Continuity Disrupted

by Doug Graves

120 The Eye of the Dragon, Part One

December 12th, 1000 Domina Solaria

“Aaah,” Doug happily says as he wraps his arm around Fluttershy, settling down on the edge of the frozen pond. His hand scratches Hedge’s mane, the filly curled up next to her dam and sketching the wintry landscape around them. In the background scamper the ponies of the herd, an especially heated snowball fight going on around, inside, and outside the massive fort Applejack and Pinkie Pie are building.

“Done already?” Fluttershy says, though her eyes don’t leave Rarity as the unicorn chases Trixie through a doorway, only to be ambushed by Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. The first snowball smacks Rarity in the face, the rest stopped by a blue aura and returned to their senders. The fillies squeal as they get pelted, turning tail and slipping back inside the fort.

“Yup. Scheduling winter weather is still pretty straightforward, especially with Cloudsdale out of the mix.” Doug sighs as he relaxes against the yellow mare, adjusting his jacket. Spike sneaks around the walls, gripping two hefty snowballs in his claws as he flanks Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom.

“No, no, no!” shouts Twilight as she approaches the fort, several boxes trailing behind her in a raspberry aura. “You were supposed to dig a trench!” She motions up with her forelegs as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle sneak next to her, though she isn’t their target. “How are we possibly going to hide in here?”

Above her, Scootaloo and Meringue push a massive block of snow off the edge of the fort wall. Twilight’s eyes go wide as the snow plummets down, a hoof trying to shield her face, the two fillies shrieking. The snow lands with a heavy ‘whump’, leaving Twilight’s purple horn sticking out above the snow. She breaks free, sputtering briefly. “Oh. I guess that’s how.”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle join her, pouting heads poking out of the snow. Only for Spike to round the corner and pelt both of the fillies in the back of their manes.

“That’s for Rarity!” he calls, turning around and sprinting the other direction.

“Hey, now!” Applejack calls, a stern look at the two fillies on the top of the fort. “No more pushing snow off the top! We need that!”

“Okay,” groans Scootaloo as Meringue grunts. High above, Rainbow flies in another large, puffy white cloud, kicking it and covering the fort in another inch of snow.

“So, what’s the score?” Doug says as he gets up, gloves mashing together a lump of snow, only for a snowball to smack him in the face.

“That’s one,” Trixie calls from the top of the fort. Doug grins as he spots Pinkie Pie readying a dozen snowballs, sprinting towards the fort and better cover.

Thirty minutes later and the herd is laying around the center of the fort, exhausted and covered in snow. Fluttershy, Hedge, and Spike bring in saddlebags full of refreshments, doling them out to the grateful ponies. Rainbow can’t help but snicker at the dragon’s frilly pink apron, complete with a purple heart on the front.

“So,” Doug says to Rarity, dragging a reluctant Trixie and plopping between them. Both mares are exhausted from the exercise, bits of snow caught in their manes and outfits. “Finally finished your dresses and able to burn off a little steam?”

Rarity glares at Trixie, though Doug’s hand coming up to the back of her neck gets her to relax slightly. “Yes. A dozen of each of them, in as many days?” Rarity flicks her mane, her smile returning, “Of course I was able to pull through.” Her glower briefly appears again, “Though he threatened to cancel the order if I didn’t do the stitching the same as the original. Well, I bargained him down to six of both with that stitching, but then he also wanted two different takes on your armor - as a suit for a stallion, of course - and a more stylized version of Trixie’s outfit.”

“And Trixie was more than happy to provide her assistance.” Trixie grins as Doug’s hand rubs the back of her neck, allowing him to pull her a little closer. "Both as an assistant in the store and as a model."

“Glad to hear the two of you are getting along,” Doug says with a slightly forced smile. “There aren’t going to be any issues tonight, correct?”

“Of course not!” the two mares chorus, far too similar to a certain trio for Doug’s liking.

“Good.” Doug grunts as Fluttershy nestles herself between his legs and lays her head on his stomach, done passing out hot chocolate. “So, you ready for the big event?”

“What big event?” Fluttershy asks as Twilight pulls out a bunch of brown and green camouflage vests and hats. Her horn lights, passing them around, though Doug rolls his eyes at the amount of brightly colored pony left uncovered. She then passes around several sets of binoculars, climbing to the top of the fort to set up her own telescope, then the one from the Crusader’s clubhouse.

“Tarrapalooza!” shouts Trixie, Rarity glaring at the sudden outburst.

“What’s that?” asks Fluttershy.

“It’s a giant concert, held south of Vanhoover in the Smoky Mountains. Every dragon band is going to be there, along with a few of the more famous pony bands." Trixie beams, staring off to the west, "I heard the Fallback Fillies are going to be there! Along with Sapphire Shores, Countess Coloratura, maybe even Songbird Serenade!”

"Are the Dixie Griffs gonna be there?" Applejack asks eagerly, grinning at Trixie's reluctant nod.

Trixie looks around at the other mares, noting the lack of reaction. “Come on, I can’t be the only one here who’s gone before!”

“Well, Las Pegasus is quite a bit closer than Ponyville,” Rarity concedes. “And most of us would have been a little too young to remember it. The dragons only make the journey but once a generation, you know.”

“Wait, dragons?” Fluttershy cautiously asks.

“Yes,” Twilight explains, her favorite hat (the lecturing kind) replacing her camouflage one. Doug’s legs immediately clamp around the yellow mare as she tries to escape. “You see, Tarrapalooza-”

“-Tarrapalooza!!” Trixie shouts, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom joining in.

Twilight rolls her eyes. “Tarrapalooza-”

“-Tarrapalooza!” shouts Trixie, Doug, Rainbow, and all the fillies.

Twilight grits her teeth, “As I was saying, the event gets its name from the plant, Tarragon, also known as Artemisia Dracunculus. The herb is used in cooking, known for its fragrant aroma! They make oils, scents, even salads! I’ve heard the dragons have their own variety of it, which is said to be far spicier and heartier than the ones grown in Equestria.”

“And there are… dragons?” Fluttershy whimpers from between Doug’s legs.

“Of course! You see, the two dragons that we, um, encouraged to leave Ponyville were taking their hordes to Vanhoover, to help pay for the contractors and building and equipment and food at the week long event.”

“And these are big, scaly, fire breathing dragons?” Fluttershy asks, cowering down into Doug’s chest and covering her face with his jacket.

“I don’t think big quite covers how monstrously gigantic they are, but yes!” Twilight hops up to the wall of the snow fort, maneuvering first a pair of binoculars and then the telescope. “Good thing we got here so early! See? There they are now!”

The herd, minus Doug and Fluttershy, clamber to the walls, oohing and aahing as dozens, then nearly two hundred dragons come into view. They start as small specks on the horizon, right by the Canterhorn, slowly getting larger and larger as they fly overhead.

“Come on, Fluttershy,” Doug calmly says, his hand slowly running along Fluttershy’s back and mane. “You can do this. They aren’t that scary.” Fluttershy looks up, fear still plain on her face but giving a slow nod.

“I don’t know about that!” Spike calls down, puffing out his apron adorned chest. “Us dragons are a force to be reckoned with!”

Fluttershy ‘eeps’, diving back into Doug’s chest.

The herd gasps as a few of the dragons start performing tricks as they fly over Ponyville, though occasionally they bump into each other. The slighted dragon turns, releasing a great gout of flame towards the interloper, though they mostly laugh off the flames.

Rainbow Dash cowers down a little, barely peeking her head up above the wall. “Well, the tricks are pretty basic, but that flame makes them downright fierce!”

“I’ll say!” Rarity agrees, everypony ducking another burst of fire. “Very formidable, indeed.”

All eyes turn as a colossal golden dragon lands two hundred feet away from the snow fort. He lumbers forward, three steps taking him to the edge of the walls. He coughs self-consciously, looking around before whispering (which comes out as a moderate roar), “This Sweet Apple Acres?”

Applejack tentatively steps forward, forcing a smile to her muzzle. Her voice shakes, “Um, uh, yes! Yes, this here’s Sweet Apple Acres!” Her voice gets back a bit of her natural cadence, “Home of the best apples in Equestria! What can Ah do ya for?”

The dragon glances up, a few other dragons circling around above him. “Um,” he says, glancing between Applejack and the rest of the ponies, “a couple of us were curious if, you know, you had any, you know, specials left.” He winks with an eye large enough for Applejack to walk through and not really hurt his sight all that much.

Applejack stammers as she glances back at the farm, “Um, no, unfortunately none of our ‘specials’ left. Shipped ‘em all out last week.” Her expression brightens, “But we do have bushels of apples! They’re all dried, for the winter of course, but no less delicious!”

“Oh.” The dragon looks back up, shaking his head. He takes off, a great gust from his wings blowing the loose snow into a miniature blizzard as his spiked tail nearly destroys one of the walls as it drags along the ground. “She’s all out!” Loud grunts of disappointment come from above, the circling dragons flying on.

“Bleh!” Rainbow spits out a bit of snow, looking up at the dragons with a glare as the snow settles around her. She glances over at Doug, the question in her mouth dying at the shake of his head.

“Wooow,” Spike breathlessly moans, dropping down to his knees. His claws barely hold up his chin as he watches the dragons fly away, tears glistening in his eyes.

“Yeah,” Rainbow says, shaking the rest of the snow onto Twilight, “even I have to admit, that was pretty awesome.”

“Even if their attitude leaves a lot to be desired.” Rarity brushes the snow off her coat, then digs out the fillies. “Good thing our little Spikey-Wikey isn’t like them at all.”

“Hey!” Spike exclaims, pouting as he crosses his claws in front of him. “I could be big and fierce like that!” He starts rampaging around, kicking snow everywhere!

“Of course you can,” Twilight says, levitating a good deal of the snow and yanking out the final two fillies, leaving a single mare desperately burrowing back under the snow. “But I think you’re perfect just the way you are, your own unique style of being a dragon!”

“Yeah, sure,” Spike says, huffing a tiny plume of green smoke and scorching the snow and revealing a light green eye that immediately hides again. “I can’t believe there isn’t more known about dragons!”

Twilight nods. “Well, they are pretty reclusive, even during Tarrapalooza-”

“TARRAPALOOZA!!” bellow the fillies and mares, even getting a roar out of the dragons still in earshot.

“-so it’s not surprising that we don’t know much.”

“Yeah,” Spike says, gathering one of the saddlebags and starting to pack supplies into it. “But, who am I? What am I supposed to be?”

“That’s an excellent question, Spike.” Twilight rests next to the dragon, watching as the last vestiges of the dragons disappear behind the mountains to the west. “We looked before, and didn’t have any books on dragons. At least, ones that aren't purely conjecture or from unreliable sources. I don’t know where they got the egg I hatched you from. There’s so much we don’t know!”

“Mmhmm,” Spike says, a resolute look in his eyes. He takes a deep breath, saddlebag awkwardly strapped to his back, taking a single step to the west.

“Hey,” Trixie says with a large grin, “maybe we can go to Tarrapalooza-

“TARRAPALOOZA!!”

“-this year?” Trixie motions to Rarity, then to the farm, “I know it's last minute, but with the extra sales for Applejack and Rarity we should be able to cover it. And I was able to make a good number of bits this last month. Rarity got a pretty big windfall from Hoity Toity’s sales.”

Rarity’s face falls briefly, “But, I had plans for those bits, and-”

Rarity stops, looking around at the wide, pleading eyes around her. “Oh, fine. Yes, we can splurge on a trip. I don’t know about staying the whole week, as winter is my busiest time of year.”

A loud cheer comes from the ponies, though Twilight stops as Spike starts walking off. “Spike?”

“Yeah?” Spike replies, barely glancing back.

“Um, you can walk if you want. You might make it by the end of the festival.” Twilight hesitantly coughs. “But we were going to take the train.”

Comments

[katarjin]

TARRAPALOOZA!!!!!!! Man that bit gave me a cackle.