//------------------------------// // A peaceful conclusion // Story: Foalish Misadventures // by GrassAndClouds2 //------------------------------// Trixie was lying in the middle of the circle. The foals cautiously approached her. “Miss Trixie? Are you okay?” asked Dinky. “Dinky?” Dinky scampered over. “What?” “I need you to do a really big favor for me, okay?” said Trixie. Her speech was slow and halting. “What is it?” “Go to Carrot Top’s house. She keeps her spare key under the small rock just to the left of her front door; use it to get inside. Or just break in if the key’s not there. Go to the uppermost cabinet in her kitchen, open it, and take one of the bottles you find there. Bring it to me right away.” Trixie shut her eyes. “It’s, uh, adult medicine.” “Oh. For hangovers!” said Snails, brightly. “… yes, fine. For hangovers.” Dinky grinned. Trixie was back to normal! “Of course, Miss Trixie! You can count on us!” * The foals helped get the adults back on their feet, passing out the hangover cures and assisting a staggering Carrot Top with brewing more. And, by the end of the day, the adults were almost back to normal. The town looked quite damaged, true, but at least the adults were okay. Mayor Scrolls and Trixie had an impromptu town meeting the next day to talk about what had happened. Standing in front of the wreckage of town hall (it seemed that Cloud Kicker had wandered into an errant raincloud and decided to see how lightning-proof city hall was), Trixie gave a speech. “I don’t remember much of the past three days. I don’t think any of us do,” said Trixie. “Hay, my memory of today is pretty much gone. But, as you can see, we overcame the problem. I was able to lift the spell!” There was cheering. Trixie waved a hoof to quiet the crowd. “But of course, I didn’t do it alone.” Dinky grinned, wondering if she was about to get honored. “I could never have done it if not for the magic of friendship helping to inspire me! Lyra, Cherilee, Raindrops, Ditzy, and Carrot Top have all helped me to be a better magician, and…” “What?!” demanded Diamond Tiara. “They didn’t do anything! We did!” “Of course, dear,” said Filthy Rich, absently. “Hmph!” (On stage, Trixie was explaining that, while Zecora had indeed somehow escaped while being escorted to Canterlot by the royal guards, they were confident they’d find her soon. She also mentioned that she’d asked for a larger guard contingent to guard the zebra, and maybe a Shadowbolt anti-magic specialist to help, but nopony listened to her). Dinky giggled and nuzzled up against her mother. “You’re sure you’re okay, Momma?” “Of course I am. I have you looking out for me.” Ditzy smiled and placed a wing over Dinky. “What you did was very brave.” A smile crossed her face. “And I think you learned something.” Dinky thought hard. “Rainbow Dash likes the Wonderbolts?” Ditzy giggled. (Meanwhile, on stage, Trixie was describing how they were going to get Canterlot to pay for all the repairs. Cherilee had gone up on stage to help detail what forms would need to be filed and what all the ponies would need to say to the government inspectors). “That sometimes we adults know what we’re talking about when we tell our foals not to do something.” Dinky thought back to Snips, who was still in bed due to all the candy he’d eaten, or Snails, whose house was being debugged (to Raindrops’s dismay). Or, more broadly, all the adults who had been acting like foals for the past few days and just doing whatever made them feel happy, without regards for the town or other consequences. “But I already knew that, Momma.” Ditzy grinned. “You’re the best daughter in the world.” “And you’re the best Momma!” Later, Dinky was enjoying a muffin in the park – Pinkie had worked overtime to get some decent baked goods prepared for the ‘we’re all sober again’ party – when the other foals showed up. “So, that was kind of fun!” said Scootaloo. “We should have more adventures.” “No way!” insisted Diamond Tiara. Her coat was still poofy in weird places. “Adventures messed up my coat.” “I WANT MORE LOUD ADVENTURES!” yelled Bee Bop. Dinky grinned. “What kind of adventures, though? The town’s saved.” “Well, your Mom’s part of the Elements because she’s good friends with Trixie and the others, right? Maybe we can all be good friends and do foal-Element stuff!” said Twist. The foals all looked at each other. “No way,” said Diamond Tiara. “Nope. Some foals here are just too gross for refined ponies like myself.” “I can’t be good friends with ponies who are creeped out by cute little bugs,” said Snails. Dinky giggled. “How about just regular friends then? Good friends can come later.” “Yeah! And we can fight evil! Like – like if Corona has an evil foal who wants to take over Ponyville!” said Scootaloo. "I dunno," said Twist. "That sounds like it might take time away from making candy." "Or playing music!" yelled Bee Bop. “Eh. I’ll think about it,” said Diamond Tiara. The foals talked for a bit longer before dispersing, all going their separate ways. Soon, it was just Dinky, but she still smiled as she went home. She felt like she’d maybe strengthened a few friendships. Sure, the foals weren’t all best friends now, but maybe they wouldn’t be quite as isolated from each other (well, Diamond and Silver would likely still hold themselves apart, and Snips and Snails would probably still be treated as gross, but she meant the rest of them). And they’d saved the adults. It was a good day’s work. * Dinky smiled as she entered her home. It had been interesting being one of the most ‘grown-up’ ponies in town for a few days, but she was looking forward to being able to be a foal again. After all, foals got special treats sometimes. “Momma? May I have another banana-nut muffin, please?” “Of course, dear. The hero of Ponyville can have another muffin.” Ditzy grinned and put one on the counter. “But just one more. I wouldn’t want you to get a tummy ache.” Dinky grinned and tucked in with gusto.