In a world where the mane six weren't there to save the day, a royal painter struggles under the rule of Nightmare Moon.
Inspired by the season 5 finale
The rainboom never happened. The mane six were never friends. Now, Nightmare Moon rules all of Equestria with her sister trapped in the moon. Violet Tempera is a royal painter in the castle of Nightmares, and is facing the Mare in the Moon every day, but she still remembers the beloved princess of the sun. After so many years of night, she needs to find a way to bring Celestia back.
She recalls a legend of six magical stones to guide her on her journey.
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This is a case of writing for the sake of writing, so things aren't solidly mapped out. Thanks to JustAnotherRandomPony for editing. You're welcome to point out tpyos in the comments!
The day was hot, and very bright. The pegasi had cleared out all of the clouds, leaving just the burning sun to light the day, and everypony was inside to enjoy nice, cool drinks and air conditioning.
Violet Tempera was no different. She huffed as she stared at the heat waves outside, her small hooves propped up on the windowsill. There wasn't even a breath of wind. She looked inside, where propped up on a couch, a colorful kite sat. She had been waiting all week to be able to fly the new kite, but as soon as the weekend started, poof. The wind vanished. Now, with an unexpectedly free day in front of her, she had no idea what to do.
Giving a grunt of frustration, the pegasus filly hopped away from the window and began trotting through the house. She had a well-kept blue-violet coat, with a dark, curly mane bobbing up and down as Violet made her way to the only entertainment she could think of at the moment: Mom.
She stepped into the large room of her mother's. There, near the door, stood a plump, light pink unicorn with a wavy, baby blue mane. She stood in front of a canvas, a levitating brush stroking across it before dipping back into paint. She was quietly humming to herself.
Violet quietly approached her mother, looking up at her mother's cutie mark as she passed it: a stroke of paint showing off the bright colors of the rainbow. The filly liked her mother's cutie mark, especially being a blank flank herself. Satisfied, Violet turned back to the canvas, only to see her mother's smiling face looking straight at her.
The filly squeaked and jumped back. She heard her mother giggle, and looked up to look at Sky Tempera's smiling face. Quickly regaining her composure, Violet trotted up to her mother's face and gave her a nuzzle.
"Do you want to see what I'm painting?" Sky offered. Violet grinned, and began hopping up and down. "Yes! Yes! Yes!"
Sky chuckled, and moved aside to show the progress of her picture. Violet's eyes widened as she saw a colorful and bright-albeit unfinished-painting of Princess Celestia. The filly gave a little gasp. "Is...is that....is that the Sun Princess?"
Sky nodded. "She's beautiful..." Violet breathed. Her mother gave a smile and grabbed the little pegasus in a hug. "The Princess herself wanted me to make a painting for her, did you know?"
Violet gave another gasp. "You're friends with Celestia?"
"I wouldn't exactly call it that, but yes, I have met her."
The filly gave a squee. "You think you can make her cool off the sun a bit?"
Sky raised an eyebrow. "Why do you want the sun to cool off?"
"So I can finally fly my new kite!" She lifted her hooves into the air, as if to emphasize the grandeur of her kite.
Sky laughed. "I'm not sure that's something I can ask of the princess. However, maybe I could ask a little patience from you? This heat won't last forever."
Violet gave a pout. "But I want to fly my kite now!. I've been waiting all week!"
Sky shook her head with a small smile on her face. "I'm sorry honey, but it looks like you're going to have to wait a little longer."
The pegasus felt her throat tighten. It wasn't fair. She began to sniffle. "It's not fair..."
She felt a hoof brush her cheek. "Hey, it's alright. Let's try taking advantage of a free day."
Violet looked at her mother. "Do you want to watch mom paint?"
Violet couldn't help but smile, and gave another sniffle. "A-alright."
With a sigh of relief, Sky moved her filly to her side for a good view of the canvas.
"Oh, finally. There are some pests I need to take care of and I've already put it off. Can't you move a little faster?"
"Oh, don't worry. I-it's finished."
A dark, tall alicorn sat up from her dark, regal throne. She had a coat that was black as night, and bright blue covering her head, chest, and hooves. Her eyes were not that of a normal pony's, but like a cat's, with a turquoise glow that watched your movements. When she spoke, you could see white, sharp teeth behind her lips. A wispy mane with stars floated behind her, and the symbol of a bright, crescent moon was emblazoned on her chest. This was Nightmare Moon.
Nightmare Moon was a tyrant, to say the least. She was a strong and threatening mare that had taken her place by force, and everypony knew nopony was going to be able to overthrow her for a very long time. Proof lay in the shadow on the forever present moon in the sky, it's surface dipped in pink, blue, and green. Nightmare Moon was powerful, and the spectacle terrified Violet Tempera, the royal artist.
Nightmare Moon had been sitting still to allow Violet to sketch out her figure on the paper. But now, she was out of her seat, and walked over the Violet, expecting a good picture. Violet wasn't sure if Nightmare Moon would like it. Her armored hooves clicked against the cold, smooth floor as she slowly approached the artist. Violet couldn't help but tense up as she felt the air turn icy at the Mare's approach. She shut her eyes tight as the image of Nightmare Moon turning her neck to look at her pencil image with judging, catlike eyes flashed through her head.
"Hm." was all she said at first. Violet peeked an eye open. "My eyes aren't as grand and threatening." Violet felt warmth return to her body as she heard the calm voice, and hope filled her. That was the smallest amounts of criticism she had ever gotten. That meant that maybe, just maybe, she liked it. "They look too nice, far too gentle. In fact, they look like..."
Perhaps I spoke to soon, Violet thought with dread as all of the previous warmth vanished. Her ears pressed flat against her head, her eyes wide open to see glare coming from those piercing eyes. "...my sister's eyes!" she almost spat. Violet's knees shook. She hadn't meant to make it look like that! Her mind just drifted a little, and she was remembering Celestia, and it just came out onto the page... "I-I'm sorry, your Majesty, it wasn't on purpose!" she blabbered. "Look, I'll fix it immediately, here-"
"Out of the way!" Nightmare Moon shoved Violet to the side, gaining a squeak from the latter. Violet spilled out onto the floor and watched as the pencil that had been set on a nearby stool was wrapped in a turquoise aura and was lifted into the air. Violet felt herself quiver as she saw Nightmare Moon begin making quick, angry strokes on her picture. She hates it she hates it she hates it! Violet thought to herself, her eyes shut in despair. She's going to either scribble it out or rip it to pieces! She looked up to see Nightmare Moon finish her strokes, before grabbing it in her magic to show it to Violet. But as the drawing was turned back to her, she was surprised.
It wasn't scribbled out, in fact, it was barely altered at all.
Violet could barely make any coherent words from her shock. Usually, when Nightmare Moon disliked a piece of art, she would destroy it. Violet looked at the mare in question, her mouth agape. Nightmare Moon only glared at her, watching as Violet tried to regain her composure, still unable to speak. But as the Dark Mare turned around and began to exit the hall, the pegasus quickly found her tongue again. "W-wait, your Majesty!" she yelled after the moving figure. "D-do you want it colored with pastels or pencils?" the shadow stopped.
"Pastels. I never liked the texture pencils gave me." She called back, and bright eyes looked back at her. "And make sure you get the colors right."
Violet shuddered, she knew what she meant. Another artist-an old stallion-had made a dire mistake and accidentally painted a Nightmare Moon with mostly shades of purple rather than blue. She was seething when she saw it, and dragged him off. Poor guy. Who knew where he was now.
Violet gave a sheepish grin the shadow, sweat dripping down her face. "I-I could never forget your lovely image, your Majesty."
Nightmare Moon nodded, and continued walking away. "Good. Also, don't make that face again. You look pathetic."
The smile immediately vanished. Violet quietly watched the doors open and close, before turning back to her sketch with a sigh of relief. It felt like a large weight had just been lifted from the room. She looked up at the changes that Nightmare Moon had done to it, but surprisingly, there was only one difference: the eyes were more catlike, confident, and frightening. But more importantly, Nightmare Moon had kept the majority of the picture intact.
Does that mean that she liked it?
Violet found herself staring at the picture for minutes on end. What did I do right this time? She looked at the armor, the decorated throne, the starry mane, but she got no luck. Everything looked fine. They all looked the same way as the other pictures that Nightmare Moon had rejected. In fact, the quality was the same as the others. But what made this one stand out? Violet sighed. Nightmare Moon would often act like this, not knowing what to like or what to hate, and her actions were often extreme.
"A-hem."
"Ah!" Violet hopped a little as she looked behind her. There, a white unicorn with a purple mane wrapped tight in a bun, much like the other servants in the castle, was prodding Violet with a pointed hoof. She had a tight, dark outfit, long eyelashes, and three bright blue diamonds on her flank. The unicorn gave another huff. "Could you please stop staring at your picture and leave the hall? The tapestries need changing. Again." She seethed that last word.
Seeing that it was just another pony, Violet's heart slowed down to a calmer beat. She turned towards the mare. "Sorry about that!" she apologized. Violet only received a glare. "Y-you're.....um, Rarity, right?" Violet could recall Nightmare Moon demanding a change of the tapestries multiple times a week, and forcing Rarity to take care of them every time. Nightmare Moon was indecisive, and demanding. The Dark Mare was anything but moderate in her choices, and especially her moods. Rarity rolled her eyes. "Yes, that's my name. But why do you care?" she snapped.
Violet shook her head vigorously. "Oh! It's nothing, I just wanted to know." Quickly picking up all her supplies, she gently grabbed the picture and draped it across her back. "Sorry for getting in the way, I'll be going now!" she said, before promptly trotting off.
An irritated huff came from behind her. "First that stuck-up mare telling me to change the tapestries again, and now a bumbling artist to ruin my day." The sound of magic was faint as Rarity began her job, and Violet exited the room. The unicorn mare sighed, a sad look on her face. "And these tapestries went really well with the throne room, too..."
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Down in the servant's quarters, Violet pushed her door open with a hoof, and walked inside, careful not to step on the many pieces of paper strewn about the floor. While this room was given for her to work on her art, Violet had moved a mattress inside, and had turned the place into a bedroom. None of the maids that passed through gave it a second thought or bothered to inform Nightmare Moon about it, so Violet wasn't worried.
The carpet was a deep blue, and the walls a lighter shade of it. While there was a window to offer some moonlight, unlit lamps were placed around the room for when Violet was working. Against a wall was the faded mattress with blankets and pillows piled on. The place was never cleaned, which was a relief. Violet had always enjoyed a messy room. Near the window was a desk for her to draw on, an easel for her paintings on the right, and a tall mirror on the left. On the opposite wall was a closet, with clothing, paintings, and various other items shoved in.
She looked down at all of the papers covering the floor. Some of them had rough sketches, waiting to be made into something colorful and beautiful. Others had practice drawings on them, and some of them were blank altogether. However, next to the desk, was a pile of papers. Some were ripped into pieces, some were scribbled out, and some were scribbled out and ripped into pieces. It was the pile of the pictures Nightmare Moon didn't like, the pile of rejections.
Seeing the sad scraps of paper made Violet even more grateful of Nightmare Moon's approval of the drawing slung over her back. It felt nice to not have her effort torn apart. Sighing, she walked in, and placed the sketch and all of her drawing supplies down on the table. She would work on it later. She turned around, and saw herself in the mirror. She was in a similar uniform that Rarity was in, and her black, curly mane was similarly tied up in a bun, but hers was unkempt and loose. Her blue-violet coat was bright and soft, and plastered on her flank was a light purple splatter of paint in the shape of a heart.
Shaking her head, Violet turned away from her reflection, and tiredly walked over to her bed before promptly flopping down on the stiff mattress. She was getting awfully tired of painting and drawing Nightmare Moon, over, and over, and over again.
Violet could remember the time before Nightmare Moon's reign. The monarchy before that was Princess Celestia, a kind and peaceful ruler. While she may have been almost as powerful as Nightmare Moon, Celestia had a warm presence surrounding her, a presence that made you feel that you could trust her immediately. Violet's mother, Sky Tempera, often made paintings for Celestia's castle, but unfortunately Violet had never been able to meet the alicorn in person. So, a few years ago, Violet took a vacation to go watch the Summer Sun Celebration in Ponyville.
That was the day Nightmare Moon returned. Celestia had vanished after being sent to the moon, and Nightmare Moon showed up in Celestia's place. Nightmare Moon talked, establishing herself as the new ruler of Equestria with her eternal night, before abducting several ponies in the crowd-including me-and rebuilding the abandoned castle in the Everfree Forest into the Castle of Nightmares. The painter had been stuck there ever since.
Violet turned her head to look at the easel. On it was a nearly finished painting, another portrait of Nightmare Moon. She had to finish it tonight to make sure that it could get put up in the hall tomorrow.
She felt bile in the back of her throat at the idea of painting the Dark Mare again. But she had to, she didn't want to end up like the previous artist. She didn't know what happened to him or where he went, but she knew it wasn't good.
Pulling herself out of bed, she began to drag her hooves to the easel, staring at Nightmare Moon's painted face as she approached it. But as she got closer and closer the the painting, saw that painted confident image of evil on her face, Violet felt her resentment grow. She hated how scared she was of Nightmare Moon. Nopony else frightened Violet as much as she did! The tyrant had ruined her life, ruined Equestria, and Violet couldn't do a thing about it!
Violet stopped in front of the canvas, the anger bubbling inside her now at a tipping point. She scowled at the grin on Nightmare Moon's face, and could almost hear her aggravating, loud voice oozing out. Violet's teeth ground together. She couldn't take it anymore. Then, with one swift motion, she grabbed the canvas with her teeth, and flung it across the room. She heard something break, but she didn't care. Turning back to the now empty easel, she grabbed a new canvas in her teeth and propped it up.
She stared at the empty canvas before her. What did she want to draw? Violet looked out the window, and stared at the moon, with the shadowy figure, and the colors of pink, blue, and green wrapped around it.
That's it! Inspiration hit her like a freight train. She quickly grabbed a pencil off of her desk, and began to sketch out a grand pony with large, kind eyes. Violet would close her own, and drew, guided by the memory of a beautiful painting of the Sun Princess by her mother.
Time worked very oddly now with Nightmare Moon in power. In order to keep a time system, the moon still traveled across the sky. However, once the moon reached the horizon, the moon would turn around, and begin traveling the other way, then turn around again once it reached the other side, etc. Two touches to the horizon was twenty four hours.
The moon was on the east horizon, and had just turned around, making it "morning".
At this time, Nightmare Moon hadn't waken up yet, and Violet was trotting through the hallways, still tired, to set up the new painting in the hallway.
Technically, the royal painter didn't set up the paintings. The servants took care of it. All Violet would usually do is hand them the painting and see it put up later in the day. Still, Violet knew that the servants worked a lot, and decided to give the picture to them herself, just to try and make things easier for them. She stifled a yawn.
Violet had worked relentlessly the previous night, and the painting of Celestia had been completed. The rush of energy that she had felt staring at the bright princess after finishing it had squeezed out much of her frustrations. Once it dried, it was covered with a cloth and put in the closet, with Violet planning to bring it out when she was upset. She knew it would help a lot. However, with all of that time used up, Violet had to stay up even later to finish the Nightmare Moon painting. Now, with only a few hours of sleep, Violet walked through the hallways at a tired, slow crawl.
Her exhaustion was worth it, though, with proof showing in the painting strapped to her back, wrapped in a dark blue cloth. This one was particularly good, despite it being a portrait of Nightmare Moon. She hoped that the Mare would like it, and not destroy it.
But even that thought couldn't bring Violet down. Elevated from the satisfaction of success (as well as a bit of coffee), Violet looked forward to presenting the portrait with unreal optimism and a little tune in her head that she hummed all the way.
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The entrance to the hallway opened with barely a creak, and Violet looked in to see the mare from the previous day - Rarity, Violet remembered - putting up tapestries, and a pegasus stallion helping her out. He had a grey coat and a yellow mane, all fancied up in a dark blue suit. His ears pricked as Violet pushed the door the rest of the way open, and looked in her direction. When the two locked eyes, the stallion merely grunted, before returning to his work. Seeing the stallion look, Rarity turned her head to see Violet quietly approaching. The servant's eyes widened and she a raised eyebrow. "What are you doing at this hour?" she called out suspiciously. Violet tried to give a bright smile, despite her weariness. "Oh, I was just hoping that I could help you out a little." She turned to show the covered painting on her back.
There was slight surprise on Rarity's face, but it was quickly wiped away as she trotted towards Violet, her usual expression back on.
"Well, alright then," the mare spoke as blue magic levitated the painting off of Violet's back. "I suppose this has freed up a bit more time for me. It is such a long way to your workroom, you know." She turned away from the painter. "So, thank you." Her voice was dignified and level, but a polite word from the servants wasn't often heard, and Violet smiled in appreciation. But as she turned away from the two workers, she could feel a sigh forming in her throat, thinking of the journey all the way back to her room. She would probably have to get to work soon, and wouldn't be able to get enough sleep. The ponies in this castle always woke her up rudely, too. Why did this place have to be so bitter?
Rarity was certainly in this category of unpleasantness. Violet trotted down the hallways, thinking of the times ponies always lashed out at her with a sharp tongue.
But at least Rarity gave some level of kindness, Violet admitted. She stopped walking for a second, and sighed, shaking her thoughts out of her head. Violet couldn't feel very chipper in this castle, either. How could she blame everyone else for feeling the same?
Shaking her head again, she began her trek back to her room, the sound of Rarity's magic removing the cloth on the painting fading as Violet left.
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Oh, sweet, sweet, bed, how I've missed you! Violet thought with a sigh of relief as she collapsed onto the mattress. The time on a clock on the wall told her that she had about half an hour before her night started, and Violet planned to sleep the deepest sleep she possibly could to get as much energy she could for the time ahead of her. Exhausted, she closed her eyes, and she was out faster than a light.
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A loud knocking on her door shattered through Violet's dreams. It was a shame too, it was such a happy dream. It was about....what was it? She couldn't quite remember. Oh well, it had been lovely nonetheless, Violet knew. She gave a little yawn before calling out to the pony outside her door.
"What is it?"
"Madam, its twenty past time you woke up. You're late."
Violet jolted straight out of bed. "What?!"
She began racing around her room, putting on her uniform, brushing her mane, and collecting all of her tools. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?!"
"It's not my job to wake you up, you know." There was an edge of annoyance in the voice. "The only reason I came is because Nightmare Moon's in the painting hall, and she's been asking for you. "
Violet froze, dropping everything. What?! What did I do? Is it the Nightmare Moon painting?! Her breathing became more and more rapid. Calm down, calm down! She yelled at herself. Take deep breaths! Shuddering, she began taking longer, deeper breaths. "I-I'm coming in, just a sec." She called to the door, her voice shaky.
There was no answer, just the sound of hooves trotting away. Violet closed her eyes, trying to sort her thoughts. Look, just get your stuff and face it head on, alright? You never know what might happen. Yesterday proved that.
Slightly comforted by these words, she collected the rest of her items, and exited the room to walk the hallway to the painting hall.
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The large door was opened with a cautious hoof. Violet Tempera took another breath, and poked her head into the throne room.
There Nightmare Moon stood right at the entrance, waiting for Violet, with those sharp eyes of her. Violet almost choked. "M-Majesty!" she coughed. "I didn't expect you right there!"
The Queen said nothing, only narrowed her eyes. Violet found herself starting to shake. What's going on? What's wrong?
"You finished the painting of me, correct?" Nightmare Moon's voice boomed. Violet looked up at her, and could only nod. Nightmare Moon gave a small smile, and began to move to the paintings hung up on the wall. As Violet looked on the wall, she felt her stomach twist into a ball as she saw a bright, glowing painting, contrasting the rest of the portraits.
"Then could you please explain to me why my sister was put up on the wall?"
Violet stared at the bright face of Princess Celestia looking back for what seemed like forever. She couldn't believe it. Fear froze her thoughts in place, it choked her tongue in her throat. She found herself unable to think or talk, only feeling her mane prickle in terror of the Mare next to her.
She was snapped out of her paralysis as she saw a turquoise beam strike out to the painting, and the entire image burst into flames. The two stared as the picture darkened, and finally fell to the ground in a black, smoking mess. Violet turned to Nightmare Moon and saw the scowl in that dark face, and how it revealed sharp, gleaming fangs. She saw the venom in her eyes, and the power and anger radiating off of her. She found her tongue again.
"I-I'm so sorry, your Majesty!" She began to panic. "I never intended for the painting to get up there! I did do the other one! I swear! I'll go back and bring it just please don't-"
BOOM!
A crack of thunder echoed through the halls, making Violet jump in the air, and curl up on the ground, staring up at the Tyrant in terror. Her saddlebags became undone, spilling her art supplies everywhere. Nightmare Moon's eyes were glowing white, and a magical steam floated off of her horn. "GUARDS!" Nightmare Moon declared in her Royal Voice. Immediately two armor-clad stallions bursted into the room, spears in hoof. "What is it, your Majesty?"
The white light faded from Nightmare Moon's eyes, and they pierced straight into Violet. "Take this mare to the dungeon. She is charged with treason."
The guards turned towards Violet and pointed their obsidian spears at her neck. Violet swallowed, and pressed her ears against her skull. "H-how long w-will I be there?" She stuttered.
"Oh, don't worry, it's not too long." Nightmare Moon smirked. "It won't be long."
Violet shuddered. Suddenly, she felt a hard shove from one of the guards. "Move along!" he ordered. Complying, Violet stood up on shaking knees, and they began to lead to the dungeons.
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The hard concrete of the dungeon floor scraped against Violet's cheek as she was forcefully thrown into the cell. She sat back up, sore all over, and pressed a hoof to her face. She looked back in time to see the guards slam the cell door with a loud clang that made her wince. She stood back up and watched as the two stallions walked off to the prison guard, who was out of sight. Violet couldn't see them, but she could hear the conversation and the shifting of items between them.
"Here's the saddlebag of the mare."
"It's mostly empty."
"Yeah, it came open and spilled everything in the painting halls. Some of the maids will clean it up."
"Alright. Anything else?"
"It seems that she'll be punished pretty soon, so be ready for that."
"Okay."
The sound of a pair of hoofsteps walked away and back up the stairs, and soon the dungeon grew quieter. That is, except for the whispering between prisoners, but it was barely audible. For a little while, Violet just sat there in disbelief, trying to process what had happened in such a short span of time. How did the painting get up there? It seemed that Violet had accidentally switched it with the Nightmare Moon portrait, but did nopony see it before it was put up? She put her hooves up to the sides of her head as she tried searching her mind to remember anything that could have caused this. Did they leave the cloth on, only to be removed by Nightmare Moon?
It seems so. She thought in defeat, her hooves slumping back to the floor.
Violet looked down at the cold floor, regret deep in her chest. Why did I have to make that stupid painting and ruin everything? Life was fine before, why did I have to mess it up?
"Hey!"
Violet looked up to the sound of knocking on stone. She looked to her right, and heard the voice of a mare whispering from the other side. "Hello?" she responded.
"Hi! I'm Wild Ace. You?"
Violet stared at the wall, and began to inch closer. "...Violet Tempera."
"Nice to meet you!"
"Y-you too."
Not expecting this friendliness, Violet didn't talk any more, and a minute of silence followed before this Wild Ace asked another question.
"How'd you end up in here?"
Violet still said nothing. She wasn't sure how to answer, she wasn't sure how to explain it. So she decided to give the blunt truth.
"I...made a painting of Celestia, and it was hung up in one of the hallways." Her ears folded back at the story.
"Woah, really?!"
Violet nodded, but soon realized her mistake. "Yeah, I did."
"Geez, that takes some guts! I'm impressed!"
"Oh, I didn't do it on purpose. I had painted it the night before to relieve some stress, and it had somehow gotten switched around. I'm not sure how it had ended up on the wall."
"Oh. So you're the royal painter then?"
"Was, I suppose."
"Don't worry about that. Did Nightmare Moon hurt you?"
"No, she didn't. But it seems I'm going to be punished soon."
Wild Ace didn't say anything. It grew eerily quiet, and Violet felt the weight of what she just said begin to shift onto her. I'm going to be punished soon. She felt her eyes welling up.
But, almost as if she could feel Violet's sadness seeping through the wall, Wild Ace chirped up. "Hey, you know how I got stuck in here?"
"Sure."
"I was gambling with the royal guard. Played a lot of poker games with them."
"Let me guess, you lost and ended up in debt?"
"Nope!" Wild Ace laughed. "It was the opposite. I put the entire guard into debt after winning all the games!"
"Wait, really?!"
"Yeah! Nightmare Moon was furious when she heard about it. So she took all of the bits back, and threw me in here."
"Wow, that's actually really funny. A-aside from the you getting-thrown-into-jail part."
"It is. I've been in here for a few months now."
"How long is your sentence?"
"Not sure. Most ponies in here don't stay for very long, the dungeon isn't big enough for longer sentences. Most prisoners here stay for a week or two before moving out and who knows what happening to them."
"Why do you think you've stayed for so long then?"
"I'm hoping that maybe I just got lucky and Nightmare Moon forgot about me."
"That's lucky?"
"It's better than what happens to the ponies that leave here."
Violet felt herself pale at this. This place was awful!
"Uh....do you think you could tell me about the other ponies kept in here?"
"Oh sure. There's lots of them. There's Sky Chaser, who was part of a small group of rebel pegasi that tried attacking the castle. Unfortunately, they were defeated by the guards, led by Captain Rainbow Dash. The leader was escorted out a week ago.
"Then there's Dark Facade. He was a spy that was in the castle. He was caught a day ago, and hasn't said much since. All he said was his name, and nothing else.
"There's also Fluttershy, who fought against Nightmare Moon when she threatened a group of personal animals. Fluttershy really likes animals, and she's really nice. She was brought here a few days ago, and we've been helping her out with the situation. Poor thing's so scared."
Violet silently listened, her back leaning on the wall, Ace's voice behind her. All these ponies who stood up against the tyrant, and look how it all ended: beaten down, defeated, all just waiting for the time when they would be taken out of the cell and never come back.
And now Violet was with them, just the same.
She felt her chest tightening in sadness, and tears started to come in her eyes. She gave a shaky breath, trying to control yourself.
"Hey Violet, you okay?"
Violet said nothing in response, and simply broke down into sobs. She could hear the stroking of stone on the other side, and the concern in Ace's voice.
"Hey, don't think hard on it. Look, I'm sorry for scaring you, I didn't want that. Just....just try and have a little hope, okay? We all haven't been just sitting around, we're all working on plans to escape. Just try not to worry."
Violet sniffled. While the words were a little comforting, she needed these tears to flow. She needed to cry out all those emotions of fear, anger, and sadness that she had been under for years.
Her sobbing continued on for a few minutes, until she finally quieted down.
"Are you better now?"
The voice wasn't Ace's. It was much deeper, a stallions, and it wasn't coming through the wall. Violet looked up to see the prison guard looking down on her, his face expressing concern. Violet's mind jumped to the worst scenario. I'm being punished already?
Violet only nodded. The guard nodded as well. "Your name is Violet Tempera?"
"It is. Why are you here?"
The stallion cocked his head to the side, before darting his eyes to the ground. "I just wanted to say that the painting you made of Celestia was really beautiful."
Violet's eyes widened. "W-what?"
"Well, I just get really tired of seeing black and blue everywhere. The whites and golds of the portrait were a welcome change."
Violet scrunched her face in confusion, but soon it relaxed in understanding. "I suppose I'm not the only one who's tired of seeing Nightmare Moon plastered everywhere."
The stallion looked back up. "Oh, you're certainly not the only one."
"Why do you say that?"
The stallion gave a small smile. "How do you think that painting could have gotten up there by accident? Did you really think that nopony saw the painting while it was being put up, and that nopony saw it while passing by?"
Violet opened her mouth to say something, but her jaw was only left hanging. She remembered hearing Rarity uncover the painting with her magic. She must have seen it then. The stallion's voice cut in.
"Lots of ponies were happy to see the painting, especially after so many years of Celestia's banishment. So," Violet looked down as a small piece of chalk was tossed through the cell bars and landed with a clink at her hooves. "...do you think you could draw her again?"
Violet looked back at the guard, and nodded, still at a loss for words. "Sure."
She grabbed the piece of chalk with her teeth, and began to draw out the body. On and on she dragged the small white stick across the ground, and the picture continued to unfold in front of the two of them.
It wasn't until the piece of chalk was ground into a small stump that Violet spat it out, and backed up to admire the portrait covering almost the entire floor. Violet looked up to see the stallion staring at the picture, when she remembered something. "What's your name?"
The guard looked up. "Oh, it's uh, Astral Vision." he lifted his horn. "I'm an astronomer."
Violet tilted her head. "Really? How'd you get to be a prison guard?"
Astral shrugged. "It's a bit of a long story. It took a while to get here."
Violet said nothing as she nodded, and Astral turned away.
"Alright, I'm going to get back to my post. Thanks for the picture."
"Yeah." Violet replied as Astral walked away. "Thanks for the chalk."
