Old mare tales

by Shenzy

Epilogue

The old mare closed her book and levitated it back into the shelf, to take a short nibble on her cold tea, pulling a frown at it “I never get used to this” she said and warmed it up again, to take another zip, in order to get rid of her dry mouth “much better...” she mumbled and turned to her listeners.

“What you say... did you like today's story?” she asked, looking from side to side into the crowd, when they all cheered at her “That was the best one yet!” “Oh boy, that was awesome” “I have to tell my friends about this” “So romantic...” “I liked the dragon best!”

“Glad to hear...” she nodded “...and next week... I think I got something very special for you to tell your friends...” she winked, but didn't gave away any more than this, despite several minutes of begging and attempts to bribe her with some of their allowances.

The parents and Trixie had a conversation after this, some of them asked for details to the story and others asked if it was possible if she would come by and read to their kids on their birthday party or at least perform some of her tricks there – and agreed on the second part. “It would be unfair if I kept my story's to such a small audience,” she said apologetic, but still offered, that the kids could come by any Sunday to be here if they wanted to hear another one.

While this the filly's and colts talked to one another about the story and Trixie.

“I love her story's, I come here since a few years now” a older colt said proudly.

“It was really good... but i'm not quite sure if she didn't made it up...” Pacemaker said and received a lot of disapproving comments to this, but she stood her ground “Oh come on... she is so old and knows the princess and a dragon? Next thing she tells us she knows Santa Hooves” she rolled her eyes.

This heated up the debate even more and the filly decided to get some distance to this gullible sheep, so she walked to the door and opened it, to find a pony in front of it, which was about to knock “Oh, hi there...” the alicorn said “am I to late for the story?

Pacemaker turned around in an instant and ran to her parents, to hide behind them.

Twilight slowly walked in “Did I... say something wrong?”. Now the other kids noticed her and got really excited “Its the princess!” “Its really her!” “Oh can I have an autograph, please!” “Me too!!” “You are my favorite princess!” “Do the other come too!?”

The adults lowered their head in order to show their respect to her, only three of them didn't and just gave her a friendly nod, since they knew better.

“Oh please. You don't have to bow and uhm... if you bring me paper I will sign it for you” she announced amused - now the kids turned around and begged Trixie for something to write, which could not help to make a small show-act out of it.

She grabbed onto her cape and put it onto the table, tapped it three times with her hoof and pulled the cape away, to reveal a stack of paper and a feather with some ink.

Twilight now wrote something for all of them, their names and a few nice words.

Suddenly something tapped on Trixie's side, so she looked down to find a mauve colored filly, which wasn't between the other foals to get her autograph.

“Mrs. Trixie... i'm sorry... I thought you had made up the story...” the filly said guilty.

“Oh... its okay, really... happens all the time” she smiled “Also... just call me Trixie... -Mrs.- makes me feel... old” she giggled.

The filly already felt a little better after this, but still not enough to smile, so Trixie bowed down to her ear “Wanna know a secret - between me and you?” she asked, after checking over her shoulder if her father was trying to listen in.

“Uhm... okay?” Pacemaker said “What is it?” she asked curiously.
“Shh... not so loud... also you have to promise you don't tell anypony...” the mare now said more urgent.

The little mare now got even more curious, about what that might could be “I promise - I won't, but tell me, what is it?”

“You sure? … its something nopony else knows … and I really should not tell you...”

The mare really struggled back and forth if she should do it.

“Oh please! Tell me!” she the filly begged, dancing on the spot and got back to whispering to add “Come on... I wont doubt you ever again, I swear”

The mare thought about this offer for a moment “Okay... than listen carefully” as she put her hoof onto the filly's ear, to make it even more secret “I'm not just over seven hundred years old... but...” the mare made a dramatic pause “...also two years older than Twilight”

The mare pulled back from her ear and watched the filly process this information, which suddenly burst into laughter “Hahahahah... “

“But pshhhht, don't tell anypony” she said once more, laughing along.

The filly shook her head still laughing “i wont!” she grinned from ear to ear.

“Good kid... and now get your autograph,” Trixie said and levitated her a sheet of paper - for the Princess, which already was waiting for her last customer.

The blue mare turned to her parents “Your daughter is quite something...”

“...a hoof full you mean” Clockwork said, with a caring smile.

“So am I” Herb added proud.

“I think you are both right on this one” Trixie agreed and gave a glance over her shoulder “...but I love her already” - on which her parents could agree.

A while later, everypony had left and just Twilight and Trixie were together in her house talking to one another, while the alicorn helped her to collect the glasses and cups in order to clean everything up.

“I see your audience got bigger...”

“... that's why I will miss them next week... but, what about our friend? Is he coming?” she said and walked towards the kitchen, to put everything into the sink.

“Yes. I send him a scroll, which he replied...” it came from the other room.

“He... did write you?”

The alicorn shrugged “I guess he found somepony to do it for him” now the mare came walked back “I can image, he sure knows how to convince others” she said sassy “than we meet here next week... same time?”

“Alright with me.”

A week later, the princess came as promised and Trixie grabbed onto her traveling bag, while they got on their way to their friend, which was waiting on the back of the house.

“When we are there... you have to follow a few simple rules, or we might get in trouble,” Trixie said serious.

The alicorn got a paper and a feather out of her bag “Okay... i'm ready, go ahead.”

“First... don't look them into the eyes... they might interpret it as a challenge”

The bookworm carefully wrote it down, word for word “Anything else?”
“Second... don't use magic... they might can't be harmed with it, but they don't like it either”

“Oh … didn't know that” she nodded and wrote this down as well.

“Third... if they invite you to a lava-bath - you should accept”.

“Lava...bath...” she wrote down “W-ait, what!?”

Now the blue mare laughed at her and also their friend gave a huffing noise from him.

The mare pulled a frown on the jokers “Very funny, you two...” Twilight said, which crumbled the paper and threw it away, giving them an angry glance, but Trixie quickly pointed to her side “It was his idea!”, but their friend rose his claws in defeat – now Twilight was the one to laugh, shaking her head.

After they had been done laughing, Trixie turned to the big one “I kept my side, now its your turn.” she smiled, receiving a slow nod as an answer.

About thirty minutes earlier, on the towns border – Herb and Clockwork made them self ready, along with her daughter Pacemaker, which was quite mad at them.

“...but she said, she had something special for us today!” she frowned.

“We told you, she is traveling... but she will be back next week” her mother said strict.

Herb gave his wife a asking glance, but the mare just shook her head a little.

“That's not true, she promised...” the filly said.

“Pacemaker, we must go now, or we will be late” her mother told her, while Herb got to a table to pick up a camera, which he hung around his neck to take it with them.

The filly crossed her hooves in front of her chest and refused to go anywhere, till her father made a suggestion “Come on little one, I packed us some gears... you can have one if we get there” he winked.

She still pulled a frown, but at least was now listening “... a mint one too?” she asked and received a nod from him.

“But than I also want to drive my scooter... I don't want to walk so far...”

“That's okay, but now we really have to go, or we must hurry.”

The three of them left the house and her parents walked down the street, while Pacemaker drove their side on her self moving scooter – It was built out of shining silver metal with a small flag on the back, showing a orange pegasus on it - which was their company-trademark.

She was always the first one to get the new models and test them, since her parents where the one that produced and sold them in big numbers, as well their special fuel - making a good living and a lot of kids happy at the same time.

They even had models for ponys, that struggled to walk on their own – be it cause of age or due

The trio was heading south, out of town, while the filly drove wavy lines “Boooorrrrinnnng” their daughter complained.

“Shouldn't we...?” Herb hinted, but his wife turned it down “Not yet...”

“Where we are going anyway? Out here is nothing, except stupid rocks and trees” the filly moped. They almost had reached their destination, so Clockwork gave Herb a nudge.

“Finally!” he said relieved, like she had forced him to hold his breath for the past twenty minutes.

The stallion walked a little faster to fetch up with his daughter “We got a surprise for you!” he cheered “Trixie will come too!”.

The filly now blinked a few times “Really!?”.

“Yes... we meet her there” he said and pointed to a small hill nearby, which was crowded with a bunch of adults and their kids. She hadn't noticed until now, since she had let her head hanging quite deep over her former disappointment.

“Ouuh Ouhh! We must hurry, come quick!” she said and speed up to be first on the hill.

Her father wanted to run along with her at first, but got pulled back by his wife, which wanted to have him just a moment for her self, so they arrived a minute later.

“Hey. She isn't here!” Pacemaker complained “I looked everywhere...” pulling a frown.

“Oh don't you worry, she will be there” her mother smiled.

“Yeah?” the filly made a suspicious face “but how we pick a story then, here ain't any books!?” which made both of them shrug on one another.

“You are on to us...” her father admitted, “...but don't you worry, she has thought of a good trick, to make today very special!”

The filly's eyes wandered back and forth between the two adults “it better be...” she grumbled on them, but her father managed to soothe her a bit, when he stuck to his first promise - giving her a mint-chocolate-gear, while he had one of his own... only Clockwork preferred the original ones, the ones without mint.

The adults talked for a few minutes, while the kids were allowed to play a ball nearby, when their parents called them back, since it was time.

“Pacemaker!” her mother called her back, but the filly just was about to have some fun on this quite boring trip “but Mooomm... i'm about to win...!” but her mother gave a sign, like she always would – right before she would ground her, if she still didn't listen - leaving her no choice to come back, while the stallion on her side fumbled around with the camera “I can't get this thing to work... how do I put in the film!?”

Clockwork took the camera from him and after a few quick moves it was ready to take pictures, the stallion looked thoughtful upon it, before giving her a glance “What would I do without you?”

“I don't know, but it wouldn't be photos” she replied and hoofed the camera to their daughter, which now stood in front of her “Here sweetie, hold this”.

The filly took the box and gave it a short look, if it might was interesting, but there wasn't any good motive nearby “I want to go homeee....” Pacemaker sobbed, but then there was suddenly a terrifying noise coming from the distance “WWWUUUUUuuuuuuuuuuuAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhouuuuuurrrrrrrr!” it yelled earth shattering from afar.

Now all heads turned, starring up to the sky to find a giant really deep purple dragon flying straight in their direction, which simmered in oil like way.

In its entirety - he was around seventy or eighty meters from snot to tail and looked like he could eat a bunch of stallion with a single bite for breakfast.

Pacemakers first reaction was to run away, but Herb grabbed her quickly and to put the filly on his shoulders “Calm down! He is a friend!” he shouted since the dragon still was occasionally roaring, as he approached them “Quick! The camera!!”.

The beast was now just a couple of hundred meters away – when he took a deep breath and spat a hundred meter long bright green flame right above their heads. They could feel the heat even down here, it felt like the sun was about to drop down onto them, since the temperature suddenly rose over ten degree in just a few seconds, despite the distance to him. Pacemaker was shaking all over her body, but managed to make a phew pictures in an almost mechanic move, before the device slipped out of her hooves, since she tried to cover up her head.

An giant shadow passed by over the small hill - blocked out the sun for a few seconds, followed by a harsh wind breeze, which almost blew the pony's of their hooves.

The stallions and mares managed to press them self on the ground, holding on to their young ones, which struggled a lot more, since they lacked the necessary weight to do so.

“Heeellppp....!” Pacemaker shouted- her mane had got in her face and she couldn't see a thing, but her parents took care of her, till the wind slackened...

right after this, the pony's got up and turned around, to see the dragon - which just had missed them by a few dozen meters in height, flapped his wings and climbed upwards again, but not before he perform a last aerial role to the side, while he slowly shrunk in size on the horizon, till he was gone.

Cameras clicked and clicked again, often as they would allow... but Herb was now the one to do these pictures for their family, since his daughter didn't dare to raise her head again, till her mother tapped her on the side “...are you okay?” her mother asked soothingly.

The filly carefully slid her hoof a little up and dared to peek, before slid the second one also to the side, while searching the land and sky all around her for potential pony eaters.

“W-w-hat was that?” the filly shivered.

“This... was just a old friend - Spike the dragon” her mother said calm, while helping her back on her hooves “...don't you worry, he is harmless.”

“A... a friend...?” Pacemaker blinked confusedly.

“Yes, a friend... we met him many years ago...”

Her father grinned and rose his hoof, to imitate a standing dragon “We tried to steal his treasure and he almost ate us!” he gave away in a scary tone, but got a slap on the back of his head, by his wife “ouch!”

“What your father tried to say is, ...that he is also a friend of Princess Twilight … and Trixie.”

Herb rubbed the back of his head, but still was grinning “... so, you liked her surprise?”

“Coooooool....!” the filly admitted stunned but pulled her eyebrow together right after “...but where is Trixie then?” she asked and turned her self one time around her self, in order to find her” You... you said she will come...”
Her mother picked up the camera and opened a slid on the bottom, to pull out one of the instant pictures it had taken – passing it to her daughter.

The picture was one of the first Pacemaker had made, on it she could see the fire breathing dragon in his full glory, with wide spread wings and his paws close to his chest and now, after taking a close look – she noticed that from each one of his claws, a pony was waving downwards...

… a purple alicorn - from the left ...and a blue unicorn,

with a big cusp hat - from the right.

The End.

Author's Note:

*Turns book in all directions* what... the end, already!? I just bought that thing! Its broken! BROKEN I TELL YA!

---

Hahaha... that secret! I laughed so hard... ! :_D

Aww... Spike... he is an 3/4 millennium old, but still didn't grow up after all :))And the bookworm still falls for it!^^ Some things (luckily) never change...

All in all, i found it to be a nice little story to write...
Nothing too dramatic or mean here. Just like a bedtime story you could read to your kids.
Well... except that fried Jackal :/

*shrug*... and now, time to go home! -you know the rules :p