//------------------------------// // Act 1/Chapter 3: Where Dragons Rule // Story: Power of the Dragonflame: The Resurrection of Torch // by Mystic Mind //------------------------------// On the south-west coast of the Dragon Lands, a pony settlement went about their regular day-to-day lives. Rain Dancer, a cerulean blue Pegaus pony with a magenta mane, busied herself pushing clouds into place over the farmer’s crops. It was hard work collecting enough moisture from seawater, but for her personally, the benefits outweighed the difficulties. After all, how many ponies could say they were thriving in a land as volcanically active as this? Acid rain, minimal sunlight, pyroclastic flows; all these potential hazards made living in the Everfree Forest look like child’s play – a tremendous challenge that Rain Dancer and her friends took head on. “Hey, Silver Soil,” Rain holared at a silver-coated earth pony below. “Where do ya want the clouds?” “A little to the left will do,” Silver brushed back his black mane. He was the oldest stallion amongst the colonists, and rumour had it that he was so adept at farming, he even taught Applejack a few new tricks. Spinning a rake in his hooves, he carefully dragged it across the soil and dropped a few seeds into the freshly dug grooves. Bucking her cloud, Rain Dancer sprayed its content onto the seeds, then gently blew the cloud across the field with her wings. With the soil moistened, Silver pushed up his glasses and raked it over before moving on to the next one. Once each row was planted, watered and covered, the rest could be taken care of by the third member of his little farming quartet, Hazy Spark. In stark contrast to Silver, Hazy was the youngest, aged just nineteen, in addition to being one of two gender queer ponies. Despite their masculine physique, Hazy’s coat was a soft shade of pink; with their short, fringe-cut mane being a similar, light shade of purple. Hazy weaved a gentle stream of purple magic through each seed. Within seconds, the plants sprouted from the ground, ready to be picked and presented to the colony’s hungry citizens. “I hope the yields are better than last time,” Silver grumbled, casting a suspicious eye toward Hazy. Their expression dropped. They offered no words in objection. “Hey, pops, give 'em a break already,” Rain Dancer landed next to Hazy and hugged them. “I know growth spells are still experimental an' all that, but fifty-percent success ain’t bad for a first try! Heck, we still recovered the seeds to plant new stuff, so what’s with the attitude, huh?” Hazy smiled, nuzzling Rain Dancer’s cheek. They could always count on their marefriend to stand up for them. Silver sighed and re-adjusted his glasses again. “I’m sorry, that was rude of me. Every pony knows how much blood, sweat and tears I’ve put into the farming business. How do you think I feel when some unicorn comes along, pumps the crops full of magic, and leaves with little to show for it?” He pointed toward the pictured shovel on his flank. “Goes against everything my cutie mark stands for. Nothing personal, just how I am.” “I’m sorry, Mister Soil,” Hazy said quietly, shuffling closer to Rain to hide their wand cutie mark. “I want to make farming easier for everypony. I appreciate how much you’ve taught me about field prep, I really do. I just need to experiment a little, that's all.” “We’ll find the right balance, I know we will,” added Rain. “As long as we still have reserves, we’ll be fine. I swear it on my own raincloud rump! So, how about we all take a break for now? Peridot should be done with the carrot juice by now.” “Somepony call my name?” replied a green crystal pony, poking her head around an open door. “Speak of Grogar, and he shall appear!” chuckled Rain. “You got the goods?” “See for yourself,” Peridot Pop said as she stepped out, carrying four full glasses on an old waitress table. “Freshly mashed carrot juice, at your service.” Hazy wrapped the glasses in her aura, levitating each one to her friends. “Here’s to the only carrot farm in all the Dragon Lands!” “Cheers!” clanging their glasses together, the group gulped the drinks down in one go. “My dear Peridot, you’ve done it again!” Silver exclaimed. “This has to be the best carrot juice I’ve ever tasted.” “Oh, shucks,” Peridot blushed. “You say that about every glass I make.” “Well, it’s true,” Rain held the glass between her wings. “You should sell a bunch of bottles to mainland Equestria. ‘Cause when they get a taste of this stuff, we’ll be swimming in gold!” “I tried that once,” Hazy said with a straight face. “It’s not as easy as it looks. Rather uncomfortable, too.” Rain cocked an eyebrow. “You’re kidding, right?” “Nope,” they shrugged their shoulders. “It was top of the list of idioms to test.” “Are you sure you weren’t separated from Twilight Sparkle at birth?” Peridot prodded Hazy with her elbow, though they just stared blankly at her. “I can’t tell if that’s an insult or a compliment?” “It’s a compliment, Hazy,” Rain smiled at Peridot. “Anypony worth their salt would love to be compared to the Pedantic Princess, am I right?” “Oh,” Hazy gave a weak smile of her own. “Sorry.” “Hey, it’s no problem,” Peridot waved her hoof in dismissal and finished her remaining carrot juice. “That’s life for you.” “Speaking of,” Rain interjected,“looks like it’s time to take care of business.” Walking in from over the horizon, a trio of young adult dragons hauled a wooden cart toward the village. Every week, it was the same three dragons; the broad-jawed Garble; the skinny, purple-scaled Fume; and the heavy-weight, black-scaled Charcoal. “Sit tight, gang, I’ll handle this,” Peridot cleared her throat and trotted over to greet them. “Welcome to Silver Soil’s Carrot Farm. How may we assist you today?” “Oh, cut the crap already, Peridot,” Garble groaned, rolling his eyes. “You know what we’re here for. Just give us the goods and we’ll be out of here.” “Nice to see you, too, Garble,” Rain Dancer huffed. “Would it kill ya to learn some manners, for once in your life?” Fume stepped forward, narrowing her eyes at Rain. “Have you considered leading by example? You’re not exactly a ray of sunshine, either, you know.” “Um, Rain?” Hazy tried to ask, but the bickering drowned their voice. “We don’t wanna be here any more than you losers do,” Garble sneered, flipping Rain a middle claw. “So, do you have the carrots or not?” “Oh, we’ve got plenty,” Rain flared her wing feathers, cracking them together as if they were knuckles. “How about I stick one right up your—” “That’s enough!” Peridot stepped between Rain and the Dragons. “Both of you, chill out already. Garble, we were just in the middle of pulling out your shipment. Rain, they’re just here for work, not to bully us. So, let’s not start pointless fights, okay?” “Ugh, fine,” Rain harrumphed reluctantly. “We chose to live here, so let’s just get down to business.” “Just who in Tartarus do you think you a—” Fume grabbed Garble’s snout and held it shut. “Thank you, Peridot,” she said, narrowing her eyes at Garble. “And Garble is sorry for any hostility he caused. Right, Garble?” Garble crossed his arms and forced a smile. “Yeah, yeah, I’m sorry.” “Fantastic. Anyway, while we’re waiting for your shipment to be loaded,” Peridot gestured toward her hut, “care for some Carrot Juice? Freshly squeezed!” “Oh, yes, please!” Charcoal clapped his hands excitedly, earning a cocked eyebrow from Garble. “What? I’ve got a taste for. Helps keep your heart healthy, y’know.” “Actually, I’m done here,” Garble spat on the ground and turned to leave. “I only showed up ‘cause Lord Ember made me. You losers can take care of the rest. Later!” Giving another two-fingered salute, Garble flew off. “Is it just me, or is Garble being extra rude today?” Silver asked. “He’s never liked Ember as Dragon Lord,” Fume shrugged. “What with winning her title through friendship and all. Also, I'm sorry for what I said earlier, Rain. That was rude of me.” “Yeah, yeah, water under the bridge and all,” Rain said dismissively, pulling the last of the carrots out and dumping them in the wagon. “Here’s your haul, nice of you to visit, see you next time.” “Hey, wait a sec…” Fume shot Rain a suspicious look. “There’s only half the usual amount here. What gives?” Hazy bit their lip. They had a feeling this would come up, and now they were in the spotlight, not knowing how to respond. Thankfully, Rain was there to provide relief from the curse of social awkwardness. “We’re just experimenting with stuff,” she said, stretching her hoof over Hazy’s shoulders. “New farming techniques, lots of magic, all very complicated. Yields are small right now, but let me tell ya, the results are gettin’ better each time!” “If you urgently need a full wagon, we do have leftovers stored in the village barn,” added Silver, smiling. “I can withdraw some if required.” Fume rubbed her chin. “Eh, what the heck. I’ll let it slide this time. Just make sure you don’t shortchange me again, or you’ll have Ember to answer to.” “That won’t be necessary,” Peridot returned with more carrot juice. Charcoal followed just behind, downing yet another glass. “Hazy here is the best mage a pony could ask for. I'm one-hundred percent confident we'll have top quality produce within the week.” Fume gave Hazy a distrustful look. “Well, I know nothing about unicorn magic, so I'll take your word for it. Charcoal, we're leaving.” “Already?” Charcoal whined. “Can't I have one more glass?” “Take one for the road,” Peridot smiled and gave Charcoal a glass from her tray. “My treat.” “Oh, thank you!” Charcoal took the glass and shook Peridot's hoof with some force. “Wait 'till I tell the other dragons about this. You're gonna have one heck of a business on your claws! Erm... I mean, hooves.” “Charcoal!” “Coming!” holding the glass steady in both claws, Charcoal skipped away after Fume. Rain wiped the sweat off her brow. “Phew, that was a close one. Alright, everypony, take five.” “Hey, Peridot, are you really that confident in Hazy's spells?” asked Silver. “No offence to Hazy, but we shouldn't make big promises that we can't keep.” “I meant every word of what I said,” replied Peridot with a confident smile. “You have absolutely nothing to worry about!” “I'm with Peridot on this one,” Rain turned to face Hazy. “They didn't graduate from Celestia's Unicorn School with top grades for nothing!” Hazy blushed bright red, hiding behind the fringe of their mane. “Hazy, are you okay?” Rain's expression dropped. Hazy wanted to reply, but the words caught in their mouth. They felt a sudden pressure grow across their chest, as if a dragon had decided to sit on them, causing their knees to shake and buckle under the strain. “Go away...” Hazy murmured under her breath, shutting her eyes tight. “Hazy?” Rain reached out and squeezed Hazy's hoof. “It's okay, Hazy. I'm here for you.” “I have to go!” Hazy snapped, yanked their hoof away from Rain and shot off galloping through the town. Peridot felt a distinct chill run down her spine as she realized what she'd been doing. “Oh no, I pressured her too much, didn't I?” “Ya think?!” Rain Dancer snapped before galloping after her partner. “Hazy! Hazy, please come back!” Peridot slumped onto her hindquarters, the glasses on her tray shattering as they hit the ground. “Not again.” Silver sighed. “It's alright, my dear. I'm partially at fault as well. Let’s get you inside and leave Hazy to their marefriend.”