Ponies of the Dragonlance: Ponies of Autumn Twilight

by DeadEternal

Chapter 0: Prologue

Young Whirlwind sighed as she threw the rag back into the bucket. She stretched and moaned, then cracked her neck. Finally, she took a look around the empty room.

It kept getting harder to keep up the old inn. And old it was! Older than her, for sure. Surely older than her boss, Alphabittle, and most likely older than his grandfather! And it could be seen all around the room. The well-loved seats and tables, the trotten-off floor, the splinters theirs guests had to remove from their backside from time to time. The Inn of the Last Home wasn’t fancy, but it never had striven to be. It was comfortable.

Noon came closer and closer, and soon they would open their doors for the day. And she was almost done. The tables and seats were cleaned, the floor swept. She used her wing to wipe off some sweat from her forehead. As useless as these wings were considering what wings were normally made for, they still had their benefits.

Alphabittle came from the kitchen, surrounded by the smell of tea and roasted vegetables. “It’s cold outside, isn’t it? A bit too cold for my liking. It’s just autumn. Winter could become very harsh if it keeps up like this.” The big gray unicorn stallion looked at the pegasus girl. “It could be better if there wasn’t such a tough crowd lately. Ever since Phyllis took over-”

“Alpha, keep your mouth shut! The walls could have ears. It’s bad enough as it is, no need to get us closed down too,” Whirlwind warned.

“Yeah yeah. We’d hear them long before they could enter. The stairs up the tree are creaky enough that not even a rat could sneak up on us.” His voice still hushed down to not much more than a whisper. “The residents of Solace are getting fed up, scared. Ponies are going missing in the dark. It’s a harsh time.” A smile came to his face. “But it’s good for business.”

Whirlwind sighed again. “There are rumors, Alphabittle. Rumors of war. Dark clouds gathering up in the north. Hooded ponies whispering with Phyllis.”

The stallion smiled at her and put a leg around her. “There were always rumors about war, probably since the Cataclysm, and likely even before it. Ponies need stuff to talk about. Maybe Phyllis makes all that stuff up to keep our friends in line.”

Whirlwind wanted to answer something, but was interrupted as the door swung open. Both her and Alphabittle turned around in shock. Like all the houses in Solace, except the blacksmith shop, the Inn was built in the branches of a mighty tree. The ways were made of wood, with stairs leading up. It was nearly impossible to sneak up on any house! And yet this old lavender unicorn made her way up here and into the Inn without making the slightest noise.

Whirlwind mustered her. Old, yes, but not without life. The mare seemed to radiate life. She carried herself proudly with her tattered gray robe. “Can we help you, madam?”

The old unicorn looked at her with a bit of confusion for a moment before she blinked. “Eh...you open?”

Whirlwind still was a bit hesitant, but Alphabittle waved the unicorn in. “Sure we’re open! Come in and take a seat. You must be tired after the climb up here. Whirl, get our guest a nice and cozy seat.”

“Climb?” the unicorn mare asked, tilting her head. Then she looked at the ground below her and nodded. “Oh, yes, the climb. So many stairs.” She slowly walked in and nodded to Whirlwind. “Don’t mind me. I can get myself a good seat. Continue whatever you were doing.”

Whirlwind shrugged and put the cleaned mugs and cups on the counter while watching the old mare. She was looking around the barroom, and Whirlwind felt a bit of pride as the old mare nodded with satisfaction. That was, until she went up to their biggest table and started shoving it towards the fireplace murmuring. “It’ll be a cold night. They’ll need every bit of warmth.”

“That table always stood there! You can’t just go and rearrange our furniture,” Whirlwind said with desperation, looking towards Alphabittle for help. But the stallion just smiled.

“Let her. Maybe she’s giving a party tonight. Would be good money, after all. No harm in rearranging once in a while.” A bright light from the kitchen informed him that some of his vegetables catched on fire above the cooking fire, and he ran back to save what could be saved.

Whirlwind sighed with annoyance, which the old mare answered with a stare. “Well, don’t you want to help an old lady? I need five chairs on this table! And another, comfy one right at the fireside. There, in the shady corner.”

Whirlwind groaned. “Didn’t you just say you wouldn’t need help? I thought you could do it by yourself, like you did with our massive oaken table there!”

The old mare gasped. “Well then, looks like I’ll have to do it on my own, fine!” She went to a pair of chairs and started slowly pushing them over to the big table. Whirlwind sighed.

“Fine, I’ll help you. Five around that table, right? And one over there by the fire?”

“Yes, thank you, Whirlwind. The one by the fire should be in the shadowy corner.”

“But there is no shadowy corner! It’s the middle of the day.”

“It is?” The old mare asked with confusing. “Well, but it’s gonna be shadowy tonight, when the fireplace is lit, won’t it? Yes, I’m pretty sure it will be.”

Whirlwind smiled. “Ok, old lady. It will be shadowy tonight, you’re right. If I may ask: Are you giving a party tonight?”

Again, confusion. “A party?” Then the face of the old mare lit up. “Yes, of course, a party! It will be a grand party unlike any Equestria has seen since the Cataclysm! Remember my words, young Whirlwind!” She sat down in the comfy chair beside the fireside. “And now, I would enjoy a good mug of cider.”

Whirlwind smiled as she poured her a mug. It wasn’t until she was back behind the counter thatt she started wondering how the old mare knew her name.

Author's Note:

Somehow, while doing nothing related to either My Little Pony Gen5 or Dragonlance, I thought that those two stories have enough similarities to justify a crossover. It will not be the same exact story as Dragonlance Chronicles, and it will not feature the original characters from there. I may use some of the location names from the books if I find them both fitting and can't think of any name of a location in Equestria to replace them with. I will also use some of the Gen4 locations if they fit.

Depending on how well this story is received, how much I actually enjoy writing it, and how it ends, I may decide to also work on the other two books afterwards.

Last point: The original Dragonlance books are a blast to read, especially the first two Trilogies, Chronicles and Legends. I think they're close to being must-reads for hardcore Fantasy fans, and the original characters are AMAZING (Raistlin Majere for best Edgy Character ever! Down with stupid Drizzt Do'Urden!) But be warned: The movie adaption of Dragons of Autumn Twilight is not very good (except Keifer Sutherland as voice for Raistlin. Such an amazing fit.) Watch it carefully!

Comments

[NobodieZ]

Good start on this.

[DeadEternal]

11420352
Thanks! I hope that it'll continue that way.