Of Laurels & Lace

by WritingSpirit

With Clandestine Desires

"How's he doing, sir?" Stellar asked the doctor.

Doctor Brineheart took his glasses off, examining Crimson's scarred body as the musician lay on the bed, peacefully resting.

"He's in a stable condition. It's fortunate you ponies manage to get help in time."

Everypony let out a relieved sigh with Octavia sitting beside him.

"Hear that, Crimson?" the gray mare clutched the red pony's hoof, a relieved smile on her face.

"You're going to be fine."

Rarity sat close to her friend, comforting her with a pat on her back.

The night had been too much for Octavia, with her beloved coltfriend injured and all, judging from all the noticeable paths the tears made as they ran down her face.

"Pssst..." she heard from a corner.

Winter gestured the white mare to come over, a look of worry disheveling into curiosity.

"Just now, an hour ago," he whispered as the white mare shifted closer towards him. "in the encounter with Mirror Mare, how did you get yourself in that time warp?"

Rarity stepped back, looking confused.

"Whatever do you mean?"

"When Mirror Mare stopped time, you were completely unaffected by the space-time anomaly." the stallion explained.

"Accordingly, from the rules of Sicarius Nox, nopony except the conjurer can traverse in the anomaly itself."

Still puzzled, she asked again: "Which means...?"

"Which means you were not suppose to be able to move at all when the Mirror Mare froze time."

Rarity stood there, slightly surprised at his conclusion.

"What about you?" she asked the Patriarch.

"How is it possible for you to be able to... move as well?"

"I can," Winter said as he raised up a hoof, revealing a device under his collar. "because of this."

A million thoughts raced across her mind,

Sicarius Nox? Mirror Mare?

Winter, clearly noticing her confusion, suddenly spoke.

"Come to me, tomorrow, at the library."

He then stood up from the chair

"I will explain everything."

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The morning wasn't desirable, but he had enough problems for now.

Summer held his torch up, kicking the dust around the passages. He just had a massive headache from last night when he woke up.

The yellow pony had really hoped his brother had done something about this... Mirror Mare.

"Still," he muttered to himself, "it gives me a little more time."

He crisscrossed through the passages, turning about the darkness, ignoring the small squeak of mice.

Then, he heard it. From the side. A small melody resonating in the distance. It somewhat tingled his hooves, feeling each and every note flowing seamlessly through the passage.

He placed his ear on the makeshift door at the side, recognizing the symphony immediately. Beethooven.

It wasn't a must, but his family had been trained primarily in the creative arts. All of the Palgiots, including him, had the talent to paint, sing, dance, even act on stage.

But each had their own way, as his Uncle Harrow had said.

Spring's was joyful, the notes usually jumpy and flushed, yet melodic all the same.

His was a little aggressive, somewhat fierce and straightforward. Once or twice he broke some of the strings on the instruments.

His brother was more melancholic, harmonious; always conveying something deep and thoughtful. Summer had always laughed at his femininity since young.

This, however, was soothing, calming even his raging flame. Only one pony he knew could do that.

He pushed the marble slab inwards, a bunch of granite slabs jutted into place in response, forming a crescendo of stairs up into brass haven.

The harp player looked towards the floor, slightly annoyed by the sudden intrusion. The sun and moon edifice has disappeared as Summer stepped up from the musty darkness into the Music Room.

"Summer," the pale beige mare called out his name. "I wasn't expecting you."

He just walked towards his sister just as Autumn stood up from the stool, patiently waiting for him to speak.

"Your music," the colt asked cynically. "Why did you play it?"

Autumn shifted uncomfortably in response. His sister wasn't a keen lover of music, and he knew that.

"Something's... on my mind a past few days."

Summer only raised an eyebrow. The mare wasn't herself, yet his mind tried to forget about it.

"Well... I'll be seeing you then, Autumn." the yellow pony said before walking out the room, this time through the doors without another glance back.

Autumn strode towards the bookcase, gently pushing in a book titled Thirteen Steps & Other Memorable Tunes inwards. A click sounded from above, as the granite steps slid back into place, the floor sealing the secret entrance.

She looked on as Summer shut the door. Despite the near-emotionless, straight-lipped expression on his face, there was a flicker of cold hate, of blood-lust.

Something isn't right...

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"Glad you could make it."

Rarity had just entered the Palgiot library glancing about the room.

This is something Twilight would really love. Giant bookcases filled to brim lay aligned across the room. A few oil paints hung between marble pillars as the walls, being bookcases themselves, stood dusty and ordered.

A set of spiral stairs led towards the upper half, with a giant window overlooking a balcony. Light shone down on an oak table with a bottle of ink and a bunch of quills, beside it a few books lay stacked at the corner in complete order.

The giant silhouette of Winter started to wander towards the stairs as the Patriarch quickly trotted down the spiral steps. Rarity settled herself on one of the numerous velvet sofas around the center of the library, placing her hoof on a small, circular table in front of her.

"Now then," Winter began as he stood across the white mare.

"Where were we?"

"My friends. You were explaining why my friends couldn't come."

"Of course!" he retorted as Stellar came in with a cart.

"An espresso, Stellar." the Patriarch requested, before turning to the white mare.

"Miss Rarity, if you don't mind..."

"Just a cup of tea, sir."

Stellar nodded silently as he poured coffee from the porcelain teapot, the strong smelling brew making Rarity wrinkle her nose.

"Well, then." Winter suddenly said as the butler quickly rushed to his master's side with a cup of coffee.

"I shall explain from the beginning."

Rarity got her cup of tea soon after, as Stellar excused himself, pushing the cart out the room as the Patriarch began:

"I'm sure you've known of the extensive history of Pendant Lakes, yes?"

The mare nodded, sipping on her cup of tea.

"Well, you see, it was all a lie. Pendant Lakes wasn't discovered by settlers, explorers or the like."

Winter continued as he sat down.

"They were discovered by Parsan Palgiot."

Rarity remembered the name clearly.

"Palgiot's Finest" Octavia's voice echoed in her mind. "Parsan 1389"

"You see, my ancestor was, as you can say, a baron from Canterlot. Our family at that time wasn't really keen on staying there. Parsan insisted to his brother, Ravine, and sister, Holly, on building Palgiot Palace right here, on Hoovingaar Mountain. In a way, Palgiot Palace existed long before Pendant Lakes."

"Wait," the mare made some calculations in her head. "That would mean-"

"Yes." Winter confirmed her theory with a justifying smile.

"This wasn't the 400th anniversary of the founding of Palgiot Palace. It was, if I'm not mistaken, the 825th."

"826th, sir," his butler corrected him.

"Yes, of course, I'm sorry," the stallion said with a chuckle of embarrassment.

Rarity laughed along heartily as Winter continued explaining.

"Over time, something happened to Parsan. Something... unnatural. He became insane, talking to imaginary friends, asking for odd requests, not even daring to look at other ponies."

The white mare moved closer towards the edge of the seat, letting herself indulge into the story.

"One day, for some reason, Parsan ordered something called a 'mannequin town'. Nopony understood what he meant, so they built a small model of a town for him. Even his siblings grew worried of him. His conditioned worsened as his requests for the 'mannequin town' grew increasingly frantic, prompting Ravine to order a large, full-scale version of the model down at the valley."

"And that," he clarified. "was how Pendant Lakes was born."

Rarity stood back in amazement, looking down at the town.

"But how is it that everypony knew about the town? It was just a random town built from Parsan's imagination, isn't it?"

"That was what Ravine and Holly thought at first. They've thought they satisfied their brother by building a town for them, but he ranted and raved still, ordering for 'mannequin ponies' and such."

"He wants the town to be populated."

Winter took a sip of coffee, as the mare did with her tea, before continuing:

"Ravine and Holly decided that his brother was... unfit to the matters of Palgiot Palace. They concocted something. Something that changed the family history forever.

"One night, Ravine led Parsan out to the Jade Balcony." Winter said, pointing to the balcony outside the library.

"He and Parsan closed his eyes as they began in prayer."

"Then, in one sudden move, Ravine pushed his brother off the balcony."

Rarity held her hoof to her mouth in shock, nearly dropping her cup she held in the other hoof.

"That became the basis of the rule. The Necessensio."

"The what?" the mare grew confused.

"Necessensio." Winter repeated. "It was a rule, stating that if a family member deemed a Patriarch to be abusing his position, or unfit to rule, he is granted a permission of assasinating the Patriarch."

"Celestia!" her eyes grew in shock.

"It was a rule practiced till, I regret to say, today." Winter shuffled nervously in his seat. "I was expecting Summer to strike any day now. The Heir will then take his place as Patriarch or, for mares, Matriarch."

He hesitated a moment, before continuing:

"Anyway, Ravine became elected as Patriarch of the Palace, the first ever Patriarch in our family."

Rarity listened attentively, sipping from her cup.

"He met a mare, named Vanilla Veil. They both married and had five foals. One of them, the oldest, was Noir Palgiot."

Winter swallowed his coffee in a gulp before continuing.

"Well, when Noir grew up, Ravine was battling with a disease. One night, Noir crept into the room, shot his father three times in the chest. Ravine did not survive."

The mare felt her chest twinge with disgust.

Is this family insane?

"Since Holly, his aunt, had passed away a few years before, Noir was the one and only heir. Thus, he became the second Patriarch."

Stellar entered with another cart. "More tea, miss?" he asked.

Rarity shook her head, as Winter continued, his butler filling his cup with more coffee.

"At that time, what we ponies called science was still in its infancy. There had been many ventures, such as alchemy and the then acclaimed Pony Philosophy. Celestia, having banished her sister to the moon, had to settle these matters themselves."

"Then, ponies like Coltpernicus and Haylileo claimed that the Earth was moving around Celestia's sun. That would mean that, if it were true, Celestia wasn't doing any work at all!"

"Clashes between science and faith began," the Patriarch's voice deepened,"as scientists became more daring, challenging the very aspects of Equestria and nature itself. Riots began in some towns, with rumors spreading around that several scientists are trying to disprove of unicorn and alicorn magic with science."

"Of course, this infuriated the Canterlot Ministry, as well as the Princess herself. The Canterlot Ministry then divided into two groups, the Ministry of Faith, now the Celestian Ministry, and the Ministry of Science, now the Ministry of Academic Sciences."

"Being the Arch-Minister myself," Winter said, straightening his suit as he sipped on some coffee. "I've realized how inhumane the methods of the ancients are."

"They captured unicorns, from innocent foals to aging ponies. They performed various experiments, even killing these unicorns by chopping off their horns, just to extract the source of magic within them."

Rarity's face paled, a mix of shock and disgust on her face.

"Of course, Celestia imposed a ban, vowing to hunt down everypony that even attempted at it. An uproar sparked, causing what you ponies would call an Equestrian crisis."

"Noir Palgiot was one of those defiant ponies." he finally connected. "At that time, Pendant Lakes was filled with ponies, though the town was slightly smaller than today, with places such as Fountain Square and Standard & Dale not existing on the town map yet. Celestia placed a curse on this town, that whoever dared to defy magic, defy faith, shall be executed."

"The Princess really did that?" the other pony asked, not believing Celestia's ways.

"She was a different pony then. She was younger, harsher. She just banished her sister to the moon. I would do the same if I were her."

Rarity nodded thoughtfully, agreeing with the stallion's statement as he continued.

"Noir quickly died soon after, under mysterious circumstances. His sister, Crescent Palgiot, who was then the only surviving sibling of the five, soon take over as the third Patriarch and the first Matriarch of the family."

"She proposed a conclusion, as she was doing her better, more respected research on unicorn magic herself. If a unicorn's faith was stronger, then her magic would be as well. That explains why your friend, Twilight Sparkle, had her powerful magic, since she was a very faithful student of Princess Celestia, and believes in her truly."

The mare felt enlightened. Wait till Twilight hears about this!

"But that doesn't explain it," she replied, before asking Winter.

"Why aren't my friends invited to the ball?"

"I was coming to that. You see, Crescent married this stallion, named Silvershard. They both had twins, Fedora, a unicorn colt and Flair, a filly pegasus. These twins then made Pendant Lakes the way it is today, bringing along ponies from across Equestria and beyond to flourish the town."

"Of course, something was a little off," the stallion said, flashing a cunning grin.

"One may ask, why are the alleys so confusing, like a maze? Why do the houses looked so special, each different of the other? Why was the station only an incomplete set of pillars, rising through the sky?

"Unlike the rest of the family, Fedora and Flair were more... disapproving of the family's customs. Therefore, when their parents passed on from old age, they taught their children about the rules, about survival."

"The family had about thirty plus members, most of who were Fedora and Flair's cousins, who were more bloodthirsty unlike them, so they decided to teach their children martial arts, archery, firearms, even unconventional things like knife-throwing, unicorn-alicorn magic and silent killing."

"At the same time, they'd taught them to be poise, elegant, as they were a royal family. They've taught them their firsthand knowledge of the creative arts. Painting, singing, playing various instruments, drama studies, dancing and such."

"These traditions are still carried on today." he concluded.

"To us, they're known as the Deceiver Arts."

Rarity just sat there, puzzled.

"To deceive those outside our family bounds that we are royal people, with no complete knowledge of the ways of assassination."

"That was the reason they constructed Pendant Lakes so oddly: for the alleys it was a test of awareness, of wandering through it blindfolded to reach a certain destination, for the houses, it was the test of memory, remembering every small, little detail on each house, for the station, it was the test of speed, strength and balance, by jumping across the pillars in a certain pattern, sometimes even blindfolded."

Of course! A spark lit in her mind. That explains a lot!

"When their foals grew up, their children were already ready for their cousin's attempts of assassinations. The oldest, Ochre Palgiot, became Patriarch at the age of seventeen. Of course, some of his siblings grew greedy.

He took a sip of his coffee, before continuing:

"Ochre then hired a group of bodyguards, where he and his more, sensible siblings teaching them what they've learned about assassination."

"Since then, these bodyguards pledged allegiance only to the members of the Palgiot family. Ochre granted them the name, Sicarius Nox.

Rarity flinched. That was the name she heard in her nightmare.

"At that time, Celestia had hidden the Elements of Harmony. One of the bloodthirsty few, Everhold Palgiot, stole the Elements of Harmony and turned them against Ochre and Sicarius Nox. Pendant Lakes grew into a complete shutdown. Food stocks went low, Water ran out. Everypony there was trapped in a complete barrier around it. Ochre nearly killed himself when he stopped Everhold from doing more harm."

"That is why, if the Elements of Harmony were ever present together in Pendant Lakes, even if only two of them were here." he finally explained to Rarity. "Pendant Lakes will be completely cut off from the rest of Equestria, with all its residents trapped inside."

Rarity finally understood, sitting back with a sigh.

"I stilldon't understand why the barrier will spring up again though," she asked the Patriarch, who took another drink to nourish his dry throat. "If it happened already, why would it happen again?"

"That was what I asked myself," Winter said with a chuckle. "so I did some research on it. It seems the Elements of Harmony, as Everhold himself found out, will trap any small sign of Disharmony, forming some kind of quarantine around it."

"Looking at the history of Pendant Lakes, about Parsan and his crazed rants on building the town, about Ravine throwing his brother off, starting the Necessensio, about Noir and Celestia's curse on the town, about Fedora and Flair's strange additions to the town, preparing their children for assassins, about Ochre and the rise of Sicarius Nox, I wouldn't be surprised if the Elements of Harmony see this as a threat to Equestria."

Rarity stretched her legs, tired yet enlightened by Winter's explanation of the family history.

"But what about Mirror Mare," she continued to ask. "How did he-"

"It." Winter corrected the mare.

"You do not need know about its existence in Pendant Lakes. That is a completely different story."

Rarity slumped, frustrated. She felt like screaming to know more.

"By the way, Miss Rarity, shouldn't you be returning to Ponyville now? I'm sure the train will be arriving soon."

"Oh! of course!" the mare exclaimed, quickly jumping from her seat.

"Thank you, Mr. Palgiot, for everything."

"No big deal." the Patriarch said with a smile. "Not at all"

Rarity quickly trotted outside, as Winter took one last look at her.

What an interesting mare...

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"Sure you'll come back later?"

Octavia grinned at her friend.

"I'll come back to Ponyville, I promise. The doctor said it's only a matter of time that Crimson will wake."

Rarity hugged her friend, a little proud of her independent decision. The train steamed in the distance, as ponies of different ages clambered up and down the train in a hasty rush.

"When I come back, be sure to tell me all about your special 'somepony," the gray mare said with a teasing smile.

"Promise?"

"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!"

Both ponies laughed, before the white unicorn stood up from the bench.

"Give my regards to Crimson when he wakes."

"I will." her friend replied.

Rarity quickly gathered her luggage and started trotting towards the platform, a slight breeze blowing her mane.

"Rarity!" Octavia cried, making the white unicorn glanced back at her friend, puzzled from her sudden outburst.

"Be sure not to faint on the train!"

The white unicorn laughed at her friend's teasing comment, rolling her eyes.

Octavia gave her a wink, then a heartfelt wave as Rarity strode off towards the train.

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Winter stood solemnly on the Jade Balcony, looking at the small, billowing steam erupting from the train. His mind still lingered with the long conversation he had with the white mare

Stellar Lionheart stood by him, awaiting for any orders. The Patriarch sometimes wondered if he was a little overprotective of him, but he shrugged it off.

"Stellar, you don't need to be at my side all the time, you know."

The butler looked up with a smile.

"I suppose I was too used to attending to the services of five Patriarchs before you, sir," he replied.

Winter laughed heartily, before letting out a sigh. The loud noise of crashing glass and chaotic screams and shouts flew back into him, reminding him of the escalation of events

"I wish Rarity can keep this behind her."

"You mean the mare, sir?"

The Patriarch closed his eyes, feeling the calm breeze on his face. The afternoon sun glared in the distance as he let out a sigh.

"She wouldn't understand Mirror Mare and his antics. That incident in the ballroom was a little too close."

The Patriarch turned to his butler, wearing a mask of concern.

"She can travel in a time stop, Stellar. It doesn't make any sense."

The butler just looked up from his frozen bow.

"Maybe she and Mirror Mare had some sort of... relationship, perhaps?"

Winter sighed. "Maybe..."

He suddenly felt a slight ache at the back of his head, his futile attempts at calming it down only coaxing it to grow into something more painful.

"Sir?" Stellar asked worriedly as Winter grunted in pain, his hoof grasping firmly onto his head.

The migraine grew more and more agonizing, his knees weak and wobbling before the Patriarch completely gave in, abruptly collapsing onto the floor.

"Sir!" the butler quickly knelt down to help him up.

Winter's eyes suddenly opened with shock. Celestia-

"STOP THE TRAIN!!"

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Rarity was trying to lift her luggage, her horn tending to another.

It was a quiet afternoon, despite the surging crowd around her. Their endless chatters were only overwhelmed by the hiss of steam erupting from the wheels, each in a competition of volume.

The sun glared down at her from the towering pillars, the peculiar structures reminding her of what Winter said this morning.

"It was the test of speed, strength and balance, by jumping across the pillars in a certain pattern, sometimes even blindfolded."

She tried imagining a few fillies and colts hopping on them, before laughing at her silly idea.

"Need any help with that, miss?"

An ashen-gray colt with a red mane walked towards Rarity, the mare recognizing him instantly.

The colt helping her was Tiki Torch, one of the guests at the masquerade. He was a fire dancer from Hay'waii, as well as an expert in pyrotechnics and - no doubt his recent achievement - one of the ponies who helped lift Crimson to the ambulance yesterday.

"Thank you, Mister." Rarity smiled as the sallionhelped lift the heavy bags up. "There are still a few more there, with my dresses and all, inside."

Including my walkie-talkie, she muttered to herself

"Sure thing, Miss..."

"Rarity." she gave her name with a polite grin.

The red-maned pony smiled back, as she tried to finish her mental checklist.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Rarity said with a sheepish blush, quickly picking up a small bag of makeup.

"Can you please place these inside my trunk?" she asked, pointing towards the brown suitcase resting silently and patiently on the carriage.

"No problem with that."

Rarity walked towards her remaining luggage, feeling bad for giving Tiki Torch extra work.

"Miss Rarity!"

She whirled around, her ears perked as she glancing through the crowd, her eyes starting to squint through the endless sea of ponies in her halted walk towards the train.

A pair of brown hooves flailed through the air.

"Mr. Lionheart?"

Stellar waved his hooves around, his eyes widened as he mouthed out.

Don't board the train!

Rarity just looked at him, confused at his frightened expression just as Tiki opened her suitcase.

BOOOOOMM!

A loud explosion rocked the platform, shards of metal and glass whizzed through the air. Flames burst from the train, wikth the remaining cabins launched into the air, collapsing onto the platform.

Rarity felt her body being thrown across the stone pavement, the snarling of raw pain searing through her body as she felt demonic friction grinding against her skin before colliding with a marble column. Agony and shock flew through her mind, which only made her let out a silent cry.

One of the carriages skidded onto the platform, slowly screeching to a halt as ponies everywhere scrambled into a frenzy. The slate pavements were scraped, some being chiseled up and thrown across, narrowly missing the heads of a few ponies. Black smoke and embers billowed into the air as Octavia and Stellar tried to push through the turbulent crowd, spotting the white mare laying at a distance.

"Rarity!"

The unicorn felt her body grow limp, her hooves crumpling in sheer agony. She tasted blood in her mouth, her vision began blurring at the foggy veil covering her eyes.

"Miss, hold on!"

The world seemed to twist around her, the echoes shouts and cries filling her ringing ears.

She tried to look at where the train was, her neck crumpling in pain. Instead of seeing the pristine locomotive, there was a charred, twisted mess of steel instead, burning on the broken tracks.

"Rarity...... going to get...... just... HOLD ON!"

Her friend's shocked and worried face became a gray blur, as Rarity felt herself succumbing to darkness.

Comments

[WritingSpirit]

Chapter 7 is out!!!!

If you must ask, With Clandestine Desires, the title, refers to Fedora and Flair's 'improvements' to the town, secretly hoping their children will succeed.

Chapter 8 will be coming soon!

[Fury of the Tempest]

Well...
... Damn.
You really, REALLY are setting up a fascinating scene and setting. We have learned a lot about the background of this place... but there is still so much left to learn...
And the assassination thing is still going on...
... The earth around the sun as well the fight between magic and science eerily reflects what happened in the real world...
I just hope that the earth doesn't move around the sun.

[Pia-chan]

831884
holly me too! and i should be studyng for my final examn!

[Phoenix Nebula]

d2ws0xxnnorfdo.cloudfront.net/meme/507027