Prologue: The Begining of A Tale
So ya want to hear a story, do ya filly? Well, lucky for you, Ah've got just the one.
Ah remember a night. It was a quiet night. Nothin' made a sound 'sides the crickets and frogs. Ah was sleepin', gettin' my strength back for the next day. Ah was just about ta fall asleep when Ah heard a crash, not from mah home but, my neighbor, Straw Weave's. Now, the town Ah lived in was a small one only a few days south of Stalliongrad, no more than fifty ponies and half as many houses. Small towns don't have bad folk most times, unlike the big cities, mostly 'cause ya know everypony and what they do. So when Ah heard all the commotion Ah just had to see who was bein' stupid enough to try stealin', maybe even smack 'em around some if Ah needed to.
Now don't you give me that look filly, Ah may be old but Ah can still knock a few heads in. Anyways, thinkin' that somepony else'll be woken up by this racket Ah left mah bed and walked to mah door, hearin' more crashin' and smashin' and some other noise. When Ah got out of the house all Ah could see was my neighbor's house on fire. Knowin' that the fire could end up killin' half of the town if Ah didn't do anythin' Ah started shoutin' and hollerin', tryin' mah damnedest ta wake up everypony. Not even a minute later Ah hear a stompin' comin' from the house-of course Ah thought it was Straw Weave at the time, was her house after all-so Ah ran up to the door 'bout ready to buck it down when it turnt to ash right in from of my face!
Ah know it don't sound right but it happened, Ah swear. But it wasn't the door so much as it was the thing behind the door that really threw me for a loop. Livin' out by the border Ah've seen a lot of strange things, a rabbit ridin' a boar, a tree that had leaves growin' from the trunk, heck even a frost covered hot spring, but in all the years Ah've lived Ah ain't never seen what Ah saw that night. It was tall, taller than any pony Ah've ever seen, at least two times mah size. The thing kinda looked like a minotaur, 'cept it was real thin and didn't have horns. But what really got me was the thing's eyes. What about it's eyes, ya ask? Well, Ah'll tell ya! They glowed red. An angry, bloodthirsty red. Ah'll never forget those angry eyes starin' down at me from the porch like Ah was it's next meal.
Thank Celestia a few other ponies came by right then. Green Bean had a pitchfork with 'im and ran up and started tryin' to scare off the monster wit it. Worst mistake Ah'd ever seen. Soon as the critter had the fork in it's face it's beady, angry eyes got even angrier. Next thing Ah know the fire that was still roarin' behind the monster came a-shootin' at us. Poor Green Bean got the worst of it. The rest of us got hit with the fire soon after. Ah don't know what happened next, mostly 'cause my head smashed into a barrel but when Ah woke up it was gone and half of town with it.
Ah stayed in the burnt remains of the town for a few more weeks, scared out of mah wits, wonderin' if that thing'ed come for me next before Ah high tailed it outta there. Been on the road ever since. Ain't no way some fire beast eatin' old Tale Spinner.
The old, green maned stallion leaned back in his seat and took a long sip of ale. For the past hour Tale Spinner had told me a story of his old town, and while he seemed believable I just needed to ask a few questions to dig up those precious details. Something these country types tend to forget in the first run.
"So you don't know where this 'fire beast' came from, correct?" I asked, leaning in to hear a bit better over the slight clamor in the tavern, shifting my messy, monochrome mane out of my eyes.
"Not a clue, filly. All Ah know's that it came from Weaves's home. Musta started the fire too." Spinner drawled, his accent thick, yet easy on the ears.
"You said that it came from Weave's home, do you know what it was doing there? And for curiosities sake where was Straw Weave in all of this? And what of Green Bean. You had said that he 'got the worst of it'." I asked.
"You really like askin' questions, don'tcha, filly?" Spinner laughed, shifting his cloak, "Ah don't know why the thing was in Straw Weave's but Ah do know that she was sleepin' with a farm colt on the other side of town." the stallions eyes grew distant, "As for Green Bean. Well, Goodhealth, the town's healer had said he'd be fine before Ah left, but he was gonna had burn marks for the rest of his life."
"So the fire beast didn't kill him?"
"Nope, but it sure did a number on 'im. The colt looked so sad 'n broken."
"Okay," I said, putting a hoof to my chin and looking down as I thought. While the stallion didn't seem to be senile or lying, his name alone threw several red flags for me. That and the number of loose ends his tale had. But even true tales had loose ends. That's always the problem for me when I track down these absurd legends. But it's always satisfying to tie up everything leading up to the origin. And once I'm there I can breath a sigh of relief as the case comes to a close. "I got only a couple more questions for you, then we can both be on our way. Is that okay?" Spinner nodded, "What is it that you did in your old town?"
"Ah was the town's story teller. Ya'know entertainin' the foals, embarrassing the colts and fillies and making the mares and stallions laugh. Why?"
Just as suspected, but this would be one heck of a tall-tale. Guess it's time for the finisher. "One more. Is this story of yours true?"
A dry, humorless chuckle came from Tale Spinner, "Filly," he said, unbuttoning his cloak, "My story is as real as these burns," removing the cloak Spinner reveled hideous burn marks covering his forelegs and chest, bright pink against his yellow coat. The sight was foreboding alright, but it promised more possibility for this fire beast to exist and not just be a figment of some drunk story teller's wild imagination.
I nodded grimly, tipped my hat and left, leaving a few bits on the table. Story tellers always have a price, and if you don't pay, others will know. Exiting the tavern I breathed in the cool night air of Trottingham. I flexed my wings, feeling the wind flow through them. I smiled, taking off and following the breeze. This is sure going to be an interesting adventure. I thought to myself, my smile growing wider, I just know this will be another hell of a story to tell!
