Dragon on the Hearth

by KidatHeart5

Act 1, Scene 2

Backstage, Twilight was trying to get her blurry contacts on. She had to wear these to look like she was blind. She remembered when she tried them on during rehearsals. She kept bumping into sets and actors and almost fell off the stage at one point. After the incident, the directors made sure there were pillows lining the base of the stage in case she did fall.

Discord appeared and said, “Hey, Twilight. Make sure you don’t fall off the stage or bump into anything again.” He snickered, which caused Twilight to glare at him.

Though she could barely see him – or anything – she retorted, “Even with these contacts on, I can still see the chocolate stain on your goatee.”

Discord cried, “What?!” He combed his goatee and found nothing was there. He growled, “You’re just trying to get back at me, aren’t you?” Twilight smirked and he said, “Don’t forget, my big debut is on in T-Minus 15 minutes. I have to look sharp and act the part. Au revoir, Twilight.”

In a moment, he disappeared in a flash.

Another pony came in the door and Twilight could barely see that it was Flash. He said, “Hey. Discord give you trouble?”

She sighed, “Yes. Whenever he’s not irking us onstage, he’s irking us offstage.”

“I think he’s just excited that he’s playing a bigger role than just being in the ensemble.”

“Yes. I think that could be it. Ever since he got the role of Mr. Saddleton, he’s been a diva left and right.”

“Aren’t you glad he didn’t get the lead? I think that would’ve made him a bigger drama queen than he already is.”

Suddenly, in a flash, Flash was dressed like a mare competing in a beauty pageant.

Twilight shouted, “DISCORD!”

*****

Several minutes later, the curtains parted again and it showed Spike, illuminated in a single spotlight. He narrated, “Oh, grim times were upon us, I’ll tell you. How quickly everything changed! Poor, dear Bertha living in her world of darkness, and old Caleb was beside himself with grief. All he did was nurse his daughter! He didn’t tack the unfinished toys, and Hearth’s Warming was only a short way off! And when the happy season came, he wasn’t ready. He didn’t sell one toy that year!

“What money he did have all went to the doctors he brought in, but they could do no good. Caleb, not thinking, went out and borrowed more and more money! He didn’t have any idea how to pay them back. Now, one sad day, they could no longer pay the rent and they went deep in debt. Old Caleb had no choice but to pack up and leave.

“Oh, they were hard times, I can tell you. Long, hungry days looking for work, anything. Finally, one day…”

The lights darkened and then lightened up again to reveal Shining Armor, Twilight, and Spike near a lamppost. Shining Armor dropped his bag and said in weary despair, “It’s no use. We can’t go one step farther. We have no other choice.”

Twilight, with eyes now faded from the contacts she wore, asked, “No choice, Father? What…what do you mean?”

Spike looked up and saw an arrow sign that said, “TO THE POOR HOUSE”. He exclaimed, “The poor house?! Oh, no!” He pleaded Shining Armor, “You can’t give up!”

Shining Armor said, “What else can I do?”

Spike said, “Oh, if we ever needed a bit of luck…” He turned and saw a building to his left. He said, “Wait…Is that what I think it is? A toy factory! Now I think they could use a toymaker like you!”

Shining Armor asked with hopeful eyes, “Do you think so?”

“Well, let’s find out. Come on!”

The group made their way to the toy factory set and the lights went black. After about a minute, one half of the stage lit up to reveal Twilight sitting on a bench and Spike peeking into a keyhole.

Twilight asked, “Crocket, is Father seeing Mr. Saddleton right now?”

Spike said, “Uh-huh, uh-huh.” He shushed to the audience and went back to peeking.

The half where Twilight and Spike were at went dark and the half with Shining Armor, Discord, and Owlowiscious lit up.

Discord leaned forward on his desk and put his left elbow on it. He said, “So let me get this straight: you want to be a toymaker in my factory?” He chuckled, “Toymakers come in dozens.” He asked the owl, “Correct, Uriah?” When the owl hooted, the draconequus laughed, “Oh, yes.”

Shining Armor said, “But I’m a very good worker, sir. And I have my own tools and…and I’m very good, sir.”

“You said that twice already.” He turned to Owlowiscious and said, “You hear that, Uriah?” He pointed his thumb at Shining Armor and said, “He’s very good.” He then snickered. He said to Shining Armor, “My friend, Uriah Caw, thinks that’s very funny.”

Shining Armor hung his head low and said, “I’m sorry. I really best be going.”

Discord held out his arm and said, “No, wait!” He floated up to the stallion and wrapped an arm around him. He said, “Caleb Plummare, is it? I’ve heard of your skills. Of course, you won’t be paid anything, but if you could deliver right on time, I suppose there’ll be leftover food for you.”

As soon as Discord floated back to his desk, Shining Armor turned back toward him and said, “Whatever you say, sir.” He glanced around and then asked, “Where…where are the other toymakers?”

Discord began laughing raucously. He pounded on the desk in laughter and said to the owl, “Did you hear that, Uriah Caw? He wants to know where the other toymakers are!” The owl hooted as the Master of Chaos laughed. As he wiped a tear from his eye, Discord said, “My dear stallion, there are no other toymakers.” He chuckled before the lights went black.

When the lights came back on, Twilight and Shining Armor stood inside the set of a broken-down house. Twilight asked eagerly, “Is this our new home, Father? What’s it like?”

Shining Armor responded, “Well, uh…Splendid! Splendid. Quite palatial!”

Twilight asked, “And Mr. Saddleton? What’s he like, Father?”

“Oh, he’s fine!”

Spike quietly groaned at the stallion’s response.

Shining Armor continued, “And he’s made me head colt of his entire factory!”

Twilight took off her green bonnet and said, “Oh, Father! How I wish I could see it all!”

Shining Armor wrapped a hoof around his sister and said, “I’ll see everything for you, my dear. And everything I see shall be beautiful. I promise you.”

He then sang, “Through my eyes…You will see the world as it should be…Through my eyes…Always gay…Pretty colors coloring the gray…Through my eyes…Let me dry your foolish tears…Now and forever…

“Take my love and throw away…the word called "never"…Let my heart teach you how to feel…my love help you to reveal…the secret world…A new world through my eyes…Through my eyes…You will see the world as it should be…Through my eyes…And one day…you'll be happy that you found the way…That you saw the world through my eyes…Through my eyes…”

The lights then dimmed and then lit up again to reveal Shining Armor talking to the set. He said, “Cook? Oh, I can’t call you ‘Cook’. What’s your name? Becky? You’ve a very quiet mare, Becky.”

He took a few steps to the right and said, “And you are Jarvis, are you not?” He stood up straight and spoke in a deep voice, “Yes, milord.” He spoke again in his regular voice, “Well, that’ll be all, Jarvis. You can have the night off.” He said in his deep tone, “Thank you, milord.”

When the lights became dark, Spike said, “And it was like we lived in two worlds…” After a short flash, Spike continued, “…what was real for us, and what was real for blind Bertha.”

The lights came on again to reveal Twilight and Shining Armor sleeping in nightclothes. The alicorn was sleeping on the bed while her brother slept on the floor. Spike was also in his nightclothes, but he was awake and sitting up in his “bed”.

He quietly ranted, “Grr…Of all the rickety, broken-down houses in all of Equestria, this has got to be the most shackled, worthless house there is!” Suddenly, he fell off the stones he was on and hit the floor. He sighed, “Oh, well. What’s the use? Make do, Crocket Dragon! Make do.”

He was about to sleep until something landed next to him. He yelped when he saw the owl on the floor. He tittered, “Er, heh, heh…Good evening, Uriah.”

Owlowiscious told Spike, “Oh, I’ve heard so much about your kind! What’s it like being a dragon? Do you shed your scales? Are you heat-resistant? How do you bring good luck with you?”

Spike said as Owlowiscious flew up to perch on the table, “Whoa, easy, easy. I can answer a lot of questions, but I’m afraid that I don’t know just why I bring good luck with me.”

The owl said, “Oh. But we still need it.”

Spike crossed his arms and asked in a distrustful tone, “Why should I give good luck to your thieving owner, Mr. Saddleton?”

Owlowiscious hooted sadly, “His toy business is not doing very well. Hopefully with a colt like Caleb Plummare, the rates could go up the roof!”

The dragon scoffed, “Sounds to me like all he cares about is the money.”

“Yes.”

A voice then called out, “Uriah! Oh, Uriah! Ollie-oxen-free!”

Owlowiscious gasped, “It’s Mr. Saddleton! Hide!”

Spike said as he ducked behind the table, “I’m on it!”

A few moments later, Discord emerged in his nightclothes with a birdcage in his claw. He admonished Owlowiscious, “Uriah, what are you doing up at this hour? You’re robbing me of much-valued beauty sleep.”

Spike whispered to the audience, “Yeah, right.”

The audience chuckled. Discord heard that and took offense. However, he hid it well and continued acting, “Now, back in your cage, you naughty, naughty birdie.”

Owlowiscious hooted sadly and reluctantly flew in the birdcage. Spike whispered, “Poor Uriah…”

Discord put a white blanket over the birdcage and said, “Nighty-night, little friend.” He left the set and took the birdcage with him.

Spike narrated, “Well, it was obvious that one of us had to escape Mr. Saddleton’s awful grasp, but I’m getting ahead of my story.”

The lights darkened for about half a minute before brightening again to reveal Shining Armor at his work table. Spike narrated, “It was about a week before Hearth’s Warming, and poor, old Caleb Plummare was working night and day to keep up with the demands of the season.”

Suddenly, the door slammed open and Discord emerged, shouting, “Plummare, you are using entirely too much paint on the dolls’ faces!”

Despite rehearsing this scene many times, Shining Armor was still shaken up by the door slamming. He thought, Why did he insist on slamming the door? Halfway through rehearsals, Discord suggested slamming the door when he entered. There had been a couple of incidents since then. One time, the door fell off its hinges. Another time, it punched a hole in the makeshift wall.

Shining Armor turned to Discord and said, “Just trying to give them nice smiles.”

“Who the blazes cares about smiles?! A dozen and a half is enough for any doll. Paint costs money!”

The stallion sighed, “Yes, sir.”

The lights then blackened and Spike appeared in a single spotlight. He narrated, “Oh, but Saddleton Toys were mean and grubby things. All he cared about was the money they brought. But Caleb couldn’t see them going out into the world like that. So, every night, he and I would sneak in and fix them up nice and new, then pop them back in their boxes by morning so Saddleton wouldn’t find out.”

As he exited stage left, the lights brightened to show a different setting - the snowy Trottingham streets. Shining Armor was wearing his coat and carrying a bundle of packages. Before Spike disappeared behind the curtain, he said, “It was just two days before Hearth’s Warming when we met up with…him.”

After Spike left, Shining Armor ran into a bearded Pegasus. The unicorn cried, “Oh, excuse me, sir! I had so much in front of me that I couldn’t see you!”

The Pegasus said, “No, no. It was my fault, I assure you. Here, allow me to help you…” He reached down for one of the packages as he said, “…pick those up…” Suddenly, he dropped it and groaned as he put his hoof on his back.

Shining Armor asked, “What is it, sir?”

The bearded Pegasus moaned, “My bones ache so terribly. I’ve no money for a room. I’m sleeping out of doors.”

Shining Armor said, “Why, that’s terrible. And in this weather. Oh, you must come home with me. I haven’t much to offer, but you’re quite welcome to share it with me.” He grabbed the packages and took the Pegasus by the hoof.

The gentlecolt said, “Bless you, son. Bless you.”

The lights dimmed again and then lit up after about a minute. Twilight, Shining Armor, and the stranger were all sitting around a table. Spike watched from the hearth and said to the audience, “He was a funny, quiet sort of fellow. He was strange, too. He just looked at Bertha with those sad, old eyes.”

Twilight said, “We’re so glad you could stay with us.”

The gentlecolt said, “Oh…Oh, it’s my pleasure indeed…Bertha.”

The alicorn gasped and the Pegasus asked, “Er…What is it?”

Twilight said, “Oh…The…the way you said…my-my name just now…”

“I’m sorry. Indeed, I am. I was too forward. Ms. Plummare, I meant to say.”

Shining Armor chuckled, “Here now, here now, no serious business. We’re all one family and it’s almost Hearth’s Warming.”

Twilight chuckled, “And we’re going to have a splendid Hearth’s Warming this time, aren’t we, Father? With mistletoe, and a big tree, and decorations, and-and everything!” Shining Armor looked downcast until Twilight said, “Oh, promise me, Father. Oh, promise me. Even though I…I cannot see them, you will have those things?”

Shining Armor put his hooves on his sister and said, “But of course. Of course.”

When the siblings embraced, Spike narrated, “Now, Caleb had been ly-Er, stretching the truth for a long time now to keep Bertha happy, but…when it came to fibbing about Hearth’s Warming, well, he just wasn’t quite up to it.”

Just then, a big canvas rolled down from the rafters. It was a painting of olden Trottingham at night. Backstage, Discord squealed, “Ooh, there’s one of my very extravagant paintings! Eat your heart out, Vincent van Goat.”

Discord had been assigned to paint some paintings for the show. The draconequus made the paintings so beautiful that everyone absolutely adored his work. Now, the audience oohed and ahhed at this spectacular depiction of olden Trottingham.

Fluttershy put a hoof on Discord’s claw and said, “I’m so proud of you, Discord.”

Discord sniffled, “I know. I couldn’t have done it any better.”

It was on this such occasion that the ponies had to play an audio recording of the song “The First Hearth’s Warming”. DJ Pon-3 connected the player to the audio system and pressed the ‘play’ button.

Shining Armor’s voice began to sing, “Could it be Hearth’s Warming…without the mistletoe? Could it be Hearth’s Warming…without the winter snow…No fireplace…No Hearth’s Warming tree…No decorations…Just you and me…Would it be Hearth’s Warming then?

“On the first Hearth’s Warming…there was no mistletoe…On the first Hearth’s Warming…there was no winter snow…No fireplace…No Hearth’s Warming tree…No decorations…Just the wise mares three…and it was Hearth’s Warming then…

“The holiday season has changed…but the reason we celebrate remains…It can be Hearth’s Warming…without the mistletoe…It can be Hearth’s Warming…without the winter snow…No fireplace…No Hearth’s Warming tree…No decorations…Just you and me…It can be Hearth’s Warming then…for Hearth’s Warming lives in the hearts of colts…”

Comments

[Godslittleprincess]

On the first Hearth’s Warming…there was no winter snow

Umm, hmm, I know adapting lyrics can be a pain, but according to the show's canon, the first Hearth's Warming had PLENTY of snow, not to mention ice, a whole lotta ice.