//------------------------------// // How NOT to train your dragon... // Story: Rainbow Dash and the Nordic Pegasus // by MrTyreste //------------------------------// Part 7 - How NOT to train your dragon... The cold winds ripped at the young stallion's body as he climbed the great mountain that stood at the tip of the North. While he was high in the air, he still felt an uneasy chill run up his spine as he climbed. One hoof in front of the other, he showed no fear for what is to come, his mane blowing in the wind and his body frozen to the bones. Allowed only a sword forged by his own hand and having completed his "vision quest" the stallion marched on with his only goal remaining. Upon this day, he would have to slay a dragon. It was to be simple, once done he would be considered a true warrior and clansman. But before that came the task itself, to slay a dragon and bring back proof of the deed. For dragons were considered sacred by the Pegasi of the North, and to kill one is to prove one's worth. He reached the peak of the mountain, a crater within the side of the massive column of rock, and no sooner did he hear a great stirring in the ground beneath him as a large behemoth rose from the ice and snow. Oh how the dragons of the world had changed as this relic of the old pony gods rose and unfurled its massive wings and turned to face the stallion. Barely a teenager, the pony stared certain death in the face while the creature opened its massive eyes and gazed upon the initiate. He must show no fear, not even the tiniest bit of worry as he faced the great creature. True to the hammer and shield cutie mark that adorned his flank that marked him as a powerful warrior he stood ready to face this demon. The creature eyed him up and down as though to size him up, and grinned a vile smirk. Chuckling as the very ground rumbled beneath him, the creature straightened its neck and let out a huge roar that pierced the very clouds and awoke the gods. And then absolute silence overtook him. --- Fjord awoke in a cold sweat, his body trembling as he raised his body up in his bed. He could feel the sweat pour from his brow and neck while he felt his body continue to shake. He looked over to his lover, Spectrum Dancer, as she lay naked and peacefully unaware of his awakening and sighed. How he truly loved her, though it had been hours since their last love-making, it felt so much longer than that. He hated that he had to leave her for a while, but this time it was different. He was unsure if he would come back from this. The idea of two Romans accompanying them terrified some of the men that would be departing tomorrow. "My love, what are you doing?" A mare's voice came from beside him as a messy rainbow-mane rose up and looked towards him. By the gods, she was beautiful. Her naked body shining in the moonlight as the covers rolled off her curves barely covering her flank. He wanted to take her so badly, but he was still shaken by his dreams. "I can't sleep, my love. I'm worried about tomorrow." He finally admitted, breaking away from his trance from staring at his lover's body. "The very idea of outsiders accompanying us to the West is almost insulting. I feel they will betray us." He despised the idea and wanted to voice his protest at the meeting, but he chose not to for fear of his father's anger. "Darling..." She kissed him softly as she wrapped her forelegs around him. "You are a great warrior and stallion. No matter what happens, you will return to me and we shall be married." He grabbed her waist and rolled her over on her back, her wings slowly spreading as well as her legs as he found himself between them. "What is it you always say before a voyage?" She breathed heavily as he moved closer to her. "Never underestimate a Celt." He smiled as he kissed her neck, issuing a small moan from his lover. "I will return to you if I have to swim across the sea myself, I will return." He said boldly as Spectrum ran her hoof through his mane, her lover still atop her between her legs. "You know, I am still having a hard time sleeping." He said with a lusty tone in his voice. Spectrum rolled her eyes as she inched close to his ear. "Perhaps I need to tire you out more, my brave thane." She whispered in a sultry tone. --- Equestria - Present Day On the list of skills and tasks Twilight Sparkle had always given Spike, her number one dragony assistant, every day, dodging a flying broadsword was most certainly NOT one of them. The dragon fled for its life as the Nordic pony ran after him, cursing in some foreign language. "Face me, dragon! I wish not for a battle to the death, but to test thy mettle!" The stallion ran after him, hoping for a remarkable battle. "Rainbow Dash, your boyfriend is nuts!" Spike had climbed up to the railing that overlooked the main library and began throwing books towards Fjord Runner in an attempt to slow him down. "He's not my boyfriend!" Rainbow Dash blushed as she yelled up at the pair while Fjord flew up off the ground towards Spike, shield in hoof. "Wait? I'm not?" He turned around, worried until a large tomb hit him square in the side of the head. Feeling his head throb slightly, he only grinned as he gave a war cry. "Dragon! You truly show promise!" He chased Spike around, now outside running down the streets of Ponyville, laughing. "This is great! I haven't had this much fun in a long time!" "You think this is fun? I'm the one getting hunted here!" Spike shouted, but couldn't help but snicker a little bit as he ran down the road while ponies dodged the boys chasing after each other. He had been scared at first, but after a while Spike realized he wasn't in any real danger, at least he didn't think he was. Finally Fjord tackled the dragon and held a sword over his victim. Without a single word, he plunged the sword down to the shriek of Rainbow Dash... Only to see it was stuck into the ground. "The Celt wins, my friend." He laughed, picking Spike up off the ground. "Though I must admit, you did very well for a baby dragon." Spike laughed as he fell onto Fjord Runner's back. "Man, you sure know how to take on a dragon don't you?" Spike continued to laugh. "Only the bad ones, my friend. It was customary for members of a chief's family to hunt dragons that had gone bad and earn the title 'Dragon.'" Fjord explained. "Dragons are considered sacred in my culture, Lord Spike, was it?" "Well well well..." Spike seemed so sure of himself as he folded his arms. "Hey, can you give me some pointers on how to impress a mare? There's this one girl I really..." He began to blush a bit. "Hey, I saw him first, Spike!" Rainbow Dash pushed the baby dragon off the warrior's back. She began to seem a bit uncomfortable with the other ponies around, and wanted nothing else than to get away from them. "Fjord, wanna follow me?" She flared her wings trying to be all cool, and Fjord followed. --- "So, dragons eh?" Rainbow Dash and Fjord Runner sat atop a hill overlooking the town as the sun began to set. "Did you ever...you know?" She asked bluntly. "Have I ever killed one, you ask?" He replied. "I have, it's a custom among warriors. Well, at least those of noble blood." "You don't seem like you're of nobility. You seem like just a simple down to earth stallion." Rainbow Dash examined. "Minus the fact that you're clearly not used to not wearing anything." She laughed. She had managed to convince him to leave his clothing and weapons behind at the library. He seemed a bit uncomfortable at first, but after a while it kinda got to him. And by Celestia he was handsome. His toned body shone bright as his blonde mane cascaded down his back and around his face. She really wanted to be with him, to kiss him again. "Sorry, it's just usually we weren't naked unless we bathed, slept, or made love." He explained. "A stallion is nothing without his armor, and between you and I it's hard to control certain...things around you." He chuckled as he blushed slightly. This caused Rainbow Dash to blush like mad as she turned away to avoid seeing anything she might not want to see. Or something she might want to see, depending on what happened next. "So have you ever...killed another pony before?" Rainbow asked, kinda knowing the answer already. Fjord only nodded his head, bringing another sigh from the cyan mare. "Right, you're a warrior. I forgot." She giggled. "Sorry it's just... Normally you only read about that kinda thing in books or in movies. To meet somepony who has taken another pony's life is just..." "What are books and movies?" He changed the subject, hearing two words he'd never heard before. Rainbow Dash completely forgot her shock and busted out into a fit of laughter. "Well, books are those things Spike was throwing at you earlier, and movies are-" "Wait, those instruments are called books?" "Well they're not instruments. They contain stories and you read them, for fun." Fjord turned his head to the side in disbelief. "I think they work better as weapons, considering how heavy they are. Of course if we had those skills in my time we could have simply bored the Romans to death." He and Rainbow Dash looked at each other for a moment, and then fell to the ground laughing. "Oh my Celestia, you are funny." Rainbow Dash laughed. "Hey, I have an idea and a good way to break you into modern society." She stood up. "Let's go see a movie together." She beamed. "A movie?" Fjord asked, barely able to pronounce the word. "Think of it as a moving portrait, or picture, or a memory that you view on a large wall. It's kind of a more recent thing, but it's pretty cool." The idea intrigued Fjord, and he rose to his hooves. "Very well, tomorrow we set out to view the wall memory!" He declared while Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Alright, settle down. Do you have any place to stay the night?" She asked him. He simply shook his head, and she threw a foreleg around him. "Guess I know where you're staying." --- Rainbow Dash's house wasn't far from their location, and they reached her front door and turned on the lights. "Watch where you step, the house is kind of a mess." Fjord stepped around the empty bowls and glasses scattered around the floor. "I haven't had much time to clean, sadly. Been busy with stuff. Feel free to explore-" She couldn't finish as she noticed Fjord picking up her bowls and glasses off of the floor, balancing them on his wings. "Where shall I put these?" He asked. "Whoa, hold on you don't have to do that." She protested, but he already found the kitchen. "Shall I wash them tomorrow for you, Lady Dash?" He asked her again. "Dude, slow down." Rainbow Dash held up her hooves in a "dude, knock it off" gesture. "You don't have to do my chores for me, I can take care of it. Besides, I want you on the couch right now." He simply obeyed, though he had no idea what a couch was so he sat down on the nearest thing he could, knocking a lamp down in the process. "That's...a night stand." She sighed and directed him to the large chair in the back of the room. A few minutes passed and Rainbow Dash came back holding two glasses of apple cider in her wings and gave him the larger glass. "Saved some cider from the last season, thought it would be a good occasion tonight." She smiled as he thanked her and took a sip. She could tell he enjoyed it because the glass was empty after about ten seconds. "Oh by the gods, this beats mead any day. Why, the mead in my village is swill compared to this." He laughed. Rainbow Dash was pleased he liked it. "So, I take it I will be sleeping here on this 'couch' thing?" "Well..." She thought. "You could sleep in my bed if you wanted to." She knocked her hooves together shyly, a little bit embarrassed. "But don't try nothing funny unless I say so, got it? Last time a stallion was in that bed..." She blushed mad. "Ok, you know what? Time to make some good memories in that bed. You, me, upstairs." She practically shoved him upstairs and into her bedroom. "Rainbow Dash?" He said in a confused tone. "Can you promise me something?" She asked, almost worried. "Of course." He nodded. "I've had a hard time trusting stallions since...well, you know. I wanna know I can trust you before we do anything." She fell onto the bed and patted the spot beside her as an invitation for him to join her. "So I want you to promise me, whether we do anything tonight or not..." She held his face in her hooves before dropping them to meet his forelegs. "Promise me you won't hurt me like Soarin, ok?" He didn't have to say a word. Without a moment's hesitation he pressed his lips against Rainbow Dash's and kissed her so passionately she felt herself melt right there. She could feel her body begin to shake as she wrapped her forelegs around his neck, never once breaking lip contact as she moaned into his mouth. A full five minutes passed and the two were still kissing as passionately and romantically as when they started, until finally Fjord broke the kiss leaving behind a still puckering Rainbow Dash. "I will never abandon you, Rainbow Dash." He said as he held her close to him, her chin resting on his chest and the top of her head rested below his chin. "I'll trust you." She sighed happily as she felt his heartbeat race as he held her close. She was happy, and at this moment nothing could take that away from her. And Fjord Runner, he had finally found a home.