//------------------------------// // Rain // Story: Violet Lace // by DemonAngel13 //------------------------------// 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.