A bright red pegasus soared through the nights sky. She bursts through clouds and and darted across the stares, a crimson colored streak against the navy blue heavens.
She cheered. She had never had this much fun. Then again, she said that every night since the end of the Chaos Times. Flying wasn't nearly this much fun back then. The clouds were always sticky, and the quick changes from day to night gave her a headache.
The pegasus laughed. She charged for another set of clouds, savoring the feeling of the cool water collecting on her coat.
"Red Star!" She heard a pegasus scream behind her. "You come down here right now! It's important!"
She sighed. When mother calls, there was no delay. In fact, she wanted to beat her mother home. Looking towards the stars, a familiar tingling sensation appeared on her flank. Her cutie mark was that of stars and a compass, a pretty silver moon on its outer edges. Her talent was navigation. So long as the stars were out, she knew were to go, the fastest route, and the one with the least amount of obstacles, without flaw.
"I'm on my way, Mom!" She screamed back. She flapped her wings and shot through the air. Her body looked like a red and periwinkle streak in the sky once again.
...
"Another batch, piping hot!" Mrs. Sugar said, placing another plate of cupcakes in front of the two girls. These had little black chocolate hearts on top, firmly set into the lavender colored icing.
"Red velvet is your favorite, right?" Mrs. Sugar asked. She always asked, no matter how many times Violet had nodded her head during her visits, her mouth too full of cake to answer her properly. She took a large bite out of her third cupcake that morning. She wasn't afraid of coming out as indecent, for not only did she live here now, but Cloudy sitting next to her was eagerly shoving her citrus flavored cupcake in her mouth. Bright blue icing was smeared all around her lips.
"'Ank Yu!" She managed to mumble through a mouthful of red velvet deliciousness. She wiped the small amount of icing that collected at the corners of her mouth with a napkin.
Apparently, getting your cutie mark increased your appetite. Or, maybe it was the cutie mark induced exhaustion that caused Violet to be so hungry and eager to shovel as much food into her mouth as possible. Violet couldn't tell, nor did she care. Mrs. Sugar's food was something she will always manage to get down, no matter what the occasion.
Speaking of which, there was a lot of food that needed to go into their hungry bellies. Ever since Cloudy came tumbling down the steps, seconds before Violet, Mrs. Sugar had done nothing but smile and cook. Eggs, cookies, stir fried vegetables, baked stuffed potatoes, sandwiches, pancakes, spaghetti, curry, and yes, cupcakes completely toward over the fillies and completely covered the counters of the kitchen. How Mrs. Sugar managed to not only cook, but clean all the dishes simultaneously was beside her. The mare even managed to make little candies in the shape of their new cutie marks.
As Violet chewed on her cupcake, she remembered the morning events like the new cutie mark that adorned her flank. She and Violet came running in, huge smiles on their faces. Mr. Parch and Mrs. Sugar's jaws dropped in shock, and their looks of surprise quickly turned into looks of pride and joy.
"Oh girls!" Mrs. Sugar had said. "I'm so proud of you!"
"Isn't this the greatest, Mama?" Cloudy had asked, hugging Violet tightly. "My special talent is acting! I'm going to be famous!... or, at least... I think I am. I haven't figured it out yet. But it's still pretty cool, and I couldn't be happier!"
Mrs. Sugar laughed. "I'm sure you'll find your place, my little rain cloud." She nuzzled her daughter lovingly. "And what about you, Violet?"
"Hehe..." Violet rubbed the back of her head with her hoof. "Well..."
"Oh my Celestia! Mom, dad, listen to this! Violet's talent is literately becoming her characters. She gains cool spy strength and an awesome 'don't-take-nuthin'-from-anypony' attitude! It's so cool! The only down side is that she becomes really tired and sick if she pushes herself to hard. But even then, it's so awesome!"
Mr. Parch and Mrs. Sugar's expressions took a series of twists and turns at their daughter's description. They went from awe, to shock, to fear and realization at the point were Cloudy described how Violet's night came to pass.
"Oh, I see..." Mr. Parch said, with his hoof placed thoughtfully on his chin. "You simply 'embodied' a character as you two were going about walking around town. You must have pushed yourself without even noticing."
"Hopefully now that you know you can, you'll be more aware of it happening?" Mrs. Sugar asked, her brow creased with worry.
"I'll be extra careful." Violet answered confidently. Mrs. Sugar's look of worry faded.
Eventually all of the worried tension in the air completely subsided, and was replaced with the happy aura of a proud and loving family moment.
Mrs. Sugar had been cooking in her kitchen ever since.
Violet's ears pricked behind her. She swiveled them to hear the last of Mr. Parch's conversation with a messenger pony.
"Ah, yes! Thank you, Sir." He said as he closed the door.
"I have news everypony!" He shouted as he walked into the kitchen. "Fancy Pants wants us four to see him briefly at his garden party in a few hours. He wants to check on Violet, and with him being the host and a very busy stallion, he isn't able to make it later tonight."
"He wants to check on me?" Violet asked, finishing her last bite for the morning. "Why?"
"Well, you weren't really in the best of states, Honey." Mrs. Sugar answered. "He's probably worried about you, what with him being a father as well."
Violet hummed, agreeing. Her ears lowered, knowing that, not only did she have to go to another party, but she was probably going to see a few unwanted faces as well.
"We're only going to be there a moment." Mr. Parch said, reading her expression. "We'll stop by on our way to the market."
Violet felt her disdain for the next few hours fade away into a happy bliss, She was glad to know that if she was going to see those faces, it was only going to be for a few moments.
"Well, It's a along way to his estate. You two still smell, if only slightly. And I'm covered in flour and an egg." Mrs. Sugar said. She took off her apron and hung it on a hook next to their pantry. "We should probably start getting ready."
...
"Why are we putting my hair up again? It looks much prettier when it's down." Cloudy whined as they stood in front of Mrs. Sugar's dresser mirror.
"Because you didn't want to have it in in waves, and you didn't want to wear a hat." Violet answered. She put the last bobby pin in her friend's prench twist. "
"Waves make me look like I'm forty and that hat you offered me looked ridiculous." She said as she scratched the uncomfortably tight bun.
"Hmm, suit yourself." Violet said as she fixed her set of waves. She smiled at her reflection. Cloudy snorted.
"You look like a vampire pony with all of that red velvet stuck in your teeth!" Cloudy said loudly. Her half-hearted insult faded into waves of giggles and laughter.
A vampire pony, huh? Violet thought to herself. "Jokes on you, that sounds awesome!"
λευκά δόντια και μαύρο τύχη...
Violet's ears perked up.
Uh oh...
What happened next was startling. While the other events happened without her knowledge, this felt like a slap to the face. It was as though somepony poured espresso into her blood stream, and dumped a bucket of ice water on her head. She felt a surge of energy, and suddenly heightened senses caused her head to swim.
It's fine, it's fine... She told herself. Just so long as I can control it... I should be fine. Just don't do anything you wouldn't do...
"Violet?" Cloudy's voice rang in her ear. "Are you okay?"
Violet looked at her friend, only to get an uncomfortable close up of Cloudy's bright blue iris.
"Whoa!" She shouted taking a step back.
"What?" Cloudy examined herself in the mirror, misunderstanding. "Is there something wrong?"
"Th-the thing." Violet stuttered. She was starting to adjust to her new senses. Finally, her friend's voice stopped beating against her eardrum.
"The thing?" Cloudy thought for a moment. She gasped. "Ooohhhh.... the thing." She quickly had a flashback to their conversation, and gasped again. "You wrote a vampire romance and didn't tell me?!"
Violet tried to ignore her friend's jokingly betrayed tone. "Help me!"
"Wow!" Cloudy said, her eyes going wide. "You even have the fangs!"
Violet quickly scanned over her own mouth with her tongue. Cloudy was right. Two of her teeth, both on either side of her mouth, were slightly pointed at the end. It was odd, but strangely comfortable. She guessed her special talent could change her appearance as well, if only in minuscule amounts.
"Cloudy!" Violet whined. "Please, help me!"
"Why would I need to help you? This is so cool!" Cloudy commented. She continued to examine Violet, looking for other changes in her appearance.
"How can this be cool?" Violet asked. "I'm a vampire pony!"
"That's the cool part." Her friend answered matter-of-factly. "And... you don't look like a vampire pony, if you take away the fangs and all. To be honest, they're not that noticeable."
"But what if I start having... you know,... cravings?" Violet looked at herself in the mirror. Her fangs really weren't that noticeable, but the fact that they showed in her reflection at all was a little bit jarring. If she had to be completely frank with herself, she was also kind of glad that her reflection showed up at all.
"Violet, you are-"
"Girls, we need to leave soon." Mrs. Sugar said as she walked into the room. She was wearing a white dress, similar to the girl's. All three of them wore pretty dresses, pale in color, and thickly woven to beat the winter chill. Mr. Parch ended up digging in the attic, (Of which Violet officially deemed 'magical', what with the infinite things that seem to pour out of its door.) and found the girls some muff coverings for their hooves. Apparently, they belonged to some aristocrat from Manehatten some forty odd years ago.
When Mrs. Sugar saw the two girls, her eyebrows shot up in surprise. Instead of getting ready, the two of them were clearly having a moment of stress. Violet was clearly frightened, while Cloudy was looking as though Violet was overreacting.
"What's wrong?" Mrs. Sugar asked the girls.
"Violet turned into a semi-vampire pony. Now she's freaking out." Cloudy answered. She went back to work scratching her bun again.
"A 'vampire pony'." Mrs. Sugar repeated. "Well, if anything, I figured you would be happy about that, Violet." Violet made a face, showing Mrs. Sugar her newly acquired fangs. "Is there a reason why you're not okay with it?"
"Do you ponies not know what vampire ponies do, or what they are?" Violet asked, clearly getting frustrated.
"They're mythical creatures that are documented as blood drinking, immortal, sun fearing, undead monsters who hunt mainly at night." Cloudy answered.
"How can you two be so calm?" Violet asked, raking her hooves through her mane.
"Well, for starters, you're standing in sunlight, dear." Mrs. Sugar said, pointing at the obvious rays of sunlight that were pouring out of a window and directly onto Violet. "So clearly, you haven't turned into the 'exact definition' of a vampire pony."
"Plus, we know you." Cloudy answered. "You wouldn't go around, drinking ponies' blood. It would be gross, immoral, and you would probably get dirty in the process. That's three strikes, and leaves you absolutely not be a danger to anypony else."
"But... I, uh-" Violet stammered. She licked the top row of her teeth again.
"Violet, sweetie, everything is alright." Mrs. Sugar consoled. When Violet didn't calm down Mrs. Sugar's eyes softened further. She sat herself on the bed and motioned for the two girls to join her.
"Did I ever tell you two about how I got my cutie mark?" She asked. The two girls shook their heads. "It's quite a tale."
...
A young Mrs. Sugar delicately pranced around the elegant foyer of her home. Of course, she didn't call herself Mrs. Sugar at the time. At this time, she went by the extravagant and aristocratic name of Crystal Sucre, and was meant to hold that name through generations. Perhaps a pony could call her Crystal, or Lady Sucre, but anything as casual as 'Mrs. Sugar' would be far too undignified and rude.
She continued to sneak though the large room, eager to escape her mother and father's gazes. She held her horse shoes in her mouth, and ungracefully folded the skirt of her dress to rest on her back, leaving her flank bare and vulnerable to the world. Her mother would scream at the sight. It wasn't until the coast was clear, did she actually make a run for it. She bolted down the hallway, past large stained glass windows and bright white carpets and metallic covered rugs. She caused upholstery and curtains to ripple and tangle as she blew past them.
She could see it. The doors. The large silver doors that blocked out the world and shielded her from the horrid glares and plastic smiles that came from everywhere and anywhere. She could finally be free, even if it was only for a few moments. She would bust the doors down, and finally be-
"Crystal Platine Diamant Sucre! You get back here this instant!" A voice echoed through the hall. Crystal stopped dead in her tracks, nearly stumbling, and slid to meet her face to the silver doors that she once prayed to touch. It stung.
Her mother gracefully walked over to her, slow and menacing. Her constantly alert eyes and platinum white mane made her look like some kind of ghost in the moon light that filtered through the windows. Her pearlescent coat showed all of the pastel colors Crystal could imagine, and her hooves were always freshly polished. She wore a crystal piece around her neck. A family heirloom that was passed down from generations.
"Crystal..." Her mother sighed once she got to her side. "What are you doing?"
"I... um...I-" She said meekly, in her little filly voice.
Her mother looked up at the doors. All of a sudden, she looked tired and beaten. Crystal had seen that look far too often.
"You are trying to get into the kitchen again, aren't you?" Her mother asked. Crystal nodded. "My little gem, I thought we agreed that we would explore your fascination with culinary after the occasions. It's rude to just suddenly run out like that. Everypony from the colony is wondering where you ran off to. And, on top of everything, you left that poor colt out there alone on the ball room floor." She sat next to her daughter. "Did you think about how he might have felt?"
Crystal was suddenly hit with a wave of guilt. She hadn't thought about that. She was just so desperate for an escape. From the stupid mares and stallions complimenting her on her coat and dress. From the maids and butlers constantly offering her a shinning or a polishing. From the disgusting food that her mother ordered. From the feeling of being...
"Oh... I didn't mean to upset you, dear."
Sad. She wanted to run from feeling sad. Now, sorrow coursed though her, weak but significant. She looked at her hooves, now dull and matt. Her mane drooped around her ears in a strange gradient mass that showed her sorrow.
"My little gem." Her mother cooed, scooping her up and cradling her kindly. "I'm sorry. I know you don't like them, I don't like them that much either, but we need to socialize. If not, then we lose our power, and we'll be forced to deal with the cold again. Do you want that?"
Crystal remembered the stories her grandmother used to tell her. About how the ponies that made up their colony were forced to suffer an unbearable cold that froze them solid. They were running from something. A plague, a storm, or something along those lines. Crystal didn't know, nor her mother or the rest of her family. That part of the story was lost in time. It wasn't until they found the peace and love in each other, were they able to establish a small, weak, but stable civilization.
"Plus," Her mother continued. "That little colt has his eye on you." She chuckled. "Isn't that great?"
Crystal wrinkled her nose. Though she was more than happy in her colony, there was something missing. She was too young to understand, much less find where her life was lacking, but that still didn't change the fact that she felt the emptiness. She found herself absentmindedly staring out of the large glass windows, and seeing the cold white outside of the small barrier that protected the small civilization. The world was so vast, so why was she stuck in her tiny bubble?
"Crystal, I know you want to explore the world." Her mother started to smooth her gold mane. "But... not right now. My little heart would crack if my little gem were to show up cracked and shattered herself." She held Crystal close. "You represent a lot, you know."
Yes. Crystal thought. I know mama. Crystal was the youngest in a family of 'pures'. Her family has withheld their blood and kept their coats as metallic and crystalline as possible. Of course, after more that a few centuries, a few stray explorers have wandered into their small city. A few decided to stay, make families with the other ponies, causing the signature shine of her kind to slowly fade away over time. All except for her family.
This is why they owned the biggest house, and held the most pride. For the longest time, Crystal wondered why the shine of her gold coat made her better than everypony else.
"You are no better than any pony." Her mother had answered. "You, as well as I, represent our heritage, and where we come from. Our family has taken up the responsibility of being reminders of a once great empire."
"But, mama." She had said in return. "The empire fell. We don't even really remember what caused its falling."
Her mother had nodded. "That is true, my little gem, but we are also reminders of the strength and power of love. We bring hope to our people."
Now, Crystal was dressed in a silver gown, trying to 'make friends' with a colt with a silver shine to his coat and mane. Her people's unique shine didn't just pass through blood. There was also a small chance for a lucky pony to be born with it. Some of the elders say it is caused by a large surge of happiness, finding its way through the icy cold, and into the first breath of air that the pony breathed when they were a newborn foal.
He was her family's only chance for a new generation of purity.
Her mother sighed. "I'll... leave you to your own devices to fix yourself up." She stood up, adjusted her necklace and platinum mane. "Head back inside soon, alright?"
She nodded. Her mother, satisfied, nodded in return and began to walk back towards the ball room.
Once her mother was out of sight, Crystal headed into the kitchen. She began her usual preparations. Bread, cheese, egg, and lettuce. She carefully placed the pans on the stove, and struck a match to light the little opening underneath. She watched, her mind and heart at ease, as the lettuce started to soften. Once the pan was hot enough, she carefully sprinkled the thick, sharp cheese on top. It bubbled and oozed over the edges. The sides of the lettuce became crispy.
She then went on to toast her bread. Making sure that each side was thinly coated in a small amount of healthy olive oil, she placed it on a hot pan and pushed it to the back to cook. She lightly blew finely ground pepper on top of her toast as it was cooking, so that the spice would become infused with the unique taste of the oil.
The egg was her favorite part. Cracking the egg into the third pan, she gazed at it, almost in a trance. The egg white transformed from clear to milky, from milky to white. Carefully using a round spoon, she forced the yolk to stay in place in the center, and smiled to herself as the egg itself was shaped like a perfect circle, fitting the pan's mold.
Once her meal was in perfect condition, she quickly dug in. She was eager to eat as much as she could, so that she wouldn't have to suffer through stuffing her face with tears in her eyes as the party continued.
Purity shmurity. She thought bitterly. Though she understood her purpose, she couldn't deny that cooking was the highlight of her life. She couldn't imagine herself sitting in the city, watching the outside world be nothing but swirling white and nothingness. Her body didn't feel without a meal in her head, eager to be cooked, and a spoon in her hoof eager to be used. She was a chef, no doubts about it.
...
"And then what happened?" Violet had asked. Her eyes were trained on Mrs. Sugar as she told her story.
"What do you think?" Mrs. Sugar retaliated, a whimsical twinkle in her eye.
"You got your cutie mark!" Cloudy screamed as she jumped on the bed. "Oh, I love this story!"
Mrs. Sugar chuckled. "That's right, my little rain cloud."
"But what about the party?" Violet asked, eager for an ending.
"Oh, that's easy." Mrs. Sugar stood up and straightened out her dress. "I charged into that ball room, looked my mother in the eye and said 'I'm going to pack my things. I love you. I'm leaving.'"
"You just... left?" Violet asked. She wasn't satisfied. Her now-hyper-sensitive eyes were open wide. Her mouth was slightly a gap, showing her tiny fangs. "You faced the arctic north on your own?"
"What? No." Mrs. Sugar waved her hoof. "I had help, of course. A few explorers were needing to go back to get to their families. Once I got out of the snow, I planted my hooves on trains and carts. I cooked in order to make a few bits here and there. Eventually, I stumbled into Yellow and... well, you two know the rest."
Mrs. Sugar patted both of the girls on their heads. She walked out of the room, leaving the girls to continue getting ready.
"Isn't that story nice! She used to tell me that story when I was tiny, and I was having nightmares." Cloudy said blissfully.
But something didn't sit right with Violet. If Mrs. Sugar truly meant everything she said, then that implied an entire civilization was in the arctic north, completely unknown to the rest of the common world. Not only that, but supposedly there was an even bigger civilization, that was destroyed by some huge disaster. She imagined it's ruins, crumbling buildings completely covered in snow and ice, probably taken over by yetis or some other creatures.
She looked up towards the sky, seeing the bright sun through the frosty window panes. She shrugged her shoulders, and continued to get ready.