The Annual Dragon Festival of Ponyville.

An exhausted Tea Love sat down on a park bench.

She had spent the last three hours fruitlessly searching for the staging grounds for this mysterious festival she had heard so much about. She was about ready to give up on it. The sun had set over an hour ago. It must be a prank the locals liked to play on visiting restaurant critics.

The trip hadn't been a complete loss though. Jasmine's, the restaurant she had come to review had been excellent. The service friendly and the food astounding. Her article was already half written.

Oddly the head chef had been a unicorn. Unicorns weren't generally known for their skill with food, not like earth ponies. And his horn. Not a spiralling horn but a curious looking antler.

It nagged on her. Made her journalistic instinct itch.

But that was where she had heard about the mysterious Festival of the Dragon.

Apparently it was tonight.

But she could find no sign of it.

She sipped on a tea flavoured hay smoothie and searched for signs of balloons, lights, music or anything that might indicate a celebration.

A flock of birds rapidly evacuated the tree behind her.

The smoothie was actually really good. Especially fresh and vibrant.

A drop of water sitting on a trash can next to her wobbled violently in the windless air before sliding off.

She coughed, she had swallowed an un-blended piece of hay. Her hay smoothie experience ruined she tossed the cup in the trash.

Something large and vast blotted out the light of the moon. Most likely a cloud.

The town of Ponyville sure was quiet at night. Not like Manehatten. It must be terrible living in a town where nothing interesting ever happened.

A gigantic claw filled with murderously sharp talons gently picked her up. She locked eyes with it's owner, which was apparently a snout filled with equally gigantic teeth ideally suited to the purpose of chewing pony reporters prior to ingestion.

She was then placed in a very large basket filled with dozens of other ponies. The basket was suspended in the air by a tail that also likely belonged to the snout filled with enormous restaurant critic mauling fangs.

Tea Love hadn't breathed or moved a muscle in sometime. Not since just before she had been picked up. Somewhat afraid that she might have forgotten how to breath she started to hyperventilate.

* * *

Sometime later Tea Love was breathing semi normally again. She was clinging to the edge of the basket as it swayed with each step of the dragon.

She had learned that she was prone to sea sickness. Or rather dragon sickness.

With a lurch the basket halted for a moment. Her hay smoothie threatened to return in force preventing her from contemplating escape.

A moments pause and a mare was added to the basket of ponies.

The steady rhythmic swaying began again.

The journalist quietly prayed that the dark and terrible beast felt like snacking soon.

* * *

In a lair, in a cavern, roughly an infinite distance of swaying nausea from the town of Ponyville the basket was set down upon the blessed solid stone.

Clinging to the glorious unmoving ground the journalist was able to notice a door in the basket opening and the other ponies filling out in an orderly and happy fashion to whatever terrible and monstrous fate awaited them.

It was awful and sickening. Likely some kind of ritualized pony sacrifice.

Sniffing in resignation and her head held low Tea Love ventured out to meet her fate.

The ponies gathered into a crowd. The beasts long tail circled around them to rest under it's head. It was effectively surrounding the entire group on it's own.

She started making notes and writing them down. Maybe someone would find her notebook and write her last story for her. She smiled slightly imagining someone plagiarizing her work.

There was just over fifty ponies in the group.

No elderly or infirm. No foals... No stallions?

A lot of pegasi. Why didn't they just fly away?

The cave didn't hold anything that looked like a hoard. Don't all dragons have hoards?

A pony stepped forward towards the dragon's terrible maw. The creature focused it's attention upon her.

They exchanged words. Tea made her way through the crowd trying to get close enough to hear.

“I accept,” said the dragon.

The pony embraced the dragon. Or rather she embraced the front of his nose. The dragon smiled blissfully. They parted and the pony walked away. Toward the exit of the cave.

Completely uneaten.

A new mare, a pegasus this time, came forward.

“Hi, I'm Clearing Breeze. This is my first festival.”

“Nice to meet you miss Breeze. I am Spike and I welcome you.”

“I... Um... Oh, it sounds so cheesy.” Clearing covered her face with her hooves.

“True, but it's an important part.”

“I can't do it.”

“You know your mother also had trouble with it. It was funny. She hummed and hawed for about ten minutes before she managed it. She wouldn't have been able to do it at all if it wasn't to save all of Ponyville. She was such a stubborn and proud mare. Truly a great treasure.”

The slight pegasus puffed up her wings and set her jaw.

“I, Clearing Breeze, give myself to you, Spike, completely and without reservation. Please, accept me into your hoard.” She said this without taking her hooves away from her face.

“I accept.”

Clearing Breeze gingerly embraced the dragon.

“I have heard about... The Blessing,” choked out the flustered pony.

One massive spiny eye brow raised in query.

“I was wondering...” she began again, struggling.

“You have the smell of an Apple on you.” The pegasus stood silent, she couldn't have felt as mortified as she looked. “I invite you to ask again next year.”

Clearing Breeze exited the cave with astounding speed.

Again uneaten.

Spotting a reassuring pattern, Tea Love stepped forward automatically.

“Hello mister Dragon. Tea Love of the Manehattan Times. I was wondering if you'd be kind enough to give me an interview?”