//------------------------------// // Sugar // Story: How To Ponify Your Dragon // by Onomonopia //------------------------------// "Alright. Second day in strange pony land and already I've made friends with one of the leaders, saved their town from burning down and now have to go meet the citizens to show them I'm not here to hurt them," Hiccup recapped as he, Twilight and Toothless walked through the streets of Ponyville, where the citizens barely gave the human a glance before their eyes glued themselves to the Night Fury that was sniffing and exploring everything within eyesight. "Shouldn't be too hard, since all they like to do is glare at us." "They're just scared. With all the dragon attacks lately, any sign of a dragon will put them on edge," Twilight explained to Hiccup, while the dragon master had to wrestle Toothless away from a stand selling a strange selling incense that attracted him. "For a few days, they even wanted to throw Spike out of town." "Well, they seem like a reasonable and understanding sort," Hiccup grunted as he tried to pry a glass bottle out of Toothless' mouth, yet the Night Fury was more than able to hold onto his prize. "Kill the dragons that we don't understand and wage a war with creatures that fight against their will. That'll solve the problem. Toothless, drop!" "As I said, they're just scared," Twilight reminded Hiccup with a look. 'But from the way he said that, I guess he's dealt with this kind of situation before, where dragons were wrongly accused of their actions and were killed because of it. Maybe that's how Toothless got injured.' Hiccup managed to wrench the bottle of incense out of Toothless' steel trap, but when he offered it back to the pony who owned it, she demanded that he pay for it. He looked to Twilight in desperation, getting a roll of the eyes out of the alicorn while Toothless tried to sneak another bottle. Once Twilight had paid for the bottle of incense and Toothless had been caught, the three continued their walk into the town. "Well, something smells good," Hiccup muttered as both he and Toothless began to sniff the air, their noses having been caught by an aroma that they had never taken in before. Toothless locked onto the source of the smell and bounded ahead, leaving Twilight and Hiccup to play catch up once again. The two caught up when Toothless had managed to wedge himself in the front doors to a strange building, a building that both pair of noses realized was the origin of the smell. "What...is this place?" Hiccup asked in awe as both he and Twilight managed to push Toothless through the doorway and into the shop, where the dragon and rider wandered around with half-closed eyes, simply taking in the scents. "I've never smelled anything so...delectable." "What, you mean you don't have sweets where you come from?" Twilight asked as another piece of the puzzle fell into place for her. "This is Sugarcube Corners, the finest sweet shop in all of Equestria. Here you'll find all sorts of cakes, cookies, ice cream and any other sweet that you can think of. Normally Pinkie is here on a day like this, but I don't see..." Twilight stopped talking when she realized that Hiccup and Toothless were both no longer listening to her. Instead, they were both following their noses to the counter, where a large number of sweets rested behind glass just in case ponies or beings like them showed up. 'Well, since they've never had sweets before, I guess I should introduce them,' Twilight thought before walking over to the pair, both of whom were drooling, but only one of them was trying to control themselves. "How about you two? Want to try something?" Their faces answered for them and with a small smile Twilight rang the bell on the counter top. "Oh, hello Twilight," Mrs. Cake said as she bounced out from the back of the shop, smiling at the princess with a small bow before she turned her head towards the two strangers, one of whom was licking the glass with huge eyes, while the other tried to pry him off. Mrs. Cake flashed a quick glance at Twilight, looking for an answer. "It's okay, they're the help that I brought in to deal with our dragon problem," Twilight comforted the mare as she drew forth some bits and placed them on the counter. "Sorry they're acting this way, they just don't have sweets where they're from." "Oh, well then I'd recommend that you start with something small. I remember when Pinkie tried too many sweets at once and....yikes," Mrs. Cake warned Twilight with a small shudder, Twilight taking her words to heart as she ordered two chocolate cupcakes for the pair. She felt their hungry eyes follow her as she levitated the delectable over to a table, where she motioned for them to join her while placing the cupcakes down. "Alright, you two, these are called cupcakes," Twilight began as Hiccup sat down, yet Toothless gazed hungrily upon the sweet smelling treat with his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth. "They're created with chocolate, sugar and a number of other ingredients. They are-" Toothless barked before slamming his face onto the table, snatching the cupcake up in his teeth before tossing it into his mouth. The moment the sugary goodness hit his tongue, his eyes went wide and a massive grin crossed his face, getting two more happy barks from him before the Night Fury began to run around the room, knocking over tables, chairs and occasionally Hiccup. "Toothless. Toothless! Calm down, Bud!" Hiccup called out as he tried to get a hold of his dragon, yet Toothless ran circles around Hiccup before tripping him with his tail. Toothless let out a low laugh before he leapt up to the rafters, where he began to weave around beams of wood. "Toothless! What is the matter with you?!" "That would be the sugar," Twilight explained before levitating Hiccups' untouched cupcake before her eyes with a frown. "Maybe I should have started with something smaller." It took around ten full minutes for Toothless to finally calm down to the point where he would come back down, but both Hiccup and Twilight were on guard in case he tried to go for any of the other sweets. Figuring that they had made enough of a mess, Twilight paid a few extra bits more for the damages before escorting Hiccup and Toothless out of the shop, keeping the other cupcake safe in a magic bubble. "I haven't seen him act like this in a long time," Hiccup groaned as Toothless started to climb up buildings and leapt from rooftop to rooftop, clearly still under the influence of the sugar. "Sorry, I didn't know that your dragon would react like this. Spike's normally fine whenever he eats there," Twilight apologized before levitating the cupcake in front of Hiccup and shaking it temptingly. "You still want yours?" Hiccup snatched the sweet from the bubble and took a bite of it while keeping his eyes glued on the dragon. Twilight snickered as Hiccup's eyes went wide, and he flashed a quick look down at the sweet, then Twilight, before looking back up at the dragon again. "So, how is it?" Twilight teased. "It's good. Come on, we better calm him down." The pair chased Toothless through the streets for nearly an hour, trying to catch the dragon who thought the objective of the game was to not get caught. They might have never caught Toothless, if not for a divine ray of sunlight that struck the dragon when he had been racing through the streets. After being basked in the sudden warmth, Toothless let out a soft yawn before he curled up on the ground, snoring under the warm rays of the sun a few moments later. "Thank...Thor. He finally...stopped..." Hiccup wheezed as he came to a stop next to his sunbathing dragon, resting his hands on his knees while struggling to regain his breath. "But where...did that beam of light come from?" "That would be me." Twilight smiled as both she and Hiccup looked up at the snow white alicorn descending towards them, her regal mane fluttering gently in the breeze while she shone like the sun itself. Hiccup went-wide eyed as the alicorn landed before them, giving Twilight a nod in greeting before turning to Hiccup. "Hello, young dragon master. I am Princess Celestia, Princess of the Sun and co-ruler of Equestria. It is nice to finally meet you." "Yeah, um, hi?" Hiccup stammered as he stood up straight, clearly off put by the alicorn that was taller than he was. "This is Princess Celestia. She was my teacher for a long time and is the one who moves the sun," Twilight whispered to Hiccup. "Don't worry, she's really nice." "I have received word of how you aided Twilight in stopping the dragon that sought to destroy Ponyville. For that, you have my thanks." Twilight smiled as Hiccup stammered out a reply before Celestia walked over to Toothless, smiling down at the dragon that had rolled onto his back and was enjoying her sunlight. "And this one must be Toothless, your faithful dragon. I was watching that little chase of yours and he seems quite a hoofful." "Yeah, he can be a bit much at times, but he's still my best friend," Hiccup said as he rubbed Toothless' belly, getting a happy sigh out of the dragon. "Princess, do you have any new information for us?" Twilight asked, seemingly reading her former teacher's mind. "Yes Twilight, I do bring news," Celestia said in such a serious tone that both Twilight and Hiccup looked up at her with full attention. "While talking to Scorcher, the dragon that Toothless freed from the mind control, we found that a strange amnesiac spell is placed upon the dragon so that they do not remember anything about the pony that controlled them." "But Scorcher has told us that he very distinctly remembers the pony, and it is a pony, he remembers that as well--mentioned that they were going to seek out a stone that would give them control over all dragons across Equis." Twilight's face fell while Hiccup's hardened at her words, both of them thinking about how disastrous it would be if they got that kind of power. "I believe that Twilight has knowledge of what I'm talking about." "Yes, Princess. It's called the Draconis Gem, a gem that was crafted by our ancestors thousands of years ago when the dragons were far more ruthless and carnivorous," Twilight explained for the benefit of Hiccup. "The stone allowed whoever held it to have complete control over any dragon that entered the gem's sight. With this artifact, we were able to calm the dragons down and help discover peace and harmony. When the dragons became allies of ours, our ancestors hid the stone in a place where nopony could abuse its power." "So, you want us to get it before whomever we're facing manages to get ahold of it?" Hiccup asked the princess. "Yes. The stone is located in a temple in the forgotten lands, where it is guarded by spirits of those who swore to protect it. Only when a dragon and another being are in perfect harmony can they open the chamber to where the gem rests," Celestia further clarified, nodding towards Hiccup and Toothless. "So I have no doubt that the two of you will be able to undo the seal." "When do you wish for us to go, Princess?" Twilight asked, but her eyes flashed to Celestia that there was more she wished to speak about. "Sooner is better. Hiccup, would you mind gathering the rest of Twilight's friends? This will give you a good opportunity to learn the lay of the land, and we will need all of their help if we are to secure the gem soon." "Um, sure. Come on, Toothless, let's go flying." Upon hearing those magical words, Toothless' eyes snapped open and he sprung to his feet, practically hurling Hiccup onto his back before he took off running. Twilight and Celestia watched as Hiccup barely managed to strap himself in before Toothless took to the skies, becoming a small black spot in a blue sky in a few moments. "Shouldn't we tell him?" Twilight asked. "Tell him what?" "The other reason the gem was locked away...and what it's keeping locked away." Celestia mused over Twilight's question for a moment before shaking her head. "As long as the gem stays out of the Puppeteer's hooves, then there is no need to worry him about beings that should remained buried." "But if it gets free?" "Then we are doomed." \\\\\\\ ===== /////// With a sigh of relief, Applejack removed the straps to her cart from her back, rubbing her aching shoulder before moving the cart up against a wooden rail and tying it down. She had eyed a particularly nice looking shop that sold drinks when she had entered the small town, the last one between her and Ponyville. 'And heaven knows, ah need a drink. Ah've been pulling that cart for days on end and could really use a break,' she thought with a tired sigh as the orange cowpony placed her hat upon her head and walked over to the shop, pushing against the door only to find, to her confusion, that it was locked. She knocked her hoof against it before placing her ear against the door, frowning as she banged harder on the door. "Ah know ya'll are in there, ah can hear ya trembling! Now come out and tell me what's the matter or else ah'll kick the door in!" The door flung open and a number of hooves grabbed hold of the pony, yanking her into the darkness before the door slammed shut behind her. "You shouldn't be out there!" a pony hiding in the dark room whispered to her once they lay a metal beam across the door. "What in the hay is going on? Why are all of ya hiding in yer houses on such a nice day?" Applejack demanded, yet her angry eyes were met with only fear and worry. "Come on, spit it out." "T-there's been reports of a strange dragon and creature seen at the edge of town since yesterday!" one of the ponies stammered out. "Ever since then we've been hidden in our homes, only hearing roars of the dragon every once in a while to tell us that the creature is still out there!" Applejack narrowed her eyes before she turned and walked to the door, tossing off the metal bar before walking back out into the sunshine, ignoring the pleas for her to come back inside. With strong determination and a heart filled with courage, Applejack began to walk towards the edge of town, planning on getting rid of the dragon and monster herself if she had to. Yet when the honest pony reached the edge of town, she found that the townsfolk had been telling the truth, as her eyes locked onto a strange dragon that looked nothing like the ones that she had seen before. It stood in the middle of the road and seemed be on patrol, looking back and forth while standing over something. But her eyes were dragged away from the dragon when AJ saw a hooded creature sitting in the dirt beside the dragon, unable to make out what kind of being it was by the hood. But after watching from afar for a moment, she realized that the hooded creature had complete control over the dragon, because it obeyed their every command. Steeling her courage, AJ marched over to where the dragon and hooded being were without any fear. The dragon saw her and narrowed its eyes, hissing as she got closer. But the hooded creature slightly turned their head and made a motion that caused the dragon to stop hissing, but as AJ closed in she knew that the dragon's eyes never left her. "Pardon me, but would you happen to be the creature and dragon that has been scaring the townsfolk for the past day?" Appejack asked the creature, yet she got no answer in response. "Well if ya are, ah'm going to have to ask you to kindly leave so that the ponies here can get back to their lives." "Well, it's not my fault that they refuse to help me and hide in their homes!" an angry voice yelled out from under the hood. "I've been stuck here for Thor knows how long and these maps of theirs don't make any sense!" Applejack was confused by the answer and decided to push forward a bit. "So, yer not here to terrorize the town and instead are...?" "I'm looking for someone, okay? But since I can't read these maps, I've been unable to find them!" the hooded figure grumbled before looking down at the map again. AJ thought about what to do for a moment before coming to an answer. "Alright, how bout this? You come with me to see Princess Twilight, and ah'll help ya find her friend? That way ya can leave the ponies alone, and ah'll help ya with yer map problems? Ah mean, it's not like you were making any progress on yer own." The hooded figure let out a sigh as they mulled it over, finding no other alternative before they nodded at AJ in agreement. "Alrighty then. Oh right, introduction. Ah'm Applejack, Element of Honesty," AJ said as she held out a hoof. "And you are?" The hooded figure looked at their hood before reaching up and lowering it, letting a braid of golden hair free from the confines of the hood and allowing it to tumble down their shoulder. The being then rose to its full height and held out a hand with five fingers on it, which they used to shake Applejack's hoof. "Well then, I guess it's nice to meet you Applejack, which is a strange name. I'm Astrid."