Epilogue
I sat at the breakfast table in the kitchen, drinking a mug of strong black coffee. Across from me at the table, Princess Celestia sat, listening to the ending of my account with intense interest. When I had finished with my story, the princess sat in silence a moment, then looked at Dash, then at Budder, then back to me.
"Well Lieutenant Drake..." She said. She cleared her throat. "It seems that you three had quite an adventure."
"You can say that again, princess." Dashie commented.
"And of course you must know that you are the first ponies to have ever defeated such powerful magic without being unicorns or alicorns. I am as impressed as ever with my greatest detectives."
"Eh, it's really Budder who deserves the credit there, Your Highness." I said. "She's the one that figured out all the paranormal hullabaloo."
"Hull...a...baloo?" My sister asked dryly. "Where do you come up with all these...words?" Celestia giggled.
"Oh, I am very happy with young Budder and the part she played in all of this." The princess replied. "And the manner in which she received her cutie mark is quite poignant indeed."
"Say wha..." Budder asked.
"I mean to say that I believe you have discovered your calling as a paranormal expert. And..." She giggled again. "In the future, I am instructing you to accompany your brother and Rainbow Dash on all cases involving possible paranormal involvement." I watched Budder's smile grow larger and larger. "And to aid you, you may keep the journal of Professor Midnight Mist, and as a personal gift from me, I have several books about the paranormal being sent to you from Canterlot. You are to study and grow in your knowledge and expertise in the supernatural. Can you do that for me?"
"EEE!" Budder squaked happily. She grinned nervously. "Sorry princess...I mean, yep, I'll study. I gotta be the best."
"And I'm sure you will be." Celestia smiled. "It...runs in the family, apparently..."
"Oh, ma'am?" I said. "These um...eheh...paranormal cases?"
"Don't worry, Drake." Celestia said. "They seem to happen fairly regularly. I'm sure I can assign a few here and there. Of course my sister is the one that deals with the supernatural, so she'll be assigning you most of the paranormal cases herself. I'm sure you'll make us both proud."
"Ughhh...Your Highness..." I whined. Celestia gave my sister a wink, making her laugh.
"Oh, and I have not forgotten your pay for this case, lieutenant." Princess Celestia continued, unfazed. Her horn lit up, and a small chest floated in the door, and drifted onto the table. "I threw in...a bit extra for all of your trouble." She grinned, and I heaved a sigh. "I will be in contact. Farewell for now, my loyal detectives."
So ends volume six of the Drake Chronicles. My thanks to all of you who have read, faved and reviewed this story, and a special thanks to all of you who have followed Drake's story from the very beginning. It seems so long ago, doesn't it? It's only been five months since his story began, but it seems like ages. And the story is far from over. There are more adventures to come as Drake, Rainbow Dash and Budder have more cases, go through more ups and downs, and live out their lives amid the backdrop of Equestria. Volume 7 will begin in a few days, as soon as I get back from this weekend's Civil War reenactment. So until then, my loyal readers...thank you all for reading.