"Pass the salt, please."
Autumn Palgiot did as she was told, handing the jar to Summer. She had just returned home from their small visit to Fenderville, along with Winter while the yellow stallion stayed back to manage the city and to take care of their little sister.
Their older brother was late, as usual, no doubt in his room still pondering over machinations and theories.
Though Autumn added one more thing onto the list.
"How's the latter?" Summer asked, referring to Fenderville.
"Just fine," his sister replied casually.
"Though I'd rather expand my horizons. That town is just too similar to Pendant Lakes in every way."
The yellow stallion just chuckled, almost sarcastically with Autumn shooting him an annoyed glance.
"There really is not much to see, is there?"
"There are some worthwhile attractions..." she began pondering.
"I believe the ponies down south would appreciate it more than I would."
The door creaked open, a suited pony stepping inside with a bow.
"Miss Autumn. Lord Summer."
"Stellar," the mare called his name with a warm smile.
"How great it is to see you again!"
"As to you," the butler replied, pulling a silvery cart from behind him.
The utensils and foodstuff were all neatly arranged; the porcelain teapot and teacups placed in a corner, residing over a lace nest, with trays of tarts, pastries and jelly-topped buns taking up most of the space.
A level below were the stacks of napkins, some slightly ruffled, all packed together neatly in order. Beside those were the canisters of salt and sugar, distinguishable by the unbelievably ornate letters marked on the cylindrical surface.
"Where's Winter?"
"Still preparing for breakfast," Stellar answered, making Summer groan.
"Can't he ever get ready?"
The yellow stallion couldn't help but sneer, his sister rolling her eyes in annoyance.
As if in on a mocking cue, the door opened once more, with their esteemed brother stepping into the room.
"Did I miss anything?" he asked almost jokingly.
"Breakfast," Summer shot back in sarcasm, making their sister hiss in displeasure.
Winter was unfazed by that, his face only steeling with his wavering patience.
"Puree, eh?"
"Puree of turnip soup, with a little garnish of Kosher."
Stellar's brief explanation only make the Patriarch lick his lips hungrily, the old colt laughing quietly under his breath.
The trio of siblings silently ate their breakfast, with their butler standing patiently at the side, awaiting for any orders.
Unsurprisingly, Summer was the only one out of the three that called for his help, much to his older brother's annoyance.
"So it seems you've met Harmony when we were back in Fenderville."
Autumn's sudden statement nearly made Winter choke on his puree, Summer snickering at his older brother right across him.
"Y-Yes. A queer coincidence."
The stallion's hoof trembled, reaching for his cup of tea.
"I must admit I was very delighted on seeing her."
"Not to mention looking forward to it as well."
His sister's smile made him uneasy, the Patriarch shuffling in his seat nervously.
"I've seen you gazing out at the balcony," she teased, making him chuckle sheepishly in humiliation.
"You're always muttering her name. Harmony... Harmony~"
Autumn's sarcastic, singsong voice made her older brother laugh, sitting back into his seat.
"It seems emotions are getting the better of me. It's been a year, after all."
"Spring would be happy to see her again, as well as you, of course, judging from how you don't need to babysit the filly anymore and return to the library with all your books."
The pale beige mare grinned bashfully with delight at that, though Summer only humphed in response, crossing his hooves.
"After all," Winter continued, "She promised to return anytime soon."
"And I wouldn't be more happy to have her back."
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"Tally Telrouix. Rise."
Tally did as he was told, his face devoid of any emotion with his hooves tensed.
The eyes of countless ponies were placed down onto him, the pressure straining in his neck nearly unbearable. He had watched the rest of his family members get sent down the hallway in chains, with the exception of the young foals.
No doubt he would not stray from that path as well.
He stared at the majestic figure before him: the one mare he would fear most in his career, before bowing with spite.
"Your Highness."
"Tally Telrouix," Princess Celestia spat his name out like it was filth, glaring menacingly down upon him in disgust.
"You have committed crimes of heresy, of desecrating the lives of others around you with your indignant acts of slaughter and crimes of premature burial. To dare even lay a single hoof onto one of my primary subjects-"
"That mare deserved it," he cut in with cold sarcasm.
The alicorn wrinkled her nose, before continuing:
"... and have the nerve to attempt murder on her. What say you in your defense?"
Tally seemed to smile, surprisingly laid back as he gazed at the courtroom before him.
"You have all brought this upon yourselves. Your envy is the seed of your troubles, and neither of you have tended to it, letting it grow like a virus into the overgrown jungle it is today."
"All of you are tainted! Disillusioned into the belief of one Equestria, when in fact we are more separate, socially and ethically across all aspects of life. We have lavished too long under the harmonious rule of the Princesses. It's time we start to work again: to toil endlessly until we achieve full harmony. Until we achieve perfection!"
Princess Celestia raised a hoof, silencing the raving casino tycoon immediately.
"That's enough."
The judges of the panel scanned through the papers. Whisper by whisper passed through each and every one of them, until the one at the end finally conveyed their decision to the alicorn's ears.
She cleared her throat, glancing down with contempt at Tally. The decision was made.
"Tally Telrouix!" she scowled in her loud, booming Canterlot voice.
"For your crimes of heresy and massacre, of injustice and repulsive acts, you are sentenced to the capital punishment of execution. May your soul never find the mercy of another."
The pony just laughed a deep laugh, as if accepting death like it was his best friend.
The guards quickly led him away, dragging him by the chains as his maniacal laughter rang through the whole courtroom.
"HE WILL STRIKE!!" Tally bellowed, jingling his cuffed hooves into the air.
"HE WILL RETURN FOR REDEMPTION!!"
The crowd watched him laugh in his insanity, striking his hooves in the air.
Among them, seated close to the carpeted lane, were the Voyager Six, all grimacing at the sight of him.
One of them stepped forward from her seat, marching up to the crazed stallion.
Before any of her friends could stop her, she harshly yanked Tally closer, almost out of both guards' hooves. She glared defiantly at him, Tally just laughing at the sight of it.
*SMACK*
A series of gasps erupted as the stallion's face was reddened by the powerful kick, his jaw slightly bloodied with some of it dripping out of his mouth. The Princess remained unfazed by that, her mouth straight as a ruler.
Pinkie shook her own hoof, a few drops of blood traced over it, Her flat mane was shielding a part of her face, her eyes squinted in a fierce, raging glare.
"It's you," Tally snickered in a mocking tone, rubbing the blood flowing from his snout.
"How was the bed?"
The pink mare just spat into his face. Her face was wrathful, filled with cold hatred.
Rage brewed and bubbled in her cauldron of her heart, her teeth gritting in hellish devastation.
"Left speechless? I'm sure the accommodations are fine, aren't they?"
Tally laughed a brutal, hearty laugh, only making the mare's ears twitch in venomous antipathy.
Pinkie mustered up all her strength, her hooves clenched tightly.
She gave the stallion another staggering whack, snapping his horn off entirely and leaving him rolling on the floor, his head bleeding vigorously, screaming in agonizing pain. With a kick of dust from her hooves, she spat again at the stallion spitefully, her voice frozen in ice with two words shooting out of her mouth:
"Buck. You."
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Two months...
It's been two months since Pinkie was stuck in bed yet again, terribly shaken by the ordeal back in Fenderville.
She never liked hospitals. Especially those in Canterlot: she had been stuck in them for one whole year.
Now she's back. In the same bed, back in Canterlot, with the same ponies nursing her back and the same psychologists all asking for her to calm down, to see the positive side of the world.
She scoffed at that, seeing their flicker of fear in their eyes every time they approached her, her mane hanging down from her head without any trace of her natural puffiness.
The roaring of cheers outside the palace only added to her irritation, though there was slight happiness in that as well.
Her friends have returned.
She sighed. Running the third mission without her...
"Pinkie?"
Princess Celestia stepped into the room, trying her best to smile.
"Your friends have returned."
"I know," the pink mare replied coolly.
"Aren't you excited?" the alicorn asked, slightly worried.
"Aren't you delighted to find out what their adventures were?"
"I'm just wondering why they took so long."
The princess bit her lip. This wasn't going the way she expected.
"Pinkie," she began. "There's something else as well, you know."
"What is it?"
"You don't remember?"
"I don't get it." Pinkie whined, her flat tail lashing around furiously.
"What am I suppose to remember?"
The door opened once more, with five familiar ponies trotting in.
"Hey, Pinkie!" one of them cried out, instantly galloping to hug the pink mare tightly.
"Gypsum!" she called out her name, her eyes trembling with tears of joy.
"You're back!"
"Really nice to see you awake, Pinks!"
"Dresden! Prim!"
The pink mare's smile faltered a little, biting her lip nervously.
"I haven't got to thank you guys for saving me."
"No sweat, Pinkie," Primrose replied with a small chuckle, making her friend smile.
"It's all in the past. After all, that's what friends are for!"
Charter and Harmony was next, both giving out smiles of their own, though the mare's looked more strained than the pegasus's.
"Good to see you, Pinkie," the stallion spoke up.
"Nice to finally see you as well," Harmony piped in.
"And what were we planning again, Charter?"
The stallion just let out a deep chuckle, making all the other ponies to do the same.
Except Pinkie. She just sat there dumbfounded, her mane slowly fizzing a little, yet still flat.
"What?"
"Silly filly!" Dresden exclaimed, nudging the pink mare.
"You forgot what day it is, haven't you?"
"What?" Pinkie asked again, earning teasing laughs from all of them.
"Am I suppose to remember what day it is?"
"Come on, Pinkie!" Primrose cooed with a grin.
"It's your birthday!!"
The pink mare could only respond with her dropping jaw as the remaining ponies in the room shouted in unison:
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!"
With a wave of the alicorn's horn, a rain of balloons fell from the sky, along with an endless shower of streamers.
Pinkie could only look in awe at everything, and at all the smiling ponies before her.
*FIZZLE*
Her mane suddenly puffed up, her eyes glistening with pure joy.
"My birthday!!" she exclaimed with glee. "Of course! It's my birthday!!"
"We know you would love to celebrate!" Charter said in his deep, hearty voice.
"And when we found out we're returning on this very special day..."
"Oh, thank you thank you thank you guys so MUCH!!"
Pinkie reached out her hooves, dragging them into a group hug while Princess Celestia watch from aside.
She leaped into the air, thrusting one of her hooves up to the ceiling with excitement.
"What are we waiting for?"
"Let's get this party STARTED!!"
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One last night in Canterlot...
Pinkie finally slumped, sighing out of fatigue with streamers trapped in her mane.
Her hooves ached from all the dancing she had done, not to mention all the cider she had drank (though her mind was still sound and fine) and the migraine growing in her head.
For once, she thought to herself, she had partied too hard.
The pink pony groaned, clutching to the side of the table, her other hoof attending to her pounding head as she lifted herself from the chair, gazing at the mess before her.
Every table was strewn around, every chair tossed throughout the room like dolls. The brilliant, dazzling ball was still spinning overhead, illuminating the room in a colorful spectacle.
Pinkie dragged herself across the streamer covered floor, nearly slipping from the remains of the ice-cream cake they had ordered for her. She traipsed around giddily, trying to clean the frosting off her hoof, before tumbling backwards, landing onto the floor with a grunt.
There was a loud groan from behind, prompting her to turn around.
Charter was on the floor as well, already snoozing lightly with his hoof clutching onto a glass bottle of beer.
The pink mare sighed, glancing at his half-lidded eyes and his quirky smile. There was a musky scent in the air, making her start to pant with lust, though she knew better than that.
Primrose was on the floor as well, her head slammed into the remains of the cake. She gurgled something audibly from under it, before letting out a hiccup, making Pinkie giggle in amusement.
Gypsum and Dresden, questionably, were piled on the floor, the mare being on top, with cider trickling down from the sides of their mouth.
A loud crash from behind signaled Harmony's awakening, Pinkie turning around just in time to see her stumbling into the bowl of strawberry syrup.
"I'm fine~!" she exclaimed drunkenly, waving her hooves into the air.
"Whoo whee~!!"
"Harmony," Pinkie called her sullenly, the ache worsening in her head.
"Snap out of it!"
The mare blinked for a moment, before letting out a giggle.
"And I thought who was talking to me~! What do you want, birthday mare? Some more of the sh'tuff? For me to sh'mile, sh'mile, SH'MILE~?"
"Shut it, Harmony."
"Ohhh~! I see how it is!"
Harmony trotted forwards, stumbling over for a moment before catching herself.
"You finally want some mare-to-mare time, eh? Don't worry, Pinkiekins! I would make it worthwhile!"
"T-That's not what I meant!" Pinkie protested with a blush, her friend stumbling into her shoulder.
"Drats... it could've been fun..."
The drunken mare pushed herself up, nearly shoving Pinkie into a cluster of chairs.
"How about talking? Yeah, talking sounds like fun!"
There was a sigh, before the pink mare reply in defeat.
"If you say so..."
"Great! Come on!"
With an instant tug of her hooves, Harmony led the pink mare out into the balcony, almost tripping over a few times if not for Pinkie's tight grip. She let out a hiccup, followed by a bubbly laugh, which only made the pink mare shake her head in disapproval.
She shoved Pinkie onto the floor rudely, before sitting down herself, oblivious of the scowl beside her.
"Well?" Harmony asked with a shrug, gazing at the blurry, pink haze before her.
"What do you want to talk about? Or are you jush planning to wayshte my time?"
"I don't want to talk about anything."
Pinkie shoved her hoof into her friend's mouth before she could start babbling again, ignoring her friend's muffled ranting and raving.
"I just need you to help me with-"
*SMACK*
The pink mare stumbled backwards, her face brazened by the harsh smack as Harmony snickered mockingly.
"You want me? Of all ponies, ME? To listen to your filthy, degrading requests?"
"You call cleaning up filthy?!"
"I'd rather talk about shit than cleaning your crap up!" she scowled, tossing a small rock towards her.
Pinkie successfully dodged it. She clenched her teeth in irritation, glaring as Harmony continued:
"Let the maid do the maid's job! Pffttt.... you're lucky you're the birthday mare, or I'll make sure you'll lick every single frosting that you spilled during the party!"
"You want me to tell everypony what you did back at Bleak Point?!"
A clear silence hung overhead, the drunken, deranged smile on Harmon'y face quickly contorting into that of shock.
"What was that?" she asked.
"Bleak Point? That... crude... insane... act you did!"
Pinkie bit her lip, the events of that day flooding back into her head.
The mare in front of her, however, was on the verge of tears, as if awakened from her drunken state.
"How... how did you..."
"I saw...... it, Harmony."
"You saw..."
There was a slight hesitation in Harmony's eyes, before she spoke.
"Fine. I'll admit. I... did it. With that stupid, old, disgusting criminal."
"But why?" Pinkie asked.
"Why would you even think of doing it?"
"I couldn't help it, alright?!" Harmony screamed, the pool of tears in her eyes threatening to leak.
"I was in desperate need of it! So, I thought maybe I could get out some info while having fun at the same time! It'll be a double win, Pinkie! One for me, one for the mission!"
"But really? Using your body?"
"I have contraceptives, so I'm okay with that."
The mare sighed, her head hanging down with guilt.
"I'm disgusting, aren't I? Always treating something so serious like a game."
Pinkie couldn't answer the question, only able to look at her friend, dumbfounded.
"We have to set off for Pendant Lakes tomorrow," she continued, forcing out a smile.
"It's been a long time..."
"Wait," the pink pony piped in.
"You've... been to Pendant Lakes before?"
"Once or twice. Before I met you bunch."
Harmony let out a weak giggle, gazing into the night sky. She suddenly turned to Pinkie, who blinked in surprise as she spoke:
"Pinkie? Can you keep a secret?"
"A... secret?"
The mare gave a nod, her face turning more serious and serious.
"It's about Pendant Lakes, and the family we will be meeting."
Pinkie returned with a nod of her own, though her heart was filled with doubt.
"What is it?" she asked reluctantly.
"It was the first time I visited Pendant Lakes. I was on one of my crusades to revolutionize the world of fashion, seeing how backwater and obsolete the industry was becoming."
Harmony held her breath, her lips slowly curling into a smile.
"You should've seen it. The town is so beautiful. The plazas, the streets... everything is like a sort of magical dream, as if taken out of a vintage fairy tale."
"Then... I met him."
"Him?"
"Yes. Him."
The mare stared dreamily into the night sky, only beckoning her friend's curiosity.
"I have a question for you, Pinkie."
"What is it?" she asked.
"Do you believe in love?"
"Well..."
Pinkie began to ponder, before spilling out:
"If you're talking about love, I believe in it. Big time! There's the love that my father and mother gave me when I was young. Even though they don't really appreciate my way of dealing things I know they still love me. Then there's Blinkie and Inkie, my sisters, the two of them are like peas in a pod! Ooh~! Then there's Granny Pie! She was the one that taught me how to smile! You should meet her; she's a really, really nice pony! Then, of course, there's the Princess-"
"Not that love, Pinkie," Harmony snapped, before letting out a chuckle at her innocence.
"The special kind of love."
"Huh?"
"You know. Where you find the stallion of your dreams, the both of you traveling the world, seeing the sights on romantic honeymoons and quiet evenings. A stroll on the beach with a kiss under the moonlight."
She sighed, feeling weak in her knees.
"He was the most generous, most handsome, most humble stallion I've ever known in all my years."
"Wow..."
Pinkie's mane tingled with delight, fuzzing up a little despite the pounding sore in her head.
"How did you guys meet?"
"He calls it a random encounter," Harmony replied, before giggling with a small blush.
"I call it a fated meeting just waiting to happen."
"What's his name?"
"That's the problem."
The mare turned to her friend, glancing skeptically at Pinkie's burning curiosity.
"I'll tell. But only if you make a promise."
"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!"
Pinkie let out a squeal, only making Harmony raise an eyebrow.
"Seriously? Well, anyway..."
She bit her lip. It's now or never.
"His name is Winter. Winter Palgiot."
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Present Day
*Pant*
"Y-You... you dirty..."
"I was just getting started, Harmony."
Harmony giggled in response, getting up from the bed. Her tail swirled around, her mouth curled up with a small purr escaping from its sides.
Wiping the sweat off her forehead, she turned back, the sultry, lust-filled vigor flaring in her eyes as she dragged one of the towels from the side. Her mask and cape were neatly laid on the dressing table, draping over the countless logbooks and papers beneath.
"Interested in continuing?"
"No thanks," Harmony cooed to the stallion. The stallion with a white coat and black mane.
She wondered many things about him; how he looked so young after all the years that passed, or the grand plans he had been planning, the ones she had been taking part of.
Reserving the thoughts for later, she asked:
"Would you save some of the wine?"
"Why the fuss?"
There was a laugh. Cold but cheeky.
"You hated the pony who made this anyway."
"It's not like he tainted it with his foul mouth."
"You miss him, eh?"
"I loathe him," she said nonchalantly.
"I'll be happy the second he stops breathing."
"And I'll be sure to see that happen."
Harmony laughed at that, trotting back to the bed. She cupped together the scattered rose petals around, before throwing them up in red, cascading shower, letting herself fall onto a pillow.
"Mmm..." she said in satisfaction, feeling the strong hooves grip around her.
"Dirty tease..."
"You enticed me into it."
"Then you took the cake," she responded cunningly, making the stallion smile his trademark, wicked grin.
"I'll be looking forward the next time we do this again..."
"You mean in a few minutes?"
"If it helps me with forgetting that rascal..." she let her voice hang, her body shuddering at the caress from his hooves, feeling his tongue licking tentatively at the side of her neck.
"I'd be happy to..."
There was another soft chuckle, Harmony gazing up at the stallion's eyes, his pupils glinting with passion.
"And... the mare?"
"Foul, stinking, backstabbing little pink bitch."
Both of them laughed loudly, cuddling tightly with a few pecks on each of their cheeks.
"Seriously though," Harmony continued.
"She broke that promise she said she would keep."
"You take promises seriously, don't you?"
"When it involves me, yes."
The mare stomped her hoof onto the bed, guzzling down a glass of wine.
"She stole the stallion of my life! What kind of friend would do that?!"
"A useless one."
"Exactly!" she retorted, reaching for the bottle, before stopping.
"Imagine that! A friend that takes the love of your life away!"
"So you still love Winter Palgiot, then."
"Never."
Harmony scowled, harshly jerking back the curtains, the sudden burst of sunlight invading into the dark room.
Beneath the windows were the jagged, criss-crossing cobblestone alleys of Pendant Lakes, a few iron lampposts standing tall, gazing towards the magnificent sunset.
Far beyond, over the red slate roofs and creaky weathervanes, was the grandiose structure of Palgiot Palace itself, the gleaming castle towering above, perched on the side of Mount Hoovingaar.
"I gave him a chance!" she shouted, pointing to the palace in the horizon.
"I gave him a choice! To come back with me or to stay with Pinkie!"
"Looks like he took the wrong turn," the stallion said with a deep laugh.
"Incredibly foolish at that."
"They can both buck each other in hell, for all I care," Harmony grumbled.
"Disgusting."
"At least I'm here."
She could only chuckle, gazing dreamily at the stallion as she grabbed the bottle from the side.
"You're here.... how could I forget that?"
"Maybe it slipped from your mind."
"Maybe..."
Harmony uncorked the bottle with a loud pop, feeling the indulging smell of grapes wisp into the air.
"Or are you just invisible to the world? I don't even know your real name."
"Doesn't matter now, does it?"
She let out a tingling, soft moan, a flame tingling from inside her body for the desire to be touched. The desire to be loved, to be set free in her raging sensuality.
The desire to be used and ravaged. Over and over...
"Celestia..." she cried, whimpering at the sheer might of the hooves gripping around her body.
Without hesitation, she drank another cup of wine, admiring the taste inside. Her need for release flared up higher, her vision a flurry of lights dancing in a circle, only fueling to the guilty pleasure.
She soon fell onto his chest, their lips raging fiercely as they met, finally springing to life.
The wine mixed in between soon tossed around, powered by the infatuation and the impatient thirst of lust. Their tongues twirled each other in a blend, their hooves reaching around pleasurably.
Harmony let out a loud moan, muffled by their connected lips as she felt her hind hooves weakening, a white hoof reaching in between. She responded with a plunge of her tongue, stirring around the bowels of wine.
Their kiss broke, the small drips of wine leaking out of their mouths, before meeting again. A grunt echoed from the stallion, her hooves reaching down in her last flurry of assault on him.
She soon pushed him away, falling back onto the soft, plushy bed, still panting with hot lust. Her bottom hooves parted, a deep, pink blush of arousal and hunger filling up her face.
Gripping tightly on the sheets, she formed a tight knot around her wrists, before smiling up to the stallion, who returned her with a devious, passionate grin.
"Take me...... and don't. Ever be gentle..."
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"Ambiguous what now?"
"Ambiguous relationship," Fluttershy repeated Lyra's words.
"A relationship that... well.. isn't really a relationship..."
Applejack only looked in bewilderment, prompting the mint unicorn to explain one more.
"The both of you aren't really friends. The both of you don't have definite roles. He doesn't need to be faithful to you, yet he still can't fall into an affair."
Lyra finished her explanation, smiling proudly with glee before adding:
"Generally the both of you aren't really into the lovey-dovey nonsense, but you both are somewhat a couple, in that sense of romance."
The orange mare just sighed, glancing back at the doors into the palace.
"But he did say he loves me..."
"He never said why?" Vinyl piped in.
"We were havin' some argument. Ah did something really, really stupid and that dragon happened to like it."
Applejack let out a disgruntled sigh, tilting her hat to the side.
"Ah'm... not sure if Ah love him as well..."
"You might be, considering how you guys are turning out."
The rest of the mares turned to Lyra in discontent, the unicorn only giving a shrug.
"I'm just stating what I think! We're all free to say our stuff, aren't we?"
"Anyways," Fluttershy dismissed.
"I can help you... umm.... ask him... if you don't mind, that is..."
"Ah don't wantcha to get involved in this."
Applejack turned to each of them, her face flushed with worry and concern.
"Ya know Ah don't want to see y'all get hurt."
Vinyl just rolled her eyes with a harrumph.
"That brute really needs to get a grip. Take a chill pill or something."
The orange mare just chuckled slightly in response.
"Maybe Ah like him cause of his temper. He's cute when he's angry."
"R-Really?"
Fluttershy whimpered a little, cringing beside her friend with a chatter of teeth.
"I-It's q-quite cold... can we.. g-go inside... if you don't mind..."
Applejack glanced up into the sky, watching the cascading, drifting descent of snow from the cloud-covered sky, resembling the ashen gray of smoke, reminiscent of the dragon.
She could picture his calm, soothing smile. His warm flame flickering from his hearth...
"Kane..."
That settles it, she thought to herself. She can't do this anymore.
"Let's go in," she said to the others.
"Ah have a dragon to talk to."