Of Laurels & Lace

by WritingSpirit

Departure For Pendant Lakes

The morning sun shined over Ponyville, its residents all rising up from their beds, greeting it with their half-opened eyes. It welcomed the yawns, the smiles and the stretching hooves with its bright rays filtering through the closed windows, foretelling of yet another bright and joyous day for everypony!

Well... everypony except for Rarity. Tossing and turning all night, she had been grudgingly cursing at her imagination, the gut-wrenching nightmares having made her head and stomach churn all at once. She never knew how or what caused it to happened, but she knew for sure that of all the dreams she ever had...

"...this was the. Worst. Possible. Dream. EVER!"

"....arity," a high pitched squeak slithered into her mind.

"See, Rarity," she scolded quietly to herself, curling deeper into her sheets.

"This is what happens when a mare like you gets too little of her fine beauty sleep."

"....arity, Rarity!"

The unicorn grumbled, clenching her head tightly. Her imagination was driving her insane! Why can't that small, little, annoying voice get out of her head?! Who did it belonged to? She gulped, her stomach lurching again as the gruesome image flashed once more across her mind, the stallion's soulless eyes staring back into her.

"...Rarity! Sis! Wake up!"

Wait... that was no imagination.

She looked up from beneath a pillow. Instead of a dead pony's open mouth, a wide grin smiled back at her, its owner's pair of emerald eyes glittering with anticipation at a new day; the one that she herself loathed. She groaned quietly underneath her breath, glancing up at the foal above her, sighing when she realized who it was.

It was her sister, Sweetie Belle. She completely forgot about babysitting today (no thanks to her always-vacationing parents) and was about to look forward to a great day before her departure to the famed city of Pendant Lakes. Oh, how life works in the most wondrous of ways!

"Rarity, wake up! Come on! There's something you gotta see!"

"Sweetie Belle, dear."

She felt like she was about to explode any second, but held back for a minute.

"Can't you see I'm trying to get some sleep. A little bit shut-eye for while?"

"But Sis, this is really important! You must come down. NOW!!"

"Darling," Rarity bit her lip. She wanted to scream so badly, but now's not the time.

"I had a really rough night yesterday-" she began, but was cut off by her sister's screeching voice.

"But Rarity, come on down! Octavia's waiting!!"

Octavia? The white unicorn blinked in surprise. These days, she never gets much visitors, with the only exception of her customers and some of her friends. It had been four days since her last mutual visit; things had been rough then, due to a date gone wrong with a stallion too flawed. If not for the comfort of a certain dragon, she wouldn't have finished yesterday's order right on time. No doubt, the gray mare had been one of those visitors from time to time, usually to ask for a few dresses, for whatever reason she wasn't exactly sure.

"There must be a reason Octavia visited," she thought to herself

"She never visits me often."

"Come ON!!!"

Sweetie Belle's voice snapped her back into reality, the filly already galloping down the stairs. Rarity began combing her mane, as quick and as perfect as possible, her thoughts pondering on the musician's presence in the abode. Trotting down to the living room, she saw Octavia silently sipping a porcelain cup of tea. Sweetie Belle sat patiently, looking as if in awe at every movement the gray mare across her makes.

Rarity felt uneasy, glancing between her sister and the refined musician sitting across her. Being the blooming music-obsessed filly she is, it was certainly surprising that Sweetie Belle haven't asked for an autograph yet, though the fashion designer preferred her little sister not to.

"Octavia," Rarity called out to the grey pony.

"What brings you here on this fine, Thursday morning?"

Her stomach flipped at the blatant lie. She hated this morning, loathed it even, but she mustn't forget her manners to customers. Octavia glanced up, her lavender eyes glistening from the windows, her expressionless face suddenly growing into a slight smile.

"How nice it is to see you." Octavia said, brushing her mane to the side.

"Sweetie Belle here was being a dear, helping out around your boutique."

"I cleaned the kitchen and washed all the porcelain plates, just like you asked me to Octavia," Sweetie Belle said with a wide grin. Rarity wasn't particularly surprised: this wasn't the first time Octavia was... manipulative of her little sister, thanks to her grandiose position in the music industry.

"Well, she certainly is," she simply agreed.

"I best better send Sweetie Belle to school first. After all, it is a school day."

"Of course, Rarity." came the reply.

"By the way, did you receive any invitations to any... balls recently?"

Rarity froze in her tracks. How did she...

"Are you alright?"

She turned around, a nervous smile crept on her face. What should she tell her, she asked herself, sweating profusely from head to hoof. It was, after all, a private invitation, and for somepony else to know an occasion such as this (considering how remote Pendant Lakes was from Ponyville) would seem like a breach of privacy. She's blaming Pinkie Pie.

"I'm alright, Octavia. Perfectly fine! I'm just... erm... very excited to...uh...... send Sweetie Belle off to school. Yes! That's it! Whoop-dee-doo!"

Octavia raised an eyebrow, making Rarity chuckle nervously.

"Well, the main reason I'm here, Rarity," she began, staring down on the floor, "is because I have one too."

Rarity's jaw hit the floor. Octavia has an invitation to a ball? She tried to suppress her excitement; the mare was, after all, going to the established occasion alone, without any company to join her. Without the walkie-talkie she obtained from Rainbow Dash, she would've been totally cut off from the rest of her friends, yet this time was different. Somepony was joining her or, at least, she think Octavia was.

"You're going to the ball?" she asked.

The grey mare gave her a nod

"At Palgiot Palace?"

Another nod.

"TODAY?!"

Another nod, before Octavia rolled her lavender eyes.

She wasn't the only pony in Ponyville after all! Rarity felt her heart leap, her hooves prancing about in excitement. Even though both mares weren't exactly what they could call close friends (they were more like acquaintances, really) it was better than heading off into the foreign north alone. Then again, they do say the more the merrier.

"Do you know of anypony else from Ponyville attending as well?" she was too eager to find out.

"Well, I've asked Vinyl about it," she stated after a minute of pondering.

"She doesn't have any sort of invitation like that, though I'm not surprised, no offense. So I've decided to ask around town, of course."

"And~?"

"Nothing much," Octavia said with a shrug.

"In fact, no one else I talked to had any invitation. That is, until I heard from Pinkie Pie that you had the same invite as well."

Of course, Rarity told herself with a sigh. If Pinkie Pie knows something, the rest of Ponyville would know eventually. Then again, that saves all the tiring trotting around town and asking around that would've made her throat hoarse.

"Reminds me," she muttered. "I'll need the invitation for later..."

"Ichf's ofverr f'here!!" screeched Sweetie Belle, clenching the crinkling letter between her teeth.

Rarity magically placed it above her luggage at the corner, giving her sister a small 'thank you'. Sweetie Belle's grin widened, before skipping out of the doorway and down the road while humming a tune, her pink bag swinging around her striped mane. She was going to miss her so very much, the fashion designer told herself, wishing she could somehow get her sister to come along.

"Well, I supposed that will do." Rarity began, heading after her sister.

"I guess I will see you later then. Four o'clock, perhaps?"

"Four o' clock, got it." Octavia replied with a warm smile.

Rarity then walked down the gravel path, still trying to absorb the recent turn of events. Octavia wasn't really her first preferred choice to have on the journey, considering their not-so-close friendship with each other. Perhaps she could learn more and get acquainted with the musician in their journey, she thought to herself, even though it might take a while.

"Still," she told herself.

At least I'm not alone...

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"So when will you be coming back?"

The platform was crowded with an ocean of ponies, busy roaming around through the station. Everywhere ponies are chattering, dragging their luggage across the stone floor.

"Five days later, I suppose." Rarity told Twilight. All of her friends were there, seeing their best friend as Rarity looked at a pocket watch Olive gave her as a tip.

She groaned, looking at the musty, fading surface. Sometimes celebrities can be so ignorant.

"So I heard Octavia's following 'ya," Applejack said, standing up from the bench.

"Well, I guess so." the white unicorn shrugged as she looked around the station.

The hands of the pocket watch stated the time: 3:54.

"Remember, be careful over there." Fluttershy said with concern.

"Yeah! After all, we don't know how many 'swindlers' are there, if you know what I mean!"

"Rainbow!" Her four friends stared at her rainbow-maned friend with disgust.

"She's right," Rarity admitted. "Royalty can be a pain sometimes..."

After the incident with Prince Blueblood, she's been more careful with seeing stallions like him. The royalty were never an optimistic lot, as she had experienced. Well, at least, from what she heard, the Patriarch isn't as arrogant as the prince, or most of Canterlot for the matter.

She crossed her hooves.

"Well, I simply can't dally around any longer." Rarity finally said, before using some of her magic to move her luggage. Twilight helped out with a particularly large bag.

"What's inside this thing?" Twilight asked her friend as Applejack came over to help out.

"Well, it's just some cloth I brought along." she answered with glee.

"The invitation was so sudden, I've never even made my costume for the masquerade yet."

"Well, that explains much-" Twilight said before she and Applejack heaved one last time.

"There you go!"

Rarity took one more look around. Octavia was still nowhere to be seen.

"There she is!!!" Pinkie Pie, pointing her hoof in the direction of the station's clock.

There was Octavia, slowly walking from the crowd, her face ruffled in annoyance as she jerked her luggage free from the crowd.

"If there is one thing I hate about stations," she panted as she reached the steaming train, "it's the pushing and shoving."

Applejack smiled, quickly placing Octavia's luggage onto the train as Rarity looked at her friends.

Clearly someone was missing.

"Twilight," she asked the purple unicorn with concern, her friend turning to her from talking to Fluttershy.

"Where's Spike?"

"Well, Spike wouldn't come out of his room."

Rarity felt guilt twist her in her limbs. She knew about Spike's crush on her, as well as her deep-seated love for him.

Was she taking this masquerade ball a bit too far?

"I tried to reason with him, but he said he needed some time alone."

"Well," Rarity shuffled nervously, "t-tell him I said goodbye."

Really, Rarity? Is that the best you can think of?! her inner voice scolded.

Then she turned to Fluttershy.

"Remember, Opalescence usually eats diet cat-food. It is rather important that she keeps the stature fit for a feline like her. And Sweetie Belle-"

"School except for Saturday and Sunday. Got it!" her friend finished with a smile.

"Well, then it's settled then." Rarity gave them a smile, as Octavia quickly stepped up the train.

"I will surely miss you girls," she said.

"Remember, your walkie-talkie might take a while for a message to go through, because Pendant Lakes is quite a distance away from Ponyville, so it might take a while for us to reply." Twilight told her.

"I'll keep that in mind, Twilight."

"ALL ABOARD!!"

"Oh! That's my cue! I better get going then!" Rarity exclaimed with a chuckle.

"Bye! Rarity!" came the scream of Pinkie Pie. "Be sure to have FUNNN!!"

"I will, Pinkie, I will!"

"um... be sure to tell us everything you there..."

"Of course, Fluttershy" Rarity assured the yellow pegasus.

"Say hi to the Palgiot fellow for me." Applejack tipped her hat with a grin.

Which reminds me, I need to talk to Palgiot about my friends.

As she entered her cabin, she quickly waved her hoof out the window, a wide smile growing on Rarity's eyes.

"Goodbye!! See you soon!!"

Her friends replied with a chorus of waves and goodbyes, already eager for her return.

Rarity sighed as Ponyville became out of view. It was truly a bittersweet moment.

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He stood, looking down at the valley before him. The sun began setting, turning the sky a golden spectacle.

Sighing, he looked down at the town. Many of the houses already had the lights on. At the corner of Fountain Square, a bunch of colts & fillies played a game of tag, their parents watched from a distance.

Chimneys of smoke began billowing with the breeze, along with the branches of maple and pine. Beyond the valley, a group of mountains huddled close together, a wide river slithering through the middle.

The stallion arched his back, stretching as the dusk air began to swirl his cyan mane. Looking at his watch, he began to breathe in a huge sigh of relief, as he took another sip from the martini.

"Brother?" A voice called him from the distance.

He turned around, looking at a pale, orange mare in a gown, prepared for the upcoming occasion.

"It isn't everyday you stand on the Jade Balcony, Brother."

"Yes, it isn't," the white unicorn agreed. He ruffled his mane, taking another sip.

"I'm afraid, Brother, that I arrive with dire news."

He took another sip, before settling the empty glass down on the balcony.

Looking up at the pony, her turquoise eyes sparkled with intuition, but beneath it, he felt a sense of dread.

"I will discuss this matter later, Autumn." the unicorn said, before turning back to view the scenery.

"No, Winter," the stallion said his name. "This isn't your everyday rental and tax problem."

Autumn mouthed out.

Sicarius Nox

Winter stumbled, hitting the martini glass off the balcony. He looked down nervously as the glass shattered onto the rocky cliff face.

"Please, Autumn," his tone changed to a slight whisper of fear. "It's been seventy years already. Sidus Storm himself said the organisation disbanded a long time ago..."

"I know, Winter." Autumn began, before whispering again, "but I believe you've heard of the recent troubles with Mirror Mare."

Winter froze. That slight mention of the name was forbidden in this part of Equestria.

"Don't say it's name. It could be here any second."

Winter looked around cautiously, before continuing to ask.

"So, Autumn." he began his question. "Who was the Hostia Prima?

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The train took a slight turn as Rarity looked at the meadow beyond her window. She felt the breeze fluttering through her mane.

Octavia was slowly drinking tea, completely silent through the journey so far.

"So, Octavia," Rarity began, trying to spark up a conversation.

The gray mare looked up, giving out an affectionate sigh as she placed the tea cup down.

"I've been wondering," she continued. She never knew much about Octavia, except for the fact that she is one of the most respected musicians in the world.

"Do you fancy meeting someone at the ball?"

Octavia choked on her tea, a blush begin emanating from her grey cheeks.

"Um... I best believe... you should know about it then."

"Oh, I don't want to pry! If it's too... big of a secret, you do not require to tell me." Rarity said with a nervous chuckle.

"No!" the gray mare exclaimed, before lowering her voice into a slight whisper. "It's better if somebody else should know about it..."

Her friend's ears perked a little.

"I'm listening."

"You see," Octavia began, her blush slowly turning her grey skin a little scarlet, "I've been secretly dating this... stallion for a couple of months now..."

Rarity couldn't believe her ears. Octavia already has a coltfriend?!

"Why then, you MUST tell me who this lucky stallion is! Or do you want me to guess?"

Octavia felt flattered at the white mare's comment. This was the first pony she told about, and she felt relieved that at least one pony took it seriously.

"I don't think you'll believe who it is. Even Vinyl doesn't believe it, saying it was a good prank and sorts..." the gray pony said, before slinking back onto the red couch.

Rarity began pondering. Who in the whole of Equestria could it be?

"Octavia, is it somebody I know?"

Octavia thought for a while, before letting out a 'maybe'.

The anticipation inside the unicorn grew. Her curiosity overflowed from head to toe, and in no time she rushed to her friend's side.

"Come on, Octavia! TellmeTellmeTellmeTellMeTellMETELLME!!"

"Calm down, Rarity!" Octavia said with a soothing laugh, as the unicorn quickly settled onto the cabin chairs, eagerness flourishing in her ocean eyes.

"All right, Rarity. It's.." the gray mare bit her lip, sweat flowing from the tip of her mane, before saying it out:

"Crimson Lux"

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Winter Palgiot closely examined the scene. The bloodied body of a auburn colt lay hanging from the lamppost, a noose around his bleeding neck. A cutie mark of a windmill was covered by slash and stab wounds, still leaking the last few drops of blood.

His stomach gurgled at the horrific scene before him. Mirror Mare has outdone itself this time.

The chief of police, Griffonhooves, gestured some of the police, before heading up to Winter and his sister, Autumn.

"Victim suffered a lot of pain. Judging by the drag marks on the victim's suit, I suggest this isn't the primary crime scene.

Autumn looked away, nearly gagging from the smell of rot and death. The body was found in one of the confusing alleyways around Harbor Avenue, close to the beach.

Usually these alleyways are abandoned, forgotten, but a number of ponies have notified the police about the strong stench coming from here.

Sure enough, what they found disgusted them.

"Found this iron fragment on the floor, Mr. Palgiot. What do you make of it?"

Although the Palgiot family do not own the city, their high-ranks in royalty and ties with the Canterlot Ministry granted them supreme authority over Pendant Lakes and surrounding regions.

Winter studied the wrought iron. It looked more like steel. He gave it a whiff. Herbicide.

Autumn inspected it next. Having the same smartness as her siblings, she and Winter quickly came up with the answer:

"Pendant Lakes Train Station."

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Rarity gave out a tired yawn, weary after the long talk with Octavia, who was already sleep.

Apparently, Octavia has been dating Crimson Lux, a distinguished stallion famed for his bright creativity and aspiring achievements in music. Both ponies are sophisticated in taste and luxuries.

It's no wonder they're together.

So far, from what Octavia said, the relationship was stable enough, but they've recently had an argument, something about difference in tastes.

Rarity chuckled quietly. Ahhh....... love.

Octavia and Crimson never spoke for four whole weeks. That is, until she finally got a handwritten letter from him.

Crimson apologized for his rash behavior, hoping she would forgive him.

To make it up to her, he was the one who invited Octavia to the masquerade.

Of course she would agree. the mare said to herself. That will be so...

She let out another long, yawn. The sun outside descended below the meadow.

....romantic..

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The mist blurred Winter's vision. He, Autumn and Summer, his brother, trudged through Fountain Square.

"What do you think of the recent events, sir?" Griffonhooves quipped from the back, escorting the three siblings forward.

Winter just walked silently, unable to mouth any words. He began to worry.

Summer just shook his slightly crimson mane, gesturing a demand of silence.

Eventually, their destination lay ahead them. The swinging oil lamp and the iron sign ushered the ponies into the station.

Autumn scanned across the platform, clearly examining for any little giveaway.

Griffonhooves escorted Winter toward the edge of the platform. Squinting his sky blue eyes in the darkness, he quickly mumbled some words as his horn suddenly glowed.

From his horn sprouted a gleaming ball of light. Saying a few more words, he beckoned the light towards the darkness.

On the rail tracks, he caught a glimpse of red stains.

Blood

"Chief Griffonhooves, I believe this is the primary crime scene. I require your forces to scour the area. The weapon of choice for the unfortunate pony is still uncertain, as I don't believe even the..."

Winter shuddered for a moment as he continued.

"...Mirror Mare, have the capability to throw such a strong pony across the train tracks.

"Winter!" Autumn called out. "Summer! You've gotta see this!"

As Chief Griffonhooves gave his orders, Winter quickly trotted towards his sister.

Autumn raised a photo, a look of gleaming concern on her face. In the photo stood the dead, auburn stallion, surrounded by three foals while being tendered after a mare.

Summer spoke up, his crimson eyes thundering inside.

"I believe I know who that is."

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Rarity awoke again, with a gasp.

She felt sick. Clutching against the wooden table in front of her, she frantically looked around.

Octavia slept silently across her. The moonlight outside the carriage window shone across her mane.

Images of slashing and cutting and....trains kept replaying in her mind. Her nightmare was gruesome, terribly morbid.

What in Celestia did I do to deserve this?

She quickly cleared her eyes, her fear began to dissolve as fatigue quickly overcame her. Giving out one last yawn after cautiously looking around, she closed her eyes once again for a deep slumber.

Comments

[WritingSpirit]

And......done!! Chapter 2 is finally up!! This might shed some light on the Octavia tag I placed.

Less gore in this one. Taking a break from the story for awhile!

Hope you guys enjoyed it! Remember to give me tips on how to improve~!

WritingSpirit, signing out!

[Fury of the Tempest]

This story really deserve many more people to read & comment.
The introduction of the season siblings (Save for Winter... but tbh I had forgotten that he had already been mentioned when originally posting this) was rather odd and sudden. Unexpected as well but you managed to fit them into the story quite smoothly... blending the switches from scene to scene incredibly well.
Spike seems like he was overreacting a bit with the shut in thing. I mean Rarity and the others have gone off quite a few times without him so I figure that he would likely be used to it and wouldn't take it so badly. Okay it would hurt but still, I don't think he would of reacted like that.
Apart from that, no complaints.