Why, hello there fine lads! Welcome to my house, I must say, it’s very homely and... Oh, no no, what am I talking about! This story is nothing to do with me! Listen here, good lads. I want to tell you a story about a mare named Violet, or maybe Eclipse, and her kingdom of Hoofprint. Come, sit down on my chairs, and get warmed by the heat of the fire. Lets begin the story!
~~~
Way beyond the reach of the Foal mountains, past the hollow shade forest, behind Neighagra
Falls, past the icy hill tops of the Crystal mountains, and over the boundaries of Equestria, there by the sea lay a wealthy kingdom called Hoofprint.
The kingdom was ruled by a smart king, well-loved queen and a beautiful princess, and everypony there lived in peace and harmony, with not even a mere mention of poverty. The citizens of the kingdom were called Salts, for their crystal like horns or wings, and they loved their rulers, for without them, the kingdom would have fallen.
The king’s name was Hoove the Brave and the queen’s name was Icy Rose. The princess’ name was Violet. However, the king and queen were not her real parents. They found her as a filly in a basket outside the great gate of their castle. They raised her like their own daughter, and never told her that she wasn't their kin. However, the ponies of the kingdom had always known that something was different about her, as her horn did not have the same texture and look of other Salt unicorns.
The princess loved her subjects but really hated the royal duties she had to do. The queen always told her to be ladylike and keep her body and neck straight while walking and talk in a petty and mildly belittling way, especially to those who did not respect her supposed noble birth. Her parents was so strict that she didn't have time to do her own things. One day, she had a argument with her parents and she lost her temper and said a most terrible thing.
“I hate you, and I never want to see you again!” The queen was in shock, blushing all the way to the base of her horn.
“How dare you say that to your own mother! Come back here!” Violet was rushing out of the room and through the front gate of the castle, running away, as far away as she could from the castle. She finally reached the border of Hoofprint and Equestria and she just said “Goodbye mum and dad... I don't ever want to come back here again!”
She was running until she tripped on a rock, hit her head and fell unconscious on the road. The next morning when she woke up, she was in shock.
“Oh no, how did I manage to sleep on this road! I was planning to come back to the castle in the evening. My mother is going to kill me when I come back...” She had paced back and forth, thinking of an excuse to tell her parents. “They were trying to make me wear a frilly little dress when I really did not want to. They sold me into an arranged marriage, which was just too much for me! They don't understand my feeling at all... nor listen to me.” She was mad in rage yet still knew what was the right thing to do. She had to apologize to her parents, and also to the subjects of her kingdom.
She started to walk toward back. When she reached the castle, she went straight up to the throne room, ready to apologize for what she had done. Her father glared at her, flaring his crystally wings and yelling things along the lines of ‘where you been all this time’ and ‘you could have been eaten by timberwolves’ and ‘what if you had been taken by thugs or thieves?’ The only thing she has thought was how weird is was that her mother wasn't yelling at her at all, all her mother was doing was smiling slightly and just watching her daughter.
“My mother is acting weird today,” Violet said to herself as she sat in her room. “I should go to her and apologize for what I said...” Violet walked into her mother room and saw her sitting by the window.
“Umm... Mother?” She said cautiously.
Her mother, without turning her head, said “What do you want, Violet!” in a whispery, hoarse voice.
“I’m sorry about what I did... I never should have said that to you, and I never should have run away!” The queen just started to walk toward Violet.
“That was actually a good thing, for me that is...” Suddenly, her mother changed into the Changeling Queen! “I really ought to thank you for that! If you hadn’t opened the gate I wouldn’t have been able to slip in and take over your mother and suck up all the love your dad has to offer in this hard time... and also take over this kingdom, maybe. It’s such a nice place, don’t you agree? Hahaha!”
“Where did my real mother go!” Violet growled.
The queen chuckled “She is safe for now, unless you tell anyone about my secret! I will kill your mother, your father, and the whole bucking kingdom if you do!” Violet, who had now started to think of a plan to fool the queen, flinched at the use of the word.
Violet looked back up at the queen changeling and said “What if I leave this kingdom and make... o-one hundred million bits, and I can give you it and you would leave my kingdom and my family and my friends and my dear subjects alone!”
The queen changeling hummed to herself and said “Maybe, but I have one rule; you can never ever come back to this kingdom until you have that many bits, and if you tell anypony about me, or my army, or my plan, your family and all you hold dear will suffer! If you do step foot in this kingdom without my money, everyone will die!”
Violet shook hooves with the queen, marking the deal. The queen vanished, and Violet crept up to the armoury to collect a few last minute supplies. That is, to say, her family crested sword. She knew that her journey would be dangerous, and needed to defend herself. Violet silently slipped outside the castle and beyond the gates of the town, and left Hoofprint quietly, without telling anypony. She trekked for days on end until she reached a small town and collapsed onto the ground.
The next day, she woke up in an unfamiliar house, in a strangers bed. Violet wondered why she was there and said “Where am I?” aloud, still dazed from her travels.
Suddenly, a light purple earth pony walked in.
“Hey you're finally awake! I found you sleeping on the ground last night and brought you here and cleaned you up.” The pony walked up to her, starts wiping her face with a wet napkin, and said “I’ve got to say, I’ve never seen your face around here in Ponyville, are you new or something?” Violet just looked up at her.
“Yes I am new in town...”
“Thank Celestia I found you before anything bad happened. By the way, the name’s Berry Punch.”
Violet put her hoof on her head and said “My name is.... Eclipse.”
Berry Punch cleaned up the dirty napkins, saying “Nice to meet you Eclipse, and you are welcome to stay here, but you’re not allowed to touch any of the grape juice I have stored in those barrels right there.” She pointed at the far corner, where there were about 7 stacked barrels. Eclipse looked at the barrels of grape juice.
“OK, I will not... I really need a job, though, do you know anybody who is hiring?” Berry punch started to scratch her mane.
“Well, there is the town board. Everypony that needs help posts up papers there to hire, or ask for help.” Violet got up and start walking toward the door, her legs still wobbly. She grasps the door handle, and walks out.
~~~
“Oh, look at the time! And that, folks, is only the beginning of our story. Now what awaits for Eclipse, and what adventure will she have? All will be revealed as we continue on the story but for now... Ugh... Oh, do pardon my y-y-yawning... For now, I will leave it right here and rest my weary eyes. Until then, be a good little pony, and remember that our princesses are always watching over us. You never know, this princess may visit you in your dreams.