Of Laurels & Lace

by WritingSpirit

Black Roses & Red Nights

For once, the streets of Pendant Lakes were empty.

If one asks a citizen of the town of Pendant Lakes, they would mention of the streets always busy with ponies, even at the passing of midnight. This was even more so at this time of the year, where all the shops would be open twenty four seven, just to serve the needs of hurrying customers.

Caduceus Brineheart would've said the same thing as well before all of this started. Now he wasn't so sure.

What had become of the life here, he wondered, feeling lonely in the silent town. What was once streaming with life was now an abandoned avenue of deep, cold snow; what was once filled with culture was stripped off bare, leaving only a degenerate wasteland for the generations to come.

Pendant Lakes will fall, he did say a few times. He just wished it would happen much more later.

"Nostalgia?"

Jovern's voice wasn't surprising as it would've been; he was too dejected for that.

"More of regrets, really."

The black dragon crept to his side, staring ahead with a demurring chuckle.

"It's common in a world such as this," he replied, craning his neck down.

"In a land filled with life, there surely must be some darkness and sin behind it all. To me, what you regret is what you see as a mistake; one that you would surely not repeat it in the continuing years of your life. Ever. So tell me..."

"What is it that you regret?"

The doctor wanted to reply, but he couldn't. There wasn't a single word that he could muster, and he knew it wasn't from his dry throat. Out of defeat, he just gave a shrug.

"I don't know."

"Then you had never made a mistake that had brought upon this, hadn't you?"

With a senile tuck of his wings, he knelt down towards the doctor, his pupils glinting as he voiced out his thoughts:

"You seem to have seen something. Something that you know you could've never experienced. Something... special, I dare say?"

Caduceus just sighed, crossing it hooves.

"It's that dragon. The one they call Spike."

"Special one, he is," the black dragon answered.

"It's abnormal for one such of my species to linger among your kind. If by affection, I understand where he's coming from, but lifestyle wise... it seemed rather queer to see a reptilian of our kin roaming around, doing what some of my friends had come to call 'pony-work'. They always did say it was a degrading matter if a dragon ever resorted to that, but it never seemed to bother me."

"When we were heading back to the Princess," the doctor continued, as if he had never listened to what Jovern had just said.

"Spike suddenly became... more dragon than I had ever seen him. He sniffed the air... glancing around him before rushing into the palace without another word. It was the most primal form I saw from him."

"He really adores his mate....." Jovern just responded with a happy grin, explaining only when he saw Caduceus's confused expression.

"When a dragon becomes attached to his or her mate, they would usually pick up their mate's scent. Sometimes it's to search for them to play. Sometimes it's for spending time together, talking and reminiscing about their lives. At the most dire times, such as this, dragons use it to sense when their mate is in trouble."

"Then what of Rarity?" he asked.

"Why did Rarity love Spike that much anyway?"

"We both know those inseparable two are destined lovers," Jovern remarked dreamily.

"She sees something in the dragon that many never took the time to. Sure, he has appetites that she could never sate. Sure, he has troubles that she could never face, but I know, at any point, they would stick together eventually. They would find a way out, no matter what."

"Hmm... queer though, that one represents the beast of greed. The other the Element of Generosity."

Caduceus turned to the black dragon, smiling a little at the irony.

"It is a wonder that they could actually survive with each other."

"Ah, but you'll be surprised what love can bring forth to you, my fellow friend," Jovern answered.

"Even one of your friends had known of such affections. After all, she did ask me for some facts for her book, didn't she?"

"Seems that way..." the doctor mused, letting out a loud yawn.

"It's something that an aged pony like myself would never come to understand."

"And you have regrets over that?" the dragon asked, earning a sheepish nod.

"Well," Jovern smiled, slightly amused.

"There is still time for you. After all..."

"You can never be too old for love."

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"Just a little more..."

Twilight held her breath, her horn trying its best to remove the battery at the side. It had been the fifth time she was trying to do this, the previous four times to no avail.

Rainbow Dash and Octavia were gazing at her efforts, switching between that and the duel that Princess Luna was in with Harmony. Both looked determined to murder each other, their glares as powerful as the magic they have wielded beneath their hooves.

"Ugh, it's no use!" the unicorn finally snapped.

"This thing can't even budge an inch!"

"Then give me a try."

Rainbow's stepped forward, kicking her hooves with an earnest smile on her face.

"Watch out, little tin can, cause I'm gonna bust you right open!"

"Stop!!"

Twilight's magic held her friend's wings back in time, sighing with relief as the cyan pegasus struggled in her magical grasp, shouting with irritation:

"What gives, Twi?!"

"You can't just use brute force!" she yelled back.

"The matter inside is very unstable! If it meets one slight spark, the reaction would be so fast that once the energy that seeps through a crack in the capsules meets a flare, we'll all be blown into the next century!"

"Well, then can you think of a better way to solve this?" Rainbow asked.

"Something other than watching the whole of Canterlot blown to smithereens?"

"I'm trying!"

"Well, then we don't have much time."

Octavia headed towards the control system, biting her lip as the core of the cannon starts to power up, the abrupt, loud sound of whirring only bolstering their desperation.

"The Palgiots really made this thing foolproof."

*CLANG*

The echoing sound of steel against steel made them turn back to the battle at hand, just in time to see Princess Luna slamming her face against her own barrier, her head held up by Harmony's blade at her neck.

"Tsk... tsk..." the pink unicorn spat with a wide, triumphant grin.

"You do follow your sister's hoofsteps after all..."

The cerulean alicorn merely smiled at that.

"Just barely."

Before Harmony could slit her throat, the princess suddenly vanished into black, making the rest all look in bewilderment at her sudden disappearance.

The pink unicorn growled for a moment, before whirling around, the grip on her blade becoming tighter as standing on the other end of the barrier, with a cunning grin on her face, was her target.

"You never told me you were a playful one, Princess Luna."

Princess Luna could only scoff at that, her crescent-shaped scythe emerging with a blue glow from beside her once more. She almost felt sorry for the other mare, seeing how she was already worn out and panting from their constant clashing.

Almost.

"It's an attribute of being the Princess of the Night," she replied, giving her rival a smirk.

"You're lucky my sister isn't at her fullest form at this time of day," she paused as the mare snarled suddenly despite her fatigue, which was profoundly amusing to the alicorn.

"She would've been finished fighting with you without even looking at your face. As for me, however..."

Harmony just chuckled at that, instead throwing her blades to the side. The remaining ponies could only blink in surprise at her actions as the pink unicorn spoke cheerfully:

"Becoming foolish now, are we? Haven't Celestia warned you of such actions yet? Or are you just as blind as I perceive you to be?"

The alicorn just harrumphed, before she suddenly tensed, letting out an ear-piercing scream.

"Princess Luna!!" Twilight shouted, pounding on the barrier as she watched the alicorn collapse onto the floor, convulsing terribly with pain. The unicorn turned to the now smiling Harmony, gritting her teeth whilst yelling:

"What have you done to her?!

"Celestia and my... friend, had a little pact. I was merely there to make sure it was never broken."

The pink mare leaned down towards Luna, the alicorn only able to grimace at her. She stroked her mane with a giggle, lifting her head up.

"And yet somepony had the daredevil personality to break it, hmm?" she cooed.

"Don't you, my little Woona~?"

She could only let out a scream, as... something burst into her veins. It gnawed at the walls of her lungs, it burned ferociously in her gut. The pain was staggering, the sight of which only making her friends' eyes water with panic.

"You can't kill her!" Twilight shouted, banging at the walls.

"I won't, but that thing inside will."

Harmony cackled loudly and defiantly at their shocked expressions, trotting towards her blades.

"Don't worry, my fellow ponies. She wouldn't blow up into pieces... but everything inside her will. Imagine the suffering; your stomach blasting itself open, or your skull cracking into an infinite pieces..."

"Oh well," she added with a sigh.

"At least her death will be clean. Unlike yours..."

"You... you MONSTER!!" Twilight screamed, being pulled back by Octavia and Rainbow before she could charge through the diminishing barrier. Princess Luna's hoof started to crumple, before her shaking hoof eventually stilled, leaving them to watch in horror and disbelief.

Suddenly, a bright light flared into the sky, accompanied with a magical, chiming sound reminiscent of breaking steel, before the clouds swirled unnaturally, forming a funnel of air with the moon at the end. In turn, the sky turned a bright red, the moon now glowing a pure, bloody crimson, enveloping the night of the world into its striking, crude color.

All of them gazed at the sudden change, unable to perceive what had just happened.

"Blood moon," the lavender unicorn explained, her voice quivering.

"It happens only when... when P-Princess Luna's..."

The pink mare laughed heartily at the display, staring with satisfaction at the red night.

"Seems the job's done. However..."

Harmony raised her blades, advancing upon the trio of ponies leaning against the wall, their hopes washed away in a tide of fear.

"I have a few... witnesses to dispatch. To make what they call a perfect crime, right?"

Before she could raise her blades, however, she was stopped by a loud slam of hooves; one which had practically made all of them look in astonishment at the figure standing in front of the doorway.

Twilight, Octavia and especially Rainbow's eyes widened immediately, looking at their unlikely savior, who shouted with deafening rage:

"LEAVE MY FRIENDS ALONE!!"

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"No way! Not in a single lifetime that I'm going on it!"

"It's a him, blunthead," Applejack scowled.

"So ya gonna up your flank, or are ya gonna wait here once this place comes crashin' down?"

"Of course I want to leave," the stallion exclaimed, his voice breaking through the now quieting snowstorm.

"The only problem is that I don't want to leave on... on... on a dragon!!"

"It's a dragon, not a basilisk!"

The orange mare just rolled her eyes as he gave a scornful turn of his head, prompting her to say:

"Since you're a pegasus, why not ya use your witty wings and hover to the next mountain? I'm sure ya can do it without a hay of a problem, huh pardner?"

"Why I never...!"

With that, the stallion kicked his hooves back, holding back only when the dragon, Kane, growled menacingly, leaving him to lift his head up with a cold frown.

"Just this once..." he muttered, joining the rest of his fellow townsfolk all huddled together on the massive expanse of the dragon's scaly back.

Applejack sighed; the stallion stupid complaints were agonizing to bear through, just like Rarity, with the only difference is that the white unicorn actually loves a dragon. If he had ranted any longer, she would've bucked him into the Badlands, see if he enjoys the hospitality they provide.

"Sorry, Kane," she said, trying her best to smile whilst wrapping a fluttering scarf around her neck.

"Ya know how ponies are in these parts."

"Well, I couldn't blame them," the red dragon said with a laugh, feeling the prodding of hooves onto his scales.

"These ponies have seen a lot in one night alone. But still... if I burned him into crisp, wouldn't that be one less burden on my back?"

"Kane!" the mare hissed, earning a laugh from the reptile.

"For Celestia's sake, there's ponies that can still hear whatever the heck ya sayin'!"

"Good then!" he exclaimed.

"That way they'll scurry off my backs into the depths of their town. Dwell back into their forsaken homes and rot, which also means less of a backache the moment I get some rest."

Applejack could only smack her forehead at that, rolling her eyes.

"Just listen to the Princess's orders," the orange mare rasped, turning her signature hat back front.

"If ya lucky enough, she might give you some pardon for ya hullabaloo back in Canterlot."

Kane just said nothing, instead crossing his claws with a puff of smoke.

It wasn't long before his brother, Jovern, swooped down from the side, apparently finished his scouting mission for any of the frightened denizens still holed up in the walls of their own home, with Caduceus jumping down from his back.

The doctor lifted his snow goggles while quickly trotting towards Princess Celestia, with Applejack now following him, leaving the two draconian brothers to talk. He hastily bowed befoe the white alicorn, giving his answer:

"Pendant Lakes is cleared, your Highness."

"Alright."

The alicorn turned to the side, watching the residents of the now vacant town slowly marching up the wings of the numerous dragons resting on the plaza. There was always a hint of reluctance stirring somewhere in the crowd, but in the end it would be all for naught.

"Tell them to prepare for departure the moment the rest finishes their business."

"Um... Princess Celestia? Not to barge in or anythin' but..."

Applejack's sudden mention of her name surprised, the mare continuing:

"Can Ah make some things clear for a minute?"

Princess Celestia gave a quiet, affirmative nod, the two mares now trotting to the side.

"Ah was wonderin' 'bout the evacuation and such," she began.

"If the weapon's made for attackin' Canterlot, then why in tarnation are we askin' everypony here to leave?"

"I was waiting for somepony to ask that," the alicorn mused, giving her a sigh.

"It's concerning the weapon. One of my ministers, Starsign Fleet, had accumulated data on the cannon; the same one that my sister, Twilight, Octavia and Rainbow Dash is finding and the same one that Tantrum had planned for its sole purpose: to destroy Canterlot."

"The energy used to supply the cannon, if detonated, will cause an explosion of dynamic proportions; one that would obliterate not only Palgiot Palace, but the town included, in a matter of minutes."

The alicorn watched as the Applejack's face grew more serious, before continuing:

"Starsign also mentioned that there was nearly no way to deactivate the weapon."

"Nearly?" the orange mare emphasized on that word.

"You mean there is a way to stop it?"

Princess Celestia nodded firmly.

"The energy capsule is somewhat connected to the sewage system of Pendant Lakes, so there's a chance that we can leak the energy out by controlling the valve system of the fountain. In order for that to happen, however, we need to shut the cannon down first."

The two looked at the fountain, which was still endlessly spurting water out from its tip despite the cold weather. They could only sigh; the main attraction of Pendant Lakes had became their gamble of Canterlot's destruction.

"Unfortunately," the alicorn added.

"Once this energy reaches the center of the sewage, it will react with the sparks from the sewage's power source, causing the aforementioned explosion. Pendant Lakes and Palgiot Palace will be engulfed by light, and nopony would survive an explosion of such catastrophic results."

"Then we musn't waste any time," Applejack finished, finally understanding the reason.

"Ah'll try to get them to speed up a little. As for the rest of 'em that're ain't here yet... Ah just wish they would hurry up..."

"Applejack!!"

Big Mac's voice boomed through the plaza, with all eyes watching as the red stallion galloped up to his younger sister, his face frantic and desperate.

"Applejack," he called again, trying to catch his breath.

"Wh-where's... where's Fluttersh'ah?"

"Wasn't she with you?" she asked back, her brother's negating response only making her panic.

"Fluttersh'ah?" the orange mare called out, now rushing through the crowd alongside her brother.

"Fluttersh'ah, where are you?!"

A loud, echoing crash suddenly sounded throughout the air, with everypony looking up just in time to see the moon turned a bloodcurdling red, the sight of which only made them gasp as they were basked under the unnatural light.

Princess Celestia's face turned pale the moment she got a glimpse of the red sky, her worst fears razing up to the corners of her eyes.

"L-Luna...!"

"Your Highness!" Caduceus cried, rushing to her side the moment the alicorn collapsed suddenly onto the plaza floor, her eyes frozen wide with trauma.

"Somepony get her some water!"

"Fluttersh'ah!!" Big Mac shouted in desperation. He would've galloped back into the town's confusing alleyways if not for Soarin' and Crimson holding him back, the stallion letting out a frenzied whinny among the howling winds.

"Let me go!! She's still in there! SHE'S STILL IN THERE!!"

"Macintosh! Don't!"

Applejack held her hat down, the snowstorm beginning to stir up again with the snow now raging across their hooves. She tried to brace her hooves along with the rest of the ponies, now braving against the onslaught of the white.

"She'll come back!" she shouted over the storm once she reached her brother's side. The words never soothed him, though his desperation to gallop into the obscurity calmed, her sister's voice echoing in his head.

"She'll come back..."

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"LEAVE MY FRIENDS ALONE!!"

Twilight could not believe her eyes, mostly in relief and bewilderment. Of all ponies that could get out them out of their predicament; of all ponies that could stand where their savior was standing...

"Fluttershy?"

"Twilight!" the yellow mare exclaimed hurriedly.

"Are you alright? Did she hurt you?"

"Just beginning to, actually."

Harmony merely laughed, her blades readying at the now grimacing pegasus, the rest of them only able to watch helplessly from afar.

"Why are you here actually? To volunteer like our dear friend over there?"

Fluttershy's gaze turned to that of Princess Luna, the sight of the alicorn's crumpling body only horrified her. The pink mare cackled as the yellow pony started to frown with disgust, her own hooves sliding back.

"You think you're powerful by hurting other ponies, huh?" she growled, surprising her watching friends.

"So what if you can hurt an alicorn?"

"So what, huh? Don't you see...?"

Without hesitation, Harmony trotted closer to the glowering mare, raising her blade.

"You haven't had the slightest idea of the extent of my powers," she answered.

"If I can hurt not one, but two alicorns, what the possibility that I can take over Equestria?"

The pink unicorn only laughed manically at that, though Fluttershy still stood undaunted.

"I... I might not know about what happened here, but I know enough that your power is beyond a normal unicorn's. Even Twilight can't beat you, and we all know that."

"But I know for one thing," she finished, giving a smile.

"If you think you can move me off this world the way we pegasi move the clouds each day, then I believe you're horribly mistaken, because I'm their friend!"

"And friends... never leave each other behind..."

Fluttershy smiled at them, especially Rainbow, who could only do the same, the cyan mare trying to wipe her eyes free of tears.

"How cute," Harmony responded sardonically, readying her blades.

"But I believe that your time here is up."

Gripping her pair of blades, the pink mare rushed towards Fluttershy, the pegasus clenching her eyes shut, her teeth chattering at the impending pain.

She suddenly felt herself being dragged down to the side, her ears detecting the loud clang of blade against stone. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes, only to see the figure shielding her.

"Leave my friend alone, you jerk!" Rainbow rasped.

"You wanna hurt somepony like a big, bad bully? Or you wanna fight like a real mare?!!"

"Interesting..."

Harmony's surprise was momentarily brief, the mare managing to break out a smile.

"So now it's a two against one battle? How amusing. How... unfair."

"Make that a four against one!"

Twilight and Octavia soon stood by their side, readying their hooves as well.

"I have enough of watching all my friends risking their lives," the lavender unicorn shouted first.

"If you want to get us, then you'll have to get us all at once!"

The pink mare stopped, before giving them a smirk.

"A free bloodbath, huh? It seems if that is your wish..."

Before they could start the fight, however, a loud shriek came from the windows outside, with a large shadow shifting through the rays of red light. Harmony raised her blade, though none of them could predict what was happening next.

Flying through the doorway, with wings black as the night (the same which can't be said for this night, however) and glinting talons sharper than steel, was a raven, it's eyes burning crimson. It's wings flapped hastily, keeping it aloft in between Harmony and her targets, which only irritated the pink mare.

"What is this treachery?" she asked, her blade now pointing to the black bird.

"Is this your backup plan?"

The raven's eyes started to glint and flicker with hate, with all of the ponies cringing back, nervous at the sudden appearance of such a tabooed, be-damned creature.

All except one.

Fluttershy reached her hoof out, clicking her tongue as she got closer to the creature of nighttime, who had ruffled its wings a little, the natural black feathers beneath its folds all carrying a streak of purple. She watched with amazement, along with everypony else, as the bird hopped onto her hoof, perching onto it as if it was her own.

"As I said," the yellow mare spoke threateningly, marching towards the mare.

"If you think you're powerful by hurting other ponies, you're wrong. Even if you took over Equestria; even if you kill the Princesses and set Canterlot up on fire, we will retaliate. Every dragon, every griffin, every pony and every animal, like this raven here..."

"We will never call you our queen."

The raven suddenly cawed loudly, the overwhelming sound of fluttering wings filling the air.

Suddenly, bursting out of a doorway, was a black swarm of the very same birds, all cawing and flapping towards Harmony. She screamed as the birds mobbed her like locusts, before the swarm soon departed, leaving the pink mare to disappear under her cape into the blackness of the night.

Twilight, Octavia and Rainbow rushed over to her friend, with the cyan mare the first to speak:

"You did it, Fluttershy!"

"Oh, it was nothing... really..." she replied, her friends all chuckling still at her humble timidity.

"But it's amazing!" Twilight exclaimed, before asking:

"How did you know the bird was trying to help us?"

Fluttershy said nothing, only giving a smile.

A familiar voice echoed inside her head; one that she had kept as a memorial since that fateful day. To return as a true, fresh embodiment was one thing, and the words she said... was the other that she swore she would never forget:

"Be yourself." she heard her voice again, the thought of it forming a smile on the yellow mare's lips.

"That's all I really want."

"We have to get Princess Luna to safety!"

Octavia's frantic voice immediately broke her out of her daze, the pegasus now galloping to the injured alicorn. She sighed with relief after catching a glimpse of the princess's chest rising and falling, though she knew herself that there wasn't much time.

"I'll try to power down the cannon!" Twilight shouted, hurrying towards the remote.

"Fluttershy, see if you can help Rainbow lift the Princess up."

"Oh... but... there's something... um..."

"What?" Rainbow asked, slightly flushed.

"What is it?"

"It's about... my... condition..."

The pegasus held her breath. How were the three of them going to react the moment she spills the beans?

Then, she sighed in defeat. They have to know some way or another; even if she didn't tell them, Applejack herself would eventually notify them about it.

"Um.. before I came here, you see... I was having...um... having......"

"Having what?"

The cyan pegasus crossed her hooves, eyeing her friend with pure skepticism.

"Come on, Fluttershy! We don't have much time!"

"I... became a..."

"Fluttershy?" Twilight called out to her quivering friend, slightly worried.

"Fluttershy, what is it?"

Fluttershy breathed in loudly, before exhaling it all out in a gust of wind.

This is it, she told herself. It's now or never.

"I'm a mother..."

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"Blood moon..."

Stellar Lionheart held his breath as the brilliant rays of red light dazzled from above.

He was in the library, trying to strain his head through the Patriarch's death, though without success. The glimpse of the rare, majestic sight only added to his dread, forcing him to rise up from his armchair.

"Something has happened to them..." he surmised, readying his gun.

"We have to go."

He turned to the one other pony in the room; the one who had been sulking silently on a stool for the last half hour. Her curtain of the mane had been grayer than any moment that he had seen her; considering what she had been through...

"Miss Pie?" he called out, though her gaze was still sullen, affixed only to a vase standing on the table.

He crept a little closer, letting out a quivering sigh.

"Look," he began.

"He was my Patriarch, Miss Pie. To me, it's like losing the one thing I have faith for in this world. Winter Palgiot was...... different from the rest. He values the world more than what his predecessors could do. He made everyone's lives in Pendant Lakes special."

Pinkie still said nothing, prompting him to continue:

"In all my eight years since the day we kept our oaths, I've seen him change, both physically and mentally. I've seen him grow productively from the very moment he met you. He never remembered you for that long time, but somehow you made sure that he remembers your words."

"H-huh?" the mare finally stammered.

"Winter made us happy."

Stellar settled right next to the pink pony's side, giving her a slight smile.

"He listens to us. He values our lives when the other Palgiots couldn't. He saw what we cannot see, and that is the hope that he strives to bring forth upon us. The hope that had once carried the legacy of the town through those harsh times. The hope that had been brought before four young adventurers... wanting to just... see the world."

"Side by side, on friendship's shore. What's our name? The Crux Four!!"

"And when he rose to replace his uncle, I dare say I was most obliged to serve him in any way possible. It was my job to take care of him ever since he was a filly, my job to oversee that he performs his duties well and my job to protect him when he becomes the Patriarch."

The butler smiled happily at that, placing a hoof on the mare's shoulder.

"And when he mentioned that you, not Harmony, was the love of his life... I was overjoyed..."

Pinkie's cheeks turned a dark pink, with Stellar only able to stifle a laugh.

"When you came through the doors of Palgiot Palace, I can see your spirit... your joy...... it was all over you the moment your hooves stepped into our premises. You had intrigued Winter to such an extent that his feelings for you blossomed like the sunflowers off Standard & Dale, and from that point on, I knew you were his super special somepony. I knew you were his choice."

"It was an admirable choice, albeit one that wasn't widely accepted."

Stellar reached for the vase, picking out a stem from the boutique. It was a rose; the petals a flowing hue of black with its veins streaking unnaturally outwards like lightning, proclaiming its foreign yet exquisite nature.

"The common black rose," he usurped, twirling it around in his hoof.

"A flower of undeniably queer properties. It was never grown in domestication, instead only found in the wilderness of the northern mountains and crevasses. It can survive in even the most extreme climates, being the sole plant that can live through its rivals as it braves through rain, hail and snow."

"Like the rose, in all the conundrums of his life, your love remains the one thing he treasure. Even when Harmony tried to win him back, he still protected you. Even when the Princess fogged your memories, he tried very hard to remember what he had lost."

With that, Stellar passed him a book; one which the pink mare quickly opened.

"This is his journal," he explained, watching her eyes lighting up at the scribbles and question marks scrawled all over the pages. Some of the words stood out to her, her response to them only a silent gasp.

"Lost in the fabrics of time..."

"She was here. She. Was. HERE!"

"The thought of her smile lingers in me most..."

"I don't understand this... she was but a flicker in my head..."

"... and I resided in solace, with the fragments left in my head. The cloud in me forever lingers, for I could not part it. I frequently heard a laugh, and it painfully echoed with my despondency. It grasped at the corners of my heart, the pain of which made me fall to my knees to ask of my loss..."

"But I know that she's alive. That she's out there," Pinkie read out, her eyes watering.

"And I'll strive to seek for her at the ends of the earth, not to put out the storms in my head, but more of... to spend time with her... know her again...... to love her like I probably, maybe did once, for she's the only thing special I can truly hold until the tides of eternity take me. And maybe... just maybe......"

"I could see her smile again."

She closed the book, her eyes watering as she let out a quiet sniffle.

"I just wished.... I just hoped that I can... we can... sp-spend time together. I want him back, Stellar! I want him back....!"

The door suddenly opened, the two ponies turning to face their visitors, with Pinkie calling out one of their names:

"R-Rarity?"

Rarity trotted closer towards her friend, wearing a pained expression. Behind her was Spike, the dragon trying to hold back his despair as the white mare whispered into Pinkie's ear:

"I've heard..."

With that, Pinkie suddenly broke down, crying loudly as she let out every gush of her depression. She fell forwards in devastation as Rarity hugged her tight, the unicorn trying her best to comfort her friend.

Spike and Stellar watched from the side, both holding their tears as they watched the pink mare bawl with grief, the pain underlying beneath striking into their hearts.

"The walls echo along with her" the butler muttered, his breath shivering with pain.

"The tragedy is not Pinkie's alone."

"It's okay..." the white mare consoled, reducing her sobs into quick, mere sniffles.

"I wouldn't understand what you've been through, darling. But if there's one thing I know from what I've seen and read, Winter's death will never be for naught. If he loves you, he'll always be watching you, guiding you through your mistakes and preparing you for your stumbles. All you have to do is remember him."

Remember him....

"But it's... painful..." Pinkie quietly stuttered.

"It's painful to remember..."

"Surely you do not want to forget him now, do you?" Rarity said, before finishing:

"I know how good your memory is, Pinkie, and I know you and him had shared some wonderful times together. Times that can never be broken by any sword or blade."

That's true, the pink mare thought to herself, their moments flashing through her head once more:

* * * * *

The Patriarch suddenly felt himself being jerked towards the mare, who began to cry in his chest. He held back his surprise, trying to absorb what just happened.

"Uh, Pinkie...?" he called, though her endless sobs drowned it out.He sighed, letting Pinkie bawl out her devastation, ignoring the dampness it was causing across his chest and hooves. His hoof instinctively patted her back, gently hushing her with every stroke down her mane...

She suddenly hopped in surprise at a loud explosion in the sky, hanging there for only a mere second before snapping out of the weak thread of air.

Winter suddenly let out a loud 'umph' as the full weight of the mare suddenly crushed down upon his hooves, her face looking down onto his. He could feel her warm breath on his face with every pant she makes, before Pinkie let out a small giggle, her cheeks reddening with time.

"It's my P-Pinkie Sense," she explained sheepishly.

"A twitchy tail usually means something is falling. I though it was a firework, but it seems it was just me..."

"You fell for me?" he rephrased, giving her a small grin.

"Truth or Dare?"

The mare blinked in surprise at first, before giving her answer with a quiver:

"Truth."
The Patriarch suddenly embraced her, only surprising her even more. She shuddered with content at the warmth wrapping around her body like a scarf, though nothing prepared her for the question he was about to ask:

"If Harmony and I never met, would you say 'yes' if I proposed to you instead?"

The silence overwhelmed the room, the mare torn in a state of denial. Winter waited patiently, feeling the tears of the mare dripping against his shoulder. The warmth radiating from her pink coat simmered in his heart, his mind flashing back on their previous encounters.

"Yes."

"Falling in love with Pinkie," he halted with a dreamy sigh.

"Falling in love with her... was the best mistake I had ever made in my life. If you intend to correct something such as that, then I'll have no choice but to disagree with your decision."

"R-Really?"

The two whirled towards her, finally noticing her presence in her room.

There were tears in Pinkie's eyes; her only reply towards the Patriarch's words. Her heart tingled with a luxurious sensation of warmth, her mouth open in a silent gasp.

"Y-You... You really mean it?"

"I told you to stay up there, didn't I?" he spoke sternly, though before breaking out in a smile.

"And... to answer your question..."

"Yes. I mean it."

Without warning, Winter suddenly gripped her hooves firmly, the pink mare only able to look in surprise, her gaze switching from his face and the box she was holding.

"I've been l-longing to tell you this... and I planned to tell you b-before all this ch-chaos..." he muttered, letting the tears fall freely down his cheeks.

"And I-I hope you would comply to it, b-but I'll understand i-if you don't w-want to..."

The stallion took in a huge gulp of breath, before muttering out:

"P-Pinkamena Diane Pie..."

"Will you marry me...?"

* * * * *

"Remember him... for what he's done..."

Pinkie wiped her tears away, her lips slowly curling up into a smile. It made Rarity, Spike and even Stellar do the same, all of them happy to have the pink mare back.

She rose from her seat, spurred by determination from his words. With one last sigh, she expelled any last trace of despair out her mouth, his parting words echoing once more in her head.

"You will see me one day, Winter," her inner voice responded to her memories, the mare following her friends out of the door.

"And, when I come back, you'll see my smile once again."

Comments

[MasterSpike]

First post.

Hopefully this story will end soon. I don't like it when a story is THIS long. It tends to get repetitive.

A few more chapters remaining.

[WritingSpirit]

#sleep-deprived-like-seriously-who-types-a-story-at-midnight?

2AM and finally done with proof-reading Chapter 72.
Just for a little heads up for those who had just started reading the story, the ending is fixed at Chapter 75, so do expect to see this completed soon

[WritingSpirit]

1781946
Three, to be exact.

Well, I guess repetition's pretty much expected in freakishly long stories, though I'm trying to find other ways to put it down in words without reusing old ideas, especially when there might be a sequel involved for this one.
The concept is clearly in my head, but execution-wise is a different thing altogether

Though, for some reason, it seems better when you read it straight from the first chapter to the last.
Somehow, you don't really sense the repetition.... or it might be just me

[Fury of the Tempest]

Wow... what as Risk, killing Luna.

Wonder how Fluttershy knew...

[WritingSpirit]

1782143
And yet the moon still shines...

[Fury of the Tempest]

1787733
So it does...