she live here now, but Cloudy sitting next to her was eagerly shoving her citrus flavored cupcake in her mouth. Bright blue icing was smeared all around her lips.

"'Ank Yu!" She managed to mumble through a mouthful of red velvet deliciousness. She wiped the small amount of icing that collected at the corners of her mouth with a napkin.

Apparently, getting your cutie mark increased your appetite. Or, maybe it was the cutie mark induced exhaustion that caused Violet to be so hungry and eager to shovel as much food into her mouth as possible. Violet couldn't tell, nor did she care. Mrs. Sugar's food was something she will always manage to get down, no matter what the occasion.

Speaking of which, there was a lot of food that needed to go into their hungry bellies. Ever since Cloudy came tumbling down the steps, seconds before Violet, Mrs. Sugar had done nothing but smile and cook. Eggs, cookies, stir fried vegetables, baked stuffed potatoes, sandwiches, pancakes, spaghetti, curry, and yes, cupcakes completely toward over the fillies and completely covered the counters of the kitchen. How Mrs. Sugar managed to not only cook, but clean all the dishes simultaneously was beside her. The mare even managed to make little candies in the shape of their new cutie marks.

As Violet chewed on her cupcake, she remembered the morning events like the new cutie mark that adorned her flank. She and Violet came running in, huge smiles on their faces. Mr. Parch and Mrs. Sugar's jaws dropped in shock, and their looks of surprise quickly turned into looks of pride and joy.

"Oh girls!" Mrs. Sugar had said. "I'm so proud of you!"

"Isn't this the greatest, Mama?" Cloudy had asked, hugging Violet tightly. "My special talent is acting! I'm going to be famous!... or, at least... I think I am. I haven't figured it out yet. But it's still pretty cool, and I couldn't be happier!"

Mrs. Sugar laughed. "I'm sure you'll find your place, my little rain cloud." She nuzzled her daughter lovingly. "And what about you, Violet?"

"Hehe..." Violet rubbed the back of her head with her hoof. "Well..."

"Oh my Celestia! Mom, dad, listen to this! Violet's talent is literately becoming her characters. She gains cool spy strength and an awesome 'don't-take-nuthin'-from-anypony' attitude! It's so cool! The only down side is that she becomes really tired and sick if she pushes herself to hard. But even then, it's so awesome!"

Mr. Parch and Mrs. Sugar's expressions took a series of twists and turns at their daughter's description. They went from awe, to shock, to fear and realization at the point were Cloudy described how Violet's night came to pass.

"Oh, I see..." Mr. Parch said, with his hoof placed thoughtfully on his chin. "You simply 'embodied' a character as you two were going about walking around town. You must have pushed yourself without even noticing."

"Hopefully now that you know you can, you'll be more aware of it happening?" Mrs. Sugar asked, her brow creased with worry.

"I'll be extra careful." Violet answered confidently. Mrs. Sugar's look of worry faded.

Eventually all of the worried tension in the air completely subsided, and was replaced with the happy aura of a proud and loving family moment.

Mrs. Sugar had been cooking in her kitchen ever since.

Violet's ears pricked behind her. She swiveled them to hear the last of Mr. Parch's conversation with a messenger pony.

"Ah, yes! Thank you, Sir." He said as he closed the door.

"I have news everypony!" He shouted as he walked into the kitchen. "Fancy Pants wants us four to see him briefly at his garden party in a few hours. He wants to check on Violet, and with him being the host and a very busy stallion, he isn't able to make it later tonight."

"He wants to check on me?" Violet asked, finishing her last bite for the morning. "Why?"

"Well, you weren't really in the best of states, Honey." Mrs. Sugar answered. "He's probably worried about you, what with him being a father as well."

Violet hummed, agreeing. Her ears lowered, knowing that, not only did she have to go to another party, but she was probably going to see a few unwanted faces as well.

"We're only going to be there a moment." Mr. Parch said, reading her expression. "We'll stop by on our way to the market."

Violet felt her disdain for the next few hours fade away into a happy bliss, She was glad to know that if she was going to see those faces, it was only going to be for a few moments.

"Well, It's a along way to his estate. You two still smell, if only slightly. And I'm covered in flour and an egg." Mrs. Sugar said. She took off her apron and hung it on a hook next to their pantry. "We should probably start getting ready."

...

"Why are we putting my hair up again? It looks much prettier when it's down." Cloudy whined as they stood in front of Mrs. Sugar's dresser mirror.

"Because you didn't want to have it in in waves, and you didn't want to wear a hat." Violet answered. She put the last bobby pin in her friend's prench twist. "

"Waves make me look like I'm forty and that hat you offered me looked ridiculous." She said as she scratched the uncomfortably tight bun.

"Hmm, suit yourself." Violet said as she fixed her set of waves. She smiled at her reflection. Cloudy snorted.

"You look like a vampire pony with all of that red velvet stuck in your teeth!" Cloudy said loudly. Her half-hearted insult faded into waves of giggles and laughter.

A vampire pony, huh? Violet thought to herself. "Jokes on you, that sounds awesome!"

λευκά δόντια και μαύρο τύχη...

Violet's ears perked up.

Uh oh...

What happened next was startling. While the other events happened without her knowledge, this felt like a slap to the face. It was as though somepony poured espresso into her blood stream, and dumped a bucket of ice water on her head. She felt a surge of energy, and suddenly heightened senses caused her head to swim.

It's fine, it's fine... She told herself. Just so long as I can control it... I should be fine. Just don't do anything you wouldn't do...

"Violet?" Cloudy's voice rang in her ear. "Are you okay?"

Violet looked at her friend, only to get an uncomfortable close up of Cloudy's bright blue iris.

"Whoa!" She shouted taking a step back.

"What?" Cloudy examined herself in the mirror, misunderstanding. "Is there something wrong?"

"Th-the thing." Violet stuttered. She was starting to adjust to her new senses. Finally, her friend's voice stopped beating against her eardrum.

"The thing?" Cloudy thought for a moment. She gasped. "Ooohhhh.... the thing." She quickly had a flashback to their conversation, and gasped again. "You wrote a vampire romance and didn't tell me?!"

Violet tried to ignore her friend's jokingly betrayed tone. "Help me!"

"Wow!" Cloudy said, her eyes going wide. "You even have the fangs!"

Violet quickly scanned over her own mouth with her tongue. Cloudy was right. Two of her teeth, both on either side of her mouth, were slightly pointed at the end. It was odd, but strangely comfortable. She guessed her special talent could change her appearance as well, if only in minuscule amounts.

"Cloudy!" Violet whined. "Please, help me!"

"Why would I need to help you? This is so cool!" Cloudy commented. She continued to examine Violet, looking for other changes in her appearance.

"How can this be cool?" Violet asked. "I'm a vampire pony!"

"That's the cool part." Her friend answered matter-of-factly. "And... you don't look like a vampire pony, if you take away the fangs and all. To be honest, they're not that noticeable."

"But what if I start having... you know,... cravings?" Violet looked at herself in the mirror. Her fangs really weren't that noticeable, but the fact that they showed in her reflection at all was a little bit jarring. If she had to be completely frank with herself, she was also kind of glad that her reflection showed up at all.

"Violet, you are-"

"Girls, we need to leave soon." Mrs. Sugar said as she walked into the room. She was wearing a white dress, similar to the girl's. All three of them wore pretty dresses, pale in color, and thickly woven to beat the winter chill. Mr. Parch ended up digging in the attic, (Of which Violet officially deemed 'magical', what with the infinite things that seem to pour out of its door.) and found the girls some muff coverings for their hooves. Apparently, they belonged to some aristocrat from Manehatten some forty odd years ago.

When Mrs. Sugar saw the two girls, her eyebrows shot up in surprise. Instead of getting ready, the two of them were clearly having a moment of stress. Violet was clearly frightened, while Cloudy was looking as though Violet was overreacting.

"What's wrong?" Mrs. Sugar asked the girls.

"Violet turned into a semi-vampire pony. Now she's freaking out." Cloudy answered. She went back to work scratching her bun again.

"A 'vampire pony'." Mrs. Sugar repeated. "Well, if anything, I figured you would be happy about that, Violet." Violet made a face, showing Mrs. Sugar her newly acquired fangs. "Is there a reason why you're not okay with it?"

"Do you ponies not know what vampire ponies do, or what they are?" Violet asked, clearly getting frustrated.

"They're mythical creatures that are documented as blood drinking, immortal, sun fearing, undead monsters who hunt mainly at night." Cloudy answered.

"How can you two be so calm?" Violet asked, raking her hooves through her mane.

"Well, for starters, you're standing in sunlight, dear." Mrs. Sugar said, pointing at the obvious rays of sunlight that were pouring out of a window and directly onto Violet. "So clearly, you haven't turned into the 'exact definition' of a vampire pony."

"Plus, we know you." Cloudy answered. "You wouldn't go around, drinking ponies' blood. It would be gross, immoral, and you would probably get dirty in the process. That's three strikes, and leaves you absolutely not be a danger to anypony else."

"But... I, uh-" Violet stammered. She licked the top row of her teeth again.

"Violet, sweetie, everything is alright." Mrs. Sugar consoled. When Violet didn't calm down Mrs. Sugar's eyes softened further. She sat herself on the bed and motioned for the two girls to join her.

"Did I ever tell you two about how I got my cutie mark?" She asked. The two girls shook their heads. "It's quite a tale."

...

A young Mrs. Sugar delicately pranced around the elegant foyer of her home. Of course, she didn't call herself Mrs. Sugar at the time. At this time, she went by the extravagant and aristocratic name of Crystal Sucre, and was meant to hold that name through generations. Perhaps a pony could call her Crystal, or Lady Sucre, but anything as casual as 'Mrs. Sugar' would be far too undignified and rude.

She continued to sneak though the large room, eager to escape her mother and father's gazes. She held her horse shoes in her mouth, and ungracefully folded the skirt of her dress to rest on her back, leaving her flank bare and vulnerable to the world. Her mother would scream at the sight. It wasn't until the coast was clear, did she actually make a run for it. She bolted down the hallway, past large stained glass windows and bright white carpets and metallic covered rugs. She caused upholstery and curtains to ripple and tangle as she blew past them.

She could see it. The doors. The large silver doors that blocked out the world and shielded her from the horrid glares and plastic smiles that came from everywhere and anywhere. She could finally be free, even if it was only for a few moments. She would bust the doors down, and finally be-

"Crystal Platine Diamant Sucre! You get back here this instant!" A voice echoed through the hall. Crystal stopped dead in her tracks, nearly stumbling, and slid to meet her face to the silver doors that she once prayed to touch. It stung.

Her mother gracefully walked over to her, slow and menacing. Her constantly alert eyes and platinum white mane made her look like some kind of ghost in the moon light that filtered through the windows. Her pearlescent coat showed all of the pastel colors Crystal could imagine, and her hooves were always freshly polished. She wore a crystal piece around her neck. A family heirloom that was passed down from generations.

"Crystal..." Her mother sighed once she got to her side. "What are you doing?"

"I... um...I-" She said meekly, in her little filly voice.

Her mother looked up at the doors. All of a sudden, she looked tired and beaten. Crystal had seen that look far too often.

"You are trying to get into the kitchen again, aren't you?" Her mother asked. Crystal nodded. "My little gem, I thought we agreed that we would explore your fascination with culinary after the occasions. It's rude to just suddenly run out like that. Everypony from the colony is wondering where you ran off to. And, on top of everything, you left that poor colt out there alone on the ball room floor." She sat next to her daughter. "Did you think about how he might have felt?"

Crystal was suddenly hit with a wave of guilt. She hadn't thought about that. She was just so desperate for an escape. From the stupid mares and stallions complimenting her on her coat and dress. From the maids and butlers constantly offering her a shinning or a polishing. From the disgusting food that her mother ordered. From the feeling of being...

"Oh... I didn't mean to upset you, dear."

Sad. She wanted to run from feeling sad. Now, sorrow coursed though her, weak but significant. She looked at her hooves, now dull and matt. Her mane drooped around her ears in a strange gradient mass that showed her sorrow.

"My little gem." Her mother cooed, scooping her up and cradling her kindly. "I'm sorry. I know you don't like them, I don't like them that much either, but we need to socialize. If not, then we lose our power, and we'll be forced to deal with the cold again. Do you want that?"

Crystal remembered the stories her grandmother used to tell her. About how the ponies that made up their colony were forced to suffer an unbearable cold that froze them solid. They were running from something. A plague, a storm, or something along those lines. Crystal didn't know, nor her mother or the rest of her family. That part of the story was lost in time. It wasn't until they found the peace and love in each other, were they able to establish a small, weak, but stable civilization.

"Plus," Her mother continued. "That little colt has his eye on you." She chuckled. "Isn't that great?"

Crystal wrinkled her nose. Though she was more than happy in her colony, there was something missing. She was too young to understand, much less find where her life was lacking, but that still didn't change the fact that she felt the emptiness. She found herself absentmindedly staring out of the large glass windows, and seeing the cold white outside of the small barrier that protected the small civilization. The world was so vast, so why was she stuck in her tiny bubble?

"Crystal, I know you want to explore the world." Her mother started to smooth her gold mane. "But... not right now. My little heart would crack if my little gem were to show up cracked and shattered herself." She held Crystal close. "You represent a lot, you know."

Yes. Crystal thought. I know mama. Crystal was the youngest in a family of 'pures'. Her family has withheld their blood and kept their coats as metallic and crystalline as possible. Of course, after more that a few centuries, a few stray explorers have wandered into their small city. A few decided to stay, make families with the other ponies, causing the signature shine of her kind to slowly fade away over time. All except for her family.

This is why they owned the biggest house, and held the most pride. For the longest time, Crystal wondered why the shine of her gold coat made her better than everypony else.

"You are no better than any pony." Her mother had answered. "You, as well as I, represent our heritage, and where we come from. Our family has taken up the responsibility of being reminders of a once great empire."

"But, mama." She had said in return. "The empire fell. We don't even really remember what caused its falling."

Her mother had nodded. "That is true, my little gem, but we are also reminders of the strength and power of love. We bring hope to our people."

Now, Crystal was dressed in a silver gown, trying to 'make friends' with a colt with a silver shine to his coat and mane. Her people's unique shine didn't just pass through blood. There was also a small chance for a lucky pony to be born with it. Some of the elders say it is caused by a large surge of happiness, finding its way through the icy cold, and into the first breath of air that the pony breathed when they were a newborn foal.

He was her family's only chance for a new generation of purity.

Her mother sighed. "I'll... leave you to your own devices to fix yourself up." She stood up, adjusted her necklace and platinum mane. "Head back inside soon, alright?"

She nodded. Her mother, satisfied, nodded in return and began to walk back towards the ball room.

Once her mother was out of sight, Crystal headed into the kitchen. She began her usual preparations. Bread, cheese, egg, and lettuce. She carefully placed the pans on the stove, and struck a match to light the little opening underneath. She watched, her mind and heart at ease, as the lettuce started to soften. Once the pan was hot enough, she carefully sprinkled the thick, sharp cheese on top. It bubbled and oozed over the edges. The sides of the lettuce became crispy.

She then went on to toast her bread. Making sure that each side was thinly coated in a small amount of healthy olive oil, she placed it on a hot pan and pushed it to the back to cook. She lightly blew finely ground pepper on top of her toast as it was cooking, so that the spice would become infused with the unique taste of the oil.

The egg was her favorite part. Cracking the egg into the third pan, she gazed at it, almost in a trance. The egg white transformed from clear to milky, from milky to white. Carefully using a round spoon, she forced the yolk to stay in place in the center, and smiled to herself as the egg itself was shaped like a perfect circle, fitting the pan's mold.

Once her meal was in perfect condition, she quickly dug in. She was eager to eat as much as she could, so that she wouldn't have to suffer through stuffing her face with tears in her eyes as the party continued.

Purity shmurity. She thought bitterly. Though she understood her purpose, she couldn't deny that cooking was the highlight of her life. She couldn't imagine herself sitting in the city, watching the outside world be nothing but swirling white and nothingness. Her body didn't feel without a meal in her head, eager to be cooked, and a spoon in her hoof eager to be used. She was a chef, no doubts about it.

...

"And then what happened?" Violet had asked. Her eyes were trained on Mrs. Sugar as she told her story.

"What do you think?" Mrs. Sugar retaliated, a whimsical twinkle in her eye.

"You got your cutie mark!" Cloudy screamed as she jumped on the bed. "Oh, I love this story!"

Mrs. Sugar chuckled. "That's right, my little rain cloud."

"But what about the party?" Violet asked, eager for an ending.

"Oh, that's easy." Mrs. Sugar stood up and straightened out her dress. "I charged into that ball room, looked my mother in the eye and said 'I'm going to pack my things. I love you. I'm leaving.'"

"You just... left?" Violet asked. She wasn't satisfied. Her now-hyper-sensitive eyes were open wide. Her mouth was slightly a gap, showing her tiny fangs. "You faced the arctic north on your own?"

"What? No." Mrs. Sugar waved her hoof. "I had help, of course. A few explorers were needing to go back to get to their families. Once I got out of the snow, I planted my hooves on trains and carts. I cooked in order to make a few bits here and there. Eventually, I stumbled into Yellow and... well, you two know the rest."

Mrs. Sugar patted both of the girls on their heads. She walked out of the room, leaving the girls to continue getting ready.

"Isn't that story nice! She used to tell me that story when I was tiny, and I was having nightmares." Cloudy said blissfully.

But something didn't sit right with Violet. If Mrs. Sugar truly meant everything she said, then that implied an entire civilization was in the arctic north, completely unknown to the rest of the common world. Not only that, but supposedly there was an even bigger civilization, that was destroyed by some huge disaster. She imagined it's ruins, crumbling buildings completely covered in snow and ice, probably taken over by yetis or some other creatures.

She looked up towards the sky, seeing the bright sun through the frosty window panes. She shrugged her shoulders, and continued to get ready.

Satin ties and Ruby shards.

An old pegasus was laying in a bed with white sheets. The sheets themselves were pressed, and clean. The bed groaned with each breath that the pegasus took. Moonlight streamed through the window, and caused the withered red feathers that were scattered on the ground to glisten slightly.

"She doesn't have much time..." She heard her nurse whisper from the other side of the curtain. "Though she hasn't lived a long life... it was a life filled with many stressed and lonely nights... she has had her time."

The other pony nodded, before the two of them retreated out the door.

Red Star sighed. The nurse was wrong. She had a long life, a brutally long life. A life that, now seemed to have lasted eternity. Looking back on her choices, she would change only one.

Tears started to trail down her wrinkled and leathery cheeks. Her frail and weak chest was suddenly crushed by loneliness. She was so alone. She had made the wrong choice. She chose the incorrect path, and was facing the punishment for it. Her life shortened, and her heart cold and unforgiving. It seemed like only yesterday when she was having fun, playing in the clouds and cheering for no reason other than the fact that she was enjoying herself. Where did that go? Just because she...

She sighed again. This time, the breath was hard to push out of her lungs.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her old uniform. Dark blue and purple, with medals and pins adorning its front. She was a navigator for the lunar district. Her nights and many mornings were spent drawing star maps and finding passageways for air ships and war balloons. She was the reason for Equestria expanding from the arctic north, all the way down to the sea. If it wasn't for her, the entire Equestrian army would be lost. Parts of the land would still be covered in the aftermath of the chaos that Discord had brought upon the world. She... lived to her full potential.

But, even with all of those accomplishments, she still didn't feel complete. A hole was where her chest should be. Not just her heart was missing, but her entire being had been replaced at the realization of what she had lost.

She turned her head, taking one last breath for the energy, and let her eyes fix on a painting. It was small, and not very detailed. But it was the last thing she had that reminded her of those days when she had a chance to choose otherwise. Everything was focused on that single image. She closed her eyes, and thought about the time of when the picture was painted.

She stopped breathing. The room went silent. A bouquet of blue lilies on the window sill started to wilt.

...

Violet squinted her eyes as the bright white sun reflected off of the white décor of the garden. White table clothes, white flowers, white lanterns, and white everything else was scattered throughout Fancy Pants' large lawn.

"How..." Mr. Parch trailed off, trying to find the right word.

"Elegant, dear." Mrs. Sugar finished for him.

"It seems as though we use that world a lot." Mr. Parch lowered his ears in an awkward sort of manner.

Violet looked around, nervously scanning her tongue over her teeth again for what seemed to be the millionth time. The points were still there, and she still hadn't figured out how to get them to go away.

"This place is so nice!" Cloudy said, skipping to stand next to her. "I mean, it's no rainy Saturday or anything, but it looks like something out of a magazine."

"Mmm hm." Violet said, keeping her mouth firmly shut.

"Oh, come on Violet. Everypony here has their face so squinched that they might as well have their eyes closed. I swear to Celestia, it's like they finally smelled that horrible perfume that's causing the weather patrol down in Phillydelphia to sneeze! Nopony is going to notice your fangs."

"These ponies notice details, Cloudy." Violet mumbled. "It's the only thing they can do, other than spread lies and gossip."

"Whatever." Cloudy shrugged. "Keep your mouth closed if you want. Clearly it makes you uncomfortable, so I wont push it."

"Thanks." She mumbled again. She smiled.

"Come on, let's go see if we can get something to drink." She hooked one of her legs around Violet's. "Mom's a great cook and all, but drinks aren't necessarily on her mind when she gets like that."

"I would like that." Violet motioned her head to cover part of her face with her mane. She would rather the older ponies think of her as a rebellious youth than a blood drinking monster.

They started trotting to the buffet table. It was piled high with warm sandwiches, pastries, and cakes. Mellon balls and fruits caused it to be the brightest and most colorful thing in the entire garden. Even the punch was a dark and intense red. Violet tried not to think about the situation of her drinking it, while also having fangs and the senses of an actual vampire pony. Though, she couldn't help but chuckle to herself. She was even tempted to leave a drop trailing down her chin, even if it was just for the sake of making Cloudy laugh.

"This stuff looks tasty!" Cloudy said, admiring the cream puff display. "Fancy Pants really knows how to throw parties."

"Too bad he doesn't know how to keep away unwanted guests." A voice squawked.

Violet went through the all too common motion of spinning around, and seeing Shimmering's pompous face. Though her smile was calculatingly serene and demure, her eyes told Violet of a rather disturbing amount of anger.

"We were requested." Cloudy said, oddly calm. Violet realized, with a small burst of glee, that she wasn't entirely bothered by Shimmering's presence either. Sure, she was annoyed slightly, and the sight of her in her dress (especially with Violet's temporarily enhanced vision) caused her head to ache. But other than that, she didn't feel anything. It was nice.

"You?" Shimmering asked, a smug grin splitting her face in two. "I doubt that. You two talentless hacks?"

"Talentless?" Cloudy interjected before Shimmering could get another word in. "That insult never worked. And even if it did, it's completely useless now."

"What?" Shimmering gasped, her mouth hung open in shock.

"That's right." Cloudy puffed her chest out in pride. "We both got our cutie marks."

"What? No... that's-" Shimmering was at a complete loss for words. She took a moment, and the smug smile returned. "Show me." She scoffed. "You guys are horrible liars."

Both Violet and Cloudy lifted their skirts with confidence. The look on Shimmering's face was priceless. Her friends, who were standing behind her and nodding at her remarks, looked at the girls flanks with interest.

"That's so cool!" A grey pegasus colt said.

"Wow! What do they mean?" A bright orange unicorn filly asked.

"How do you feel about them?" A meek and tiny voice trailed after the other questions in desperate attempt to be heard.

"It's our cutie marks." Cloudy answered simply. It took all of Violet's will power not to smile and reveal her fangs. "We love them, of course. We wouldn't be ourselves without them."

The white unicorn filly, who Violet recognized as Fancy Pants' daughter, Satin Scarf, didn't look satisfied. It was only a brief glimpse, but Violet could have sworn that the quiet little pony had made a face that... said more, than the average filly her age. Then it was gone as soon as Shimmering turned her head to glare at them. It was as though the look didn't even exist.

"What kind of talents are those?" Shimmering spat. "Like, what are you?!" She pointed at Violet. "A bat herder, or something?"

Violet felt a wave of confusion. What? She thought. She stared back at her cutie mark, and saw with a sudden rush of shock, that her feather had changed into the shape of a bat. Its white shape standing clear against the black heart. She looked forward, her face stoic. and saw that Cloudy too was surprised. Her friend hid it well, obviously, with her confident acting abilities.

"... Strange." Satin said, her voice nothing but a squeak. "I figured it would be writing. I remember when you wrote that story... about the tiny dragon and a... pearl?"

"It... was more of an 'orb'... but close enough." Violet remembered that story as well. She remembered getting questioned about it by Satin a few years ago.

Suddenly, the entire world seemed to zoom out. Her vision became less clear, and her senses seemed to become less focused and precise. It was sad, she was almost starting to appreciate the feeling. Once she had her talent under control, she had to transform into the vampire pony again... and, maybe give her a name while she was at it.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Violet said, letting her voice reach the back of her group of friends. "What about my cutie mark makes you think about bats?" Violet angled her flank to show that her cutie mark no longer held the image of a bat, but now held her usual image of a feather outline. Once her body was angled however, her stomach lurched. Her body started to sweat, and an uncomfortable headache started to form in her temples. Granted, it wasn't nearly as bad as the previous encounter with her cutie mark exhaustion, but it was still significant. She swallowed, and fought through the bout of nausea. Her legs wobbled slightly.

"Wha...what?" Shimmering stuttered again. "I saw... you must have tricked me. I know what I saw."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Cloudy brushed away Shimmering's glare like dust. "My special talent is acting. Violet's is-"

"A special type of writing." She finished. Cloudy shot her a confused look.

"That's awesome!" The crowd started to shout again.

"Does that mean you're going to be a famous movie star, Cloudy?" A chubby unicorn in the front asked.

"I don't know." She answered. "I just have to see where it takes me."

The crowd 'aaahed' her response. Violet found herself rolling her eyes. Once her pupils ended their journey, they focused on Satin again. She was staring at the two of them, with a lost look in her eyes. They were squinted, as though was trying to focus on something that wasn't there. Violet glanced at Cloudy, thinking that maybe a bird had landed on her head or something along those lines.

Shimmering, like always, began to take center stage again. Her irises were the size of pinpoints, and her face was contorted into a hideous snarl. It only lasted an instant, what with a Canterlot pony like her not wanting to make such a face in public. But it lasted long enough for Violet's confidence be replaced with legitimate fear.

It wasn't a fear that she had before. She wasn't afraid of getting mocked or made fun of, if she ever was afraid of that to begin with. She was afraid of getting hurt. Physically and mentally hurt. And even more so, she was afraid of others getting hurt as well.

Shimmering, now sporting a delicate smile, sauntered off to the other end of the garden. Violet watched her leave, her eyes wary.

"What's wrong?" Cloudy asked. "Are you changing again?"

There was a pause. "I want you to stay as far away from Shimmering as you can." She whispered. Cloudy's eyes widened.

"Don't worry, Violet." She said, misunderstanding. "Now that we have our marks, she shouldn't-"

"Stay away from her." She said again, her voice holding firm. "She seems... unstable. I worried about her... or, more likely, I'm worried about what she will do if we keep agitating her like this."

"What do you mean?" Cloudy's voice started to show nervousness. "You don't think she could actually harm us, could she? I mean, she's our age... and a Canterlot pony at that. Though I haven't known her as long as you, I know that she wouldn't make a scene like that."

Violet wasn't too sure. "The thing is about Canterlot ponies, some of them get special privileges... and she's one of them."

"That doesn't mean that she can just-"

Violet shot her a look, making her nervous appearance give way to a brief look of fear.

"We should tell my parents." She said, rethinking. Violet agreed. However, no matter how much they searched, they couldn't find Mrs. Sugar's golden mane reflecting the sun, or Mr. Parch's charmingly awkward smirk in the ever growing crowd.

While searching, the two girls ran into the very stallion who asked for their visit in the first place. Fancy Pants was busy greeting guests, but his smile warmed to that of a relieved friend when he saw Violet practically glowing.

"Miss Lace! I'm so glad you've recovered." He smiled and levitated a cup of punch toward her. She took it. "I assume a good night's rest was all that was needed."

She took a sip of the fruity punch. "It's a touch more complicated than that, but that's the gist I suppose. Thank you for your concern."

He smiled again. "I'm very happy that you were able to join me on my second event. It truly is a delight to have you." His gazed wandered to over the girl's heads. "And I see my daughter has made your acquaintance as well?"

Violet and Cloudy turned their heads to see Satin Scarf looking at them, and quietly standing a few paces away. She blushed like mad, causing a light pink tinge to color her bright white cheeks. She buried her nose in her scarf, embarrassed.

"Hi!" Cloudy said. "Is there something you want to say?"

"Um... hi." She whispered back. "I... was hoping the two of you would like to... join me in... my room?"

"Oh... sure." Violet answered. She had to admit, she was pretty cute. Her eyes trailed down from her blushing cheeks to her scarf. Violet felt anger boil in her stomach as she realized that it was the same scarf that Shimmering had given to Fancy Pants.

"That's sounds delightful." Fancy Pants expressed. "I'll be sure to send up some snacks for the three of you."

The two girls trailed after Satin down long corridors and hallways. Each piece of wall between the doors of Fancy Pants' estate was marked by a painting of a family member, most of them with white coats or blue manes. Though, Violet did find the occasional odd one out, and found that she admired those paintings a little bit more than the others. If Violet were to discuss the good things about Fancy Pants, and there's a lot, she would surely bring up his exquisite interior designing abilities. Everything matched, and was clearly from the more expensive side of Equestria. But, the entire house itself seemed to conjure up the feeling of warmth and love with the colors of creams and yellows and whites. A smile formed on Violet's face when she saw a framed picture of a filly's drawing on the wall, and then again when she saw a picture of him and Satin sitting on a bench in some park.

"Your house is pretty." Cloudy commented.

"Thanks." Satin whispered, another blush forming on the apples of her cheeks.

Once the three of them reached the end of the hallway, and faced a large wooden door, Violet had seen enough of the house to feel practically like family.

"Satin, dear, do you think this hat goes with my mane?" A voice asked from another room. A bright pink and white unicorn walked into the hallway. She was tall, and very beautiful. Her mane curled elegantly around her horn, and her bright white coat was freshly cleaned and smelled like cherry blossoms.

"Oh... sorry." She said, realizing the other two fillies were there. "I didn't know I was interrupting something."

"Don't worry." Cloudy said with a smile. "I think you look very pretty."

"Oh, well thank you!" The unicorn said as she fluffed up her mane. "It's always great to get a second opinion. What do you think, Satin, dear?"

"I think you look nice." She said with a small smile. The unicorn, satisfied, smiled and began walking into the direction of the party.

Satin quickly opened the large door to her bedroom and welcomed the girls inside.

Her room was rather plain, with cream and white walls and flooring. Her curtains were a mulberry color, and her bed was a nice looking blue. She had a bookcase, which Violet could always appreciate, and a circular, freakishly fluffy, white rug that Violet knew Cloudy could appreciate. A bright light shine down from above, emanating from a white dome shape that hung from the ceiling. Overall, the room looked nice, but it wasn't screaming 'high society', like Violet had imagined.

"Your mom is very beautiful." Violet said, once she was finished looking around.

"Hm?" Satin gave her a questioning look. Her eyes lit up with realization. "Oh, Fleur? She's not my mom. She and my dad have been dating for a while. She just moved in." She walked over to the center of her rug. "You're right, she is very pretty."

"She's not?" Violet said. A light blush tinged her cheeks in embarrassment. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Satin said, waving off her apology with a wave of her hoof. "My mother was a pegasus from Las Pegasus. She passed away a year after I was born."

"I'm so sorry!" Cloudy said, her eyes filling with emotion. Violet's embarrassment rose to critical levels, and her light tinge turned into a heavy hue of red.

Satin merely chuckled. "Don't worry, really!" She shifted her weight on the rug. Violet saw that look again. There was a spark in her bright green eyes that caused her expression to switch from innocent to pondering. It was very subtle, but brutally noticeable considering ponies that surrounded her and contrasted.

Violet glanced down. For as long as she could remember, Satin had always worn her scarf around her neck. She wasn't wearing it now, that was for sure. She took it off as soon as she entered her bedroom. Her gaze traveled down farther. Her cutie mark was always partially covered by a stray lock of her tail.

"Um..." Satin said, her high voice surprisingly loud. She flinched at the sound of her own voice. "Sorry!" She whispered. "I wanted to talk to you two about something."

"What do you want to talk about?" Cloudy asked, her eyes innocent. Violet was suddenly filled with curiosity. Not for what Satin was saying, but for what her special talent was. The bookshelf, staring at Violet from the other side of the room, was filled with thick spines and leather binding. The books were different than the novels that Violet would read. These were bigger, and more informative looking.

She then tried something she had never tried before; forced embodiment. Violet wasn't stupid, her ego allowed herself to have confidence in that statement. She was capable of figuring out by now that her changes from herself to a character were caused by memories or imagining herself as said character in a situation that seemed to demand it. The only problem was, she was virtually at her limit as it was. Even while sitting on the carpet, barely moving, a headache was starting to pound in her ears and her legs were trembling with fatigue. Was she really that reckless as to change again, simply for the sake of appeasing her curiosity?

Yes. Yes, she was.

She tried multiple attempts to embody her characters. All but one failed. It startled Violet to know that there was still so much to learn about her talent, if she could even call it that. White rose was seemingly pointless, but Violet figured she was the easiest to embody given the fact that she was the most developed character she had written. So, when a horrible feeling appeared in her stomach as she tried to shift into Rose's mindset, Violet was startled and had to bite her tongue to not gasp in shock. Sea Strike ended with the same result, along with several of the characters that she had not embodied as of yet.

It wasn't until she thought about the vampire pony that she transformed into earlier that day. She had to admit, it seemed the most logical. She could have enhanced vision, and read the spines of the books even from this distance. But she figured that her body wasn't really willing to allow another transformation of the same accord in one day. She was wrong.

Violet heard the voice, low, gravely and seductive, and a situation similar to what happened that morning occurred. Violet ground her now pointed teeth, trying not to react and arouse suspicion from the two other fillies in the room.

Hooves on Mental Studies was the first title in the large row of books that made up the first shelf. It was followed by other spines that read similar titles. Pony brains vs. Griffin brains: feathered or furred, does it make a difference?, A ponies guide to everything Mental and Emotional, Disorders: what are the signs!, The pony brain, inside and out: an biography of Ivan Ponylov. Violet's eyes kept scanning over the books. One after another, everything Violet could ever know about the brain and its capabilities was wedged between two pieces of cherry wood. The next shelf held books on mathematics, a course even Violet struggled with. After that, history. Then philosophy. The last shelf was partially empty, and held books on what looked to be archeology.

It became abundantly clear that Satin was no ordinary pony.

"I'm worried... I know we just met, but I would hate for the tyranny to spread in ways that... aren't negotiable, or ideal."

Violet snapped back into the conversation. She realized that she had barely heard a thing her new acquaintance had said. Cloudy saw Violet's expression, and quickly started taking action.

"So, you're saying that you're afraid of Shimmering hurting the both of us?" She asked, clearly knowing the answer. Violet shot her a grateful glance. She couldn't help but feel that Cloudy's special talent was more useful than her own. But then she remembered the fact that she just acquired super vision, and the thought burned to flames in her head.

Satin's eyes lowered to stare at the fluffy stings of carpet between her hooves. "I've never seen her try to harm anypony, at least not in a physical way." She stared into Violet's eyes nervously, her gaze flickering downward every few seconds. "But know it seems as though she's realized that she's run out of options to... 'put you back in your places'."

"Is that what she said?" Violet asked. Her voice came out slightly different, what with the growth in teeth. Violet felt the sensation of spiders crawling along her coat, as she realized with dread that, chances are, Satin saw the fangs. Now, equipped with the knowledge of Satin's intellect, she was sure that the pony in front of her could put the pieces together that something was off.

She saw her eyes flicker to Violet's mouth, and her assumption was confirmed. There was a long pause.

"I heard her mumbling as she walked away from you two, in the backyard." She said, looking Violet in the eye. "Violet, do you remember when we were finishing our last lesson for the first semester, when Cloudy nearly fell out of her chair?"

"Y-yes...?" Violet was startled at the sudden random question. "I... do."

Violet felt shock as her senses were suddenly pulled back, and her teeth regressed back to their original form. She saw Satin make a face, as though she saw everything and understood everything that was going on.

At this moment, it wouldn't shock Violet if that was the case.

Settling Carbonation

"Welcome back, class." Mrs. Quill said as she flew up to the top of the black board. "I hope all of you had a wonderful vacation."

"It certainly was eventful..." Cloudy whispered under her breath. Violet silently agreed. Who else could gain a sister, get their cutie mark, and possibly meet a super genius in a single winter break? If anyponies could be stuck with that type of fate, it would be them two.

"So," Mrs. Quill continued once the class begrudgingly quieted down. "As soon as soft week ends, I'll be giving you your assignments for the grading period, and everything will proceed as normal. I know you all want to discuss your vacations and trips and gifts and what not, but this is a place for learning, and it will stay that way." She flew back up, and began scribbling her syllabus. Everypony ignored her.

"What's... 'soft week'?" Cloudy asked.

"'Soft week' is a term used to describe the first week back from a major break in the educational system. It mainly happens in Canterlot, but a few other major cities have practiced it as well." A voice stated behind them. The two fillies whirled around to see Satin standing in the place between their desk and hers. "It's used to ensure that all of the ponies get back in time. Some of the other fillies and colts are absent, because they haven't gotten back from their trips." She motioned her hoof around the large classroom. She was right. Nearly half of the students were still missing.

"It's... also known as 'slack week'..." Violet added. She was growing increasingly worried around Satin's presence. "Because the ponies that do have to go to school don't do anything for that time."

"Oh. Cool!" Cloudy said, her eyes lighting up. Satin nodded shyly. Violet wanted to pretend that she didn't see her bright green eyes swivel to meet the back of Shimmering's head behind them.

During the last few days of their break, the two 'sisters' practiced and experimented with their cutie marks. Though Cloudy's was pretty explanatory, Violet's was one that provided the girls with new information every day it seemed. Though she still didn't know what the moon represented, she was sure that she had the rest of her talent figured out.

She couldn't force a character to be written. That was figured out the first day when Cloudy wanted Violet to write a story about a psychic, thinking it could possibly give her the ability to see into the future. It didn't work. And a horrible pain appeared in Violet's stomach, and grew worse for every word she typed. Bye the time the actual character was supposed to be written, she was on the floor and was wishing to smash her new typewriter into smithereens.

She also figured out that, so long as she doesn't push her actual physical and mental boundaries, she was fine along the lines of the aftermath. Meaning, she could change into White Rose or Scarlet Enigma (the vampire pony) and be completely fine just so long as she doesn't do anything that she, herself, without her special talent could do. Of course, things got tricky along the lines of personality, but she considered a headache much more bearable when compared to her original and first transformation. The few pegasi that she's written caused her to feel...strange. It was as though her hooves weren't touching the ground, and her own body had lost its sense of stability and solidity. It made her uncomfortable. Same with Earth ponies, which caused her to not be able to use her magic.

Satin, all the while, seemed to be a lingering thought in Violet's mind. She hadn't seen Satin since the last event of the ball, which was a large tea party located in one of Canterlot Castle's many tea rooms. It was a brief meeting, mainly having a few phrases being exchanged and small smiles being shared. Though she was positive that Satin would never do anything mean, it still worried Violet knowing that the white pony with intense green eyes might know about her special talent and what it could mean.

She tried explaining this to Cloudy one night as they were both going to bed. Her friend, reasonably, didn't understand. She thought Violet's talent was amazing, and that she had every right to share it with the world without being afraid. Violet, realizing that something like this was something that Cloudy didn't have the ability to comprehend just yet, reluctantly agreed and wished her good night.

Even Violet would admit without hesitation that it was close to impossible to describe her fear. She didn't understand it herself, even. This made many nights frustrating and... rather headache inducing. It was just... something in her gut told her not to tell anypony. Some being lingered over her head, strong and protecting, and whispered in her ear to keep her talent a secret. It wasn't a menacing presence... or one that suggested mistrust and dishonesty. Instead, it simply wished for Violet to be careful, and to choose wisely who she told.

She didn't choose to tell Satin. From what it looks to be, Satin figured it out on her own. It was now Violet's choice to confirm Satin's suspicion or to leave her guessing. Satin was a nice pony, who was clearly being taken advantage of by Shimmering. She was also clearly intelligent, but chooses to hide it because of Shimmering's massive ego. Her tail also appears to be permanently glued to her flank, for what Violet and Cloudy both could deduce, was Shimmering's sake. It was abundantly clear that Shimmering, whether Satin liked it or not, was her priority. That was probably what scared Violet.

Shimmering was the type to take advantage of a ponies weakness. That's the Canterlot way, and Shimmering was a prime example of a fully Canterlot raised filly. And she knew it too. She knew that she had influence, and she knew that she could take any pony down with a simple order to her father or a tantrum in a store.

Violet's weakness, though she would never admit it out loud, was the fear of being alone.

She had spent most of her fillyhood being alone and distant from the only family that she had. She absorbed herself in her writing and reading until she met Cloudy. Cloudy caused a change in Violet that, though she was the most grateful a pony could be, was dramatic and life changing.

She no longer had the ability to write freely anymore. Her talent limited that. As of lately, Violet's writing had also been heavily influenced by Cloudy through motivation. She doesn't have the capability to sit, alone in a room, and lose herself in hours of writing and scribbling anymore. Therefore, leaving her to stare her weakness dead in the face.

For Shimmering, that weakness was her strength. All she had to do was lie or complain the the authorities, her father, or any of the Canterlot elite, and Violet as well as her adopted family would be forced to leave Canterlot due to humiliation. Though that didn't seem all that bad, she couldn't bear to think of Mr. Parch and Mrs. Sugar resenting her, even quietly. She couldn't risk Cloudy getting mad, and having the bond that was forged between them be severed because of the fact that she had to move schools and start over again. Plus, the idea of leaving the school, and being forced to socialize with an entirely new group of ponies, didn't seem all that appealing to Violet in the plainest of sense.

The only thing she could do, was sit, and wait for Shimmering to reveal her intentions by mistake or by bragging.

That was why she was so afraid of Satin, she could only assume. Satin, as smart as she was, was hiding her profound intellect because of Shimmering’s wishes. If Satin was willing to hind her mind, which both Violet and Cloudy guessed was the most pronounced part of her personality, it wasn’t that hard to imagine Satin revealing Violet’s talent because Shimmering simply asked her to.

Violet felt herself wince. If Shimmering were to know her talent, it would mean ridicule and torture for her new family. She would be labeled a freak. Her ‘parents’ would be questioned about her peculiar talent, unaware of the side-effects and limitations that her talent held. She would seem overpowered, and would then be criticized and mocked. Canterlot ponies hated being shown up, and Violet’s talent, at least on the outside, seemed amazing at doing just that.

Violet brushed away her thoughts and focused on Satin again. She kept her eyes locked firmly on the white pony’s.

“How…um… how are you two?” She asked, a bright pink blush highlighting her cheeks. “Last I saw, you were trying to choke down tea.”

Cloudy and Violet wrinkled their noses. In the short time that Violet had made her home at Cloudy’s house, she had become spoiled. Mrs. Sugar’s herbal tea, broths, and cocoa were really the only hot drink she could stand at the moment. The tea at the party had seemed to thin, and far too hot for her taste. Cloudy felt the same way, considering she almost assaulted a passerby with her cup. Even now, Violet couldn’t get the sight of Cloudy’s eyes tearing up and her forceful swallowing of the drink. She was sure that her friend would gladly give up every blue colored thing in her room simply to never taste that tea again.

"We're good." Cloudy said with a beaming smile. "It's nice that everything has quieted down, though."

Violet silently agreed. When they first entered class, both girls were suddenly surrounded by a wave of gold jewelry and mane-spray. News had spread about the two fillies getting their cutie marks, and more importantly, showing up Shimmering at the garden party.

Now, a few minutes later, everything and everypony had been scared into silence. Violet didn't have the heart to tell Mrs. Quill that it wasn't her superb teaching, but instead Shimmering's harsh glare.

"How are you?" Violet asked Satin. Hey, she was still polite, wasn't she?

"I'm..." Her eyes darted to the candy red mane behind them. "I'm good."

"Great." Violet's tone took on a cold disposition. Satin was wearing the same stained and torn scarf that Shimmering had given her. She could see, even without vampire vision, that Satin's fur prickled with discomfort where the scarf met her neck. There was a long pause. No pony knew what to say.

"Well... the reason why I wanted to talk to you, was because I was hoping that we could meet-" Satin's bright green eyes lost their spark. Instead, her nose pointed upward, and her ears lowered in a form of cowardice. Violet could only describe it as a look of belittlement, mixed evenly with shyness. It was shocking... and a little disturbing.

"You should be glad that my father invited you to the event, considering your horrible actions and behavior..." She took a breath, as though she had to force out every word and gather the courage to spring them out onto the world. "And... um... Don't think that you two can talk to me whenever you want! You can't!... um... Only the most prestigious rankings of the social aristocratic can speak to ponies such as I! You... you two are inferior to Haut Monde! How dare ponies such as yourselves to speak so freely to a gilt-edged individual such as myself!"

Violet was shocked by Satin's words. Though... she couldn't deny her wording was quite admirable.

Suddenly, Shimmering sauntered over with her usual smug smile. She gracefully swung her hoof over Satin's shoulder, and casually readjusted her scarf.

"Quite right, Scarfy." She said with a haughty tone. "Though, you really shouldn't say words you don't understand..." She rubbed her hoof under Satin's jaw, turning her head forcing her to look Shimmering in the eye. "We would hate for you to look like an idiot... as well as make others look stupid. Not that they would notice. I bet that they didn't know half of what you just said!"

Lousy, no good little-

"Um... yeah... sorry." Satin said, her ears lowering even more.

Shimmering huffed. Her eyes were trained on Violet's body. She felt her fur prickle and stand on end. Shimmering had seemed notoriously desperate for finding things to mock them about. But, both of the girls stood tall and held their ground. If Violet could deal with transformations and nights filled with headaches and stomach pain, she could handle Shimmering.

She looked towards Cloudy and saw that she was in the same pose. Her chest out, her head held high, and her eyes never darting away from Shimmering's cold glare. Cloudy had different reasons to stand up and tower over her. Shimmering had mocked her, and made fun of the things that she had felt the most insecure about. Things that she had confidence in, such as her pretty coat and mane, were ridiculed and called 'freakish'. Her own heritage was humiliated.

Realizing that she wasn't getting anywhere, the pompous pony trotted off with her nose held high. Satin was trapped under her hoof as she strutted off to her table.

Violet saw a note on the ground.

"Hey, Violet?" Cloudy asked once they got themselves situated into their desks. "What's a 'Hot Mound? Is it like... a volcano or something?"

"Hm?" Violet looked up from the paper that was delicately folded. "Oh, the Haut Monde. It originally was a phrase that meant something along the lines of 'high society'. In Canterlot, it's the name of the group of the wealthiest ponies in the city. It's very exclusive, and Satin and her Father are members."

"Oohhhh..." Cloudy said, comprehending. "Is Shimmering a member?"

"Yes, last I checked." She started to unfold the paper. "Mother and Father didn't take me, not recently anyway. But when I was tiny, she was there, yeah."

"Hm." Cloudy grunted. "That sucks. I bet the get fancy food there..."

"They mainly just sit around, wearing robes, and building models of cities out of bits... it was weird." Violet said, finally getting the paper unfolded. It was tricky, with many of its corners being tucked into places and pockets. She almost didn't hear Cloudy laughing.

She was actually glad that Satin's handwriting was nothing more than chicken scratch. If she had Violet's carefully pronounced calligraphy, Violet would officially be labeled as jealous.

Dear Violet Lace,
It has come to my attention that we will not be within each other's presence for quite some time, due to some unfortunate obstacles. I can only recommend a meeting of some sort, in private, along with that chipper friend of yours, Cloudy Sun.

It is urgent.

I also wish to discuss your rather peculiar cutie mark. You and I both know I read a lot of books, but my eyes have yet to have diminished in skill and capabilities.

How about we meet at Doughnut Joes? I have never eaten at that establishment, due to said unfortunate obstacles. I feel as though it would be a delightful treat. Shall we meet later today? More specifically, after school? I wait your response eagerly.

Hopefully, your new friend,
Satin Scarf.

Violet placed the paper down on her desk, and slid it over to Cloudy to read. Her eyes met Satin's from across the room. Her bright eyes were sharp and focused, like before. Shimmering was busy. With the way her body was angled, the pony was occupied by the spreading of gossip about her now ex-special some pony, and her ex-friend, Pheonix Heart.

Violet nodded, and Satin nodded back.

...

“Where are we going again?” Cloudy whined. “Was it really so important that we had to skip lunch?”

“Yes.” Violet answered. “And you can get something at Joe’s, if you’re really that hungry.”

To be honest, no, they really didn’t need to skip lunch. Violet was just eager to get out of the school and away from the mob that threatened to consume her. Even with Shimmering as a threat, some of the ponies from other classes had heard, and were more than willing to deal with a few glares or two in order to ask the two fillies about their new cutie marks.

Plus, she also found herself really eager to see Satin.

A new friend…? The words echoed against the walls of her skull. For some reason, that sounded really appealing. It was strange, Violet had thought. She shouldn’t need a new friend, she had Cloudy.

But… it wasn’t really a bad thing to add another one to the group… was it?

No... no it isn't. She consoled herself. If anything, it was totally normal. Cloudy was an amazing gift, one that she will always appreciate, but it was totally fine if she wanted a second friend. Maybe a third. Even a fourth!

At least, that's what she told herself as they walked through the glass doors of the restaurant. Satin was sitting at the farthest table, tucked away into a corner. She was holding something.

"Hi Satin!" Cloudy cheered. "I got you a doughnut! I got you glazed, I didn't know what you preferred... so..."

"Oh, um... thank you kindly." Satin said. She cautiously sniffed the bag that her pastry was held in. Violet wouldn't be shocked if she had never tasted a doughnut before.

"Glazed is always a safe choice." Violet explained. "But, it's more fun once you've pick out your own specific kind." She bit into her jelly filled treat. Bright red and purple jelly oozed out of the opening. Sugar crystals glistened on the warm dough. Mrs. Sugar was the best cook Violet had ever had the enjoyment of meeting, but Joe had a talent. Nopony could deny that.

"Interesting... choice." Satin said, looking at Violet's treat. "Almost gothic, I would have to say."

Violet stopped chewing. As clean as she was, it was near impossible to prevent an occasional smear of jam to catch on her lips every now and again. "What are you getting at?"

"Can I be blunt?" Satin asked. She gently pulled out her doughnut and examined it.

"Sure." Violet said. She took another bite. Cloudy looked between them, confused by their behavior.

"I think you were lying when you said your talent was." Satin said. Violet's stomach went cold, as though a large ball of ice swirled around and stretched her belly in uncomfortable contortions. "And I saw your cutie mark change."

The two girls were silent.

"I think you were hiding your true special talent, and I think you know why it changes and are trying to hide that too." She twirled the doughnut in the air with magic. "And... I think I understand your hesitancy to make things public."

She hopped off her chair. Cloudy and Violet both looked at her. She pulled the lock of her tail, the one that was always covering her cutie mark, away. She gathered the rest of her tail and held it to her chest in a gesture of timidity.

Her cutie mark was a light bulb. It glowed, and sent several points in every direction like a halo. Wrapped around the glass casing that held in the light, was a grey ribbon.

"My special talent, as you might of noticed, is intellect." She clutched her tail tighter to her chest. "I have a profound knowledge of many topics and courses of a vast majority."

"She's really smart about a lot of things." Violet translated to Cloudy as she gazed at Satin's cutie mark. It really did fit her.

It was odd. It seemed as though every new cutie mark she had encountered within the past few days had a type of shine to them. Cloudy's bright blue and white flowers sparkled like the lapis lazuli gems and ivory. Though hers was explained, what with her apparent heritage to a special type of arctic pony that Violet didn't know the name of, Violet's wasn't. Her moon was silver. Not even she could deny that. It shined and reflected light like a mirror-like material. And now, Satin's seemed to be golden, with amber like specks sprinkled at random. Her only guess was that she had a new appreciation for them. As though her achievement of getting her cutie mark made her acknowledge the beauty of other's.

"In it's simplest phrasing... yes. I suppose you could say 'I'm really smart.'" She placed her pastry down on a napkin. "But-"

"May I be blunt?" Violet asked, interrupting.

There was a pause. "Yes." She answered. Her usual blush coated her cheeks. Violet had a brief thought of water color poppies and cotton candy clouds... The color swirled and faded. Some parts of the fillies cheeks were slightly blotchier than others, leaving a faint peach color standing out in puddles in large lagoons of strawberry banana smoothie colored dye. Her white fur made the entire onslaught of color seem air brushed and soft.

"Is it possible..." She started, trying to find the right words. "That you could be hiding your intellect and talent, yourself? Simply for the sake of not having to deal with a ratty, big mouthed, pompadour wearing, candy apple mimicking, jewel encrusted dog biting the back of your hooves?"

Cloudy was silent. Her eyes darted from one pony to the other. She was to engulfed in their conversation, she hadn't even touched her 'lunch'.

"Touché." Satin said. She raised her doughnut in a toast. "You're right."

Violet raised her eyebrows in a brief moment of victory. She raised her partially eaten doughnut in a similar fashion. "As are you." She put her dessert on back on the table. "I do know why my cutie mark changes, and I did lie about my talent. But you explained that you also had the possibility of understanding?"

Satin sighed. "Before I so rudely began this conversation, I had an epiphany. I had originally planned on finding out your talent, and telling Ruby about it afterwards. It would... give me peace... at least for a little while. It would make her happy, and therefore make it so that she wouldn't be forcing her butlers to break open my door in the middle of my reading and forcing me to use my 'loud and obnoxious head' to figure it out for her."

"She called you loud and obnoxious?" Cloudy asked for the first time in minutes. "That... isn't even funny. I mean... what the h-"

"But?" Violet interrupted. They were in public, and recently Cloudy had a bad habit of forgetting social graces. Violet figured it was because of her new found confidence. Though she was right, it was absurd. "You said 'originally planned'. Meaning, you have changed said plan, I hope?"

Satin nodded. "I... want to join forces... so to speak."

"Oh?" Both girls chorused.

"You two have shown me nothing but kindness... for me to do something like that..." She trailed off and glanced at her scarf. Violet saw the look of malice that flickered in her eyes as she focused on the white fabric. "My father taught me better! I refuse to stoop down to Ruby's level. She's the kind of pony that turns into a horrible, lifeless drone in this city. I know I'm better than that."

There was another moment of silence. The harsh and determined words that were spoken settled. Violet made a motion to Joe behind the counter. He came back with three large glasses of soda.

"Well... I suppose we should set a plan in motion then." She said. She wrapped her mouth around the straw and swallowed the sweet, burning liquid. Cloudy, ignoring the straw, raised the glass to her lips and started swallowing in a rather impressively delicate manner.

"What do I do?" Satin said, looking at her drink curiously.

"Simple." Violet answered. "Right now, you drink. Tomorrow, you sit."

Author's Note

My computer may be broken, but my determination is not! I'm still able to write in school and such, so, though I may not be as productive as before, I'll still manage! Hurray for blowing off classes and ignoring the trials and hardships of reality!

A Beautiful Betrayal

I glared at the stallion through the bars of my cage.

"What is it that you wish to do with me, you weak, pathetic excuse for a stallion?" I hissed. I was weak. The cage was enchanted, leaving me grasping at whatever wisps of strength I had. It hurt. It was as though somepony was sticking needles in my chest, and literately 'sucking' power right out of me. I found myself smirking at the humorous simile, given the situation.

"Silence beast!" The stallion demanded. He had changed, and was now wearing a simple black jacket. That didn't make him any less imposing. "We'll decide your punishment in the morning, when we know you can't escape."

I hissed again. I didn't dare rest my tired legs and sit down. Though it looked like an act of strength and dignity, in reality, I just didn't want to deal with the possibility of a new pain appearing in my backside. I had never dealt with sun cages before, so I didn't know what would happen.

I perked my ears. Apparently, this interesting stallion uses the 'royal we', considering the fact that his scent was the only one I sensed as I was rudely being dragged up here. There was also no sound coming from anywhere else in the house. It was dead, other than the two independent souls that swirled and flickered in the attic, like two lonely flames debating whether to combine or be snuffed.

"Why have you taken me here?" I asked. "I serve no use for you."

"You serve plenty of use." He growled. "You are a danger to all of the ponies in this city. Therefore, getting rid of you will be very useful."

His eyes bored into mine as he said the last words. I felt my cold heart flutter out of fear.

"I... have never killed a living pony." I said in my defense. "Ever. Not once."

"That doesn't mean you never will." He said.

I snarled. "You are punishing me for crimes I have yet to commit! This is wrong. You act like some sort of moral standard setting big shot-"

He jabbed a bar of sun silver through the bars. It touched my shoulder, right above the collar bone.. The scent of burning fur and flesh filled my nostrils. The pain was numbing. It was as though the world became submerged in a thick molasses. My movements were slowed, and I could only watch and scream out in pain as my clear blood poured from the sizzling wound.

The world went black. I knew that when I woke up, sunlight would stream through the window and start creeping towards the cage. I was stuck. I could escape, and burn to ash. Or I could stay, and burn to ash.

Locked in a cage, like a frail little bird desperate for the feeling of clouds under its wings.

At least... that's what I was... before it all happened and left me struggling to find the sense of innocence I never had.

...

Violet stopped typing. Her fur prickled with tight nerves and sweat. Looking towards Cloudy, she felt her body go cold with relief. She hadn't woken up...

Of course she didn't. Violet thought, Her new typewriter was silent. It had padding under the keys.

She wiped her slick mane away from her face. Her hooves were still twitching, and the uncontrollable urge to write and draw had only partially subsided.

She had never felt anything like that before. As soon as the sun went down, it was like a physical presence was pushing her towards her desk. She didn't even go down for dinner, and Mrs. Sugar had to bring her meal up for her. It was still there, resting on her desk, untouched. The rest of her workplace was covered with papers and sketches. She had ended the day with creating two short stories, another chapter for White Rose, Scarlet Enigma, and Sea Strikes. She couldn't stop until she had everything finished.

It's as though the characters want to be written... Violet thought, completely entrapped within her own mind. That was what it felt like, in all honesty. The characters wanted their stories to be continued, and so, made Violet continue it. A few scary thoughts bubbled up in Violet's head. She started frantically looking around. She looked at everything but her desk and her words.

Her freshly painted side of the room, painted a bright white.

What if I don't have any control?

Her lone mulberry colored curtain, hanging on the left side of the window, dividing the room completely in half.

What if I'm simply meant to bend to these character's whims?

Her pretty bed. Made of iron, and decorated with a pretty vintage lace bedspread. It looked like it was pulled right out of a history book.

How am I supposed to handle this?! Am I supposed to just keep writing? Forever and ever?!

Her almost empty chests. The only things inside were a few spare blankets and her shawl. The chests were still nice, though. They had a nice silver trim and pretty detailing. They also matched her new bookshelves.

What if I go mad? What if... what if I lose myself?

She swallowed down the last thought. It sat, like a rock in her stomach. She looked towards Cloudy again, who was sleeping soundly.
Raking her hoof through her mane again, she choked down tears. She quickly jumped up onto her bed. She wrapped her sheets around herself in a warm cocoon. The moon was bright. A white disk filtered through her curtain and onto her bed like a spotlight.

She closed her eyes and went to sleep.

...

"Do you think she's going to do it?" Cloudy hopped nervously in her seat. "Do you think we scared her, Violet?"

"Hmm?" Violet rubbed one of her tired eyes with her hoof. "What?" She yawned.

Cloudy rolled her eyes, not understanding Violet's lack of energy. "Heelllloooo! Violet, what do you think Satin is going to do? Is it possible that we scared her off before we left?"

"I..." Violet yawned again. "don't know." She yawned again. This time, her jaw popped and a stray tear rolled down her cheek. "We just need to see what happens."

Cloudy started to whine. "Grrrrrhanaaaaaaah!"

"If you keep making sounds like that, you're really going to scare her off..." Violet said as she pressed her ears to her head. Why was she so loud this morning?

"I can't help it!" Cloudy said, throwing her hooves in the air. "I can't stand the suspense!"

Violet chuckled, finding her friend's frustration slightly amusing. "Who knows, maybe Celestia parted her mane the wrong way, and now everything's going to go to flames. Maybe Satin joined the royal guard."

"Stop it!" Now it was Cloudy's time to fold her ears against her head.

"Maybe she's sick? Maybe she's not even coming to school today? Or..." Violet paused. Cloudy looked as though she was about to explode. "Maybe she and her father moved away!"

Cloudy took in a deep breath of air. Violet, quickly realizing the consequences of her mistake, folded her ears down and instantly sported a look of terror. She pressed her face against the desk and prepared herself for the end.

"Um... can I just take his chair or...?"

Violet looked up. She was at first startled by Cloudy's appearance. Her cheeks were swelled to twice their normal size, and tears created waterfalls down the large balloons of breath. Her eyes were like bright blue grapes, eager to pop out of her sockets and roll onto the desk like some sort of cartoon character.

"Wh... what?" Violet asked.

Satin cleared her throat. "I was going to ask if I could steal Grease Gear's seat. He... won't be back until the end of the week so... I was wondering if it would be okay."

There was silence. Cloudy deflated like a giant balloon. Both girls simultaneously looked towards Shimmering's seat, which was currently empty, and back towards Grease's. Shimmering wouldn't show up to school until an hour had passed. It was practically protocol for the 'fashionably late'.

"Um... Yeah." Violet answered. She got out of her own seat and began to push the third chair next to hers. She was glad Grease cleaned his stuff so regularly, given the fact that he normally left oil stains wherever he went. The bright, shiny metal that made up his chair seemed the brightest out of the three of them. "Here, there you go."

"Thanks." Satin quickly climbed up.

The three of them sat together, side by side. It was awkward, to say the least. The last conversation they had wasn't necessarily the greatest conversation to leave on. Not to mention Violet's hectic night, leaving her exhausted and slightly raw.

"So..." Satin started. In the short time they had spent together, Violet knew that she needed information. She always needed information. How Satin had managed to survive listening to Shimmering's pointless drivel was beside her. "White elephant in the room." She turned her chair towards Violet. "Let's talk about your cutie mark."

"Again?" It was the only thing that Violet could say. She was too tired to wiggle her way out of it.

"You have a rather extraordinary talent, Violet." Satin responded. Cloudy looked past Satin to see Violet. Her large blue eyes were bigger than normal, and her long gold mane streaked down her face to pool at the surface of her desk. She really did look like the picture of innocence. But, even with her special talent working at full force, Violet knew that her best friend was secretly laughing at her constant interrogation. Even with the constant socializing with Cloudy, Violet still hadn't learned how to be comfortable around other ponies.

"I've been theorizing." Satin said. She pulled out some notes from her pack. "Is it possible that your talent could be based off some sort of scientific phenomenon? Personally, I feel as though it would make more sense than the magical alternative."

"How so?" Violet said. If she were to be perfectly honest with herself, she really didn't want to hear it. She didn't really want to do anything.

"Is it possible that your special talent is simply having the ability to rearrange your genetic structure?" Satin had pulled out a pencil from her bag. She started scribbling, even though Violet hadn't responded.

"Can that even happen?" Violet asked.

"Well," Satin chewed on her eraser for a brief moment. "After doing some mild amount of research, I found something that could relate to your interesting situation."

"Oh?" Violet's jaw stretched with another yawn.

"After digging around the library for a few hours, I found something." She pulled some papers from her notes. At first, Violet thought they were pictures of spiders. "Turritopsis nutricula. Also known as 'the immortal jellyfish'."

"Are you implying that I'm immortal? To be honest, that sounds dreadful." Violet watched as Cloudy started to pull the papers toward her. Her innocent eyes turned to those of curiosity and wonder.

"Is it really immortal?" She asked Satin.

"In theory." Satin answered. She was absent-mindedly scribbling in her notebook again. "Whenever it gets injured, or grows too old, it reverts back to its um... 'infant' form." Cloudy looked at the papers closer, as though if she tried hard enough, she could see the process in the ink drawn images.

"How does that relate to me?" Violet asked.

"Well, you, in a sense, do the exact same thing." Satin answered. "After reviewing the stories that you told me last time we were together, I have come to the conclusion that you can only transform when your situation demands it. You only embody your characters when you are in emotional, physical, or mental trouble. If not, your body reacts in a negative manner, hence the stomach pains."

"I wasn't in a troubling scenario when I transformed into Enigma." Violet countered. She was starting to become interested, despite the tired fog that clouded her brain.

"Well..." Satin chewed on her eraser again. "The theory isn't fool proof. Perhaps you just simply let your guard down?"

"Let my guard down?" Violet sat up straighter. "You act like these characters are alive. As though they are a living force."

Satin shrugged. "Maybe they are. It's also a possibility that these could all be mental representations of yourself, Violet."

"I... what?" Violet didn't understand.

Satin hummed, trying to form her abundant knowledge into words. "After a while... I parted ways from the genetic, and started traveling down the path of the psychological. It might just be a unique form of split-personality disorder."

"I... uh... I hadn't thought of it like that..." It was true. Violet really hadn't thought of her talent in that way.

"It's not bad." Satin quickly disclaimed. "Just... it's a more logical way of seeing it. At least from my point of view."

It was Violet's time to hum. She pondered. "Is it there anything else? About the psychological aspect?"

"Well everything you've explained... and with the knowledge I've collected with simply knowing you... I'm quick to assume that these characters are a way for your body to react in a more daring and charismatic way. You are naturally a distant individual, are you not?" Violet nodded, admitting her biggest flaw. "Well, it seems very reasonable to believe that these characters and your talent are forms of outlets for you. You want to behave this way, and you want to say these things, and you want to do the things they do. This is just simply how your body wants to do them."

"Huh..." Violet nodded. "That's makes sense." Looking at her cutie mark from a new angle, it really did fit together nicely. "But... magic is still apart of it."

"True." Satin agreed. "I never said magic was nonexistent in your talent. I just simply brought up the idea that it simply 'got things started. You mind, or DNA, if you want to go that route, just simply does the rest."

"Mmmm..." Violet made a face. "You had me, then you lost me."

Satin shrugged. "The fact that I'm talking in this manner, in public, in school, is amazing. I personally don't care if we come to an agreement or not."

"Can I keep this?" Cloudy asked out of the blue. She was holding a more detailed drawing of the jellyfish. It was the prettiest of the drawings, and seemed to have a more artistic flair to it.

"Sure." Satin smiled. "I'm glad you can appreciate such an astounding find in marine biology."

"Uh... yeah. That's totally the reason." Cloudy smiled.

"Scarfy!" A frantic voice shrieked. It was deep, but feminine.

The three girls, startled, jumped in their seats. Violet's eyes fell onto the bright orange mane of Phoenix Heart. Her appearance made her look like a walking ball of fire. Her magic, and her talent, was the unique ability to tame phoenixes. There hadn't been a pony like her in generations. Her cutie mark stood out against her flank. It was a blue phoenix. Many ponies theorized that it was her pet, and personal assistant at 'the cages', Sapphire.

Violet had the pleasure of meeting Sapphire a year ago, before summer break. Phoenix, now trusted with the potentially dangerous animal, had brought her assistant to class for the celebration of getting her cutie mark. She was pretty, but a few of her bright blue feathers had begun to fall out of her bright blue tail. She secretly wished she could see Phoenix's pet now, in all of her newly born glory.

"Phoenix?" Satin looked at her curiously. Her eyes darted around, searching for the problem. "What's wrong?"

"What are you doing?" She asked. Her voice was smooth and rich. Though deeper than the average adult mare's voice, Phoenix had a voice that had many ponies wondering if she was going to be a singer instead of a fire bird tamer. It was serene and melodic, like the sound of jazz music.

"I-"

"Do you know what she would do if she saw you?!" Phoenix asked, her gold eyes wide with fear. "You, sitting there, with them!"

"I'll have you know that I have every right to choose where I sit." Satin sunk deeper into her chair to prove her point. "You and Iron Wing are free to join us. I'm sure that you to would find the experience to be quite delightful and captivating."

"Wh..why are you talking like that?" Phoenix's eyes only seemed to get wider. "She doesn't like it when you talk like that! She hates it! You know the rules. Only three syllable words!"

Violet started to grind her teeth.

"Well, I don't care what Shimmering likes." Satin said with her nose held high. Phoenix gasped."In fact... In fact... she..."

"Can suck it." Violet finished. Both Satin and Phoenix looked at her with shocked expressions. Cloudy snorted. Loudly.

"Yeah..." Satin said, recovering. "What she said."

Phoenix looked as though she wanted to pull up the flooring and crawl underneath it, away from Shimmering's presence. She wasn't even in the room yet, and she already had everypony kissing her hooves.

"I think it's time we reevaluate our situation." Violet said. As amazing as it was to say those things about Shimmering, Phoenix's expression was not something that Violet wanted to see. "Phoenix Heart, look at you! You have the amazing talent to control some of the most beautiful creatures in all of Equestria. And here you are, cowering like a mouse with only half of its tail!"

"You... you think my phoenixes are pretty?" Phoenix asked. Violet could have sworn she was starting to tear up.

"That's not the word I used." Violet said, finally feeling energy for the first time in hours. "I said 'beautiful'. For me... it is the only word to describe such a creature. I've written a few short stories with them as familiars. To be honest, I don't think I did them justice."

A stray tear rolled down Phoenix's cheek. "Ruby... she..."

"Plucks their feathers... yeah, everypony kind of knows..." Violet winced at Phoenix's expression.

Unlike the other ponies in Canterlot Gifted, Phoenix didn't have high society parents to get her into the prestigious programs and classes. She didn't have any parents at all. It was a tale, often exaggerated and retold by the gossiping ponies of Canterlot. Violet knew though. She was simply abandoned at the Canterlot Castle gardens, where she was found by the garden's keeper and taken in as a foal. Nothing more than that. It was sad, but it was happy as well.

She often heard her mother 'discussing' the story with the other Canterlot mares whenever they went out to shop. Normally, it would be around Phoenix's birthday. Her story seemed to bubble up around that time.

It wasn't until she got her cutie mark, did Shimmering and her friends start taking advantage of her living situation. Though that was when Violet was normally silent, she couldn't help but listen as Shimmering 'persuaded' Phoenix to start collecting the stray feathers that fell to the ground at The Cages. Collecting stray ones quickly became plucking them right out of the phoenixes' bodies. Though Violet had read about phoenixes and knew that it didn't actually hurt them, she knew that it wasn't comfortable, and only quickened the amount of time until when they had to be reborn. They tended to use blackmail to do it, threatening to stop spending time with her unless she showed up to school with so many.

All of this because the color orange was in. For a few months, Shimmering and a few other ponies wore them in hats, put them in their manes, and stuck them like pins in their dresses.

More tears started to roll down her cheeks. It was strange, seeing water seemingly so close to fire. Phoenix was never the stoic type of pony, or the happy one for that matter. Though she... well... Violet didn't really know her all that well. She cried a lot. That was all Violet really knew. They had spoken briefly, once or twice, but it was never enough to really get a feel of her personality other than the obvious. She wasn't sad, just dramatic...and easy to set off.

Just then, the large wooden doors swung open. In walked Shimmering, wearing her ruby and sporting a bright red and white dress. She was even wearing heels, and they clicked on the ground and hurt Violet's ears.

It wasn't until she got to her table, did the real fun begin. Most of her friends were still on trips, so a large amount of the chairs that normally surrounded her seat were empty. Even still, she didn't expect the entire table to be completely vacant.

"Where is everypony!" She screamed. Violet looked around. Miss. Quill, conveniently, was outside, mingling with a stallion that taught the room next door.

"H-Here I am!" Phoenix said, wiping the tears away from her eyes.

"Oh great, you." Shimmering grimaced. "Where are the others?"

"Um..." Phoenix couldn't help herself. She glanced at the three of them. She followed her golden gaze and her wild eyes landed on Satin, sitting in the seat between the two sisters.

"Scarfy?!" Violet saw Satin wince at Shimmering's shrill and nasally voice.

Satin calmly cleared her throat. Her ears twitched for a few moments. Satin was clearly trying not to show any signs of fear or cowardice. "Sh-Shimmering Ruby." She said. "Good to see you this morning."

"What are you doing..." Shimmering's tone held so much venom, it caused an all too familiar feeling of dread to crawl out of Violet's stomach. "with them?"

"I'm sitting." Satin said. She started fiddling with the edges of her scarf. "I... I'm not your friend anymore." There was a long pause.

"What?" Shimmering's voice was cold. It held no anger, nor malice. In Violet's mind, she saw a dagger, laying on a table. That was how Shimmering's voice sounded to her. It was threatening, scary, and dangerous. At any moment, somepony could pick up that dagger and drive it into somepony's side. Until then, it just sat there, begging to be used.

"I..." Satin swallowed. "I am not your friend anymore." She repeated. "I have suffered your tyranny for too long, Shimmering." She moved her seat to where she was closer to the two ponies beside her. "If I were to be perfectly frank, I don't think we were ever friends to begin with."

Shimmering's eyes darted from Satin to Violet, over and over. "What did you do?" She demanded, staring Violet in the eye. "You must have done something! Something with your freak show talent!"

Violet's eyes narrowed. Cloudy practically had steam pouring out of her ears, she looked so angry. The rest of the class gasped.

"I didn't do anything." Violet said calmly. "But... neither did you. Nothing positive anyway."

"Wh... don't talk to me like that! Do you know who I am?" Shimmering spat. Violet felt actual drops of saliva land on her cheeks. One landed on the end of her nose.

"You're Shimmering Ruby, Hoity Toity's daughter." Violet said, wiping the spit off her face.

"But that's all you'll ever be." Cloudy added.

"And at this rate," Satin continued, taking off her scarf. "You'll spend all of his fortune. You won't be anypony after that." She forced her scarf into Shimmering's chest.

Wh- You... You can't betray me! You're nothing but-"

"My name is Satin Scarf. I have an IQ of 145, can speak multiple languages, have enough knowledge to rival even the most profound professors in Canterlot, know the difference between right and wrong- which says a lot, given this town- and have the ability to surpass you in any academic field of my choosing." She let go of her scarf, letting pool at the ground by Shimmering's hooves.

"But I won't do that. Because it seems that the one piece of knowledge that I'm missing is experience. Life experience." She looked down, letting her eyes focus on Shimmering's large ruby. "I don't want my only fillyhood be taken away by college classes and textbooks. And I certainly don't want my fillyhood experience to continue to be contaminated by you."

"You..." Shimmering was still desperately clinging to the argument. She clearly didn't know when to give up. "You can't even use proper magic! What kind of unicorn are you? All you can do is levitate stuff. All because you're a mutt of ponykind."

The class was silent. Violet, when she blocked out the pounding of her own heart, could hear the squeaks and grunts of conversation from Miss. Quill and the stallion outside the classroom.

"I am a unicorn with a loving father. I am a unicorn who has prided herself in educating her own mind and building her own foundation for life, knowing that she could have anything she ever wanted and or needed if she just asked for it. I am a pony who has seen grief in her own father's eyes. Sometimes, he looks at me, misses her, and starts to cry. Have you ever seen that? You 'noble and great' Fancy Pants cry? I watched him find happiness in somepony else, and will forever be in her dept. Don't you dare speak about the consequences of my mother and father's love." She leaned forward, nearly brushing her nose with Shimmering's. "You, with the paths you've chosen, are nothing compared to me."

Nopony spoke. Throughout their entire school life, nopony had ever heard Satin speak so much, and with so much determination. Her voice was like hot ice. It was cold, blunt, and direct, while simultaneously, it was steaming with passion and emotion. She forced every word out of her mouth, not because of fear or meekness, but because she wanted Shimmering to hear every word. She wanted her words to pierce through Shimmering's skull, and dig themselves into her brain.

The silence continued as Satin sat back in her chair and faced herself towards the board. Cloudy and Violet followed suit, both too shocked and too proud of their new friend to say anything.

"Alright class!" Miss. Quill shouted as she flew back into the classroom. Violet saw that she had a faint blush in her cheeks, and a happy twinkle in her eye. "Let's get started with our..."

Miss. Quill looked up to see Satin sitting in the front row of desks, along with Violet and Cloudy. She smiled.

"Glad to see one of my best students in the front row." She looked at all three of them and whispered so nopony else could hear. "My three brightest jewels should be the first things I should see in the morning."

She cleared her throat again, only to be caught off guard.

"Ms. Ruby, please go sit down. I know that this isn't the most stressful time, but you still need to follow the school's rules."

Fragments of the Day

"So, let's see here..."

"Marty, if you make me forget one of my books, I'll never forgive you." Violet said jokingly.

"Now, now, scamp." Marty Graw said in his usual Cajun twang. "I just wanna offer you a deal." He pushed the tattered novels her way. "These books have been requested to be thrown away by many of our customers. I figured, what with that exam next week, that you would be interested."

"Thrown away...?" Violet looked at the books curiously. Obviously, they were spell books, they were always spell books. "Really?"

Violet shook her head. As kind as the offer always was, it never seemed to settle correctly. This happened every time Violet wandered into Marty's book store. He always offered her spell books, and they always ended up making her feel abnormal.

Magic had its rules. If a pony thought about it a certain way, one could even say that memorizing the rules of magic was easy. Violet always considered magical abilities to be on a spectrum. Others thought of magic as like a tree, with different branches and leaves and fruit. Some thought of it as like a tier system, with certain unicorns being at certain levels and being capable of doing more magic than other unicorns who were at the bottom.

Some days, Violet thought the tier system was the most similar to her way of thinking about it. Other days, the tree seemed to be closer. Today, it happened to be a strange combination of the two. Marty had that ability, especially with spell books. He always made her think that, if she tried hard enough, she could jump from branch to branch, and climb higher up the tree, or go to a certain end of the spectrum with practice.

Violet's spectrum seemed to satisfy her needs well enough. It was always what she ended up relying on, even when magic seemed utterly unfathomable. It was simple, but could easily become complicated when it needed to.

At one end of the spectrum, were unicorns that were capable of using complicated, powerful, and abundant amounts of magic. Though Violet hadn't particularly met a unicorn with freakishly impressive abilities, she's certainly heard about them. One specifically left her relieved, while the other students fumed with jealously. It was some 'Twinkle Glitter' individual testing room 3a. She supposedly hatched a dormant dragon egg, caused said dragon to age significantly within a matter of seconds, turn living ponies into house plants, and caused a large amount of damage to the classroom's roof in the process. Violet, though admittedly impressed, was more frightened than anything. Hence the relieved feeling when it was officially announced that the unicorn would officially become Celestia's personal student about a year ago. Violet had enough problems at the time. Concussion by falling rubble did not need to be added to the list.

At the other end of the spectrum, were unicorns like Satin. Now, Violet was more than quick to defend her friend's abilities, as well as her many other talents. But she also wasn't one to deny that Satin's magical ability was one of the lowest on record. Satin, as brilliant as she was, could only perform basic levitation. This was because of genetics, what with her mother being a pegasus, and her father being an average (magically speaking) unicorn. Much to Shimmering's dismay, this also made her thinner, lighter, and more delicate in appearance than the already demure looking average unicorn. Of course, genetics weren't the only thing that could cause this. It could be a fluke, it could be bad luck, it could be good luck. It really didn't matter.

The only thing that frustrated Violet about her spectrum, was the fact that she couldn't put herself on it. Even before her talent, which only seemed to complicate things further, she had never been able to identify her magical ability. When she saw other unicorns push their limits, they always held the same characteristics afterwards. Sweaty brows, heavy breathing, and an expression that made other ponies feel as though they needed to call the medics. Or, at the very least, get a pillow for them to land on.

Violet never reached that stage. She pushed herself. She felt like she knew her limit when she was using magic, but she never seemed as tired when she reached it. It was like there was some sort of wall, blocking her from reaching her full potential. And now, with her unique talent giving her new abilities when she let her guard down, she was even more confused. She supposed this was why she kept trying to use spells that she knew she would never be able to complete. Like, maybe if she found a specific spell that she could do, and only she could do, it would give her some answers.

"Aw, come on cher." Marty begged. "What's the worst that could happen? It doesn't work, bam! You got yourself a doorstop!"

Violet narrowed her eyes at Marty's words. "Marty... why do I keep coming back if you disrespect my hobbies every time?"

"My charming smile, and quick wit." He smiled. His bright white teeth stood out against his green coat.

"Naw..." Violet said, mimicking his Cajun accent. "I think that you might of put some sort of voodoo curse on me."

Marty's smile faded. "Now, shrimp, we don't talk 'bout that art." He leaned in close. "It makes the shadows angry."

"The shadows...?" Violet would never admit it, but she found Marty hilarious when he got like this. It was so different from his usual behavior, that it seemed not only funny, but odd and entertaining. "That some sort of...monster?"

"The worst of its kind!" Marty said, his serious expression flickering like a loosely wired light. "They say that when you's sleepin', it comes into your room and wears your skin like a suit."

"Gross." Violet said, picking up the books that Marty had offered her.

"Legend has it that they control you, and make you do bad things while you's dreamin'. It makes your wildest nightmares come true."

"Oooooh!" Violet said in mock horror. "I'll keep an eye out." She placed the books she bought on her back, then levitated her new spell books on top of them.

Marty chuckled. "Well, I gave them all of my candy one nightmare night. So don't worry cher, ain't no shadows of the swamps goin' to snatch you up tonight."

"Are you requesting a thank you?" Violet asked, walking out the door.

"No." He said. He then shouted as the door closed behind her. "Just some recognition!"

"Hey." Cloudy said as Violet walked into Doughnut Joes.

"You took longer than usual." Satin said. She lightly drizzled her powdered doughnut with lemon syrup. "Mr. Graw con you again?"

"N-..." Violet blushed. "... Yes."

"You should really be focusing more on your mathematics, Violet." Satin said, shaking her head. "It's your weakest class."

"Yeah, well..." Violet hastily motioned for Joe to give her the usual. "I'm studying for the magic portion of the test."

"You don't need to study for that." Satin said, taking a small bite of her snack. "You need to spend what little time you have left efficiently."

"I still don't understand why they take everything away tomorrow." Cloudy said. She ended the sentence with a look of despair.

"It prevents cheating, supposedly." Satin answered. She shoved the last of her pastry in her mouth and dug her nose back into her textbook. Violet didn't know why she was reading. She already knew all of the material. Anyway, she wasn't going to look back up until they were leaving,

"Still... " Cloudy said, pushing a loose lock of her mane behind her ear. "It doesn't seem fair. I'll forget all of this material in a week."

"Cloudy..." Violet sighed. "I don't think you need to stress over this kind of thing."

"Why's that?" Cloudy asked. She got fed up with the brave lock falling between her eyes. She began redoing her braid.

"Well... you just need to pass one test out of five." Violet put her books down on the counter. "You're a shoo-in for the arts department."

"What about us? Do you think you'll succeed in magic?" Cloudy asked, eyeing Violet's stack of books.

"I don't know..." Violet answered. "As for us... well... I believe there's only a few differences in the magic department and the arts department. Unlike the sports and athletics part of the school, that's separated by fences and spend most of its classes outside."

"So... we'll still have classes together if you get in?" Cloudy asked excitedly.

"Oh! Yeah, totally." Violet answered quickly. "In fact, I think that if I pass, I'll we'll only have one class apart."

"Yes!" Cloudy punched the air above her head with happiness. After a few moments, she grew somber. "It sucks that they don't have a writing test. You would be amazing at that..."

"Well..." Violet eyed her cutie mark. "I don't know about that. If they did have a test like that, there's no guarantee that I would be able to write that day. The characters might want to rest that day, you know."

Cloudy shrugged. "It would still take a lot of stress off of you."

"Yeah..." Violet remembered when Mrs. Quill told her the news. She originally wanted to pass the art test, for visual media. But Violet couldn't work with paint, or sculpt, which were the only categories. She could only sketch with a pencil, and maybe a piece of charcoal. "Can't disagree with you there."

"Hmmm..." Cloudy hummed.

"Hey." Violet said, not wanting her sister to be in a bad mood. "You only have a day left. Study your plays or whatever."

Cloudy laughed. "I think I'm going to try out for Ismene." She picked up her script. "Again, it sucks that we have such a short time to learn our lines, but I think I can get it down."

"You'll do good." Violet supported. She picked up one of her spell books and let her eyes travel over symbols and spells. She instantly felt a headache. "I believe in you."

"I wish we could do the whole play, instead of five minutes..." Cloudy whined before she continued memorizing.

...

It was almost dinner time, and Violet was reaching the limits of her patience.

To her left, a stack of spell books towered over her and almost touched the low ceiling of the bedroom. A few shelves of her bookshelf were bare, and few loose pages had fallen out to settle sadly on the floor. To her right, were the last three books she had. Cleaning spells, which she knew she could do, but were worthless as far as passing the test. Plant manipulation, which she never tried. And a book that...she didn't know what it was because she couldn't even get it open. It was locked, without a lock, believe it or not. It was held shut, with a simple strap of fabric that couldn't be cut and a white stone that couldn't be cracked, no matter how hard she tried.

"I saw it move." Cloudy said from her bed. Her lines were memorized, and her thin script was laying by her hooves.

Violet groaned in frustration. "I know it moved, but it needs to disappear!"

"Try again?" Cloudy suggested. "Maybe fifth times the charm."

"No..." Violet gave up. It was the last day of their weekend. And the last day before they had where their 'anti-cheating charms'. "It's pointless. Unless I can force, like, five embodiments, I'm screwed."

"It... you can use magic, Violet." Cloudy said, not giving up. "Satin herself said that you didn't have to study for that portion of the test. I've seen you. You're very talented. You're just stressing yourself out. You need to relax."

"I can't relax." Violet said. Once that necklace was around her neck, she couldn't look at any of her previously studied material. Cloudy couldn't look at her lines. And Violet didn't know what Satin was going to do for the week... considering the fact that she seemed to have looked at everything.

"Look... they can't just send you away. If you explain the situation-"

"Do you honestly think that they're going to believe me?" Violet said. She hopped onto her bed and buried her face in her pillow.

"Well..." Cloudy sighed. She and Violet had already had this discussion. She still couldn't explain her talent. It wasn't because nopony would understand, or like, or even exploit her talent. It was because Canterlot ponies had a hard time dealing with other ponies abilities. Oh, a super talented unicorn from Phillydelphia has super powerful teleportation magic? Well, clearly that must be an exaggeration. Nopony could be that powerful and talented and amazing and not be from Canterlot.

Even know, Violet grimaced at the irony and hypocrisy. Canterlot ponies were masters at exaggeration. The statement that they don't exaggerate was an exaggeration! She hid her face in her lace pillow again.

Though Violet was technically a Canterlot pony, born and raised, her new 'relocation', as Fancy Pant's called it, left others either suspicious or giving her the look of envy. Not many ponies knew that she lived with Cloudy. In fact, most were quick to say that she lived in Fancy Pants' manner. Out of those who did know, only a few of them knew the truth about the adoption. Those who didn't thought it was just a fluke that she managed to move in next door. Ever since, those ponies looked at Mr. Parch and Mrs. Sugar with looks of curiosity and adoration, figuring that they secretly worked for Fancy Pants' new company and were 'undercover', for the sake of finding the latest trends.

With her new 'status', she had to tread carefully. A few of her classmates were starting to question her writing abilities, as well as her sketches. A few of them had even accused her of cheating. They couldn't believe that she could be better than them, because she was no longer a Canterlot pony in their eyes. They also bothered Cloudy, as well as Satin on occasion, but all three of them were more than willing to agree that Violet got the worst of it all.

So now, here she was, laying on her bed as her mom called her down for dinner. They told her the same things. To always try her best, and never give up hope. She had talent, but she was simply worrying herself to the point where she couldn't wield it. All she needed to do was calm herself down, and everything would be alright.

She groaned again as she got under her covers that night. She had just attempted the plant manipulation spell, the most basic that the book could provide, but it too ended up in a bust. She could slightly curl the leaves, and make the plant tremble, but she couldn't make it grow. It was a failure.

Silently, as to not wake up her sister that was sleeping a few hoof steps away, she ground her teeth and punched her pillow. She felt like a hypocrite, telling Cloudy that she shouldn't worry about her test, and it now being the only thing she could think about. It kept buzzing around her head, like a wasp, and it stung her mind whenever she thought about the possibility that she could fail. The feeling of dread and the fear of failure feeling like cold ice cubes getting painfully stuck on the lining of her stomach. Her body felt weak, and was shaking. It was like she was disconnected from life, and everything stable that she was only recently able to obtain.

Suddenly, without warning, she saw something flicker across her vision. She looked up, and saw it again. A faint shine, or sparkle that flittered and flew across the room. She looked around, and after a moment, only saw her elongated shadow that found its home in the corner of the room. It slipped and sled across the walls like some sort of assassin, eager to stay out of sight.

She looked up towards the window. Her bed was the closest, and was completely engulfed in moonlight. It was a full moon tonight, and the larger white orb floated innocently in the sky, like a bubble that would never pop. The craters and dark spots created the outline of a unicorn. It was a face that Violet always associated with herself. She always found the moon to be a large igniter of inspiration, so the shape was familiar, and trustworthy.

"Help me." She whispered. "Please... I can't loose this." She looked towards Cloudy. "I can't be separated from her... I can't go to a separate school. I can't even go to different classes... Help me, please."

There was a moment of silence. Violet just simply stared at the moon, thinking that, even if it didn't work, she could get some security in asking. Maybe Celestia would hear her, and offer her aid. Maybe some sort of moon fairy would catch a wisp of her plea, and give her a hoof. Perhaps, even the Mare in the Moon could hear her cries, and sing her lullabies to give her strength.

She saw the flicker again, and quickly swiveled her head to see it. Her eyes landed on her mane. It looked startlingly silver in the light, and almost shocked her by its own beauty. She had never been apart of something so pretty before. She held it in her hooves, and watched as it shifted from pinks to purples to blues to greens as she turn and twisted it around. She must have been dreaming. That was it. She had fallen asleep.

In blissful denial, she figured she might as well end the dream, and face her fears boldly. It was weird. A new found confidence filled her chest, and almost bordered on excitement for tomorrow morning. If she wasn't going to pass her test, she was going to look it in the eye and give it her all. She got under her covers, and rested her head on her pillow.

Before she closed her eyes, however, her gaze landed on the last spell book sitting on her desk. The stone that refused to open the leather bound pages glimmered and shone like her mane.

Her eyes grew heavy, and she felt her dream ending. But, before her mind could wander into a new one, her ears twitched.

Click.

...

"Alright class, quiet down now." Miss. Quill shouted loudly. She hovered in the air, her large wings looking intimidating and strong. The students quickly stopped their conversations.

"As you all know," She began. "The test to choose your next step in this fine school are to be taken within a week's time. That being said, we must officially begin the 'drying' week. This week, will deny you of all studying materials in order to assure that there are no cheaters, as well as the fact that you have officially learned the materials you were given to study."

The door to the classroom opened. Two large unicorn stallions entered the room. They both wore the royal insignia on their chests, and both had a gold ring on their horns.

"These fine stallions are to enchant all students in this classroom with an anti-information spell." She explained.

Violet looked at the two unicorns that stood directly in front of her. They were large, and the rings that surrounded their horns told her how powerful they could be.

"The spell will instantly know what information you have studied, and where you studied it from. It will prevent you from opening another book on the subject, or the same book on a different subject. Due to the forms that your parents and guardians have signed, this is something that is perfectly reasonable within Equestrian law, and it needs to be drawn to attention that in the fact of an emergency, that the spell would be lifted."

Violet felt herself shrinking in her seat. She saw Cloudy and Satin doing the same.

"If your test are in the categories that require your use of a particular object, the spell will be momentarily lifted during the testing period. You will also be given a duplicate that is certified for the testing, if need be. Examples include: sports equipment, magical dummies, and mareniquins." She cleared her throat, ending her speech. "Is that clear?" Nopony in the room spoke.

"Good." She said. She motioned for the two stallions to begin. "I trust that you and your parents have discussed this matter in better detail with the handouts I gave you a few weeks prior."

The two stallions started to activate their spell. The horns that were adorned with gold rings shimmered with a bright white hue. Violet felt a tightening in her skull, as though somepony was tying a ribbon around her head. Tightly. Soon the same sensation appeared in her hooves. Only this time, the feeling lingered for longer. Violet couldn't help but think of them as shackles and chains, preventing her from moving forward.

"Why did our parent's sign up for this?" Cloudy whispered as soon as the spell was over.

"I bet it seems reasonable for them. My father went through this process once. He survived. I'm sure we'll be fine." Satin said calmly. She subconsciously rubbed her hooves. "The only thing left is to relax."

"Easier said than done." Violet mumbled. Both of her friends heard her, she was certain.

"Well... " Satin said, after a long pause. "I... actually had something in mind for the next week or so... If you two would like to join me?"

"What do you mean?" Cloudy asked, her eyes filled with curiosity.

"Father says that the best way to ensure a good score is to get plenty of relaxation the week before. And... he noticed that we have been hanging out together recently." She swallowed. She was still struck her with small her bouts of anxiety from time to time. "He wanted me to invite you and your parents on a trip."

"A trip?" Violet asked. "Where would we go?"

"We have a small vacation house near the coast." She straightened her scarf. It was new. Violet and Cloudy had bought it for her when they made their friendship official. "We could go there."

"Ooh!" Cloudy said in awe. "The ocean!" She looked towards Violet. "Violet, we just have to go!"

"I..." One look into Cloudy's eyes, and Violet was done for. "We'll have to see what mom and dad say."

Cloudy pumped the air in success. "We're going to the ocean. We're going to the ocean!"

...

It was night. Or, it might as well have been, given the lighting. It was black, and the miniscule amount of light that somehow managed to crawl its way up into the inky blackness quickly dispersed out of fear.

A lone pony trotted though an alley. Though the pony itself would never be caught with this type of atmosphere, she was pushed to her limits. She needed to settle things that needed to be settled. That was that. She was willing to accidently step into some unnamed substance, and startle a few rats in order to deal with business.

Shimmering lowered her hood. Her bright red mane contrasted strangely with the green and black atmosphere.

"Crimson?" She called. Her nasally voice echoed against the chipping walls that surrounded her. "Crimson Eye. I know you're here. We made a deal."

There was a loud thud. Pony dressed in a ragged cloak had fallen, seemingly out of mid-air, only to land gracefully on her hooves behind Shimmering.

"If it isn't the poisoned apple..." Crimson said in greeting. Her voice came out like razor blades and broken glass. It seemed painful for the pony to even talk. Even with the heavy cloak, it was clear that the pony was malnourished and borderline starving. Her bony shoulders and hips stuck out like that of a cow's.

"Crimson." Shimmering said in a demanding tone. "I need you to settle something for me."

"What else is new?" The pony spat. She began coughing. It was vile and disgusting for even the rats to bare. Some fled. One of them crawled into a leaking pipe that led into the building to Shimmering's right.

Shimmering reached into the pocket of her bright pink coat. She pulled out a baggy, containing three hairs. One white, another gray, and the last one was gold.

"Oh?" The pony eyed the bag with wonder. "A lovely little snack for the weak old hag? How charming!" She levitated the bag. Her magic was a horrid looking burnt red. Her red eyes glowed from under the cloak, dangerous and threatening.

"I need you to take care of them." Shimmering said, sounding bored. "You always do the finest job, making sure no evidence is left behind."

"Hypnotism is the best form of magic, isn't it?" Crimson said, dazed. She plucked out the hairs, and quickly placed them on a partially drooling tongue. "I don't have to do any work! They all jump off the cliff for me!" She exploded into a fit of crackles and wheezes. All the while, she rolled the hairs in her mouth, seemingly enjoying their flavor.

"Y...yes..." Shimmering agreed. She was becoming disgusted. She had known Crimson for as long as she could remember, and she never got used to her vile smile or appearance. "Just get it done. I don't even want them to take the test next week." She started smoothing her mane. "Having lame-brain ponies like them near me is bound to make me fail! They're probably going to cheat off me anyway."

"So be it." Crimson said. And with that, Shimmering sauntered off. She had to be home before her father went to bed. She didn't want to go to all this trouble, only to be grounded. She wanted to see the action as it was happening. It was more entertaining that way.

"That filly..." Crimson muttered to herself once she was alone. A sickening smile split her face in two, showing yellow and black teeth. "She's the finest little brat that ever joined our little clan." She chuckled. "She'll make a fine bride."

Suddenly, without warning, a sharp pain appeared in her rotting mouth. She quickly spat out the hairs. One hair, the silver one, glowed in the green light and caused ripples to appear in the puddle it landed in. Crimson watched as the puddle became less clouded, and the bright moon and hundreds of stars appeared in it's reflection.

"What's this?" Crimson said. She laughed more manically than before. "The poison apple found it's worm!" She started dancing, her hooves splashing and spraying the now pure water around the alley. More rats scuttled off. A stray cat joined them. Her raspy voice started singing tunelessly. "Both shall rot and both shall die. One without clearly knowing why. Both shall fall and both shall fight. One will fight for the night. Both shall gain glory and gold. Just like the stories of old!"

Her crackles and insane laughter filled the dirty alley way. Only the moon saw her. Only the moon saw her dancing with happiness and betrayal. For once, in her old and wicked life, Crimson had found the small spark of sanity she needed to set things in motion.

We are Airborne!

Violet stood in an empty room. Torn and yellowing wallpaper showed signs of decay and neglect, as well as a large broken mirror that was left in shards in the corner. Spiders and mice scuttled and hissed in passing, only to duck into shadows or underneath broken floor boards. A single light bulb was lit above. One light bulb out of twenty. The chandelier was broken, and hanging at a weird angle.

She heard a snap. She spun around to seen nothing but a large wooden door, cracked and worn with age.

"W-who's there?" She asked the cold air. Her voice came out deeper than what she was expecting. She raised her hoof to her throat, only to notice that her legs were larger than normal. Running to the shattered mirror, she saw hundreds of faces show in its fragments. All of those faces were the same face however. The face of a mare, with a lavender coat and a silver mane. Her eyes were grey, but rimmed with an intense looking violet color that shouted out for the world to see. Her face was ragged, and tired looking. Her mane was messy and disheveled.

"Who..." Violet said, placing a hoof on one of the reflections. "are you?"

Violet continued to look down at herself. She was wearing a torn black gown, with sequins and beads hanging on by torn threads. The long train of the dress was completely frayed, and leaves and dirt were thoroughly caked into its many strings. One shoulder was torn, and the other was completely gone.

"Hehehe...." A chuckle seeped through the decaying walls.

"Who's there?!" Violet shouted. She quickly whirled around again, only to become face to face with a horrid smile. A scarlet red mane, a color that reminded Violet of blood and gore, framed her face. Her coat was the color of ashes, and her eyes were as black as a void. Around her neck was a blood red crystal that hung on a worn leather chain. It glowed, and seemed as though it could burn flesh.

"Hello..." She said. Her voice sparked a sense of familiarity, but Violet couldn't place it. She was too busy shaking with fear. "You called?" The mare's breath reeked of something vile.

"Oh..." She crooned. "Come on now... I know we never got along, but I expect some sort of courtesy." Her greasy red bangs hung over her eyes in a joking manner. "Repeat after me, my little moon stone..." She took a breath. "'Hello!'" The mare shouted in Violet's face. It seemed as though this mare's vocal cords had the ability to cut diamond.

"Hmph." She huffed. She backed away to flip her mane out of her eyes. The action looked strangely casual and normal given her appearance. "I see how it is." She wrinkled her nose as though she smelled something awful. "I knew you wouldn't respect me, not even at your end. That's exactly the pony you are..."

The mare pulled something out of her pack. Violet had never realized she even had a bag. It was as though it materialized into thin air. In her hoof, was a strange ball of ooze.

"W-what is that?" Violet asked, looking at the thing with pure terror.

The mare chuckled. "Going to play dumb, are we... What? You think that will make me show mercy?" Violet watched as the ball of ooze twitched and moved. It took everything she had not to collapse onto the dirty floor when she saw eyes sprout, as well as a pair of wings. Its entire body seemed to be a mouth, completely filled with teeth and a sickening yellow slime. Two long fangs protruded out of its lips, sharp and deadly.

The mare laughed again. "I can't believe, after all these years, it's finally happened!" The little thing started to fly. It bobbed up and down, its wings being small for its heavy jelly like body. "Took long enough..."

The thing attacked. Violet ducked and closed her eyes like a coward. The room was deadly silent.

"That is not how a proud lunar pony is supposed to act." A new voice echoed around the room. It held so much power, so much strength, that Violet couldn't help but cower lower. She opened her eyes, and found that she was no longer in the filthy room with dirt covered floorboards and rotting wooden walls. Instead, she was in a small field. The grass held a silver sheen, and cool mist drifted and floated over the place like a lonely runaway cloud. The full moon shined brightly above her, providing her with as much light as though it were day.

"Are you alright?" The voice asked. Violet looked around, there was nopony to be seen.

"You look in vain, Violet Lace." The voice explained. "I am not there. At least, not yet."

"Not there?" Violet asked. She was growing more confused by the second. "What do you mean by-"

"My essence is with you, as it has always been." The voice simply answered, if Violet could even call that an answer to begin with. "Tragically, my physical form has been lost, as well as my mind."

"Your mind?" Violet grew frightened. Was this some way of her self realizing that she was crazy? Had her talent finally done it? Did she drive herself mad?

"You... were not supposed to witness what you did... It seems as though some of the clairvoyant abilities have passed down." The voice continued to say, only making things worse.

"I'm sorry, Violet." The voice said. "I'm afraid that I'm going to use the last of my strength in order to wipe your memory."

"W-what?!" Violet sunk down into the grass, trying to get as low as possible.

"Don't worry, moonstone." The voice was now comforting. "It shall not hurt. My memory shall be wiped as well, a long with my last shred of essence. This memory will not return along with my physical form."

"What your saying doesn't make any sense!" Violet shrieked. She was afraid, and beyond reason. "What is happening? How can you say the 'memory will not return', if we just made it?! How can you be talking to me without a mind?"

"Time is a confusing thing..." The voice seemed to chuckle. "You'll understand, depending on the choice you make."

...

"Violet!" Cloudy screamed.

Violet sat up in bed, startled out of her own skin. Her mane was wild and ragged with curls and frizz, and her shoulder ached from whens she slept on it awkwardly.

"Violet, for the love of Celestia, wake up!" Cloudy screamed at her. "Fancy Pants' air ship leaves in an hour!" Cloudy jumped onto Violet's bed and started to jump. "With all that mumbling you did last night, I figured you would be more excited!"

"Mu-Ah!" Violet was shot into the air by Cloudy's jumping. "Mumbles? Wha-ah!" She was flung off the side of the bed, and landed harshly on her hooves.

"Sorry!" Cloudy quickly jumped off the bed to help her. "It's just... you were talking a lot in your sleep. I figured you were having happy dreams about today!" She shot Violet a bright smile.

"I..." Violet racked her brain for any memories of her dream last night. She came up completely blank. "I don't remember. I guess if I was loud enough to wake you up, I must have been having some intense dreams..."

"I knew it!" Cloudy said. She jumped for joy. "Well, come on!" She ran to their closet. "We need to finish packing!" She then sprinted around her side of the room, gathering her bed sheets, clothes and what seemed to be half of the furniture and miraculously shoving it into her bag. Violet simply blinked, and smiled at Cloudy's charming enthusiasm. She had gotten used to her... abilities, what with living with her for a few weeks. If anything, this was tame.

"Alright, alright." Violet said, pulling her bag out from under her bed. "Are mom and dad packed?"

"Yep!" Cloudy leapt onto her bed, and sat on it as though it was a perch. "Dad wasn't going to miss an opportunity to dig up some history on the place where we're going. Apparently, there's a bunch of legends and stories from that place and a bunch of awesome history. He packed both his and mom's bag last night, before he went to bed." She looked down at her, her face sprouting a serious expression. "You're the only one who hasn't finished."

"Oooh... Kay." She said, clearly getting the message. "I'll go do that." She started gathering her things.

"Awesome!" Cloudy smiled. "I'll go get you some breakfast." She skipped out of the room.

Violet did what she said she would. She packed what few clothes she had into a large purple suitcase that her dad managed to scavenge out of the attic (shocking!). Her shawl, which she only took off when she went to bed, was firmly wrapped around her neck and shoulders. She loaded her back with her toothbrush, manebrush, and the rest of the products her mom had managed to get her over her short time of living there. Secretly, Violet loved what the products did to her mane and complexion. Not because she wanted attention, but because the feeling of having a soft coat and slipping into soft lace sheets was one of the nicest feelings she's currently ever felt. Along with the soft whispers her mane gave her when it brushed against her face. Plus, there was always a sense of accomplishment that came with getting dressed up. Of course, she'd never admit this out loud.

Once her bag was stuffed with her essentials, Cloudy walked into their room with a plate of pancakes and fried Swiss chard strips with cheese.

"You ready to go?" She asked, putting the plate down on her bedside table.

"As done as I'll ever be." Violet said, admiring her work. The bag sat innocently, surrounded by a clean, and frighteningly bare bed, and empty chests.

"You're not going to bring any books?" Cloudy asked, looking at the bookshelf. All of the shelves were full.

"I can't touch most of them, remember?" Violet said, looking at her shelves. "My magic doesn't work on them, and they float away if I try to grab them with my hooves."

"Oh yeah." Cloudy said, recalling her own incident with her script the night prior. She went to grab it casually, like she had done every night for the past few weeks to study her lines. With her enthusiasm, and assumed speed, the spell had overreacted, and flung the papers across the room, smack dab into their mother's face and a plate of cookies she just prepared. Nopony was angry, but they threw away the script after that. The cookies survived, for the most part. Everypony kind of focused on that topic for the rest of the night.

"Plus, I'm sure Satin has things to read." Violet wrinkled her nose. "Even if it isn't my usual material."

Cloudy grunted in agreement. "I guess. And, I bet it's going to be so fun, that you won't even have time to read!"

"I... wouldn't go that far." She turned around to pick up her stuff. There was a moment of silence as both girls gathered their things and moved them by the door. Their parents would pick them up, and take them to the air ship when everypony was here.

"Hey... Violet?" Cloudy said, after everything was settled. "Why don't you take that book?" She pointed under Violet's desk. The book that Violet had never managed to open was sitting silently on the floor. "You never opened it, so you should be fine."

"Just because I didn't open it, doesn't mean that the spell wont work." Violet timidly tried to reach for the book. Surprisingly, the book practically gravitated towards her hoof. She still didn't know how to open it though.

"Well, there you go!" Cloudy said, seeing the book in Violet's hooves. "Now you have something to read." She peered at the books seal. "A pair of scissors should handle that, if we become desperate."

Violet was about to open her mouth to say something, when her mother wandered into the room, her mane down in golden curls, and a pair of sunglasses shielding her pretty eyes from view. She told the girls to get to the living room, they would be leaving soon. All of them sat on the couch, eager to get started with there mini-vacation. Apparently, Mr. Parch had become good friends with Fancy Pants over the past month or so. There were many situations where he would come home with the stallion by his side. They would be deep in conversation, whether it be about history, family matters, magical robotics, or what have you. Fancy Pants would say hi to Mrs. Sugar, greet the girls with a warm smile, and leave saying that he wished to see them again soon.

"It's been a while since I've been by the ocean." Mrs. Sugar said wistfully. "That was back when I still lived like a gypsy, letting the wind take me by my mane and drag me wherever it wished." She sighed. "I can't really say I've missed it until now."

"I wished you would tell us more about your nomad-esque days." Mr. Parch leaned back in the couch. "But, if memories serve me right, you 'barely remember any of it.'"

"Yellow!" Mrs. Sugar shouted. She looked towards the girls and blushed. "Now girls-that was... Those were days when..."

Violet watched as her mother grew more and more flustered. Though she knew what she was talking about, she kept her face blank and innocent, similar to Cloudy's. She was too busy being lost in thought to think about her guardian in that way, not that that was a big deal to begin with. She was thinking about that book. It was clearly a spell book. It had the large word 'Grimoire' on the cover in silver. If that wasn't a spell book, Violet had every right to question the universe. She wanted to open it so badly, now that she was thinking about it. But Violet felt uncomfortable about Cloudy's suggestion of using scissors. If anything, she felt slightly insulted.

"Hello. Hello!" A familiar voice resonated from the door. Fancy Pants let himself in. "I hope everypony is ready and packed. The balloon can only hold so much air for so long." After that, they were off. The family was quickly pushed towards the air ship docks that were located a small amount of trotting distance from the house. Both Violet and Cloudy's mouths hung open at the sight of the large balloon. It was huge! Of course, it had to be big, what with it holding a large ship for a base.

"How did you ever manage this?" Violet's father asked in awe.

"It was my father's." Fancy Pants answered, smiling proudly. "I only let it out on special occasions." He lowered his head to whisper to the girls. "Satin is already inside, if you want to see her." Leaning even closer, and whispering even quieter. "And I snuck some extra cupcakes into your rooms, as well as some sodas for you, Violet."

Both girls smiled and started running towards the ship. It was easy to figure out where to go. The staff was eager to cater to them and show them the way. Satin was also waiting in the sitting room.

"You're here!" She said when she first saw them. She ran to them and they all had a big group hug. "I'm so glad you guys could come."

"This is going to be so awesome!" Cloudy said with glee. "When do we first see the ocean?"

"Tomorrow morning." Satin answered, knowing the question was coming. She looked at them. "You two look good."

Violet looked down at her outfit. She was wearing her shawl, of course, but she let the ends dangle down her left side, almost reaching the floor. Her mane was done up in a Prench braid, and her tail was gathered into a messy but quirky bun. Cloudy was dressed in a similar manner, with her mane down and her tail perky and girly. She had wanted to dress up for the occasion, and slightly forced Violet to do the same. Not that Violet needed much convincing.

"Thanks." Violet said in return. "You look good as well." Satin was wearing a different version of her white scarf. It was more of a ascot than anything, with its ends pointed and stiff. A pair of white rimmed sunglasses was balanced between her ears and in front of her horn. Her mane was in braids, both of them perfectly symmetrical and framing both sides of her face. With a gentle sniff to the air, Violet could also smell the faint hint of coconut and pineapple.

"Thanks." Satin said. "You want me to show you around?"

"Yes!" Cloudy said, jumping high. At last, she was going to see the ocean, and all of her excitement that had built up over the day was being released. If Satin and Violet hadn't already been used to Cloudy's behavior, they would probably be the first to call her insane.

Satin showed them around the ship. It was old, and a few places were noticeably updated with modern technology, while others were carefully preserved. An old family crest, carved in old wood hung next to a large monitor. Chic curtains were covering antique steel window coverings. A large, and possibly dangerous, chandelier was hanging above a freshly polished wooden floor. Vases decorated ever hallway, along with pictures of Satin as a foal, and Fancy pants as a young stallion. A few other pictures were there as well, but they held ponies that Violet didn't recognize.

"Hey, Violet! Look!" Cloudy shouted, pointing at one of them. "That pony looks like you!"

Cloudy was right, in a way. The picture was that of a stallion, with a navy blue mane and gray coat, standing next to a mare with a lilac coat and a silver mane. They both smiled brightly for the camera. The mare did have a strong resemblance to Violet, what with their similar colors. But that was the only thing that was the same. The mare in the picture was wearing a beautiful white gown, and her long mane, though braided, was almost grazing the floor. In the background, there were more ponies, dancing and having fun in similar outfits.

"That's my great grandfather." Satin said as the two were staring at the picture. "He's the one who founded my father's company."

"Who's the mare?" Violet asked.

Satin hummed, thinking. "Nopony knows. She gave him the greatest advice of his life. If it wasn't for her, we wouldn't be standing here, in this boat." She readjusted her sunglasses that were sliding down her face. "They took that picture after that. It was in some big party in Prance, I think."

"How nice." Cloudy said, already getting bored and looking at the other stuff. "Can we see our rooms?"

"Oh!" Satin quickly got back on track. "Of course, this way."

Satin lead the girls to their rooms. Of course, given the extravagance of the ship, both girls got their own rooms. They both looked identical, with white furniture and blue decorations. The rooms themselves were small, with tiny bathrooms and single one-pony beds. Fancy Pants was true to his word, and had a few extra boxes of soda in Violet's room, next to the dresser, and an extra platter of blue cupcakes in Cloudy's room, on her bedside table.

"We can have an awesome slumber party!" Cloudy said, seeing the yummy treats by her tiny bed.

Both girls sat in Satin's room for the next few minutes. It was warmer, as far as atmosphere went. One could easily tell that Satin's room was 'Satin's room'. Two book shelves, all filled with books on birds and weather patterns. Some were random topics like robotic engineering and mechanics. Violet could've also sworn that she saw a book on cloning.

"Girls!" Fancy Pants called from down the hall. "We have lift-off!"

Suddenly, the entire room shook. It was only for an instant. But vases wobbled and the few pieces of jewelry in Satin's closet clinked and clattered delicately against each other. It felt strange. Violet figured it would be like being on an actual boat, with bobbing and rhythmic swaying. Instead, it was as though she was standing on padding. It didn't make sense. The floor underneath her was hard, and would clack under her hooves when she walked. But she couldn't shake the feeling as though she were up in the air, hovering and weightless.

"Do you feel that?" She asked Cloudy.

"Feel what?" Cloudy said, tilting her head to the side. "The boat shaking? That was so cool, wasn't it?!"

"No, no..." Violet furrowed her brow. "The weightlessness."

"Um... no." Cloudy said, pouting her lip. "I'm sure you'll get used to it. If you get sick, I'm sure our parents will handle it."

"Uh... yeah." Violet said, biting her lip and not knowing what else to do. "Your right. I just need to adjust."

With that, the trip to the beach went swimmingly. The one night they spent traveling was filled with the girls doing nothing but drinking soda and eating cupcakes and talking. They all eventually fell asleep on Satin's plush carpet, only to wake up in their own rooms. Their parents had tucked them in, not wanting their first steps on solid ground to be filled with sore muscles and achy joints.

"We're here!" Fancy Pants said once they reached mid-afternoon.

Wow!" Cloudy said as she looked out the window.

"Would you look at that!"

Shadows of the Past

Shimmering looked at her father. He was sleeping in his office, his head resting awkwardly on his desk. A small pool of drool trailed out of his mouth to shape a shapeless blob that threatened to touch his cheek. Shimmering grimaced. It was a side-effect of the drug, one that she had never gotten used to seeing her father succumb to. Sleeping? Obviously. Headaches? Not a problem. Minor to major amounts of memory loss? If anything, that made her life easier. But drooling? Now, that was just disgusting.

She sighed and walked over to his chair. He couldn't wake up with a sore neck, which was exactly what he would get if he continued to sleep on a large slab of polished apple wood. She kicked the legs, and watched as her father crumbled to the floor, lifeless and limp. Satisfied that he wouldn't complain of achy joints, she puffed out her chest proudly.

She was such a caring individual, wasn't she?

"Are you ready to go?" Whispered a pony from the doorway. "We must make haste, my lady."

"I'm coming!" She screamed, no longer dealing with the cruel pressure of having to hold her voice in. Her tone echoed off the walls. The pony in the doorway didn't flinch. She was used to her bratty ways.

"Your prince awaits, my lady." The pony bowed. A few strands of a bright blue mane tumbled out of her hood. Shimmering smiled.

"Now that's more like it!" She honored the pony with a pleased tone. "I'm so glad you're here, Lapis. Aren't you glad you're here?" She looked at Lapis as though she were a foal, and she was trying to get her to speak her first word. "Aren't you glad you joined me?"

"Yes, my lady." Lapis's eyes glowed an unnatural red. Her face held no emotion. "It is an honor to serve you in ways that others can not."

"That's right." Shimmering nodded at Lapis's obvious statement. She sounded as though she was about to stick a gold star sticker on the mare's gray cloak. "And why is that?"

"Because you are the heir." Lapis stared into nothing for a brief moment, only to have her red glowing eyes pulled towards Shimmering. "Because all that do not follow you will fall."

"Exactly!" Shimmering smiled. "Very good, Lapis. You did a good job."

"Come now, my lady." Lapis motioned towards the doorway. "We must hurry."

Shimmering huffed. "Don't start getting cocky, Lapis Vine. Just because you answered an obvious question, doesn't mean you can start making orders."

The two of them quickly through the estate, past sleeping butlers and maids that were supposed to do the nightly cleaning. The entire house was dark. Shimmering didn't bother lighting the hallways. It was too much work. Instead, she had her servant Lapis bump into things, and make the pathway for her. Lapis was more than eager to comply. They hurried out the door and into the dark crevices of the city. They reached an ally-way. Lapis, using magic that Shimmering graced her with permission to use, opened a secret door.

"As always, you first, my lady." Lapis said in monotone.

"Yeah, I better be..." Shimmering mumbled, upset with the grime on her new horseshoes.

The two of them walked into an atmosphere that was hard to deny was highly inappropriate for ponies Shimmering's age. Mares draped over stallions, and glowing-eyed servants were everywhere, doing everything from serving drinks and meals to... other things. A dark mist covered the floor, and sickening lights caused the entire room to have an atmosphere right out of a colt's nightmare. The entire room smelled of smoke and the lingering fear of evil and suffering. There was no sound of chatter or conversation, though lips were moving like words were spoken.

"My precious little Ruby." A stallion crooned as soon as he saw her. Shimmering quickly shooed away Lapis, ordering her to stand in the corner and not move. It was the only thing she was good for, anyway.

"Jinx!" Shimmering said, a bright smile lighting her face. She ran up to him, her stubby little legs causing the shiny white marble floor to sing.

"How are you, my precious little girl?" Jinx asked. His tone almost seemed fatherly. His white smile stood out in a charming manner against his black coat. His white mane and tail flipped handsomely over his eyes, and his tail was neatly groomed.

"I'm good." Shimmering lowered her hood.

Jinx grimaced. "Ruby, honey bun, you must have been in such a hurry. You mane is still... that." He gently rubbed his hoof over her pompadour, letting the large mass of strands and locks fall. They reached mid way down the floor when they were all loose. "There." He smiled. "Much better." Shimmering smiled in return, glad of the praise.

"Tonight is a very important night." She said, showing a toothy grin.

"Ah!" He smiled wider. Suddenly, Shimmering was glad for the enchanted silence that protected each conversation. She was the only one who was worthy of his words. "Indeed! Come now, to the study. We shall continue from there."

She was led down pathways that were carved into the cliff face. Wide and cold corridors that were only lit by red fire and the occasion glow of a servant's eyes. They passed classrooms and bedrooms and libraries. They kept going deeper into the rock, to the point were precious jewels revealed themselves in the walls. It wasn't until they reached a large door, made entirely out of obsidian, did they stop walking.

Jinx's office was the biggest of all of the personal rooms. It made sense, considering he was the leader of the Black Diamonds. His office held a large mahogany desk, always kept clean and neat. Bookshelves holding banned spell books and illegal potion ingredients completely engulfed one wall, while a large collection of jewels and skulls decorated the other. The most impressive thing, however, was the tiny stream of lava that provided the orange and red lighting. It trailed along the edge of the room, narrowly missing the ancient transcripts and texts that would have been banned centuries ago. A magical encasing was used to prevent injury. A plush, scarlet red, skin carpet tied the whole place together.

Jinx settled himself in his large chair. Shimmering jumped and sat on one of his knees. It looked as though she was about to be read a story. In fact, that was exactly what was happening.

"Are you ready?" Jinx asked. Shimmering nodded eagerly. She had been waiting for this for moons.

Jinx cleared his throat. His voice practically caused the solid stone walls to tremble.

"Long ago, there was a kingdom. And in this kingdom, lived a simple stallion with simple dreams. He was a young unicorn, with a large abundance of magic at his disposal. He was very smart, and very brave. He wanted to be scholar."

Shimmering giggled, causing Jinx to stop his story.

"Now, now, Ruby..." Jinx smiled playfully. He waved his hoof at her, signaling her to stop. "I know it's humorous now, but you need to stay quiet until the end." Shimmering nodded, a look of determination on her face. Jinx continued.

"He studied his heart out. He was a master at spells, incantations, and potions. He was known throughout the land for his talent and power. His name was Black Diamond. In the kingdom where he lived, his parents were miners, and mined the land for jewels and stones.

One day, Black Diamond traveled to a city to get scrolls for his studies. He left his kingdom, and went to another one. In this kingdom, he found a beautiful mare. She was so beautiful, that she made the flowers look towards her as she walked by. Bees and birds hummed the sweetest of melodies around her because, if she was without them, it would seem insulting. The waves of the ocean reached and crawled to kiss her hooves. The sun kissed her personally, causing her mane to shine like pure stands of rubies and glass.

Black Diamond quickly tried to obtain her heart. Nights were spent showering her with gifts and stories, writing her songs and giving her sweets beyond the wildest imagination. He devoted his entire life to her within a matter of moments. His one and only goal was to get her hoof in marriage."

Shimmering giggled. She loved this part. Jinx smiled warmly.

"On the night he was going to propose, he brought her to the courtyard where they met. They were going to have a lovely picnic, and he was going to give her the finest present he could give her. He had been slaving over his spells for weeks. He finally felt as though he could complete the perfect one. But he had to be careful, he could only preform it once.

On the night of the full moon, under the silver rays, he preformed the spell. It was beautiful. Waves and waves of peaceful serenity and bliss washed over them. They were filled with strength. Both of them flew into the clouds, where magical beasts and gods acknowledged their power and strength. Dragons shrunk back in fear, phoenixes admired their life-spans and ponies worshiped them. They were perfect. It was all the mare ever wanted, was to be perfect. He had found the spell deep underground, in a cave. A single black diamond sitting on the old paper. It was fate."

His eyes twinkled with wonder. All of the ponies did whenever they thought about the story.

"They were sent to the world where only perfect ponies could live. A world beyond the clouds. They lived there, living without the ties of space in time, never aging and never missing a single second. Black Diamond, a being now so beautiful and perfect, was now the king of this land. All of his followers in the normal world were promised the ability to go to the perfect world by the next full moon."

Jinx's eyes turned cold and hard. Shimmering hated this part.

"But. On the night of ascension, the queen of the perfect world did a horrible thing. She kissed the earth with her presence, a thing that was so special and so profound that it almost seemed absurd. She went to earth without telling her husband, and committed the greatest of felonies by contacting the great rulers of the land. She betrayed her kingdom, and had the sisters fire a beam of pure magic and power at the King.

He fell, wounded. The black diamond that buried itself in his chest after he preformed the spell had cracked under the power. He fell to the earth, mortal and heartbroken."

"But he didn't die!" Shimmering said desperately. Jinx shook his head.

"He didn't die. Instead, he trapped his soul in pure diamond, where it lays today. It isn't until his true love is reborn, seeking redemption, he will return to us and bring us to our promised land."

Shimmering smiled the brightest then. That was the best part of the story, by far. She looked at her own cutie mark, and at her bright red mane that sparkled and shined like rubies and glass.

"And that's you." Jinx lightly touched Shimmering's nose with the tip of his hoof. She laughed. "He will be reborn, with a new mind and body. Better than ever."

"Just five more years!" Shimmering cheered.

"Yes! Yes, five more years!" Jinx cheered back. "Then we, his faithful followers, shall ascend to the heavens. And you, his faithful queen, shall rule over everypony."

"And what about those dreadful imperfect ponies on the ground?" Shimmering asked devilishly, already knowing the answer.

"Their imperfections will end." Jinx smile grew cold and black with evil intention. The very air around them grew cold.

"Now," He said after a moment. "Go to your room and relax. Your studies start in an hour."

"Okay." Shimmering quickly trotted out of the room, not before waving goodbye to Jinx. As she walked, she passed the Great Room, which held Black Diamond's soul in the purest and clearest of diamond she had ever seen. She never got tired of looking at it. A large black mass, that swirled and clouded and shined, glowed in what seemed to be a twinkling star. If it wasn't for this very room, all of the story she just heard and heard throughout her lifetime would have been brushed off as an old ponytale. But now, as she stared her future husband her future King for the billionth time, it couldn't be even more true.

She felt the anticipation make her impatient. How could she stand waiting five years? She wanted the power now! But she had to wait. Nothing could crack that diamond until it was time. Waiting was good. Waiting meant getting what she wanted exactly the way she wanted it.

She smiled then. It was amazing. Even now, as a simple filly, she could get what she wanted out of one of the most powerful beings in all of the world.

She let her eyes trail to behind the large stone to rest on two thrones. They were made of rock, both polished so keenly that the backs of them were practically mirrors. On top of one of them, was a black diamond. A bright blue star was behind it. It seemed to glow, virtually pulsating with strength and power. The second one had a ruby. It was the exact same as the mare's cutie mark from centuries ago, and the same as Shimmering's now.

Jinx had found her as a foal. He pretended to be a wealthy client of her father in order to get close to her, and teach her her true destiny. He said that the large ruby glowed on top of the throne when she was born, signaling that the throne had a new master. Ever since then, Shimmering had been trained to be queen. She was the heir. She would be standing side by side with Black Diamond's reincarnation whenever he showed. She would birth his children, be his wife, and use all that she deserved being so.

She wouldn't mess up. Clearly, that other mare had gone mad with power. She wanted to dethrone Black Diamond, and take all of his power for herself. Shimmering wouldn't do that, she wasn't stupid. She knew that it was her destiny, and to botch it simply to sit on a near identical throne seemed ridiculous and dumb. After all, the king is the one who is constantly putting himself in danger. If anything, it was best to be the queen. She could sit comfortably in a fancy bed room, being doted on by loyal servants while her husband goes off and does the dirty work.

Her smile grew.

The ruby around her neck glowed.

...

Cloudy sighed as her entire body sunk into the warm sand on the beach.

"Isn't this nice, Violet?" She asked. She started scooping warm sand and piling it on her legs. "We've only been here a couple of days, and I already can see myself living here."

"Hm?" Violet looked up, lost in thought. "Oh, yeah. It's nice."

"Yeah... yeah it is." Cloudy's gentle snoring started to resonate from the sand pile. Violet quickly moved, effectively blocking her sister from the harsh rays of the sun.

Violet sighed, wishing she could feel Cloudy's apparent bliss. Ever since the trip started, Violet had felt twitchy and on edge. As soon as she left the air ship, the weightless feeling had subsided. But a new feeling of uncomfortable energy had taken its place. She felt as though she had to keep moving. She walked down trails, swam in the waves, paced around her room in Fancy Pants' beach house. Nothing seemed to settle her. It was odd. It didn't feel bad, but it was most definitely unnerving.

"Um... Cloudy?" Violet asked, trying to hope that she was still awake. "I'm going to walk down that path again..."

"She's asleep." Satin's voice startled Violet. She stood up quickly.

"Satin! I... uh..." Violet stuttered.

Satin had a bored expression on her face. About a day in, that expression had grown rather permanent. All of her books were read and all of her homework was finished. She had nothing to do.

She quickly drove a white umbrella into the beach sand. "Go ahead." She said, waving her hoof. "Sleeping here, and getting sand in my fur, is better than standing in my room trying to find pictures in the marble wall paper."

Violet quickly nodded, not needing another explanation. She sprinted towards the trail, having every rock, leaf, and vine memorized. She needed to burn this energy. Her nights were filled with restless dreams that she couldn't remember, and a sad pain in her chest that she couldn't describe. With the lack of sleep, she figured that she would be just as eager to sleep in the warm sand like her friends, but instead, the thought seemed about as appealing as eating the sand itself.

She kept running, letting herself get out of breath and letting her chest burn. She felt an uncomfortable warm fill her muscles.

She stopped where she always stopped. A large palm tree, nearly falling over due to the mass of coconuts that hung at the top. She turned around slowly, letting herself catch her breath. Even now, her legs felt twitchy and she found herself fidgeting with the tips of the leaves as she passed by them. They swung back and forth, as though waving her goodbye.

...

Moon Veil's eyes squinted as she looked at the harsh sun through the cloth of her tent. Dark purple and mulberry color patterns created a beautiful design on the stone ground that provided her with very little comfort these days. Not that a plush bed would have made much of a difference. She had had a rather horrible night, after all.

"Moon Veil!" A voice shouted from outside. "Moon Veil, wake up!"

"Lulu?" Moon Veil groaned. "What are you doing up? You need to sleep..." She started to snore lightly, letting her mind fog and her senses dull.

"Don't go back to sleep." A hoof prodded her side, causing a dull pain to sprout in her ribs. "It's amazing! You need to see it!"

"See what?" Moon Veil whined. "I see a lot of things. I complain about it a lot. You're my best friend, you should know."

"No, no!" Lulu's friendly voice continued. "The castle! The castle is almost finished. Come on! I really want you to see!"

She sat up. "I see... nothing. I don't walk out of my tent. There you go. That's my fortune for the day." With that, she laid herself back onto the floor. She felt her body be held by magical levitation. She groaned again.

"Come on!" Lulu quickly dressed her in her silver hood. Life seemed so much simpler with magic. "As soon as you see it, you can go back to sleep. Promise!"

Moon Veil whined again. Her complaints grew even stronger as the harsh sunlight hit her sensitive eyes, and the heat of the day made her fur start to prickle.

"There it is!" Lulu's face beamed with happiness. "Sister and I just finished the outside. We'll be working on the inside starting sunrise tomorrow!"

"Bleck... sunrise..." Moon Veil said in a dramatic fashion. Even with her apparent bitterness, she couldn't help but smile as she looked up at the large structure. Made of pearlescent marble, the castle sat snuggly in its forest surroundings. Two towers held the symbols of the sun and moon; the moon on the left and the sun on the right. The castle was nearly symmetrical, except for a few stray buildings that built up the structure and foundation.

"Isn't it lovely?" Lulu asked. "Everything in perfect harmony." She fluffed up her wings with happiness. Her horn sparked with glee.

"Yes... yes. I suppose it is quite nice" Moon Veil said, rolling her eyes. She tried in vain to hold back her smile, but her best friend's contagious attitude was starting to rub off on her.

"And guess what!" Lulu flew up a few paces from the ground. "You'll have your own room! It's official. Your the 'Royal Clairvoyant'!"

"Did you make that up?" Moon Veil asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Maybe." Lulu laughed. Her navy blue mane rippled as her shoulders shook. "But my sister humored me for a moment."

"P-Princess Luna!" A stallion in armor stuttered, getting Lulu's attention. "M-my comrades and I would like to ask for permission to enter the castle grounds!"

Lulu lowered herself to the ground and regained her composure. "We shall allow it." She said loudly. Moon Veil had to hold back snickers at her friends 'royal' way of speaking. The stallion quickly scrambled to gather his team before heading inside the gate.

Lulu cleared her throat. "Shall we go inside? I know the interior isn't entirely decorated, but it can't possibly be that much different than your tent at the moment."

"I... guess." Moon Veil said. To be honest, the thought of having to move all of her stuff, in the middle of the day, seemed far to exhausting.

"Great!" Lulu cheered. "Best friends should sleep under the same roof, especially if that roof is a castle!" She flew up in the air again. Moon Veil caught the sight of her cutie mark underneath the fluttering fabric of her black cloak. A crescent moon centered in a charming black splotch. Though most nights, the sight of her mark would bring her happiness. The crescent moon was one of the many things they shared, being best friends and all. Moon Veil's cutie mark consisted of a similar moon, but with a crystal ball overshadowing it slightly.

That night was like many before it. Restless, and plagued with nightmares. Her friend, trying to master her dream walking abilities, constantly sensed the dreadful visions and sights. Though she would normally wake up with her friend shaking her awake, worried sick, this night ended particularly strangely.

It was near dawn. Lulu would asleep by now, trying to wander around her own dreams and spy on others. Her sister would be wide awake, but that was never really a problem. Though Moon Veil had seen Celestia in passing, and socialized with her on a few occasions, they had never particularly become great friends. Moon Veil took the advantage of the silent castle and courtyard to wander across the bridge that separated it from the forest. She knew exactly where to go. She saw the exact path that she was meant to take.

She wandered through the forest for most of the morning. By late afternoon, she reached her destination. An open clearing. It was a perfect circle, with heavenly green grass and small flowers blooming at random. The bright sun hurt her eyes now more than ever, but even she would admit that what she was looking at was beautiful. Fluffy white clouds looked like pillows, and the occasional sparrow or blue jay would fly between them and cause whispers of white to trail after them.

She wandered into the center of the clearing. Once she got there, she was shocked to admit that she didn't see the bright white and red flower that bloomed there. Its petals looked like silk, and the scent that wafted from its center reminded Moon Veil of every sweet she had ever eaten and loved.

"You saw your fate, didn't you...?" A voice whispered from the center. Moon Veil peered into the flower's center to see a bright red ruby.

"I did." Moon Veil said. "Are you the one who sent me those visions?" She asked.

"How do you know it was I...?" The voice asked. "You can see into the future, can you not...?"

"Only a couple a days at most." Moon Veils said. Her time was almost up. "Not a hundred years."

"Ah..." The voice chuckled. "Well... I suppose I've been caught. You know what to do, correct?"

Moon Veil sighed. "Yes... yes I do..." She took up the brutal task of lifting the flower from the earth. Its roots desperately clung to the earth as though it was searching for another ruby for its center. "You could've made this easier, you know."

"Terribly sorry about that... Once I connected to the earth, I couldn't help myself..."

At last the plant sprung free. Moon Veil quickly ate the flower, wincing as she swallowed the ruby whole. She tasted dirt on her tongue when the grueling task was over.

"Done..." She signed. Her belly ached, and she felt like complaining again when she realized that she had to walk back to the castle before nightfall.

"Let's go." She didn't know who she was talking to anymore. The voice hadn't talked to her since she took the first bite. She saw what happened next. Her best friend's betrayal, all of the lives that were going to be born, and all of the lives that were going to be lost. Her sister ruling alone for so many years, her eyes softened by grief and guilt. The horrible storm of chaos that would soon plague the land soon after her death. An empire falling to the ground and freezing under the snow... everything felt like a scary dream.

"We have some long lives ahead of us." She whispered to the forest. A few birds chirped in response.

Shadow Jumps

Violet felt the wooden floorboards underneath her quake and shiver. Confused, her gaze traveled down to her hooves. Much to her dissatisfaction, she found that it was her that was shaking. It made sense. Given the cold sweat that clumped her mane into chunks and her light and feathery breaths, it didn't make any difference if another sign of her fear was added. It was clear that she was terrified. The bright light that showed her demise grew ever closer as the line to her fate grew shorter.

"I can go with you, if ya want..." Cloudy had offered as she entered the testing room. "My play doesn't start until an hour from now, so I really can stay..."

"No." Violet had regretfully insisted. "You need to get there early to scope out the competition." And to be the first in line... Violet added silently. She had seen those judge ponies enter the auditorium, and she recognized them as the type to bore easily. Cloudy had to be one of the first in line, her acceptance in the school depended on it.

"If... if you say so..." Cloudy had then wandered off, leaving Violet shaking in her place. As the ponies in front of her slowly made there way into the testing room, the cold feeling in her stomach grew more intense and turned her stomach acid into a cold slush. Bright lights, magical pops, and trails of smoke crawled out of bottom of the door. A few unicorns came out with smiles, filled to the brim with confidence. But more often then not, a sad filly or colt would sulk out of the room, their hooves seemingly heavy with the stones of their failure.

Violet's ears twitched behind her.

"I heard that the judges are really tough this year!" A young unicorn filly whispered. The colt next to her gasped in shock. "Like, after the 'Sparkle' incident, they really had to intensify everything to make sure nopony got hurt... or turned into plants."

Though the colt next to her snorted at the last comment, Violet felt the sickening feeling of dread fill her veins. The line kept getting shorter. One painful step at a time.

"Violet Lace!" A voice called from the cold room. "Violet Lace!"

Violet swallowed her fear and puffed out her chest. Her shawl clung onto the wind behind her as she walked into the room. However, as soon as she fell victim to the rooms harsh lighting, cold temperature, and sharp edges, the fear grew deeply rooted in her stomach.

"You can start whenever you're ready, miss Lace." A stallion said. He had a highly pronounced mustache, and his tie seemed to be a solid slab of red stone. Violet heard the words 'Start soon, or you'll fail.' instead of what was actually said.

"U-um..." Violet stuttered. "Okay..." She glanced at the book that was tied to her back. It was the moonstone book. She took it upon herself to skim over a few pages while at the beach, but the strange handwriting and incomprehensible symbols made her head ache. But still, it was the only thing she had. Her typical levitation wasn't anywhere close to amazing, and the other spell books proved to be rather useless. Determined to learn at least one spell before today, she forced herself to practice the first spell on the first page. A memory spell. It seemed to work, what with Cloudy suddenly remembering whether or not she brushed her teeth on the Tuesday of five weeks ago (she did, thank Celestia!), but Violet still had doubts on whether or not it was the spell, or just simply Cloudy's personality.

Lifting the book out of it's bag, she opened the cover at looked at the now familiar spell. She focused on one of the three judges in front of her. An old mare, with wrinkles and a silver-white mane. Her eyes were cold and hard, like gray stones, and her lips showed a permanent look of disdain. Violet knew that she couldn't just make her remember a random day from a random week. She had to make it big, and noticeable.

Violet felt her magic reach her horn, all the way from the depths of her heart. It popped and fizzed and bubbled. Her chest started to burn as she forgot how to breathe, and her head started to ache from the strain. She forced herself to keep pushing. Nopony died from overusing magic... right?

Suddenly, right as she was at her limit, something in Violet's mind clicked. It was like a door was open, and suddenly all of the magic in her being was unleashed upon the world. The pain in her head grew, but her body seemed separate from the pain. There was a loud sound, like that of a piece of fabric being ripped, that echoed and bounced along the room's walls and marble ceiling. The chandelier shook, and a few of the chairs that sat underneath the tables were nudged away from Violet ever so slightly.

Violet opened her now pain riddled eyes to see a sight that she never thought she'd see. A white light, like that of moonlight, streaked down the center of the room. She and the judges watched in awe as the light separated into two beams, and pulled themselves apart like curtains. But, instead of seeing the judge ponies on the other side like she was expecting, she saw a different scene. A wedding scene.

There was a mare, with bright blue eyes and a pretty copper mane. Her muzzle was small and her lips were freshly glossed. White roses were interwoven into her mane, which was intricately braided and lightly covered with a veil. The dress she wore was hideous, with puffy sleeves and an overuse of tool and flowers. But she was happy. The happiest Violet had ever seen a pony.

She and the judges watched the ceremony take place. They watched the bride get walked down the isle, the vows be said, and the rings be placed. They watched the kiss and the dance and the tears. It was beautiful, even the harshest of judge ponies would agree to that.

Once the scene ended, the white light faded away. Violet watched, the fear finding its way back into her heart, as the judge ponies sat unblinking at the air in front of them. Violet shrunk, trying to get as close to the ground as possible. She curled her muzzle into her knees, and wrapped her tail around her front hooves. She heard hoofsteps, and looked up to see the old mare, crying. Violet realized that her eyes weren't grey, but a blue that had faded over time.

The mare let out a shuddering sigh. "You passed." She said. Violet was silent, unable to process what was said. It wasn't until the mare helped her to her hooves did the words finally reach her mind.

"I... passed." She said to herself.

"You passed." The mare repeated. "And as much as I would like you to stay in our company, you must leave." She smiled at Violet then, reminding Violet of the fact that she was indeed the mare from the wedding scene. Violet quickly scuttled out of the room. She couldn't remember how she got to the entryway, but she was quickly forced back into reality as she rammed into another ponies chest.

"Ooof!" She landed on her rear with a painful thud. The pony in front of her let out a startled gasp, and too landed harshly on the polished ground.

"Terribly sorry about that!" The mare shouted quickly. She had a thick accent, as though she came from somewhere down south. Her voice screamed of the ocean, and the intense wave of vanilla and coconut that Violet faced after the aforementioned collision told her that her assumption was correct. Violet shook her head, trying to disperse the last of the cobwebs. She saw the mare, eagerly searching for something on the ground.

She had a bright white mane. It was so unnaturally bright, that Violet almost had to shield her aching eyes away as the sun reflected off of it. Her coat was a bright orange, and her eyes were the deepest navy she had ever seen.

"Oh!" The mare sighed. "Where is that gosh darn thing?" She kept fiddling, eagerly scanning the ground for some unnamed object. She kept mumbling to herself. "Five years. Five years! Hardly any time at all! Certainly not enough time to be dealing with this!" Suddenly, she looked up, her navy eyes found Violet's. "Oh, and again, sorry! As you can probably see, I'm in a bit of a rush."

"It's... not a problem." Violet kept staring at the strange mare. She watched, her eyebrow quirking higher, as the strange mare reached into her bright white mane and pulled out a piece of paper.

"Hmm..." She seemed to think to herself for a second. "Ah, never mind then." She looked towards Violet again. "I forgot the pathway, a few minutes behind, nothing more. Everything is right on track. Should be happening in ten seconds or so. See you on the other side, little moonstone." Her words came out rapidly, as though it were common logic that didn't need to be said at all and was simply taking up time and space. Violet couldn't process what she said.

"What?" She tilted her head. "I'm sorry, but I-"

"Well, I'll be off then." The mare quickly started to trot down the hall. When Violet turned her head to watch her go, her eye caught something gleaming in the sunlight. She looked closer, and saw that it was a pretty silver pocket watch. Rather bland as far as design went, it held a gentle simplicity that Violet could admire.

"Miss?" Violet called. The mare turned back with an odd look on her face. It almost looked... smug.

"I'm afraid I was a few seconds off, Violet." She said. Violet's ears perked at the sound of her name. Did she introduce herself already? "But don't worry, it's just a little skip is all. A cheat code. Skipping the tutorial to get to the boss, you see."

"Wh..." The mare was speaking some sort of gibberish to her. "What? Um... is this what you were looking for? Your pocket w-"

When Violet reached for the accessory, there was a pop, and a bright flash of light. Before Violet could process the feeling of fear, she felt her entire body being stretched and contorted. She felt her muscles pop and her mane and tail be pulled at there bases. Her entire body was thrown into some sort of abyss, and she wasn't even able to feel afraid.

...

Violet ran. She ran and ran and ran. Her hooves pounded on bright white marble-link flooring, and a harsh light pounded her the sky. Everything was highlighted. The split ends in her mane, the sweat that slowly crawled out of her coat as she ran, her cracked and peeling lips from a lack of hydration. Everything.

Suddenly, before her, a deafening crack sounded. It caused her bones to vibrate, it was so loud. The ground opened up, and a black abyss blocked her path. She stopped running, and skidded roughly to a stop. She looked down, and felt her stomach drop as she couldn't see the bottom of the dark pit. A cold wind resonated from it, blowing her mane back and causing a horrid chill to travel down her spine.

"The fact that I have to break the earth to get to you, shows dedication."

Violet spun around. She saw the same pony that she always saw but could never remember. Her memories slowly started to fill her mind, like a faucet finally being turned on. They trickled into her head, knocking more and more memories out of place, causing an avalanche.

"Scarlet Ruby..." Violet swallowed. She didn't look any different than how she always looked. Her dark gray coat was the color of wet ashes, and her greasy red mane was the color of curdled blood. Her face was thin and pretty, and her teeth were a bright white that glowed against her dark coat. The ruby around her neck had changed, having jagged shards poking out in random directions. Scarlet's eyes had grown darker. Her mane and tail were wild, tangled nests.

She raised her hoof to her chest, giving her an expression of mock appreciation. "You remember me?" She said this every time Violet's memories were recovered. It had become their routine. "We see each other every day. If anything, you should be the one who is forgotten." She took a step towards Violet.

Violet, reacting on instinct, took a step back. She heard the gentle sound of pebbles falling and bouncing against the abyss walls. She was stuck, and couldn't go anywhere.

"Four years... we've been doing this for four years..." Scarlet hissed. She flashed a crazed smile. "My power has never been matched, now or back then." Suddenly, her face contorted into a hideous sneer. "How do you keep beating me?!" Red gemstones sprouted out of the ground by her feet. The kept growing higher, curling in Violet's direction like a sinister snake. They were sharp, and the harsh light glistened off them, making them nearly blinding.

"Not this time..." Scarlet started to laugh. "I will win!" The crystals started to strike. They were actual snakes.

Violet screamed, scared of the pain that would sprout as the gems pierced her chest.

But they didn't.

Instead, there was a gentle clink. Violet looked down to see the two sharp points of the gems touching a silver watch that hung around her neck. Where did that come from? She felt the soft pressure of the gems, barely pushing the watch into her chest.

Black flowers started to grow beneath her hooves. Large roses and soft, felt like leaves caressed her lovingly.

"How dare you...." A voice whispered in her ear. She felt a warmth in her stomach, and a blush rise to her cheeks. It was subconscious, she couldn't control the feeling of embarrassment that caused her throat to tighten. She felt as though she shouldn't have been there. She was warned about this wasn't she? She could vaguely remember a voice telling her that she shouldn't have come here... The more she thought about it, the more prominent a vision of dark eyes was unveiled in her mind. Tiny flecks of gold dotted his irises, along with a heavy set of lashes and a near permanent expression of seduction.

"My little moon fairy..." The voice continued to whisper. "You never listen."

Scarlet was gone. Her gems were gone. Violet was alone, with a warm feeling in her chest, and a voice. The roses continued to grow around her, gently tickling her with their leaves and petals.

"Do you like the flowers I grew for you?" The voice asked.

"You always ask that question..." She remembered. They were following a script. Her nightmares always ended like this.

"You never answer me." The voice said. Violet closed her eyes. She felt a presence in front of her. His muzzle was in front of hers. She felt his breath. It was hot, and it was almost painful to not lean forward. He moved away, and Violet felt disappointed.

"We have one year... before we get to see each other again." He said. Violet opened her eyes, only to see an empty room. It was an apartment, with a granite bar and black leather bar stools. A plush black carpet and matching leather couch. There was a hallway, leading presumably to a bedroom and other necessities. The rest of the room was decorated with silver and chrome. Appliances were shiny and new. The most modern and high-tech of devices were displayed.

Even with the harsh exterior, Violet felt a warm familiarity. Two of the seats at the bar were more compressed than the others, reminding her of nights that were filled with wit and conversation. The same thing for the corner of the couch, reminding her of movie nights and... just nights... alone, together.

"You're filling my head with fake memories again, aren't you?" She asked, walking to the couch. She felt the leather with her hoof. It was warm.

"It makes you feel better, doesn't it?" The voice seemed legitimately perplexed. "I want you feel better."

"But they're fake. I'm going to forget them...and you don't even know me yet." She sat down on the couch, letting her body sink into the cushions. She looked at the coffee table, noting a stain where she didn't use a coaster.

"I will always know you... and remember you." His voice turned into a low mumble. He was right next to her, whispering into her ear again. She felt his breath on her cheek.

"In your way..." She closed her eyes and turned towards him. She heard him suck in a breath. "But not the necessary way. Wouldn't you rather this all be real?"

A feeling of intense heat sprouted in her cheek. I was like a tiny drop of sunlight landed on her face and showered her with warmth. A kiss of agreement.

"You know what to do?" He asked. She nodded. She filled her lungs with air and released a loud, bloodcurdling scream. It had to be loud.

"Goodbye... moon fey."

...

"Oh, wow. That one sounded like a doozy!"

Violet's head shot off her pillow. Long tangles of silver gray mane pooled at her sides and down her back. Sweat made her back sticky. The heavy feeling of harsh night's sleep made her face feel hot and fuzzy. She groaned, her back legs were completely ensnared in her tail, and her worn lace bed sheets didn't help the matter whatsoever. Her long, gangly limbs gently tried to free her other gangly limbs without pain. It didn't work.

"You okay?" Cloudy asked, getting out of her bed to help. "You screamed this time. Scared the sunlight out of me!" She got Violet's left leg free.

"I don't remember." She sighed, finally free from her own trap. "I never remember."

"Hmm." Cloudy hummed in agreement. Everything they said was scripted, but with meaning. Many mornings they had woken up like this, and they always said the same thing as though assuming that the answers would be different. They never were, but that didn't diminish the sincerity. Cloudy helped her out of bed.

"What was that? Who screamed?" Their mother quickly exploded into the room, a frying pan firmly grasped in one hoof. Her bedraggled mane and dirty apron told them that she just woke up and was about to prepare breakfast. Her gold mane was slightly streaked with faint lines of silver. Gentle crinkles and creases showed the natural happiness that reflected in her bright eyes.

"Violet." Cloudy answered, eagerly raking her hooves through her shoulder length mane. It looked like a gold and peach colored bird's nest. Her mother looked at Violet worriedly.

"Did you have another nightmare, sweetie?" She asked, smoothing out Violet's mane. "Oh dear... has the counselor said anything? Do you remember anything?"

Violet shook her head. "No more than he already says... and no. I don't." She shrugged casually. She let her mother braid her long mane, knowing that it relieved the stress that she felt on mornings like this. She had gone to the school's counselor for four years now, and there hadn't been any difference in the amount of nightmares. Cloudy had accepted the fact that her sister wasn't the greatest roommate, but looked on the bright side and considered Violet her 'alarm pony'. Their mother, on the other hoof, had a harder time admitting that her adopted daughter was okay with being plagued with nightmares that she could never remember.

"Alright..." She said, kissing Violet on the forehead. She had to stretch to reach. "Pancakes will be ready in a few minutes." She turned towards the door before calling out. "And wake up your father, okay? He had a long night."

"Okay, mom." Violet said. She pulled the rest of her tail from underneath her bed sheets. She flashed her a smile before she left.

"Hmmm..." Cloudy stood in their bathroom, looking at her appearance. "I'm thinking about growing my mane out again, like when we were fillies." She gathered her mane into an imitation of a ponytail, and shook her head and wrinkled her nose in disapproval. Though her mane still fell down in gold and sunlight inspired locks, it definitely had gotten shorter over the years. Now, it barely brushed against her shoulders, and was normally flat ironed into a very chic bob.

"You should let it curl today." Violet suggested. She walked till she sat next to her sister, and started fixing her mane as well. "You look like a fairy when you do that."

"You have a fairy fetish, Vi." Cloudy said. She snickered. "You trying to get me alone? Was that your plan for the past four and a half years? Gotta give you points for dedication."

"Shut up." Violet pushed her shoulder. She let out a squeak, but Cloudy didn't fall. There was a moment of silence. Violet could tell Cloudy was considering her suggestion. "I'm not joking. I think you look very pretty when you wear your mane like that."

"Yeah... I guess it would be nice to let in go natural for a day." She brushed out her mane with a pick comb, and gently sprayed it with conditioner. "You want me to help with yours, since I have the time?"

"Um... yeah." All of the magic in the world couldn't help her keep her mane in check. Locks of her mane, separated to be straightened, were splayed all around her head. Cloudy quickly took half, keeping them neatly separated in her hooves. One by one, each lock was straightened. The end result was Violet's mane looking like a solid wall of silver.

"Beautiful." Cloudy said. "Anti-social, awkward, and possibly crazy, but beautiful"

"Thanks." Violet said in return. She flashed her a small smile.

"Girls!" A voice called from down stairs. "You need to eat your breakfast before you two head off to school!"

"Remember the days when she used to bring the food up to us, with a pink and white polka dotted apron, and said food was a delicious cherry pie?" Cloudy asked as they quickly scrambled to put everything away.

"No." Violet said, placing the last bottle of product in their cabinet.

"Me neither." Cloudy started to sprint out the door. "Race you down!"

Faint Light in a Large Room

The streets of Canterlot mumbled and hummed with conversation. The bright light of the sun beamed down on Satin as she turned the pages of the book she was reading. The weather had started to warm, which was only natural for this time of year. The summer solstice was tomorrow, and there were preparations that still needed to be made. Once the three of them arrived at school, they would be pulled into jobs for decorating and cleaning up the campus. She also needed to straighten her room, due to the fact that she was going to open her curtains more. Not to mention the fact that she needed to begin her second reading of her summer assignments-

"Boo!" Violet's face suddenly appeared in her vision. Upside down. And baring fangs. Acting like a reasonable pony, with a logical mind, Satin screamed. Stumbling backward, she landed on her rump on the sun-warmed grass.

Violet chuckled, still hanging upside down from the tree branch. "Gotcha." Her long mane and tail reached for the ground like heavy wisps of smoke.

"Violet..." Satin quickly got her books in order. "Must you do that to me every morning?" She pulled her ponytail, tightening it to the base of her head. She readjusted her scarf and glasses.

"Must you fall for it every morning?" Violet countered, her fangs flashing in the sunlight. She looked down towards the grassy earth. With an unnatural amount of grace, she let herself fall, and landed perfectly on her hooves without missing a beat. "Besides, it keeps you healthy."

Satin pushed her glasses up her muzzle. "That has never been proven. I know, I've checked." She looked around. "Where's Cloudy?"

"Doughnuts." Violet answered. Satin nodded, instantly understanding. She watched as Violet shifted. No matter how much she studied, observed, and wrote about her friends special talent, she never managed to quench the sense of awe that always appeared. Violet's entire body went still, as though turning to stone. Her eyes stared at nothing, changing from an intense black as the pupil completely overtook the iris, to their odd silver. She looked less graceful after the ordeal, and her face tightened as a brief headache burst in the center of her forehead.

"You okay?" Satin asked, like she did every morning.

Violet cleared her throat. "Yep. Right as rain." She started walking in the direction of the park entrance. "Come on, you know how impatient Cloudy is." After a few moments of walking, the two of them fell into conversation.

"So, uh... I'm assuming that your training is canceled for the day?" Satin asked, remembering the incidents from the years before. "I mean, with your coach's new baby... and the Summer Sun Celebration... am I correct?"

"When are you ever wrong?" Violet asked with a chuckle. She nodded. "Coach told me not to bother coming over today... but I'm going to meditate, just to make up for lost time."

"Good idea. Your headaches are diminishing, right?" Satin asked, eager to get developments on Violet's special talent. She hadn't updated her research journal in a while.

"Yep." Violet's ears lowered. "'At a slow rate', obviously." She wrinkled her nose. Satin couldn't blame the sudden change in mood. That was a phrase that Violet had constantly heard for the past four years while her training progressed. She had to push her body's limits, her special talent demanded it. She needed to be capable of handling her character's abilities physically and mentally, in order to handle them without growing ill afterwards. Because of that, Violet's body was unnaturally skinny, and not in a pretty way. Not that Satin was calling her ugly, it was just... it looked abnormal. Violet could lift more weight on her back than most of the stallions in their grade, but she looked as though she could crumble onto the ground at any moment. The meditation sessions didn't really help matters, due to the fact that they sometimes came at random times in the middle of class. Not even Satin could count the number of times where a worried pony looked at Violet, ready to catch her if she were to faint as they were walking down the hall. Violet had then explained, time after time, that she wasn't sick or dizzy or even tired. She had just begun to 'not think'.

"Slow progress is still progress." Satin said. Violet nodded, hearing the words again for the billionth time.

"I know. I know." The two of them had reached the entrance to Joe's. "But sometimes... it doesn't feel like anything is developing. It kind of blows."

"'Blows'?" Satin quoted. "I never understood the concept of using that word to express disappointment. Due to the fact that, during our generation, the term 'suck' is used to describe the same thing. Words with nearly opposite meanings, being used in the form of slang, to show the same form of-"

"Booooorrrrinnnnggggg." Cloudy's voice interrupted Satin. "Honestly, I go to get doughnuts for twenty minutes, and I come back to you being as boring as Violet."

"Hey!" Violet lifted the bag of pastries. "I'm not that boring..." She pulled out her jelly filled treat and eagerly took a bite. "Ask Satin, I made her heart beat fast just half an hour ago."

"I thought we agreed not to develop romantic relationships until after we graduate?" Cloudy batted her eyelashes, taking out her own breakfast.

"Ha Ha." Satin clung the bag, now only holding her own doughnut, close to her chest. "You two are soooo hilarious." Both of the girls chuckled.

"Did she scare you again?" Cloudy asked, taking another bite.

"I did it while hanging upside down this time. See? I'm changing it up."

...

Everyday was a routine for Violet, especially since she entered the last stage of her education. As soon as she entered the campus grounds, she headed straight to the counselors office. There, she would talk to Doctor Pool about plans she had for the rest of the day, her childhood, what she had eaten the day before, and other things like that. There were many days when Violet wondered where her counselor had gotten her degree, due to the fact that there never seemed to be any actual progress in Violet's development.

"Good morning, Iron Wing." Violet said as she walked into the sitting room. She was met with the same reaction as always, a small dash of fright. She wasn't sure if Iron was simply immensely worried about Phoenix every morning, or if she herself was just that forgettable. Either way, every time she said (which was every morning), it always seemed as though Iron Wing had briefly forgotten her existence.

"Oh! Uh... Hi, Violet." He said, fluffing up his grey feathers. He was the star of nearly every single sports team on campus, so his muscular build would have intimidated most. But not Violet. She couldn't really be intimidated by him after seeing him wait outside the shrink's door every morning like a lonely puppy begging for scraps and hugs. "How was your morning?"

"It was good." She said, taking her chair next to him. "Planning anything big for the Summer Sun Celebration?"

He nodded. A pale pink blush highlighted his gray cheeks. "Me and Phin are going on a picnic until the sun rises."

"That sounds nice, I'm sure she'll enjoy it." Violet smiled. Iron Wing's blush grew deeper.

"What about you?" He asked, trying to keep the small talk going. They didn't speak often, considering they didn't have any classes together, but Violet could admire him for being courteous.

However, before she could answer, the door to Dr. Pool's office opened with a soft click. Phoenix stepped out, looking slightly less anxiety stricken than normal. It was a good sign.

"Alright, dear." Dr. Pool's voice resonated from the open door. "Don't forget to spend some more times with your birds to get your heart rate down. And don't forget to breathe." Phoenix nodded. Her eyes completely darted over Violet and rested squarely onto Iron Wing. Her shoulders relaxed, and the panic lines that formed on her face faded. He, along with her phoenixes, were the only thing that calmed her down.

"Good morning, Miss Lace. Come right in!" Dr. Pool called. Violet quickly waved goodbye to Iron Wing and Phoenix before heading inside.

Dr. Fern Pool was one of the greatest therapist ponies in Canterlot. At least, that's what Fancy Pants had said when Violet suggested that she start visiting her four years ago. He said that she settled for the counseling gig due to her rather calm and down to earth demeanor. And that couldn't be any closer to the truth. Dr. Pool's appearance reminded Violet of the stories that her mother used to tell her. The ones with her traveling, after first getting her cutie mark. Dr. Pool's mane was done up in braids, and it being colored a bright green, made it look like vines. She had a few tasteful beaded bracelets adorning her hooves, made out of river stones and wood. Her coat was a soft, sandalwood color, and always smelled like rain. Her office was decorated like a rain forest crossed with a Zen garden. The only thing missing was a little waterfall leading to a pond of piranha.

The shrink was sitting on her plush chair, completely covered in beaded scarves and pillows.

"Hello." She took a sip out of her steaming mug of tea. "How was your morning, Violet?"

"Oh, you know. Same old, same old." Violet took her usual seat on a large pillow in the center of the room. "Mom made special pancakes. She added, like... lemon and orange zest in the batter. She said it was for the celebration, but I'm pretty sure she just wanted to use those oranges before they went bad." She shrugged. "Dad warned her about splurging on that sale, but everypony knows he has no control at the food market."

"So it wasn't the same then?" Dr. Pool got out of her chair to sit next to Violet on the pillow. "You did something different today."

"Yes..." Violet nodded, knowing this was what she wanted to hear. "I'm changing my routine."

Dr. Pool hummed. "You need to change your routine on your own, Violet. That might be the key to solving your nightmares."

"I'm trying." She tucked a gray lock of mane behind her ear. "I had a conversation with Iron Wing this morning."

"You do that every morning." The counselor took another sip of her drink.

"But we talked about the celebration." Violet quickly defended. "He's going on a special date Phoenix Heart."

"A different conversation is not the same as a different situation all together." She placed her drink down on the nearby shelf. "Perhaps you should try to talk to somepony else, like in the hallway or at the library."

Violet sighed. This was how her appointments always went, though she was quick to hold her tongue on the matter. Telling her counselor that meeting with her was part of the problem wouldn't help anypony. If anything, it would just make her parents upset. "I'll try."

"Good." Dr. Pool stood up, and made herself comfortable in her chair again. "Did you have another nightmare last night?"

"Yes ma'm." Violet answered. She stared at the steaming mug, forgotten on the shelf. She watched the steam curl and spin in the air, as though it was dancing. "I don't remember them, obviously."

"How has your training been going?" She asked.

"As progressive as it's always been." So hardly a change, whatsoever... Violet said in her mind with a bitter tone. "But my headaches and sore muscles have been improving."

"You've been practicing your talent?" Dr. Pool started to look at Violet's paperwork, probably trying to find the last time she said she was improving.

"I've been using it regularly, yes."

"As well as your school work, your spells?" She found the paper she was looking for, and placed on the top of the pile.

"Yes ma'm." Violet nodded.

And that was how their appointment went. Dr. Pool would ask questions, Violet would answer. They would dabble in a little bit of small talk, have a brief moment of 'relaxing' silence, and then it would end. And Violet would leave feeling no more confident that her nightmares were over than she did when she first walked in.

...

"Man, today was harder than usual..." Cloudy complained. "Floral Sonata tried to steal my part, per usual!"

"Isn't that sort of the point of an audition?" Violet asked. "To try to get a part fair and square, based solely of talent?"

"Ha!" Cloudy huffed. "Look, I'll give her the credit of her singing voice. She's an amazing singer. But let's face it, Vi. She can't act any more than Celestia can walk in public without getting stared at."

"I wouldn't know, I've never seen her on stage." She levitated her books out of her locker. "Thanks to you."

"Well..." Cloudy chewed on the edge of her hoof, trying to hide her guilt. "She should try out for a different role! It's not my fault she's my understudy all the time. If she really wan't to be on stage so bad, she should be proud of those background roles! I know I was when I was a first year!"

"Yeah, but... she's in our grade, Cloudy." The two of them started walking towards the exit. "Don't you think it's embarrassing to be a fourth year, and having to be 'background pony number five'?"

"I-"

"Violet! Cloudy!" The two girls spun around to see Satin running towards them at full sprint.

"She's expressing emotion. This must be good." Violet said sarcastically.

"Violet... Cloudy..." Satin huffed as she reached them. "Father... wanted to know... if you and your parents could... make it to dinner... tonight?" The two of them stood still, slightly disturbed and confused by Satin's eagerness to get an answer.

"Um... yes?" Cloudy said, still weary. "Is there a reason that this couldn't wait until later?"

"Father... got us reservations... for The Garden." Violet quickly pulled out her water bottle that she had in her bag. Satin eagerly chugged it down. "He's inviting all of his clients and acquaintances, but he wanted me to ask you two first."

The Garden, which was an exclusive area that lingered almost impossibly far off the Canterlot cliff's edge, was a prime location for the celebration normally reserved for smaller members of the royal family. But, as all of Canterlot knew, this year the location was Ponyville, a smaller town to the south.

"Hm... well..." Cloudy wrinkled her nose. "Mom and dad... might want to go to Ponyville this year. It feels like forever since we visited."

"The Garden is a once in a lifetime opportunity!" Satin insisted. "I-I've always wanted to go!"

"Satin Scarf...?" Violet's face blossomed a smug smirk. "Are you using us for your own personal gain? Do you want to go to The Garden so badly that you're willing to prevent one pony from visiting her home town, and prevent another from seeing the Summer Sun Celebration in all of its live action glory?"

Satin, her face giving no sign of emotion or remorse, starred at Violet with eyes the shade of cold jade stones. "Yes." The only sound for the next five seconds was the sound of the large wooden doors of the school opening. A gently breeze ruffled Cloudy's mane and caused Violet's to ripple.

"Well, alright." Cloudy said with a bright smile.

"Yeah, we'll ask later tonight. I'll be sure to send you a letter when I get the answer." Violet added, smiling herself. Satin, satisfied, nodded excitedly and sprinted in the opposite direction. She was running late to her after-school classes.

"Well, that was weird." Cloudy mumbled. "Even for her..."

"She must really want to go." Violet quickly spun on her hooves. "Come on, I need to get at least an hour of meditation today."

"Can't you miss a day?" Cloudy pouted. "Didn't Dr. Fern warn you of routine? Missing a day of mediation isn't going to hurt you."

"Cloudy..." Violet sighed. "No. I can't. I need to meditate. I need to."

They started to walk, having tiny drabbles of conversation along the way. It was bubbly, and happy, and on occasion, sarcastic. Nothing out of the ordinary. But, while Violet let her mind wander to other things, like a story she wanted to write, or what she could suggest for dinner, Cloudy was thinking of other things. Her acting talent came in handy in that regard, her smile revealing nothing of what was actually go on in her head. The intense wave of worry and helplessness as she watched her sister take the same steps down the same road every day at the exact same time.

It had gone on for years. Ever since she entered Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns... her sister had begun to act different. It was subtle, enough to the point where Cloudy was sure she was the only one to notice. Every day, the same thing, over and over. The same words spoken, the same things done. There was no progress. Sure, her sister learned new things in her classes, and wrote new stories, but her sister herself never changed.

Cloudy had progressed. She became one of the greatest actresses in her class, and was a star student in the drama department. She had dated a few stallions, all of them ending in failures and tear filled nights, but that was life. She had found new hobbies and met new ponies and did new things. Even Satin tackled her anxiety head on and became the oddly cold, but still lovable pony that she is. But not Violet. She tried, on occasion. She would poke her hoof at the bubble walls that surrounded her, gently stretching its surface. But it would never pop. Violet wouldn't move, and she would eventually fade into the routine that she had been in for the past four years.

If Cloudy were to be perfectly honest with herself, she would say that she liked the fact that her sister was experiencing such horrible nightmares. Every night, they were different. Violet would react in different ways, scream at different times, and do different things. She once screamed a full sentence, sounding like utter nonsense in Cloudy's ears. She once ran all the way across her room. Another time, she laughed, as though she had gotten away from whatever she was running from. One time, by some sort of miracle, she heard her sister singing. It was a small song, but it was cute. She saw sides of her sister when she slept. Sides that she couldn't help but think she was supposed to see when she was awake. But something was preventing them from coming to the surface.

No, you don't need to meditate. You don't need to do anything. Cloudy thought angrily. You just... can't do anything else. She didn't know much about magic, what with her being an earth pony. But she couldn't help but assume it had something to do with it. But then again, most earth ponies did think that of magic. It was always the easy way out, and therefore was blamed for everything. So she kept her mouth shut.

"I'm thinking about letting Floral take the lead role next time." Cloudy said. Violet's eyebrows quirked up in surprise. "I might be relaxing, working backstage like the good ol' days."

"That's very nice of you..." Violet smiled warmly. "I'm sure mom and dad will be very proud of you."

"You... um... Mrs. Plume is looking for a new play to perform, for the freshman class next year. You ever think of writing a play? I know it would be different than what you're used to, but I think you'd be good at it."

"Hmmm..." Violet wrinkled her nose. "Nah, I don't have the time. It wouldn't be good."

Cloudy silently sighed. "Okay." Another failed attempt. "So, uh... Let's see. Meditation until dinner-"

"Yep." Violet stepped on a square shaped stone.

"Satin wants to go to the garden, so we'll do that-"

"Until sunrise. Then the Summer Sun Celebration." Violet stepped on a heart shaped stone.

"Then you'll probably go for a jog..."

"Ten miles for two hours. Then I'll write." Violet stepped on the bluest stone on the path.

"Then you'll meditate until dinner..." Cloudy let the words die on her tongue. Violet was just out of earshot. She couldn't hear the sadness in her voice, thank Celestia. This wasn't the first time they reviewed her schedule, but it continued to open fresh wounds. There was something wrong with her sister. Cloudy knew this. But the thing was, the thing that was wrong, wasn't doing anything bad. There were hundreds, thousands, maybe even more ponies that lives these types of lifestyles. They work in cubicles and offices, writing the same things with the same pens for the same ponies that ordered them around with the same orders. But Violet wasn't one of them. Cloudy knew, deep in her soul, that Violet was never meant to be one of them. There was something going on.

She had been plagued with these thoughts for nearly half a decade. But she never said anything. Violet... seemed happy, in her own way. She certainly didn't want to change. Whether it was because of some outside force or not, that didn't change the fact that Violet thinks that everything is perfectly fine. Her parents thought it was odd, but they seemed more worried about Violet getting the proper training for her talent, as well as her getting the cure for her nightmares. They didn't add 'make their daughter's life more exciting' to their list of priorities yet. If they ever do it at all.

The worst part of it all, was that Cloudy saw Violet suffering because of it. Though Violet's emotions and own mind believed that everything was exactly how it should be, Cloudy could swear that something in Violet's eyes knew that something was wrong. Exactly what was wrong. And was in horrible pain because of it. It was like her sister was trapped in her own eyes, as though they were balls made of unbreakable glass. On occasion, the strange imposter that replaced her sister would let her guard down, and Cloudy could see her sister pounding on her prison walls, screaming to be let free. Crying and sobbing to be let out, and able to write her own story again.

"I'm excited for tonight." Cloudy said, mindlessly trying to keep the conversation going. They were at their doorstep, and were only a few paces away from the coolness of their house and their mothers ice-cold lemonade and chilled strawberry macaroons.

"Ponyville..." Violet said absentmindedly. "I wonder why they would host the Summer Sun Celebration there? I guess they wanted to tone it down?"

"Yeah. They're probably planning something super extravagant next year, and need to save a few bits because of it." Cloudy felt tired, like she did every day when they got home from school. She wanted nothing more than to take a nap. "Something small, insignificant. Nopony will notice a few cut corners over there. There certainly won't be anything very thrilling."

"Maybe they'll do the celebration in Manehatten next year." Violet suggested. "That would be nice."

Cloudy sighed. "Yeah... yeah it would."

Torturous Nightmares

"Yellow! My good man, how are you on this beautiful night?" Fancy Pants raised his glass of red wine in greeting. Violet's father gently clinked his against it in return.

"Quite exhausted, I should say..." Yellow Parchment uttered with a slight chuckle. "Another late night in the archives. You know how it is."

"Ah, indeed I do." Fancy Pants hadn't changed that much over the years. Violet enjoyed realizing this every time she saw him. He kept his handsome features, his kind personality, and his wealth. In fact, the only thing that seemed to change was his mane cut, which now curled charmingly at the nape of his neck and around his eyes, and his moustache... which now exists. It suited him nicely.

"How are the models doing." Violet's father asked after a few moments of chit-chat passed. "Did you get everything in order, or..."

Fancy Pants sighed. "Some of them are still giving me trouble. I'm worried about them, really and truly. Those poor mares... starving themselves into oblivion. They insist on wearing so much make up... troubling to say the least."

"Oh dear..." Violet's mother joined in. "Fancy... with all due respect... have you ever thought of using ponies that... weren't from Canterlot?"

Fancy Pants took the comment in stride. "That's the problem, these models aren't from Canterlot. Most come from Manehatten, and those that aren't are from smaller towns. I was hoping to have a unique mixture of features and faces for my new line... but it looks as though the Canterlot influence might be a bit much for them. Their living conditions certainly don't help matters."

Fancy Pants provided all of his out of town models with the best accommodations possible. They stayed at one of the nicest hotels in Canterlot, surrounded by the elite and lesser snobs. They were new to the field, eager to impress and make it big. Violet felt her ears lower in dull disgust as she thought of the mares, lost and vulnerable, succumbing into the life she's slowly grown to despise. She felt sorry for them, and hoped that Fancy Pants would find a way to help them.

Not wanting to listen to the conversation any longer, she let her eyes take in the beautiful décor of the garden. They had to take a short balloon ride to get there, but it was worth it beyond reason. Bright green grass that shined in the moonlight, iridescent white flowers that nearly glowed. All surrounding a white marble gazebo that was freshly polished and cleaned. A giant skylight was above them, waiting eagerly for the suns rays to filter through and shine against the freshly shined marble floor below them. Supposedly, it was meant to reflect the pony standing on it like a mirror. She saw the other guests, all arriving in balloons similar to her, slowly float up to join the group.

Violet looked closer at the floor. She could already see her reflection. The moons rays were enough for her to see her face and body. She felt her lips turn upward. She always loved the way her mane sparkled in moonlight. Like a dull rainbow, her mane shined silver and pinks and greens and blues. Over the years, due to the fineness of her hair and it's almost clear qualities, it had taken a darker tone. There were days when it almost looked black in the right lighting. Others, it looked white. Cloudy on several occasions said that Violet's hair was magic itself, changing to fit the mood of the situation.

"Good evening, Violet." Satin's voice rang out clear behind her. She turned to see Satin in a pretty white dress, her mane down and curled. Simple, but very cute. Satin readjusted her glasses on her muzzle. "Or, I suppose it would be 'Good morning' at this hour."

"Good morning to you too, Satin." Violet said with a smile. "I hope you're as excited as I am for the celebration."

Satin hastily pulled out a journal from her bag. "It's so interesting, Violet! Ultra-rare, bioluminescent lilies! They're only seen growing naturally in a secluded place in the jungles south of here! And not even all year round. They only last for a few weeks, then the petals wither and fall to the ground, creating one of the most fertile soils in the history of ponydom. And yet, here they are, blooming, out of season and seemingly immortal!" She showed Violet one of numerous sketches showing the white flowers that Violet was admiring just a few seconds ago.

"Yep, very interesting..." Violet stared blankly at the book, not knowing what exactly she should look at. "Very pretty too, Cloudy will lov-"

"Oh My Celestia!" Cloudy suddenly shouted, climbing up the steps of the gazebo. "Violet, did you see these flowers?! They're so pretty! I love them!" Both Violet and Satin shared a laugh.

"I'd say we only have a few short hours left..." Violet's father said, looking at his old pocket watch. "Should we start eating?"

"You know I'm always eager to eat your wife's cooking!" Fancy Pant's looked around. "Fleur...? Where are you?"

"I'm right here, darling!" Fleur de Lis, Fancy Pants' wife of two years walked up the steps of the gazebo. "Please forgive my absence... once I figured out the décor, I quickly had to change." Violet chuckled at the comment. As far as she was confirmed, Satin's step mom hadn't changed her mane style once, or aged a day since they met all those years ago. But she was quick to silence her laughter, not wanting to give the pretty pony the wrong idea.

"You look lovely, Mrs. Lis." Violet said politely. She meant it too. Fleur was wearing a pretty mulberry colored cape, with a white lace trim.

"Absolutely beautiful!" Cloudy added. The model pony blushed in demure glee.

"Thank you, dears." She said, delicately placing her hoof over her mouth.

The next few hours were spent eating and chatting. Mrs. Sugar went into a story about her life back in Ponyville. It was brief, compared to her other adventures around Equestria, but it was enough time to settle down with Mr. Parch and for Cloudy to have a relatively good fillyhood. But she did find it rather dull, and ordinary. At least in Canterlot, she had the gossip from her daughters and her husband's stories from the archives to entertain her as she stayed at home.

"I certainly hope that arriving here, and spending the celebration with us wasn't an inconvienence." Fancy Pants said with a furrowed brow. "It would be more than reasonable for you to spend the celebration there... given the circumstances."

"Oh, don't worry about that, dear." Mrs. Sugar quickly dismissed Fancy Pants's silent apology. "I can't think how many times I've complained to the girls how boring it was back there! This, spending the night with friends and my beautiful family, is better than anything I could have imagined." She looked towards the girls, who were busy eating and having their own conversations. "To be honest, I was ecstatic when Violet and Cloudy came to me earlier today to ask to spend the celebration with you two. After everything I've been through, it was nice to find a happy medium in everything."

"What do you mean?" Fleur asked.

"Well..." Violet's mother looked slightly embarrassed. "I spent most of my teenage years traveling. And though those years were great and exciting, I secretly always longed for a quieter, happier life. Ponyville seemed to fit at first, but it wasn't enough. It was too far off the spectrum, so to speak. To much contrast compared to what I was experiencing before. Canterlot, however, seems to fit just right... surprisingly."

"Canterlot? Exciting?" Fancy Pants looked puzzled. He cast a glance at Violet's father, who simply shot him a look of knowledge. He had heard this millions of times since they moved here. "I'm afraid I don't understand."

"Gossip is... well, as dreadful as some of the things said, it's still entertaining in some aspect. To be honest, what these ponies consider to be gossip is comical at times. I mean, just the other day, that sweet mare who owns the boutique- Periwinkle! She just went off to tell me about how how this one pony bought oranges at half off. Oranges! She was gossiping about a pony, using a coupon on produce!" The group of adults snickered. "It was ridiculous. And she was so confident too! She looked me in the eyes with an expression that said 'Oh my Celestia! This is good dirt!', when in reality, it was just hilarious." The adults laughed. Mrs. Sugar took another small sip of her cider. "But, I suppose I could use something more productive to fill up my time..."

"Why don't you open up a restaurant, Crystal?" Fleur said, delighting herself to another gluten free cookie. "You can pull off the business pony look- certainly more than any other mare I know."

"That's very sweet of you, dear." Violet's mom said, waving her hoof. "But... that type of change, after years and years of being a stay-at-home mare? Far too dramatic. I wouldn't be able to handle it."

"Maybe when the girls go off to college... or whatever they plan on doing when they graduate?" Fancy Pants said with a wink to the girls. Technically, they already graduated. But most families didn't consider it official until they got accepted into college, or their name appears in some magazine. 'Twas the Canterlot way. You don't succeed, until you succeed.

"Oh please! Those two will be mooching off me until I use my dusty bones as flour!"

"Hey!" Cloudy said, coughing on her punch.

"Gross." Violet said, scrunching up her nose. She placed her sandwich on her plate, suddenly losing her appetite. Her mother laughed.

"Girls, you know I will always love you." Her kind voice and sunny eyes turned creepy and oddly agitated in an instant. "But know that I'll haunt you till the end of eternity, because I care."

"Mommy, mommy! When's the celebration gonna start?" A tiny filly whined from the other side of the gazebo. Violet looked up towards the skylight. Surely it was about to begin.

"Just a few more minutes, dear" The mother answered. She appeared to be one of Fancy Pants's clients. "And stop ruffling mother's dress."

"Hm? Strange..." Fancy Pants said, looking up towards the sky. "Parchment, check the time, will you? I feel as though something is amiss."

"Oh, don't worry." Yellow Parchment quickly pulled out his pocket watch and flipped open the golden lid. "I'm sure everything is..."

There was silence in the small group of ponies. Though the other mares and stallions were mingling, unaware of the events, the group of grownups and parents sat in a cold quiet. Cloudy saw Violet get up, and wander outside the gazebo.

"Where are you going?" Cloudy asked.

"The celebrations about to begin!" Satin added, a small trickle of urgency in her voice. Her overly information hungry ears picked up the uncomfortable and stiff silence.

"I... I left my water in the balloon. I want to grab it real fast before the sun comes out. I'll... be... be right back." The two ponies quickly picked up Violet's unnaturally tired tone. Her slurred words and almost dazed-sounding voice caused their ears to perk in alarm.

"Are you okay-" Cloudy asked. But her sister was gone. Her body down the steps and headed for their bags.

Cloudy then heard Satin stand up, her white dress rustling in the night breeze.

"Now where are you going?" Cloudy asked.

"I'm going to follow her, of course." Satin answered as though it was obvious. "Clearly, something is wrong. Let's go." Cloudy scrambled to follow.

"Yellow Parchment...?" Fleur asked, oblivious to her step daughter's activities. "What's wrong?"

"Um..." Parchment quickly rattled his watch, as though something was inside and couldn't be shaken out. "My watch is a little bit ahead, is all."

"How much ahead?" Fancy asked. He started unbuttoning his jacket in order to fish out his own watch.

"An hour or so... according to this thing, it was supposed to be sunrise a few minutes ago." He laughed a charmingly awkward laugh, as though it was just a simple mistake. The tension was almost at ease until Fancy Pants spoke.

"As does mine..." Fancy Pants said, looking at his watch as well.

This time, it was Fleur that laughed. "That's impossible, dear! That's the watch I gave you for your birthday! It can't loose track of time I saw the sales pony cast the spell himself!"

"I know." Suddenly the group was silent again. All of them looked up towards the skylight, staring at the stars that didn't seem nearly as bright as what they should have been. The entire night sky seemed threatening and dark, unlike the typical delicate elegance it normally would have been.

"Mom! Mom!" Cloudy sprinted up the steps, causing many of Fancy Pants's clients to huff and gasp in dramatic shock. Once she got close, she barely whispered, making sure that noponies other than them heard. "Mom, we found Violet on the ground by our balloon! She passed out!"

"What!?" Mrs. Sugar's face creased with worry and fear. "Is she alright? How many shifts did she do today?" The group of ponies was already standing and walking down the steps.

"That's just it... it's different..." They all started to run.

"Different?!" Yellow Parchment's gentle demeanor had temporarily disappeared. "Different how?"

But Cloudy didn't need to answer. The group of ponies saw Violet in all of her 'different' glory. It wasn't like the typical scene, where she would fall down in a feint. Beaten down by her talent due to strain.

"My baby!" Mrs. Sugar screamed. She watched her daughter lay on the ground, a menacing blue and black aura pulsing around her. Her body was twitching and spasming, as though it was held down and unable to truly move. Her mouth was hanging open in what appeared to be a silent scream, and her horn was sparking with random and useless magic. The grownups ran to her. Yellow Parchment held her head in his hooves.

"How does she feel?" Mrs. Sugar nearly screamed in her husband's ear.

"Cold..." He kept wiping Violet's face, as though the strange aura was some sort of residue that could be cleaned. "She's sweating... but she feels as cold as ice."

"What's going on?" Fancy Pant's asked. "What kind of spell is this? Who is doing this?"

Before anypony could say anything else, the blue and black smoke started to dissipate. As though it was some sort of living mass, the entire thing lifted up into a cloud, and gracefully drifted into the shadows.

"Stay away from my daughter!" Mrs. Sugar screamed. Her cheeks were streaked with tears, and the intense wave of emotion caused her mane to look like glowing pieces of bright yellow amber. After a brief pause, they all just stared at Violet, who was still laying helpless on the ground. She looked... different.

"Celestia..." Yellow cursed, looking down at his daughter's body.

"Come on." Fancy Pants looked behind his shoulder, making sure nopony saw what just happened. "Me and Parchment will carry her. We need to make sure nopony sees." Fleur unbuttoned her cape and draped it over Violet's shivering body. "They'll eat this up. Violet won't have another quiet day in Canterlot if anypony finds out."

The hurried to pick up her light body, carful not to hurt her. Throughout the entire trip home, Mrs. Sugar's, Cloudy's, and Satin's gentle sobs were the only thing the ponies heard. Everypony else was too busy waiting for the sun to rise.

...

"What kind of spell do you think it was...?"

"Both me and Satin Scarf are looking dear, but from what we can tell... there doesn't seem to be any spell like it- if it was even a spell at all..."

"What are you talking about? Of course it was a spell! What else could it be?!-"

"Shush!"

Violet groaned in her sleep. She could hear them, saying things that she could comprehend. Did she want to listen to them? Last time she listened to them, she confused them for her parents, and tried to wake up only to open her eyes and see corpses. There eyes were bulbous and falling out of their sockets, their flesh and skin hanging off in gray, decaying chunks and shreds. But before that, she was frightened and tried to resist the urge to listen, only to be plunged into a seemingly endless darkness, running non-stop for hours trying to find a single spark of light.

"She needs to wake up- those nightmares... they don't seem to end! This isn't healthy!"

"The doctor told us not to wake her up before she's ready. We don't know what happened. For all we know, keeping her asleep could be preventing something else from happening. The best thing we can do is wait until she wakes up on her own."

"I don't trust that doctor. She just barged in here and- bam! Didn't even bother examining her! Just, 'That's in interesting mane color. Where did she get it done?'! Are you kidding me? And once we told her what happened, she acted as though Violet was some sort of beast with a disgusting rash! Didn't even want to touch her-"

"Dear, you need to calm down. You could wake up Violet if you're not careful."

"Maybe that's a good thing!"

There was a sigh. "Let's just wait a little longer. If she doesn't wake up by morning, We'll try to wake her up ourselves. Alright?"

There was a pause. "Alright."

And then there was silence. That was odd. The voices never ended before. This silence was strange and cold. She could almost reach the surface. She could almost tear the cover of sleep and stare at the ceiling of her bedroom. She tried, oh boy did she try. The thought of being dragged into another nightmare sent a heavy wave of dread and cold fear down her spine. But there it was, the feeling of helplessness that was all consuming and impossible to escape. The tug of her hooves, dragging her into another reality... she was getting used to the feeling at this point. What was this, the fifth nightmare that night? Sixth? They all seemed to drag together into a seemingly corrupt timeline, some lasting seconds, while others lasted for years.

Violet felt herself falling. No. Plummeting into a seemingly empty space. The cold wind that pulled her hair upward, desperate to cling to things that weren't there, caused frost to collect on her fur and on her face. Her squeezed her eyes against the harsh wind and opened her mouth to bellow out a scream that would only be stolen by the wind. Her body twisted and spun, out of control and limp.

And then she hit the ground. This was supposed to be the part when you woke up, when you don't feel the pain and find your heart racing and your legs tangled in the bed sheets. But that didn't happen. Not this time.

At first, she didn't feel anything other than the intense wave of shock. She was supposed to wake up! Why didn't she wake up?! Then the endless waves of pain crashed onto her like a thousand boulders. It burned and froze her limbs. She couldn't breathe, her breath was smart and ran away before it could experience the pain with her. She let out a scream, this time it was heard. It echoed and radiated from her like a bomb.

But none of her legs or ribs were broken. It was still a nightmare after all. It was simply taunting her with punishments for a crime she didn't really commit.

She opened her eyes. She was no longer in a black void. Instead, she was in a white room. No windows, no doors, nothing but white walls and a white tile floor. The entire roof was a skylight, and it shined with an artificial white light that immediately made Violet think of sun bleached, abandoned rooms and the smell of disinfectant. She thought of hospitals and metal tools and sun burns and blisters and coursed, burned fur and mane.

She blinked a few times, trying to get used to the harsh light. She saw that she wasn't alone. She froze, terrified.

She was in the middle of the room, and the two corners in front of her had two ponies in them. One of them, the one she automatically recognized as Scarlet Ruby, was bound in chains and standing too still. She looked horrid. Before, she always had a sort of evil elegance in her pretty but harsh features. Now she was near starved, with jagged bones poking out at all angles, and her red mane greasy and unkempt. Her eyes focused on Violet, cold and hard. Deadly. A venomous, evil red that caused Violet's chest to seemingly be filled with ice. She stood, still unmoving, not talking, not even blinking.

In the other corner, was a pony that Violet had never seen before. She was in even worse condition, if that was even possible. She wore a torn, burned, and filthy cloak. Her red mane was the color that reminded Violet of fresh apples left out for too long. Disappointingly rotten. Like, if some pony were to have taken the time to put them away, they would still be beautiful and delicious. Her coat was white, but was patchy in places with burns and stains, revealing the pink and scared skin underneath. Where Scarlet was still and deadly, this mare was animated and moving. She was hardly held down by her chains, which rattled and clanged against each other as she danced in a crazed manner. The dancing was the only thing that could fit the sounds she was making, which was insane laughter and the occasional verse of a some sort of folk song. When she laughed, she showed a set of horribly rotten teeth, black and yellow and gray.

Violet felt the back of her neck prickle. She kept staring at the pony as she jumped and moved without direction. Suddenly, the pony stopped, and stared Violet straight in the eye. Her laughing ended immediately, and her crazed smile faded. All at once, the mare didn't look like an old hag- instead she looked like a pony who was beaten into submission and forced to stay there. Her eyes were sunken in and brimmed with tears. Her body was shaking and weak. The cloak covered her form and draped down to the ground like a blanket coating an innocent filly.

"Moonstone..." The mare whispered. She flinched at the sound of her own voice, which sounded like pain and heartache. She shook her head, clearing it of a thought. "I didn't do anything!" She screamed. "I didn't!"

Suddenly, Scarlet started moving. She ran to the mare, unable to escape her chains. She stood up on her hind legs, stretching her body as far as it could go. She screamed and howled and bared her teeth to the mare who flinched back and cowered like a child afraid of a monster. She spat and foamed at the mouth all the while the hurt mare was cowering in the corner, helpless.

"I swear, I didn't do anything! I'm strong, I promise!" The mare started crying, tears streaming down her scared and ragged cheeks. "I'm strong, I resisted! I promise, I promise!" She held her hooves to Violet, as like a child begging to be picked up and taken away to a safe place. "I'm good! I didn't do anything! I'm strong!" Her voice faded away into mumbles and sobs. Scarlet grew more and more angry, spiting and cursing in the mares direction. "My name is Crimson!.... no... My name is Lilly... Lily Blossom. I... I was captured and forced-"

Scarlet let out a horrid, bloodcurdling scream. Violet tried to run in the direction, but found her hooves caught. She looked down to see thorny stems wrapped around her hooves like rope. Tiny black flowers bloomed around them. They led to the back of the room. When Violet turned her head, eager to see what was holding her in place, she found a wave of black smoke. It twisted and contorted, seemingly unseen by the other mares in the room. They took the shape of a stallion, and gently glided toward her.

"My time is ending..." He whispered. Violet was suddenly alone with him, the other ponies and white room replaced with a familiar living room and kitchen. "My essence is fading away... the last of it will be used tonight, to cure you of your nightmares."

"Cure...?" Violet whispered. "But that means..."

The smoke nodded. "You'll forget... for real this time. You'll remember me... but not me. Same with you to me. We'll meet for the first time soon."

"I don't want to forget." Violet quickly rethought her words when the smoke gave her a look. "I don't want to forget you. You... we've been through so much..."

The smoke tilted his head. "Have we? Weren't you the one who said that it didn't truly matter when neither one us would remember in the end? I can't wait to finally meet you, moon fey."

"Don't go!" Violet felt a lump in her throat as the smoke started to dissipate.

He laughed. "Moon fey, you don't even know my name. I don't even know my name. I don't even have a name!"

"But.. you can't just-"

"I'm not me... I'm just a memory of me. A tiny wisp of spirit, dedicated and hell-bent on protecting you and making sure you and I actually meet. The last traces of a past life, to stubborn to truly fade away and instead chose to help my current life find it's path." He floated down to gently caress her cheek, the last feeling of a kiss Violet was going to get for a long time. "Don't worry, it's better this way..."

And he was gone.

Then Violet woke up.

Ticking Time Bomb

Violet's senses caught up with her too early, as in, they made it just in time so that she could feel the impact of her face against her floor. Her back arched, and she felt her spine pop as her legs slowly reached over her head to catch up. With a grunt, she flipped over to sit upright, her now flexible back pressed against the cold iron of her bed frame. Hot, bright morning light streamed through her curtains.

"Uhhggg..." She moaned, rubbing her eyes. What the hell happened? Did she sneak a few sips of cider at the celebration? Did one of her characters suddenly go haywire? Did a meteorite burn into the size of a large pebble and decide that she was the one to make contact with as it descended to earth? Those would be the only things that could explain the pain in her head, and the strange lightness in her body. She let her body unfold and slide to lay on the cool carpet.

"Wha..." She left her words go unsaid. The vile flavor of morning breath and the process of speaking making the effort not worth it. She focused on breathing, letting her lungs capture the cool air of the room. She closed her eyes and let her body relax. Her mind drifted, but she couldn't remember anything from the night. She... remembered smoke, and flowers... but no nightmares. All and all, the night was peaceful. A prince perhaps made an appearance, along with her parents... it was all blurry beyond reason. But nothing was bad.

There was the sound of rustling paper and soft thuds. Violet felt her neck tense up again. With another sigh, she realized she must have nocked into her bookshelf when she was making her not-so-graceful descent down to the ground.

"Cloudy..." She whined, not wanting to get up. She regretfully opened one of her eyes to see her sister's empty bed, still made and clearly vacant. She realized how bright the room really was. Before, her eyes were protected by the shadow of her bed, but now faced the bright sunlight full force as it streamed through her drawn curtains like golden daggers and beams.

"What the...?" Violet, though still not fully capable of completing sentences, was more than capable of completing thoughts. Where in the world was everypony? She twitched her ears and listened carefully. Not a single sound was heard throughout the house. Not the clanking of silverware from her mother's cooking, not the rustling of old paper from her father's work, and most certainly not her sister's happy voice. There was nothing. Just... the gentle sound of chirping birds from outside, and the lazy drawl of cicadas as they sang in a nearby tree.

Violet peered out the window. There was nopony there either. She could say her family went to the market. They would sometimes leave her there alone to finish some training or get a few more chapters in. But the entire street being empty? That didn't happen. There was always a bustle of ponies, whether it be maids and nannies doing chores, delivery ponies lugging large amounts of clothes, or snobs trying their best not to wince in their new horseshoes... there was always somepony there.

Violet kept looking around her room, starting to expect her walls to grow faces and start speaking to her. Her gaze wandered to her bed, which was now the resting place for a mess. Parchment papers, quills and other treasures littered her sheets. She must have kicked the shelf that held her special things. It was right above her headboard.

"Maybe I'm still dreaming." Violet mumbled as she saw that the shelf was still firmly coated in dust. It didn't look like it was touched by a fly, much less kicked by a nearly fully grown mare. But still, her stuff was completely covering her bed. Rolls of parchment that held poems that she and Cloudy had written (one had trailed to the ground and rolled to the other side of the room), a luxury pen that was plated with silver and had special ink made from dragon scales, vintage quills her father had given her, a tiny teddy bear that Cloudy had given her when they fought a few months ago... and a blue envelope.

She quickly levitated everything else back in place. The parchments and quills in their special jars. Her teddy bear in the corner, and her quill on her stand. But the blue envelope- that was new, and didn't have a place.

"Magically transported mail?" It wasn't unheard of. Many unicorns can use mail magic. She couldn't, but on occasion she would see a unicorn in school make a piece of paper disappear. Whether it was a love letter, or the answers to their next test, depended on the pony. But still, she had never received mail like this. It shimmered and shined with magic residue. Pretty silver ink adorned the back, and it was stamped with a strange wax seal, depicting a tiny... thing. It looked as though it was stamped in haste, for the body of the animal was smudged and distorted. It's antlers were exquisite, however, and showed tiny flowers growing on them. I little crescent moon was behind it, showing between the left and right antler.

She flipped it around and levitated it towards the bright light of the window. It had something inside. On the back, in the pretty silver ink, were the words 'to the owner of this mark'. Below the words, was a picture of a crescent moon. Violet immediately looked down at her flank. It was identical to hers.

"It showed up in my room," She nervously fiddled with it in her hooves. "Mail spells hardly make mistakes like this..." She started ripping at the corners of the envelope. "It can't be a coincidence. It can't be..." She tore a single stripe off the top, revealing a black colored paper inside. It was stiff, and very formal looking. "Everything I'm doing is fine- I can't get in trouble for this, it seems totally reasonable for me to feel as though it belongs to me."

But that was it. She did feel as though it belonged to her. Something in her chest told her so.

She unfolded the black paper. At first, she thought it was blank. But after trying to throw it away in anti-climactic induced anger, she saw that it was simply magic. The ink slowly started to appear, in the same silver ink as what was on the back of the envelope.

Dear Violet Charmant Gaspilleur Lilac Lace,
It has come to our attention that you are under some rather interesting circumstances. Though we are sure that you are unaware of said circumstances, we are sure that you would like to know about them and why they have come to pass. We have a lot to teach you, and we are sure that you are more than eager to learn.

Due to some situations that we are unable to truly understand as of yet, we have come to the conclusion that you need to meet up with us as soon as possible in order to get some things sorted out and problems solved. We understand that this must be very sudden, but please understand when we say that this is an urgent situation and needs your compliance and acceptance.

Please meet us and at the moonstone garden as soon as possible.

We will be eagerly waiting your company.
- L

'L'? Who the hell is 'L'? Violet tried to remember a pony with a name starting with 'L', but couldn't come up with anypony. Not anypony that could know her full name anyway. For the love of Celestia, Cloudy didn't even know her middle name until it was needed for black mail. Silky Petals even had to look it up when she had to sign the transfer papers. Who in the wide world of Equestia, would know her middle name, but still be so anonymous to the point where Violet couldn't remember them? And apparently, there was more than one pony too! The letter was written as though it was a group.

Maybe my parents know them... maybe something happened to them... Violet's thoughts went wild with thoughts of them in danger. Her slightly crazed, still dream-buzzed mind was irrational and unreasonable. She began thinking of the craziest of options and conclusions.

"Stop!" She shouted at herself. "You need to calm down!" She looked towards the letter, which she threw back on her bed in panic.

"Okay..." She started pacing her room and talking to nopony in particular. "The... letter wasn't hostile... if anything, it seemed slightly urgent and pleading..." She looked back outside, seeing the frighteningly empty streets and quiet air. Clearly something unnatural was happening. Whether some unicorn cast a spell on every pony in Canterlot, or some ferocious dragon stole every pony for its loot, it didn't matter. Her mind instantly connected the two. The strange letter that seemed to cause a special feeling in her chest, the empty sidewalks and streets, the odd sense that she was forgetting something... heartbreakingly important...

The moonstone garden... She thought of the old garden hideout that she and Cloudy went to all the time as fillies. It was part of the Moonstone garden, which had statues and décor made specifically out of moonstone that was mined from the cliff-face. She had missed that place, but eventually the two of them had grown to big to go there anymore.

She looked back towards the letter. Suddenly, she started thinking of connections. The moonstone garden, her moon cutie mark, the moon in the wax seal, and the letter itself.

Violet was never a believer of 'fate', necessarily. She wrote about ponies who's lives were changed by fate, whether it be a bite from fanged pursuer, or a surprise recruitment into a spy school for young fillies. Now, a tiny prickle in her brain was hoping that maybe this was her moment. Her part of the her story that would change her life forever... for better or for worse.

It was strange. She hadn't had thought like these for years. She was content with sitting in her room all day, following her routine and training and writing. But now those plans seemed to mock her. Laughing at her, smirking smugly in the corners of her room, confident that she would not take the chance to leave and break out of her bubble.

Suddenly, Violet was in motion. She quickly, without speaking, walked down her stairs and into her living room. Grabbing an apple off the bar, she headed out the front door. She was going to burst out of her bubble. She was going to do it! How in the world did she let herself get this bad? She saw her reflection in one of the fancy coy ponds that littered the lawns of the elite. For once, it was a trend that she was grateful for. For when she saw her reflection, she saw her bony face, and gangly legs and ribcage. Her dazed eyes from too much meditation. Her long silver mane, tangled and hardly managed.

She ran after that. She ran and ran and ran. She didn't even stop to take a few bites of her apple, and instead dropped it and left it on the sidewalk, bruised and beaten.

She burst through slightly overgrown weeds and grass. She was about to keep running, but she heard voices.

"We are very disappointed in the state of our royal garden!" A voice bellowed. It was female, and held a sense of charge and power. "These weeds, these statues! We shall remind our sister to make repairs as soon as possible!"

"You do that." Another voice chipped in. It was oddly familiar, with a quick, southern coast accent. "Trust me, honey. It'll look glorious!"

There was a pause. Violet tried to move, looking through the large weeds, trying to find the mare's faces.

"When is she going to be here?" The loud voice shouted. "We don't have much time, and we need to start making preparations!"

"She'll be here soon enough." There was a rustling of paper. "Just a few more seconds here and there. No biggie!"

"There is so much we need to tell her... so many things have changed now. W-We are not sure we are prepared for such a scenario. Perhaps we frightened her..."

"She'll be here." The other voice said again. "You sent the letter on time, and she shall be here momentarily. Everything shall follow the path."

"We are debating whether or not this was a good idea. Perhaps we should have waited a little longer...?"

"No!" The coastal accent shouted. "No... this is good. This path is much better than the path that was going to come, especially in the long run."

There were a few more moments of silence. Violet kept trying to get closer, eager to see their faces.

"How much longer must we wait?!" The loud voice screamed. Violet found herself leaning forward. "How much longer?"

"She should be here on time." The voice chipped. "Right about-"

Violet slipped. Her hooves swung out from under her, and no shifts in the world were fast enough to save her from making an impact on the hard ground of the clearing below. Her body slid on loose dirt, all the way down to the bottom.

"Now."

Violet opened her eyes to find herself staring at two sets of hooves. One of them, bright orange and covered in watches and bangles, contrasted against the others, which were navy blue and sporting silver shoes. She dared her eyes to look up, seeing the navy pony dressed in a solid black coat, and another mare, smiling broadly and carrying a pocket watch in one hoof.

"Good morning, Violet." The orange mare said. She had a bright white mane and an even brighter smile. Her neck was completely covered in gold chains and watches and amulets. "You sure have changed in the short minutes I was gone."

"Ah...wha?" Was the only thing that Violet could muster. The navy pony was silent, standing there, looking at Violet with eyes that bored through the darkness of her hood. Violet quickly scrambled up to her hooves, seeing that she was taller than the mare, but virtually minuscule under the height of the cloaked pony.

"Don't worry!" The watch pony winked. "It's all going according to plan." She motioned toward her mane, as though that could provide an answer to what was happening.

"Are you Violet Lace?" The navy pony asked. Violet tried to find her face in her hood, but it was completely cast in shadow.

"Um... yes?" Violet answered, unsure if she could trust a pony she couldn't see.

Suddenly, the mare flicked her hood back in one smooth motion. She was a unicorn. A very large unicorn. Her mane was peculiar though, for it was light blue at it's roots, and a few locks towards the base of her skull, but faded out in some sort of magical, wavy black and blue. Violet shook her head, for she could have sworn she saw stars dotting her mane like paint splatters. Only brighter, and gently flickering in and out like stares normally would on cloudy nights.

She reached out a large, silver clad hoof towards Violet in greeting. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Her voice was still loud, even though Violet and the other mare were standing right beside her. "We are positively charmed to finally meet you. We hope that your invitation wasn't entirely jarring."

"Um... uh... no. It- it was alright." Violet stuttered. She felt a fluttering in her chest. It was like her soul was licking at the outer surface of her body. Tiny wisps of cold and energy gently flitting in and out of her chest and head. "A little...cryptic. But... fine."

The unicorn nodded. There was a ringing noise. One of the watch pony's numerous watches went off, beeping and rattling like some sort of sputtering engine.

"Sorry!" She said quickly, digging into her bundle of necklaces. "I never know when these blasted things will go off. To much hopping messes with their syncing, you know how it is." She pulled out a bronze watch and pressed the side of her hoof to a button along the outer rim. The noise stopped.

"Well, then." She pulled a piece of paper out of her mane. An action that Violet was expecting... for some odd reason. "I suppose now is as good a time as any."

The unicorn looked shocked. "N-Now? Are you sure... We are not positive we should preform the spell as of yet."

"Oh, nopony ever progressed in time by being a cowardly chicken." The mare pulled out a startlingly familiar silver pocket watch. Upon seeing it, Violet found herself unable to move. Her legs were frozen. "Besides, the path is supposed to go this way. It's now or never." The mare fiddled with the pocket watch until she held it facing Violet. She could see her lavender colored coat in the reflective surface of its lid.

"Wait! What if... What if we take off the one spell... and wait a few nights for the other. Give Ms. Lace time to adjust..."

"Nope." The watch mare said in a no-nonsense manner. She applied pressure to the button on top. "You do that, and she'll be a as noticeable as a screaming hamster in the empty void of space." She looked towards the mare. "Well, hurry up now! Prepare the spell!"

"We- uh... are still not sure about this..."

"Three." The watch mare started counting down. The navy mare had a brief expression of panic. Her horn started to glow, and she tried to spend the rest of the time left explaining to Violet what was going to happen. All the while, Violet stood there, unable to move.

"We are going to perform an information spell on you. It will give you a brief explanation of what's been happening, how you and I connect, and everything of that sort."

"Two." The watch started to generate a bright light.

"It wont hurt, we promise." The unicorn's horn started to glow brighter as the spell was preparing to exit. "You'll just be... dazed for a little while. But an afternoon of leisure should have you waking up tomorrow night as good as new." The unicorn swallowed. "You look... so much like her... It's almost frightening."

"One." The watch in the watch pony's hooves popped open. Violet was blinded by a white light.

The first thought Violet was able to think was: Yes. Clearly I'm still dreaming. Strange, how I haven't woken up yet. But, after that thought, she wasn't capable of thinking or creating thoughts anymore. She could only receive information.

She saw the navy pony. Brief snapshots of her life, almost like a slideshow at her school. Tiny pieces of memories and information. Little split-seconds of pictures and scenes. There were no names or words, but instead an implied story. She saw ponies, both mares and stallions, baring a crescent moon as their cutie mark. Throughout history, these ponies stood by the navy mare's side, whether as secretaries, generals, accountants, servants, doctors, or just simply members of her court. Over and over again, with only a year of separation between one death and another's birth.

Tiny pieces were blocked out. It looked as though they were burned, or ink spilled on them. Black splotches and holes prevented Violet from seeing everything. She saw that the information spell was well practiced, however, due to the numerous ponies in the memories receiving the spells themselves. It was easier this way. Magic somehow made the information easier to digest, preventing the pony effected from denying the information. Everything that Violet saw was real. Very real. And it all stopped a thousand years ago.

Suddenly, the information just... ended. The last pictures completely burned or painted over with harsh black ink and soot. Completely unrecognizable except for one picture. A translator from the jungle. Beads adorned her mane and tail, and eyes that screamed of flora and wilderness were prominent against her historical attire. She was the last one before... something.

But Violet, even with the sudden abrupt end of information, was still floating in a white void. There was a strange sensation in her fur and on her skin. A tightness. Like thousands of grains of sand were just floating above her body, and were now pressing into her self lightly, like a shell. It wasn't uncomfortable... just... encasing.

And then, it was over. She was back at the moonstone garden, with the navy mare and the watch pony. They were looking at her, one of them with eager, ecstatic eyes, and the other with her brow creased with worry and a seemingly permanent, serious expression. Violet suddenly got an onslaught of images of that expression throughout history. One tricky thing about information spells is that, if they held enough information, it took a while to learn everything.

"See?" The watch pony said with a smug smile. "I told you it wasn't that bad!" She gave Violet a hoof, and helped Violet off the ground. Violet was jumpy, and sprang up as though a snake bit her backside. She kept swearing that she could hear something in the weeds. She was nervous, and had a horrendous, frightening feeling of vulnerability.

"Wh.. w-what did you do?" She asked. Her pupils were the size of pinpoints, and her voice cracked out of panic.

"Hmmm..." The watch pony hummed. "'Tis harsh times, Violet. And harsh measures had to be taken." The mare almost seemed serious, if it weren't for the smile and mischief in her eyes, Violet would have probably calmed down. The watch pony quickly looked toward the navy mare. "I'd never done that before. That was fun." The navy mare quickly looked taken aback.

"Are you sure you are alright?" The navy mare asked Violet. She jumped at the loudness of her voice, and the familiarity of it caused her stomach to coil with a small amount of fear.

"You... I know your voice... but I've never met you before..." Violet felt very cold. Her body was shivering.

The navy mare nodded. "Yes, but I assure you, you will get used to it. You, for now, may call me Luna."

"L-Luna..." The name felt familiar on her tongue. It was awful. "Who is that?" She pointed a wobbly hoof at the other mare, who stared down her leg as though it was something strange.

"I thought the information spell would have told you that." The watch pony said, looking at Luna. She shook her head in denial.

"I can only show her things that I understand myself. And I don't understand a lot in this world as of yet." She looked towards Violet. "She is... a 'time pony'. Do you know what this means? Do you mind explaining it to me?"

"T-time pony?" Violet felt her breathing quicken. She trusted Luna. The new information in her head forced her to trust her. Centuries of tiny pieces of memory told her brain that there was no reason not to deny Luna's existence or word. But a time pony? Clearly a lunatic.

"It's true though." The other mare said. Her voice made her sound as though she was reciting a script. "My name is Clock Mage, but you can call me Clocky for short." She flashed Violet a smile. Violet glanced over at Luna, who showed a face that depicted that she didn't want to believe a single thing that the mare said, but had to. Violet knew exactly how that felt.

"Okay..." Violet kept shivering. The sun that pierced through the tree branches was enough to shake off the cold feeling of uncertainty that now covered her mind.

'Clocky' didn't seem to notice Violet's discomfort. "It's a very simple concept, really- why I'm involved. You see, I was traditionally from another time-line, but... it... wasn't good." For the first time since meeting her, Violet saw darkness in her eyes. "So, I fixed it."

"'Fixed it'?" She quoted. She looked towards Luna, who held no answers in her stoic, cold expression.

"Mm Hm!" She held her silver pocket watch in her hoof. "In the alternate time-line, you died a few months after entering your first year of Celestia's school for gifted Unicorns. This caused a chain reaction that... in a sense... ended Equestria." Clock Mage was completely oblivious to Violet's face, as well as Luna's. Both of them had their ears drooping down in disbelief, and shocked expressions plastered all over their faces. "So, I simply... changed some things. I separated you from your timeline on the day of your test, making it so that you couldn't progress- so you wouldn't die. And caused my friend Luna here to leave behind some of her essence to help you along the way!"

"You never said that it ended Equestria!" Luna shouted, completely losing her composure. Violet stood there, her legs ram-rod straight. Her eyes staring off into nothing.

"A giant, underground, ultra-powerful, gem worshiping cult enslaves ninety percent of Equestria's citizens in order to make a 'perfect' world for their leader. What? Did you think that they would show mercy and let you two keep your castle?" Luna blushed at Clock Mage's matter-of-fact tone. "No. Equestria was just about dead in that timeline. The earth would have been dead too in a couple of nights..."

"But you said-" Both of the ponies jumped as Violet suddenly began walking towards the weeds where she fell.

"Wait-"

"Where are you going to, Violet Lace?" Luna's voice boomed.

"Home, obviously. I need to find my parents." She stared straight ahead. She was done with this.

"Wait-no!" Clock Mage pulled out the piece of paper from her mane. "It says you're suppose to be here for another five minutes!"

Violet kept walking. She was about to brush her hooves with the tall grass on the outside of the clearing, but an intimating and slightly all-consuming presence took over her senses. She saw Luna, walking up to her.

"We understand that this must be difficult for you to process, Ms. Lace." She raised her hoof to her chest. "It was hard for me to process as well, and given the circumstances of my arrival, it was more than I could handle in the moment."

"'Arrival'?" Violet quoted. She shook her head, her mind still full of questions and plot holes. "Look, you seem like a nice pony. And clearly..." She looked Luna up and down. "You... are important in many ways. And needed." A look of softness and slight embarrassment flashed across Luna's face. "So... I feel the need to tell you, that this isn't a good situation." She pointed at Clock Mage. "You see, things have changed since..." Violet furrowed her brow, not quite understanding what she was thinking. From what she could tell, this pony was from a thousand years in the past. But she was standing there, right in front of her. She must have been interpreting something from the spell incorrectly. "Since you left. That pony is clearly conning you, and trying to con me as well."

Luna stood there, her scowl never wavering. She glanced at Clock Mage, who was standing in the middle of the clearing, looking at her pocket watch. "She knows many things, Violet Lace. That is how she convinced me."

"How long have you've known her?" Violet asked.

"A day." Luna answered simply. "I... have only known my sister for longer. Things are very different here."

Sister? Something stirred in Violet's mind. She already knew that Luna had a sister. But who?

"We learned about time travel magic in school. It's considered one of the greatest magical achievements in the history of magic. Do you really think a pony in our time could have the ability to go back several years and change things?" She could see that Luna was wavering, her doubt showing through shifting eyes.

"She has told me things... about you... about my past." Luna was clinging to information she couldn't deny. And, if Violet were to be perfectly honest with herself, she was surprised by that response. Clock Mage was good. Who knows how long she's been forming her plan, and probably only to scam a few vulnerable unicorns out of a few bits.

"She... has probably done her research." Violet said. She turned her body back towards the clearing. "Now come on. I'm expecting that you know where my family is?"

Luna opened her mouth to say something, only to be interrupted by a light. It shined and radiated from the center of the clearing like a star. When the light receded, there was nothing but singed grass in its place.

"What in the-"

Suddenly, without warning, the light was back. Just as bright as before, it caused Violet to instictivly protect Luna's sensitive eyes, along with her own.

"That little problem was solved!" Clock Mage's voice radiated from the center of the clearing. "Honestly, those ponies need to learn some manners!" Violet opened her eyes in shock to see Clock Mage in medieval unicorn regalia. Her mane and tail were covered in snow, and her bright white mane was tousled as though it was caught in a ferocious wind. She shook herself, sending chucks of snow and ice into Violet's face. She felt the real cold and harsh burn of the frost. It was real.

"Windigos..." Clock Mage sighed. "Not very good at diplomatic compromising."

"You... you just..." Violet stared at Clock Mage, no longer able to deny her claims. Not even the finest dress makers in Canterlot could make something that authentic looking. No pony, even the strongest of unicorns, could teleport far enough to reach snow. Not from Canterlot in the beginning of summer!

Clock Mage laughed. "I call it 'hopping'. I can only do it temporarily. But given the fact that I'm limited only to time-travel magic, I like to think it's very impressive." She shook the last few drops of snow from behind her ears.

Luna leaned close to Violet, speaking for the first time in what seemed like minutes. "Ms. Lace. With all due respect, we do not think that this mare is 'conning' us anymore."

Violet could only nod.

"Now, back to our problem." She pulled opened her watch again, and Violet found herself flinching a little harder than what was probably necessary. Clock Mage fiddled with it, pressing buttons and twisting nearly invisible nobs that protruded out of its side. Suddenly, an image of a landscape appeared, floating above the watch like some sort of projection. It was horrid. Black grass and blank skies. A giant castle glistened in the distance, seemingly made out of gemstones. Half starved ponies were walking down the streets in freakishly neat lines, their eyes glowing red and red gems hanging around their necks like shackles.

"This, is the alternate timeline that I came from earlier." She closed the watch. Violet breathed a sigh of relief as the image dissapeared. "Like I said, I temporarily altered our timeline by saving Violet's life."

"'Temporarily?" Luna and Violet chorused.

"Of course." She waved her hoof as though it was obvious. "Different path ways lead to the same location. In fact, it's almost horrific how easily we could steer towards that reality again."

"How do we prevent this... 'reality'?" Luna asked. Her stood up strong, and puffed out her chest like a leader.

"That's easy." Clock Mage looked towards Violet. "We need to protect Violet Lace at all cost, make sure she makes all the right decisions, and doesn't screw anything up in any way possible. Everything leans on her, and us. If we fail in any way, the fate of Equestria is doomed."

A cold silence filled the moonstone garden.

"Anypony got any ideas?"

Hot Sunlight and Thick Curtains

"Alright, sounds like a plan."

"You can't just say that and assume that everypony agrees with you!" Violet shouted.

"Well, you have any better ideas?" Clock Mage flashed an out of place smile in Violet's direction.

"I..." Violet looked towards Canterlot Castle from the alleyway that the three ponies were in. "Things are going to fast. We need to slow down. I just got what seemed like a thousand years of information magically beamed into my head and ricocheted back into my own timeline-"

"With all due respect, Violet, we don't really have time to slow down." She winked. "Trust me, I know."

"Regardless, we need to be back in the castle by nightfall." Luna suddenly added. "It would mean the moon to me if you were to go with me Violet Lace. For the sake of your protection."

"Protection?!" Violet shouted. "That's another thing! What are you two protecting me from? Where's my family?"

"We assure you, your family is completely safe." Luna said with a calming tone.

"Then where's everypony else?" Violet's voice held a tone of fatigue. She had only woken up a few hours ago, but she felt as though she hadn't slept in a lifetime.

"With your family, obviously!" Clock Mage beamed.

"You guys aren't telling me anything!" Violet shouted. Clock Mage jumped back in surprise, while Luna's eyes narrowed in a look of worry and slight annoyance.

"We'll explain in the castle." Luna started walking. She was heading in the back entrance, which Violet felt was strange, but didn't question it. She didn't know what to expect from Luna, but simultaneously, she was never surprised by her antics. Information spells were only performed by the most powerful of unicorns, due to their high controversy. They were nearly banned hundreds of years ago, and only a few privileged individuals were taught the spell as it was passed down from family to family. Most that know those spells today, don't even have the capability of performing them anymore. So when Luna suddenly arrived and showed that she now only knew the spell, but that she's used it several times throughout her years, caused Violet to quickly realize that she was no ordinary unicorn. In fact, Violet's mind would sometimes get a few strands of images, blurred and nearly impossible to decipher, causing her to think that she wasn't even a unicorn at all. But as soon as she thought she grasped what she was, she would doubt that what she was seeing was legitimate, and dismiss it.

They began sneaking inside castle grounds. They darted through shadows caused by the early-afternoon sun, and quickly avoided the guard.

"Why are we sneaking into the castle?" Violet harshly whispered in Clock Mage's ear.

"Why don't you ask Moon Butt over there?" She answered bitterly. She was in a foul mood due to one of necklaces getting caught on a bush branch, and having to leave it behind.

"You're the one who dragged me into this situation!" Violet said venomously. "Start giving me answers, or I'll walk onto the nearest balcony and scream my heart out."

"Okay! Chill out!" They both watched as Luna walked close to the heavy curtains that hung in the hallway. Her eyes were darting from one crack to another, looking outside for ponies who might have been watching. "Luna is new here... and it's sort of a big deal. Because of that, she's gotten very little time to herself, and can't risk getting caught, getting dragged somewhere else and leaving you and I vulnerable."

"What are you protecting me from?" Violet asked, making sure to not loose sight of Luna as she darted from shadow to shadow.

"She said that she would explain that later."

"Tell me." Violet pleaded. "You must have the most information, at least now! Please!"

Clock Mage sighed. "They call themselves the 'Black Diamonds'."

"'Black Diamonds'?" Violet repeated.

"Not the most creative name, I know, but bear with me." She and Violet turned a corner. It was safe to say that, if they were alone, they would quickly get lost. "They... were once a group of ponies, harmless enough. But that was more than a thousand years ago. Things have changed. They had humble beginnings, strangely occult and hell-bent on what they deemed 'order', but they were a small group that ponies simply glanced over."

"Then why are they a problem?" Violet asked.

"Well... it turns out that the 'god' they believed in, wasn't a god at all. Instead, he was simply a unicorn with too much power. He let that power corrupt him, his judgment, and a lover of his. He went into the 'heavens'- as they used to put it- and simply lived as a mass of magical power and darkness."

"That sounds..."

"Yeah, I know." All three of their ears perked up when they heard hoofsteps. They quickly dove behind the heavy tapestries until they were gone. "All of that darkness and hatred for a world he deemed imperfect had changed him and made him power hungry, even though he was nothing but power at this point. His followers, being the loyal and horribly ignorant and devoted ponies that they were, followed his lead."

"But... that was centuries ago." Violet said. "What does this have to do with me?"

Clock Mage let out another heavy sigh. Her annoyingly chipper and happy attitude seemed to fade right out of her. "It's complicated. Simply, and poorly, put; They never let their civilization die. It's been sitting, in the shadows, fermenting. Now it's home to some of the most powerful ponies in all of Equestria, thanks to their abundant talent at gathering priceless jewels and other things of the like. I guess being a follower of a dark being of mass destruction and death has its perks."

"But that still doesn't tell me what that has to do with me!" Violet harshly whispered again. "How am I involved?"

Clock Mage was silent for a moment, as though gathering her thoughts. "I'm not entirely sure. I know stones in the path, not the entire path itself. I suppose it could be because you're Luna's assistant. You have a lot of influence on the future Equestria."

"Assistant...?" Violet felt the word in her mind. "Is that what I am?" Clock Mage shrugged.

"It changes depending on the pony, to be honest. I've met a few of them, they were all very distant, but different..." Luna finally stopped at a large door. It was pale blue, with a giant moon carved into it. "Assistant is sort of the 'default' term until you find your place." The door opened with a loud clang. All of the ponies flinched as the sound radiated down the hallway.

"Let's go." Luna said. She stepped inside the room. "We can have some privacy in here."

All three of them entered the spacious bed room.

The first thing that Violet thought was: Damn, this pony has good taste. The entire room was done in cool blues and purples. Thick mulberry curtains blocked sunlight entirely, and a marble patterned carpet matched with mulberry and purple hues. A giant bed, in the shape of a crescent moon, stood center stage in the largest compartment of the entire space.

"Luna..." A sick, slimy feeling appeared in Violet's stomach. "... this is your room, isn't it?" Luna nodded. The slimy feeling quickly dissipated, replaced with hot, boiling anger.

"No!" Violet shouted. Luna and Clock Mage both jumped at the outburst. "No no no no no no nononono...." Violet's vision started to blur. "You can't just-"

Her emotions went haywire, she shifted without even realizing it. The feather of her cutie mark changed into a water drop. She started speaking with an accent similar to that of Clock Mage's.

"throw this all at me! I.. I- I woke up this morning, I woke up hours ago! My family is missing, I just got information beamed into my head, and just figured out that time-travel is possible," She pointed her hoof angrily at Clock Mage, who shrunk back in a small amount of fear. "because of her!"

She shifted again. Her mane straightened out slightly, and reflected pink. Her body became more nimble, and her eyes keen on details in the room. It only made her angrier. The water drop turned into a rose.

"My sister is missing!" She screamed in a voice that could only be described as 'devilishly posh'. "My friends are gone! I've been plagued with nightmares for nearly half of my life, a shithole family for the other half- the least you two can do-"

The pink in Violet's mane faded, and changed into a copper hue. Her eyes turned from their usual gray, to a brilliant gold. Her cutie mark shifted to a gear.

"Is cut me some slack!" Her breathing became heavy, and she winced at the burning in her throat from tears that she prohibited from falling down her face. "Did you two even think about this?!" She pointed an shaking hoof at Luna. "Where were you? What happened? What am I? I didn't ask for this!" She pointed angrily at her own cutie mark. "I didn't want this to happen! I just wanted to graduate, maybe become an author! Not have the entire fate of Equestria placed on my shoulders!"

Luna finally spoke. "Ms. Lace-"

"And that's another thing, how do you know my name? How do you know me at all? You were supposedly gone to who knows where, how do you know anything?"

"Ms. Lace-"

"You could have helped me with my nightmares, since we're apparently so close. I mean, you walk through dreams right? At least, that's what I think you do! I mean, my head is filled with half filled information! What? Did you both expect that I would just figure things out? That I wouldn't be totally overwhelmed and freaked out by the situation?!"

"Ms. Lace!"

Violet was quickly silenced by blue magic circling around her muzzle. Her emotions were still going crazy, so she was left standing still, restrained by Luna, subtly shifting from one form to the other.

"This must be a result of being apart of her timeline again." Clock Mage said absentmindedly. "She's starting to progress again-"

"That is enough out of you, as well!" Clock Mage's muzzle was held in a similar fashion to Violet's. She struggled momentarily, groping at her pocket watches and chains, trying to enforce the lack of time.

"Yes, yes. We understand that we are running out of time." Luna said in a bored tone. "But we can also say that you have been quite a nuisance as of late. We were supposed to be resting this afternoon, the first day's sleep in more than a millennium, but instead you suddenly appeared and had us running around a kingdom we don't recognize and writing letters to ponies we don't know." Luna quickly looked at Violet, who was silently fuming, but also listening to Clock Mage get told off with a disturbing amount of pleasure. "But wish to know."

"So," Luna said, pulling Clock Mage close. "We must get you to understand your place. We understand that you've been through a lot in the past few days, seeing Equestria falling sounds like a horror that not even we can comprehend. And we also understand that you're simply looking at everypony's best interest, but you need to understand how confusing everything you're doing is. We are a princess of Equestria, and you will do what we say."

She let both Violet and Clock Mage go. Violet cleared her throat, feeling slightly embarrassed for her loud outburst, especially considering that they didn't want to get caught and dragged out of the castle.

"I just want to find my family." She said. Luna nodded, expecting as much. "I understand that things are serious, and that this is real, and..." She shook her head, trying to straighten her thoughts. "They are my first priority. I want to make sure that they are safe... then I'll help you."

"Very well." Luna lead Violet to a window that was tucked away in a corner. Using her hoof to part the thick, dark curtain, Luna let bright light stream into the room for the first time. Both she and Violet winced, having gotten used to the dark lighting of the bedroom. Violet took a while to adjust and recognize what she was seeing. At first, she thought she was seeing a garden with hundreds of different flowers. Instead, she was looking at a large crowd of ponies all sitting in front of the castle. They were cheering, jumping around, and celebrating even though nothing was happening. She instantly noticed her mother's reflective mane in the crowd, and saw her sister and father sitting next to her.

"They are celebrating our return." Luna answered. "We believe that our sister was... excited, and accidentally gave the impression that it was a mandatory event." She followed Violet's gaze. "Is that them?"

"Yeah..." Violet was filled with so much relief at seeing them, she didn't have the ability to notice their expressions until now.

"They do not seem as though they are enjoying themselves." Luna said, noticing as well. They sat still, in stark contrast to the energetic crowed that seemed to cause cheer to seep through the tinted windows.

"They're probably worried." Violet said. "I don't think my night ended very nicely, last night." Luna grunted.

"Is your mind at ease?" Luna asked. She didn't bother letting down the curtain, letting Violet look a little longer.

"Y-...No." Violet brushed a lock of mane out of her eyes. Now that she knew that her family was okay, she had shifted back to her original form. "With everything else that's happening, it's almost ludicrous to think that I could calm down." She let herself take a deep breath.

"Understandable." Luna said. "We figured you needed more time."

"But we don't-" Clock Mage was silenced again by Luna's glowing horn.

"She's safe here, isn't she?" Luna turned her head over her shoulder. "We enchanted our new bedroom with a security spell. Only our sister and us, plus a few exceptions can enter without our permission. Any other pony who dares to step through that door will be thrown against the opposing wall."

"Exceptions?" Violet asked.

"You, of course." Luna said, looking Violet straight in the eye. Violet felt a blush creep up her cheeks. "Plus, anypony you deem worthy. The spell can allow a few more exceptions, but only a limited few."

"A-Alright..." Violet said, still processing the fact that she had the ability to barge into a princess's sleeping chamber. "I'm safe here."

Luna nodded. "That's right." There was a moment of silence where Luna seemed to ponder something. "We suppose you are more than deserving of an explanation."

"I-"

"If you wish, we could arrange for you to spend the day here. We could give you a proper explanation of what is happening. Plus, we might be able to learn some new things as well." Luna suggested.

"What?" Violet's ears perked up in shock. "W-what about my family? They are probably worried sick! I mean, look at them!"

"We can have it arranged to the point where your parents would be reassured of your safety. We understand that your life has been very hectic over the past few days, Violet Lace, but we think that we could all unanimously agree that you need to educate yourself on this matter as soon as possible."

"I- I!..." Violet felt her arguments fall short under Luna's imposing stature and cold eyes. "You're right." She sighed sorrowfully. "... But... can I write the letter?"

Luna nodded. "If you believe that is best."

"Hello!" Clock Mage shouted, startling the two of them. "Did you two forget that I as here?"

"Ah, yes. Ms. Clock Mage." Luna stood tall, looking down on the smaller time-pony. "As grateful as we are for your interference, and trust us, we are, we must insist that you leave for the time being. We and Violet need to spend some time alone, evaluate the knowledge we have, and then we'll get back to you when the time demands it."

"The time always demands it!" Clock Mage insisted, suddenly going ragged. She looked towards Violet desperately. Violet could only imagine what the pony saw in the alternate timeline. To speak that way to a princess, new or not, was dangerous. Clock Mage was clearly very frightened.

"Look on that little piece of parchment of yours." Luna said, letting her cold eyes flicker towards her bright white mane. "What does it say?"

Clock Mage pulled the piece of paper out of her mane hesitantly. She scanned over the parchment, and let out a sigh. "Clock Mage leaves the room for... ten hours." Luna and Violet cocked an eyebrow simultaneously. "She finds Princess Luna and Violet Lace in the..." Clock Mage swallowed, uneasy. With tight lips, she put the parchment back in her mane and wrinkled her nose in content. "Alright, I see your point. I can't go against the parchment."

Why not? Violet thought. It was just a simple piece of paper, wasn't it? Then again, she barely knew anything about time travel. None, if the stuff she's read out of teen-romance novels didn't count. She figured she should let the expert do her thing.

"Okay, so..." She grew another one of her large smiles. "I'll get on my merry way then, now that I know nothing bad is going to happen. I'll just, uh... leave this." She pulled a large roll of parchment out of her mane, similar to how she pulled out the ever present time-parchment. "You need to read this at ten-oh-two tonight, alright? No earlier." The two of them nodded. And with that, a bright flash of light caused Violet to squint her eyes shut. When she opened them again, Clock Mage was gone.

"She had good intentions..." Luna said once the room got quiet. "But, we are not sure she knows how to handle them."

"I think she's scared." Violet said. "I can't imagine my favorite book store being closed, much less all of Equestria being destroyed." She thought about the scene that Clock Mage had showed them before they left for the castle. It didn't seem real, it was as though it was a scene in a movie, or some sort of horrible hallucination. If Violet were to be perfectly honest with herself, that last suggestion might of still been on the table.

"We are ready for your questions, Violet Lace." Luna announced after they got situated. "Ask away!"

"O-okay..." Violet stuttered. "What... am I?" Violet's tone was unsure. She had a lot of questions, more than even she knew, but she was also numb. The shock of everything happening, seeing Luna, and sneaking into Canterlot castle, a place where even the most elite of Canterlot can barely manage stepping into, it left her feeling raw and vulnerable.

"We do not understand." Luna said, perplexed. "You are a pony, are you not?"

"No! nonono." She pointed towards the crescent moon on her cutie mark. "How am I related to you? What am I?"

"Ah." Luna's ears lowered. "That requires a complicated answer. One that you will gain the knowledge of over time, and you shall gain even more knowledge than us. We have some books that may help you, if you wish to read them, we understand-"

"NO!" Violet shouted. She quickly placed her hoof over her mouth at her own rudeness. "I'm sorry! I mean,... no. I'm fine, thank you."

Luna nodded. "If you wish to have a brief explanation, we are afraid we wont be able to provide you with a proper answer. From our perspective, the lunar cutie marks are a phenomenon that we can not explain, but simply accept."

"So you didn't ask any questions? You didn't wonder or ponder what it could be? You just simply let those ponies into you life without a second glance?"

"A grieving heart is desperate for relief." Luna's face was like stone. No emotion other than the cold personality that resonated from her. But her eyes grew dark, and Violet knew that it was a touchy subject that she should probably figure out on her own.

"Okay, um..." She pulled another question out of the large jar in her mind. "Who are the Black Diamonds?"

"That is a question that we can answer." Luna cleared her throat. "They started small, with a tiny civilization north of the Everfree forest. They were mainly kept afloat using the rare gemstones that they somehow manage to acquire, and practice a large amount of dastardly and corruptible magic. They were never considered a threat, not in our time at least. The ponies that made up the cult just simply considered themselves better than everypony else, and stuck to socializing with themselves. They were harmless, the mortal participants."

"What about the ones who weren't mortal?" Violet asked, growing slightly frightened.

"Hungry. He grew hungry. We are not entirely sure of his motivation, but we, along with our sister, knew we had to put a stop to it. His lover, Ruby, came down to us to warn us of his destruction in form of dreams and red flowers."

"Ruby..." That word caused a shiver to travel down her spine. "My dreams! What about my dreams?"

"We do not know how to answer this question."

"I've had nightmares for the past four years! You have the ability to walk through dreams! That can't be a coincidence!" Violet insisted. "What do they mean? Why are they there? How did you manage to make them end every night?"

Luna silenced Violet with a silent hoof raised int the air. "We do not know what we are talking about. We suppose that our essence could have helped you, but not even we have an essence strong enough to last for more than a few nights. You must have just simply been experiencing a type of prophetic dream. It's quite a common occurrence. We have seen it many times."

"I..." Violet furrowed her brow. She wasn't sure, but Luna was more than an expert on dreams. Should she really question her? She decided to change the subject. "How will I stay protected? Aren't the Black Diamonds a constant threat?"

Luna turned her head at a confused angle. "We thought that was obvious. You are to stay here, at the castle, until further notice."

"What?" Violet stood up from the place where she was sitting on the carpet. "I can't stay here! I have a family-"

"Which you've pointed out numerous times."

"And... a life! What? Am I suppose to live under your bed for the rest of it? I just got back into my timeline, I want to start progressing again! I want to do new things and meet new ponies!... I wan't to tell my sister that I wan't to do new things and meet new ponies! Oh, she would be so happy!" She thought of Cloudy, taking everything in stride, and just simply accepting the fact that Violet was back to normal. Violet felt her chest lighten with the thought of doing it.

"You will obviously still be in contact with you family, and you're not going to be forced to stay by any means. We will provide you with accommodations."

"Where?"

"The time pony said that everything was settled."

"Are you really going to trust her word?" In all fairness, Clock Mage wasn't dishonest. But Violet's life was on the line, so she was more than hesitant.

"Yes." Luna answered without hesitating whatsoever. "She said 'I took a short trip a few centuries ago to put everything into motion. Now, everything is ready to go at your word.'"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Violet asked. "That doesn't mean I'll be provided with a house! Or food!"

"That won't be a problem, you can simply stay in one of the castle's numerous rooms."

"For how long? What am I supposed to eat? Do you know my allergies?"

"For as long as you must. You'll eat whatever you choose, the cooks are very capable. You can alert them of your allergies if it is necessary."

Violet turned into a stuttering mess. "I-you can't... I!-" Luna silenced her with a gentle hoof on her shoulder.

"Violet Lace, you must understand. Even without the fate of Equestria in the balance, We would have still met and would probably be having this conversation. But... given the circumstances, things are very different. We originally meant for you to make a choice, and given the past mistakes that we have made, we probably would have pushed you to refuse our offer and have you decide to choose your own life as you please. But now..." Luna's ears lowered with an unexplained sadness. "You don't have a choice, and I'm sorry."

Violet felt her resolve cave in like a slow sink hole. It must have been the century long connection between her and Luna, the one she still didn't understand, that caused her to be so quick to bend to Luna's suggestions.

"I... I...." She let her words fall. The entire fate of Equestria rested on her shoulders, whether she liked it or not. Whether she truly processed it or not, and whether she was ready or not. "I'll go write... the letter."

She turned to head towards a dark section of the bedroom. An individual cubby, with a desk and chair. It was new, freshly polished, and lit with a single magical lantern that was shaped like the moon. She went on about, scribbling a letter and holding back tears. She told her family how much she loved them, and that she was in the castle for... a reason. A reason she couldn't tell them about due to royal matters. She told Cloudy specifically that she was fine, better than ever, actually! She told her about how she wanted to try a new technique with writing that required colored ink and a new quill. Violet was sure that Cloudy would enjoy seeing those words.

While she was silently putting ink to paper, she heard Luna's voice gently float in the room in a quiet whisper. It had caught Violet by surprise, given that they both agreed that the alicorn should get some sleep.

"I'm very sorry."

A Deadly Scar

Luna stirred. When she opened her eyes, she had a brief moment of panic before recognizing her new bedroom. A feeling of deep sorrow that she couldn't scrub away from the bottom of her being became noticeable, and she had to swallow to keep it down.

"You're awake." A voice resonated from one of the bedroom's many doorways. An aching pain appeared in Luna's heart, and the memory of an old face flashed in her mind. She, without thinking, covered her ears with her hooves and curled up in her bedspread. She only had a split second to recover, realize that she was incorrect, and straighten her spine.

"Good evening, Miss Lace." She said in her royal Canterlot voice. The young mare flinched as she entered her room.

"G-Good evening, Princess Luna." Violet stuttered. "I... um... sent the letter. The spell you suggested worked."

"We hope it wasn't too much trouble." Luna elegantly got out of bed and straightened her bed sheets. "We could've woken up and had one of our many messengers send the letter for you."

"No, no..." Violet tucked a lock of mane behind her ear. "I wanted to send it. It's fine, Princess Luna."

Luna grunted. "We are glad that you are growing more comfortable." She sensed that the young mare was less tense and was breathing easier. "Since it is nightfall, we should be more capable of handling our duties. Would you like for us to show you your room?"

"I..." Violet felt hollow. Sending the letter had drained her, and all she wanted was sleep. All she wanted was to curl up and never show her vulnerable belly to the world again. "Yes. Please do, Princess." The only thing she could do now was accept everything and do what she was told.

The two of them walked into the hallway. Now that Violet wasn't ducking behind curtains and trying to avoid the eye of staff, she had the ability to admire the elegant and enchanting décor. Not that she was in the mood.

"We noticed that you are calling us Princess now," Luna said with her eyes facing forward. "Did the time-pony tell you?"

Violet looked at Luna, who had lost her cloak and was now showing her wings and horn. She remembered the realization came before when they entered Luna's bedroom, which was place in Canterlot castle, home of the royal family.

"Um... no." She answered, causing Luna to look perplexed. "I figured it out... with the information spell..."

"Ah." Luna simply said. Violet lowered her ears.

Princess Luna must be stressed as well... She thought. She let her mind drift, completely ignoring the questions that buzzed and clattered in her mind. They bounced against her skull. To distract herself, she listened to Luna's loud hoofsteps echo against the shiny marble flooring. Was she crazy, or did the sound of Luna's metal horseshoes sound like rattling chains?

They walked a distance. Moonlight streamed through the curtain.

"You... raised the moon? You just woke up..."

"You remembered?" Luna asked. Violet stared at the ground as she walked. She watched as the patterned flooring vanished beneath her hooves. She nodded slowly.

"Yes... I guess I did." Violet furrowed her brow. It felt like I knew all along...

"Tragically, no." Luna sighed. "Our sister raised our moon tonight, due to our weak state."

"Oh... well... I've always loved the moon. So... I think it's really cool how your special talent is to raise it and all..." Violet was trying her best to create small-talk. It was more than hard, due to the tension that seemed determined to choke her, and the empty feeling inside her chest.

"Do you now?" Luna asked. Her eyes were glued to some unseen object directly in front of her.

"Yeah... the moon has always been a huge inspiration for me with my writing." Violet cleared her throat.

"I'm glad." Luna's voice was sharp with an emotion that Violet couldn't place. She let her eyes dart swiftly to read her face, but it was only for an instant, and Violet only saw Luna's cold expression. But... she could have sworn she also saw Luna swallow, as thought trying to compose herself... and... that was one of the only times she had ever heard her speak without using her 'Royal Canterlot Voice.'

"I, um..." Violet's ears folded against her skull, unsure and lost. "I... was wondering if you could give me those books that you offered a while ago."

"Of course, Violet Lace. We would be glad." They continued to walk down the seemingly endless hallway, past doors and tapestries and paintings. Eventually, at the end of the corridor, they stopped at a door stained grey. It was huge.

"What room is this?" Violet asked. Her eyes began to hurt from trying to look at the door from top to bottom.

"This was supposed to be a library of sorts." Princess Luna began to open the door with her magic, and subtle click could be heard from the lock. "But our sister has already given us a substantial amount, so we deemed it perfectly fine for you to be given one to accommodate yourself."

"M-Me?" Violet stuttered. The door swung open, it's hinges freshly oiled and silent. Inside were rows of empty bookshelves, eager to be filled. A small sofa, a large desk and chair, plush carpet, and one giant set of windows were also placed expertly around the room. It was dark, what with it being night, but being one of Princess Luna's personal libraries, Violet was sure that the curtains that hung around the windows could block out any sunlight that tried to enter. "It's... magnificent." And too much. Violet added silently.

Princess Luna grunted. "We are sure it will suit your needs. A servant pony will be here shortly, in order to provide you with the proper-"

There was a large bang. It rattled the windows and shook the paintings on their hooks. Violet, frightened, ran to the window to look outside. She saw the entrance to the castle, and a crowd of ponies seemingly fighting on its main staircase.

"What is going on?" Luna asked. Violet could've sworn she saw panic in her eyes.

"It's... my mother." Violet whispered, hardly able to believe it. But there she was, with her gold mane, she was hard to miss. She was angry, fuming. The maddest Violet had ever seen her. Her hair was pure gold, and her eyes shined to the point where Violet could see them clearly, even from this far away.

"Your mother... she is an ammunition expert?" Luna asked, referring to the loud bang.

"Um..." Violet saw the moonlight reflect on her mother's trusty frying pan. Its body was contorted and twisted around one of the stairs. "She... doesn't normally act this way." Her mother leaped at one of the guards, causing even more of a disturbance. She could hear her screams but wasn't able to comprehend them through the panes of glass. A speck of yellow and brown appeared out of the corner of Violet's eye, and she saw her father running up to the castle with a look of panic and desperation clear on his face.

She and Princess Luna ran after that. Giving no concern to the servants and the personnel that roamed the beautiful halls of the castle, they bolted around turns and sprinted through corridors. Violet almost broke a priceless vase in the process. She wondered if it was genetic, or biological; Luna's grace. Her face was stoic and controlled where Violet's was sweaty and scared, her hooves steady and powerful where hers were frantic and random.

Finally, with Luna's guidance, they made it to the castle's front entrance. Her and her mother's eyes locked.

"Violet! You come here this instant!" Her voice was pleading. "Please, we can get this all sorted out!" Yellow Parchment reached her side and looked at her.

"Sweetie, we just need an explanation-"

"Explanation?!" His wife quoted. "We need her to come home!"

"I assure you, that can't happen." Luna's voice, now in full Royal swing, echoed across the foyer. Everypony, including Violet herself, cowered.

"P-Princess!" The guards that were once holding Mrs. Sugar back stood at attention. Violet's mother took the opportunity to run to her daughter and tackle her in a hug.

"I have no idea what's going on," Her mother whispered in her ear. "But I promise you everything is going to be okay. I'm not letting them keep you here."

"Mommy..." Violet whispered back, tears in her eyes. "Mom... it's more complicated than that. You need to listen."

"Listen? Listen to who?" Mrs. Sugar's brows furrowed, concerned by her daughter's behavior. "I thought you were so happy... was it something in school- you don't have to go to college! You can stay home! Y-You can-"

"I'm sorry Miss, but your daughter is right." Violet saw Princess Luna's shadow stretch over hers. She knew the Princess didn't want to come off as intimidating, but she was doing a really poor job of being approachable.

But her mother didn't back down. Her eyes stared directly into the Princess's, unwavering and cold. "For my daughter to suddenly leave- with only a tear-stained letter to say goodbye? I doubt it's that simple." Violet had never seen her mother so cold, and to such an important pony. A princess stood before her, taller by at least two heads, with a cold set of eyes and a smile-less face. But she stood there, her coat and mane glittering like gemstones, powered by the love and desperation for her daughter.

Luna's face twitched, a small flicker of insecurity showing for the briefest of seconds. Clearly, she underestimated Sugar Crystal's love for her family.

"Your daughter," Luna cleared her throat regally, allowing the other ponies in the room to recover from Mrs. Sugar's behavior. Violet's father timidly found his way around the guards to his wife's side. "Is very important. For the sake of her safety, she needs to stay in the castle."

"Safety?!" The fear on her father's face caused Violet's throat to close. "W-what's going on?"

Sugar Crystal's grip on her daughter tightened. "She's safe at home."

"No." Luna's voice echoed. "We assure you, she is not." She turned gracefully and waved her hoof for them to follow. "Please, come with us. We shall explain all that we can."

Hesitantly, her parents let her go. They walked in silence. There was no tension, only an aura of dread. Mrs. Sugar feared for the obvious situation of losing her daughter, of not knowing what was going on, and for the feeling of helplessness of not being able to fight it. Mr. Parch was afraid of the same thing, but his natural gentleness caused him to fear his wife's emotional state. It hasn't even been a more than a few hours and she was already fraying.

Violet was afraid for obvious reasons.

Luna led them to what appeared to be a tea room. A beautiful hoof-crafted table stood dead center over a bright white carpet. Delicate and delightfully plush, their hooves left imprints. Rose gold chairs, decorated in a Rococo style with grapes vines and tiny pegasi sat around the table. A large window was adorned with yellow and gold curtains.

"We are sure our sister won't mind us using her room."

Princess Celestia's tea room... If there was any moment for Violet's mind to crack, it was now. She turned her head so that her parents couldn't see the tears that pricked the back of her eyes. Her throat closed and an ache appeared in her chest that broke her heart.

This is real... She thought. I can't deny it anymore. I can sulk, and submit... but I'm being taken away from my family and there's nothing I can do about it. She saw the sun crest that decorated the door behind her. This is too big for any of us to change, to escape and ignore.

She had to leave. Nopony stopped her, if they even noticed. She quietly walked out of the room and found herself wandering the empty corridor. She walked aimlessly, her mind thinking about everything at once. Her new room that she had to decorate, the raging time-pony on the loose, the cult that wants to kill her for reasons that she would probably never know, her nightmares, being ripped from her own timeline for the sake of her life, and the fact that if she didn't do everything perfectly the cult would take over all of Equestria.

And to top it off, she couldn't have her family by her side to help her. She could never think about putting them in danger. Them, living with her and having their lives at risk was not an option. But she couldn't escape the castle, she couldn't escape her fate. The information in her head, given to her magically, was as genuine to her as her own memories. She couldn't deny that she was connected to Luna, destined to serve her, just like all the other ponies before her. But why? Why were they all connected? Who started it all, and why couldn't there only be one, why did there have to be an endless chain of ponies?

What was she supposed to do? What task could she possibly serve that could give her the 'fortune' to have Princess Luna's personal library as a bedroom. To make her important enough to live in the castle after a day of realization?

It was clearly something she wasn't capable of handling.

So, standing in the middle of a royal hallway, decorated with priceless paintings and tapestries, she stared off into space. She sat, unmoving, completely enveloped in her own fears and insecurities. The gravity of everything and the sudden placement of herself back into the timeline caused all of the motions to hit at once. Her body couldn't handle it. She felt herself retch. Her knees buckled to the ground, and a cold sweat dribbled into the marble floor off the bridge of her muzzle.

"Whoa...!" She heard a voice from above her, but she couldn't lift her head to see who it was. The voice was small and feminine. She heard the flap of wings and saw a pair of gray hooves in front of her face. "Oh dear... Here, let me help you." Her body lifted off the ground and she was dragged a few doors down into a nearby bathroom.

"Alright..." She felt a cold wash cloth dab against her mouth, wiping away any drool that found its way down her chin. She heard water shoot out of the faucet again, and felt the clean fabric press against her forehead. "There. Feeling better?" Violet answered her question with another retch, this time aiming for a nearby sink.

"Or... not." Violet wiped her face with a clammy hoof. She looked up to be met with a sharp pair of fangs and eyes that could cause a dragon's heart to stop. "Is there anything I can do for you?" The pony was young. She was tiny, with thin limbs that screamed flexibility and strength. Her nose was pointy and her ears were oddly tufted at their points, making for a threatening yet become face. Her eyes were bright gold and slitted, like some sort of creature that spent its entire life in the darkest catacombs hunting for jewels and souls. Her fangs, which protruded slightly out of her delicate lips, caused a shiver to snake down Violet's spine and set root. Her entire body was coated in thin, leathery wings that hung loose at her sides.

Violet's mouth hung open. The bat pony took it as a sign that she should probably grab a trash can, or perhaps prepare for an onslaught of the unspeakable.

"Oh! Oh my, um..." She looked urgently around the bathroom. Her ears perked, and Violet shrunk back when she saw that her pupils grew dangerously thin when she was struck with the idea. "Here, let me help you to the toilet." She held out her hoof. When Violet didn't take it, a silence that could strangle Cerberus radiated from the powder room.

"Are... are you feeling any better?" The bat pony repeated. "You scared me quite a bit in the hall there. I saw you staring off into space..." Violet's eyes widened in shock as she realized that the pony had been watching her. She quickly realized what she said and backtracked. "No! I don't mean it like that, I was just-" She looked around the room, glancing at watercolor paintings of sunny beaches and plush ivory hoof towels. "I was unable to sleep, what with it being night and all. And I took it upon myself to explore the castle- Not that I was trying to intrude or anything! I'm just new." The pony grew more and more flustered as words continued to pour out of her fanged mouth. Her olive green mane and tail began to puff up like some sort of frightened animal. "I moved here earlier today in fact. So... I don't know my way around. And I- I saw you wandering around all dazed so I figured that I should watch you! I wasn't trying to be creepy, or weird! I know," She fluffed up her wings. "It must look very suspicious- but I swear! I wasn't!"

And then she stopped. After a few huffs of breath, her mouth closed firmly shut in the blankest expression Violet had ever seen. Her gold eyes bored directly into Violet's grey ones. Her hoof suddenly shot out in front of her.

"My name is Midnight Gust. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Violet watched her stand there, rigid and embarrassed. She didn't want to shake the bat pony's hoof. She was scared and vulnerable, and all she wanted was to curl up in her bedspread... and cry.

"Hey wait! Oh my..." Midnight Gust grew more and more embarrassed as tears began to stream down Violet's emotionless face. "I'm so sorry Miss, I didn't mean to frighten you. Honest! I just..." She grabbed a few tissues that rested neatly on a gold tray near the marble sink. "I thought you were in trouble."

Sobs racked Violet's body. She laid her body down uncomfortably on the bathroom countertop, her cheek pressed into the cold rim of the sink. She took the tissue and poorly attempted to wipe off the snot and hot tears that streaked across her face. "No, no..." She mumbled.

Violet knew what Midnight Gust was. A bat pony, a breed that was once pegasi, but magically turned to suit the Princess of the Night's needs more than a millennia ago. She didn't know what happened to them, for their special talents of night vision and natural nocturnal tendencies weren't needed once Luna was gone. But she knew they existed, even when she had never learned about them. The last nail in the already closed coffin was officially hammered in, and Violet met reality with a deadly slap to the face. A physical, undeniable representation of everything that happened that day and night stood before her. Luna was back, Violet was here, and her entire body was pushed off the edge into some sort of abyss that she could never escape.

"Y-you..." She continued to sob. "You're here."

"Y-mmm..." Midnight Gust's ears lowered, confused and concerned. "I am... am I not supposed to be?" She continued to try to wipe the mucus of Violet's face. "My first official shift doesn't happen for another twenty-four hours or so."

Violet's cries turned to whimpers, then to sniffs and the occasional sudden intake of breath. "I-" She sucked in air involuntarily. "I'm sorry. You didn't scare me... I'm just rude."

"No. Not at all." Midnight got a warm cloth and cleaned Violet's face once again. "It's clear you've been through a lot tonight. And I shouldn't have been watching you."

"I'm glad you did. I'd probably be attracting the wrong kind of attention if you hadn't..." She blew her muzzle for one final time, clearing her sinuses. Her head ached, and she felt an unspeakable wave of fatigue. "It's..." She swallowed. "It's my first day too."

"Night, you mean?" When Violet looked up, confused, she quickly explained. "Well, you wandered into the lunar wing of the castle, so I kind of just figured..." She coughed. "Nevermind, forget I said anything."

Violet looked at the sunny decor. "This is the lunar bathroom?"

"It's under renovation." Midnight Gust, with one powerful push of her wings, hoisted herself onto the counter with Violet. "Gotta give them credit though, the fact that they redecorated as much as they did in the time that they have." She looked around, flashing her fangs in a smile. "It's pretty impressive." Her attempt to lightened the mood fell flat and Violet's expression didn't waver.

"Hey... are you alright?" She asked again.

"I..." Violet looked at the bat pony, who's eyes were frightening in anatomy and genuine beyond comprehension. "I've been dealing with a lot of stress as of late." She cleared her throat. "A lot of stuff has happened in the past few days." More like hours.

"Yeah, I can see that." She said, referring to Luna's return. "I got dragged out of my village, and away from my parents in order to be recruited. I didn't want the job! I just... couldn't deny my fate." She shook her wings to show what she meant. "My special talent is martial arts, so there was no helping the fact that I was going to be chosen as one of her new royal guards to start everything off. But, I guess you wouldn't know how..." Their eyes met. Her bright gold ones, that shined like cracking embers igniting brush, with Violet's grey eyes that were so lifeless that it caused the bat pony to shrink where she sat.

"Oh." She swallowed. "I'm sorry. What- What precisely do you do?" She scanned Violet's frame and subtly cringed at Violet's scrawny form.

"I'm... supposed to be Luna's assistant" She motioned towards her cutie mark. "At least that's what I'm going to be called until we figure out exactly how I can contribute."

"And... you had to leave your family for this?" Midnight asked. Violet flinched.

"Yeah. For the sake of... privacy." She didn't want to say that their safety was on the line. She wanted the bat pony to stop asking questions on the matter. She felt the need to tread carefully while trying to be as honest as possible. "I had recently found myself out of funk too, and I can't even celebrate with them. I went from a small cottage with a loving family and a possibly successful writing career, to being practically locked in a castle with a job that I don't think I can handle, and the only sense of relief is the concept of visiting hours."

"Yikes." Midnight tucked a lock of mane behind her ear. "That sounds so scary. I'm sorry Miss."

Violet smiled a sad, pathetic excuse for a grin. "My name is Violet Lace." She hopped off the counter. "Thank you for your help, but I should really head back now. I left at a pretty important moment."

The bat pony looked hesitant, but both she and Violet knew that she didn't have the right to argue. "Of course." She joined her on the ground. "If you need anything, you can talk to me anytime. Once I get assigned, I may be busy, but once my shift is over I'll be more than willing to talk to you for as long as you need." She made a motion with her hoof as though she were suggesting something as small as buying a bruised apple from a discount cart at the market.

"Thank you," Violet said, legitimately choked up. "You're very kind, Midnight Gust."

"You can just call me Midnight if you want, it's no trouble. My first friend here shouldn't use such formalities."

Friend...? The thought bubbled up in Violet's mind, familiar and unforgiving. "I'll see you later... Midnight." She walked off after that, hearing her new friend hum happily with the fact that she just got acquainted with somepony new. Violet felt warm inside. She had just met somepony new, and she had entered her life so easily. She really was progressing. She supposed that, if there was a silver lining to the storm clouds that threatened her happy life, that was it. She could make new friends again, and this time, she wasn't going to let it slip by.

I'm not alone. Violet thought. There was another pony going through the same frightening thing she was going through... to some degree. She was new, in an environment that she didn't know, and it was forced upon her by destiny that she couldn't fight. She felt her smile grow a little bit more genuine.

When she made it back to the tea room, she stared at the door's surface. The grains of the wood left grooves and rivers in the paint, and she could smell the chemicals of the stain. She saw her reflection in the polished gold doorknob, contorted, it cause her eyes to look bulbous and scared. Not too far from reality, for it was deathly silent in the room. She opened the door and winced at the deafening creak.

Nopony moved. The princess was still, as were her parents. They didn't even look at her, their heads were facing Cloudy. Cloudy, unlike the others, was staring directly at her sister. Her eyes didn't move, she didn't even look to be breathing. Once their eyes met, they locked into place and held Violet in a trance of grief and helpless pleading from both sides. Cloudy wasn't stupid. she knew that she couldn't argue with the Princess and what she decreed was important for Violet's safety. It was Violet's safety after all, and thousand year absence or not, the Princess still knew more than anypony in the room could even imagine.

Cloudy's face twisted with rage, then it shifted to sorry, then fear, then to a heartbreaking blankness. Hot, heavy tears the size of river pebbles dropped down her face and sprinkled on the floor. Violet tore her eyes away to look at her mother, now looking at her, worn and tired with red eyes and a ragged mane. Her father was better, probably because he could secretly sneak out during lunch and visit her while he worked, but the pain in his face was still hard to handle.

Violet tried to cry. Whether it was out of respect or because she really did feel heartbroken, she wasn't so sure. But the tears never came. They had already paid their visit in the hall, and weren't going to return for a long time. Instead, she was left with a husk. The sadness was to mask the pain, so when the sadness was gone the only thing left was a sharp pain that pierced her ribs. She swallowed down a gasp.

Her heart was wounded, and she could already feel the scar forming.

Cloud Covered Moon

Violet had seen her sister mad over the years. She'd seen her annoyed, frustrated, peeved, and just flat out done. But, sitting next to her on a marble bench in one of the outer gardens of the castle, Violet felt a small twinge of fear. When the tears stopped leaving streaks down her pale yellow face, she had felt relieved. But that was before they both sat down, and a horrific silence engulfed them. They were alone, their parents sat inside, discussing matters with the princess and some of her advisers.

Her body was like stone. Her eyes would dart to her sister's face, looking for any sense of emotion, only to find that her blue eyes were set on something in front of her. Dull and lifeless. Cold.

Luna had told them everything she could. Of course not everything could be said. Certain details were carefully guarded, others obscured due to the princess's lack of knowledge of recent society and customs, but in the end everything was clear.

The option for Violet to leave was there, but it couldn't be taken. For the safety of other ponies, as well as herself, she had to stay in the castle and be the princess's assistant until further notice. She also was to stay well hidden, and away from public eye.

"Cloudy..." Violet mumbled meekly. "Cloudy, please talk to me. We need to talk about this."

"I don't see what good it would do." She could've sworn her ears heard her sister's teeth grind together. "Both you and the princess seem pretty set on you staying." She crossed her front legs and slouched away from Violet in an act of defiance. "Can't do anything about it now."

"Cloudy, you know it's more compli-"

"Do I?!" Cloudy shouted. Violet's ears folded back against her head in fear. "Do I really know that? Because I don't think I do."

"Princess Luna explained it to you herself..." Violet defended.

"Princess Luna?" Her sister mocked. "Princess Luna!" She batted her eyelashes. "Oh, Princess Luna! I'll do anything to serve you! Just because I have a moon on my butt like you! Nothing else matters! I'll just abandon my family, never look back, and spend the rest of my days living in a castle with you, Princess Luna!"

"Cloudy!" Violet was appalled by her sister's behavior. "I figured you would be more understanding..."

"Understanding?!" Cloudy huffed. "Are you serious? After everything we've been through. Our friendship, the slumber parties, the birthdays, sharing a god damn room? Are you just think I'll be okay with just accepting that you, not only broke yourself out of your haze, but somehow managed to become the royal assistant to a princess that just spawned out of thin air a day ago?"

"But-"

"And to top off the pile of everything wrong with the world, both you and Princess Luna say that the entire reason that you were in the funk in the first place was because you were "ripped out of your timeline by a time-pony"! What?" She took in a deep gulp of air. "All because a freakish crystal worshiping cult wants to kill you for some reason!"

"I know it's hard to-"

"How do we even know that Princess Loonie is even legitimate?" Cloudy asked, eyes wild. Violet desperately hoped that nopony could hear them. "I mean, she just poofed! Appeared! In the Everfree Forest, no less! For all we know, she could have just put a spell on Celestia, making everypony think that she was some living legend that existed a long time ago. She could've gotten you too, that's why you think you were put under an information spell- you know? Those things that were banned!"

"Cloudy, please lis-"

"And another thing! That time-pony... strange how she just knew that it was you that the cult was after, huh? You, a random, everyday mare. Nothing other than that. But nope! It was you! Why? We don't know, but we're just going to go along with it anyway!" She suddenly turned and looked Violet dead in the eye, their faces mere inches apart. "Why is this cult, one of which I've never heard of by the way, want you dead? Huh? I can't think of anything. Why? Because none of this makes any fucking sense!"

Cloudy ended her tangent with heaves and huffs of hot breath and angry eyes. Violet watched as those eyes, once a brilliant blue like the cleanest of oceans, turn from blue fire to bone chilling ice.

"And you, you were planning on just packing up and leaving." Violet could smell her sister's breath. "No fighting, no struggling, not even a complaint." The edge of her hoof dug into Violet's chest accusingly. "You didn't shed a single tear in that tea room. Hell, you probably wanted to leave. Live a life of luxury with the royals instead of that tiny cottage."

Violet's body went rigid. After everything that she had gone through the past few days: The breaking of her reality, the crushing of her heart, swallowing her inner wishes and wants for the sake of what she believed to be the greater good. And this is what her sister decided to end her rant with? She probably didn't even care that there were psychotic cultist ponies on the loose, or the fact that a new princess arrived and announced her sister as her assistant out of the blue with hardly a reasonable explanation. She heard it all in her voice. The thing that she was truly angry about was something that wasn't even true.

"What?" Violet heard herself speak. Even she flinched at the hardness of her voice.

"You heard me." Cloudy dropped the cold stare and replaced it with a smug sneer. "I don't blame you." She shrugged. "You lived in Canterlot all your life, it would make sense that you would always dream of living in the castle that you could see from your bedroom window. Any stuck up, pointy nosed filly would."

Violet knew her sister's words weren't genuine. She knew that she was simply making it all up in her head because she was angry and unable to fight. But that didn't stop the anger from boiling in her gut. "You... you really think that I accepted everything without an argument?" She stepped forward and brushed her nose against Cloudy's. "That I didn't fight, that I wanted to believe everything that happened?"

Cloudy tried to hide it, but Violet saw her sister swallow. "Cloudy... The past day of my life is arguably going to be the worst day I'm ever going to have." She pressed her hoof to her sister's chest. "That feeling that's right there." She pressed her hoof in deeper. "That feeling of helplessness and agony that you're feeling right there." She forced Cloudy to look her in the eye. "I've been feeling that feeling since the moment I met Princess Luna. Since the moment I walked into the castle for the first time. " She pushed her sister then, forcing the information into her sister's chest. "For you to think that I just submitted and let everything happen- let my entire world fall apart around me... Cloudy, I'm afraid you're very wrong."

Cloudy, with years of acting lessons and raw talent, broke. Though she kept a straight face, tears rolled down her cheeks as she stared Violet down. If there was one thing that she could do better than acting innocent, it was telling if her sister was lying.

"The time-pony-"

"I saw her disappear. She came back with snow in her mane and wearing regalia that not even the best antique stores in Canterlot could get their hooves on."

"Princess Luna-" Cloudy's voice cracked.

"Whether you accept her as your princess or not, the rest of Equestria has. Her word is still law, and there's nothing you can do to fight it. Hell, you were at the celebration of her return when she dragged me into the castle."

"... The cult..." Cloudy threw in her last attempted. Her body started shaking, and she looked like a small filly about to get scolded for breaking her mother's vase.

"I... don't have an answer for that." Violet said, honest. "I don't have any proof that what either one of them says is genuine." Cloudy's ears raised in hope, only for it to be squashed like a ladybug under a sturdy horseshoe. "But do you really want to take that risk?"

"But mom and dad..." Cloudy whispered.

"Have already accepted it." Violet finished.

"But for bad reasons!" Cloudy quickly added. And she was right. Yellow Parchment accepted it partially because he had read texts in the archives, describing in detail of the tale of Nightmare Moon. He even theorized, once she returned, that he might've even read journal entries written by the moon princess herself. Because he needed to be angry with something, he was frustrated with himself for not seeing the signs of her arrival sooner. Sugar Crystal was too angry to even question the more interesting details of their story. But, no matter what mood they found themselves in, neither one of them could argue with the world of a princess. Even a new one.

"Reasons are reasons." Violet let her face soften, and she placed a gentle hoof on Cloudy's shoulder. "You can't fight it."

Cloudy's face was buried into Violet's shoulder faster than either pony could blink. Her shoulders would let out a tiny shake when she sniffed. Violet could feel the tickle of tears as they fell down her back after falling off her sister's face.

"Why did it have to be you?" Cloudy mumbled. She buried her face deeper. "I just got you back, why did it have to be you? Why couldn't it be somepony else? Why couldn't it be one of the guards, or Celestia's student? Or some other magical unicorn? Why did it have to be you?"

"I... I don't know." Violet lifted her sister up and looked into her eyes. "But what are we supposed to do? What are our parents meant to do? You think mom is going to defend me forever with nothing but her frying pan?" She wiped a stray tear of Cloudy's face. "Fate is a tricky thing. I can't argue with it, not after everything that has happened."

Cloudy sniffed, holding her sister tight. "I don't want to let you go..."

Violet tried to say something. Something comforting, something saying that this obviously wouldn't be the last time they share their sisterly bond, but she couldn't. She was too choked up. Her broken heart ruining her again.

Cloudy's ears perked up. Before Violet could swallow her pain and utter anything of sincere sympathy, her sister met her eyes with a spark of joy that Violet hadn't seen in years.

"That's it!" She said joyfully. She hopped from hoof to hoof, as though she was her fillyhood self again. Before Violet had been separated from time, before all of this began. "That's it, Vi! That's it!"

"What's it?" Violet stood, shell-shocked at her sister. She hadn't seen Cloudy this exuberant and full of light in so long, it took her breath away.

"What if I don't leave?" Cloudy said, as though it was obvious.

"What-" Violet was yanked back towards the castle.

"Celestia, you're slow!" Cloudy pulled her along, going at a speed that pushed their manes back and almost left a maidpony flattened on the ground.

"What are you-"

"Princess Luna!" Cloudy burst through the door to the large sitting room where their parents were attempting to eat a few bites of sandwiches the princess provided them for lunch. Across the large, marble table sat the princess herself, with a teacup half raised to her mouth. "Your majesty, we have come to terms with the situation."

"You have?" Violet and her parents chorused. She had never seen her mother look so tired, but at least her eyes weren't as swollen.

Princess Luna put her teacup down on a little baby blue saucer. "We are glad to hear this. We assure you, your sister is in safe hooves."

"But!" Cloudy quickly interjected, leaving the princess taken aback. Violet was starting to fear that Luna was considering her and her father to be the most polite of the family. "On one condition."

The princess went perfectly still. A servant pony, with a silver platter filled with tea cakes, nearly dropped the plate in shock. Even the guards looked at them with peaked interest.

Princess Luna cleared her throat. "What is your condition?" She pronounced the word carefully, as though testing it for anything odd.

Everypony's eyes focused on Cloudy's cheery face. "I'll allow all of this to happen without a single complaint, if..." She took a deep breath. "I stay by her side for approximately one week starting today."

"What?!"

Luna's expression went from her usual stoic frown to a genuine look of surprise. "Cloudy Sun... we are not sure-"

"It's either you accept, or I won't let you have my sister sitting down." Cloudy interrupted.

Violet didn't know what went through Luna's mind. Maybe she was thinking about her own struggles with her sister, maybe she considered Cloudy's behavior childish and small. Perhaps she considered it normal, and deemed her request to be expected and simple. Violet had already discussed the fact that she didn't want her family anywhere near her after she realized what was happening. Luna had agreed that it was arguably the best decision for their safety and well-being.

"So be it." The princess said.

...

"So, Miss Lace," A nasally voice drawled. "You request the, um... minimum amount?" The secretary pony that Luna had provided her to get her new bedroom furniture looked up from her paper that she was eagerly scribbling on. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes." Violet sat, awkward and stiff on the love seat. Her love seat. It was comfortable sure, but it didn't even begin to compare to her old yellow couch that she grew up on. Her mind briefly wandered to the small amount of naps she had taken on it's worn yellow fabric, the bright color fading in places and the stitching nearly coming undone.

The secretary pushed up her glasses. "You... prefer breathing room, I'm guessing?"

"Yes, I do." Violet nodded her head, but she allowed her annoyance to show through narrowed eyes. Who was this pony to judge her?

There was a moment of silence where the secretary studied her expression. With a twitch of her nose, she put away her quill and reviewed her paper. "So, just for confirmation, you want a standard set. A bed, one armoire, one dresser, and a small bedside table, complete with... one drawer?"

"Yes." Violet said again for what seemed to be the millionth time. "Nothing else." She didn't even want to bring up the fact that she wanted some of the old furniture to be taken out of the room. What in the wide world of Equestria is she suppose to do with so many couches?

"Alrighty." The secretary wandered off and closed the door behind her.

"Well, she took forever." Cloudy popped her head out of the bathroom door. "She can't take a hint, can she?"

Violet held her tongue. Though they certainly were on better terms when compared to last night, the phrase "speaking terms" wouldn't quite explain their situation. Violet wasn't even mad, not truly. She knew why Cloudy wanted to do what she did.

"This is awesome!" She said when Violet and her parents jumped her after the princess had left. "Now I can follow you around, and see if I can join the castle staff or something! I have time to figure out how to stay with you!"

Good intentions or not, it still didn't change the fact that Cloudy was still putting herself in danger on her own behalf. At home nopony would notice her. Nopony would bat a mascara coated eyelash at her if she was sitting on her bed applying for some summer jobs at one of the many theaters in the city. But here she was, happy and smiling in the middle of a royal library- turned bedroom.

"I guess she's not used to somepony so... frugal." Violet mumbled after a long moment of silence. Cloudy let out a small smile, happy with the quiet words and not asking for more.

Violet hopped off the plush velvet of her seat. "Luna sent me a letter this morning."

"This evening." Cloudy corrected. Violet's ears folded.

"Can we really call it anything? We never went to sleep." The lunar princess's sleep schedule for all of her staff was skewed to say the least. Though it wasn't completely nocturnal, it was most definitely different. Two brief four hour periods of sleep, one in the afternoon when the sun was at it's highest, and another when the sun had just set, with two hours of free time in between. This allowed for a decent amount of time in the morning, if somepony were to need it, to go about their 'daily' activities, while also allowing all of the staff to be awake all night. Once everypony got news of the schedule, nopony believed that it would actually work. They all figured that Celestia would get word and tell Luna that it just wasn't how things worked anymore. But that hasn't happened yet, leaving everypony tired and awake at all the wrong times.

It should straighten out in a few more nights or so.

None the less, Neither Violet nor Cloudy had gone to sleep that morning. They were both awake, ready to start their day like they normally would've. But there was nothing really to do. Luna was meant to read the time-pony, Clock Mage's, paper and report back to Violet with what it said, just in case it was enchanted or something of the like. Violet was told to stay in her room and redecorate until she got word.

"You should've gone to sleep." Cloudy mumbled. Violet had to strain her ears to hear. "You've been through a lot."

"It'll come." Violet said, not really knowing what to add to the issue. Cloudy was right, she really should've slept given what all has happened, but no matter what she tried, she couldn't fall asleep on any of the furniture provided.

"Once you get your fancy bed, I bet the guards will have to drag you out of your room." Cloudy laughed. Humor was risky, but Violet felt a smile curl her lips.

"Right, like you won't curl up and steal all of my bed sheets this week." Violet retorted. Cloudy shrugged, admitting her weakness for cotton blends.

Sadly, even after getting the minimum amount of furniture possible for her room, Violet cringed a little at what she had ordered. The magazine that showed her decor was seemingly engulfed in silk and exotic woods. Whatever she was getting was going to cost more than her old house entirely.

There was a thunderous knock on her door.

"Miss Violet Lace!" An unknown guard shouted from the hallway. "We request entry with the princess of the night by our side!"

"Oh!" She cast a panicked glance at Cloudy who's eyes were wide. The only thing her sister did was shrug and run back towards the bathroom.

"Traitor..." Violet mumbled as she timidly opened the door.

Two buff and broad shouldered unicorn guards stood before her. Behind them, was Luna herself along with what appeared to be a dozen or so other guards.

Yikes... Violet thought. What did I do? She motioned for them to enter. Without breaking formation, and staying in clean rows, they all trotted inside her room without a word. Once the princess had entered, Violet quickly looked at her face to see any clues on what had happened. Not surprisingly, she found nothing.

"Miss Lace." Luna's voice seemed to move all the loose objects in the room. Violet could've sworn that she even saw one of the guards flinch. "We wish to report to you the parchment that the time-pony, Miss Clock Mage, has left us."

"O-oh..." Violet cowered, but she felt her brow furrow in confusion. "Is there a reason why there are so many guards in the room, Princess Luna?"

Luna nodded. One of the royal guards bowed and levitated the parchment to Luna.

"We shall read the document, then all should become clear." Princess Luna cleared her throat.

"Dear Princess Luna,
You chose to read this letter alone. I figured. Now you need to listen carefully, this is important."

Everypony's ears perked. Violet wouldn't be shocked if they never heard the Princess speak in such a casual sort of way. Those who had, even for small moments like Violet, were just eager to hear what the time-pony had to say. To speak to, not only a princess, but also a pony who was once considered a powerful legend in such a way was unheard of.

"This document is divided into sections. You are to discuss and perform the actions in the document in sequence in order for everything to go as planned. The first section, the one written in blue ink, you are to discuss with Violet Lace at three-oh-five on this coming Tuesday."

That's today! Violet thought. She looked at the beautiful clock that hung above one of the writing desks. It had just passed three a few minutes ago.

"As you can see, you are unable to read the rest of the parchment until the proper time. So please listen. Violet Lace needs to choose a pony from your new team of royal guards. The ones that were moved from the village, not the team you just transformed an hour ago."

So that's what those explosions and screams were... Violet let her eyes wander over the guards. All of them, at first glance. looked almost the same. How was she supposed to choose one?

"This pony shall be her personal guard. They will guard her entrance, maintain her well-being, and shall be ordered to attend any meetings or outings with her at all times as long as she stays a residence in the castle. Tell her that we shall meet again soon, and to stay strong."

Great. Perfect. Violet looked at the guards. If they had any sort of feelings about the situation, they didn't show them. They stared directly ahead, not flinching, not blinking, not even breathing. Violet's brain went rabid, devouring her courage in an almost savage sort of way. She was already living in one of the prettiest rooms in the castle, and now she had to force a begrudging guard to follow her around? She wanted to make new friends, not force acquaintances.

"Well..." Luna prompted. "Make your decision, Miss Lace. We have many things we need to do today."

Thanks for the pep-talk, Princess... Violet thought bitterly. She looked at the crowd of ponies in the room again. Some were smaller, probably mares. All of them had bat wings, grayish type coats, and yellow eyes. It wasn't until her eyes locked with a golden pair that blazed like fire on dry grass did she realize she was staring directly at Midnight Gust.

Her green locks were combed neatly, but a few found their way in front of her face in the eyes of her helmet. She was the smallest of the group, and she could've sworn that a tiny smile of encouragement flickered at her when nopony else was watching. Just looking into her eyes, Violet could practically hear her kind voice.

Don't worry. Everything will be okay. You're not alone.

"That one." Violet pointed. Luna had a small look of disapproval at Midnight's tiny frame.

"Are you sure, Miss Lace?" Luna peered closer. Midnight didn't so much as flinch. "She looks quite small. She probably needs a few more weeks of training before she could be a proper guard."

"I know of this pony." Violet said. Midnight let her expression waver for only the briefest of seconds, showing a small amount of shock at Violet's confession. "I assure you I couldn't be in more capable hooves."

Luna didn't question it any further. "Alright. It is done." She turned towards Midnight Gust. "State your name."

"Midnight Magnolia Gust, your Majesty." Midnight shouted, looking directly ahead.

"Do you wish to take on this role as Violet Lace's personal guard?" Luna asked.

"I would be honored." She shouted with her hoof raised to her forehead in the form of salute. "We shall do our job proudly."

Luna nodded. "Good. We trust that Violet Lace made a good decision." She leaned in close, and Violet could see the loose hairs behind Midnight's helmet twitch. "Don't let us down."

And with that, they were gone. They let themselves out, one by one, until only Luna was left.

"Midnight Gust shall be begin her duties this evening." Luna stated as she looked around Violet's bedroom. "Your furniture shall be delivered within the next hour or so, in case you want to efficiently use your second sleep period."

"Thank you, Princess." Violet said, bowing her head. "I'm very grateful." And with that, Luna let herself out.

"Did you hear all of that?" Violet asked her bathroom door.

"How could I not?" Cloudy opened the door. "She doesn't really know how to use her inside voice, now does she?"

Violet wrinkled her nose. "Be nice." She looked behind her sister to see a large bathroom, complete with a claw-footed bath and obsidian sinks. The entire ceiling was made out of onyx, with tiny lights drilled into it, making it look like stars. It was beautiful, and it caused Violet's head to swim.

"You know, you going to have to get used to this eventually." Cloudy said, reading her sisters expression. Violet shook her head, shaking it of cobwebs.

You're the one who runs into the bathroom whenever there's a pony at the door. "So," Violet wanted to change the subject. "You thinking about joining the royal guard?"

"Ha!" Cloudy guffawed. "Very funny."

"Well..." Violet shrugged. "What do you plan on doing?"

"Maybe I'll become your maid or something." Cloudy suggested. This time it was Violet who laughed.

"Well, whatever you choose, you better choose fast." Violet attempted to look out the window, only to flinch at the afternoon sun. "Day one is practically over."

"Pressuring a pony never helped." Cloudy retorted, looking around the room. "I choose... this one." She jumped on the plushest couch. Violet levitated a blanket and pillow out of the closet that sat snugly in the back of her room.

"You chose wisely." She made her sister's bed.

"I always do." She smiled as she watched her sister's magic unfold the sheets and lay them on her make-shift cot. "What kind of food do you think they have in this place?'

"Whatever it is, I'm pretty sure it won't be nearly as good as mother's cooking." Violet muttered, placing a freshly fluffed pillow in place.

Cloudy shrugged. "Good or not, we need to eat at some point."

Right at that moment, Violet's stomach rumbled. She couldn't stay in her room forever, she had to leave at some point and memorize the pathways of the castle. Who knows? Maybe she'll meet Midnight again. Maybe she'll make a new friend.

Maybe she'll start moving forward.

Gentle Adjustments

"I'm glad you're doing well, sweetie."

"Thanks, dad." Violet smiled. "I can't begin to imagine how you and mom must be feeling."

Her father fiddled with his napkin. "We're alright. Since we know that you two are together... it makes things better."

"That's great. I'm glad to hear that mom is doing better." Violet muttered, messing with her own silverware. "It's great seeing you."

"It's just been lunch, sweetheart." Her father smiled. Bags showed under his eyes. Not only had all of this been more than stressful, but Violet's lunch was somewhere around five in the afternoon. It was almost time for him to go home. "I was so happy to see you, of course I would treat you and show you around."

They sat in the middle of of a quiet library room, separate from the books and royal tapestries. It wasn't where her father would normally eat his lunch, but given the fact that neither one of them wanted to be separated, her father was more than willing to give up a freshly made sandwich at home. "Your mother really wasn't in the mood to cook anyway."

A sharp ache stabbed Violet in the ribs. "I'm sorry." She let out a withering breath. "If I could change everything- anything! I would."

Her father nodded. "Of course, sweetie. I know you would."

Her father had found her, miraculously, wandering around the halls trying to get her bearings. After many hugs, lots of kisses, and more hugs, Yellow Parchment had given her a tour. A brief, basic , and sadly boring tour that only showed her the necessities, but Violet was willing to go through all of it again just for a few more spare moments with her dad. Her father couldn't help it, after all. His place was below ground, in the archives. To him, that's where the excitement was, written on old scrolls and books filled to the brim with history. He never had the ability to explore the actual castle. He had only ever been in it in order to talk to official historians who requested certain texts be transferred to the royal library. As soon as that was over, he would head back down and bury himself in papers again.

"Thanks for lunch... or dinner, in your circumstance." Violet kept sitting. Neither one of them really wanted to leave. "I didn't know that the food had to be from the actual kitchen. I figured they would just serve it to you in one of the dining rooms."

Her father chuckled. "You would think that, but that's almost always for special occasions. Everypony works on different schedules, so for everypony to have lunch at one solid time is almost impossible. In fact, I'm pretty sure the only ponies to do that are the guard."

"That makes sense." The conversation drifted off to silence. They both sat there, simultaneously enjoying each other's company while silently wishing that the other one didn't leave. But all happy things must come to an end, for Yellow Parchment had to head home to his wife, who understandably was on the verge of being bedridden.

"We love you." Her father kissed the top of her head. "Make sure you give that note to your sister when she wakes up. And the food too, make sure she get's all of it."

"I promise." Violet felt her eyes get watery. She didn't want her father's fussing to end. "I love you too."

Violet watched him leave, his hooves echoed on the polished marble floor. She felt a wave of emotion crash over her again.

"Cloudy." Violet called once she entered her new room again. "Cloudy, I..." Her sister was curled up in a ball, swaddled in bed sheets like a newborn foal. Violet remembered how Cloudy's sleepless night had caught up with her, and in a very Cloudy-like fashion, she collapsed onto her couch/bed with enough force to break the Candy Mare out of her prison.

Her mind now taking a turn for the weird and sugar-coated, she found her gaze resting lifelessly on her new bed. Plush down pillows and silk sheets that shined and glistened in the late-evening sun. They were black, oddly enough. She didn't specify on the color at all, figuring she would get supplied with the cheapest dye they had to offer. Her bed was bigger than what was offered, taking up a decent corner of her room. A large comforter, probably hoof-stitched, sat folded neatly across the foot of it. And to top it off, literally, black silk curtains showed down onto the spread like waterfalls of black ink, ready to be closed and block out any of the sunlight that attempted to get past her already thick curtains.

Her new dresser was stained a soft gray, which wouldn't be that bad if the size hadn't also been skewed in the magazine. It took up an entire half of her wall! The nobs that adorned its front were the shiniest example of silver Violet had ever seen. She, regretfully, pulled open one of the top drawers. Her face flushed a bright scarlet as she looked down to see lace and silk nightwear and undergarments.

What the- Her mind went completely dead as she pulled out something that she had only ever seen in magazines. She quickly shut the drawer and swore never to open it again as long as she lived.

With eyes filled with terror, she looked in the other drawers to find things less offensive, thank Celestia. Socks, thick and soft, some with detailing and lunar crests, some without. Some pajamas that she supposed she would wear when the weather got chilly, an assortment of knit caps and muffs, ribbons and scarves, sweats that she would wear when she wanted to never set hoof out of her room, and, oddly enough, what looked to be a note at the very bottom of the lowest drawer. It was written in frilly pink hoofwriting, which Violet immediately recognized as the secretary's.

Miss Lace's order, by order of the Princess of the Night, Princess Luna.

That explains the sudden increase in size. Violet thought with her ears lowered. She was about to throw the note away when she saw that there was more: a tiny scribbling that was placed on the bottom, like a side-note of some kind.

Highly improper, she needs the proper clothes, pronto!... Seriously, you should see her mane, it looks like she hasn't cut it since Nightmare Moon's banishment! She probably won't mind if you slip a few 'delicates' in with the usual order. This pony could use a little ruffling up! It was signed with what looked to be a winking face...

Violet crushed the note with her magic. The secretary clearly never meant for her to see it, but that was still no excuse to be so cheeky about the entire thing. Delicates? Ha! Violet stormed off to her bathroom, slamming the bottom drawer on her way. She would show her! How dare she? Thinking she can make fun of her in such a way! She had seen many rude things in her long life in Canterlot, but that had to be the lowest, most indecent, most unforgivably sick-

Violet's angry fuming was interrupted by a gentle tap at the door. Taking a deep breath, and grinding her teeth in the process, she walked over to the door and looked outside.

Midnight Gust stood at attention.

"Oh..." Violet opened the door completely. "Midnight... is it time for your shift already?" She looked at the clock. It was only a little past seven, not anywhere close to when Midnight's first shift. "No... no, it's not. What are you doing here?"

"I have the immeasurable pleasure of starting my shift early." Midnight answered. Her body continued to be stiff, and her gaze was focused on something above Violet's head. "They planned on me going through an initiation of sorts, but it got... cut short."

"Oh. Alright, please come in." She motioned for Midnight to come inside. The bat pony wrinkled her nose and looked around the empty hallway. It came to Violet's attention that she probably wasn't supposed to enter her room, only guard the outside. But that assumption fell on deaf ears and blind eyes as the bat pony, after a casual shrug, let herself inside.

"Wow, your room is beautiful." Midnight said as Violet closed the door behind her. Her stiff joints and lost gaze was replaced by a nimble swiftness and wide, blazing eyes. "It's so big! You should see the room that the guards are stuck with, it so small and cramped!" She wrinkled her nose again. "And it smells. But I suppose that's what I get for living with stallions."

"To be honest, I'd give you some of this room if I could." Violet said. She sighed. "It's such a big change from what I'm used to, and with all of the other changes that have been happening, it would be nice to get some peace from it all and settle on something small." Midnight nodded, understanding.

"That makes sense..." Her slitted eyes rested on Cloudy sleeping right next to them. "Oh!" She let out a soft whisper. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"There's no need to whisper," Violet spoke normally and gave her a gentle wave of the hoof. "That pony can sleep through everything."

"Even Nightmare Moon's return?" Midnight said quickly, not missing a beat.

"Ha. Ha." Violet's eyes narrowed, but then she remembered that Midnight was probably given a large amount of information about Violet in order to be her guard, including everything she's been going through. "You're very funny." Midnight beamed and fluffed up her large wings.

"But seriously, I get it." She smiled warmly at Violet. "It makes perfect sense that you would be homesick, especially in a situation like this."

"Thanks." Violet had only known Midnight Gust for a short time, but it took her breath away how warm this pony could be. How comforting and kind her eyes and smile were. It was as though she oozed candlelight and the feeling of warm blanket-wrapped hugs.

"It's really no big deal." Her yellow eyes fell on Violet new bed and furniture. "Lovely choice in color."

"I didn't really have much choice at all..." Violet mumbled. "In fact, I'm tempted to return everything and send an angry worded complaint to the princess herself..."

"Whatever for?" Midnight felt Violet's blanket, letting the shiny silk ripple under her hooves. "This is all so beautiful."

Violet showed Midnight the note, and with hesitant permission, looked inside the dreaded top drawer of her dresser. The bat pony had to hold her mouth closed in order to stifle her laughter.

"That is brilliant!" She snorted. "Oh. My. Celestia."

"Yeah, yeah..." Violet felt her blush creep down her neck. "It's so humiliating."

"Yeah, yeah it is..." Midnight's laughter turned into chuckles. "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry... it's just," She let out another small snort. "I never figured this was how the secretary entertained herself!"

"Yep." Violet couldn't help herself, her lips started to curl. "I guess that is pretty funny." She jumped onto her giant bed and quickly felt as though she was going to be engulfed and drowned in silk.

"Hahaha..." Midnight wiped her eyes. "Oh man... that's good. First I cream everypony in my initiation, and now I figure out that one of the royal secretaries is a ginormous asshole."

A wave of laughter sputtered out of Violet's mouth. She never figured Midnight would use that sort of language.

"Ha.. haha... ha..." Midnight's laughter ended, leaving her with sore cheeks and an easy smile that flashed her fangs. "You're not actually planning on sending all of this back, are you?"

"Um... yeah!" Violet looked around as though it was obvious. "Funny or not, it was still rude. Plus... I don't really feel comfortable with this sort of stuff, you know that. I think I exchange it with something... smaller.

"Are you sure?" The bat-pony's eyes were wide. "I mean, yeah it might've rubbed you the wrong way, but this stuff is still amazing! If you can't get used to this, I don't think you'll ever be able to handle the castle. Out of all the tests you'll have to pass, this one is arguably going to be the easiest."

"Well..." Violet's ears lowered. "Yeah, but... I should be comfortable in my own room, shouldn't I?"

"Yeah. Yeah, you should." Midnight nodded, agreeing. "But instead of trying to change your environment to suit your needs, maybe it would be better in the long run if you changed your needs to your environment."

"I... I guess-" Violet stuttered.

"Look, take it from me." She unfolded her wings to prove her point. "There are things you can never change. You'll want things to be how they were, you'll want to be where you before, and you'll want things to change- but some things are never going to change for you. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is adapt and be grateful for the things that will change for you."

Violet looked Midnight up and down, from her hooves up to the tips of her ears to her hooves again. What did Midnight being a bat-pony really mean? Violet remembered the first time she saw her just yesterday. She had been terrified because of the stress and emotions she was feeling at the time. Seeing a pony like Midnight, even with her being as nice as she was, was more than jarring. It seemed like a lifetime ago... But what did it mean? Was she completely nocturnal? What did she eat? Did she get sick? Were there things that insulted her that Violet had to be cautious of? Her eyes were so big and yellow, and her green mane hung loose in such a casual way even with her uniform, but Violet suddenly realize that she had gone through enough changes to the point where Violet didn't have any right to complain. Especially considering what she was complaining about.

"I... I'm sorry." Violet mumbled. She hung her head in shame, she swallowed down a lump of guilt and it sat like a rock in her stomach. "I didn't think."

The skin around Midnight's eyes crinkled when she smiled. "It's fine. I'm... here for you. Don't forget that."

"I won't." Violet smiled. After a moment of silence, she sighed. "You know... I still haven't looked in that armoire..." She nodded her head towards the large double doored piece of furniture next to her dresser. "You want to see if that secretary had anything else to say?"

"Yeah, why not?" She gave a mock salute. "For your safety."

There wasn't much in the armoire to laugh at. Mostly coats, made of beautiful, expensive velvet and silks. Wool cloaks with silver moons for buttons and clasps. There were even some beautiful gowns and dresses that were so luxurious that not even Violet had the heart to complain about them. However, there was a rather gaudy looking uniform. It really wasn't that bad, but its silver fabric would cling to Violet's coat and the chest was covered in an ornate design of a crescent moon surrounded by tiny purple and gray flowers.

"Since when does the castle staff wear uniforms like this?" Violet asked, levitating the outfit in front of her.

"Look!" Midnight stepped out of her armoire completely covered in silver fabric. "There are more! And they all look different!"

When levitated side by side the difference was plain as day. One was a dress, another was a shirt with pants, and the last one was what looked like a complete uniform with a coat and the lunar crest sitting on the chest above the breast pocket.

"What in the world?" Midnight asked. "The guards don't have these... I don't know what they are."

"Do you think Luna knows?" Violet asked, examining the dress. It was the simplest in shape, a single shift dress with a 'V' neckline and thin straps. The moon symbol that adorned every outfit sat nicely on the dresses back. It almost would have reached Violet's level of minimalist, if it weren't for the strange pattern that completely covered the entire thing. It looked similar to dragon scales, and it was oddly reflective and shimmered green in the light.

"I would assume so." Midnight commented. She flew up to look at the second outfit. It was a gray T-shirt, with simple black pants. "This one looks like athletic wear."

"What do you think of the last one?" Violet asked. She put the other two away on their respective hangers. The last one was... a lot of fabric. The coat itself looked as though it was meant to be worn over an evening gown with a big fluffy skirt. The crest was a silver so shiny it almost looked like chrome, and the detailing on the moon and flowers was even more ornate now that they were looking at it up close. There was also a pair of pants, but they were just a simple pair of dark gray slacks with moons and stars stitched innocently along the seams, almost impossible to see.

"I think you need to put on a little more weight before you can fit into that coat." Midnight commented with a wide grin.

"You're just full of humor today, aren't you?" Violet arched her eyebrow and put everything back in the closet. "That's weird though, why do you think they're there?"

"I don't know." Midnight answered. She shrugged using her wings. "Like I said, the guards didn't get anything like that. We got our usual armor and some sweats. Nothing that prestigious."

Violet clicked her tongue. "I guess I'll have ask the princess tomorrow."

"Maybe it's for-" There was another pounding at the door. Cloudy let out a tiny mumble but went back to snoring soon after. Midnight, startled, covered her mouth with the tips of her wings.

"Don't worry." Violet consoled. "It happens a lot."

Violet opened the door, expecting so see the secretary or perhaps one of the guards. Instead, she stood face to face with Princess Luna herself. Startled, she jumped and landed directly on her rump with a loud thud.

"Violet Lace." Luna greeted, ignoring Violet less-than-stellar greeting. "We wish to speak with you tonight."

"Princess!" Midnight stood at attention, stiff as a board. "Good evening!" She raised her hoof to her forehead.

"Good evening to you, Midnight Gust." She waved her hoof. "At ease, this is a casual meeting."

"Yes, ma'am!" Midnight shouted. Her posture never wavered.

"Miss Lace?" Violet scrambled to stand up, trying to look as graceful as possible. "We have some things that we need to discuss with you." She made no motion to sit or get comfortable in any way, making Violet nervous and shaky.

"Y-yes, Princess Luna." Violet stuttered. "What is it?"

The princess looked at Cloudy. "Your sister will be asleep for... a rather long amount of time." She said it in a way that indicated that the amount of sleep Cloudy was getting was abnormal, even for the princess herself. Violet had a fleeting thought of all the times she had been awake and bustling, working out, typing, pacing around her room to think of ideas, and her sister never stopped snoring. "So, with that being said, we would prefer it if you came with us." She glanced at Midnight, who was still holding her posture. "With your guard, of course."

"Ah! Yes." Violet cleared her throat, composing herself at last. "Please, lead the way, Your Majesty."

Luna didn't walk them far. The office that she lead them to was smaller than what Violet was expecting, and was simply down the hall and up a staircase that she didn't even bother to look at.

"This is our private study." Luna said when they entered. "Nopony is allowed in without our permission."

"It's... nice." Violet said sitting down on a large navy blue pillow that sat in front of Luna's desk. She meant it to. It was probably the quaintest, most-like-home place in the entire castle. Books filled the room, top to bottom. There were candle's providing warm light and a fireplace that would probably provide warmth in the winter. The floor was covered in mismatched rugs in various shades of blue and purple.

"Thank you." Luna said with a small smile. Midnight continued to stand by the doorway, looking straight ahead. "We trust that you've become accustomed to your new living arrangements?"

"Yes, Princess Luna." Violet held her tongue about the fact that they were the wrong size, and were far more luxurious than what she had planned. "My new furniture is lovely, thank you. And the clothes you've provided is wonderful as well."

"Clothes..." Luna spoke the world slowly. "We did not arrange your clothes. Madam Clock Mage ordered those for you, with a note attached to the box saying that it was for you."

"Oh?" Violet's ears lowered in confusion. "Is there... anything else that the time-pony has provided? Or perhaps anything new from the parchment?"

Luna shook her head. "No. We are sorry. It appears that Clock Mage enjoys popping up and not staying for long."

She appears to be good at that, doesn't she? Violet thought. She recalled the first time she met Clock Mage, and she felt a cold anger rise out of her chest. She knew it was a rather inescapable, but that still didn't change the fact that Violet was a little filly at the time, and still had her whole life ahead of her.

"That's... a shame." Violet looked down at her hooves, letting her anger simmer silently. The room was filled with an uncomfortable silence after that. It was then that Violet realized that a little part of her was never going to get used to Luna's presence. She was large and powerful, and the impression she had been given showed her as cold though sincere. It was enough for Violet to realize that she was more than nice, but other ponies and socializing were not her strong suits.

Luna cleared her throat, breaking the silence. "We... need to discuss a few details of our arrangement."

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Luna levitated and evened out a stack of papers she had on her desk. "After we had a talk with your parents, we've come to the understanding that you require special training in order to maintain your ability represented by your cutie mark."

Violet's ears perked. She had completely forgotten! How in the world could she have forgotten all of the years of meditation and running; the lifting of weights, the counseling?! Those things had been arguably the most prominent parts of her life other than her family. If anything she had obsessed over doing them.

"Your parents tried to explain your talent to us..." Luna continued. "But we are not quite sure we understand. Your power is... "embodiment?"

"It's... something like that, yes." Violet answered. She went on to explain. "I love to write, I always have. A little bit more than four years ago, I discovered I had the ability to temporarily gain the traits of the characters I had written." Luna's eyebrows rose in surprise. "It's not as impressive as it sounds!" Violet quickly added. "It's only minor traits, and characters like pegasi and earth ponies cause side-effects on my magic and cause me to feel abnormal." Violet swallowed, shrinking a little under Luna's harsh gaze. "I also can't force a character to be written. They choose when to write themselves."

Luna was silent for a moment, thinking about it all. Violet saw her rub under her chin in thought, glance at a few papers, then at a few books on her walls. Eventually her eyes stared off into nothingness, right above Violet's head. "Why does this require training?" She asked at last.

"My physical body can't cope with the power alone." Violet explained. "In the beginning, it was rough because I found myself shifting when I didn't mean to. If the character were to have the ability to say... run ten miles without getting tired, then I possibly get that ability and could run that far too. However, when I turn back..."

"Your actual body gets all the strain." Luna answered. She nodded, understanding. "So you train in order to make sure your abilities overlap, so you don't exhaust yourself."

Violet nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

Luna puckered her lips slightly in thought. "Interesting. We'll be sure to get you into some sort of athletic program."

"Thank you, Princess Luna." Violet bowed her head.

"And... your parents also told us that you suffer from some pretty serious nightmares?"

Violet opened her mouth but grew confused with herself when nothing came out. She did suffer from nightmares... right? Her heart froze solid and caused the blood pumping through it to turn to slush. She couldn't remember. She recalled the mornings where her sister had woken up from her screaming, her parents barging in to make sure she was alright. She remembered the tired days where she would surrender and take a small nap on her couch. The sweet hugs from her mom when she found her in the morning, sometimes with tears in her eyes, sometimes scared to the point where her coat would go white. But... she couldn't remember the nightmares.

"I-I believe so." Violet felt herself say. But she still couldn't shake off the fact that she had forgotten something so massive.

"Hmm." Luna raised her hoof to her chin again. "We believe there is something we can do."

A Nightmareish Resolution

"I can't believe I slept through all that." Cloudy mumbled. She looked sour sitting there in the middle of the room, with her hooves crossed and a pout on her face. "Just my luck. I could've slept on that bed if I had waited a few more minutes."

"Cloudy, we're kind of going through something at the moment." Violet mumbled to her sister. She let her eyes travel to Luna, who was sitting on a large pillow next to her bed. Violet grew flabbergasted at the sight, a princess was laying on nothing more than a pillow, yet she looked more like a god made of stars waiting to be pampered by followers. "You can sleep on the bed later."

"But I won't be tired then." Cloudy whined. Midnight Gust, who stood stiffly near the doorway, snickered and let out a tiny snort. Cloudy flashed her a tiny smile, happy she could make one of the guards break and react.

"Can we please just... get on with it?" Violet said to Luna in a way that showed restraint. Her jaw was aching from how tight her teeth were clenched, and her legs were starting to shake a little at the knees. Luna nodded. "Alright." Violet breathed. "Fabulous."

"It's just a simple sleeping spell, Miss Lace." Luna consoled as Violet crawled into the bed. "It won't hurt you."

"Yeah, well..." Violet struggled getting under the covers, her hooves were shaking way too much. The silk kept slipping from her grasp. It's not like this is going to be fun either...

Once Violet was nicely situated, Luna's horn started to glow. "Are you ready?" She asked.

"Not really..." Violet replied honestly. "Princess, if I must be entirely truthful... I'm scared."

Luna nodded sympathetically. "Nightmares can be a powerful thing, Miss Lace. You have every right to be scared. But! They will never go away until you face them."

"But what if they can't be faced?" Violet asked. "What if I... what if I don't have the strength to do so." Violet remembered how scared she had been every morning. How sad, how terrified, and how frustrated with how they never ended. Each morning, never able to remember, always feeling like she forgot something she wasn't supposed to.

"Violet Lace." Luna looked her dead in the eye. "Inside you, we see a strength that can only ever be matched by one pony. A pony who will forever be engraved in our heart. Please." Her brows furrowed in a subtle look of pleading. "We promise you'll be alright."

And with that, Violet submitted. She let her head rest on her pillow, replaying Luna's words over and over. Did she really think that? Or was she just saying that to get her to do what she was told? No matter the reason, a wonderful warmth spread throughout her chest at the compliment. She quickly buried her face in her pillow to prevent her blushing from being seen. Her hot face was encased in cool silk, and Luna took that as a sign to perform the spell.

Her eyes grew heavy. The blanket of sleep encased her like her head was slipping beneath black water.

...

Violet, for a few brief seconds, felt herself falling. It was short lived. As soon as her eyes opened, her hooves met hard ground and the prickling of shock caused her body to shake and twitch. The echo radiated from her, and didn't seem to ever fade.

"What the..." Violet whispered. Whiteness. White was the only thing she could see. It was liked she was plucked from life and placed in some sort of void.

"Miss Lace!" Violet's head snapped around. Luna was flying towards her, her large wings tossing up a wind that caused Violet's long hair to feather and caress her face. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yes!" Violet called up to her. It wasn't until Luna's hoofs hit the hard ground did she let herself speak again. "You're here... how did you get here?"

Luna smiled a small smile. "We have many secrets, Miss Lace. Dream walking is something we have been doing for a very long time." Luna looked around, puzzled. "Is... this all there is?"

"I think so..." Violet looked around. "I'm... pretty sure there's meant to be more."

"Hm..." Luna spun around in a circle, making sure she didn't miss anything. "Strange. We've never seen anything like this."

"What do we do?" Violet found herself looking down. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled a little in fear as she realized that she probably wasn't even standing on anything. There was no reflection, there were no shadows or lines. No way to tell the ground from the sky, if they even existed.

Luna's brow furrowed, thinking hard about her next move. "Dreams... are tricky. Things are not always what they appear." She slowly started walking in no particular direction. "But... perhaps this isn't meant to appear as anything."

"What do you mean?" Violet galloped, desperate to catch up to the princess; she didn't want to be alone in this strange void.

"We mean..." Luna kept walking, but her horn started to glow a bright blue. "Maybe this isn't a dream at all. It's possible you could've had a dreamless sleep tonight."

"But how can we be here if there's no dream?" Violet asked.

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Her horn glowed brighter. "Stay close to us, we're going to try to do something."

Violet felt a loud pop in her joints and felt a strange pulling in her ears. She closed her eyes out of fear. This was supposed to be a nightmare, after all. However, when she opened them, she found that she and Luna were just simply floating. It was more than odd, due to the fact that the only thing indicating such was the fact that Violet couldn't feel the ground below her hooves and her mane swept back behind her head. "What's are we doing?"

"We're just having a look around." Luna shouted back at her, her voice drifting off into an unexplainable wind. "We wouldn't be able to be here without a dream to be in, Miss Lace. Though you may not experience it, a dream still needs to be here in order for our dream walking magic to work."

Both she and Luna searched and searched for what felt like hours. Violet wasn't sure about how much time had actually passed, dreams had always been deemed finicky in that sort of area, but she was sure that she was meant to wake up soon. Luna seemed so desperate to find something, it almost made Violet uncomfortable. What were to happen that would be so important that the princess herself would be so eager to fix the problem? So what if Violet continued to have nightmares? The princess and her didn't share a room. Other than a rude awakening, something Violet was quite used to at this point, what else could harmless nightmares do? She was just going to forget them anyway.

"Any luck?" Luna shouted back for what appeared to be the millionth time.

"N-" Violet stopped. She had given up hope on finding anything, deeming the endless void as a nightmare on its own. But, lo and behold, there was something. "There!" She pointed. Luna had to squint to see it, but it was there! A single red dot, like a drop of blood, stood stark against the white canvas that was Violet's dreamscape. They shot downward. The drop grew and took shape. With a swallow of an unknown fear, Violet realized that it was a pony.

With a coat the color of wet ashes and soot, and mane and tail a color that made Violet stomach churn because it had a startling resemblance to day old blood. She looked unkempt and frazzled, her eyes crazed and staring directly ahead not seeing anything. A ruby shard seemed to grow directly out of her chest, but as they got closer it became startlingly clear that it was just simply a necklace. She also had a red cutie mark, but it was hard to tell exactly what it was due to the fact that her rear was covered in a ragged cloak that was hanging on by threads.

"Do you know this pony?" Luna asked. Even she looked disturbed by the pony's appearance.

"I... I don't know." Violet answered. She didn't want to get too close, afraid that whatever trance the pony was in would break. However, once she actually looked closer, she saw things clearer. There was something blocking the pony from moving, from advancing forward into Violet's dream. A wall of sorts, distorting Violet's view and making the pony look muted and dull. The pony probably couldn't even see Violet from where she stood.

Stepping closer to the invisible barrier,she stood mere breath widths away from her face. She looked into the pony's crazed eyes, trying to spark some memory, trying to remember who this pony was. She was important, that was for sure. Violet was positive about that with how the mare in front of her shook her to her core in a way that Violet couldn't explain. But it seemed like when she got anywhere close to figure out who she was, Violet would hit a wall in her mind that would forbid her from advancing.

She was about to look away, disturbed by the mare and wanting at last to wake up. But as she turned her head, she saw something. The way the pony's nose was turned up, or perhaps how the ears were shaped. It was like a putting in the missing gear into a machine. Suddenly, everything started moving and working and Violet's brain started to put the pieces together. She felt her entire body go cold.

"Shimmering... Ruby." Violet whispered. Her entire body shaking, she backed away. The pony- no! Shimmering, now a full grown mare with the most twisted and darkness filled eyes she had ever seen, was staring directly at her. She continued to back up until she accidentally ran into Luna, who was staring at Shimmering with a mixture of fear and interest.

"You know this mare?" She asked again.

"I-I..." But Violet couldn't say anything. More pieces started to be found between the crevasses of her brain. "Scarlet." She heard herself whisper. "Scarlet Ruby... S-shimmering ruby." Tears of horror rolled down her cheeks as all of the horrid nightmares she had faced came back to her. "Sh-she..."

It was then that Shimmering let out a blood-curdling scream. Beastly in every way possible, Violet's ears felt as though they were going to start bleeding. Even Luna shrunk down, covering her head with her hooves.

"You!" Shimmering screeched. "You putrid slut!" Her cracked and worn hooves pounded against the barrier that was preventing her from entering. She kept screaming curses and anything vile at Violet, as the purple and silver pony cowered on the other side. She flung her body at the barrier, she bit at with her teeth, and bucked against it with her back hooves. The barrier creaked and echoed her hits, but refused to move.

Violet couldn't stop shaking. It was like her body turned into some sort of meat heap, and her own consciousness was floating outside watching Shimmering/Scarlet Ruby pounding her body against an invisible wall. She wanted nothing more than for it to stop. For it to all end, and for her to wake up and never see her again. She had disappeared, transferred to some city nopony could remember, years ago. What in the world was she doing here, in her dreams, looking like that?!

She kept hitting the wall. Her screams of rage and madness turning for brief seconds into screams of pain. Luna tried to fire magic at her, but as soon as it hit the barrier, it dissipated as though it was a gentle breeze. There was nothing they could do. Not even the princess herself, a pony who had suffered through her own nightmares, and had magic specially created to fight them could do anything. Violet felt the last shreds of hope she had for peace float away like shreds of ribbon in a gust of stormy wind. She was stuck like this. Forever.

She buried her head in her hooves. She had so many nightmares that seemed to last an eternity, and this clearly looked to be one of them. What could they do? Luna was still firing what was probably the most powerful magic she could at the wall, but it was unbreakable and impenetrable. Shimmering, though unable to get through the wall herself, was protected and therefore couldn't be stopped.

"Miss Lace, we are sorry, but there is nothing we can do." Luna looked at her, emotion clear as the stars on a cloudless night on her face. She was sorry, frustrated, and probably most terrifying of all: frightened. "We don't know how to get to her." Violet had to swallow back tears. She wanted nothing more than to be held, to be away from this horrible place, and for everything to just go away!

The ground started to shake. Even Shimmering stopped screaming, leaving the guttural rumble of the twitching world the only thing in Violet's ears. "What's happening?" Violet asked, sorrow filling every possible inch in her voice. She couldn't handle anything else. "Is the dream ending?" She asked.

Violet dove deeper into sorrow when Luna looked at her. "No. We're afraid not." They both looked at Shimmering, who was frantically running along the wall's edge, as though testing it for weak spots. She was digging in places, sticking her muzzle in others. Violet desperately wished that the rumbling wasn't the wall crumbling down.

It wasn't.

Plants started to sprout. Bright green vines grew out of the ground at the walls edge. Shimmering, after seeing it reared back on her hooves and jumped as though the plants had burned her. Violet heard her utter a screech and watched as she ran away from the wall. The plants continued to grow, spreading over the white ground, giving the entire world dimension. As they crept closer she and Luna backed away. The plants had nasty looking thorns and with their size, they would've been quite dangerous. Luna prepared her magic, wanting to strike at the vines, but Violet quickly stopped her.

"Wait!" She held Luna back. "Look, they're avoiding us." She was right. The plants in her draw circled them but stayed more than a few feet away. They continued to grow, further and further until neither one of them could see the end of them, and the entire ground was covered in a beautiful green that screamed thriving life and energy. They quickly turned their heads back to Shimmering, only to find that the vines had started climbing up the wall. They saw Shimmering cower, shrinking down to the smallest ball she could be. Her cruel face puckered, and giant blood red ruby shards grew out of the ground and towards the wall. It didn't break through and ricocheted against the surface and back at her.

"I've had my own share of nightmares too, Violet Lace." Violet heard a voice echo inside her head. It was severe and twisted, tinged with evil and darkness. It caused Violet's stomach to roll. "I'm going to make sure they never come true!" The vines continued to grow, blocking their view of Shimmering completely. Tiny flowers budded out from the stems like little pods. "Your life is my nightmare, and I'm going to make sure you regret ever letting it exist!"

The flowers blossomed. Big, beautiful and full roses the size of Violet's head expanded out of the greenery like neither Luna or Violet had ever seen in dreams or reality. They were all different shades of red; some ranging from the palest of pink to the darkest of scarlet. Luna held her back, unsure that they were truly safe, but Violet saw that the strange webbing that marked the roses wasn't thread or black spider silk, but the veins of the flower themselves were black and gray. Looking deep into one of the roses, Violet jumped when all of them suddenly exploded and the vines suddenly receded. After seconds the only left was a large cloud and heaps of petals laying on the ground.

"The dream is ending." Luna said quietly. As soon as the words were spoken Violet felt the world go fuzzy. She blinked, and with a small twinge of fear, she saw that Luna was gone.

The dream was fading away. She felt the pressure of her pillow on her face, and the slight weight of her silk blanket on her body. Everything was disappearing, slipping into the strange blue and black color of her closed eyelids. She was almost sad to see such a pretty sight go, but most of her was glad to finally be waking up. With a last glance at the pretty petals that floated and danced in the air, she felt the dream finally reach its end.

But she could've sworn she saw something in the soft red mass. A shape of a pony, a stallion looking back at her with a happy look on his face. A smile that made her heart act strange. It was so distant, so abstract that Violet could've easily said to herself that she didn't see anything. But the familiar curl of his lips, into that stupid smirk that caused an instinctual twinge of irritation and a flutter of her heart caused her to admit that she saw something. But who was it? What was it?

She woke up before she could figure it out.

...

"Violet!" Violet felt the harshness of hooves trying to shake her awake. "Violet!"

She mumbled and curled into an even tighter ball than what she was before. Who was that stallion? Grasping desperately at threads she weren't even sure were there, she tried to piece together his face again.

"Violet! Wake up!" Cloudy hit her on her flank. Hard. Violet jumped at the sudden pain and her eyes sprang open, letting in light that caused her eyes to prickle with tears.

"Wha-What's goin' on..." Violet shouted, her speech slurred by sleep. "What happened? Did Luna do the thing?"

"The thing?" Cloudy quoted. "Yes, Vi. Luna did the thing." She motioned towards the princess, who looked like she had just woken up herself. Both Luna and Violet's eyes met, and for the briefest of seconds, Violet saw confusion. Did Luna not know what happened?

"What... what happened?" Violet asked. "Is it over? Are my nightmares over?"

"We... are pretty sure that yes, Miss Lace," Something about Luna's eyes told Violet that there was more than what she was saying. "Your nightmares are over for the time being."

"That's great!" Cloudy beamed, her smile stretching from ear to ear. "That's exactly what we wanted, right?"

"Hm." Luna nodded. "We suppose it doesn't matter how it ended, just so long as there was an ending."

"What do you mean?" Violet was rubbing the last few traces of sleep from her eyes.

"Violet Lace..." Luna started. Her gazed drifted elsewhere, trying to find out exactly what to say. "You see, nightmares can become very powerful in not dealt with properly." She looked Violet in the eye and searched for something that nopony else could see. She found nothing, she looked away, still lost. "They can manifest themselves into something serious. And we could tell, your nightmares were something that we had only dealt with a couple of times." She straightened a loose piece of mane that must have gone astray when she slept. "Your... nightmares... had become something that bordered on life-threatening. Becoming something along the lines of a physical mass."

"Nightmares can do that?" Cloudy asked, her eyes huge.

"Not without magical influence." Luna comforted, seeing the fear in everyponies eyes. "But, one spark from a pony with enough magic, and it would have."

"That's..." Violet breathed.

"Terrifying." Midnight finished. She stood, quiet and nearly invisible in the shadow of Violet's bed.

"Yes, but it is over now." Luna consoled. However, instead of turning to leave the room, she looked at Violet with confused and concerned eyes. "Miss Lace," She started. "We are confused with how the strange mare was not able to get into your dream. In fact... we are confused about many things."

"What is there to be confused about?" Violet asked.

"Nearly everything about your dream was not natural." Luna stated bluntly. "Normally, when a pony has a dream-less sleep, the dream is just small. Wisps of visions and color, something that wouldn't be remembered the next morning. But yours... there was nothing there. No nightmare, no dream, nothing. It was like nothing we had ever seen."

"What are you saying?" Cloudy asked, her eyes about to pop out of her head.

"We are saying that there has clearly been magical influence on Violet while she's sleeping." Luna explained. "That wall..." She focused her eyes on Violet again. "Not even my magic could break through it, so it must not have been capable of being affected. Same thing with those roses, and those vines."

"How can you tell?" Violet asked, now getting scared. "Maybe it was just... part of it all."

Luna shook her head. "I've traveled through many dreams, Violet Lace. Those flowers, as well as that wall, was not a part of any dream. It was real. And very magically powerful."

"But we never looked for magic cures for Violet's nightmares." Cloudy said. "We tried many things, but not that."

"We are not sure what could've caused it. Whatever it was wanted to keep that strange mare out. And that mare must have had something to do with your nightmares. It wouldn't surprise me if she was the cause of them with what she yelled at you."

Violet swallowed. "That can't be true. Those nightmares have been going on for years, there's no way she could be the cause in reality. She would have been an awkward filly all those years ago!"

"Who are you talking about?" Midnight asked. "You're acting like her nightmare actually exists in real life."

"She does." Violet answered. "She was a filly we knew back when we were younger." Violet swallowed again, forcing the name to come to her lips like bile. "Shimmering Ruby."

"What?" Cloudy shouted. "Are you insane? We haven't seen Shimmering in years! Violet, you must have confused her with something else." She looked at Luna. "Clearly she must have. Right?"

Luna didn't look too sure. "We... do not know. Like we said, whatever was going on had to have some sort of outside influence. If this "Shimmering Ruby" is our likely suspect, then we should investigate post-haste."

"Oh, come on!" Cloudy looked completely unconvinced. "Shimmering was a lot of things, Vi. But not even she could enter your dreams!"

"She had an ugly looking crystal around her neck, what do you think that means?" Violet asked Luna. Both her and Luna had a sneaking suspicion. Luna just simply looked away, admitting what Violet was thinking without saying a word. "It's more than possible she could've gotten some magic help."

"You can't be serious." Cloudy would've laughed in the situation didn't have such a serious air surrounding it. "Violet, we haven't seen Shimmering since we were fillies. She might not even look the same."

Oh, trust me. She doesn't! Violet thought. "Cloudy, look at me. Tell me I'm lying." Cloudy looked deep into her sister's eyes, looking slightly smug and eager to end the conversation. "Shimmering Ruby was in my dream, and both Luna and I think she's causing my nightmares."

Cloudy's smug look faded. "You... you can't be... Violet, that's not physically possible."

"Time travel is a thing, apparently." Midnight suddenly piped up. Everypony went silent.

"But what about this wall everypony keeps bringing up?" Cloudy argued. "If she's the one causing all the nightmares, why would she want to keep herself outI?"

"The wall looked to be something entirely different." Luna answered. "A magical cure to a magical problem. The real question in what caused it?" She looked towards Violet again, trying to find the answer in her eyes. "Like we said, it was like nothing we had ever seen before..."

"Are you sure?" Violet asked. A new memory bubbled up to the surface of her mind. "Luna... I think you might've helped me in my dreams before."

Luna's eyes showed a small spark of surprise. "We... we are more than positive that we would not be capable of helping you at the time. Perhaps our essence, if there even was one, could've guided you... but it certainly wasn't us."

"Essence...?"Midnight asked, suddenly confused. "What's an essence?" Her mouth was quickly closed firmly shut. But before an apology could be uttered for breaking many rules of protocol, the princess began explaining.

"An essence is a magical residue of sorts." She stated. "After a magical unicorn goes through a transformation of large proportions, such as turning themselves into a mouse or changing their appearance all over their body, there are cases where they would see their old selves for the smallest of seconds. Their old reflection in a mirror out of the corner of their eye, or their shadow before the sun or moon is covered by the clouds. Sometimes they or their comrades could see their old face in the dirt or on an old rock, only for it to never be seen again."

"But how can that pull me out of a dream?" Violet asked.

"It can't, Miss Lace." Luna stated bluntly. "The amount of magic and willpower alone for an essence to last longer than a few seconds is nearly impossible for any pony to create." Luna's eyes suddenly darkened. "The only thing that would even stand a chance is love, and we can assure you that we had very little in our heart during our transformation. Surely not enough to help you like how you describe or how we saw. And none the less, we still do not have the ability to make a shield such as that one, and those flowers were beyond our comprehension as well."

"So... we're at a complete loss?" Cloudy asked, her eyes getting teary.

Luna sighed. "No. Not necessarily. Though we have many questions, whatever was plaguing Miss Lace is now gone. There are no nightmares, we can be sure of that. That is what's important. Miss Lace," She looked her dead in the eye, and Violet could've sworn to the stars themselves that she saw the corner of Luna's eyes crinkle with a small smile. "You, for the time being, are safe." And with a small look at the clock, Luna deemed herself busy and showed herself out. The door closed behind her with an audible thud.

"Well..." Midnight said once everything grew quiet. "That was exhausting." She chuckled and let her sincere eyes rest on Violet. "Violet, after everything, I'm more than certain that the one thing you need right now is rest- real rest." She flew above the bed and pulled close the black curtain that was meant to block out the sun. "Me and Cloudy will keep ourselves busy for the rest of the night. Sleep as much as you need."

Violet was about to object, but the look on Cloudy's face told her that there was no escaping her bed's silky clutches. "She's right. If what Luna said was right, then you shouldn't have any nightmares anymore. You need this sleep more than you need to breathe right now."

And with that, the curtain closed and Violet fell into a cool darkness. Silently, she rested her head on her pillow, closed her eyes, and drifted into nothingess. And for the first time in years, Violet slept peacefully.

A Subtle Shift

When Violet woke up, she almost thought she was dead.

For nearly half a decade, Violet's eyes would meet the harsh light of the morning sun in the most uncomfortable of ways: Confused and and in pain, sometimes teary, never comfortable. So, when her eyelids slowly lifted open to see her dark curtain-covered bed filtering the sunlight, causing shades of purple and blue to coat her body like a watercolor painting, all the while wrapped in the softest silk made my pony hooves... She had every right to think that she had descended to the afterlife.

For the first five minutes of her morning, (Or, what she assumed to be morning.) she just sat there. Her back leaned against the pillows and her legs swishing back and forth, tangling themselves in her tail while feeling the silkiness of her bed sheets. Her eyes kept looking at the crack in her curtains where light filtered through.

"Do you think she'll wake up today?" Violet's ears turned to hear her sister talk somewhere inside her bedroom. "It's been more than a day, and most of the Lunar guard is going to wake up themselves in an hour anyway."

"I don't know, sunshine." Violet leaned closer to the voice, letting her father's comforting tones hit her core. "She's been through a lot. It wouldn't surprise an old stallion like me if she were to sleep for a few more days."

"I guess..." Cloudy pouted. "It's just that... I'm worried about her. I mean, sure! You've been bringing me food and all, but she hasn't eaten in a whole day!"

Her father chuckled. "I'm sure she'll be fine."

"It also kinda sucks that I'm not able to leave this room without Violet right next to me..." Cloudy mumbled. "Even she knows how much I hate being tethered."

"You should've been more careful when you made your request." Her father offered very little comfort. "And what if Violet heard you say those words? How do you think she'd feel?"

Not that bad. Violet answered in her head. You know that, dummy. She felt her lips curl into an easy smile.

"Not that bad." Cloudy said with a chuckle. "You know that, ya big dummy!"

After the laughter from both parties died down, Violet decided to make herself known. Slipping out from under her curtain, she found that the sun outside her window was high in the sky. Afternoon.

"Moonbeam!" Her father called. He ran up to her and gave her a big hug. He let out a happy groan as he crushed her. "How was it, waking up? I wouldn't be shocked if it was lovely!"

"It... was pretty great." Violet admitted, embracing him just as tightly. "It was almost unreal how amazing it felt."

"That's great." He released her. His smile stretched from ear to ear. "We're... so happy that's over." He let out a sigh that he seemed to be holding in for the past four years. "It's over... it's all over."

"Yep!" Violet felt her cheeks hurt, her smile extra big and a little forced. Sure, she really was happy that she didn't have nightmares anymore, but the cause of them still lingered in the back of her mind. "Does mom know?"

"Yes, sweetie, she does." Her father's smile grew wider. "It's the happiest I've seen her in days."

"She's planning on visiting us in the castle at the end of the week." Cloudy shouted from the couches where she was standing.

"Good... that's great." Violet felt the words leave her mouth without any thought. It was great! She was sure of it. But... why was there a small twinge of fear at the thought of seeing her mother again? The mare who had treated her with so much love for so many years? She was fine, everything was fine (for the most part...). It should be a happy occasion, shouldn't it?

Cloudy nodded happily. "Oh!" She ran to the door an quickly sprinted to Violet at lightning speed. "Ye goh mahl." A letter hung from her mouth. Navy blue, with silver writing, Violet instantly knew who it was from. Carefully, she opened the letter and scanned over the metallic calligraphy.

Dear Violet Lace,

We are glad that you are alright. We came in later that night to inspect how you were doing, and it appears that you were sleeping soundly, which is delightful. Let this be the first hurdle we pass together, the first of many successes! We want to speak to you as soon as you wake up, so please head to my private office with your sister and guard.

Take the key we've enclosed in the envelope. We took it upon ourselves to enchant it, so only you can use it. Please use it wisely.

Luna.

"Well..." Violet flipped the envelope upside down and a pretty silver key fell out and into her hoof. "Start of a new day, I suppose."

"What's going on?" Cloudy asked.

"Princess Luna just called me into her office." Violet answered. With a nod of his head, Yellow Parchment walked in the direction of the door. Both of the girls saddened: They really didn't want to see him go. Especially Violet, who had only seen him for the better part of five minutes.

"I would hate to interfere with Royal Duties." Their father explained with a small smirk. "I need to go and do my own job anyway."

"We'll visit you downstairs!" Cloudy called after him. Violet eagerly nodded, her sleep-raggled mane fluffing up with the effort. "During our lunch break! We'll see you off."

"That would be lovely!" With a gentle wave of his hoof, he disappeared behind the heavy closed door.
...

"So, how long was I asleep?" Violet asked as the sisters made their way out the door.

"You fell asleep on Monday, today is Wednesday." Midnight answered. If Violet hadn't spent so much of her time as Scarlet Enigma, she probably would've been scared out of her skin. Midnight Gust, the cute little bat-pony, was hanging upside down from a low-hanging curtain that draped over a window about a yard from her door. Instead, Violet jumped and let out a rather unflattering yelp.

"What she said." Cloudy added. Her rear was lifted hilariously in the air as she attempted to cower behind Violet like a newborn filly, using Violet's long tail like a security blanket.

"That's..." Violet heaved a few more scared breaths, letting the fear drain from her body in huffs and puffs. "Great. I only missed a day."

"Only missed a day?!" Cloudy looked appalled. "Violet, you missed one of the greatest opportunities in all of Equestria!"

"Oh?" Midnight flapped over to Violet and eyed her curiously. "How so?"

"We could've spent the entire day, yesterday, walking around the castle looking at pretty shiny things! We could've ran around the garden! Flirted with the guards! Wreaked mayhem! Eaten tiny cakes!"

"S... sorry." Violet chuckled. "I'll be sure to remember that next time."

"I should hope you do!" Cloudy ended it all with a puffy-lipped pout. Midnight, bless her heart, was trying her hardest to hold in laughter.

"Cakes... huh." Midnight's eyes showed a spark of surprise. "We still haven't figured out the food issue, haven't we?"

"Food issue?" Violet asked. A little part of her twitched out of fear. Was there a reason as to why the bat-pony in the group was asking that question? Did she... feed? On mice? Fruit, like a fruit bat? Did she eat like a normal pony, like grass and hay burgers, and if she did, did it feel the same in her stomach?

"Cloudy and I, while you were sleeping, came to the realization that we had no idea how to get food in this place." Midnight said, oblivious to the paleness in Violet's complexion. Violet felt relief and a small amount of embarrassment flood her nerves. Of course! How could she be so foolish? "There's not even a mess hall for the guards, and I'm pretty sure the royal kitchen can't serve everypony!"

"Yeah... yeah, I suppose you're right." Violet raised her hoof to her chin. Her father had treated her that first day, leading them to the entry of the large kitchen that smelled of everything expensive and high grade. He had known the cook, apparently meeting him regularly over the years due to his son working in the archives along with him, but Violet was sure that she couldn't do that again. At least not every day!

"Oh!" Cloudy perked up. "Let's ask her!" She pointed at a maid-pony that had just exited a nearby room. In her hooves was a mountain of towels, which she carried expertly without even batting an eyelash. Her uniform was pressed and clean, her mane swooped up in a pretty pink bun, and her white coat slightly dulled with what Violet assumed to be years of work. A trait not commonly found among Canterlot ponies.

"Excuse me?" Cloudy called, bouncing off the walls. "Excuse me, Miss?!" The maid looked up, startled. She placed the towels securely on her back before facing the three of them. The sight of one of the new lunar guards probably gave her the impression that they were important, for she bowed as low as she could without her delicate tower of towels crumbling down.

"How can I help you?" She asked. Her eyes darted back and forth, not sure which one to look at. Did she look at the guard, the pony she knew was important, or the two ponies the guard was probably escorting?

"Oh, um, hi!" Cloudy beamed. "We're new to the royal staff- like, really new, and were wondering if there was a nice place to eat nearby." As soon as Cloudy acknowledged that they were members of the royal staff, the maid's shoulders slackened and her wide smile shrunk a little to become calm and relaxed. Two small details, not even millimeters of difference, and it made everything.

"Ah, yes. I understand that it can be a little confusing in your first days." The maid nodded. "You see, there's a small collection of restaurants past one of the gardens... the one with all the fountains."

"The Royal Sun Springs?" Violet asked, remembering her Canterlot education.

The maid simply waved, an amused smile on her face. "Sure. Everypony just ends up calling it the fountain garden. If you walk past that, following the white cobbled path, you'll eventually find your way. It's pretty secluded, to the point where you can hardly reach it without getting in through the castle's entrance, so it tends to be a nice place for ponies to get their fill."

"That's so cool!" Cloudy's eyes overflowed with their usual enthusiasm. "Fountains. White cobbled path. Got it."

"Glad I can help." The maid smiled. "Since it's your first time, you can just put all of the food on your tab for the next week or so. The ponies who serve the food are very understanding with newcomers."

"Tab...?" Violet asked.

"Yeah, don't worry though." The maid misunderstood. "It doesn't take that much to pay it all off, depending on who you are." She wrinkled her nose, probably thinking about her own finances. "About... two days of work, possibly? Nothing to horrid." And with that, she walked into the next room and out of sight. The three ponies stood there, afternoon sunlight streaming through the large windows.

"We get paid?"

...

"Good afternoon." Luna greeted as Violet opened the door to her office. "We trust that you slept well?"

"Yes, Princess Luna." Violet answered.

Luna smiled. "We are glad." She motioned for them all to sit down in front of her desk. "And we have news. The time-pony has reached us again with another request."

"She doesn't really seem fond of taking request as much as she does making them." Violet heard Cloudy mumbled. She nodded in agreement.

"What does the parchment say?" Violet asked. Luna levitated the parchment in front of her for her to read.

Dear Violet and Princess Luna,
First off, Violet, I would like to congratulate you on your new friendship with Midnight Gust. From what I get from other instances that no longer exist, she's an awesome pony, and you two will be great friends! And your sister is lovely too, perhaps a little too snarky, but still a joy none the less.

Violet snorted and rolled her eyes. Yeah, like this pony had the right to judge her sister's personality.

Anyway... two big things are going to happen on the day you wake up (today!), and I need to provide you with the proper information in order for everything to go smoothly. The second, and last thing that's going to happen is going to be sometime in the early hours of the morning, and I'm sorry Luna, but it only includes Violet. And Violet... you need to be there.

So, first things first, you both will be receiving a package fairly soon. Inside the package will be something very important. Luna, you need to take it and use it as fast as you can. This item alone will set everything in on the right track. It's not that hard to use, but you're not going to know how to use it right away, and that's fine. This requires a team effort, but Luna herself needs to be the one to turn the key to unlock everything.

Violet, don't be afraid, don't reject change, and make sure you're in your bedroom at the stroke of midnight, tonight.
- Clock Mage

"What in Equestria...? Violet pointed at a tiny piece of script at the bottom of the page. It glowed and slowly appeared on the page like the opposite of invisible ink.

And your package should be arriving... now.

A tiny box in white and orange wrapping landed in the middle of the office with a metallic sounding dink! Everypony in the room jumped, even the princess herself looked startled. The wrapping torn and crumpled on one corner, one side of the ribbon pulled, leaving the bow crippled and not really a bow at all, the package had taken a beating with Luna's carpet. Violet, being the closest to the box, leaned toward it to get a closer look.

"Violet!" Midnight boomed. "Don't touch that thing!"

"But it's the package..." Violet insisted. She levitated the parchment back to Luna for her to see. "Here, she said we would get a package right? Here it is."

"That doesn't mean that it's safe." Midnight quickly pulled Violet back gently. "It could be... contaminated or something. We don't know anything about time magic."

"None the less, Miss Lace, the parchment clearly states that we must be the ones to use whatever is in this package." Luna added.

"But it says that we need to work together as a team in order to find out what it is." Violet argued. "What if it-"

"Somepony just open it!" Cloudy shouted. Everypony jumped. "If it was going to kill one of us, it probably would've done it already!"

Luna cleared her throat, composing herself after being startled the second time that minute. "Yes, of course." Levitating in a blue aura, the wrapping of the box fell to shreds right in front of them. The bright orange ribbon slipped and gently floated to the ground. A box, cardboard and beaten, was the only thing that remained, but it only lasted for a few moments before it completely fell to pieces without warning. When the princess herself reared back a little at the box crumbling to bits, Violet took it upon herself to examine its remains on the carpet. It was wet in some places, soggy pieces of cardboard fraying and tearing along sensitive seams. Her ears pointed upward and her eyes grew sharp as she noticed black markings one one of the pieces.

λευκά δόντια και μαύρο τύχη

Violet's body trembled. She hadn't heard Scarlet Enigma's voice in years. At least not that clearly. But now, it practically screamed in her ears and rattled the edges of her teeth, it was so loud. Her body ached and her mouth felt sore with the pressure of her magically-created fangs poking through her gums.

What in the world? Violet thought as her body went rigid with the shift. Scarlet was her easiest embodiment, the most developed and detailed character on Violet's resume. She wasn't suppose to hurt!

But it did, oh it really did. Violet was unable to move as her body changed in ways that they never had before. Her shoulders popped as she stretched her front legs and stood taller than what was natural. It was only a inch, if even that, but the pain that grew at the base of her spine as she grew taller made it feel like she was becoming a giant. There was a tightness at the base of her skull. She sighed as much as she could when there was a release of tension, but quickly sucked in a gasp as she saw that her long mane had grown and pooled at the floor even more than before.

Suddenly, her head was full of voices. All of them begging, screaming, in an attempt to be heard more than the others. Every character, every embodiment, one by one, said their words until they all jumbled together into one big mess inside Violet's brain.

"I'm going to step outside." Violet wondered who was talking. With a wave of nausea, she realized it was herself, calm and collected with half-lidded eyes. No... it wasn't her at all. Her voice sounded different. It had a slight poshness to it. It was White Rose, the pony with the talent of espionage. Her delicate accent and rich voice that could cause any pony's heart to skip echoed in Violet's ears as the words left her own throat. "It's clear that this is something that only the princess can handle. I'm going to head back to my room to freshen up, then we can go out for lunch."

Midnight seemed slightly taken aback by 'Violet's' sudden change of heart. "Al... right...?" She gathered herself and straightened her helmet. "I'll see you in a few minutes. You know you're not allowed to walk around the castle without me."

Violet tensed her neck muscles in vain as she nodded. "Of course." And she walked out of the room. Everypony was too busy watching the object, determinedly wrapped in worn white fabric get unraveled. Cloudy didn't even glance at her. The one pony who could possibly tell that something was off was too preoccupied watching the layers of fabric fall off one by one.

The calmness in Violet's stride told nothing of the chaos that went on inside of her. It didn't hurt, but the unknown feeling that kept building inside her chest scared her. It made her feel like she was going to pop, but it also made her feel like her soul was caving in on itself. All while going through this, her body no longer being her own, the voices never stopped.

"We were never meant to be this way..."

"Separated from you, torn from you..."

"We need to go back to you, for we are a part of you..."

"We always were."

"Your mind is no longer plagued, so there is room for us to reside..."

"The term 'us' is wrong, we are not..."

"Ponies." Scarlet's voice continued. There seemed to be a level of banter among them. "We were never whole things, just fragments of your broken mind..."

I've gone insane! Violet's one thoughts quickly got buried by the voices.

"It's not your fault."

"It was the nightmares..."

"They kept you scared, they kept you from reaching your potential."

"They tried to kill you... you were going to die..."

"But he saved you..."

Who saved me? Violet screamed inside her head. Who?

There was a low hum, like mumbling as the voices tried to find the answer.

"We do not know..."

"We are you, love, if you don't know there's no way for us to know..."

"Who is he?"

"Who is he...?"

"Who is he, do you think he'll come back...?"

"I hope he does."

"But what if he's scary...?"

"He saved us... he cured me of nightmares..."

"Who is he?"

"Who is he...?" Violet had heard her own voice that time. She found herself in the middle of her bedroom, her eyes closed and her brow creased with fear and strain. It was bright in there, and her body had grown tired. Though the voices had stopped, her mind was filled with questions. She stumbled the bathroom and drew the coldest bath she could and ducked her body inside. Her body instantly started to shiver and convulse at the cold, but the fact that she could feel something brought a sliver of peace. After what felt like an hour, her teeth chattering, she pulled her soggy body out of the shower and draped one of the fluffy towels halfheartedly over her back. Patting her crust-lined eyes gently. Her mane stuck to her back, away from her eyes, leaving cold water droplets to trail down her spine and bite at her skin like tiny clear spiders.

Dry spell, dry spell, dry spell... Her let the worlds repeat in her head, her mind being left empty from her long soak. She knew she was repressing everything, that the problem needed to be faced, but she didn't even bothering digging up the questions that crashed against he skull. She dried her hair with a spell that her mother had found for her. It was supposed to provide Violet with another hour of sleep in the morning, but it never really got much use what with the nightmares waking her up as soon as the sun rose.

However, as soon as her mane found itself being peeled from her back and dried by Violet's magic, Violet grew frantic and almost dove back into her tub. Spinning around, almost smacking her face into a nearby wall, she faced the mirror.

Her mane... changed... and so did nearly everything else.

Alright, that might have been an exaggeration created by Violet's frightened mind. In reality, nothing had really changed except for one crucial detail. Her mane had shifted color. It wasn't black... but it wasn't it's usual gray either. It was... nothing. Nothing like Violet had ever seen. It kept it opalescent properties, which is what caused the most shock. Darker in color, the subtle rainbow of blue and pink, with a few hints of pale green was still there. It contrasted sharply against her her now dark mane...

It... had also changed in shape, from how it appeared. Where it would normally fall in locks that would gently curl at the bottom, now it had grown thicker and had a gentle wave throughout the entire length. Feathered locks that were never there before now framed her face, making her cheekbones look sharper and the pupils of her eyes stand out against the pale lavender-gray of her irises... Did her eyes change in color too? No. No they didn't, but now they were heavily rimmed by a dark set of lashes and had an intensity that almost caused the fur on Violet's neck to stand on end. Everything stood out in contrast. Though these things never really changed, her coat looked cleaner, more saturated, and sleeker, and her tail had changed along with her mane, falling to the floor and fanning out like the train of a dress. Her nose was perhaps a little too small, and her ears probably a little too pointy and long.

"I... grew?" No. Violet didn't grow, not upwards, anyway. She had filled her scrawny frame. The bones that once poked out of her chest and hips were now covered by her shiny purple coat, still there, but less prominent. She gently lowered herself to the floor in a mock version of a push-up and found that it was just as easy as standing. She stood up straight and blushed slightly as the pony who stood in the mirror looked back at her with older looking, heavy-lidded eyes. Older. That word seemed to define the situation. Violet looked so much older, to the point where she hardly had the ability to recognize herself.

She felt the tickle of something brushing against her backside. With a startled yelp, she grasped the bathroom counter in what appeared to be a hug. A note had simply fluttered onto the floor in an almost insultingly innocent manner. She lifted up cautiously, and grew slightly irritated as Clock Mage's note gave her the answer she desired and settled her nerves.

Time has a funny way of catching up to you.

I suppose that's what suppose to happen when one is ripped from their timeline. Your body... it didn't develop like how it was meant to, and for that, I'm sorry. After you got a decent amount of rest your body probably figured it was as good a time as any to fix everything. I don't know how you're still alive, but I suppose it's just one of those things that you shouldn't question, but instead should just be grateful for.

You look beautiful.

Clock Mage

Violet tried to crumple the paper and flush it down the toilet. She tried her hardest to be mad at Clock Mage, for everything that had been done to her, but she couldn't. It wasn't how she was meant to react. She looked at herself in the mirror, the pony she was always meant to grow up to be, and found it impossible to be anything but honest with herself. She wasn't mad, not anymore. The anger that once bubbled inside her was now gone. It had played it's course, and only left bitter annoyance at Clock Mages lack of forewarning.

"That's..." She watched herself sigh. Even that had looked more grown up. Instead of looking like a child pouting, she looked like an adult who had just had a small amount of weight lifted off her back. "Nice." She looked at the note again, reading a tiny line that hinted as to why Midnight or Cloudy hadn't burst in, interrupting her cold soak.

PS. I think your clock may be broken! It hasn't moved in a few hours or so. It doesn't take much energy to fix, same to how it doesn't take much energy for it to break in the first place. I got you covered. It should be back up in running in a few moments or so, so prepare yourself!

Hesitantly, Violet let a thank you slip from her lips. Her life had taken a sudden turn for weird, and it was more than taking its toll on her and her family. Clock Mage, in her odd little way, was trying to help as much as she could. Giving Violet the ability to cry, to freak out and calm herself down and deal with it first, all while giving her the decency to do it in private without inconveniencing other ponies. It was probably the greatest thing for Violet to receive.

Looking at the door, closed and waiting to be opened, Violet swallowed and forced her courage to build. She needed to face the outside. New body, new mind. She wouldn't be scared anymore. She glanced at her reflection, her now full cheeks screamed of a confidence that was supposed to be there. She would make herself proud and be the pony she was supposed to be. She would be calm, collected in a mature way. It would be hard, brutal, and probably painful in places, but she would do it. It was time for her to live her life how it was meant to be lived.

She reached for the silver doorknob and turned it. The latch released and the door creaked. She stepped outside.

Author's Note

You know... I'm really tempted to change the physical format of my writing style. I personally don't know why I started writing like I did, with there being both an indention and an extra space between paragraphs... I want to quit. It's really not that big of a deal, so if any of you guys feel as though you want it change back, that's cool. I'll go back to it. It just seems so... unnecessary, so I'm going to quit until further notice. :rainbowkiss:
- Demon

The Key to Everything

"Thanks for the tea, Uncle Fancy." Cloudy sipped her sugar loaded tea. There was a pale sludge at the bottom where the sweetener collected. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt you."

"Not at all, my dear." Fancy Pants sat in front of her in a cozy looking armchair. "Your parents explained everything they could. Violet working at the castle for... "classified reasons". With the looks on their faces, as well as yours just now, shows that it isn't as joyful of an occasion as it would traditionally be?" Cloudy wrinkled her nose. Fancy Pants let out a hearty chuckle. "I figured not. Violet never seemed like that type of girl. I hope she's coping well."

"She's fine, really!" Cloudy insisted. "Actually... she's a lot better than I thought she would be."

"And you're okay with that?" Fancy Pants asked, a worried frown causing his handsome brow to furrow.

"No... yes?" Cloudy sighed. "I wish I could tell you everything that was going on... it's just... so much so fast."

"I thought you young ponies enjoyed a little excitement!" Fancy Pants laughed.

"Uncle Fancy!" Cloudy whined.

"Alright, alright... I'm sorry." The stallion put his tea cup in it's saucer and placed it on the table. He stared at Cloudy, her eyes trained on the swirls of milk and sugar in her drink. "I remember when you two were fillies. You all were... so small. You, Cloudy, were the picture of innocence."

Cloudy let a humorless laugh slip. "Yeah, yeah I was." She focused, no longer on the milky swirls, but on her own reflection in the golden liquid. "Still am, it seems."

"And Violet, well..." He leaned back in his chair, carefully watching her expressions shift with a fatherly eye. "She was quite peculiar, wasn't she."

"A nebula who thought she was a black hole..." Cloudy mumbled the phrase without thinking. Once she realized she said it, she looked up with startled eyes. Fancy Pants looked back at her with a knowing smile. Her face fell. "But... she didn't stay that way."

"No?" His brow furrowed in confusion. "How so?"

"Don't pretend like you didn't see it." His eyebrows rose. "Mom and dad saw it, and I know you saw it too. You just didn't realize how big it was."

"I'm afraid I don't know what your talking about, my dear." He rubbed his mustache. Cloudy's acting lessons told her that he wasn't lying, but he wasn't telling the truth either. It was an expression she always saw. He had seen that Violet had dulled, just like her parents, but it seemed so... gradual, so small and insignificant compared to everything else, that they blocked it out. But now, everything else was gone. Cloudy allowed herself to be harsh with the uncle she had grown to love like true family.

"You can't just say you didn't see her obsession with her routine." The words escaped her lips. They had been locked up for so long. She couldn't even imagine herself saying the words to her actual parents. It would break them. "It was... scary. And so unlike her."

Something in Fancy Pants's eyes flickered, like a key unlocking a door to another room in a house, a room that hadn't been explored in years. Dust and memories long forgotten were released, eager to be cleaned and valued again. "I suppose... it was always hard to tell with her. In all fairness, Cloudy, she probably felt as though she needed to be that obsessive in order to be healthy."

Cloudy sighed again. "I know... that's why I never said anything."

Fancy Pants let out another chuckle. "We parents can do a lot of things, my dear, but nothing can compete with the bond you two have. If you felt as though something was that serious, you should have mentioned it." Cloudy let out another sigh, signalling to the stallion that he was right. "I hate to be frank."

"Yeah, well... it's over now. It doesn't seem to be a problem anymore." She swirled her tea, messing up her reflection and causing it to ripple and contort. There was a tense silence.

"Are... you alright with that?" Fancy Pants asked carefully.

"Of course I'm okay!" Cloudy shouted at her tea. "I mean... she... she's great. Beautiful, talented..."

"Cloudy?" Fancy Pants looked at her with soft eyes. "Cloudy, it would make perfect sense if you were to be a tad bit overwhelmed."

"I'm not, it's just... for the past four years, I was always the one who... lived... and now I just feel as though I took that for granted." She swallowed. "I would be lying if I said I didn't pride myself in being the..."

"Pretty one?" Fancy Pants finished for her. One of his brows was raised. Cloudy let her head hang.

"I'm such a horrible pony." She put her tea cup down and placed her head in her hooves.

"No... no you're not, my dear." Fancy Pants got out of his chair and took her hoof in the crook of his elbow. "You're young and are trying to figure out who you are. You're bright and talented and social and cheerful. It would make perfect sense for you to put yourself into that category- and put Violet in a different one."

"I guess, I just... feel so bad." Tears pricked the back of her eyes. Fancy started to walk them down the hall to Satin's room.

"You love your sister, don't you?" Fancy Pants asked her. She nodded silently."You didn't think anything bad of her, did you?"

"No... no I didn't." She muttered.

"Well, then I don't see a problem." He gently knocked on Satin's door. "You suppose she's done with what she was doing?"

"What was she doing, anyway?" Cloudy was feeling better.

"Something with unicorn magic." He shrugged. "She's been asking some of the staff, as well as myself, to levitate certain objects for the past two weeks."

"Weird..." Cloudy mumbled. Fancy Pants silently nodded.

They didn't get another word in. Satin, tiny and unassuming, opened the door. Her bright white coat and mane shined, and her brilliant green eyes shined with knowledge that neither pony could begin to comprehend.

"Hello daddy." Satin said, giving her dad a brief hug. "Sorry, I didn't mean to take so long."

"It's more than fine, sweetie." He stepped away from the hug, and started walking presumably towards the living room. "Be careful now!"

Cloudy was about to engage in nice chit-chat, but Satin dropped all casual conversation opportunities right from the get-go.

"I need to talk to you." She said, her voice quiet but direct. "I heard about Violet, and I didn't like my lack of answers to my questions."

"Well..." It took Cloudy a while to compose herself. "Clearly we can't tell you everything."

"I know, I know..." Satin waved her hoof. "But... you can take me to the castle... can you not?"

"If you think that you're going to sidetrack me, you're dead wrong." Cloudy held her ground. "We need to do something first. We need your journals."

"Whatever for?" Satin asked, completely perplexed. "Those things are diaries... I mean, I don't mind sharing them with you, but what type of situation could you possibly be in in order to need them?"

Cloudy took a deep breath and prepared herself for the bomb she was about to drop.

"We need you to tell us everything you know about Shimmering Ruby."

"Princess..." Midnight breathed. "What.. is this place."

"We are not sure." Luna answered. Her eyes were big, awestruck. She took it upon herself to wander inside a few hoofsteps. All three ponies jumped as her metal shoes made a sound similar to a short tuning fork on the ground.

"That... doesn't sound right." Midnight commented. Violet was left with her knees rigid and her mouth hanging open as wide as the entrance before them.

"It's... metallic." The guard continued. She rubbed her armored hoof on the ground in front of her, looking at it's polished shine.

"We must continue." Luna stated. She continued to walk forward. Violet almost shouted at her not to go, to return and close the door and never look back. She didn't know what was in there, Clock Mage had clearly done something she wasn't meant to do! This wall was practically a historical sight, it was so old! The pathway in front of them broke every single rule of reality.

"Come on, Violet. We need to go with her." Midnight was by Violet's side, nudging her gently. Violet, without thinking, followed instructions and went inside the dark, modern cave. Darkness fully encompassed them, and only the sound of armored and silver adorned hoofsteps kept the three ponies company.

"This place... it smells..." Midnight tried to put the words together.

"Clean." Violet finished. She was right, this room or cave or wherever they were didn't smell of age or dirt. It smelled like floor wax and cleaning spray.

"What's that!?" Midnight hissed. It took a while for Violet to tell what she was talking about, but once she saw it she wondered how she had missed it in the first place. A bright blue light shined just ahead of them.

"Must be some sort of magic." Luna commented as she walked towards it. She was wrong. As they got close enough to see each other's faces in the glowing blue light, Violet and Midnight could tell that it was nothing magical, only technological. A button. In the faint blue glow, there were more buttons, a few keyboards and dials. A few pieces of paper that nopony could read due to the lack of light.

"We... do not know what to do with this device." Luna said after staring at it for the longest time. She was most likely overwhelmed with the highly advanced technology that surrounded her. Violet was overwhelmed too, but in an entirely different way.

You press it. Violet held her tongue. She didn't want anypony to press the button, she didn't know what would happen if they did. It already looked as though they were intruding on something they really shouldn't have been, but the fact that this place wasn't supposed to even exist sent the entire concept over the edge. Sadly, her guard didn't get the memo.

"You're supposed to push on it, Princess." Midnight answered, much to Violet's dismay. "It may give us some answers."

Luna's hoof, in an agonizingly slow manner, pressed on the button. All of the ponies in the room shrunk and cowered as beeps and sounds came from the machine. The lights, bright and blinding, fired to life and caused Violet to moan in pain. It seemed like forever until it all stopped, and Violet as well as the princess and her guard lifted their heads.

"What... is this?" Midnight looked around, her eyes wide and curious. Her expression almost looked too innocent considering the situation they were in.

The hallway wasn't just a hallway. If either one of the ponies had wandered a little bit more forward, they would have met an area where it branched like the trunk of a large tree. Violet, through windows in the doors and in the hallway itself, saw rooms that were empty, she saw rooms that held things that she didn't know were the name of, she saw rooms that held desks and chairs, what looked to be beds, and another that was given the mundane and ordinary appearance of a break room. The walls were various shades of black and blue, and the floor stopped being a metallic silver and became a matte cement, carpet, and simple grey and white speckled tile.

"It's completely empty." Luna said, looking around. Her eyes fell on the large window that stood before them, over the desk with all the buttons and dials. Behind it, on the other side, was nothing more than what looked to be some sort of ball room.

"Aliens like to masquerade, apparently." Midnight whispered.

"We do not think it has anything to do with extraterrestrials, Miss Gust." Luna stated bluntly, not allowing the joke to last. "Madam Clock Mage has clearly been very busy."

"Great, she gave us a headquarters." Violet had figured it out. This was a place for planning, for training and gathering troops to prepare for war. She swallowed a lump that had manifested in her throat. "But what's the point when there are no ponies to recruit? What about Celestia, she should know about this."

Luna's brow furrowed. She looked around and her eyes landed on a simple piece of paper sitting on a clipboard. It rested on the desk, acting like it didn't mean anything. Midnight picked it up and read it aloud.

Hey! Wowza, this took forever to build! You don't even want to think about how exhausted I am, going back and forth in order to get everything I needed. (By the way, Luna: There's going to be a string of robberies about a decade from now, but don't worry! It's all for a good cause!)

Anyway, you probably have quite a few questions. First off, Violet was right, this is officially deemed "Headquarters", and I have prepared you with all of the basic equipment you need to get started.

"Except for the ponies." Violet mumbled.

Violet, shut up and let me explain! Midnight snorted and Violet's eyes darted around, looking for the time pony under one of the black chairs in one of the rooms. The troops will be arriving soon enough, they were... tricky. I could get you the equipment just fine, but I can't allow other ponies to travel with me, it takes too much of my energy and it's only temporary anyways, so I had to get creative. Simply put, Luna, you should be expecting a few (about 50 or so) ponies to arrive on midnight tonight. Some have been training themselves for this for decades, some have no training at all. Don't worry, they all have a purpose, I promise.

""Midnight"... why is she setting all of this up so that our sister doesn't get involved?" Luna asked. Midnight continued to read.

Because she, along with her student, will have their own problems over the next few years. Granted, you may be involved in a few of those as well, but you're needed specifically in order for this to happen. You play an important role in this story, from start to finish, so you are needed when your sister is not.

"We play a role?" Luna looked at Violet, who simply shrugged completely at a loss.

They will arrive at midnight through various means, so keep an eye out! Some have been waiting for this for years, others for weeks,I think there may be a few that are even in the "day" range, so they may or may not arrive on time. They should all gather at the castle entrance, and once all of them are there, you need to direct them to headquarters as soon as possible.

There's a large packet of paper in the second drawer of this desk. Inside of it are three copies of an explanation I've wrote giving you all of the knowledge you need to move forward without me for a while. Along with that is a map of headquarters, a list of the ponies names for Luna, and special instructions only to be read by Violet.

Please be careful, and good luck.

Clock Mage

All three of them looked towards the drawer. It didn't move, it was just a drawer after all. but it was still making all of them tense and scared.

Luna, after taking a deep breath, pulled the drawer open and pulled out three distinct envelopes. One with Luna's name in blue, Violet's name in plain black, and Midnight's name in purple.

"Me?" She looked shocked. "What in the world can I do?"

"You're my personal guard and a good friend. I don't think it's that surprising that you would have a role to play." Midnight blushed at Violet's words.

When Luna transferred Violet's packet to Violet's own magic, the weight of the packet itself left Violet curious and shocked. It was lighter than what she imagined. She expected there to be a large booklet, giving all the proper explanations of why things are how they are. What could possibly be said on only a few pieces of paper that could explain everything?

On the back, in bright orange letters, was the phrase :Trust nopony with what this envelope contains!

"What do we do know?" Midnight asked.

"We suppose we head back." Luna answered. Her eyes looked around once again, and she wandered a few hoovesteps forward to look through some of the door windows.

"We have every right to look around." Violet said, levitating the envelope above her. "Just a little bit."

"We do not think there is much to explore." Luna said, her voice nothing more than a whisper. "Though this place is large in size, it is rather sparse and clean."

"T-that's true." Violet felt the blush form round her cheeks as she looked at what was now obvious. Most of these rooms were empty, and those that weren't were no more special than the break room. Arguably, the most interesting thing here was the desk, and it was sitting right in front of them.

"Let's head back to the castle." Midnight suggested. Luna nodded with her. "Cloudy should be coming back soon, she said she was going to return by dinner."

"Alright." Violet agreed. The thought of sitting in her room, on her comfy, overpriced bed, reading the instructions and explanation sounded exciting and oddly calming. They all walked out of headquarters together. Violet had no explanation as to how the door closed behind them without a sound.

"This... is so surreal." Satin said as she had stepped foot inside Violet's bedroom. "I don't think Violet would like anything like this."

"It's what she got." Cloudy said. She looked around the hall again in order to make sure they hadn't been spotted. "It's helps that I'm here, I guess. And we met one of the Lunar guards- Midnight Gust- and she's really sweet."

"Lunar guards... I've been hearing some interesting things about them." Satin said, she looked at the empty bookshelf with a sour expression. "Bet I can observe them for a few hours while I'm here."

"Nonononono..." Cloudy shook her head. "You're helping us first."

"Forgive me if I'm not eager to help you with you're storytelling." Satin picked up a pillow and spun it around, observing the shine on the fabric swirl and twist.

"I told you, it's true!"

"I don't doubt the fact that you believe yourself." She said.

"Why did you come to the castle then?" Cloudy asked. "If you don't believe me..."

"A new princess shows up, out of the blue, with a new species of pony by her side." Satin put the pillow down and sat on the couch. "Of course I would be interested in exploring."

"Technically they're just magically transformed pegasi..." Cloudy corrected, remembering Violet's explanation.

"None the less, I've been eager to learn more. Once I heard that Violet had applied for a job and actually achieved in getting it, I made it one of my highest priorities to talk to the two of you."

"She never applied!" Cloudy shouted.

"Hm... right." Satin let the conversation die, considering neither pony was making any progress. Cloudy was getting a headache right at her temples, and it throbbed with every beat of her heart. She didn't blame Satin for not believing her explanation, it was half-assed and didn't provide her with nearly enough information. She had to be silent about a lot, and because of that it came off as more than unbelievable. However, that didn't mean that Satin had to be... herself, and make blunt statements about how Cloudy was just simply "coping" with her sister moving on and "living her own life".

She took a deep breath. "Look, I get that it's a lot-"

The door swung open and Violet stepped inside with Midnight by her side. Her pale grey magic was holding two envelopes above her, and her face screamed of secrets she was about to tell behind closed doors. And hunger. None of them had had dinner yet.

"Violet!" Cloudy shouted. "How did it go?" She ran up to her sister and tackled her in an unexpected hug. Quiet enough for nopony but Violet to hear, she whispered into Violet's mane. "Satin's driving me insane! You need to tell her everything!"

"What?" Violet didn't allow herself to be discreet. "Cloudy, you know we can't do that."

"Well, you're going to have to anyway." Cloudy released her from her tight grip. "What with you looking like that and all."

"I didn't think you'd actually bring her to the castle!"

"Well, I did, and now you need to tell her everything!"

As both sister's harshly whispered at each other, neither one of them saw Satin get off the couch and completely ignore them. Her eyes were focused on Midnight, who was watching her like a predator not wanting to be disturbed. Her glowing eyes illuminated the inside of her helmet, and she bared her fangs at what she presumed to be a threat. An unfamiliar pony was not only inside Violet's room, but also going near her with a very determined look on her face. Her eyes were cold, but clear with the need to examine and learn. With all of the martial arts training that Midnight had gotten over the years, that look caused her hackles to raise. This pony was trying to find her weak points.

"Satin!" Violet shouted. The look on Midnight's face caused shivers down her spine. "Trust me when I say that you do not want to go anywhere near her without her consent. She is my personal guard after all. She can beat your ass if she deems it necessary, and it would be entirely legal."

Satin stopped moving. She looked at Violet for the first time... and didn't recognize her at all.

"How do you know my name?" She asked. The room went completely silent with shock.

"Seriously?" Cloudy asked. "I told you she would look different, but really?"

"Satin... it's me!" Violet tucked a piece of mane behind her ear. "Violet. Violet Lace. We've been friends for half a decade."

"V-violet!" Satin looked completely stunned. Her normally emotionally constipated face stretched with clear surprise. "But you... you... that's not scientifically possible."

Cloudy groaned. "I've been trying to tell you-!"

"Clearly a lot has happened." Violet butt in before her sister could lose her cool. "And though I get it must be frustrating and hard to believe, you need to take our word for everything."

"Vi... Violet... you..." Satin had completely cracked. She ran her tiny white hoof along Violet's shoulder, as though testing if she were actually real.

"What all did you tell her?" Violet asked Cloudy. For the sake of politeness, she let Satin continue with her examination.

"I told her that you were asked to work for Luna by the princess herself, that there was a threat on Equestria... I may have told a little about the time-pony..."

"How in the world did you gain all that weight in only a few days?" Satin mumbled.

"Yeah... I think that did you in." Violet pushed Satin away and gently sat her on the couch.

"Satin, I need you listen to me." Violet looked her in the eyes.

"You're eyes are darker... there's more purple in them... like a grey sunflower." Satin held on to herself and curled up on the couch like a little filly.

"Yeah, I know." Violet cleared her throat. "Look, I know you can't... accept things without knowing, but you need to this time in order to help us. You do know what you need to do, right?"

"I need to tell you... about... Shimmering Ruby."

"Yes!" Violet nearly jumped for joy. "Can you do that?" Satin nodded.

"Good." Violet went silent after that one word. What was she supposed to do know? Satin was still staring at her like she was some sort of monster that had crawled out of her closet.

"Isn't she the smart one?" Midnight asked. It was the first time she had spoken since she and Violet had gotten back.

"Yep." Cloudy answered. "Best grades in the entire school."

"... I didn't think Canterlot would hold education to such a low standard." Midnight mumbled.

"Would you two be quiet!" Violet shouted. She looked at the clock. It was ten, dinner time. She would begin her watch of the courtyard in about an hour, so she didn't miss any of the ponies arriving. But she still needed to read her instructions, update her sister, clear up everything with Luna... "We need to fix her, and fix her quick. We have a lot to do tonight." Understatement of the century right there!

"I... um..." Cloudy furrowed her brow. "Maybe... if she meets the princess, things will get better?" She suggested. "Like... she won't be able to deny anything if it comes from the princess's mouth!"

"I don't think talking to the princess will help... she's awkward."

"Yeah..." Midnight added. "If anything, I think that would make it worse."

"You didn't have a very good response to her, remember?" Cloudy frowned, but nodded none the less.

It was then that everypony heard the gentle sound of Satin's body falling onto the couch. She had fainted.

"Well then."

Violet sighed. "Let's just... make her comfortable." She pulled out Cloudy's blanket from the morning before and draped it over her white body. "We'll deal with it when she wakes up."

"What are you gonna do now?" Cloudy asked. She started looking at the envelopes that Violet had put on the writing desk. "What all did I miss."

"Oh boy!" Midnight shook her head. "You're not going to believe this!"

"Midnight, can you catch her up while I read my instructions from Clock Mage?" Violet levitated her instructions to her bed.

"Sure. Do I tell her about...?"

"Just... keep it simple. Until we know everything." Violet clarified.

"Got it." Midnight said with a nod. Violet got comfortable and closed her curtain around herself. She was engulfed in darkness, and with the light of her horn, she opened her envelope and pulled everything out. There was a packet of paper, just like she figured, but there were also two smaller envelopes and a tiny piece of something wrapped in white fabric.

"Where to begin?" She picked up the packet. It was only three papers thick, and on it was Clock Mage's nearly perfect calligraphy. Ink swirled on the page with a practiced talent that took Violet's breath away.
Hello Violet, pleasure reading my writing again, I assume?

You must be very curious, as well as very anxious to here what I have to say. I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint you and say that I can't tell you everything. As much as you want the answers, it doesn't take a genius to see the problem in me telling you exactly what's going to happen exactly when you encounter it. It doesn't work.

I can, however, give you a little information on who I am, and what I do.

It's all very complicated, but at the same time so simple, so forgive me if I scratch a few places out, or if it goes on longer than you wish. But as soon as you have the ability to explain the concept of time to anypony, you'll be sure to understand.

It can all be summed up in a simple phrase: Time can never be changed. What's going to happen, will happen, and there's nothing you can do to stop it. Not without doing something you'll regret.

Fate is another word for this. My parchment, the thing you see me pull out of my mane, is enchanted. Being an earth pony, magic was always a bit of a mystery, but time was always something I could understand even when I was a filly. I researched everything I could about time, and with the help of a very special pocket watch, I had the ability to do what I do. The parchment arrived as soon as it all began, and written on it are the events that are meant to happen.

Time travel isn't necessarily new. There are spells on the subject in the archives. And yes, ponies have traveled through time before, for brief instances. However, ponies always act like time is this delicate thing. In all fairness, it is pretty easy to mess up. But not in the way everypony thinks. No, you're not going to rip the universe apart, create a paradox, or anything along those lines. If anything, you're just going to go down a timeline you're not going to enjoy, which sucks, because most, if not all, don't know how to fix it. I don't even think you're meant to fix it. What happened to you was something that I had never done before... well, maybe that's a bit of lie.

You see... I have done this before. With you. A lot. Nearly a dozen times, I've taken you out of your timeline. I've lived through the future that I have, where the Diamond Empire has taken over, almost an indescribable amount of times. It was so hard to find out you were the key. I couldn't even fathom why. I still don't know why you're so important! I don't know what you're meant to do, because I've never experienced it! Every time I saved your life, we got farther than we could without you. Of course, certain things couldn't be changed, but apparently your existence- your survival- is important enough to the point where the entire kingdom rests on it.

And that's another thing, I don't want you to feel as though this all rests on your shoulders, on your choices, because it doesn't. You can't help what you choose, and you can't do anything about the mistakes that you make. Everypony is important in this matter, and I would be lying if I said that I didn't say those things because I really needed you to join forces with Luna. I'm sorry. It's just... there were times where I saved you, not take you out of your timeline, but saved your life when you were a filly, and things didn't go well. You need to be with Luna in order for things to work out. But it's not just you that makes the final decision. I don't think. Like I said, we've never made it that far. But you need to be alive, and you need to join the Lunar Brigade. That I know for certain. I didn't spend the better part of ten timelines looking through records to find you as the constant in order for you to quit now, so please don't stray too far!

The Lunar Brigade...? Is that what Luna is going to name her new force? Violet kept reading.
Ah! Right! The Lunar Brigade. You're reading this before midnight, right? I figured you would. I have reason to believe that you're going to watch all of the ponies arrive in the courtyard from your bedroom window? Good. Do that. There's nothing really depending on you doing this precisely, but you do need to join the force. You and your sister become a pretty prominent team, along with that white pony friend of yours. I didn't really get the joy of meeting her, but I assume she's nice. She doesn't really join your team, necessarily, she more along the lines becomes an scientist and tests weapons and develops cures

Looks like Cloudy found a job here at the castle...
You're probably wondering what the Lunar Brigade is. In all honesty, I can't take all the credit in forming the idea. I got inspiration from a Rebelion Group from the old timeline, the one I'm traditionally from. I just... sped things up a bit. In essence, the Black Diamonds, the way they got stronger was not through brute force. They're more than a millennium old, Violet, they're good at what they do. They expanded throughout Equestria in order to take it down, and that's what the Lunar Brigade is meant to stop. How all the ponies go about it is their choice, I never wanted any say, even in the beginning, but you and your sister are crucial in defeating multiple groups where they have collected. You especially.

As of this moment, I won't be able to reach you guys. Not for a very long time. For you see... I need to do something else. Sleep. I need to sleep. I'm not even going to deny that. I've been busting my tail off for the past few days getting everything in order, not to mention everything I did before this... sleep will do me good. If I get tired while going through the timeline, things get more than messy.

In this envelope are two things. I don't know what they are, you gave them to me a long time ago. Apparently they're important, so you do with those as you wish.

As always, good luck. Follow your heart, Violet. I can't tell you much, but I can tell you that it's waited a long time for this.

- Clock Mage

Violet finished and put the papers down gently. Black Diamonds... all over Equestria? She felt a nervous prickle at the back of her neck. She assumed that the cult was in hiding, living in sewers or in caves. it was then that she realized that they probably all looked normal and were walking around with all of the other ponies. She imagined the average mare or stallion, picking up groceries or their children from school. She shivered. They could be hiding in plain sight!

Luna knew about this, chances are she's read her instructions by now. Though she didn't get all the answers she wanted, she got enough to be partially satisfied. She knew now what she needed to do: join the Lunar Brigade and work on defeating the Black Diamonds one party at a time. She had to. And apparently, she was going to be successful at it, according to Clock Mage, so that eased her pounding heart considerably. How the group was going to go about doing it, she still didn't know. Where they going to defeat them through warfare? Magic? Clock mage scratched out a few bits, but she saw the word "cure" at the end of one passage only partially covered. Perhaps biological warfare was at play? Was the Lunar Brigade willing to stoop that low?

She would have to wait and see.

She then focused on the last two objects before her. Apparently, these were objects that she, herself, actually gave to Clock Mage to give to herself. So they probably weren't deadly.

She opened the smaller envelope and pulled out the piece of paper that was inside. It was a picture of sorts, old and clearly taken at a different time, if that phrase held any meaning anymore. Two ponies looked horrifically familiar. It had something to do with Satin, she remembered that, but she couldn't remember why. Were they members of her family, taken forever ago, or perhaps they were ponies that she had talked about once upon a time? Violet couldn't remember. She shined her horn brighter.

Three ponies stood in the image. Two stallions and a mare. One one end, was a stallion with a white coat and a blue mane holding a martini class in one hoof and smiling wide at the pony taking the picture. The mare stood in the middle, wearing a pretty ivory dress that bunched up in places and was decorated with pretty pale green flowers and silk bands. Her coat was what looked to be an intense lilac, and her mane was covered by a white hat and more flowers to the point where Violet couldn't see it, as well as part of her face. The third stallion stood by the mare's side to her right, dressed in a dashing navy blue and black tux from the time. A red rose poked out of his pocket, and his mane and tail were... interesting. Violet couldn't quite tell. The picture looked to have aged, yellowing the paper. Whatever color he was, he was dark. His mane and tail shined, and his eyes were so devilshy looking at the mare, that Violet had blushed. His eyes were hungry, making her think of all of the romance novels she had read throughout the years. They were burning with lust and love, and the mare, though half of her face was covered, was looking directly at him and meeting his spine-tingling gaze with one of her own.

She flipped the picture around and found her own writing staring right back at her.

I know an excuse when I hear one! Don't you dare even think of tricking yourself into thinking you're the victim, Violet Lace!

What did it mean? Violet didn't know, but she figured that she would figure it out eventually. She looked towards the bundle of fabric that had conveniently rolled down to the weighted area between her bed and leg. Picking it up and untying the leather straps that held it closed, she unwrapped it and let the object dangle by it's chain.

It was a key. A silver key, clearly old and covered with the permanent dirt that seemed to collect on things worn by time, dangled in front of her nose. It stirred something in her. The way it smelled, the way it looked. It felt warm in her magic like only the special things that she held close to her heart would. So, taking a leap of faith that the future her knew what she was doing, she placed the necklace around her neck and held it close. It warmed the skin it touched.

The only thing she had to do now was live.

The Start of the Changing Seasons

"So... what did it all say?" Cloudy asked, but she quickly corrected herself. "I mean, what can you tell me?"

"That cult that we're looking out for," Cloudy nodded, signaling for her to continue. "It's a bigger problem that I thought."

"How in the world can it be a bigger problem?!" Cloudy shouted. Everypony quickly shushed her because of Satin's sleeping form on one of the couches. "They're trying to take over Equestria!"

"Well, apparently they already have." Violet pulled a piece of paper from behind her bed curtain. "Several times, in fact."

"What are you talking about?" Midnight asked, her eyes focused and nervous. Violet quoted a few sentences from the packet she had received. No words could describe the tense silence that followed. Nopony said anything, but everypony knew what everypony was thinking. They're right under our noses, and we don't even know it!

"That's..." Midnight whispered.

"Oh, my god... Violet, what are you going to do?" Cloudy asked. Her blue eyes were wide with fear and worry for her. Violet's heart squeezed as she saw tiny tears forming at the bottom of her eyes.

"Shouldn't it be obvious?" Violet said as she folded the paper into thirds and placed it back on her bed.

"You're going to join Luna's army?" Midnight suggested. Cloudy's eyes went even wider at the thought of her sister joining something that sounded so aggressive and serious.

Violet shook her head. "You need to read your instructions before anything else. I need to see if you're going to stay my guard or not."

"But what about-"

"Read..." Violet held firm. "Your instructions."

Midnight took the hint. "Alright... but what if the information is different than yours?"

"It most likely will be." Violet shrugged. "But you need to read them before midnight which is in..." She looked at the clock. "an hour and a half. So get started."

"Yes, ma'am." Midnight gave a mock salute and quickly picked up her own envelope and pulled out its only contents: the packet that Violet had figured would be there. Everypony waited as her eyes scanned the pages.

"You can't be serious." Midnight asked the papers. Violet could relate.

"It's a lot, isn't it?"

"What are we supposed to do? Blow up every major city in Equestria where they may be hiding?! How in the world are we going to do about this?" Midnight scanned over a few more lines as though trying to find words that weren't there. "I mean... what?"

"I don't know." Violet shook her head. Cloudy was looking back and forth between the two of them.

"What is going on?" She asked, finally having enough.

"Luna's not going to be making an army tonight- at least not yet. She's going to form something called the "Lunar Brigade."

"Isn't a brigade a form of an army?" Cloudy asked, now confused.

"Is a subdivision, yes. But I have a feeling we're not going to be entering the traditional form of a battlefield." Violet said. "The Black Diamonds apparently prefer to do their business hidden."

"And once again, what are we going to do?!" Midnight asked harshly, her ears folded back in urgency. "We can't just go around fighting random ponies, citizens could get seriously hurt if we're not careful!"

"I don't know what we're going to do! What do your instructions say?" Violet's voice was getting louder and she had to remind herself to keep quiet for Satin's sake.

Midnight sighed. "I've been asked never to tell a soul. Apparently nopony on the guard can know about this, because then they could inform Celestia's guards, and therefore her."

"That's it?" Cloudy asked. "It took you forever to read just that."

"It also told me to personally burn all of the instructions for Violet and I, as well as give me, what I assume, is the same information that Violet was given about Clock Mage herself. But other than that, yeah, it wasn't much."

"I guess all of the other timelines she's been through don't get much farther than where we all are..." Cloudy whispered. As soon as the words left her lips, the room seemed to get thirty degrees cooler. Violet shivered.

"Cloudy..." She sighed.

"I'm sorry..." Cloudy's ears drooped with guilt. "I wasn't thinking."

"Yikes." Midnight swallowed and started walking towards where Violet placed her papers. "I'm going to go burn these." She looked towards Satin. "Something tells me that she isn't going to be waking up until tomorrow morning."

"You think?" Violet asked as Cloudy wandered over to their friend who was snoring softly. Cloudy gently poked her with the edge of her hoof, she didn't even squirm. Cloudy shook her head.

"She's not waking up. Not anytime soon."

"Well... I guess we can spend the rest of the night..." Violet couldn't finish. She looked at the clock, and they still had another hour left before midnight would begin. Luna was probably in her office, reading her own instructions, and not wanting to be disturbed. The thought of them, sitting around and letting everything fester, frightened her beyond reason. Violet theorized that it would only end in them growing to paranoid of those around them, and not being willing to go outside of the castle walls ever again.

"Let's grab something to eat." Cloudy finished after Violet had drifted. Midnight nodded and went on to go burn the papers to ashes. "It's been a long night."

Violet nodded with her lips pressed so tightly that she figured she would find them bruised in the next few hours. Swallowing down, not only her anxiety of the cult that has now spread like a disease gone rabid, but everything else she had tackled since opening her eyes that morning, she pushed herself forward. She needed food. To survive. She wasn't going to get very far in life if she couldn't even focus on that.

After all, the day for her was hardly over. She still had the whole night ahead of her.

Satin still hadn't woken up by the time the first few ponies had arrived. So the topic of her sleeping until morning was something that had to happen due to convenience. In the worst possible scenario, Satin would wake up in an empty bedroom and use her logic and reasoning to figure out that she wasn't supposed to wander around the castle alone and keep quiet. However, even with that security, Violet found it hard to relax as she rested her hooves on the windowsill of her bedroom. She and her friends had a perfect view of the courtyard, and they all waited with varying degrees of excitement and tension.

"He looks scary." Cloudy whispered in Violet's ear as a rather intense looking stallion walked up to the courtyard and made himself known through nothing more than a the scar that went across his left eye like the super villain in a bad movie. "What do you think he's going to do?"

"I don't know, Cloudy..." Violet had answered with that response more than a hundred times at this point. "Why do you think Luna is taking so long?"

"Maybe she's doing what we're doing." Midnight suggested, looking at a few pegasi that had just flown in. "Scoping out the arrivals and evaluating the situation."

"Oh! Look at them! They look cool." Cloudy pointed at a group of ponies who'd looked to have arrived as one group. All of them were wearing lab coats and looked as professional as ponies standing outside a castle at midnight could look.

And more and more arrived. Some young, some old, all of them with purpose and drive that Violet could both understand and and not comprehend. She knew why she was here, she wanted to protect not only herself but also the ones she loved. She felt as though she had a destiny here, and was willing to act and figure out who she is. She owed it to herself to keep surviving. But these ponies? What could Black Diamond do, or has done, that could cause such a large group to leave their lives and work with a princess who didn't even seem to exist a week ago?

"I think that's all of them." Midnight said after the flow of ponies had stopped. "And here comes the princess..."

Luna had made herself known. The castle doors swung open silently, and dressed in a black cloak embroidered with shiny blue thread in the pattern of stars and the moon, walked out the princess with her wings outstretched and her head held high. She didn't say a word. Violet didn't know where the royal guard were. Clock Mage must have given Luna instructions on what to do, like assigning them to a different area temporarily, or must simply not asking them to guard at all.

She talked to a few ponies, their voices too quiet for Violet to hear through the glass of the window. The scary pony with the scar made himself known. Violet admired Luna for not flinching at his face, or showing any sort of surprise of his injury that was so prominent. They seemed to discuss something, and when they were finished they ended it all with brief nods from both sides. The stallion turned away to address the crowd. Luna actually looked at Violet's window, and after seeing the three of them all standing there with wide eyes, she motioned for them to come to her in the courtyard.

"What do we do?" Cloudy asked.

"We do what the princess says, obviously." Midnight answered. She started moving to the door to hold it open for them. "Clearly she trusts them, or she wouldn't call us out."

"Violet..." When they had entered the hallway and started walking briskly to the entrance. "Stay close to me, please."

"A... alright." Violet blushed. Normally Cloudy was the confident one of the two of them.

They walked out side and the princess quickly flew to them.

"We are glad that the three of you could make it as quickly as you did." Luna looked directly at Violet. "We have talked with most of the authoritative figures, and we agree with most of the terms that they have offered."

"That's great!" Violet said. Luna smiled. Violet could only hope that those terms didn't involve explosives or any form of unnecessary conflict. "What are their terms?"

Luna nodded and pushed the three of them back so that she didn't have to shout. "They just need lodging, apparently. We explored headquarters before we went out here, that is why we were late. There are more than enough beds, and everything else should be handled on their own. They seem to have it all figured out."

"Really?" Violet blinked a few times. "That's all?" Yeesh, Clock Mage really must have been busy!

"Well, obviously there is paperwork to be done. Every member needs to register and establish their name and how they contribute. But after that, the... group should start investigating and figuring out how to stop the Black Diamonds from taking over."

"Princess..." The stallion with the scar walked up to them. To Violet's surprise, his eyes were warmer than what she had perceived, and his
voice came off as nurturing but stern. "we are ready when you are to head to headquarters."

"Ah! Yes, of course." Luna cleared her throat and composed herself, extinguishing the tiny spark of excitement that had appeared in her eyes. "Steel Grim, this is my personal assistant, Violet Lace."

Violet shook his large hoof, and it felt warm in hers. Though she didn't let her guard down, she felt as though her previous assumptions about him were rather unjustified. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"And you as well." He smiled, revealing a set of straight, though slightly yellow, teeth. "Assistant? Does that mean you'll be participating in our little... gathering?"

"Um, yes." Violet tucked a piece of mane behind her ear. "I have some personal motivation for taking down the Black Diamonds-"

"As do we all." Steel Grim winked.

"But the term "assistant" may be a tad bit misinforming." Violet smiled slightly at Grim's natural charm. It felt good to know that she wasn't alone on the matter of knowing about the cult, believing what they were capable of, and dealing with their attempts at evil first hand. "It's just a term that we've been using until we find my place alongside Luna." Steel Grim nodded, understanding.

"Well, you seem quite lovely, Miss Lace. We hope we see you more often. Can't have an old stallion like me scaring the bajeezus out of everypony all the time." He chuckled. He had the laugh of a stallion out a sea, hearty and deep.

"Ahem..." Midnight cleared her throat. Violet quickly spoke.

"This is my personal guard, Midnight Gust. And this is my sister, Cloudy Sun." Midnight nodded, and Grim nodded back with a serious look on his face. He respected a pony in armor. His gaze softened as he saw Cloudy, shrinking slightly and attempting not to stare at his scar, and he offered her a small smile. "It's a joy to meet you two, as well."

He looked at Luna. "We should get going, Princess. We all need to be settled before the sun rises."

"Yes. Of course." Luna, with a fluff of one of her wings, motioned for the large group to start moving. She flew ahead, leading them all in the proper direction. Violet stayed beside Steel Grim, hoping to get some valuable answers.

"Um... hello again." Violet said awkwardly. Grim smiled.

"Hello to you too, Violet lace."

"Um, I was hoping that you could answer a few of my questions on the walk over to headquarters." She almost tripped over a loose stone as she tried to form a polite request.

"Of course!" He let out another hearty chuckle. "What is it that you want to know?"

"What do you plan on doing about the Black Diamonds?" She figured she would tackle the hardest questions first.

"We plan on stopping them, Violet Lace." He cleared his throat. "As soon as we begin investigating, and finding reliable information, we'll start scouting and sending out troops and teams to tackle them from the inside out."

"What do you mean "inside out"?" Violet asked, growing anxious.

"You claim that you have faced them before. You seem like a smart young mare, you can figure it out."

Violet thought about everything she knew. Or thought she knew. She couldn't shake off the feeling that Shimmering Ruby was important in the Black Diamond establishment that apparently took root here in Canterlot or along it's outskirts. It was the only explanation for Shimmering to have the power over her like she did: she had to be nearby. But she couldn't remember any horrific building, or any sort of business that gave her a bad feeling like she figured it would. No secret bases, or stores that were sketchy. No houses or mysterious alleyways that caused a tremble to rake through her body.

"They don't have a base- not in plain sight anyway." She figured. Steel Grim nodded.

"What else?"

She thought about her nightmares. She had gone to doctors and therapists, all of them trying to link it to some sort of mental issue, her birth mother, or some sort of traumatic even that had never existed.But now that she knew what could've possibly caused them, it caused her to start to wonder why neither she nor her parents assumed that it would be caused by magic. That, and Shimmering's disappearance from the face of the planet, seemingly forgotten.

"They're good at covering their tracks..." Violet suggested, unsure. She breathed a sigh of relief as the stallion beside her nodded again.

"And what does that tell you?" He asked. When Violet shook her head, completely at a loss, he relented and flat out told her.

"They have power underground." He said gruffly. "They're invisible, but they hold enough in their hooves to effect millions of ponies without anypony noticing. Never revealing themselves, they always appear as anonymous, and snatch what they can before departing. Leaving a husk of what once was behind."

"So they have money-"

"More than that." He interrupted. "They have strength in numbers, and influence in business. The higher ups are cunning and are willing to steal from even the most genuine of ponies to get what they need." He winced and Violet saw him almost reach for his scar. "Even if that means ending lives and ruining others."

"So... money, strength, power, and... no face to go with it." Violet whispered, listing everything. It clicked. "There's nopony to look for! We don't know what to look for!"

"Exactly." He snorted out of his nose and nodded his head again. "They don't have a leader, or a face. There's no weak point we can hit that can take out the entire thing. So, instead, we need to tackle it in parties. Take down one group after another with a group of our own."

"But what if we hurt innocents?" Midnight asked. Violet had forgotten that she and Cloudy were directly behind them.

"We wont." He answered confidently. "Once you know how to spot them, they're easy to find. The trick is the last part."

"The part where they die." Cloudy commented. Grim looked back at her with eyes that were once so warm, but now transformed into simple blue pebbles. "They're going to die, aren't they?"

He licked his lips, trying to find the right words. "A few. We have reason to believe that a few commoner ponies- ponies of lesser status who were promised wealth- were tricked into becoming servants and are held their against their will."

"So what are you going to do?" Midnight asked. "Are you just going to walk in there and ask them politely to back down. I highly doubt these bases, what with the fact they're so hidden, will allow you to do that."

Grim let out another chuckle. "You don't need to get into the bases to defeat them. You just simply need to disarm the ponies controlling the base itself."

"We don't understand." Cloudy and Midnight shook their heads. Violet was just as lost.

"You will, eventually." That was all he said. Violet looked up, shocked to see that they had already arrived at the entrance to headquarters. Luna was beckoning them all inside.

"Do you guys all know each other, or...?" Cloudy asked.

"I know quite a few of them." He said. "I'm old, I've been around and met quite a few. I teamed up with a strange mare- Clock Mage was her name- and she told me some things that only a pony such as herself could know. A past that I had long tried to forget." This time, his eye twitched and appeared to get misty. "She told me that we could stop them, and ever since then I've been recruiting and recruiting. Finding families who were called crazy, mares who lost their husbands, stallions who had lost their little fillies, and intelligent minds who were willing to work for the greater good."

"And they all just believed you?" Violet questioned, remember her sister's suspicions at the very beginning.

"When you lose a loved one at the hooves of them, you can't forget." He shook his head in such a somber way that Violet could've sworn that she saw tears falling down his rugged looking muzzle. "And the scientists have their own reasons for being involved, wanting to test out their inventions and such. Some want to be involved because they've heard ponytales and want to know if they're true. Some have just simply seen things, and don't want anypony else to see them too.

"The time pony would on occasion pop up, just in case we needed extra proof." He added. "She would provide us with samples of crystals, or mysterious cases of ponies gone missing that couldn't be explained. On a few occasions, she got brutal, and provided picture evidence of their... activities... with their servants who were once daughters and sons, sisters and brothers. That is arguably the most effective tactic."

"That's horrible..." Cloudy whispered. "No wonder they want to join the Lunar Brigade so badly!"

"Lunar Brigade?" Steel Grim quoted. "That's good, kid. I think I'll keep that."

By the time the door shut behind them, and everypony was inside headquarters, Violet regretted learning all that she did. The thought of them, socialites and basking in the light that wasn't truly theirs, hurting innocent ponies and sucking everything dry like fleas, made her stomach churn. It really was horrible, what they were doing. All all for what? Power? Control of lifeless ponies, completely void of happiness and inner will? What kind of result is that? There they would sit, on gold embroidered pillows and wearing diamond jewelry, mocking and criticizing all that stood below them because of some sort of ego trip that came with being involved. Because they felt like they were better?

"Why do they want to do this?" Violet asked once they started waiting for everypony to get settled.

"They want what they deemed to be utopia." The old stallion answered. "We don't know when, but soon they're going to attempt to revive their old leader. They want him to arrive to a perfect world. Where everypony either bows down do him, or is bound under him in chains."

Violet swallowed. "C-can they do that? Bring him back to life?"

"Violet Lace," Steel Grim's eyes went cold again and caused tears to prick her own. "He never died to begin with. He was only weakened, and unable to return."

"What?" The three of them, Cloudy, Midnight, and Violet chorused in shock.

"That's what we're led to believe. It's the only explanation for the amount of magical and mental influence they seem to have. Those red crystals of theirs... can do some pretty horrible things. And they can only work if they have a leader- and he's the only one who can sit on that throne." He said it so simply, as though he said it a million times before then. Even so, the words hit Violet like poisoned barbs.

"Entirely corrupted by dark magic, becoming nothing more than a manifestation of evil in the sky above Equestria, he could've conquered right then and there- that's what the legends say. But something happened. His power was suddenly depleted, and he wasn't able to do anything other than float above the land as a mass of shadow, watching as the world went on happily. Unaware." He explained. He cocked his head, as though trying to unearth a memory. "Different ponies claim it to be a large number of things. Broken heart, rejection of followers, the sun and moon's light destroying him into oblivion." He waved his hoof. "Many things. They're trying to give him a new body- a physical form. He'll be reborn."

"And the cult waits..." Violet didn't want to say it out loud.

"Until he's strong enough to return." The room was empty them. Everypony else had gone to their respective cots and rooms. He stood up with a groan and finished his story with only once sentence. "Only then can they have true strength, they say!"

And with that, the room was empty except for them three. They stood there, letting his words sink in like cold stones into their stomachs.

"Shimmering fits perfectly." Violet whispered. Her whole body shook. "I got in her way to power and she tried to kill me... She's still trying to kill me!"

"But how is she involved? Do you think Hoity Toity could have something to do with it? Do you think he'd involved too?" Midnight asked.

"We are not sure, but we shall make sure that this "Shimmering Ruby" character is investigated as soon as possible." Luna had entered the room. "We have gotten everypony situated. We shall begin first thing tomorrow." She levitated a large stack of papers onto the desk that sat before them, careful not to lay it on any button or switches. Violet took it upon herself to look through the papers, finding them to be bios of the ponies that were just recruited.

"So we're safe here, at the castle?" Midnight asked the princess. Luna, thankfully, nodded.

"Tomorrow, after breakfast, we must ask that all three of you join us here for an informational briefing." Luna explained. "All of the information on the Black Diamonds will be gathered and filed throughout the night, and we shall make sure that everypony is informed properly."

"Yes, your majesty." Midnight bowed quickly. "We still have the rest of the night ahead of us, however... what are we supposed to do?"

Violet started to file through the papers. She stumbled on a familiar face and, without thinking, began to read.

Steel Grim- Stallion, 67 years of age. Once a commander of a military ship to the west, in charge of over 200 stallions on a single fleet. Worked for the royal guard in his younger years, but retired due to unknown reasons... It went on and on about him. Telling of his life and all of his accomplishments in the military. He had grandchildren who had gone off to great things, like starting shops in their towns and getting educations that were higher than normal. It wasn't until she got to the last paragraph of the paper, did she regret setting her eyes on it.

Reason for joining: Though most is held classified, it has been revealed that his daughter, Lily Blossom, has been reported missing by the official police dept. of northern Prance. Reports and images show that she is still alive, but it is unknown whether or not she is under the Black Diamond's influence or is being held against her will. Before she went missing, her flower shop/ herbal healing and fortune telling establishment had gone up in flames and seriously injured her three daughters and her son. There were no casualties, but her children were held in critical care for an extended period of time, and were later raised by Steel Grim.

Violet swallowed. She couldn't help herself and she continued to file through the papers. All the while, Midnight was getting orders from the Princess.

"You are to make sure that Violet get's back to her room safely." Luna stated.

Reason for joining: Her family and beloved friend were murdered one night- all finances and valuables were stolen from the household while she was out walking her pet dog. The police have made no motive to investigate further than the two year period that they had already done. They claim it was a mass suicide.

"Same with her sister, as well as yourself. Right now is a bit of a turning point, so there's not much to be done other than wait until further notice. However, we do have some requests for you."

"Anything, princess." Midnight responded.

Reason for joining: His family was sent into poverty after an organization labeled "Dia corp." caused all of them to go into spiraling dept for reasons they wouldn't reveal. The name and records then were mysteriously removed, and disappeared. Leaving him and his family with no money, no food, and no way to get new jobs due to bad credit. The police did not investigate due to lack of evidence and the supposed "dept" showing no documentation or paperwork in the banks files.

"You have read your instructions from madam Clock Mage, we assume. You are to follow those precisely until further notice. We have been told not to inform any of the lunar guard of this, and we are to believe that you have been told this as well. However, if they so desire, Violet and Cloudy Sun are allowed to go to headquarters whenever they wish, unless they are told otherwise. You are to protect them the entire time."

Reason for joining: Claims her sister disappeared and was found later that day, wandering the streets screaming about "Black Diamond's Rising!" she was locked in an asylum and has refused to speak with anypony other than the one who "helped her reach the truth" Her sister claims that her eyes were discolored after the event.

"Make sure they don't go out of the castle without notifying us or Steel Grim. He's going to be the unofficial leader, and second in command of this force, and you are to answer to him as you would me."

"Yes, princess." Violet heard the clanging of armor as Midnight bowed for the last time. But her eyes kept scanning the papers, finding reason after reason. All of them horrible. All of them twisted. None of them official, or could be proven, leaving them to rely on nothing but trust, and probably causing the victims themselves to spin around in circles with nowhere else to go. Some were so brutal, so disgusting, that Violet couldn't read them entirely. Others were pathetic but genuine, such as homelessness and needing a place to stay and food in their stomachs, and some were kind to a degree, such as joining because of a friend going through hard times and wanting to show moral support.

"Hey, Violet." Midnight gently tapped Violet's shoulder. "We need to go. Orders from the princess herself."

"Midnight..." Violet whispered harshly. "Midnight, I don't know how we're going to do this..."

"We're going to do this the only way we know how." Steel Grim walked back into the main room. "By taking action, making a plan, and fighting with every ounce of life we have."

"But that doesn't explain what we're going to do!" Violet shouted. Her voice echoed against the walls.

"I figured it was obvious." The old stallion shrugged, a tiny smile curling his lips.

"Well... it's not." Violet let her shoulders slump. She was sick of solving riddles and jumping through hoops. This was technically her first day on the job, and she already wanted it to be over. Even Midnight nodded her head in agreement at the fact that it was getting sort of ridiculous.

"Why, espionage, of course!" Grim let out a triumphant laugh. "Dastardly bastards won't know what hit 'em! They'll be leeching off the socialite scene, like they always do and BAM!" He pounded his two front hooves together, releasing a deafening crack into the air. "We'll take them down right as they strike."

"Wait... what?" Midnight shouted. Violet just stood there, with her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide. "Please..." Midnight rubbed her temples. "Explain."

"You see, little fruit bat, as they grew in power, the Black Diamonds also grew in the use of resources." He walked over to the large desk and flicked a switch. The window that stood in front of them lit up with technological magic, a rare and not often seen form of spell, and it showed ponies glowing a bright red. "You see, this is them." He turned a few dials and pressed a few buttons. New ponies showed on the screen, this time bright blue. A little animation played, and the the blue ponies grew smaller in number and size, while the red ponies multiplied and grew larger. "They recruit ponies, normally wealthy individuals, to join their organization. Even if they don't follow the idealolgoies of the cult, they'll still be of use by providing them of financial rescourse."

"What do you mean?" Midnight asked.

"They'll suck them dry, like vampires..." Violet answered understanding. "They'll steal every bit and diamond out of their bank accounts and by the time the victims notice, they'll already be gone. As soon as they attract too much attention, or they finish getting what they want, they'll scatter and vanish like rats. They'll head back underground."

Steel Grim nodded. "Told ya' you were smart, kid."

"But what about everypony else?" Violet asked, remembering the papers she just read. "They're average individuals. Most of them don't come close to brushing elite status."

"Those are promised with other things." He answered. "Promised healthcare, food, a home. But by the time they stumble inside, they're forced into some form of mind-control or hypnosis, and become servants."

"And that's horrible, but what's supposed to happen?" Midnight asked. "If you guys are supposidly going to just walk in there, wearing black sunglasses and carrying grappling hooks, then how are you going to know who's who, and what's what?"

"I told you, you'll learn."

"Who?!" Midnight shouted, forgetting about the princess and the fact that there were probably sleeping ponies in the next room. "Who's supposed to learn? Me?"

"Yes!" Violet suddenly shouted, scaring everypony in the room. "Both you and I need to learn!"

"Y-you?!" Midnight looked at her, completely shocked. "Why on Celestia's green earth do you think that?"

"Becasue that's what Clock Mage told me!" Violet answered, causing Midnight to just stand there with her mouth hanging open, unable to properly argue. She faced Steel Grimm, who was looking her dead in the eye, already knowing what she was going to say. "I would like to join the Lunar Brigade!" He nodded and shook her hoof.

"Proud to have you on board." He smiled his old stallion smile. The smile he probably gave his grandkids as he was raising them.

But there was one piece missing. One piece that would set everything into place, and properly start the machine that was their timeline...

"I would like to join too!" Cloudy shouted, speaking for the first time in minutes. "I would like to join, for my sister's sake and for the safety of those I love!"

"So be it." Luna said, her voice never raising above it's usual tone. However, there was an unusual spark in her eye. "We hope you do well, Cloudy Sun. We are glad you have found your place among us."

"You two are going to be spies!" Midnight shouted at the two of them, once the princess and Grim where gone. "You realize that right?! I'm not going to be there to protect you! You, Violet Lace, arguably the most vulnerable and most-likely-to-be-killed pony in the entire kingdom, and you're diving straight into the danger!"

"Yep." Violet nodded as they walked back to her room. Midnight didn't say anything after a while. She just heaved a heavy sigh and continued to walk them back.

"I suppose I shouldn't expect anything less..." She mumbled.

But that was just it. Violet felt the urge of joining. She needed to join, just as how she needed to be with Luna that faithful day of her return. Fate was pulling her in a direction, and though she had gotten hints from Clock Mage herself, that doesn't mean she needed to follow them. Her soul was telling her something, her very being was wanting her to do this. Why? She didn't know. But she just had to follow through.

She just had to, or she wouldn't be herself.

Summer: A Boiling Beginning

"Alright, listen here! Don't think that just because you're our espionage group, that I'm going to be taking it easy on ya!" Steel Grim shouted from the front of the room. The other ponies, all standing at attention, watched him with timid though determined eyes. Twenty or so in number, all of the young ponies that had made it known that they wanted to join the Lunar Brigade through espionage were now getting their much-needed training.

"First things first," Grim shouted. "Before you can go out into the field, you needed to know what you're dealing with!"

Oh no... Violet's thoughts went sour. She knew that she was simply learning how to tell a member of the Black Diamonds from a normal citizen, she couldn't help of think of all of the things that they've done. Fear and hatred pierced her heart like a black dagger, slicing through it like the hot piece of flesh it was. She needed to control herself if she were to learn anything. She forced herself to look at the screen that lowered itself slowly into the "classroom".

It had all started a week ago when she officially signed the papers and made it known to the other members that she was officially one of them. Though she could still live in the castle, Luna saying it was for her protection, she had to be at headquarters as soon as midnight struck the clock in her bedroom. Her sister, obviously, was going along with her. Today was their first day of training. The past week was dedicated to nothing but organizing the rooms, giving them purpose, and making sure that those that weren't in use were successfully used as storage and could be renovated later. The large room that stood on the other side of the window in the hall, right above the desk, the "controls", as it was named, was turned into a gymnasium. It was going to serve as their classroom, what with most of the training involved being physical.

"There are constants in the Black Diamond appearance." Grim continued. The screen flashed a snapshot, taking without the pony noticing as she was walking along the street. She wore a designer dress, with what looked to be a one-of-a-kind handbag. She was the picture of wealth. "From reports that we have gathered, it appears that they will always hold valuable clothes and items with them when they are out socializing with the traditional world." He pressed a button and a picture of a stallion wearing a simple blue shirt and sunglasses appeared. "Though they can be subtle, so be watchful!" Violet looked closer and became aware of how high-grade the shirt he was wearing was. If he had sold both items the was wearing, he could feed a whole family for a month. The thread of the shirts themselves might as well had been silver or gold.

"Their eyes," Another picture flashed, showing a close up of a pony unaware. Her eyes were bright red. "Are another clue. Though most aren't as prominent, there will be small doses of red somewhere on the iris. If not, then black eyes are another sign. However, if you see those, you must notify one of us at command as soon as possible." He leaned closer to them and forced them all to listen. "These ponies are dangerous, and are to be considered deadly."

Another picture flashed, and it showed another pony, a young pegasus mare, with what looked to be professional highlights in her mane and tail. Her wings shined with extensive grooming and preening, and her eyes were beady and small. Though she, all and all, was beautiful, her overall face and demeanor caused shivers to trail down Violet's spine. She didn't look right. Same thing with the stallion who showed up next, then the unicorn couple who appeared after. They all were so... twisted. On occasion Violet would gasp at the sheer coldness in their eyes, or the wicked air they had around them.

"I see all the pictures... but I'm only getting half of them." Cloudy whispered to her half way through class. "Do you think we're going to be tested soon?" Violet was shocked. Wasn't it obvious? In every single picture, even in pictures of crowded markets or classes lined up in neat rows, Violet could see every one of them. She looked around at the rest of the class. Though it appeared that some were better than others, she clearly was the only one who was getting them all.

"Looks like we have a star student among us." Grim said in passing as soon as the class was over. Violet ducked, not used to all of the attention. She didn't want to be deemed a teacher's pet on the first day, especially in a class that was meant for battle. However, where she figured she would meet mocking comments and sneers from competition, she was met with lighthearted chuckles and nods of encouragement.

"Care to demonstrate?" Grim asked. When Violet, though hesitantly, nodded, another picture flashed onscreen. It looked to be some sort of catalog of workers, business ponies with dead eyes and tired looking faces stared back at her. Some young, most old, all with the same sober expression. It was hard, and with a look around the class, she figured that they thought it was impossible. But, once she looked at the picture as a whole, she saw it. The little speck of red and black, like a day old drop of blood, stood out on the picture. She pointed, and with a nod from Grim, she knew she was right. The class let out a few small cheers, happy that she had gotten it right. Some gently patted her back, while others actually called out her name.

"Good job, Violet!" A mare called.

"Glad to have you on our team!" A stallion towards the back shouted.

"You wanna eat with us today?" A pegasus asked from above.

Her first day of class had unexpectedly gotten some rather interesting results.

"That... was interesting." Cloudy commented as they walked through the large area of decaying fountains and crumbling cobblestone in order to get to their room. "Definitely different than what we're used to. I was ready to pummel a few heads in towards the end there..."

Violet only nodded. Though she was surprised, and encouraged to try her hardest, she couldn't shake off the unnatural talent she had. Was Clock Mage right? Did she and her sister really make a difference? Were they not normal, or was that just something Clock Mage said to get Violet to join the Lunar Brigade in the first place?

"But hey, after dinner, I'm totally going to soak up all of that when I cream everybody in the acting analysis!" Cloudy laughed. Violet was actually looking forward to that, seeing Cloudy in her element again. It's been a while since she was on stage, playing a part.

"I don't know..." Violet figured she could have a little fun. "I could shift and blow you out of the water!"

"Oh, yeah right!" Cloudy laughed. "Your shifts can do many things, Vi, but they don't even begin to compare to my acting abilities!"

"You were never able to fool me." Violet argued.

"Yeah, well, growing fangs and speaking all posh isn't going to get you anywhere." Cloudy countered. Violet waved her off and made a comment about White Rose, the pony who was created for the sake of espionage. "Oh, whatever!"

"How do you think Satin's doing?" Violet asked after they walked into the castle.

"Oh, probably holing herself up in that lab." Cloudy waved her hoof. "Mixing chemicals, scribbling equations, being a huge nerd, and what not." She shook her head. "You know, she hasn't even thanked me for getting her the job as a scientist."

"To be fair, the entire incident was sort of an accident." Violet lowered her ears, remembering the carelessness of the week before. How nopony, from the bat-pony with night vision to the eccentric with the ability to literally gain the traits of a vampire, saw the loose piece of paper flutter to the side of her bed, she will never know. Long story short, Satin had woken up during all of the chaos of establishing the Lunar Brigade that night and decided to take it upon herself to become one of the best scientists that they had ever seen. She had just walked back in the castle from discussing "matters" with her father when the three of them had returned. Nopony really knew how she managed to not only contact the Brigade in the first place to get her the job, but also managed to notify the princess about the entire thing. However, Cloudy was hell-bent on the fact that if she hadn't dragged her "white-tailed behind" to the castle, she wouldn't be where she is now.

"I'm just saying..." Cloudy sighed. "An afternoon lunch and a thank you wouldn't hurt anypony."

Violet laughed. "We get paid tomorrow. You're becoming a grown mare, you can get your own food."

"Says the pony who's knees still shake at the sight of the princess who hired her..." Cloudy mumbled. Violet snorted in response, but couldn't really come up with a valuable argument. Her unnatural fear of the princess was pretty noticeable to her sister, and thankfully not to the princess herself. She couldn't understand why it happened, why her coat would stand on end as Luna's voice would echo down the hall, why her tongue would get dry and why a feeling would bubble up in her stomach as she walked into the room. It had grown more and more pronounced within the past week, to the point where even Satin had noticed on occasion, but that didn't mean the answers came to light. Violet, however, was calling it hormones and leaving it alone for the sake of convenience.

"Where's Midny?" Cloudy asked as they walked into Violet's room. "She said she was going to meet us here for dinner after she finished that guard-thingy."

"Maybe she got held up." Violet suggested with a shrug.

"She's your private guard, Vi. I don't think she's allowed to be held up." Cloudy scanned the hallway and let out a tiny pout when she saw that even the ceiling was empty. "I'm so hungry!"

Violet sighed. "I told you, you should've saved mom's leftovers from a few nights ago!"

"Yeah, but you didn't imply that you were the one who was going to eat them!" Cloudy shouted back at her. Violet blushed and shrugged. She couldn't help herself. Her mother had made zucchini and goat cheese enchiladas, which was one of her favorites.

"I'm here!" Violet could just catch Midnight Gust's faint voice echo down the hall. "I'm here, I'm sorry I'm late!"

"What took you so long?" Cloudy asked accusingly, a small pout puffing up her lips.

"Royal..." She took a deep breath. Her wings trembled with exhaustion. "Guard... stuff."

Cloudy's hunger-induced crankiness showed no mercy. "You said you would be here by the time we were finished with our class."

"Well, considering both of your initiations are tomorrow, I figured you would stay a little longer than usual." Both of the girls shivered at her words. The initiations were tests to see if the ponies who wanted to join the espionage force were capable of what they promised. Cloudy, being an earth pony, was not going to be tested by her magical strength, but it left her at quite a disadvantage considering she wasn't all that strong. And Violet, though physically capable of doing a lot thanks to years of (now considered) unneeded training, her shifts weren't necessarily spells. She didn't get a lot of practice as far as magic went for unicorns of her... status. If both of them failed they would have to be forced into another branch.

"I'll shut up." Cloudy mumbled, deflating.

"Good." Midnight had finally caught her breath. "Because you're being good, I'll treat you- let's go." Cloudy's happy-go-lucky smile returned at the promise of a free daisy sandwich.

It was a dark day underground. Or, perhaps it was night. Scarlet could never really tell, considering the fact that her precious face touching the air that lesser ponies had walked through was inconceivable at the very least. She would never step out of these walls. The beautiful, gem-speckled rock walls of the tunnels built into the solid mountain that Canterlot resided on. It was what she deserved. To be protected.

"Hello, darling..." She sighed as she walked into the massive room. Her own throne, bedazzled with her cutie mark, a large red ruby, glowed the color of scarlet. Beautiful redwood, polished and looked after daily, felt familiar under her hooves. But she ignored it for now. His face, his gloriously beautiful face, was showing and she was eager to see it again.

"It's been a while since you've woken up..." She rubbed her cheek against the vicious looking black diamond that sat next to her throne. She grazed it with her hot lips and brushed her long lashes against it in an almost loving manner. "I hope you dreamed about me." She licked her lips as she looked up and saw him, almost fully formed, residing inside. She couldn't make out the details, but she saw everything she needed to see. His gorgeous stallion physique, the way his mane and tail swirled with volume and shine as he floated in restoration magic.

He groaned. Her ears perked.

"That's new." She smiled and pressed her ruby-encrusted ear to the stone. "Did you say my name, darling? Do you want to be with me that badly?"

"L-love..." He groaned again. His deep voice, so husky and sexy, caused a shiver to trail down her spine.

"Yes!" Her glowing red eyes radiated light. "Yes, darling! It's me... your love!" She pressed her flushed body up against the stone, where it cooled her skin and caused a gasp to escape her lips. "Soon you'll be mine... and I'll be yours." She sighed as she pressed herself closer.

"My lady Ruby?" A monotone voice drifted from the hallway.

"What?!" Scarlet's voice struck the servant's face like freshly sharpened daggers. She didn't flinch or move her face in any way. But the ruby around her neck glowed brighter, illuminating tears that trailed down her still face. Not even the Black Diamond's magic could completely smother the intense feeling of terror that Scarlet ensued. "How dare you interrupt our private time!" She slammed her hoof on the ground, cracking the strong rock of the floor. A sharp, jagged ruby sprouted out of the ground behind the servant and ripped through the ground towards Scarlet, snapping the servant's neck back as it pushed her towards her snarl.

"You better have a good reason..."

"Master Jinx." The servant simply stated. "He requests your presence in his office."

Scarlet scowled. "That old fool..." She sighed. She let go of the servant in front of her and ordered her out of the room. She had to see Jinx, there was no doubt. Nowadays, she wasn't asked to see him unless it had something to do with her prince. With one last glance, she couldn't control herself. She kissed the diamond slowly, and let the top of her tongue gently graze its edges.

"I'll be back soon, darling." She flicked her tail at him, revealing a rather risque view of her flank. With her hips swaying, her bright red main bouncing in ringlets, and her eyes glowing red like that of a demon's, she sauntered out of the room.

"Yes, Jinx?" She walked into his office while his back was turned. She made herself comfortable in one of his chairs. "You wanted to see me?"

"You've been spending a lot of time in your throne room, haven't you sweet?" He asked. He turned in his chair, showing the pony skull that was in his hooves. He appeared to be cleaning it before putting it back on his large desk.

Scarlet shrugged. "So what if I have?"

Jinx leaned forward. "Anything new developing?"

"He talked to me..." A smile spread across her face. She couldn't help herself. She just kept hearing his beautiful, sultry voice, over and over.

"He did?" Jinx's eyebrows rose. "That's... great! Unexpected... but great."

"Unexpected?" Scarlet stopped cleaning out her perfectly manicured hoof. "What do you mean?"

"I wanted to ask you whether or not if there were any new progressions... because there's not supposed to be." He smoothed out his white mane, folding it back perfectly.

"Not supposed to be?" Scarlet echoed. "Is that good or bad?" The thought of anything happening to her perfect prince, the prince she had been waiting for for the past five years, caused waves of fear to course through her.

"Hmmmm..." Jinx pulled out papers from his desk. "He appears to be developing normally... so I suppose there's nothing bad."

"Well then...?" Scarlet went from being afraid to being annoyed. "What's the point of me being here and not in my throne room?"

"Estimates show that we're going to have to perform the ritual a few months ahead of schedule." Jinx shrugged. "That's all I wanted to tell you, sweets."

"Really!" Scarlet hopped out of her chair. "That's amazing!"

"Yes, I suppose it is..." He fiddled with his stupid skull again. "But have you prepared? You know everything, and what to expect?"

"Yes, yes..." Scarlet waved her hoof. "Amnesia, bursts of anger, prone to violence and confusion- I know everything." She stopped listening. The thought of her prince, her beautiful diamond, tackling her to the ground and capturing her lips in his angry ones caused her to shiver. "If that's all you wanted to say, I'll be off!" Without another word, she walked out of the room. Jinx couldn't get another word in.

But, nopony could have guessed what went on in that throne room when nopony was in there. The black diamond would glow, and growing inside was not the pony they were expecting. They figured he would be weak, mortal, and not of his true form. That was a given. Inside of his mind was something twisted, maddening, and aggressive, they were right about that too. But what they didn't figure, would be how strong he was. How powerful he was. The minds of other ponies were something easily corrupted, from his perspective. The pony that would press her swollen, overly glossed lips to the outer walls of what protected him, was so horrifically simple, that it took all of his strength not to grimace.

Something ached in his chest. He couldn't place it. He didn't even know that pain was even a concept yet. But he knew that it wasn't something he enjoyed. Something was wrong. Something was horrifically wrong. And he had to do something to fix it.

"Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod!" Cloudy rocked back and forth in her chair, it's black pleather squeaking with every movement. "Violet, it all happened so quickly! I feel like I made so many mistakes!"

"You'll be fine..." Violet mumbled, sitting beside her. Her confident tone faltered. She couldn't help the nervous feeling in her chest, and the horrible tears that pricked her eyes as she thought about her initiation. Had she passed? She didn't think she did well enough. There were so many instances where she felt as though she could've tried harder, tried to be more flexible, fast...

"Good afternoon." A mare with a brown mane and pretty blue eyes walked in. She wore a simple black shirt with the Lunar Brigade symbol on her breast pocket. Her wings looked soft, and her pale pink hooves looked tiny and sharp. "So, let's see how you girls did, shall we?"

"Not before we settle ourselves." Grim walked in with a warm gleam in his eye, along with Midnight, and Princess Luna herself.

"P-princess?" Violet and Cloudy both stuttered. "What are you doing here?"

"Given the fact that you are our personal assistant, we figured it was more than natural for us to see your results." She cleared her throat. "We need to make sure of your position, and know if it changes."

Violet hadn't thought of that. If she passed the initiation, she wouldn't be Luna's assistant anymore. She would be a simple, though successful and most likely privileged, espionage agent. Nothing else. Of course Luna would have wanted to know! She felt a tiny twinge of embarrassment, as well as a few moments of grief. Though it was odd, and rather short-lived, she had enjoyed Luna's company to a degree.

"Well, if that's all then- Let's get started." The mare spoke with a bright, though slightly muted voice. Like a mother who had just spent the past few hours trying to get her foals in line, but then saw their sleeping faces and couldn't stay angry. "My name is Magnolia, and I'll be reviewing your scores and placing your ranking."

Cloudy raised her hoof like a school filly.

"Er-yes?" Magnolia asked.

"How does the ranking work?" Cloudy asked. "How do you decide?"

"Oh! Well, depending on how you are scored, you get a certain amount of points." Magnolia explained. "The more points you earn, the higher your ranking."

"Oh... cool." Cloudy settled down, looking at the mare with a blank expression and leaving the room in an awkward state of silence. Once Magnolia was sure that no more questions were going to be asked, she looked at the papers in her hooves.

"Oookay..." She cleared her throat. "Violet Lace, your scores were some of the most varied in the entire class. As you know, you were tested in four separate ways: Magically, Physically, Mentally, and Acting Analysis." She read. She looked up to see if Violet understood. Once she nodded she continued. "Magically, you scored below the average threshold, scoring a 2 out of 5."

Violet swallowed. That's what she figured. Though her shifts were a sight to behold, they weren't actual magic that could be calculated. Practice, really and truly, made all the difference.

"On your physical exam, you scored a 5 out of 5." Everpony's spirits lifted. Magnolia continued to read notes left by the ponies who watched her and evaluated her performance. "She has an extremely high level of endurance due to massive amounts of physical training. Though she didn't score the fastest, she did run the longest with signs of exhaustion appearing seconds before the test had to end due to time constraints." Magnolia nodded. "Very good."

"Mentally, you scored an average of 3 out of 5." Magnolia then went on to explain, though the notes came as no surprise to anypony in the room. Violet was smart, granted, but her mind set was not her strong suit. And her intellect stopped being broad, and went on to follow narrower paths like writing which affected her scores.

"Acting Analysis, you scored a 3 out of 5." Magnolia said at last. She read the notes. "She shows talent when shifted, however this can not be seen as legitimate due to the lack of security she has with them. If she is shifted too long, it will have negative effects on her body, and therefore cannot be relied upon. She was able to trick 4 out of 5 ponies, as well as the lie detector test 2 out of 5 times. Could use work, but shows potential as a valuable individual on the team."

Everypony sat in silence as they waited for her to say the final verdict. She straightened her papers, and with a smile on her face, said the words: "You passed, and you're in rank C. Congratulations."

The tension in the air seemed to dilute itself, going from suffocating to simply uncomfortable. They were halfway done, and Violet had passed.

"Cloudy Sun," Magnolia reached for a separate stack of papers and began to file through them. "You're Violet's adoptive sister, are you not?" Cloudy nodded. "So you two are not blood-related." She nodded and licked her hoof before finding the proper paper she needed. "I was just making sure..."

"Alrighty." She looked up to see everypony's faces, with their jaws clenched and eyes wide, they all looked like children. "Let's get started."

"Cloudy Sun." She began. "You, being an earth pony, were not tested in any of the magical, nor flying courses of the initiation. Do you understand that this can effect your ranking and are you still willing to hear your results?" Cloudy nodded. "As you know, you were tested in three different ways: Physically, Mentally, and Acting Analysis.

"You scored a 2 out of 5 in the physical part of the trial." Everypony sucked in a breath. "The notes state that you were fast, but lacked endurance. You're physical form, however being good for blending in for missions, is going to require more training in order to get you into peak physical shape."

Violet saw her sister shrink back into her chair. She winced at the words that floated in the air and remembered their young, teenage years. Violet was scrambling, trying to work out and push her body's limits, while Cloudy was very casual with her getting into shape. She didn't need to worry about losing weight, she just did it so that she could just skim healthy. She already had the look, as well as the talent, to be on stage, so working out and watching what she ate became pointless.

"You scored a 1 out of 5 in the Mental portion." Magnolia read off. "Shows a significant interest in old epics and other forms of literature, but the knowledge she has is limited and rather unneeded. She must work on her core courses, science, mathematics, and history, if she is to stay afloat."

Cloudy's face seem to cave in on itself in misery. At this rate, even if she scored a full score in the Acting Analysis portion, she would barely pass, and certainly wouldn't be able to be in the same rank, and therefore the same team, as her sister. Violet swallowed, going completely numb. Clock Mage said they were a team!

"You scored a full 5 out of 5 in the acting portion." Magnolia said to nopony's surprise. "Shows an excellent talent in acting! One of the best I've personally ever seen!" She continued to read all of Cloudy's notes of praise. But they fell short, and didn't reach their mark on Cloudy's self. She was still curled up, like a dying bug, on her black pleather chair. She didn't move, she didn't speak, Violet was even sure that she wasn't even breathing.

"However!" Magnolia shouted, causing everypony to jump. "There are some unforeseen circumstances, and there has been some what of a change to your score." She pulled out a new paper from her stack, completely oblivious to everypony's face frozen in a mix of sadness and surprise. Cloudy uncurled herself. "Due to some impressive shows of her acting talent," Magnolia explained. "Including successfully deceiving all five ponies in the test, and tricking the lie detector all of the times trialed, to the point where the instructors thought it was broken, only to be trialed again to receive the same result-"

"You never told me that..." Violet whispered in Cloudy's ear. Cloudy abruptly shoved her hoof in Violet's mouth to keep her from speaking.

"It has been decided by the instructors that you are to receive an extra five points added to your score, leaving you in rank C, and passing the initiation." Magnolia beamed. "Congratulations!"

What happened next was all a blur in Violet's mind. There was shouting, hoof bumps and hugs, and enough cheers to make her go deaf. Even the princess smiled. Cloudy sat frozen, a smile slowly creeping on her face as she realized what had happened. She was on the same team, and was going to be one of Luna's spies along with her sister. They would see each other ever day. She could get her own room, here in headquarters! The it's been decided that, if you were a valuable member of the Lunar Brigade, you would be provided with your own set of lodgings if you hadn't decided to move to Canterlot. If they ever got pissed at each other, they could punch each other in the face during combat practice. She could protect Violet, and Violet could protect her.

Magnolia made her way out of the room, making sure that Cloudy got the message that she had to go to regular tutoring sessions ever week in order to stay on the team. Cloudy's head nodded so harshly that Violet was afraid that it was going to pop off her head and roll onto the floor. She was willing to to go hundreds of tutoring sessions at that moment! None of it mattered! She was going to be a spy with her sister!

"Alright, alright..." Grim finally calmed everypony down. "I think it's time we head off. You two have had a very busy day today, and you need your rest." He leaned down with and winked at them, his gray main falling over his eyes revealing what appeared to be once green locks against his stormy blue irises. "You start your first mission tomorrow, and it's going to take a few months to prepare! You're going to have to work hard, but I know you two can do it." He waved them goodbye and was followed by Luna who too said her congratulations. The three girls hugged themselves. Squealing in joy, they squeezed the happiness out of themselves until they were ready to faced the outside world again.

Summer: The Burning of Morals

Violet's mind went where it always went when she ran. Away. It dissipated, and vanished from the planet. The only thing in her head was the sound of her breathing and hooves hitting pavement. Her lungs burned and her spirits lifted with the rush of endorphins and adrenaline. She didn't think, she couldn't think. Her skull was empty, and it was brilliant.

"Alright, Violet." She heard a voice, but she couldn't recognize who was speaking to her. She kept her eyes forward, dazed and attempting to focus on what she deemed her goal: a marker on the other side of the gym. "You're two minutes down from yesterday." The voice continued. "One more lap and we'll call it a night." There was a click and she was off. Her body was warm with hot blood and determination. Her athletic wear clung to her body. Inside the material of her shirt were wires monitoring her heart rate and oxygen levels. Her hooves skidded on the waxed ground as she turned around the marker, her tight ponytail swinging and almost smacking an unsuspecting mare in the face. Sweat beaded and trailed down her spine and to the base of her tail, were they flew like tiny clear stones into the hot air of the underground gymnasium. Her hooves, though the pressure of them hitting the ground caused her head to pulse, were silent and carried her to the other side of the finish line. She continued to run after that, a few more meters than necessary. Her silent stride almost made her seem as though she was flying to any passerby.

"Great finish, Violet." Her coach, Magnolia Breeze, smiled a warm smile. Violet's legs were still twitching, her heart still pounding, and her urges still pulling her to run back towards the marker and on and on. But she had to stop. It wasn't good for her to keep going. "You're doing very well with your physical analysis and such. Makes me proud to be your personal coach."

Violet simply grunted, unable to get a word out through her heavy breathing. Magnolia Breeze was once a mother, and supported her children through her job as a professional personal trainer. Her children, however, "mysteriously disappeared" one night. That was how she ended up here. She hides the horror in her eyes well, with her maternal demeanor and comforting crows feet. But Violet knew that this mother had seen things that no mother should ever see.

She was assigned as Violet's personal coach after Luna spoke with Grim about her predicament. Her training and talent, already forcing her to be in peak physical health. However, a few days into training, it was soon realized that things were different then how they were before her transformation. Violet, from an athletic standpoint, was perfectly capable of holding her own. In fact, she was better than anypony else in her group. Her body, now grown and adult, could keep the muscle and the metabolism without breaking a sweat. Her timeline-separation no longer keeping her body in limbo between her young, weak, and her grown, athletic self.

"Do you wanna hear your numbers for today, sweetie?" Magnolia asked. Violet nodded and she went down the list on her clip board. Everything was better, faster, and swifter than what they were yesterday. Some changed by minutes, others by milliseconds. But she was getting better and that's what mattered. She didn't need to worry about training for the sake of shifting anymore. Now she just needed to stay on top for the sake of her job.

"That's great, Violet." Her coach tucked her pencil behind her ear. "I'm proud of you. Enjoy your rest tomorrow. You need it."

"I need it." Violet echoed, earning a nod from Magnolia in approval. She couldn't push herself off the ledge again, not when she was only a month away from being located for her first official mission. She wouldn't do it.

"Try to get as much sleep as possible, drink as much water as you can, and don't forget your stretches." Her coach went down the list like she did ever other weekday. It was like her personal life-mission was to make sure Violet stayed healthy. "Are you still getting dizzy?" Violet shook her head. "Good. I figured you weren't getting enough carbs in your diet. I'm glad that settled itself quickly and it wasn't something serious." She patted Violet on the shoulder, her hoof soft and warm. "See you on Thursday."

"See... ya." Violet swallowed, her throat parched. She watched her coach leave the gym, and fought all of her instincts to run in secret. Instead, she picked up her water bottle and decided it was time for a nice shower. As she walked, she swished her water around with her magic, watching the water droplets churn and splash in their clear container. Take it slow, calm yourself down, and walk.

Cloudy let out a squeal. "What are the odds that we would get Manehatten as our first ever mission?!" She clapped her hoof together. "I'm so excited!"

"It's just a city, Cloudy." Violet tried to calm her sister down in the middle of the square. A group of Lunar guard were beginning to stare.

"Just a city?" Cloudy quoted. "Just a city?!" Cloudy gasped. "Manehatten is only the biggest, loudest, trendiest, most fashion oriented, metropolis in all of Equestria!"

"Except Prance." Midnight corrected.

"Now is not the time for your blatant favoritism, Midny." The barista serving their drinks chuckled at Cloudy's clear hypocrisy. Violet shot her a shrug, which she responded with a subtle eye roll. Straws was a great mare, but didn't talk much. Not that anypony really wanted to make time for talking. They all wanted to stuff her sandwiches into their mouths instead.

"What's wrong with Prance?" Midnight defended. "I mean, sure- it's a tourist destination. But that doesn't mean it wouldn't be cool!"

"Manehatten has some of the greatest stores on the planet." Cloudy argued.

"Prance is covered in beautiful architecture and rich history."

"Neigh York is known for it's wonderful food and culture."

"Do you think they know that, with their arguments, they're pretty much talking about two identical places?" Violet asked Straws. She shook her head and gave Violet an extra strawberry smoothie on the house (it was her specialty).

"Prance is full of pretty ponies with pretty clothes!"

"Manehatten is full of fancy ponies with fancy clothes!"

"You know, I wanna go to Venice." Violet added.

"That's nice, Violet" Midnight said over her shoulder.

"Yeah, really cool." But neither one of them stopped. They just kept going on and on, comparing one place against the other. Violet knew that it wasn't out of anger, desperation to prove themselves to be right. But instead the excitement that came with the realization of their traveling opportunities with their new job. Something wiggled around in her brain, telling her that as soon as their first mission was over and they get a new assignment, that that city was going to be Cloudy's new favorite of the bunch. Midnight, still being Violet's personal guard due to orders of Princess Luna, got to travel along with them and had their eyes focused on more luxurious places.

But Violet really wanted to go to Venice.

She didn't know why, but she really did. Of course, she had enough sense not to really bring this up. They were already pushing her limits.

A month had passed, and she was finally getting used to everything. The guard roaming around, the massiveness of her room, her work out schedule, the classes, the nocturnal way of life. Everything was finally settling and working it's way to make itself comfortable. Tonight was a perfect example. She had just gotten back from her work out, and it was time for dinner. The moon sat above her, watching her eat, and she saw every petal on her daisy sandwich with little strain. Nopony even brought up how tired they were, or how they missed the sun. It was kind of nice.

The new Lunar guard took some getting used to, at least to the population of Canterlot. Those who worked in the castle, especially those who worked for Luna, grew fond of them rather quickly. But the unsuspecting citizens who watched the castle walls from the outside shrunk back at the sight of them. A little part of Violet was angry. Wasn't that a form of discrimination? Was Canterlot really willing to go that that level of judgement, to the point where they would treat somepony differently for no reason more than an odd set of wings? After bringing this up to Midnight, she was met with a laugh. Midnight had explained to her that there weren't many ponies like her, and with the associations that came with being a bat-pony were what caused all of the fear. She told Violet to calm down, relax, and let the ponies that were willing to see the truth, see the truth.

"Oh boy, I'm completely stuffed." Cloudy groaned. "I think I'm gonna call it a night."

"Already?" Violet asked, shaken from her thoughts. "It's so early."

"My exam is tomorrow, remember?" Cloudy stuck out her tongue. "I have to take it if I want to go to Manehatten."

"That's what you get for not studying in your other courses." A voice spoke from behind them. None of them jumped. They were too used to Satin's quiet behavior to really be frightened by the tiny white unicorn anymore.

"Not all of us an be geniuses, Satin." Cloudy rolled her eyes and started to walk back towards headquarters, where her little room and her soft cot lay waiting for her. "See you guys tomorrow."

"Later." Violet waved back. She sent her a sisterly wish of good luck. Cloudy had been studying hard to pass her extra classes. She had to take them in order to remain in the C rank of the espionage force of the Lunar Brigade.

"She'll do okay." Midnight saw Violet's face and wrapped a comforting wing around her shoulders. "She's Cloudy."

"Violet, I need to speak with you." Satin threw formal greetings out the window. "Do you mind if we head of to your room and then to headquarters?"

"Uh... I guess... not?" Normally Satin would go about a lengthy explanation as to why. To see her act blunt, but seemingly without purpose, was very much unlike her and was a tad bit unsettling.

"You told me about your uniforms, given to you by the time traveling pony, and I need to look at one of them." Satin explained briskly as they speed walked to the castle's doors. "They could help us with a project we're working on."

"In the testing room?" Violet was puzzled. She didn't go into that part of headquarters often, but she remembered the large room being white and a tad bit intimidating. Strange stones that nopony could explain decorated the walls and all around the doorways. They didn't even figure that it was meant to be a laboratory of sorts until they found the tools resting in the drawers of the tables that were built into the floor. Storage compartments were also found, hidden in the walls with even more stones embedded in the walls. Satin had called the place home for the past month, testing the Black Diamond's magic and what could possibly be used to counteract it. She found the job exciting, and a wonderful fit for herself given the fact that she had studied unicorn magic since fillyhood.

"What's a coat got to do with neutralizing dark magic?" Midnight asked. Her wings flapped silently as she flew above them.

"Not the coat, the dress." Satin corrected. "And I'll show you once we get there."

The walk to Violet's room was done in silence, as was the picking up of the dress, and the long walk through the recently restored gardens to headquarters. As the seconds ticked by, and the silence threatened to clog her throat, Violet grew more and more anxious. She remembered when she wore her athletic wear to her first day of defense training. Magnolia was confused, never seeing the outfit before in her life. Upon examination, they both found wires that were monitoring metabolism and Violet's breathing. They were perfect in a horrific way. It was a few days later when Magnolia told her that she talked with Grim and Luna, and made it official that that would be the new gym uniform for the other espionage students.

Violet supposed that it was happening again. Clock Mage providing her with another perfect solution to a problem that nopony knew existed. But what could the dress do? It was pretty, sure, but it didn't seem all that useful from a scientific standpoint.

"What's going on?" Violet finally asked, out of breath and more than confused. "Why do you want my evening dress?"

"Because it's not an evening dress at all." Satin said. She laid the dress out on a white table and pinned it down using clasps, pulling the fabric taut and stretching it enough to make Violet wince. "Violet, what pattern do you suppose that is on the dress?"

"Scales...?" Violet answered, still confused. What else could it be other than an evening dress?

"Exactly. Dragon scales to be exact." Satin pulled open a drawer and placed a clear container holding what looked to be a scrap of fabric from the exact same dress. "In fact, if you wanted to be difficult, you would call it synthetic dragon hide."

"What in the world would make you say that?" Violet asked, now more confused than ever. She was supposed to be resting, casually scribbling in her notebook and not getting worked up. She certainly wasn't meant to be dragged around through headquarters discussing dress patterns and dealing with the horrific fluorescent lighting that seemed to dry out her skin and ruin her mane by the second.

"Look." Satin moved closer, the fabric scrap in her hoof. Both Midnight and Violet eyed the fabric. "Look familiar."

"It's the exact same!" Midnight whispered in awe. "How did you do that?"

"I told you, it's synthetic dragon hide." She placed the fabric back in the box. "I developed it this morning, and I quickly put two and two together." She rubbed the dress with her hoof, stretching it more. "This must be the finished product. Now that I've developed the actual material, it can be duplicated. I just needed to make sure that I knew what I was thinking about- and more importantly, that I was right about what I developed."

"What did you develop?" Violet asked, seeing the dress in a new light.

"Did you know that some dragons are immune to certain types of magic?" Satin asked. Violet shook her head. "It was something that I found out long ago, but I never had a use for it- until now." She smiled one of her rare smiles. "It won't work against most types of magic, but once you're out in the field, this dress might save your life."

"It's just a dress." Midnight argued.

"No. No it's not." Satin cleared her throat. "Do you know how the servants are created?"

"Innocent bystanders looking for a little wealth or fortune get captured and are put under spells to serve those of the cult." Violet answered, reciting her lessons.

"Correct. But what type of spell would that be?"

"Hypnotism, most likely." Midnight responded without missing a beat.

"Exactly!" Satin pulled out a lens and looked at the dress closely. "Thought it's more complicated than a tradition hypnotism spell, it's still most likely that at it's basic foundation. This dress, with the use of the synthetic dragon hide, would supposedly have the ability to repel it."

"How would it be more complicated?"

"With the evidence provided- the pictures, reports and documents from the police force, as well as several eyewitness acounts- we've come to the conclusion that magical crystals are hung around their necks and are charged with a highly condensed amount of magic in the form of a hypnotism spell. The crystals most likely keep everything running, and don't need consistent attention in order for it all to run smoothly."

"So, what can the dress do?" Violet asked.

"That's what we're going to find out." She released the dress from it's silver clutches. "Put it on."

"What?!" Violet shrieked. Midnight's shoulders clanked with her armor, a sign of her rigid defense stance. "Are you insane?!"

"I'm not going to hang a crystal around your neck." Satin rolled her eyes. She waved and a unicorn with a bright green coat and pretty blue eyes walked in. Violet recognized her, but couldn't remember her name. All she could put together was that she was extremely gifted in magic. "A simple hypnotism spell won't hurt you. You'll just... jump up and down a little bit."

"That doesn't make it okay!" Violet cowered a little behind Midnight, who was standing as solid as a rock.

"It's in the name of science." Satin consoled. She rested her tiny hooves on the green unicorn's shoulders. "Lucky Vine is one of the most talented and precise unicorns in the Lunar Brigade. I've chosen her specifically to make sure you're safe." She shook her head. "I know it doesn't seem like it sometimes, but I care about you, Violet. I would never want anything bad to happen to you."

Violet's chest felt a pang with the expertly planned hit of pity. The unicorn smiled. Violet felt herself relent, but that didn't change the fact that the thought of her not having any control over her body scared her more than anything had in a long time. Over the past month, she had gained confidence in things that she never had before. She was proud of her athletic ability, spoke confidently in class, and at last grasped the fact that she was arguably in the safest place in all of Equestria from the Black Diamonds. But the "catch up" incident that happened a month before had scarred her, and left her shrinking back in fear at the thought of losing control.

To the point where she hadn't used her talent in weeks, the last time being a desperate attempt to pass her initiation. Even then, she was desperate to stop. The temperature in the room dropped so much that Violet convulsed in the testing room for a few brief seconds, and the shift itself seemed to be smothered by willpower alone. She didn't talk about it though, and since nopony bothered to bring it up, she didn't have any reason to. She could only hope that she could fix her problem before anypony noticed. Her lack of continuing to write her stories, however, had attracted some attention from her sister. To that Violet, swallowing down the truth, said that she was simply too busy memorizing the Black Diamond characteristics and history to find any time. Cloudy, being caught up in her own studies herself, didn't have any reason to think that she was lying.

It was really a very big mess that Violet wanted clean.

"Jumping up and down." Violet swallowed down and hoped nopony noticed how tight her jaw was clenched. "That's it, nothing else."

Satin nodded. "Of course." She handed the dress to Violet and requested her to swiftly put it on.

"Have you ever worn that thing before?" Midnight asked as the purple pony stepped into the fabric.

"I'd be lying if I said I hadn't tried it on while everypony was asleep." Violet mumbled. When she met Midnight's smug face, her cheeks and neck grew hot. "Just to see if it would fit."

"Right."

"Alright, Violet. So first we're going to-" As soon as Violet placed the last strap on her shoulders, something that nopony expected happened. At first it started as a low hum, but it gradually grew louder as the seconds ticked by. At the end, it turned into that weird sound that wasn't loud but could always be heard. Like the sound that your brain makes when it's been in the quiet too long. A piercing, slightly numbing sound that makes your inner ears itch and tickle.

"It's the stones." Midnight winced a little. Violet saw her sensitive tufted ears twitch and move around uncontrollably. She was clearly very uncomfortable. "The sounds coming from those rocks in the wall."

"Satin, what are those things for?" Violet asked. She grabbed some dry cotton balls off one of the tables and gave them to her guard. She gladly shoved them in her ears, and her shoulders relaxed soon after.

"I-I don't know." Satin shook her head. "We were planning on looking at them after we made a break through with the dragon hide. We haven't gotten around to it yet."

"Are they hurting us?" Lucky Vine asked, speaking for the first time since her arrival. "Are they releasing some sort of radiation or something?"

"We haven't examined them thoroughly, but we know they're normal stones." Satin shrugged. "Gemstones, but still normal stones."

After a few more moments, everpony seemed to calm down. The sound became almost indistinct, and faded into the scenery.

"Is it gone?" Violet asked.

"No." Midnight answered, ears still twitching. "It's still there. We're just getting used to it."

"What does it mean?" Lucky Vine asked.

"With everything that happened, it looked to be triggered by the dress." Satin whispered. She stared at Violet- or, more precisely, the fabric that covered her. "Look. It's reacting."

"W-what?" Violet looked down. Sure enough, the parts of the dress that were pressed against her body were changing. Instead of the scales being green, they changed to a strange pale blue. She felt parts of the dress tighten and constrict.

"What is this stuff?" Midnight asked accusingly. "Dragons don't change color!"

"Hold on a moment." Satin grabbed her glasses and notepad. Scribbling on it with a nearly dull pencil, Violet could feel Satin's breath on her chest as she nearly brushed noses with her shoulder's fur. She watched with bright eyes as the fabric continued to enclose her body until it was no longer a dress- but instead some sort of body suit. "Absolutely amazing. The atoms look to be rearranging themselves, melding together to form a new shape. Metamorphic fabric."

"Are you mad?!" Midnight shouted. "When does it stop? Is it going to hurt her?"

"It doesn't look like it." Satin poked her pencil gently prodded where the fabric met her neck. She slipped the pencil inside and revealed that the dress didn't morph Violet along with it. It lifted away, as though it were a totally normal piece of fabric. "Does it hurt, Violet?"

"No..." Violet was shaking. She didn't move to take the dress off or tear it to pieces. She was paralyzed with shock. "No... I'm fine, I guess." She swallowed and blinked back the small tears that burned her eyes.

Eventually, loose fabric didn't exist. Every piece of the "dress" was pressed tightly against her. The scales now blue and the skirt now pressed tightly against her thighs in the form of shorts, the outfit had taken on a complete transformation.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Midnight asked.

"Imagine something that wasn't supposed to hug you, hugging you tightly in all over your body." Violet's voice shook. Midnight reared back, disgusted.

"We need to get this thing off her." She said the phrase like an order and everypony in the room shrunk.

"Let's not be too hasty..." Satin's voice was small. "Look: there's no zipper or clasp. That fabric is too tight for us to just take off."

"Why the hell is it even doing this?" Midnight asked. It was clear she was getting angry with the fur on her wings going ragged and prickly.

"Ease, most likely." Lucky Vine's voice cut through the tension. Her panicked, wide-eyed state was replaced by a calm, collected one. A face that she had most likely worn all of her life, studying spells and enchantments, creased the permanent lines on her young forehead and between her eyebrows.

"Ease?" Violet tried her hardest to steady her tone. "W-what do you mean?"

"How long did it take you to put it on?" Lucky Vine asked.

"I-I don't k-know... Fifteen seconds?" Violet answered.

Lucky Vined hummed. "That would be more than impossible now." She attempted to grab at the suit to pull it away from Violet's skin, only to slip and just end up with a jaw full of air. She tried her magic and ended up with the same result. "That thing's not coming off, it fits you almost too perfectly. Perhaps that's the point."

"What are you saying?" Satin asked, scribbling in her notebook again.

"I'm not saying anything." Lucky Vine defended. "I'm just saying, maybe the entire point of it transforming is simply for the sake of it fitting. There are spells for that sort of thing."

"Do you think that this is just that?" Midnight asked, her fur beginning to lay flat. "Just a fitting spell?"

"On a massive and powerful scale. Yes." The green unicorn nodded.

"Interesting... I think we should alert Luna. She might be able to help her get out of this situation, or maybe Clock Mage gave her some knowledge."

"What? Why?" Midnight questioned. "Why can't you just get her out of it?"

"Like Lucky Vine said, this is a level that is very rare-"

"Normally, with a spell like this, there would be things like seam lines and parts where the fabric has melded together- like changes in the flow of the stitching or places where the texture is off. But this appears to be so powerful, so controlled, that it actually was able to mold the fabric into something entirely new.

"Like... turned it into a liquid or something?" Violet asked, finally finding her voice.

"I suppose that's a way to think about it." Satin nodded. "Yes. Temporarily, of course."

"So you can't get it off her?" Midnight's brow furrowed in mild irritation.

"Not without destroying the suit, no..." Lucky Vine's ears lowered. "Sorry."

"Perfect!" Midnight's wings fluffed up considerably, almost doubling in size. "Why did we come here again?"

"Midnight, calm down. I'm sure there's a solution. Clock Mage wouldn't have given it to me if it didn't help in the long run."

"That doesn't change the fact that you are stuck in a wrap of dragon hide!"

"It's synthetic."

"You are on your last thread and you're rubbing it against scissor blades, Scarf."

"Enough." Violet's voice echoed against the walls of the laboratory. "Let's just..." She sighed. "Get Luna. If there's anypony who is powerful, or can gather the magical strength needed to counteract the spell, it's her."

Satin nodded. "I'll send in the call." She made her way to her personal table. "Meanwhile, you should probably see if you wiggle out of it somehow."

"You got a bathroom nearby?" Violet tried in vain to sooth Midnight's better expression, but all attempts fell flat and the bat pony stood rigid with her jaw clenched.

"Out the door, down the hall. It's the third door on your right."

"Thanks." Violet muttered. She and Midnight began walking.

"Midnight... I know it's your job to protect me, but I feel as though you should light-"

"Considering the fact that you somehow managed to stumble into this situation, I have every reason to be cautious." Midnight's tone never dipped to cold- it wasn't possible with the pony's natural warmth. But that didn't stop her from making her voice burn at the touch. Violet flinched and didn't open her mouth again.

Midnight sighed. "I'm just... stressed. Don't worry about it."

Violet still didn't open her mouth.

"Let's call Luna down, and get this settled." Midnight opened the door for her, and Violet speed-walked out of the room. She was about to say something. An apology, an excuse...? It fell and dissipated before it could be spoken. For as soon as Violet's back hoof left the room, she felt the fabric that had once been pressed tightly against her skin go limp. She watched Midnight's face, not willing to look down, shift from horror, shock, then a strange mixture of relief and confusion.

"Satin!" Midnight shouted through the doorway. "You're going to want to see this!"

"And all of that happened last night?" Cloudy asked. Her messy bed-head caused curly locks of gold and orange mane to fall in front of her navy blue eyes. "Jeez, Vi! I thought that joining the Brigade would stop you from having all the fun!"

"It hasn't stopped you from being oblivious to the obvious..." Violet mumbled. She was cranky. The bags under her eyes weighed her down as though they were filled with sand. Though she no longer got tangled in her mane and tail anymore, the weight of all of it caused her neck and shoulders to be sore- desperate for relief in the shape of a pillow and more sleep.

"Oh, stop being such a cranky-doodle! You got out of the dress just fine, and we got to figure out what it's for!"

"That doesn't change the fact that you got called into my room two hours before anypony is supposed to wake up... and woke me up..."

"There are guards outside."

"They work for Celestia!"

"If you two are going to argue, I can just come back in a few minutes and have you settle the issue." Satin shouted at them through the doorway. Midnight followed. She looked just as tired as Violet, but her armor showed that she was prepared to work like any other morning.

"Satin!" Cloudy hopped from the couch she was sitting on. "What's going on?"

Satin raised her hoof, effectively silencing her. Her face looked tired- more tired than anypony's. Her eyes held a sort of sadness, and to Violet's surprise, a hint of fear.

"Please... everypony needs to sit down for what I'm about to say." She sighed, and her breath shuddered. "It's... There's a reason as to why Grim is the one who sent me to tell you guys specifically."

"Is it about the dress?" Midnight asked.

"Yes." Satin nodded. After testing it out a few more times, we can confirm that the stones are indeed the things causing the reaction."

"Didn't we know that before?" Violet questioned. She was met with the underside of Satin's hoof.

"The other scientists, as well as a large portion of our advanced magical force ran things by Luna. And... after a long night of talking... things have changed."

"How?" Cloudy asked, her eyes big and worried.

Satin swallowed. "Throughout the night, with the assistance of the other scientists and the princesses herself, we were able to figure out a few more key characteristics of the dress." She sat down on the couch opposite of them. There was a moment where she looked into everypony's eyes, but the entire room was completely encompassed by a silence so suffocating that nopony moved. It was like the air was concrete and held everypony's body in a prison of stone. "The first thing you should now is that we figured out what the stones were... Black diamonds."

"What?!" The name alone caused the temperature in the room to drop.

"Yeah... some of us, including the princess, have theorized that Clock Mage got them from a bad timeline, and somehow managed to bring them here." She grimaced. "They... can exist in this world, but not on such a massive scale. It's the only thing we could come up with, assuming that the Black Diamonds produce these to begin with- which can be implied given their ability." There was a long pause.

"They... are a form of spell holding gem. Not really diamonds, but instead a type of crystal. They hold powerful magic. In this case, the transmorphic spell that effects the dresses, along with a renewal spell that effects the gem next to it. That's why they're set up in the room like they are, so that one can constantly renew the other, over and over again."

"So it never stops..." Violet whispered.

Satin nodded. "Not until there's some sort of disturbance." She took in another breath, trying to settle herself. "That's why the gems are black. They're traditionally a dark green color, but because of all of the magic they store, it's changed the color of the outside surface." She licked her lips. "So, that information being given, the dress only works in that room. And it only fits you... Violet."

"Me?"

"We also managed to figure out how to duplicate the material, so don't go thinking that you're alone. It just appears that the dress imprinted onto you when you first tried it on in the room. It's just a theory, but as soon as we test it out, we'll know whether or not if it's true."

"How do you know?"

"We tried it on a few other ponies during the test, and they made it clear that it didn't fit them in places. Eventually, we got a mannequin from somewhere and used a few unicorns to transform it to fit, finding that it was exactly in your likeness after reviewing your examination and medical records."

"But why would Clock Mage want that? What purpose does a tool that only works in one room serve?" Violet asked.

Satin's skin grayed as the blood rushed out of her face. "Some of the other scientists are starting to believe that it was never meant to work outside of the room."

"Satin, that doesn't make any sense." Cloudy shook her head.

There was a long, deafening pause. The sheer tenseness that swirled around them, as well as the obvious exhaustion in Satin's face, along with what Violet now deduced as sadness and disgust, caused tears to burn the back of her eyes like poisonous barbs. There was a moment were the white unicorn in front of them had opened her mouth, then closed it again, only for it to fall open in a heartbreaking squeak. Her voice broke when she managed to choke the words out.

"Princess Luna, under no circumstances, approves of this- hence the reason she is to not be disturbed for the next few days as she thinks things over. But the arguments presented by the other scientists, as well as a few of the other higher-up in the Lunar Brigade, can't necessarily be denied...

She bowed her head low and summoned her strength.

"As of this moment, you mission has changed. That is what I've been sent here to tell you."

"What?!" The three of them shouted.

"Grim didn't want to tell you, because he figured that it would be easier coming from me."

"What... what's our mission?" Violet's voice, though she tried to be strong, cracked out of fear.

Satin looked at her then, her eyes as cold and dead as dry river stones. "You are to capture and detain a member of the Black Diamonds."

Nopony in the room spoke. The tension had broken, unable to take the pressure, leaving a horrific emptiness that caused Violet's ears to ring.

"... You can't mean that..." Midnight whispered.

"A servant was the specific request. You are to capture one, and bring them back to the lab where the dresses can be used."

"What possible arguments could be said about this?!" The three of them had completely different creations. Midnight stood, like the true guard she was, as solid as a rock- unmoving, rigid, and with a face so still that anypony could've sworn that she wasn't breathing. Violet had collapsed in on herself, her shoulders slumped forward and her head hanging. Cloudy, as confirmed by her shouting, puffed up like an angry bird and her blue eyes burned with fury.

"They stated that it would be the perfect environment for testing a cure for the hypnosis." Satin couldn't meet any of their eyes. "The storage rooms could be converted into holding cells, and we could observe them, try to figure out how to revert them back to who they were before, perform some tests-"

"Experiments, you mean!"

Satin flinched. "I'm not okay with this- not even a little bit. But not even you can deny that- if this works- how many lives can be saved. It's been estimated that roughly seventy-five percent of the Black Diamond population is simply hypnotized innocents. If we can bring them back, we break the back bone."

"I thought you said you weren't supporting this!"

"I'm not! That's just what they're saying! That's why there's a very real chance that Luna may approve of this change!" Satin defended.

"Bull shit!" Cloudy spat.

"... No." Violet coughed. "Luna's a princess, and she's willing to do what she needs to do to save lives."

"But that doesn't mean-"

"Just because it doesn't seem morally correct, doesn't mean that it's not something that has to happen." Violet's voice was dead. "This might be the only way for some to get their families back, lives even. If the Lunar Brigade denies the opportunity, we may very well be avoiding the one solution to most of our problems."

Author's Note

Is there a pony-pun for Venice? Or Paris for that matter? ... Oh well.

Cloudy day

Bang Bang Bang!

Violet Lace readjusted her dress, eager to look her best before she opened the door. She glanced again at her full-length mirror to admire her appearance. The mirror held the reflection of a beautiful mare wearing a dress. The dress was black, obviously. It sparkled and shone like the night sky, and caused her frame to rival even the prettiest models in Canterlot. Her grey mane tumbled down her shoulders to her front knees. Her hooves were freshly polished, colored silver.

Bang Bang Bang!

She glanced at the door, a sharp spike of urgency causing her hooves to shake. She needed to look good for him, but she also needed to open the door and let him in.

"Okay, okay... just give me a minute!" She shouted towards the door. She stole another glance at her mirror. Her tiara sat perfectly in front of her horn. Her dress was still perfectly in place. Smiled, her teeth were white. Her lavender coat shined and her Cutie mark...

Her cutie mark...

What was her cutie mark again...?

Bang Bang Bang! "Violet Lace, if you don't wake up this minute, I'm taking away your typewriter!"

"Whoa- ahhhhhhh!" Violet crashed onto the floor near her bed with a painful thump. She didn't have anytime to recover before she was covered with a heap of fabric and down feathers.

"Oh! That sound's promising." Her mother shouted from behind her door. "Hurry up and get ready!

Violet listened as her mother's hoofsteps echoed down the hall. She shook off one of her throw pillows off of her back with a sigh. "Yes mother..."

Her left back leg ached as she stood up to go about her morning routine. She felt her neck pop as she stretched and twisted. Using her magic, she levitated her blankets and pillows back in place on her bed, cleaning up her mess. After that, she started moving around her room to get ready for school.

Her room was gray. The walls were painted the same color as her mane, and the only thing that stood out against her walls was a bright white trim that surrounded the windows and doors. She didn't have any paintings or pictures. Even her curtains were just a shade darker than her walls. Just the way her mother liked it.

Simplicity is something that will never go out of style. It's safe. That way, no matter what, you'll always be following the latest trend! She quoted in her head. Her mother, as anypony can probably tell, was very fashion-conscious. The rest of the house always had subtly placed magazines and coupons for the latest styles. Her mother never walked out of the house without something adorned in her mane or some sort of accessory.

Her father was different... but still the same. Instead of being worried about his appearance being of the latest trends, he just worries about his appearance in general. He always appeared clean and trim. His mane slicked back against his head, and his white coat adorned with only a startling black tie. Never one to make a scene, he always seemed cold and passive aggressive. He worked as a business pony. He watches over a large percentage of traded items that make their way through Canterlot and onto displays in stores.

Her mother didn't really have a job, unless you counted socializing with the Canterlot elite.

It was needless to say that they were well off. Not that it mattered to Violet. But at the same time, she wasn't complaining. There certainly wasn't anything to complain about.

Now, she gazed at her reflection in her bedroom mirror. The monstrosity of a mirror took up a full corner of her room from floor to ceiling. The tower of glass made Violet look small. Not that that was an accomplishment. She was a filly, after all. Some elder ponies would even go far enough to call her a foal.

She sighed at her reflection. She looked the same as she did everyday. No longer did she look like the tall, beautiful mare in her dream with the dress made out of stars. Now, she looked like herself. Lavender coat that didn't shine, but was still considered to be 'sweetly cute' by her mother. Her gray mane wasn't long, but wasn't short. It wasn't curly and it wasn't straight. Her overall appearance was... average.

Then there was her flank. Which was blank.

Violet shrugged at her train of thought and went on about her morning routine. She gathered her mane in a ponytail that was perfectly placed between her ears and brushed back any stray hairs that found their way to her face. She gathered her books and placed them in her bag, then levitated said bag next to her bedroom door for later. she straightened her desk from last nights writing session and started filling her typewriter with a new set of paper.

"Honey, you have a few minutes before you need to head out!" Her mother shouted. Violet rolled her eyes. Her mother always made her arrive fashionably late, but that was what everypony did, so there was really no point. Everpony arrived in the classroom at the exact same time so nopony was ever really late. Much less, made it fashionable.

"Yes mother." She shouted back.

"A lady must never raise her voice." Her father said from right outside her door. "Same to you, as well." He said, probably facing Violet's mother.

Violet sighed and opened the door to reveal her father facing towards the kitchen.

"Good morning, dear." His father said. "Hope you have a lovely day at school. Maybe make some friends today? Ponies are starting to talk."

Violet stared up at her father. His mane was the same as her's, but his was held against his head with a series of gels and creams. It shone with oil and kept every lock in place. His coat seemed freshly cleaned and his tie was as stiff as a board. She wrinkled her nose subtly at the intense wave of the smell of cologne that seemed to radiate off of the stallion.

"I'll try, father." She said as she swiftly tried to walk out of the fumes. She ended up walking into another cloud of smells when she ran into her mother.

The mare that gave birth to her gave her a small smile. Her coat was meant to be the same color as Violet's, but she dyed it so frequently that Violet was even shocked that she remembered what it looked like. As of this moment, it was a prestigious cream that went beautifully with her navy blue colored mane. In her mane, right above her left ear, was a diamond pin that she had recently bought last week. Violet found herself wrinkling her nose again due to the too-strong scent of white roses.

"Hello, sweetie." Her mother sang. "Have fun at school."

And Violet was out the door.

...

"Thanks again, Doughnut Joe." Violet shouted over her shoulder.

"No problem, kid!" He called back.

Violet ate her breakfast in peace, careful not to get any glaze on her face. One good thing about Canterlot, it was quieter than most places. Nopony would ever be caught making a scene or being obnoxious. That would cause bad attention.

The sound of thunder rumbled above her. Violet looked up to see pegasi placing angry looking clouds in the sky. The forecast called for rain the next couple of days. Nothing more than a light drizzle until evening, then it was going to pour. The Canterlot ponies insisted! They would never be caught in full daylight with wet and frizzy manes and thoroughly soaked clothes.

Violet hummed monotonously in response of the black mass that hung over her head. Thinking of simply one thing.

This was a bad omen.

...

"Alright class! Today, we are going to be discussing the history of ancient Equestria! Or, as the book tells me to pronounce it, The land before ponydom!" Miss Feathered Quill said as she wrote the saying on the board. Miss Quill was a great teacher, but on occasion, her chipper and high pitched voice got on Violet's nerves. Like today.

"But! before we do anything, I'm going to introduce a new student."

All of Violet's classmates sat up and perked their ears. They didn't get new students here often. At other schools it was probably a commonplace, but here, at Canterlot's school for the gifted it was virtually nonexistent. Even now, not five seconds after the phrase 'new student' was uttered, Violet could already hear whispers from her other classmates.

"Do you think her family bought her in? She must be rich!"

"I heard she got a private scholarship from Celestia herself! She's obviously some form of royalty!"

"She must have million's of connections, I bet her mom is, like, a famous movie star, or something!"

Violet grimaced at the gossip and turned her ears forward. A new face entered her vision. A small filly, roughly a few inches shorter that she was, sat next to Miss Quill. She had a bright yellow mane that was streaked with what appeared to be locks of gold. Her coat was a peach color, and around her neck was a simple necklace with a lapis lazuli charm in the shape of a water drop. Her mane and tail were long and pulled back into two sets of thick braids that were tied off with navy blue ties. Her overall appearance just screamed 'Sunset'.

"This, class, is Cloudy Sun. She will be joining our class from now on, so please treat her kindly." Miss Quill said, her bright white teeth shining.

As quickly as they started, Violet heard the whispers die. Though Violet could easily admit that the filly was pretty, it was obvious that her family wasn't particularly wealthy or royal. Her name didn't ring any bells, so she wasn't famous either. She was just... a simple earth pony.

Not to mention, a blank flank.

Let the chaos begin. Violet thought sympathetically. This pony was going to get bullied. A lot. She got everyponies hopes up, and had them crushed and crumbled them to the ground. Though, with her sweet smile and bright appearance, Violet was sure to assume that she was a nice pony. But that doesn't mean anything here.

"You can sit right next to Violet Lace, she sits right over there." Miss Quill said to Cloudy Day as she motioned with her wing. Violet glanced at the empty desk that had been empty all school year. She watched as the new filly walked over to her with a bright smile on her face and a skip in her step.

"Hiya!" She said gleefully when she sat down. "My name is Cloudy Sun, but you can call me Cloudy if ya want!"

Violet nodded. "Hello Cloudy Sun, I hope you like it at Canterlot Gifted. My name is Violet Lace."

"Ooo... 'Canterlot Gifted', I like it! It's really nice to meet you, Violet." She smiled an ear-to-ear grin that showed off glowing white teeth.

Violet took the opportunity of class to take a closer look at the pony next to her. With a more thorough examination, Violet realized that her mane didn't have gold streaks. Instead, it was simply platinum blond with an intense amount of shine. Her tail traveled down out of her chair to where the ends of her braid brushed lightly against the marble floor. Her eyes were a navy blue, similar to the color of her ribbons that held her mane in place. The chain that held her necklace was a plain silver and held no embellishments other than the single crystal.

Her general appearance was rather plain. Violet looked at the other fillies and colts in the huge classroom and saw her fair share of bracelets and pocket watches. One of them constantly wore a huge -and frankly, obnoxious- necklace that held a gigantic ruby that was rimmed with gold and smaller rubies. The entire piece of jewelry wrapped around her neck in golden plates, similar to that of the princess's attire.

The only pony that could be any plainer, was herself. Which was saying something.

...

The light, but still brain rattling bells echoed down the halls to alert the students that class was over.

"Ahhh... finally." Violet whispered under her breath. She watched as the other students somehow managed to have the action of scrambling out of their chairs and running towards the door look delicate and classy.

She landed on the ground with a gentle thud, her hooves clacked and clicked against the cold marble floor as she started walking out of the classroom.

What should I do tonight? She thought to herself. Perhaps I should write some more... or maybe finish that painting I was working on. Oh! I just got that new book from the library, I suppose I could get started on that...

She then remembered that her parents weren't going to be home that evening, they were going to be gone at some party with all of the other Canterlot elite.

I guess I should add 'make myself dinner' to that list...

"Hi again!"

Violet jumped and dropped her book bag that she had been levitating by her side. She looked behind her to see a very worried looking pony.

"Oopsie! I didn't mean to startle you... I hope you didn't break anything in your bag." Cloudy Sun said with genuine frown on her face.

"Um... well, I..." Violet stuttered, still staring at the sun colored pony. "I'm sorry for... not... noticing you."

Cloudy Sun giggled at her response. "Don't be so silly." She started picking up Violet's things and placed her bag on her own back, right over her own. "So, you live down this way, huh?"

Violet glanced down her road. Everypony who was anypony lived down this street. From Fancy Pants to Hoity Toity, if you were a pony that everypony should know, this was were you called home.

"... Yeah." Violet answered. She was still in shock from seeing Cloudy Sun so spontaneously. As of this moment... she would normally be alone and left to wander around her own thoughts. She honestly didn't really know how to react or what to say.

Granted, she wasn't anti-social or socially awkward in any way, her parents made sure of that. Imagine if your only daughter was fumbling and stuttering her words at the Grand Galloping Gala, The Garden Party, or perhaps one of Hoity Toity's fashion shows. Unheard of!

She just liked being alone... and nopony seemed to mind. They let her be by herself, but allowed her in if she ever wanted to interact. Which was never.

And now, this new pony just magically appeared out of the blue, and started a conversation. Violet required a little bit of time to adjust.

"Cool." Cloudy Sun said calmly. "I live down here too."

"Ah." Violet said, still at a loss for words. They continued on, much to her discomfort, side by side, heading towards their homes.

Acceptance

"Alright class, this morning we will be discussing the concept of..." Miss Quill trailed off.

Violet wasn't listening. She never really listened when it came to note-taking days. She didn't really need to. One good thing about practicing the art of writing, is that once you got it down, you don't really need to think about it. You could think about other things... like a story you were writing this morning.

Maybe I should create a character... that challenges her. Perhaps a rival...?

"Psssst! Violet, do you undertand bullet number two?" Cloudy Sun whispered in the least subtle way possible.

"Um..." She looked down at her notes. The second bullet discussed unemployment effecting the economy in Canterlot. "Yeah. If you don't have enough ponies working in factories or idustries, not enough of the product will be made. Due to a lack of supply, the demand skyrockets, causing a surplus in prices."

"But... that doesn't make any sense. Why would anypony buy something more expensive?" She asked.

Violet shrugged. "Sometimes that's the only option. Plus, that's kind of how it works in Canterlot. The item with the highest price, naturally seems more valuable. More value, the more a pony wants it. "

"I guess... but what if it's something pointless? Like, what if in some freak accident, quill makers suddenly stop making quills? Will everypony start buying useless crates full of quills?"

"First off, quills are not useless. And, yes. Knowing Canterlot, that is exactly what everypony would do. They would probably build shelves in their homes to show them off, and shrines in their closets to hold their fluffiest plume." Violet answered with a playful smile. Cloudy Sun snorted.

"Plus," Violet added. "Some ponies are alreadly doing that. Quills can be made from rare birds, or with rare colors. Some could have certain details added to them, or just be made by a specific brand. There are even some that are hoof-made. Quills can have an extremely high value, so obviously there are going to be some collectors somewhere in Equestria."

"With shrines in their closets?" Cloudy Sun asked.

"I bet they dust them every night." Violet said as she cracked a smile.

"I can also see them having a little tuft of down, like in a velvet lined box." Cloudy Sun was clearly holding back laughter and Violet was doing the same. She even had to hold her hoof to her face to keep from an outburst.

"Miss Lace? Miss Sun? Is there something you would like to share with the class?"

Violet and Cloudy Sun both looked up to see Miss Quill staring at them with icy blue eyes. The teacher, though normally very sweet and motherly, was known throughout the school for doing a complete one-eighty and becoming one of the most menacing mares in all of Equestira. With her lean, long legged appearance, she would be beautiful as much as she was intimidating. Her bright pink mane would be pulled back into a tight bun, that would start to fray and become increasingly more relaxed as the day continued, similar to her personallity and overall attitude.

It was the begining of class. Niether Cloudy Sun, nor Violet had that luxury. Her appearance now looked stiff, and ridgid. Her bun was perfectly tight on her head, with a harsh appearance. With her long legs, she towered over the two young fillies. Her wings, which were larger than the average female pegasi wing, were now fully expanded to their highest and widest reach, making Miss Quill look huge and scary.

"Um...we-" Cloudy Sun tried to explain.

"We were discussing the concept of a decrease in feather quills produced," Violet inturrupted. "and how it would effect pony behavior in Canterlot. We went on to talk about how the value for quills increasing, causing collectors to buy as many quills as possible, and putting all of their money towards them. We were then going to discuss how a huge surplus in quills produced was going to cause a low demand for the product, and making many of those ponies go bankrupt."

Miss Quill raised an eyebrow, debating whether or not to punish the girls for talking in class. But with a slight shrug of her shoulders, and a small grunt of contempt, and went back to flying towards the center of the chalkboard, where she continued to take notes.

"That was amazing." Cloudy Sun whispered quietly, trying not to draw attention again. "How in the world did you manage that?"

"It wasn't that hard." Violet answered. "I wrote down everything, so I just figured that if I contorted the situation to make it seem like it related... and to be fair, it wasn't a total lie."

"That's still so cool! How are you doing that anyway? Is it some kind of spell, that makes your quill take notes for you? If it is, can you enchant my pencil too?" Cloudy Sun asked.

"What? no." Violet said, slightly annoyed by the question. "My quill isn't enchanted, unless you count the levitating spell that I use to hold it. I just... copy the board. Nothing to complicated. I read the notes when I get home. And plus, how do you know I wasn't listening? I could have been completely enthralled."

"You were staring out the window, with your ears pointed in the opposite direction." Cloudy Sun answered. "You may not be cheating, but you certainly aren't smooth about not listening.

"Well, whatever. I'm not hurting anypony." She said in her defense. Cloudy shrugged and went back to catching up on her notes.

...

"Well... today was boring. I hope that's not how it is everyday." Cloudy Sun said as they were walking down the school's steps.

"It's not." Violet responded. "But it does come close."

"That sucks, but it still isn't as bad as being home schooled."

"You were home schooled?" Violet asked.

Cloudy Sun nodded. "Back in ponyville. Dad was a historian, so the concept of history and writing was covered, and mom, having a cooking talent, taught me math and, well, cooking. It wasn't that bad, but it got lonely."

"Maybe you should have stayed!"

The two girls spun around to see Shimmering Ruby standing behind them. The most popular pony in their entire class had a wicked smirk plastered on her freakish, perfectly proportioned face. Her mane, which was a constantly briliant candy apple red, was styled in a feminine pompadour with a couple of loose curls trailing down her neck and a couple framing her face. Her coat was a lot paler than her fathers, giving her a strangly attractive complexion that, in Violet's mind, resembled a rock without any jewels.

And of course, around her neck, was a massive ruby necklace. Gold plates encircled the young pony's neck in a way that didn't seem healthy, if normal. The large stone was as big as Violet's hoof and as obnoxious as a dragon with a snoring problem. The gold plates were frequently shined, and the effort put in to make the piece of jewelry look new showed. Though Shimmering Ruby had owned the accessory for at least a couple of years now, it barely looked as though it was taken out of the jewelry box.

Oh, and her father was Hoity Toity. So yeah, this filly had a bit of an attitude.

"E-excuse me?" Cloudy Sun stuttered.

"You should have stayed in Ponyville." Shimmering said bluntly. "It's where dirty, cutie mark-less, lower class ponies like you need to live."

"Back off, Shimmering." Violet said through clenched teeth.

"It's Shimmering Ruby." She said with a sneer. "And since when do you ever butt in?"

In the years that they had grown up, their relationship had fluctuated. Before Shimmering got her cutie mark, she was just like any other pony in the class. But as soon as her cutie mark, which was a gigantic ruby (big surprise!), appeared, that all changed. She bullied and made fun of all of the blank flanks in the class. She stole kids lunches, claiming that bringing your own food from home was a sign of lower class and that Canterlot Gifted was made for only the upper class ponies.

She bothered Violet for a time. But soon, she realized that she wasn't going to get a tear, blush, or sob out of her. So she gave up and went for the weaker spined.

"And I'm just being honest." Shimmering continued. "I mean, a Ponyville pony? Here? She and her family just aren't going to make it. They'll get eaten alive! I'm just trying to spare them the pain." She pouted her lips to feign sincerity.

"Shut it, Shim-" Violet was interrupted by Cloudy Sun sprinting off of school grounds. She watched in sadness as the pony bolted her way past the main gate. She ran after her, hearing Shimmering's pompous laughter behind her.

Somehow, Violet managed to keep Cloudy Sun in sight. Once the sun-colored filly slowed down, Violet felt as though her lungs were going to give out and her legs turned to jelly.

"Are...you...okay?" Voilet huffed. When Cloudy Sun didn't answer, Violet felt a seed of worry sprout. Though Shimmering wasn't bad once you got use to her, she certainly wasn't fun to deal with. And according to the past pony's reactions to her, the first interaction was something that nopony could prepare for.

There was a long, cold silence. Violet looked at Cloudy Sun, with her ears drooped and her braided tail laying on the ground like a piece of discarded cloth. A feeling of ice appeared in her stomach. A feeling that froze her to the bone and caused her eyes to burn. A few seconds passed, and Violet figured out what caused the feeling.

She felt bad... for Cloudy Sun.

She thought for a moment, wondering what to do. It was only when the sky rumbled with thunder did an idea appear.

"Cloudy S-." She stopped herself, realizing that she needed to handle the situation with care. She felt a burning sensation overtake the cold feeling that resided in her abdomen, causing her to physically feel her uncomfortableness. "Cloudy...?"

The filly's ears perked up in surprise.

"I... want to show you... something special. Do you want to see?" Violet asked carefully, trying not to sound to forceful.

"...What is it?" Cloudy asked quietly.

"It's a special place." Violet whispered. "A place I found when I was a small foal. I haven't showed it to anypony before."

"Really?" Violet heard Cloudy's voice crack.

"Yes." Violet whispered back. "Nopony."

Exhausted, buzzed, and thankful.

Berry Scribbles quickly trotted through the elegant halls. Though she was dressed in the best of attire known to ponydom, she didn't have time to appreciate the silkiness of the fabric and the softness of her mane. Her hooves pounded, some-what gracefully, on the cold, polished stone ground as she quickly sped towards the large blue doors that separated half of the castle.

"Your Majesty." She said as she briskly opened the door. She knew better than anypony not to burst in, no matter how urgent. No longer were the days where a curtain of vines were the only thing standing in her way.

Princess Luna looked up from a role of parchment. "Ah, yes. Do you have those translations I've asked of you?"

Berry Scribbles quickly plucked out a large stack of papers from her saddle bag. Her signature berry ink, the ink of her home, tasted sweet. It took all of her will power not to drool on the papers.

Princess Luna levitated the large stack. One by one, papers left the stack to land on her desk, her eyes barely skimming over a single word. "Excellent." She said. "You may leave now."

Berry Scribbles was used to the Princess's cold behavior. She grunted, nodded politely, and walked out of the large room making sure her hooves didn't make a sound. The door closed behind her, leaving a cold breeze hitting the back of her neck. The large castle where the Sisters made their home toward above her. It was times like this when she missed her small village, with it's warm sunshine and beautiful starry nights. She missed being called Chuuta, and she missed the familiar safety of the jungle trees.

But she had a job to do. A job she was destined for.

As she walked down the long hallway, she passed a set of royal guards changing shifts for the morning. The bat pony, a set of creatures of which she was quite frightened of when she first encountered them, walked towards the exit with the a sinister frown on his face. The day guard, a white unicorn with bright blue eyes, sat smugly in his place.

"Lousy sun worshiper..." The bat pony growled, not realizing that Berry Scribbles was in earshot. She felt a familiar feeling appear in her stomach: Dread. The feeling waited, coiled and ready for something to happen. Something big. There seemed to be a serious divide in the guards. Tensions were high. The castle air seemed to crackle with anger and menace when the bat ponies were on guard for the night. Though, for those few moments when she saw the Princess of the Sun, it was clear that the feelings weren't mutual. Princess Celestia's eyes were creased with worry whenever Berry saw them. All the while, Princess Luna's seemed to be creased with anger and bitterness.

Berry Scribbles sighed. Now wasn't the time to dwell on her imagination. She had work to do. She had to work on her coding. Though she was superb at translating code, she had difficulty creating it. Princess Luna told her to practice, and it was her duty to do so. If she did her job correctly, it would give one less thing for Princess Luna to worry about.

"Good morning, Ms. Scribbles." She heard as she walked out of the Castle. Standing before her, on the narrow bridge that separated herself from a day's sleep, was a handsome unicorn stallion. His light blue mane curled nicely over his bright green eyes. His muscular build showed in the morning sun under his pale orange coat.

"Good morning to you, Sergeant Shine." Berry answered in monotone. She was too busy recalling all of the alphabets she had to study.

Sergeant Shine trotted next to her. "How was your night?"

"It was fine." She answered. "I handed my translations over to the Princess."

"Ah." He smiled warmly at her. "Um... Well, I'm assuming you're going to be doing the same thing tomorrow?"

"That's correct." She smiled at him. Though she would only tell her friend Muabe, who wasn't with her at the moment, she couldn't deny that Sergeant Shine was certainly a very handsome stallion. His smile made her heart flutter and his voice made her calm down after a stressful day at her desk. There were times when she could look back at herself the day before, and blush because she remembered thinking about him when she was lulling herself asleep.

She continued to walk down the bridge. He followed suit. When she looked at him out of confusion, due to his house being on the other side of the castle, his smile simply grew warmer.

"Please," He said. "allow me to walk you home."

Berry felt her chest fill with warmth. She didn't deny his request, for she really didn't want him to leave. In fact, she had to do everything in her power in order to not squeal and jump around like a madmare.

"I would be delighted, Sergeant Shine, to have such an esteemed stallion court me on my way home." She said.

He chuckled. "It's when you speak like that, that I forget you came from one of the smallest tribes in Equestria."

"Actually, it's right on the outside of the border." She corrected without thinking. "We didn't want to disturb the monkeys, so we never bothered to expand in that direction." She quickly covered her mouth with her hoof. A lady, even one with roots such as her, should never speak in such a casual manner to such an important member of the royal night guard.

To Berry's relief, he only laughed. "Is that so? Well, I'm sure the monkeys are very pleased!"

The rest of the walk was spent with the Sergeant speaking about his day, telling Berry about how it was mostly filled with paperwork and yelling at colts who didn't know any better. Berry was always taken aback, for she could never imagine Sergeant Shine yelling or raising his voice at anypony.

"I'm sure you know how paperwork feels, what with you always being surround by it and all..." He said as they stood on Berry's doorstep. "But I'm sure it's not as aggravating to you, as it is to me."

Berry's ears lowered as she remembered the large stack of blank papers that rested on her desk on the other side of her door. She needed to code, write down, and deliver those messages by the day after tomorrow. "I... wouldn't necessarily say that."

The Sergeant grunted. "Well, even with our opinions about such things, I think we'll both agree that tomorrow is not going to be nearly as aggravating as any other day."

Berry sighed, knowing what was coming. "And why is that?"

Sergeant Shine snorted. "Let's see, you've declined your birthday present from me... what? Three consecutive times in a row?"

"That's right- and let's go for a fourth!" She said. "I'm sure we'll hit a record at some point!"

"Now, now..." The Sergeant waved his hoof. "This time, I'm going to give you a present that even a stick-in-the-mud pony, such as yourself, can't decline. Or, at least... will hesitate to... Hopefully... for the sake of my pride."

"Oh, really?" She said. She had to admit, she was curious.

He nodded. Berry watched as he took a breath, and with a long pause, gave her his present.

"Will you spend your birthday with me?" The Sergeant looked at her hopefully. "I have a whole day planned, and it would give me the greatest pleasure if you chose to spend the day with me... Chuuta."

Berry felt a shiver travel down her spine. Nopony ever called her Chuuta anymore, for nopony but him knew of that name here. He was the only one who knew, because he was the only pony she'd told.

It happened when she first arrived. He was meant to show her to her quarters, give her her schedule, and leave. But he didn't. Instead, he stayed. He taught her about how to use all of the appliances in the kitchen, and laughed at her kindly when she told him she had only used an open fire to cook her meals, if they were cooked at all. He listened to her tell the stories of her heritage and describe her tribe. They took a walk around to the shops in the markeplace. He even took her to one of the prettiest spots in all of the kingdom. It was there, where he asked her to be his special some-pony for the first time.

Then, she was scared. It didn't work like that in her tribe. For something that... meaningful to happen so abruptly, it didn't make sense to her. But now, declining his request became more and more a priority. She didn't want to say no, but she had to.

She really had to...

That's what she told herself now, as she walked to her desk. The sunlight streamed through an opening in her thick curtains. Though she knew she was supposed to get sleep at this time of day, she needed to finish her work first. When she went to close her blinds, she saw the orange stallion, with a smile on his face, walking towards the direction of his home. She knew that he would ask again. But, whether it was tomorrow, next month, or even next year, the answer would always be the same.

Because she made a choice. She didn't regret her choice... most of the time. It was an important choice, and she still believed that she chose the right one. She could've stayed in her village, maybe met the handsome stallion when she was visiting the kingdom on her own, or perhaps even settling down in her own village with an entirely different pony. But she didn't make that choice. Instead, she chose the choice that only she could choose. The choice that let her reach her full potential, and allowed her complete freedom to use her special talent as she pleased and allowed her to use it in a way benefited everypony.

Berry's eyes darted to the large stack of papers that waited for her... she gazed longingly at the window.

"Most of the time..." She repeated to herself.

...

"Violet!" Mrs. Sugar shouted in her dim kitchen.

"What are you doing awake? Quickly, get back into bed!" Mr. Parch added, trotting quickly to Violet's side. He started to gently push her back up the stares. Upon a quick rethinking, he then picked her up and placed her on his back.

"I told you, I'm fine!" Violet said as she flailed about. That was a lie, obviously. Violet could barely manage to slow Mr. Parch down, much less get off of his back and prove her statement. Her legs ached and her head was still swimming. Her mouth still tasted vile and her mane was still slightly damp with a cold sweat.

"I don't think so, young lady." Mrs. Sugar said. She had recovered quickly from Violet's scare. Though her face was pinched with worry, her eyes held no leeway for Violet to escape. "Put up the facade all you want, but a mother knows when a child is sick. And you are sick. Go back to bed."

Violet tried to wiggle free again, only to stop instantly when her stomach made a sudden lurch. The two ponies noticed, and quickly stopped moving.

"Are you about to-?"

"I'll go get a bucket!" Mrs. Sugar quickly ran back to the kitchen. Mr. Parch gently set her down on the plush carpet of the staircase. He smoothed her mane out of her face and gently examined her.

"Oh, Celestia... what in the world did you do to yourself?" He whispered. Violet looked up to see his worried eyes. She felt her stomach lurch again, not out of nausea, but out of guilt and embarrassment. His eyes, so bright and intense with worry and fear, caused small tears to reach the surface of of her eyes. They trailed down her cheeks, and landed on Mr. Parch's hooves.

"Here!" Mrs. Sugar said, running up to reach them. "Here you go, sweetie." She placed a damp rag on her forehead, cooling the fever that rose to Violet's face. A soft metallic thud sounded from beside her, and Violet opened her eyes to one of Mrs. Sugar's numerous pots was resting in the carpet at her side.

"Oh! Oh, sweetie... Are you okay?" Mrs. Sugar asked. Violet saw her eyes were pink, and slightly puffed around the edges. She had been crying. Violet managed a subtle nod. None the less, the gold mare pushed the pot closer, and replaced her now warm rag with a new cooler one. "Don't worry, honey bun. We've contacted your parents, they'll be here in a minute. Everything is going to be alright.

Violet could barely hear her. Her head was swimming again, and a dreadful ringing consumed her hearing. She felt the cool wall against her back and let herself lean against it as her vision faded back to an all too familiar black.

...

"It's alright." Mr. Parch said to his wife. "She's back in bed."

"Thank Celestia." Mrs. Sugar said. She had been pacing her room worriedly. "Cream puff, what if she wakes up again? What if she stumbles and breaks her leg down the stairs? What if-"

Yellow Parchment raised his hoof. "I locked the door." His wife shot him a look of shock. "She needs to stay in there. She needs to rest. She's- She's not like Cloudy. She's..."

"Independent." Mrs. Sugar finished, understanding. Even with the realization that Violet was as... self-dependent as she was, and the fact that she was bound to find herself outside of the bedroom at some point, it still caused a scare when she saw the poor little filly stumbling about like that. She had dark plum-colored circles around her eyes, and her mane and tail didn't have that silver shine to them. On top of everything, she was still wearing her ball gown. The large heap of fabric and ribbon was wrinkled and slightly stained. Both she and her husband tried to take it off of her, but the little pony flailed about in discomfort when they did. Eventually the couple decided that it was best just to contact her mother and have her decide what's best.

Sugar Crystal felt her stomach churn. "Do you really think... Do you really think contacting her parents was a good idea?" Her husband's eyes wandered to the side as he himself debated the decision. "I mean... You know..."

She found herself at a loss of words. Mrs. Sugar, with her sweet personality and kind eyes, wasn't one to say mean things. Especially to ponies that she didn't associate herself with regularly... not out loud anyway. There were many times where Mrs. Sugar had to remember to keep her mouth shut, what with some of the things that go on in her head. It was how she was raised.

Her husband sighed. "It might not seem like the right decision, but neither you nor I can say that we can do otherwise. Before we do anything, we must contact her parents. If those parents said that they were going to take her home, then there's nothing we can do about it."

"But she's not fit to travel!" Mrs. Sugar argued.

"It's not that far." Mr. Parch took a sip of his coffee. His eyes told that he was worried about it as well. Both parents knew that a filly in that situation shouldn't be bothered, much less taken across the street on a freezing cold night like this one.

The kitchen was then draped in a tense silence. Worry and dread pricked at Mrs. Sugar spine, making her fidgety and nervous. She was busy absent mindedly braiding her mane when there was a loud bang at the door.

"That must be them." Mr. Parch's mouth was pressed in a thin line.

"Goooooood evening, Darling!" Silky Petals said as she sauntered through the heavy wooden door. Mrs. Sugar could hardly recognize her. Instead of her last seen cream coat and navy mane, now, everything was pink. Her coat was the color of rose petals, and her mane was the few shades darker. Her hooves were painted with a bright bubblegum color. Even her dress didn't provide relief from the cotton candy colored onslaught. It too was bright pink, and was covered head to tail in sequins. Though Mrs. Sugar was sure she looked lovely to the other Canterot ponies, in her eyes, the mare looked like a giant fish.

"Um... Hello." Mr. Parch said awkwardly. Silky Petals gracefully took of her coat, which was also pink, and threw it rudely onto Mrs. Sugar's back.

"Take care of that for me. Will you, Sweetie?" The mare said to her, not even casting her a side-long glance. Instead, her eyes were gazing steadily at Mrs. Sugar's husband. Or, more specifically, the small tuft of his mane that curled around his eyes. Sugar Crystal felt her blood start to boil. She took a breath and placed Mrs. Petal's coat gently on one of the arms of their couch.

Mrs. Sugar quickly walked over to her husband and gently leaned on his side. Though she was sure she kept her face blank, she was glad to see Silky Petals get the message. The pink mare shot a glare, along with a not-so-subtle eye roll. "I understand that my daughter is in your care?" She snorted.

The two of them nodded. Silky Petals nodded once. "Good. I will see her now."

It took all of Mrs. Sugar's will power not to snort in return. She hesitantly left her husband's side to go upstairs.

Once she was up there, she nearly stumbled over her own daughter. Cloudy was lying by her own bedside, surrounded by a mountain of her pillows. She was still wearing her dress, as well. The fabric was in a similar state as Violet's. The feeling of dread that found it's way into Mrs. Sugar's stomach grew colder. It went against her greatest motherly instincts to separate those two, especially now.

She gently lifted Violet up and placed her gently on her back. She squirmed and moaned in discomfort. Mrs. Sugar cringed. With a small breath of regret, she quietly closed the door and headed down stairs.

"He was quite a charming stallion. Though I hear that he was rather obsessed with machines as a colt." Silky Petals was eagerly gossiping with Mr. Parch. "How... unseenly. All greasy and messy, smelling like oil! Such a shame..." Mrs. Sugar had to stifle a smile of triumph at her husband's uncomfortable expression.

"Well... I'm sure everypony can have their own interests... and, from what I can perceive, he's a very nice pony. Probably the nicest I've had the honor of coming into acquaintance with. " He said, backing away. Violet's mother had closed the distance between them when Mrs. Sugar left. She was about to bring up Parchment's adoration of literature and everything old. According to Violet, this would work as a repellent to the mare, but she held her tongue.

Mrs. Sugar looked around the living room. Finding the couch to be overrun by a fluffy, probably dust covered, coat, she figured that her own back was the most suitable place for Violet to rest. Temporarily, at least.

"Ah! There she is! My beautiful daughter." Silky smiled at her filly's fever run body. "I'm so happy to see you!"

Violet grimaced at her own mother's voice. The room grew silent as the little filly curled tighter into a ball and moved closer to Mrs. Sugar's mane.

Silky Petals cleared her throat, clearly not liking the reaction. "Well, I suppose we should hurry. I prefer to be fashionably late, but not be rude."

Too late... Mrs. Sugar thought to herself. It was then when the pink mare's words hit her. "Late? Late for what?"

"The ball, of course!" She said. She said the words as though they were a form of blasphemy. As though what Mrs. Sugar was suggesting was insulting, and unheard of. "The festivities started a while ago, but we still have enough time to pick her up a new dress and restyle her mane. It shouldn't be a problem, though a slight inconvenient-"

"Are you saying that you're still going to the ball... with Violet?" Mr. Parch asked, a look of fear and dread on his face. "As in... you're taking her to..."

The mare looked at him as though he was an idiot. "Of course I am! So she's a little tired? I'm sure a few moments of socializing with Canterlot's greatest will perk her right up!"

Mrs. Sugar walked to her husband's side. Both of the ponies had equal expressions of horror and disgust. It wasn't until another nock at the door sounded, was the silence broken.

"Forgive me for letting myself in." A white stallion with a blue mane said, as he walked into the scene.

"Fancy Pants!" Parchment said in shock. "Um... what are you doing here?" He only briefly recovered, for when he looked back to Violet, his gaze focused again on her mother.

"Well, I heard about your little predicament- thank you so much for the letters, they really do help the sorting, and I was hoping to check on little Ms. Lace before my party reaches it's peak."

"Well, that's... very kind of you." Mrs. Sugar said, her eyes never leaving Silky Petals. "Are you acquainted with Violet?" Her eyes narrowed in anger. "Or her mother?"

"Um... I previously had the pleasure of meeting her tonight, at the before party. She and her friend were playing a delightful little game with some of the other fillies. She made a lovely first impression, but I could've sworn she was healthy when I saw her." He noticed the little filly was resting on Mrs. Sugar's back. "I was worried."

"Well, I'm sure she's fine." Silky Petals said. "Probably just playing the role, as they say. She was never one for big, extravagant occasions."

"She needs rest. Lot's of it." Mrs. Sugar's tone was bitter and brisk. "A party is the opposite of helpful."

"I agree. I have a daughter too, you know. My pride and joy." He walked closer, getting a closer look at Violet. "I'm sure a few days of sleep should help out."

The room went silent again. The tense atmosphere that surrounded the two mothers in the room could choke the two fathers. Mr. Parch silently motioned for Fancy Pants to follow him into the kitchen.

"I would like to have my daughter now." Silky Petals said through gritted teeth. "The clock is ticking."

Mrs. Sugar didn't say anything. Instead, she kept staring straight ahead, directly into the mare's eyes. Many years of practice helped her keep a straight face, a face of cold, though reserved disdain. Her eyebrows didn't twitch, nor did her nostrils flair. The opposite was for Violet's mother, who's nose was turned up in a manner that was almost comical. Her coat job was done poorly, Mrs. Sugar noticed with closer inspection. The edges of her forehead, along with a few stray roots of her mane, were their previous color. Mrs. Sugar also noticed the faint scent of cider. Though it was obvious that the mare was in her right mind, it was also painfully clear that she had a few. And was probably going to have more.

"Ah... I see...hmmm." Mrs. Sugar's ears twitched. Her husband's and Fancy Pants' voices could barely be heard. She had to strain her ears to attempt to hear their conversation. Attempt, being the most honest word. She couldn't make out the rest.

"Well, that seems quite interesting." Fancy Pant's voice rang from the kitchen. "Wonderful, in fact."

Both mares turned their heads in confusion. The look on Mr. Parch's face showed that he also didn't know what was going on. Fancy Pants trotted into the living room, a dashing smile plastered on his face.

"Mrs. Petals, is it true that you darling little daughter has a fondness for writing?" He said, his voice holding a small amount of forced enthusiasm.

Silky Petals didn't seem to notice. Instead, she simply blushed and smiled. "Um.. well, yes! To be honest, I was always very proud of her writing hobby."

Fancy Pants swung his hoof in a triumphant expression. "That's great! I would like to make you an offer."

"An offer?" She batted her eyelashes in shock. "An offer for what?"

"Your daughter, of course." He answered, as though it was obvious. Though, with her strong motherly instincts, Mrs. Sugar became defensive of the little bundle on her back, she had to admit that she was more confused than anything. Same with Mr. Parch, who held the same amount of reserved shock on his face but crept a little closer to the two of them.

"My- my daughter?" Silky Petals stuttered. Her face held no defensive tone, nor did her voice. "What do you mean?"

"I'm going to be starting a new fashion company here in Canterlot." He explained. "And I was hoping to hire Violet as, not only one of my models, but also as one of my writers. I've been thinking of getting a child's perspective on fashion, and what better filly would be better than the daughter of Silky Petals and Platinum Watch?"

"I..um..." Her mouth hung open, gaping, making her look more like a fish than she did before.

"Your daughter would become the poster child for one of the most underground, highest quality, and prestigious companies in all of Equestria. She would be held to the highest quality, to the point where she wouldn't even have to share her image with the common ponies of Canterlot. Your daughter's face would be the most refined, dignified, and admired in all of the land. Not only that, but she would also be writing!" He explained, his smile growing more charming as he went on. "Of course, she would have to stay with me. Training, and what not."

The last thing he said was with a wave of his hoof. Though he said it so casually, it was clearly the most important thing he said. Sugar Crystal felt her heart sink. Even with her...ways, Silky Petals would never fall for something like that. She would never sell her daughter into a career like that, much less do it without consent from her husband or the daughter her-

"Yes!" She shouted. "Oh! This is amazing!" She sprinted to Mrs. Sugar's side and quickly pecked her daughter on the cheek. "Sweetie, isn't this glorious? My daughter, the poster child of one of the greatest up and coming companies in all of Equestria." She started walking out the door. "I accept, Fancy Pants. Do as you wish. I assume you're taking her now? Oh, of course you are. You're so kind, clearly you would."

She draped her coat over her shoulders. "I can't wait to tell Platinum. He's going to be so proud!" She started sprinting out the door.

Fancy Pants waved after her. "I'm more than glad, Mrs. Petals!" He called. "See you later tonight!"

Once she was gone, the room grew cold. The silence was deadly, and Mrs. Sugar felt tears prick at the backs of her eyes.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" She shouted. "Her own daughter, who is still lying here, helpless on my back? After five seconds of explanation. No papers, no documents, no contract. Nothing. And she just..." She motioned her hoof towards the door, at a complete loss of words.

"That kind of thing... that doesn't happen... not in real life..." Mr. Parch said, dazed.

Fancy Pants sighed. "I sorry, my dear. But that is truly one of the ugliest things about Canterlot society. Silky Petals... her husband... they are one of the worst members of the elite. I always assumed that they dropped the act when they're with their daughter, but it seems as though there's not an act to drop anymore." His ears dropped. "I'm sorry to only be informed of this now, I should've noticed sooner..."

The couple stared at him in silence.

"They both started out so... typical. Not the nicest ponies around, but they weren't this bad, not by far!"

"... What now?" Mrs. Sugar asked, finally recovering. "Are you really going to take her, or was that all a lie?"

Fancy Pants readjusted his bow tie. "As much as I would like to take in Violet, I have my own daughter I need to raise. Plus, I was hoping you two could take her in."

"We... we can't..." The weight of everything finally settled down on her shoulders. "Can we?" She looked towards her husband.

"She's... already here most of the time. Just these past few weeks, she's spent more nights hear than in her own home." He said. "She and Cloudy could share the room. Cloudy certainly wouldn't mind it."

"I can't believe we're actually discussing this." Mrs. Sugar said, a new wave of shock appearing. "I can't believe you're convincing me..."

"I feel as though I can assure you both, that this is probably what's best for her." Fancy Pants said. He started walking out the door. "If you two come to the conclusion that she can't stay with you, I'm sure we can all figure something out within a moment's notice."

He was halfway out the door. "And I wasn't lying about the fashion company. Both girls can visit, I'm positive the boys at the office will love them. They really are very sweet. They can visit my estate as well, I don't have a doubt that the two of them and my own daughter will hit it off."

He closed the door. Not without a wave, a goodbye, and a very quite, very sincere 'thank you' from Mrs. Sugar.

Not to mention, a smile from Violet.

A Frightening Discovery

"Alright, say something." Violet said as they walked through the hall. Cloudy and Midnight stared guiltily at Violet's... everything. "The silence is worse than insults."

"No!" Midnight quickly defended. "You... you look-"

"Good." Cloudy finished. Their sisterly bond got rid of formalities, so she continued to stare as Midnight politely looked away. "Great... actually."

"T-thanks." The awkwardness consumed them. It was awkward, horribly so. But Violet swallowed through it, not letting herself cave and let silence consume them again as well. "You, uh... I'm glad you like it. Because I like it too."

"You do?" Midnight asked. Her eyes trailed behind Violet and rested on her tail. "I... figured you wouldn't like it, what with you not liking change and all..."

"Sometimes change is necessary." She responded bluntly. "Weren't you the one who told me that?" Midnight simply shrugged and continued to let her eyes shoot invisible lasers at Violet's lean legs.

"But... this change... in five minutes..." Cloudy had taken it upon herself to grab a lock of Violet's mane and examine it as she walked. "Did it hurt?"

"Yeah, for a while, I guess..." Cloudy was looking at her face now, and Violet felt herself blush. "Does... does it bother you?"

"What?!" Cloudy quickly snapped out of it. "No, not at all... it's just... Violet you look so pretty!"

"Oh, stop with the family flattery." Violet pushed her sister off her shoulder. "I look different, alright? Let's just all admit that."

Cloudy had known Violet long enough to not tackle her on her self-esteem. "It just kinda sucks that you weren't able to grow into this naturally..."

"At this rate, do you think we would've settled for anything less exciting?" Violet tried to add a little humor to lighten the situation.

Cloudy chuckled. "I guess not."

"Are you mad at her... the time-pony?" Midnight asked delicately. The three of them were now walking shoulder to shoulder.

Violet sighed. "No, not really... I think I'm coming to terms with everything. I get the feeling that Clock Mage wouldn't do this if she didn't have to."

"I suppose you're right..." Midnight agreed. "It is a lovely change though. You really do look great."

"Thanks." Violet smiled. Midnight really was the sweetest pony.

"How do you think mom's going to react this week?" Cloudy asked a few moments later. "I mean... do you want to tell her the truth or... not?"

"Not, definitely not." Violet answered without hesitation. "She would freak. Let's just tell her that... I went to a royal stylist or something."

"I think that's a good idea, she's already on the fence with you being in the castle. I bet if she thinks you're enjoying yourself, things will get better." Cloudy reassured.

"Yeah." The group trailed off into silence. Violet saw a moon decorating one of the glass windows hover over them like a large plate. Her stomach rumbled. She was really happy that they were finally getting some food.

"Are you enjoying yourself, Violet?" Midnight asked out of the blue. She nearly stopped dead in the hallway, shocked by the abruptness of the question. "I don't think you're miserable... and if you are, you're doing an excellent job of hiding it." Cloudy wrinkled her nose, confused and slightly put off by the question. Not even her sister could tell whether or not she was happy.

"I..." Violet thought about it. She was separated from her parents, and had the horrid threat of a cult trying to kill her. But, even with everything happening, she felt physically better at the moment than she had in years. She didn't have nightmares anymore. She had friends, and just because she didn't live with her parents anymore... she still got the ability to see them. "I guess I'm pretty satisfied."

"Really?" Cloudy's face didn't betray any sort of emotion, her only safe spot when it came to acting and Violet. One flicker of an eyebrow or twitch of her lip would betray everything. But Violet had the feeling that Cloudy wasn't as upset with everything herself, as she figured she would be.

"Yeah..." Violet nodded, coming to terms once again. "Luna's been more than accommodating, we get to see dad and mom because they're allowed to visit whenever,... Midnight..." She nodded her head towards the bat pony next to them and she smiled, flattered. "My nightmares are gone, I... look like this!" Cloudy's eyes darted back towards Violet's now-healthy looking body. "If I'm perfectly honest... this is the best situation we could possibly be in given the circumstances."

"There's a cult after your head." Cloudy brought up.

"In all fairness, it seems like Violet is just a small switch that turns on a large engine with that situation." Midnight argued. Even Violet was confused.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well... with all due respect, Violet... you don't have that much ability when it comes to it. If anything... you might have just set off this "Shimmering" pony... whoever she is, and just set everything into motion."

"I... Shimmering?" Violet looked at the floor tiles disappearing underneath them. She changed the topic, her mind going someplace a little more deadly. "Why does it have to be her? What in the world could she do?"

"She completely disappeared years ago, the fact that you claim that she was in your dream creeps me out."

"It should!" Violet's eyes went wide with the memory of how she looked. "I'm positive it was her."

"I don't doubt you." Cloudy comforted. "It just doesn't even make sense- where in the world did she go to anyway? Do you remember, 'cause I don't."

Violet shook her head. "I don't remember anything. She just... stopped showing up. Nopony said anything..."

There was a horrible silence as a small wave of dread swept over them. Cloudy shivered. "Creepy..." She repeated.

"Who even was she?" Midnight asked. "You said she used to bully you two, but nothing more than that."

"She... really wasn't much else." Cloudy said. "She had her own little group, a horrible attitude, ugly mane but thought she was the best thing since mom's good-luck-gumbo, typical stuff." She turned her head to look at Violet. "She certainly didn't come off as some sort of leader of a cult- especially one that wanted to take over Equestria."

"I don't know..." Violet remembered how dark Shimmering Ruby's eyes used to get. How evil and twisted she used to look. "Something about her was definitely off... What about her father, Hoity Toity? Has anypony heard about him recently?"

"Who?" Midnight asked.

"Big fashion pony, bigger mane." Cloudy answered. She shook her head."He's done a few reviews in some of the best magazines in the fashion industry, opened a few shops in Manehatten... not much more than usual. Shimmering's name doesn't even pop up, as far as I remember."

"Weird... figured there would at least be something in those..." They reached the end of the long hallway. Violet was going to open the door for them with her magic, but Midnight beat her to it and held the door open for them. Sometimes Violet really had to remind herself that she was a guard, and not just a friend. "Maybe we should look around. I'm sure the princess would understand if we looked into a couple records or something."

"Maybe Satin knows something?" Cloudy brought up. They had finally entered the garden. Fountain after fountain laid out in front of them, spraying fine mists our of ponies mouths, out of flowers that the ponies were holding or... other places that made Violet blush like on overly innocent school filly. It was pretty, but the three of them were too motivated by hunger to admire anything.

"You think? She kept tabs on a lot of things, but remember: Once Satin heard that Shimmering had left, she had such a big smile on her face that it almost rivaled yours. I'm pretty sure she would avoid learning anything about her if she did anything at all."

"Still, it's probably the first place we should look." She argued. "Plus, if she doesn't have anything, she's probably the best pony to help us find something."

"Alright now, who's this?" Midnight asked.

"Satin Scarf. She's a friend of ours, but she used to one of Shimmering's lackeys." Violet beamed, remembering the first time the three of them ate doughnuts together. "We helped her out, and she joined us and helped us form our little trio."

"Oh... well, Violet, you do technically have the ability to go outside of castle grounds if you so please, just so long as I'm with you. Maybe we should pay this "Satin Scarf" a little visit."

"See," Cloudy smiled. "Told ya so."

"Alright, fine." Violet relented. "We'll ask Luna and we'll head off as soon as we can." Cloudy gripped the air in a silent motion of triumph.

...

"Wow..."

"This place is, uh..."

"OH. MY. Celestia. They have fried pickles!" Cloudy zoomed somewhere into the square, leaving a sun-colored streak and a few disoriented ponies in her wake.

"Fried... pickles?" Midnight questioned, wrinkling her nose.

"It's her favorite and mom never makes them..." Violet mumbled. "Where... where do you wanna eat?"

"I'm a hayburger kind of girl." Midnight suggested. Violet shrugged. She could go for a burger.

"With mayo... and lots of tomato juice."

"Do you think that's a good place to start?" Violet motioned to what looked like a burger joint. Midnight nodded, just as lost as she was, and they both started walking.

The place that they were in was just like a tiny square in a tiny town. Violet could see the pathways that led to Canterlot, but they were small and looked like they tucked into several pieces of shrubbery and forested areas near the cliff-face. The maid-pony wasn't wrong when she said this place was secluded. Violet only saw castle staff. Guards in armor eating hay fries and milkshakes, maids out of uniform, but still had their manes in buns, nibbling on salads, butlers wearing shiny shoes and clean white shirts, but having their bow ties undone and hair slightly askew drinking tea and shoving sandwiches in their faces. It was all very surreal.

"How can I help you ladies?" A gruff looking chef asked them, poking his scruffy, bearded face outside of the window. The two of them sat down on their bar-stools.

"You have any tomato juice?" Midnight asked. The stallion nodded and made her a glass. Violet asked for a small glass of soft-drink.

"Anything else for ya?" He asked when the two of them stopped looking at the menu that hung above them.

"One hay burger... with extra onions... and ketchup, please." Violet ordered. "And some sea-salted fries on the side."

"Hay burger... with tomatoes... mayo, onions, lettuce, peppers... and a side of whatever those are." Midnight followed, pointing at a picture of the menu. The chef looked up to see.

"Those are grilled apple slices with candy coating." He looked back at her with his little pencil and notebook prepped, ready for her to change her mind. "Those aren't a side, and are the size of a whole meal."

"Perfect. I've been craving something a little sweet." Midnight didn't look at him, she was too busy trying to get a piece of white cobblestone out of her hoof.

The chef still looked a few miles past unconvinced. "Are you sure miss, uh... that's a pretty big meal for somepony as small as yourself."

Midnight froze, her eyes darted to stare directly at him. With a serene smile, she said: "I'll eat the burger while I wait... and add an extra glass of tomato juice while you're at it." The stallion's eyes went wide. Her ears twitched. "And a side of fries."

He sprinted off, whether out of fear or financial motivation, Violet couldn't quite tell. "That was... interesting." She said while of the faint sizzles of burgers being grilled sounded from the kitchen. "I've never seen you act like that before."

"I don't like being called small..." Midnight's eyes never moved from the wooden bar in front of them. She was pouting.

"Can you really eat all that?" Violet asked carefully, not wanting to make her angry. "I don't even think Cloudy can handle that much food."

"I've always had a black hole for a stomach." Midnight's eyes rose, allowing Violet to release a sigh of relief. She was about to comment on her odd love of tomatoes when a familiar flame walked by.

"Pheonix?" She shouted. "Pheonix Heart, is that you?"

It was her. It couldn't be anypony else. Not only did she look as though she could set the entire square on fire by just simply grazing the grass with her hooves, but she also had her special pet, Sapphire, sitting on her back. Her scorching eyes settled on Violet, startled and confused.

"Yes...?" Her deep voice didn't stutter causing Violet's ears to perk up in surprise. "I'm sorry... do I know you?"

"Oh, um..." Violet eased herself off the stool she was sitting on. "It's me, Violet... Violet Lace. We know each other from school."

"Violet?!" Her bright orange eyes grew big and wide. Even Sapphire let out a very shrill squawk. "You-you look... g-"

"Different, I know." Violet finished for her. She fiddled with a tiny lock of her mane. With a few moments of thinking, she let a small lie slip through her teeth. "Big change... figured that since I'm working at the castle know, I might as well change my appearance to fit in."

"Wow..." Pheonix let out a long whistle. It was so unlike her usual shy demeanor that Violet blushed. "No kidding. It must have cost you a fortune."

"Hehehe... yeah." Violet gulped. "It was sort of a present from my parents."

"Well, it was a present well spent." She smiled. "So, you're working at the castle now?"

"Um... sort of." Violet rubbed the back of her head, embarrassed. "With the new princess and all... they're trying to sort things out. I'm technically working here, but they don't really have a name."

"That makes sense, I guess." She looked at her bird who nodded, accepting Violet's explanation. "Things are kind of chaotic at the moment and all- I don't think I've ever seen so many ponies here in the square before. And I was raised eating this food!"

"Really?" Violet looked around. She figured it would have always been this crowded.

"Well, this is the only lunch that overlaps, so I guess it's not always this busy." She corrected. "But the sudden change is giving the restaurant owners a run for their money, that's without a doubt."

"Gee, I never thought of that." Violet thought about Midnight's huge order. "The hours must be killing them."

"Nah." Pheonix waved her hoof. "Most of the restaurants are hiring extra staff to keep up with everything. Those that aren't simply close early, so it's not like anypony is dying of exhaustion. It's just a bit... crazy."

"Bet you're not affected." Violet motioned towards Sapphire, who was sitting comfortable on her back and soaking up the sunshine.

"I go to bed as soon as the sun sets, same as always." She tucked a bright orange lock behind her ear. "You need to sleep all night to deal with the cages: if you take a nap then the entire castle could burn down."

"Sounds... exciting." Violet chuckled. "Figured you would have more free time, what with you and Iron Wing."

"Oh..." The scorching mare's cheeks grew pink. "He comes over to the castle, the big lug. Me and him sit in the garden after I put the birds to sleep. I'm tired most days, but... it's good to go to sleep with a smile on your face. Seeing the pony you love in your dreams... there's nothing like it."

Violet's heart swelled. "You guys have been through thick and thin haven't you?"

Pheonix let out a laugh. "That's putting it mildly! The therapy, the anxiety, all of his sports tournaments... yeesh. And Shimmering Ruby! You remember her? Oh, my Celestia, he almost broke up with me when we were fillies because he didn't want me to "mysteriously fall in a well one day"- Can you believe that?"

Shimmering Ruby! "OH! Pheonix!" Violet sudden shout caused her to end her rant with her mouth hanging open. "Do you remember where she transferred after we got accepted into Celestia's school?"

The smile on her face caused a burst of hope to appear in Violet's chest. But it was quickly smothered as her smile fell, her brow furrowed, and her head tilted to one side. "N... no, Violet. I'm sorry, I don't remember." Violet's look of disappointment must've been pretty pathetic, given the fact that even Sapphire seemed desperate to console her. "I'm sorry, Violet, I really am! Yikes, you'd think I'd remember something like that." She rubbed her chin with her hoof, trying hard to dig up the memory. "I don't even think anypony mentioned it once... how strange."

"Yeah... yeah it really is..." Violet felt a trickle of dread on her spine.

"Is it important?" Pheonix asked, her eyes big.

"No... not really." Violet answered. "It's just... neither Cloudy nor I remember, so we were wondering if we had gone crazy or something."

Pheonix grunted. "Well, no matter where she went, I'm glad to see her gone. " Sapphire let out a few screeches and a cute grumble. "Ah... right. Sorry Sapphy." She looked at Violet and motioned towards the bird on her back. "Sorry, I'm going to have to cut this short- I have to head back to the cages to give them their lunch. I'll talk to you again soon!"

"See ya..." Violet waved and watched as she slipped into the crowd. She made herself get back on her stool and eat with Midnight. She didn't taste any of the food. Her mind was a million miles away. How could neither one of them remember...? It doesn't make any sense. Her ears pricked with a sudden realization Unless she never left in the first place!

"Hey!" Cloudy came bounding up to sit right next to them. "The food here doesn't begin to compare with mom's, but I suppose it'll get the job done."

"That's nice..." Violet commented, her mind still in a daze. "Hey... I think we should go talk to Satin a little sooner than planned."

Midnight swallowed her last apple slice. "I thought we were going right after this. What? Do you wanna leave now?"

"Yep." And with that one word, Violet was off her stool and heading back towards the castle. She heard Cloudy ask her guard what had happened while she was gone, only to figure out that Midnight was just as clueless as she was. "I need to wear something." Violet shouted back at them. "I need to hide my face."

"What?" Cloudy looked scared. "Violet, you grew up here! Why would you need to hide your face?"

"Because we don't know if she ever really left..." Violet mumbled. She ran to her room and quickly plowed through her drawers, trying to find the right cloak. She picked a simple black one with no adornments except for a silver moon clasp.

"What are you...?" Cloudy grabbed her sister by the shoulders, forcing her to sit still. The sudden action left both of them tangled in the cloak, making them look like a two-headed monster from a children's story. "Violet, calm down!"

"We need to figure out-"

"You're not going to get anything done if you act like this!" Cloudy interrupted.

"Hey..." Midnight gently derobed them. "Let's all calm down and take a breath." Her warm eyes were trained on Violet's frantic ones. "We're safe, alright? We're safe so long as we're in the castle."

"Right... castle, spell... Luna." Violet's mumbles couldn't be understood by anypony in the room other than herself, but Midnight nodded along anyway for the sake of getting her heart to stop racing.

"That's right... safe." Midnight repeated. "Now, what happened? You barely spoke at lunch no matter how many times I tried."

"Phoenix Heart... I-I met Phoenix Heart in the square." She answered.

"What so bad about that?" Cloudy asked. She and Phoenix were actually close friends back in school, though Violet normally went out for runs while they ate lunch together. She was one of the few ponies that Phoenix opened up to, other than her long time special some pony, Iron Wing.

"She... she couldn't remember either." Violet swallowed. "She couldn't remember where Shimmering transferred."

"That's... no, Violet. She must have just been in a hurry."

"No!" Violet reached again for the cloak, only to be held back by Midnight. "No, I saw her! She didn't know where she went! It was there- she remembered something! But then she forgot! It was like magic!"

"I should probably start writing all of these names down..." Midnight mumbled. Violet, figuring that she probably wasn't going anywhere acting like she was, set all four hooves on the ground. However, her legs were stiff and read to spring into action.

"Phoenix Heart... clung to Shimmering like glue towards the end, before she disappeared." She explained. "Every minute of every day... she dedicated her time to Shimmering because she felt guilty and frightened."

"She stole Shimmering's "true love!" Cloudy's voice oozed sarcasm. "And ever since then, no matter what we said, how many teachers got involved, or how much Iron Wing begged... she continued to stay by Shimmering's side."

"Why?" Midnight was completely baffled.

"Because she was the other pony, other than Satin, who knew what Shimmering was like when she got angry... she figured that if she was the bug that was always by her side... that nopony else would get squished." Violet sighed. It really wasn't fair, in any way.

"She would've been the most reliable source other than the school papers themselves." Cloudy pressed her lips together in a fine line. "I also forgot she worked at the castle..."

"And she didn't remember!" Everypony tensed, worried that Violet was going to go into hysterics again. "We need to see Satin! Now! We need an answer-"

"Slow down!" Cloudy shouted. Even Midnight flinched. "It's Satin, for the love of Celestia! As soon as you come nose to nose with her, she's going to bombard you with questions of her own! You're not going to find out anything until tonight, at least!"

"But what about-"

"And, on top of everything, you need to meet up with Princess Luna in about a few hours anyway." Midnight's voice was distant. Both sisters jumped when they saw that she had quietly floated to the other side of the room and picked up a letter that had slipped under the door. She wave it in the air for the two of them to see. "Silver ink. It must be important."

Violet cursed. Foul words that would cause their father to faint spewed from her mouth. "You guys can't just act like this isn't a big deal."

"You're right." Cloudy got in between Violet and the doorway, blocking her from running. "Let's think things through..." After a few moments that involved Violet rubbing her temples, Cloudy staring off into thought, and Midnight watching the two of them with a worried look twisting her face, Cloudy finally spoke.

"I'll go see Satin." Cloudy said. Violet looked at her with tense lips, pressed so hard together that they appeared white under her purple coat. "I'll go see her... and ask her everything. I'll bring her here to the castle if I need to. You go... calm down... and get ready to see the princess."

"You can't just wander alone." Violet argued. "It goes against your agreement with Luna."

"Only on castle grounds." Cloudy countered. "Once I'm back in the streets of Canterlot, I'm free to do what I choose, with or without you."

"But you-"

"Violet, a door that leads to the outside is literally right down the hall, I'm pretty sure I can make it."

"You can't ju-"

"Oh, for the love of- Midnight, hold her down and draw her a bath!" And with that, chaos ensued. Violet, with her newfound strength that she had developed when her body caught up with her... self? Self., bit and struggled with all her strength. She, however, quickly realized why it only took Midnight half the time to beat every other guard in her initiation.

"It's for your own good." Midnight hissed through gritted teeth as she pulled Violet into the bath by her tail. "Now... do you prefer lavender or sandalwood?"

...

"We are glad you could make it as quickly as you did, Miss Lace." Luna continued to walk forward, her hooves never tripping or or stumbling. "Giving your recent... appearance... we would've understood if you were a minutes past late."

"N-no! Never!" Violet had been staring of into space. "W-We... we could never be late when you call, Princess."

Luna simply grunted. "Now, the jewel that madam Clock Mage has sent us... we believe that we have found the answer to her riddle."

Ah, yes. The jewel. Who would've thought that underneath all of that cloth would've been something so ordinary. It clearly wasn't real, whatever it was. It was made of stone, granted, bright blue stone, but stone none the less. It barely shined like aquamarine or lapis lazuli, to the point where a pony who hadn't grown up in Canterlot and had the ability to see every flaw in a diamond's cut could tell that it was fake.

"We sent out guards to scout the castle grounds." Luna explained. "We had decided not to tell her, what with the Lunar engraving on the jewel, as well as the fact that madam Clock Mage doesn't seem to want to socialize with our sister."

"What did your guards find?" Violet asked. Midnight's armor rattled behind her as she flew, trailing them.

"It took a while." Luna said, looking up at the moon she had just risen. Violet was tempted to eat a very early dinner and her stomach quietly growled as a result. But she knew this was more important. "But we found something in one of our forgotten gardens."

"Found... something?" Violet remembered the gardens from her school days. Supposedly, the princess had created them in order to remind the population of Equestria to never forget the beauty of the night. Now that Luna was back, ruling at her side, Violet knew that it was all true, every last word. It caused a wave of emotion as she quickly realized that most of those gardens were hardly cared for due to a lack of tourists going out of their way to see them, leaving them to fall to ruins.

"Come." Luna ordered. Violet quickly sped up her hoofsteps. Dry fountain after dry fountain crossed their paths, all of them cracked and covered in weeds. She didn't want to think about what was going through Luna's head as statues of ponies holding stars and moons, holding them up to the sky as though trying to place them with the clouds, were left cracked with broken limbs and tear-stained eyes from drips of water that ended decades ago. She led them to a large wall of stone, engraved with a scene. A large pony, made of clouds and stars, traveling across the night sky spreading galaxies and novas like seeds in an empty field. In the center was a hole, that Violet quickly recognized was shaped perfectly for the jewel to rest inside.

"Look on the bottom." Luna said, her voice tense. "Look at what it says."

The stars take time to create. An army rests inside, prepared for battle like a thousand stars, ready to protect the moon.

"Time..." Midnight whispered. Both ponies, along with the princess, knew that Celestia hadn't built this.

"Battle...army?" Violet heard her voice crack. She felt a wave of fear. She was almost about to scream, but the princess's large presence and unwavering expression kept her mouth shut. The Princess placed the jewel in place.

The stone rumbled as it fell into it's proper spot. The rumbling grew louder as the wall of stone split apart at nearly invisible seams. All three ponies stood, awestruck, as the door opened and revealed what was inside.

Author's Note

The story itself is so short... Also, because I've been writing more than usual, I figured I would show you guys some art that I made to balance everything out.:

Laying in a field of pretty blue flowers. What in the world is she doing there? Is she contemplating a horrific choice? is she relaxing after a hard day of work as the princess's assistant? Or is some pony possibly standing above her and making her heart skip? Only I know. But you guys will figure it out in about fifteen chapters or so. ;)

Ps. I actually love fried pickles right beside Cloudy, but I feel the need to point out that fried Oreos are always going to be the bomb.