"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."