//------------------------------//
// Ataraxia 
// Story: Of Laurels & Lace 
// by WritingSpirit 
//------------------------------//

	"This is it!" Rainbow declared with glee.

"Fenderville!"

Twilight looked around the quiet, countryside town, breathing in the fresh air around. Pinkie just bounced towards the gate, shouting back to her friends:
"What are you guys waiting for? Come on!"

The three ponies marched pass the gates, looking at the village around them. Houses stood in rows along the street, the wood painted a bright, almost dazzling white, with a few patterned walls standing out from the rest. Yellow daffodils lined the street, despite the chilly wind blowing across the town.
"There must be some sort of motel here," Twilight inquired, "is there, Pinkie?"

"There should be!" the pink pony answered with a cheerful grin, skipping along the path while glancing at the medieval-like houses around them.
"Or my name's not Pinkie Pie!"

Rainbow watched her friend bounce along, tapping the unicorn on the shoulder.
"Why do all these buildings look so... old?"

"To keep the rich culture here, of course."
Twilight danced with wonder in the middle of the pavement, making a few ponies look over.

"The Princess always said the cities up north have a long history, and so the heritage is preserved."
Twilight pointed to a large, baroque chapel. "See that? That's the famous Basilica di Luce Mattina, the Church of the Morning Light."

The pegasus looked in awe at the towering structure, the white, ornate facade perched with a few statues standing out from the church walls.
A nest of pigeons suddenly swarmed over her face, startling the pegasus as she fell onto her flank. Pinkie giggled, still swirling around a cloister of buildings, with paths spreading out from each corner.

"Piazza di Incendio: the Plaza of Fire!" the pink pony screeched happily.

Twilight chuckled at Pinkie. She turned to Rainbow, who was still in a daze from her stumble.
"I told you to bring the camera. We could've gotten every bit of this!"

"Lyra didn't have a camera, all right?"

"Enough with the chit-chat!"
Pinkie bounced between them, stopping the stirring argument.
"What's with you two? We gotta find someplace for the night, or we'll sleep on the road like three homeless ponies!"

Rainbow rolled her eyes.
"Have you ever seen a homeless pony before, Pinkie?"

"Come to think of it, I never seen a pony that's homeless before!"

The blue pegasus groaned in annoyance as Twilight chuckled beside her. The unicorn gazed around the town, the flourishing heritage of the town still making her look in disbelief.
"They've preserved it so well!"

"You should see Pendant Lakes then!"
Pinkie hopped to the front of Twilight, making the unicorn stop in surprise.

"So you've been to where Rarity's been?"

"Once or twice, but it was surely memorable!"
She scampered around in a circle, feeling the chilling breeze in her face.
"Everything there really looked... well..."

"Well....?" Twilight's voice echoed in her head.

Something snapped in the pink pony's mind. Pinkie's face turned to that of dread, staring into space with her eyes widening as she tried not to whimper.

"Pinkie?" the purple unicorn's worried voice wavered amidst the other shouts assaulting her mind.
"You okay, Pinkie?"

"We need to get her to a hospital!"

"She's not going to make it, Pinkie! She's not!"

"She is! She's still alive-"

"Pinkie, she lost too much blood! She won't make it!"

"Just because you're always right doesn't mean you have to spit it out!"

"Pinkie! Listen to yourself!"

"Go to Hell! She's ALIVE, because I know she WILL BE!!"

Pinkie blinked, suddenly snapping back to reality. Twilight was now standing in front of her, waving her hooves around her cyan eyes in confusion.
"Hello~? Earth to Pinkie? You there?"

"What is it, Twilight?" she responded with a cheerful grin, repressing the tormenting shouts in her head.

"You were telling me how Pendant Lakes was like?"

Pinkie stopped at the mention of the name. She tried not to think about the town as she gave out a small mutter:
"It was.... nice.."

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"Two blades, serrated edge on one side."

Doctor Brineheart studied the puncture wounds on the body closely. Winter watched as the doctor took out a pair of calipers, aligning it closely with the wounds.
"Approximately less than a millimeter long. Wound is deep, meaning the blades are extremely sharp."

He placed the calipers aside, showing Winter a few diagrams.
"Sliced through the dorsal aorta. The other into the femoral arteries. Cause of death is pretty obvious."

"A lot of blood loss," Winter answered, remembering the stained room that Dresden and Mirror Mare fought in.

"Just like old times," Doctor Brineheart said with a chuckle, gazing at the body.
"Sicarius Nox is returning, isn't it, Sir Palgiot?"

The Patriarch just sighed, trying to forget about his two dead siblings.
"I don't know."

"With everything happening, I highly doubt this was Sicarius's doing."

The doctor turned to Winter, a look of surprise on his face.
"You mean..."

"No. I don't believe the even the Canterlot Ministry had the nerve to do this."
Winter looked over to Dresden, the light-blue pony lying on the morgue bed. His last words echoed back into the Patriarch's mind, making him pause to think.

"Warn the others..."

"Yes, Sir Winter?" Doctor Brineheart look up suddenly.

"Dresden's last words.... 'Warn the others'..."
Winter settled himself onto a work chair, now deep in thought.

"Question is, who were the others?"

The doctor just shrugged in response, draping a white sheet over Dresden's face.
"Must be somepony from his past. Like a family member, or a lover of some sort."

"Whoever it was must've visited Pendant Lakes before."
Winter stood up, heading towards the doors.

Doctor Brineheart watched as the white stallion turned the knob.
"Where would you search first, Sir?"

The Patriarch turned back to the doctor, a deep frown on his face.

"Wherever necessary."

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"Applejack! Fluttershy!"

Big Mac was galloping around the meadow, his face filled with worry for the two mares. Both Applejack and Fluttershy haven't been seen since last night's... mishandled argument.
He smacked himself on his head, remembering his shouting against his sister. "What the heck, Macintosh..."

Winona was right beside him, the hound just whimpering at the disappearance of her owner.
The red stallion patted her on the head, giving out a sigh. "Don't worry, girl."

"We'll find them soon."

Big Mac suddenly stopped, right in front of a mud puddle. He scowled with disgust at the sky, which was now shining beautifully despite a few clusters of grey drifting across the blue.

Something blasted in the background, which only made him more irritated. Winona barked at the source of the sound, growling at the loud 'noise', as the red stallion would call it.
"What the hay is she doing here?" Big Mac cursed, stomping into the orchard.

He trudged through the grass, brushing away the falling leaves of the apple trees, which cascaded downwards in an auburn spectacle.
If it weren't for the noise ahead, Big Mac would enjoy it right now.

From beneath the bushes, he watched with a grimace as a white unicorn stood from a tall, black podium, surrounded by  pillars of woofers blasting out a mix of sounds into the air.
The music rang painfully in his ears. The red stallion trampled through the bushes, heading towards the unicorn.

"Vinyl!" he shouted above the music. "Get out of the farm! Now!"

Vinyl never heard him, as usual. A pair of headphones dangled from her head, playing the same music blaring out from the columns of speakers.
Instead, she raised a lever higher, the music now pounding throughout the whole orchard.

"Vinyl Scratch!" Big Mac roared, but it was only a mere squeak compared to the heavy bass blasting through the air. Winona just barked angrily without success, before slumping to the ground.
"That's it." he declared to himself. "Show's over!"

He marched towards the speakers, his eyes scanning at a long, tangled trail of black wire on the floor. The stallion followed it, all the way to the back of the largest woofer.
With a small grunt, he tugged at it. The wire immediately popped out of the socket, the music instantly turned to silence.

Vinyl fumbled with the knobs on her set, placing her headphones with a baffled frown. She started walking towards the back of the speakers, not noticing a frowning red stallion standing there.
"Must be one of those rabbits-"

Big Mac coughed, making Vinyl look up. He spun the wire like a lasso in his hoof, his eyebrow raised, demanding for an explanation.
"Well?"

Vinyl just frowned, walking back to her set.
"Don't give me that look, Macintosh."

"'Ah've told you, 'ya can't just simply walk in and make all that noise-"

"Music, Mac. And this time I had permission."

Big Mac just scoffed at her comment.
"Permission, eh? From who?"

"Your sister, of course!"
Vinyl just rolled her eyes as Big Mac's eyes widened in surprise.

"Applejack?! She was the one that asked 'ya to play this?!"

"No!" the unicorn shook her head coldly with sarcasm.
"A giant, fluffy sheep from Canterlot did. Of course it was your sister!"

Big Mac couldn't believe his ears. In which part of Equestria would Applejack invite this pony for? The orange pony never liked the loud, pumping music played by these... ponies.
Then, his mind clicked. "If Applejack were here..."

"Was she with Fluttershy?" the red stallion asked with anticipation as Vinyl tried to plug the wire back in. She gave him a grudging nod, trying not to scowl when he asked again:

"Where are they?"

"Down the hill, collecting apples blown away by last night's wind."
Vinyl then stood up, giving him a glare. "With my bass cannon here blowing every stray red fruit of yours to your sister!"

"All right," Big Mac said with a sigh, "Ah'm sorry I interrupted your noise-"

"Music!"

"-music, Ah'm sorry again. Just don't... do it all the time."

Vinyl rolled her magenta eyes.
"Suddenly you're telling me what to do."

Big Mac trotted downhill, letting out a chuckle as he gave the unicorn one more glance.

"You're still on my farm."

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Pinkie bounced through the golden doors, humming a song to herself with her two friends following behind her.
Both of them looked in wonder at the grandeur of the lobby. The floors were tiled in a gleaming marble, rivaling those of Canterlot. The walls were draped in flourishing, red banners, hanging from the balcony above, inviting them into the room.
A row of large chandeliers illuminated the room, a marvel of crystals hanging from above.

"You're sure you don't need to pay for the rooms, Pinkie?" Twilight asked, looking in awe at the royalty as they trotted down the carpeted floor.
"Don't worry, Twilight!" the pink pony replied with glee. "I knew the owner of this place!"

"As in, you met him along your journey," Rainbow asked, "or is he a family friend kind of thing?"

"Met him on my adventure, of course!"
Pinkie bounced by a few ponies, all glancing at her uneasily. Twilight just nodded a greeting, giving out a nervous chuckle as the group huddled away.

"Do you need assistance with that, Miss?"

The three of them turned to their side. A stallion stood there patiently, wearing a black, elegant suit. He bowed his head with respect, making Twilight feeling a little uneasy.
"Assistance with what, sir?"

"Your bags?" he replied, craning his neck to each of their backpacks.
"Do you need me to bring them to your room?"

"Um... sure!"

With a cough, the stallion placed their bags on a cart, before walking off, leaving the three mares behind.
Twilight just looked with concern at the stallion and their bags.
"Would he take anything from there?"

Pinkie just rolled her eyes with a slight giggle.
"Don't worry, Twilight. If he does, I'll make sure his flank goes straight out of the window!"

Rainbow and Twilight laughed at their friend's enthusiasm, the pink pony now popping to the front desk.
"One suite please!" she squealed. "Three ponies!"

The concierge just raised an eyebrow, writing down a few scribbles into a logbook.
"Your name, Miss?"

"Pinkie Pie!"

Rainbow and Twilight watched uneasily from afar, the pink pony just smiling happily. The stallion flipped to the back of the logbook, before giving the pink pony a wide grin.
"It's great to see you again, Miss Pie."

"Anytime!" she said with a salute.
"Oh, and tell him that we'll meet at lunch!"

Twilight sighed with relief as Pinkie returned, swinging a small key in her hoof.
"We got a sweet suite!" she said with a giggle.

Rainbow's mouth was agape in disbelief, trying not to scream for joy as she flew towards her pink friend.
"You got us a suite?!"

"With compliments from the owner, of course!"
Pinkie giggled as the pegasus's eyes sparkled. "I told you he knew me for a long time."

Rainbow pranced about happily, shouting out a 'yay' with each jump. Twilight prepared to close her ears as the pegasus slid to the floor, both hooves raised in the air.
"Yeahhhh!!!"

"Well, what are waiting for?" Twilight said with a smile, avoiding the glances of everypony else around. 
"Let's go!"

The three ponies cheerfully trotted up the stairs, admiring the sovereignty of the atmosphere and the certain suave of the staff, silently giggling at some of their uniforms.
"... and I was wondering how he ate fifty pies in one second. I mean, who does that? Nopony in their mind would waste one second eating fifty pies! That's like really, really, really diabetic! So he goes up to me..."

Rainbow shook her head as Pinkie continued her endless chatter with Twilight.
"Pinkie and her 'adventures'..."

Something made her wings flutter uneasily. She turned around, looking at the balcony across the room.

From amidst the suited ponies and the travelling tourists, the pegasus saw a caped pony, watching them from across the room.
Rainbow let out a quiet gasp as it stepped into the light, a gold mask gleaming with its lips stitched on its face.

She froze as the pony held a hoof to its mouth, signaling her to be quiet.
It then pointed towards the pegasus, the mask seemingly laughing coldly at her horror.

"Rainbow?"

Rainbow yelped back in surprise, her blue face now covered with sweat.
Twilight tilted her head, slightly bewildered by her friend's behavior. Pinkie bounced towards the both of them, immediately curious by the pegasus's anxiousness.

The lavender unicorn looked at the trembling pegasus with worry.
"Are you alright, Rainbow?"

"I...I'm... I'm fine. Perfectly fine."
Rainbow dismissed it with a nervous chuckle, making Twilight squint her eyes with suspicion.

"Whatcha guys standing around for? Let's go to our room!"

Pinkie's screech saved her from Twilight's glare. Rainbow let out a relieved sigh as the unicorn turned back to her pink friend, resuming their small chat.
She looked over to the balcony across them. The pony wasn't there.

"Strange..."

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...in such a complex catalogue that it was one of the most organized books in the whole of Equestria and was widely regarded as a treasure trove of history, ranging from the unification of unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies and the founding of Equestria to the recent events of...

Rarity flipped the page with an irritated groan. She buried her face into the book, whining and screaming under her breath.
"Why the heck am I doing this?!"

She gazed outside the window, the night sky now shimmering with stars. The moon was full
"One whole day, wasted in my room..."

The slight taste of vanilla lingered in her mouth, reminding her of the birthday cake she had this afternoon. Rarity licked her lips in satisfaction, giggling slightly at the seductiveness.
She stretched her hooves, letting out a sigh.
"If only Spike were here..."

She couldn't help but blush as the dragon fluttered into her mind, beckoning with his claw for her to come closer.
"He's only a teenage dragon, Rarity," the unicorn muttered to herself, "Don't think such dirty thoughts."

Rarity started trotting towards the bathroom, hoof-picking a mulberry-colored towel. With a sigh, the unicorn stepped into the shower, turning the silver knob slowly.
Water pattered gently onto her coat, rinsing it as steam formed onto the glass wall. She gave out a small whimper of content and a little bit of pain as the drops streamed down to her hooves.

Rarity's cheek reddened again as another image of Spike started forming in her mind. This time the dragon was cuddling her, running his claws down her body, the unicorn letting out a small moan.
She quickly shook her head, trying to clear her mind free of the dragon. "Really, Rarity?" she scolded herself, "Are you that desperate?"

The heat from the shower isn't helping. Rarity cursed to herself, turning the knob as the water stopped its flow.
She grabbed her towel, furrowing her brows to the mirror with annoyance.
"Get a grip of yourself, girl. You can't just go out, in front of everypony, and say that you're desperately in need of him."

With one last wipe of her mane, she tossed the towel aside, still scolding herself.
"That is just absurd, Rarity. I mean, you can't just got to him and say you want to spend the night with him. the both of you alone... in the dark..."

Her voice faltered as Rarity felt another blush reddened her cheeks, making her coat tingle. She smacked herself, knocking the thoughts out of her mind.
"Snap out of it, Rarity!"

She groaned at herself, feeling like smacking Spike for even being here.
"Must be the season..."

The unicorn let herself fall onto the bed, closing her eyes with a purr. She twirled her mane with annoyance, forcing herself to sleep as she tossed and turned, messing up the satin sheets.
"Celestia, Rarity," she mumbled to herself grumpily, "you really are one, desperate mare."

Something trickled onto her face, making her wipe it away.
"Should be just a small leak..."

Rarity felt more of the droplets landing onto her face. She quickly sat up, her eye twitching with annoyance as she screamed aloud:
"Can't a mare have some PEACE and QUIET?!"

With a scowl, she rubbed it off with her hoof, only to gasp in horror.
Her hoof was stained a bright crimson, which dripped onto the bed. Rarity felt her gut sink as she felt more of it trickling right beside her.

Rarity hesitated, before looking up. She instantly paled, her voice screaming silently in her head at the sight before her.

The mangled, bloodied body of a pony was nailed onto the frame of the bed, the nails stabbed through the body into the wood. From the neck, a small card hung with a bell, beckoning the unicorn to open.
Reluctantly, Rarity flipped it open. She gave out a gasp as she read out the words, written in the pony's blood.


Happy Birthday, Rarity


She tumbled back with horror, scurrying away from the bed. The scarred body pierced into her mind, the words on the birthday card tormenting her.
Rarity backed up against the wall, closing her eyes in shock with her hooves rubbing her temple. She quickly screamed out, with tears in her eyes:

"SPIKE!!"