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// Arc 1: Violet Sunset, chp 2 
// Story: The Mettle of Friendship 
// by Solace Sojourn 
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	It was exactly what she had suspected. Violet’s stomach was a misbegotten pit where she buried herself and refused to let herself show… and she knew this would happen. She was too shy to ask anything of anypony and fell victim to her own superstitions and worries. What would they think of her? Would they like her? What if she messed up? Right from the start, she faded to the back of the class and simply watched as other foals answered various questions about themselves. When the time came that the teacher, a nearly completely black coated unicorn named Omniliterary—though everyone usually just called her Omni—asked her, she barely spoke up and stammered more than once. Eventually, when Violet was through answering who she was, where she came from, and what she liked to do, she felt her cheeks burning and tried to hide her face in her desk. She wasn’t bothered much afterward—not even Petal Dance approached her, for she seemed to be too busy chatting it up with other of the more sociable foals, especially one called Juniper Flutterfall, another earth pony that had short, curled hair and a gold coat. Juniper seemed to be able to get everyone to talk, save for her, of course. Class gradually continued, though it couldn’t finish fast enough for Violet. Omni scared her with how bubbly and loud she was.
“Hey Violet!” she called out during coloring time. Spitting out the crayon, Violet looked up and tilted her head with unease. “Y-yeah?”
“How come you’re sitting alone? Come on; sit with Petal, Juniper, and everybody else! The more, the merrier!”
Shaking her head, Violet battled the tension rising in her stomach and looked away. “I’d rather not…”
Omni tried a few more times and was met with even worse results, after which she asked to talk with Violet outside the room. She reluctantly agreed and followed the teacher. When the two of them were alone, Omni turned and frowned at her.
“What’s the matter, Violet? Why won’t you join any of the other foals?”
“I… I—” Violet struggled to begin, looking at Omni’s hooves, for they seemed to be infinitely easier to look at than those eyes laced with concern. Even then, she couldn’t contain all of her tears and a few trickled down her cheeks, unchecked.
“I’m scared they w-won’t like me.”
“Oh, Vivi,” Omni said reflexively, stretching her forelegs to wrap around Violet and hoist her up in a fierce hug. “I know it’s scary but trust me, it’s worth it.”
No… no… she repeated over and over, squirming and fumbling from her teacher’s grasp. Somehow, she landed on all fours and spent a moment just staring at the floor. Violet gave Omni a tear-streaked shake of the head and returned to class with all the insistence and speed of a sloth, keeping her head down.
When lunchtime came, she filed in behind everyone and meekly took her tray of a rose petal sandwich and a glass of water to a table far removed from where most of the ponies commingled. She ate in silence and solitude, staring at her tray, wondering. Worrying. Festering.
Is this what it’ll be like every day?
She didn’t notice the pony coming up to her until she waved a hoof in front of her face and asked, “Violet?”
Violet followed the limb until she found a body attached to it and the head leading it. It took her a moment to realize she was looking at Petal Dance. “Oh,” she said almost inaudibly. “Hey Petal.”
“Hey Violet,” she responded pointedly. “Sorry about not talking with you in class. Once I started talking with Juniper, I just lost track of time… you know, the rest of us are over there,” and she gestured with her head to the main cluster of tables. Smiling reassuringly, Petal extended her hoof a little further in invitation.
Backing up ever so slightly, Violet declined, saying, “Thanks Petal, but I want to eat alone.” And as she said the words, she felt her gut curdling uneasily. She didn’t want to spend time with everyone. With as much grace as she could muster, she gently nudged to hoof away and shook her head. Petal stared at her for a moment but withdrew her forelimb and shrugged. “Alright. See you later.”
“What’s the holdup, Petal?” a voice called from behind her. The voice was nasally and quick, as if entitled.
Petal turned and said with some insistence and annoyance, “Be right there, Juniper!” After returning her attention to Violet, she mumbled, “Sorry, Violet. I gotta go…”
“Bye,” Violet said as she watched the green and teal filly go, being welcomed at the far, much more populated table with a rather loud, “’Atta girl! Who needs Violet Vain Vigil?” Stifling a few tears and the urge to vomit, she returned to her bland appearing meal and actually began eating it then, risking whatever it would foist upon her, for it certainly had to be better than what she was feeling right then: bitter and paralyzing loneliness. It was indeed bland and stale, to her acceptance, and she lost herself in her mind again. She missed her home, her parents, her work. She missed that little pleasure she got from working and immense freedom she knew she had there. It was as rejuvenating as it was productive; she really didn’t know why her parents had sent her away but she trusted them. She trusted them enough to go about school… day after day… for weeks and months on end… and for ten years. Violet suddenly longed for her warm, slightly stuffy room and dusty window.
A few moments passed before she realized that something nudged her left shoulder. It turned out to be the hoof of another pony, this one she saw was a colt. He was short, shorter than she was and had a deep blue coat with a white mane that had streaks of gray in it. His eyes were stark white and he spoke with a soft voice, one that had difficulty pronouncing some words.
“H-hey, Violet?” he asked. “Mind if I join you?”
Violet tilted her head and studied the colt. He hadn’t asked her to sit with anyone else; he had asked to sit with her. Honestly, she wanted the company but didn’t want to overwhelm herself. She saw both ends met and decided the colt could indeed sit with her. “Sure.”
“Okay, just let me g-go get some food,” he said, struggling once again. That little tick was something that clearly irritated him, for his cheeks reddened ever so slightly as he stumbled. He left quickly and returned just as quickly with his own rose petal sandwich and glass of water. Violet watched him with curiosity, her stomach easing. When he sat down and placed his tray on the table, he looked to Violet and smiled crookedly, blushing again.
“Hey,” he said. “So, how come you were eating by yourself?”
Violet recoiled slightly but responded, “Well… I just… I don’t think I fit in. They’re all so happy and together. I want that but… I’m afraid they won’t like me.”
The colt widened his eyes. “R-really?”
“Yeah.”
“So am I. My name is Quiet Quill.”
Quiet Quill?
“If you don’t r-remember me,” he said, “it’s because I was even quieter than you were. At least everybody heard you. I was so nervous, I barely heard myself talk and I couldn’t say anything more so they just… skipped me.”
Violet nodded and took a drink of her water. “Yeah….” The moments dragged on but she found her stomach easing. She was able to eat her sandwich.
When the two of them were done eating, they carried their trays to a trash can, dumped them, and placed them on an adjacent table to be gathered. When Violet turned to return to the classroom early, she suddenly remembered Quill and instead turned to faced him. She held out her hoof and when he shook it, she said, “I’ll see you later, Quiet Quill.”
Quill smiled let the words flow like water. “Call me Quill.”
Violet nodded once again and finally turned to leave. She had only taken a few steps when she turned yet again and found Quill looking after her. Having second thoughts, she gestured in front of her. “Wanna come with?”
His eyes widened but he said quickly, “Yeah.” Quill picked up pace behind her and they returned to class. This time, they sat together, ignoring the rest of the class—though they didn’t see Omni’s wide smile as she watched the pair out of the corner of her eye—and when Violet left the school, she surprised her parents with her good mood. They asked her what had happened and she merely said, “I made a friend.”
Starlight Tread and Earthcrest were thrilled to learn this and her mother swept her up in a great big hug, after which her father sandwiched her in between them. She was only released when she cried, “Mercy!”