//------------------------------//
// A Subtle Shift 
// Story: Violet Lace 
// by DemonAngel13 
//------------------------------//

	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?"


"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.