CHAPTER 3: DRAWBACK OF DESPERATION

Violet felt as if she were hypnotized. Even though she'd never been in a world such as this one, there were small things that still even she found familiar. Little things one didn't often take notice of, such as the colors. For her it was the color red, that reminded her of home. Her memories were bitter to say the least, and she didn't enjoy recalling them, but they couldn't help but come to mind. She looked dazed, as her eyes were fastened on a small piece of cloth she was using to wrap up a hefty amount of bits for Rarity. Her magic holding a pen in place, the tip fastened on the surface of a piece of paper. The ink, red as the cloth, moist and wet as it sunk deep into the material of the paper.

Violet looked to be reaffirming her sense of purpose, as she was taken back to darker times. Times that reminded her of why she could never truly become comfortable in this world. Times that reminded her of one of her greatest fears, dragons.

Fire, that was all she could see. A world bathed in living flame, that danced about and wrapped itself around its victims, like that of a serpent coiling around its prey. Tears swelled in the filly's eyes as she climbed to all fours, staggering, and lacking the will to move forward. She was afraid, frozen in place, and that very fear outgrew her own will to survive. She watched as wooden homes caved in on themselves, still with individuals inside. There was screaming, as expected, their agonizing cries piercing her mind and leaving their mark, no different from any physical wound. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't look away, it was as if some unexplained force kept her focused, forced her to witness such a horrific act.

Then, there was a faint voice.

"What're you doing kid!?"

It felt so quiet, inaudible, and it wasn't enough to turn her away from the sight before her. The sight of ponies being scorched alive, many tossing and turning on the ground before them, their eyes wide with full realization of what was happening. Obvious in their expressions that they could feel every torturing second in their last brief moments of life. Ponies she'd seen daily, ponies of all kinds, mothers, fathers, children, it was a diverse massacre. She looked to two individuals in particular, a colt, about her size. It looked confused, just as much as she was. It watched with wide eyes as another, larger equine, gripped her own mane, tearing at it as the flame covered her very being.

The colt seemed desperate, unaware of what to do, but fully aware he was running short on time. He reached for her, as if that would make any difference. The mare, while letting off that screeching yell and horrific cry, swatted his hoof away. It was obvious soon enough her throat was burning, for her expression of pain never left her face, but her cries slowly died down. She fell to the dirt, eyes wide, as her once beautiful light brown coat, charred into a horrific blackish red. The colt lowered himself next to the now motionless mare, and simply remained silent. The small purple filly could not see his expression, for his back was facing her, but in some ways, she knew she didn't want to see it.

"Kid! Get your head out of the clouds!"

There was that voice again.

"Come on! We've gotta move now!!"

The filly's eyes widened, as she was forcibly turned by a random individual. She looked up at him in concern, fear, confusion, as he looked down at her observantly. Details that made little difference, but he couldn't help but notice them. She wore rags for clothes as expected, her mane and coat were different shades of purple, as were her eyes. She looked rough, dirty, and it wasn't hard to guess she was a filly who'd probably lived on her own in the village. He shook his head, concentrating on the situation at hoof once again, as he pushed her along. "Come on, we've got to go! This isn't the time to be distracted kiddo."

The filly glanced back at the colt, before seeing him get swiftly carried off by another older pony, much in similar fashion to what was happening to her right now. She felt relieved, to see that he'd gotten away. But still, that didn't make this situation make any more sense. The filly gulped, as she and her new-found companion made their way through the flaming ruins of what was once a small begotten little town. "Sir, w-what's happening?"

The stallion accompanying the filly didn't take a moment to glance down at her, as he just replied on impulse, "Dragons!"

The filly's eyes widened further, "D-Dragons?"

The stallion nodded as he gulped, "Yes, dragons, now we need to hurry before they-"

"What're you doing with that child!?" A voice cut in, as the stallion and filly stopped to regard a group of individuals blocking their path. It consisted of two raggedy looking mares as well as another older stallion, and two frightened fillies. The mare's in particular eyed the small purple filly with anger, as one spoke out against her. "Let her burn with the houses!"

The filly flinched, as she trembled somewhat, clenching onto the stallion.

The stallion accompanying the small purple filly snapped back, "What?! Have you lost your minds!? She's a kid!"

One of the mares swiped her hoof before snarling ferociously. "That child is from Canterlot! She's no different from the heartless monsters who put us here to begin with! Did you ever question just hooow she got here!? She's obviously an exile, forced out for her own bigotry and rotten behavior! It was those like her who lived in luxury, while all of us outside the walls suffered, just as we are now! Now she requires our help!? I say let her burn!"

The stallion seemed speechless for a moment, before looking down at the filly then back at the mare, snapping at her once again. "Are you an idiot!? Now's not the time for personal grudges, we've gotta get out of-"

Suddenly, slamming down upon the ground beside them, crushing the frail wooden houses with ease, would be a massive dragon. It's scales a glistening red, blinding like that of the flames. It grinned as its eyes fastened on the small group of ponies foolish enough to halt in their retreat, to stop running for their lives. It didn't hesitate to relish in their obvious fear of his presence, before it easily snatched up two with its massive claws.

One of the mares, victim to its grasp, screamed as she attempted to tear away from him. "N-NO! Let me go!!" She repeated multiple times, her rampant unending cries making little difference in the reality of the situation. The dragon took a moment to look her in the eyes, to see them wide with tears before snarling ferociously. He made it a slow approach, delicately holding her over his wide open jaws, as his tongue slithered and ran itself along the mare. The mare never ceased in her horrified screams afterwords, as he steadily lowered her between the white razors he called teeth.

One of the fillies upon the ground reached up with a whaling cry, "A-AUNTIE!"

The rest of the group, only looked up in horror, in disbelief, as they could only watch such an act ensue.

The mare, unable to accept her fate, continued to cry out, pleading with the beast for her life. It ignored her, as she let off more sounds of desperation, "STOP!!! PLEASE, N-" then silence, as he chomped down, denying her the right to finish. Blood spattered as it decorated the ground below in a light shade of crimson. Some of the ponies even having their faces suddenly spattered in the bright red glow, the thick reeking substance rolling down between their eyes and muzzles. Some could hear the faint distorted gurgles of the pony being chewed alive.

It was this, this scene, that compelled them to finally move, disregarding of anything else as they all made way for a path up ahead, further out of town and into the wilds. The filly who'd cried out turned pale, but she to moved with the others, having to be forced along a bit.

However, one pony remained, another filly in particular as she looked up at the dragon. Her purple mane shifting with the winds as she then took notice of the second individual who'd been captured. It was the stallion from earlier, as he was trapped beneath the massive claw of the beast, fearful, afraid of what was to come. He looked to the filly, as if begging her to free him although they both knew it wasn't possible. The filly kept her eyes on him, her hoof still close to his as she wanted nothing more than to free him to. It was a moment short lived as the dragon raised the stallion, and the filly only continued to watch. The stallion was now no different from the mare, pleading for his life. "N-No!! Let me down!"

The filly rose to her hooves, not wanting to see the rest of the horrific take place before her. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do more, turn and run, or simply cover her ears just so she wouldn't have to hear the same sound of crunching meat and breaking bones like she had mere moments ago. She decided to go with the first option, and turned and ran, and felt horrible for doing so. But what could she do, she was no more than a filly, she didn't have the strength to stop the dragons from overpowering the ponies. So she ran, trotting as fast as she could as she made way for the forests in the distance. She glanced back however, taking one last look at the temporary village she stayed in. What she saw next, is what caused her heart to ache painfully, to bring her to full realization of why this happened.

There was something standing further in the distance of the village, right in the center of a pool of flame. It would be a dragon more massive than the numerous others, he seemed frustrated, upset. His scales much like her own coat in a sense, a light purple shade as his eyes were that of an emerald green. He let off a piercing roar, as all it took were two words, two words, to send the little filly into a spiral of remorse she would not soon be rid of. The dragon cried out, "Find her!"

"Mrow?"

Violet immediately looked as if she snapped out of her daze, before she glanced back down at Opalescence. She flashed the cat a pleased smile, before lowering a hoof to pet her softly.

"Mrooooow." Opalescence frowned, immediately turning away, then proceeding out of the room.

Violet looked a little disappointed, but she quickly recovered, focusing back on the piece of paper before her. Ah, that's right, she was writing a letter to Rarity, thanking her for her generosity. The mare touched up upon her small thanks, before dropping the pen afterwords, leaving Rarity a fair amount of bits. In the end, Violet wasn't able to go through with taking a full set, and felt it would be pointless to do so otherwise. All she required was her cloak, and she wasn't raised to rely on things such as full sets of clothing, if any at all. A cloak however, always helped, especially for one looking to conceal their appearance. She almost looked angry with herself, angry in the fact that she was actually growing more comfortable here. She'd only been here for a few hours, yet here she was, shopping. It was such memories that reminded her of why she could never allow herself to grow too comfortable. She had a job to do, one that she couldn't let herself be deterred from.

She took a few trots back, before turning and exiting the room. From there she made her way down the stairs, and furthermore, out of the boutique itself. The pen remained firmly atop the piece of paper, although it was obvious by the end of the letter, that Violet had grown distracted, due to certain reasons.

Thank you Mistress Rarity of the Circus House, for you have reminded me of the importance of generosity. I leave you bits as payment, do with them as you will. I hope to run into you again someday. Sincerely, Violet Autumn.

Rarity gasped as she burst through the door of Sugarcube Corner. She had trouble catching her breath as she rested her upper half on the wooden door, before looking to Pinkie Pie. "PINKIE!"

Pinkie however, looked relaxed, calm, as she ran a hoof through her fake moustache. Her brow twitched at the mare, "Vwy, what do we have here? It seems I am having many visitors dis night. Mmmmmhmhmhmhmhm."

Rarity's nose wrinkled in annoyance before she stomped over to Pinkie, tearing off the mustache. "What're you doing!?"

Pinkie gasped, as she puckered her lower lip. "Heeeey..."

Rarity continued, "Pinkie this is serious! Twilight has gone bonkers! She's lost her mind I tell you! We must get the others!"

Pinkie blinked a bit, before chuckling, looking fairly amused. "Twilight? Or do you mean, Violet? MWAH!"

Rarity cocked a brow at Pinkie, "Violet, no she's not Violet, she's still Twi-" Rarity paused, coming to a realization before raising her forehooves angrily at the poofy maned mare. "WAIT! SHE'S BEEN HERE!?" Rarity, shook her head and sighed, covering her face with a hoof. "Pinkie! D-Darling, you're telling me she came here and you, let her go?"

Pinkie looked a little offended. "What? Why of course I did silly, Twilight was obviously just playing a game. She just wanted cupcakes to take back to Spike, we even played a little! Obviously you're not playing along."

Rarity took hold of Pinkie's cheeks, pressing her nose against hers. "Pinkie. This, is, no, gaaame!!! Darling this is serious! Twilight is sick, very very very very very sick! We have to get the others!" Rarity paused, "Wait, so if she got what she came for and left. Then that means she'll just-, oh no!" Rarity's expression sunk worriedly as she trotted back and forth. "Pinkie! Hurry along, we've got to hurry back to the boutique!"

Pinkie looked a little hesitant about such an idea, "B-But, I need to watch over Sugarcu-"

Rarity interrupted almost immediately, "Sugarcube Corner can wait! We've got to go!"

Pinkie just bounced from behind the counter worriedly, making her way over to Rarity who was already heading for the door. "Okie dokie!"

But as Rarity made it outside, her eyes widened as she looked to the sky, feeling the tiny pelts of rain touch upon her face. She raised a brow, as did many who were still wandering about. No longer did Princess Luna's stars decorate the night sky, now there were simply thick clouds of black, as if a violent storm were about to hit. Rarity couldn't help but get an ominous feeling as she looked to those clouds, hearing faint thunder in the distance. "Pinkie?"

Pinkie however was all smiles, as she cocked her head cheerfully. "Yep!?"

Rarity continued, lowering her tone somewhat, "Did Rainbow Dash miss cloud duty today?"

Pinkie seemed a little confused as she shook her head, "No, I don't think so!"

Rarity raised a brow, skeptical about the weather. "Strange."

Violet's eyes to, were fastened on the sky above. As she looked speechless, but well aware of what was happening. She couldn't find the words, as her face looked no different from the time she was no more than a frightened filly, looking upon a monstrous dragon. Her body trembled, as she muttered quietly to herself, "Impossible." She was horrified, and she took a moment to look around at the citizens of Ponyville as they looked to the sky as well, more out of curiosity rather than fear.

But she knew this was no cause of plain bad weather, especially after having just arrived here. Her eyes saddened at the fact of their ignorance, the fact that they were so unaware. But it also fueled the mare's determination, as Violet immediately pulled out one last cupcake, before hounding it down hungrily. Afterwords she gritted her teeth, debating the situation with herself. D-Drawback? Why must things only continue to get worse?! Am I cursed with bad luck. She let off a soft tired grunt.

But as Violet was more concentrated on the weather, suddenly there were other ponies. But instead of worrying about what this weather meant, they were more focused on who'd be cleaning it up, and they had just the right idea.

Many of the ponies were looking towards a particular cloud house, a group of them yelling at it as they had grumpy expressions. "Rainbow Dash!!!", they shouted in unison, "Raaaaaainbow!"

Suddenly emerging from a particular cloud home, would be a very colorful looking pegasi, just as grumpy as the group that hounded her from below. She crossed her forehooves with bags beneath her eyes, "WHAT!? Jeez guys, can't a pony get a little shut eye around here!?"

One of the ponies raised a brow, growing more soaked by the second. They all just continued to stare at Rainbow, as if implying the same thing, waiting for their weather pegasi to take notice of it.

Rainbow looked a little confused, before realizing that there were pelts of rain hitting her. Her eyes widened as she looked upward, seeing an amass of black clouds gathered above. "W-What!?" She looked back down towards the group, shaking her head in self defense of what was occurring. "N-No you guys I swear! I cleared the clouds earlier, there's no way I missed any of them!"

The ponies all just continued to stare up at her, not caring for excuses, with impatient demeanor's. Some even tapping their hooves some as they let off hushed sighs.

Rainbow continued to look down at them as her own look of annoyance washed over her. She muttered, "Fiiiine..." With that the pegasi rose to the sky, as she crossed her forehooves and began making her way off towards the mass of black clouds. Groaning to herself along the way, "Cleeear the clouds, do this, do that, blah blah blah, freakin so late at night, why do they need a clear sky anyhow!? I mean, it's not like they're supposed to be out and about around this time anyway! Sheesh! I mean seriously, what's a mare gotta do to get a little respect aro-"

"Excuse me!"

Rainbow glanced down at the particular pony calling out to her, only to see a hooded purple mare. Her face was concealed so she couldn't really tell who it was, but she replied anyhow, "Yea?"

The hooded mare flashed Rainbow a smile, "You are going to clear the clouds yes? May you accompany me? I have much need for your assistance colorful pony of the sky." Violet pulled down on her hood somewhat, although she didn't reveal it, but she was blushing, for she'd never seen a mare of such colors. Such a beautiful coat and mane, in a sense, she'd never seen anything like it, the accumulation of so many diverse colors on one particular pony, it was amazing to say the least. "I have a good feeling we'll make fine use of one another, n-not implying I shall use you of course! But,...There may be more at work here than one can handle alone." Violet's expression sunk, concealing the fact she did indeed need two present at the scene, for she was unsure of what they'd find, and certain one may need to report the matter if unfortunate events were to occur. "P-Please, if it's no trouble that is."

Rainbow took a moment to think about, before putting on a cheery expression. "Sure! Beats doing this all alone, plus it's so late, maybe you can understand my frustration! Anywho!" The pegasi dashed to the ground, before skidding atop the dirt in a masterful form, halting right beside the mare. "What's your name?"

Violet's eyes were wide, such speed seemed unheard of. "It's...Violet, erhm...Violet Autumn."

Rainbow nudged her softly with a playful chuckle, "Hah! Well nice to meet you Violet, as you may have heard, names Rainbow Dash, funny running into a pony like you here. Either way, let's go get this over with eh? What do you need to head on over to the clouds for anyway?"

Violet gulped, "We'll see. Rainbow Dash, forgive me, but I must suggest we take a much faster form of transportion."

Rainbow looked a little offended by such words, "Faster!?"

Violet nodded, as she let off a soft chuckle soon afterwords. "Yes, portals."