THE RIOTS OF BALTIMARE

FOURTH STANZA

“The Cult of Laughter has traditionally been structured into localized sects, blessed by the Prophets and centered around high-ranking cult leaders who oversee conversion in the surrounding area. While usually these aren’t worth any special titles besides hideouts or churches, when one of these localized sects becomes extremely large, it becomes a “Carnival”. There is at least one Carnival in Manehatten’s Undercity. Another is suspected to be beneath Baltimare, and there are rumors of possible Carnivals in Hoofington and Fillydelphia. While immobile Carnival’s are extremely dangerous, and are suspected to have the world-altering Pillars of Joy at their hearts. This remains unconfirmed.

Another embodiment of the Cult of Laughter are the “Troupes”. The Troupes are rarer than churches and local sects but certainly more common than Carnivals. They act as mobile military processions that engaged in active battles with the Houses and rebel elements, seeking to destroy the enemies of the Cult with conversion as a secondary goal to annihilation. Hard to hide, Troupes are usually rather obvious, and so their reduced numbers aren’t for lack of willing participants, but rather for lack of surviving Troupes after House engagements.

Troupes, hideouts, churches, Carnivals, all serve the will of the Laughing Mare through the Prophets, who send the mysterious Bearer of Good News to deliver their will to the various sects and embodiments of the Cult. Through the Prophets the otherwise unconnected sects become organized, marching to the will of the Laughing Mare, and pursuing her will without question.

There is another rarer form of Cult activity however that acts independently of the Prophets, yet proceeds with their full blessing. The Prophets do not order, but make requests of this strangest of cult members. These cultists are almost as revered as the Prophets themselves, and are known as the Party Planners… Those chosen by the Laughing Mare personally, and given her mark to bear, in order to bring about the Merry March, and essentially end Equestria as we know it.

The Party Planners as a notable power in the Cult seem to have originated within the last two years. The title has been applied to only a handful of ponies within the Cult of Laughter, chosen directly by the Laughing Mare to prepare Equestria for her arrival so that the Merry March can begin. In short the Party Planners are the ones who take care of obstacles to the Laughing Mare’s eventual summoning into Equestria… making sure that nopony can stand against her when her time comes.

The Party Planners are radically different from one another. However each of them has been greatly and powerfully blessed by the Laughing Mare and given a part of her power. This inevitably results in increased inherent abilities, strange new powers, alterations to their physical form, and allows them to draw from great reserves of power to conduct rituals and cast magic, even if non-unicorn. Another unifying factor amongst the Party Planners is that their Cutie-Marks have been replaced by the jester hat and smile of the Laughing Cult, their symbol taking over their true-selves, symbolizing complete and total commitment to the Laughing Mare and her will. Another point to note is that they almost inevitably have pink eyes. Powerful unicorns in service to the Laughing Mare will usually wind up with pink eyes, the more of her power they take in. The reason for this is not known, but likely involves the Laughing Mare’s corrupting nature. Because of the blessings and direct power gifting of the Laughing Mare however, even non-unicorns who become Party Planners wind up with pink eyes.

While the Baltimare riots had been going on for a long time, there was a sudden hike in frequency and violence during a period of weeks before the arrival of one Lady Glitterstone in Baltimare. Only with the examination of certain message exchanges between the Bearer of Good News and the Prophets, was I able to ascertain the cause of this slight anomaly. A Party Planner had arrived in the city, and under his leadership and guidance the conversion efforts of the local cult sects had gone into overdrive. This particular Party Planner, a “Grinning Geld” was particularly known for his abilities as a necromancer, and also for being something of a “Miracle” to the Cult. The exact nature of this miracle is unknown to me at this time. Regardless, his presence in Baltimare meant that he had an objective, important to the Laughing Mare to complete there, and if it was important for the Laughing Mare, then chances are it was bad for all of Equestria…”

From The Scholars Notes

“Hahahahaha! Wonderful entrance Sun Prancer, very dramatic! Hahahaha ‘cough cough’” Spoke Grinning Geld, as Peppy rolled over onto three of his four hooves, his front right-hoof holding Grinning Geld close to his body, the other three hooves keeping Peppy’s massive form suspended so that he wouldn’t fall and crush his master beneath his massive bulk.

Peppy looked at Sun Prancer with narrowed eyes, a growl low in his throat as his drool dripped onto the back of Grinning Geld’s cloak, and his teeth ground against the steel chain in his mouth…

Sun Prancer glared back, teeth gritted together as Grinning Geld slowly lowered his hooves to the ground, save for his front-right hoof, curled around the book. Sun Prancer could now see a white and red jester hat with bells and a white smile beneath it, on the front cover of the book… the Cult’s symbol. This did nothing to improve her mood as Peppy unwrapped his hoof from Grinning Geld, before clumsily patting down the back of Grinning Geld’s cloak with his hoof, dragging some dust and drool down, before moving over to stand at his master’s right side.

“So, nice to see you’re up! Did little Frost Topping help you with that? Heehee! I thought he’d go for that cake!” Spoke Grinning Geld cheerfully, a happy gleam to his eye as he looked to the angry Pegasus.

“My sword…” Muttered Sun Prancer, as Grinning Geld held his right hoof out to Peppy, Peppy reaching up with his own hooves and taking the purple book from his master’s hooves, his left hoof wrapping around it as he turned towards the crowd, shot one more glare to Sun Prancer, and then started to walk on three of his hooves away from his master. The stumbling, giggling parents separated for his massive form to pass through, foals quickly running to the sides as well, watching wide-eyed as the big Peppy passed right in front of them.

“Sorry, what was that Sun Prancer ‘cough cough’ dear?” Asked Grinning Geld, his right hoof moving over his shoulder to brush some of the dust and drool off the back of his cloak as his servant disappeared past the crowd, the ranks filling up with the stumbling parents and foals once more as the behemoth that was Peppy passed them.

“GIVE ME MY BUCKING SWORD!!!” Shouted Sun Prancer, eyes blazing as she yelled, and inched forward in an aggressive stance, her body poised low to the ground, ready to pounce…

Sun Prancer was angry about a lot of things right now. She was angry that she’d let herself get grabbed in the alleyway. She was angry that she’d been put to sleep by Grinning Geld. She was angry that Grinning Geld was recruiting foals for his beloved Cult and she was angry that she’d let her sword, the symbol of her office, get taken away from her. And right now the sword was at the forefront of her mind, because with that sword she had a very sharp, very strong weapon, and with a good weapon a whole lot of problems could be made to disappear… And in her current temper she was very eager to make the pony in front of her vanish forever…

“Now now Sun Prancer! Watch the language, remember… heheheheh, there are kiddies about…” Spoke Grinning Geld, gesturing with his front-right hoof towards the line of little foals, colts and fillies, watching the two with wide eyes, peaking out from behind the legs of their giggling parents, listening to the mare speak angry forbidden words at their beloved starving stallion. Sun Prancer looked at the children and their wide eyes, and began to feel a bit of shame moving into her anger… nothing was wrong with what she’d done but she was itching for a fight, a fight that should definitely not occur anywhere near foals…

She slowly began to lower her wings and raise her body, bringing her eyes up from the foals to their parents, more out of a result of her starting to move out of battle mode than any inquisitive thought. And her blood went cold… Her eyes went wide again and she couldn’t do anything but stare, a cold sweat spreading across her coat, and for a moment every emotion in her body went on pause, not sure which one was appropriate, not sure if any of them could really match up to the feeling she had right at that instant.

In hindsight it was obvious… The way they moved, how they didn’t speak, how they were laughing, their ragged state… She hadn’t noticed because none of them were rotted, but that shouldn’t have surprised her. Grinning Geld did good work after all…

One Earth Pony mare that bore the brunt of Sun Prancer’s eye, standing at the front of the crowd had a light pink coat, with a somewhat rough looking flute Cutie-Mark with light blue musical notes rising from it. Her mane was yellow, and her tail was long, and her eyes were both a lovely shade of dark blue. Much darker than the light-blue coat that mysteriously started right beneath her front-right knee, slightly larger than the rest of that leg… It was a mystery until one looked closely enough to see the faint hints of the stitching, attaching the two parts of a leg together… The mare had a little Earth Pony filly with bright green eyes, an equally pink coat, and a yellow mane with streaks of red in it, holding onto her front-left leg, clutching her mommy, looking at Sun Prancer wide-eyed…

Beside the mare with a replaced half-a-leg was a tall Pegasus stallion, with a light-brown raggedy coat and a Cutie-Mark of a paintbrush, dipped in red paint at the end. His mane was a very dark brown and raggedy, and his tail was a short tuft. He looked pretty normal all things considered… except that it looked as though scars were spiderwebbing out from his eyes and crisscrossing over his forehead… His face looked a little strange up there, as though it had been reset and restructured, the bones reshaped… Otherwise his face looked normal, save for the bright yellow eye in his right socket and the dark emerald green eye in his left… A small brown-coated Pegasus colt rested on his back, with a dark green mane and a blank flank, wide light blue eyes, holding his daddy tight as he rested on different eyed Pegasus’s back…

To his left then was a Unicorn mare, with a light green coat, a Cutie-Mark of a happy yellow duck, bright golden eyes, and a soft cyan mane. She looked a bit thin and ragged like the others, but for the most part nothing seemed wrong… until one looked at the horn on her head, and noticed that it was a dull white, seeming to jut out a bit as though it was a little too big, with scars around the flesh where it was crafted in… A slightly older unicorn filly stood next to the mare, with a light green coat and horn, soft yellow eyes and a Cutie Mark of a small white bunny rabbit on her flank. She was looking more curious, and a little less fearful at the Pegasus who had crashed down in on the starving stallion’s stool, as she stood by her mother.

Sun Prancer ran her gaze along the line of giggling, repaired ponies… haphazard and ragged… and she knew what Grinning Geld had done…

“Laughing Dead…” She muttered softly, eyes still wide, not entirely sure how to process the shock of her realization, before turning her gaze from the lined up ponies to Grinning Geld.

“They’re all Laughing Dead…” She continued, her voice soft as disbelief threatened to consume her…

“Hm? Oh yes, that is what you call them isn’t it?” Spoke Grinning Geld, before chuckling softly and shaking his head a bit.

“I don’t really understand that, they’re all ponies to me.” He stated simply, before looking up to the Laughing Dead parents, giggling softly on clumsy legs, swaying slowly as they stood between the foals and the Militia Captain, just watching as their master and the mare continued to speak…

“Still, I suppose it has a, heheheh, bit of a ring to it eh? And they are a bunch of jolly souls! Hahahaha, ah, I do admit that I tend to spend more time with them than I do a lot of our still living, heheheh, members. But they do take a bit more, hahahah, maintenance, repairing lost limbs, replacing organs, restructuring the ‘cough cough’ bone. I suppose I could ask some of my disciples to, hahahaha, help with that, but really I just like doing it myself! Especially for the parents… little foals mommies and daddies deserve full attention after a-”

A blur cut Grinning Geld’s amused speaking short. A-

SLAM!!!

Into the already cracking stone wall of a Derelicts house made the wall shake and the house shudder a bit, support beams and wooden floors creaking from the impact inside, hasty repairs groaning a bit from the strength of the slam. Other cracks could be heard as well… in the body of the pony that got slammed into the structure, Grinning Geld’s frail form shaking underneath the impact, the sound of brittle bones breaking in the body with a series of crunching sounds, sickening to listen to…

Grinning Geld blinked his eyes a bit, surprise in his eyes, no pain just a bit of surprise… And then he grinned, with amusement, as he looked back into the blazing eyes of Sun Prancer, the Pegasus Mare breathing heavily, wings spread out, standing on her hind legs with her two front hooves pushing against his shoulders, pinning him to the stone wall. The rage in her eyes burned like a furnace, her teeth gritted together hard, bloody murder in her stare as she looked at the decrepit, reviling thing in front of her, shrugging off the smell of rot and filth as she pushed her steel-clad hooves against him, his shoulders cracking beneath the pressure…

The Laughing Dead began to move forward but Grinning Geld slid his eyes to the side of his skull, looking to them as his horn glowed pink for just a moment… They stopped, and stepped back into line as his horn stopped glowing, before he turned his gaze back up to look into Sun Prancer’s eyes. She struggled to find the words, her emotions had only recently figured out that burning rage was the way to go, and her mind was having to catch up. But soon enough she found her voice, and she spoke it was low, hissing, spitting, and full of rage.

“Look you double-bucking son of a mule! I don’t give a flying feather if you convince some idiot mares and stallions to go in with your fucking Cult, but you stay the hay away from foals! Got it!” She hissed, pushing harder into his body, the sounds of more bones splintering able to be heard beneath the flesh, her hooves indenting into his tight-stretched skin with her pressured pushing.

Grinning Geld continued to look Sun Prancer in the eyes, a light smile on his face, as his left hoof moved up a bit to wipe away some of the spittle from Sun Prancer’s demands off of his coat. His hoof movement seemed a bit awkward, and the sound of cracked bones moving beneath the skin could be heard as he wiped the front of his face, before he calmly lowered his hoof, and gave Sun Prancer a simple reply.

“No.” He spoke. So simple, so matter-of-fact, that it gave Sun Prancer pause… before she shook her head and growled once more, eyes flashing as she pulled him back with her hooves, and then slammed him again into the wall, some dust and pebbles falling out of the cracks in the wall as she struck him into the building, more creaking and groaning coming from the structure.

“I’m not kidding with you Geld!” She shouted her eyes blaring into his.

“Heheheheh, you should be. It’s a funny joke, considering that you brought your filly to me in your time of desperation… You would deny these children their parents in theirs?” Asked Grinning Geld, grinning a bit wider as he looked into Sun Prancer’s eyes. Sun Prancer opened her mouth to say something… but suddenly, she was at a loss for words. For what felt like the third time within the last thirty minutes or so, she just didn’t really know what to say, or how to react… She hadn’t forgotten… she couldn’t forget, but, it hadn’t been at the forefront of her mind… but now… now…

Grinning Geld, reached up with his front right hoof, more bones creaking beneath his skin, and moved it to stroke Sun Prancer’s cheek gently, as he looked into her eyes, smiling warmly, his brilliant pink orbs burrowing into hers.

“I know you’re scared ‘Cough cough’ my dear Sun Prancer… but it’s alright…” He spoke gently, looking into her eyes with a soft, gentle gaze as he stroked her cheek.

“You knew I recruited foals from ‘Cough cough’ our time before… heheheheh, you just ignored it because you needed me then. You needed me to help your little filly, and that was okay… I was glad to help her ‘cough cough’ heheheheh… she was a wonderful patient. Some of my best work went into her… and you should see her now… She’s joined with the Euphories, and is one of the best they’ve ever had… heheheheh, you should be proud…” Spoke Grinning Geld, as he leaned forward slightly, looking deeper into Sun Prancer’s eyes.

“I know that you’re terrified, heheheh, of the tickling in the back of your skull. It’s getting stronger, right? First it started as a scratching, every once in a while, and now it just won’t ‘Cough cough’ go away… that’s okay Sun Prancer, heheheh… It’s something wonderful…” Spoke Grinning Geld, still gently, as Sun Prancer continued to stare into Grinning Geld’s eyes… those bright pink eyes, just… keeping her gaze on them, letting herself focus on them as the stallion continued, her brain just not sure where else to go.

“It’s all part of her plan… She’s calling you to her, hahahah, loving embrace… She wants you to join her party and be ready for the Merry March… And that’s nothing to be scared of Sun Prancer… hehehehe, it’s something to be glad for… because then, you’ll finally be happy…” Spoke Sun Prancer gently, before leaning forward, bringing his front hooves around, beneath Sun Prancer’s crushing hooves, and moving them to her sides, embracing her as best he was able and then resting his head on her shoulder… She didn’t even retch at the smell as he held her close, for the first time noticing that there was something like chocolate cake mixed in with the usual pungent odors of his disheveled and decrepit self…

“I know you’re not happy right now, heheheheh… your heart is troubled, and worried for many things… You’re scared, and you’re angry, and you want ‘Cough cough’ somepony to help you, but you don’t want to admit it… heheheheheh, because you’re strong… you’ve always been strong… Not just as a disciplined warrior, but also as a ‘cough cough’ bigger pony… The little ones have always looked up you, heheheheh, in their times of need… one of the only Mares in Stormwing to become a Heavy Lancer, heheheheh… Rushing your enemies and tossing them aside with pure unrelenting force, ‘cough cough’ that is your way… And to not have that force for once is, heheheheh, terrifying for you…” Spoke Grinning Geld gently, as Sun Prancer slowly lowered her front hooves down, over Grinning Geld’s own outstretched hooves…

She no longer noticed the pungent odors that she usually associated with Grinning Geld… there seemed to be a mixture of cake, ice-cream, and some kind of sweet muffin smell to the stallion now. She rested back on her haunches as she listened to Grinning Geld speak, just listening as the starved stallion stepped forward with his hind legs from the wall, and wrapped his front legs around Sun Prancer completely, embracing her fully and holding her close…

“But we’re here for you Sun Prancer, when you’re, ‘cough cough’ weak, or feel that things can’t go on anymore… We’re the ones who’ll show you the path to happiness… You ran from us the first time, heheheheh, because you thought we’d change who you are… you ran away from your own daughter because you thought we’d made her something horrible, a monster, and you blamed yourself, heheheheh, for bringing her to us… But she’s your daughter, ‘cough cough’ Sun Prancer… she’s your little filly… and she misses her mommy…” Spoke Grinning Geld gently as Sun Prancer bit her bottom lip, images of her daughter flashing through her mind, the time she’d spent playing on the mat as a tiny foal, sucking at a small bottle, her lifting her little hooves up to be held, trying to fly, buzzing her little wings at her back… Sun Prancer blinked, as moisture began to form at her eyes… and slowly her hooves came up to wrap around Grinning Geld, as a gentle tear slid down her right cheek…

“She’s your family Sun Prancer, and so are we, heheheh… we’re always going to be your family Sun Prancer… we said we’d be there for you, and we meant it, heheheh… We know you ran away, but that’s okay. We know you’re scared, but you don’t have to be. We’re a family, heheheh, and we stick together… No one really leaves us, we’ve all been waiting for you to come home… and here you are…” Spoke Grinning Geld gently, as he moved his front-right hoof up to her mane, stroking it softly as she hugged him closer, buried her face in his shoulder, and started to sob…

Sun Prancer was no longer thinking about her actions, her mind was fuzzy and hurt and full of pain, and she just wanted to cry. Cry for her little filly whose wings had been ripped off by her senior officer for refusing to kill a foal. Cry for the sorrow she’d felt as she saw what her daughter had become, Fallen, crazed, and throwing herself into battle only for the sake of dying. Cry for herself as she betrayed every oath she’d ever made and rammed her lance through her officer’s chest, before taking off with her daughter, her little Darting Specter… and Cry for her cowardice because she ran off and left her daughter to them, the ones she’d brought her to, the only ones who could help her… the ones she thought had ruined her… and the ones she had blamed for her own mistakes, running away from her own daughter, after all that, just running… And so she cried. Long and hard. On the shoulder of a pony she despised.

“There there ‘cough cough’ my dear, let it all out…” Spoke Grinning Geld gently as the much taller, much tougher, battle-hardened mare sobbed in his stick-thin hooves… his front right hoof stroking her mane gently as Sun Prancer let years of sorrow, misery, shame, and regret, come rushing out onto his shoulder… the water of her tears running down his coat and his cloak both, water-staining the cloth and actually helping clean up the coat… The sobs wracked her body, and vibrated into Grinning Geld’s brittle form, shaking his broken bones, the sounds of his cracked marrow grinding and splintering inside of his skin…

Grinning Geld didn’t seem to even notice the further damage being done to his body, and simply held Sun Prancer, who didn’t care at the moment that she was crying in front of an audience in the hooves of a pony she despised for being a monster that converted her daughter… But she didn’t feel like he was that anymore… she felt like he was… was somepony who cared… And here, in the Derelicts, with a bunch of little foals that reminded her of her daughter, her sweet little filly who she had run away from, she didn’t feel like keeping up the tough front, in the arms of somepony who cared…

Grinning Geld held her for several more moments, as her sobs quieted and she slowly leaned back, tears still streaking down her cheeks as Grinning Geld moved his front right hoof back to her cheek, stroking away some of the tears softly… Sun Prancer just looked into Grinning Geld’s eyes for a few moments, sniffling softly… before speaking in a choked voice.

“I-I hate you…” She spoke raggedly, still sniffling as Grinning Geld smiled a little more, and chuckled softly…

“It’s okay. I forgive you… she will to, if you just come home to her…” He spoke, gently, before leaning forward and planting a soft kiss on Sun Prancer’s forehead, causing her to flinch and stiffen slightly. Grinning Geld leaned back then and slowly disconnected himself from Sun Prancer, ending the embrace as he pulled his broken limbs back slowly. His horn glowed pink for a moment, and his entire body began to glow pink as well… The sound of bones snapping back into place able to be heard, as the marrow moved beneath his skin, and in a matter of moments the snapping stopped, and his body was back to it’s normal, brittle state… He stood up calmly on his hooves before the pink glow faded once more.

He grinned a little wider, and then turned his gaze to the line of curious foals and waiting Laughing Dead, lifting up his front right hoof and waving it to them as he spoke out cheerfully.

“Alright kiddies! Everything’s fine here, go back to the party while the goodies are still fresh! Hahahaha! Have your fill of cake and ice-cream, play some games! I’ll finish the story at the next party, I promise!” He spoke, his voice merry as he chuckled softly, waving to the foals as the Laughing Dead turned, and started to help the foals move back to the party, and he shook his head a bit, coughing softly, before turning his gaze to the now sullen Sun Prancer, her cheeks streaked with her tears.

“And now my dear Sun Prancer… let’s go get your sword.” He spoke, as face smiling lightly as he looked down to her, smiling a bit more, as Sun Prancer looked back up to him with a sullen glare.

“Because soon enough my dear, you’re going to need it…” He spoke simply, before raising his left hoof and pointing up into the sky… Sun Prancer raised her left brow in confusion, before turning her gaze to follow the pointing of Grinning Geld’s hoof… and seeing against the clear blue sky, three objects… off in the distance, appearing small, and seeming to glint in the sunlight as they slowly seemed to grow bigger… getting closer to the city…

…

The interior of an Airship luxury cabin was a pleasure that few ponies got to experience. It was made with the comfort and safety of the passenger in mind above all else, so it was uniquely designed to stay steady, even when the rest of the ship was knocked with heavy gusts. Short of an actual crash, there would be only a pleasant floating sensation in adverse weather for those dwelling inside.

Another pleasure was that the walls, ceiling, and floor was made of a special soft white wood, gentle to the hooves and without a splinter to be seen, kept immaculately clean for guests. This time around however most of the floor was covered by rugs so the wood would likely go untouched by hooves. The rugs were lovely white and black striped rugs… taken from the hides of some very reluctant zebras who may or may not have been left skinned alive for their fellows to find.

The bed in the room was a singles bed with golden colored blankets, white sheets, and white pillows. The bed sat against the wall opposite the door, and to its side was a large window, square at the top and sides with the two sides coming down into a point at the bottom, white wood framing the window and the glass crystal clear and clean, looking down to the blue sky and clouds below… The door across from the bed was also made out of the white wood, elegantly carved with the diamond of House Whitegold upon the front, framed by a wreathe of flower-covered vines, that in turn moved down into a single leafy vine instead of flower-covered, that then moved down, to the sides, and up and around to frame the doorway. Thin gems with points at either end and six edges in total were carved in as well, between the leafy and flower vine sets, around the diamond in the center.

The door was extremely elegant for a hunk of wood, showing the time and care Whitegold took to make something beautiful… The ornateness of the armor of the two Praetorponies, standing to either side of the door, also helped illustrate that point. Their plated metal armor was white with gold edgings and etchings all over it, and gold rings upon their horns with tiny oval white diamonds in the gold. The chainmail beneath their plate was a dark grey, and their plumage and cloth coverings were both a deep purple, with some gold etching on the cloth. Each of them stood with a shield resting by their front-right hooves, leaning up against their armored legs. The shields were made out of the white plate metal to, with a sharp golden edging, artistically painted symbols on the front including the House diamond, and sharp gleaming blades, sticking out from the shield at the sides, ready to cut and rend… The two Praetorponies stood guard, firm and unflinching, as the sound of water in a tub sloshed slightly.

A golden bathtub rested in the middle of the room, encrusted with sapphires and diamond jewels, circling around with flower patterns etched into the tub, swirling about them, the four feet of the tub resting upon one of the zebra rugs, the feet stylized in the form of griffon feet.

The tub was filled with bubbling pink suds, water, various types of soaps and lathers, and the body of the unicorn mare who resided in it. The unicorn mare was an older mare, however still very attractive to look upon, her brilliant white coat with a natural luster and her body kept in good shape… Her mane was short, blonde, and curled up on the top of her head, and her tail was about medium-length, buried in the water. Each of her four hooves hung off the sides of the bathtub as her body sunk into the sweet, bubble-filled water, the unicorn breathing in and out slowly, a sigh of contentment escaping her lips, as two Earth ponies stood at either side of her, seeing to her hooves as her body rested…

The two Earth Pony mares were from the House of Earthly Pleasures, and stood on either side of the tub. One of these mares had a light pink coat, as well as soft green hair, and light grey eyes. She was a pretty thing, wearing a white cloth collar with a simple oval blue sapphire at the front, as all mares of the House of Earthly Pleasures did, and wore a small white headband in front of her mane, her mane straight back behind it. Her flank, which many stallions and certain mares would admit was quite the thing to look at, had a Cutie Mark of a hooficure file on the side… She herself was on the side of the tub opposite the door, near to the top, giving the white hoof of the pony residing in the tub a hooficure with a file just like her Cutie-Mark.

On the other side, dressed with the white collar and the same hairstyle, but with a light yellow coat, soft green eyes, and a dark purple mane, was another attractive Earth Pony mare. She had a Cutie-Mark of a small round bar of soap with some bubbles rising up from it. She stood near to the bottom of the tub, with a soft yellow cloth in her hooves, gently wiping in slow little circles at the unicorn’s hoof, giving it a gentle shine…

“Mmmmmm… Divine…” Spoke the Unicorn mare softly, feeling the need to voice her pleasure as the lathers of the water soaked into her coat, bubbles tickled her chin, and the attentions of the Earth Ponies made her hooves feel absolutely wonderful…

She continued to rest in the tub with her eyes closed as a knock sounded at the door, causing the Praetorponies to turn and look towards the unicorn in the tub. She lazily lifted her front left hoof, head still back and eyes closed, giving it a slight wave to the Praetorponies, before bringing it back to rest over the side of the tub. The Praetorponies nodded, and the one to the left of the door brought his horn to a blue glow, the door caught in a blue aura and then opened, outwards from the room, before a Pegasus pony stepped in…

The Pegasus pony was a stallion with a trim black mustache, trim black mane, and dark grey coat. He stood wearing a tuxedo coat with a black bowtie on the upper half of his body, his wings tucked to his sides as he walked in, a Cutie-Mark of a bottle of Hard-Grape-Cider upon his flank. He bowed deeply towards the bathtub, and spoke in refined humble tones.

“My Lady, the Captain wishes to inform you that we will be arriving in Baltimare within the next hour.” He spoke, his voice soft, as the figure in the tub chuckled softly, her smile widening slightly on her face.

“Wonderful… Do be a dear and tell the captain to have my luggage sent down. All of it.” She spoke, lifting up her front-left hoof and waving it slightly towards the Pegasus, dismissing him as he bowed once more.

“At once my Lady.” He spoke, stepping back out from the room, the door closing in a blue aura once more from the Praetorpony at the right. The lady chuckled softly once more, shifting position a bit as she spoke, her voice full of pleasure.

“Mmmm… Pick up the pace a little girls, I want my hooves to be absolutely shining! After all…” She spoke, grinning wide with her head laid back on the tub, as she opened her brilliant pink eyes…

“I want to look presentable for the party… Heheheheh…”

Author's Note

Okay... hope this is enjoyed.