//------------------------------// // Temple of the Dragons // Story: How To Ponify Your Dragon // by Onomonopia //------------------------------// "Got to admit, it's weird flying through the sky while not on the back of Toothless," Hiccup pointed out to the other ponies while looking over the rail on which he was leaning, marveling at the landscape below. But with a slight turn of his head, he found that the sky-ship he was on was far more marvelous than the land below ever could be. Held up by a large 'balloon', as Twilight had called it, the ship looked like a more advanced version of one of his Viking longboats--except that it was flying. "But wow, is this thing amazing! I never thought to incorporate metal beams in such a way or to use inflated sacks to help achieve lift off. I could learn a thing or two from you, Twilight." "Oh, it was nothing. Just something I helped improve in my spare time. The trick to making it go faster wasn't a bigger balloon, but a stronger engine instead," Twilight said with a proud smile. "You came up with some creative ways to imitate dragons, though. I never thought of using dragon saliva as a fuel for a firesword before. Normally we just use magic," Twilight said before a loud bark gained both her and Hiccup's attention. "Well, you seem to be enjoying being flown around instead of flying others," Hiccup laughed with a smile as he glanced over at Toothless, who was dangling his head over the side of the ship with his tongue hanging out. Hiccup had just begun to scratch Toothless under the chin when Fluttershy and Rarity walked over to the pair, Fluttershy going right for the black dragon while Rarity pulled Twilight in close. "He really seems to be impressed with your improvements to the ship, Twilight. It's so rare to find a stallion that appreciates you for your mind nowadays," Rarity whispered into Twilight's ear with a smile, while the two watched Hiccup show Fluttershy where and how to scratch Toothless. "He might be a real keeper." "What are you trying to say, Rarity?" Twilight asked with a slight smile. "Come on, isn't it obvious? You're an inventor, he's an inventor. You're a ruler and he's a ruler. The fates rarely design a match so perfectly, darling," Rarity mischievously said. "Rarity, I really can't focus about a dating life right now. I've got too many problems and issues and-" "That's why I'm here darling, to make sure that your already abysmal love life doesn't descend further into the darkness!" Rarity said with a the strength of a warrior, while Twilight made a face at the description of her love life. "Besides, you seem to hit it off just fine with Hiccup, don't you?" Rarity questioned with raised eyebrows. "Well...I don't dislike him," Twilight weakly admitted, getting a victorious smile out of Rarity before the fashionista pulled Twilight into another hug. "See, half the battle is already won! All that's left is to show him he should go out with you...but that seems to be an area you would struggle at, so I will tell you what to say," Rarity offered generously, getting another look from Twilight. "First, the most important thing is to like whatever they like. Next is..." Rarity and Twilight yelped as a bolt of blue fire streaked by their heads, slightly singeing Rarity's mane. Rarity let out a shriek as she ran around trying to extinguish her mane, while both Fluttershy and Hiccup looked at Toothless with confusion. "I'm sorry, I must have scratched him in a place that made him do that," Fluttershy apologized with a downcast look, but the look Hiccup gave the smiling Night Fury was one of suspicion instead of wonder. "I don't think that was you. Toothless, did you shoot fire at Rarity?" Hiccup asked in a stern voice, only to get a deep chuckle from Toothless that mimicked laughter. "Oh, not going to tell me? Then you leave me no choice but to use force!" Hiccup tackled the midnight black dragon as he said this and quickly put Toothless into a headlock, getting a gasp out of Fluttershy while RD, who was flying above, began to cheer the two on. "Give up dragon! I've gotten stronger since the last time we fought!" Hiccup bragged as he locked his arms around Toothless' neck, getting the dragon to roll his eyes before he began to shake the human off. "Whoa...not this time Toothless!" Hiccup laughed as he clung on. "Please be careful! I don't want to see either of you get hurt!" Fluttershy called out as she and Twilight, who had just extinguished Rarity's mane, watched the pair wrestle. "Don't worry Fluttershy, I've fought this guy here for years! There isn't anything he can do that I can't-" Toothless, deciding it was time to show Hiccup why he was the Alpha, stood up on his hind legs so that Hiccup was dangling down his back. A toothy grin then broke out as he smiled at the ponies before he fell backwards, crushing Hiccup between the wooden deck and the mighty dragon. "Hiccup!" both Twilight and Fluttershy called out as the human was squished, watching with horror as his arm flailed about on the deck while the rest of him was covered in dragon. Toothless let out another laugh before rolling to his side and off of the rider, who began to gasp for air desperately. "Are you alright?" Fluttershy asked as the two mares ran to his side, searching for injuries while Toothless started to lick Hiccup's face. "Stop it stop it! Ugh, first he crushes me, then he thinks he can make it all better with a few licks," Hiccup spat as he tried to keep Toothless' tongue off of him as much as possible. Unfortunately for Hiccup and the ponies, there was no escaping the wrath of Toothless and within a few seconds both pony and human had been bathed by the Night Fury, who laughed as they gagged at the spit. "Ugh, this is going to take forever to get out," Twilight grumbled as she tried to magic the spit out of her mane. "Bad dragon. No licking the ponies," Hiccup scolded, with no effect whatsoever. "Oh, don't be mad at him, that's just how he shows his affection," Fluttershy defended as she placed her head underneath of Toothless' neck, getting a happy moan out of the dragon as her mane tickled his scales. "Avast me hearties, it seems that we are coming upon where the treasure be!" Pirate Pinkie Pie roared from the helm, swinging the ship hard to port. The ponies that weren't thrown to the deck by the sudden shift looked over the side to find that there were now flying towards a broken down temple that rested in the middle of a wasteland, where nothing but nothing could be seen for miles. "I'm up! I'm up!" Spike yelled as he ran up from below decks, racing over to where Twilight and Fluttershy were before stepping in some spit that nearly propelled him over the side. Toothless was fast enough to react to the sliding Spike and managed to grab hold of Spike's tail with his jaw just as the dragon went overboard. "Thank you, Toothless, that was too close," Twilight sighed in relief when the Night Fury dropped Spike back onto the deck, where he bashfully looked at the others with a weak laugh. "Remind me again why we brought Spike on this trip?" Rainbow Dash asked as she floated down onto the deck, sticking out her tongue as she lifted a slime covered hoof. Spike's face fell slightly at Rainbow's tone, but Twilight quickly pulled him into a hug. "Because Celestia said that in order to get into where the gem is kept, we would need a pony or person that was really close to a dragon. Now while we may have Hiccup and Toothless, I know that me and Spike can open the place up if needed," she said in defense of the young dragon as she pulled him into a tighter hug, getting Spike to both blush with embarrassment and gag as she slightly choked him. "Alright, everypony off! Time to go explore the spooky scary abandoned temple!" Pinkie sang happily as she hopped off the side of the ship, the rest following suit. Twilight levitated Hiccup down, but before she could do the same for Spike, Toothless placed his head beneath the young dragon and licked him up onto his back. Once Spike was safely secure, Toothless hopped over the edge and flew next to the others. "Aw, I think he likes you," Fluttershy cooed as Spike clung to Toothless for dear life. Pinkie bounded ahead and left the others playing catch up, but there was no way to lose the pink pony for, aside from the temple and the ship, there was nothing around them for miles. "Alright, let's see what we got." A massive pair of black and red doors greeted the group, doors that had an ancient language written upon them that none of the ponies seemed to be able to read. All except for Twilight. "Let's see, it says that you who have made peace with the fury of the skies, you may enter and retrieve that which helped end the war. If you be enemy of those who wish for redemption, then your life will be the price," she translated. "Ooookkaaaaayyy, good thing we're friends with the dragons or else this would be bad. So Spike, want to open the doors with me?" Spike stuck out his chest proudly as he walked forward, nearly tripping over the ancient stone, before standing next to Twilight, both of them waiting for the door to judge them. For nearly a minute they waited before Spike finally spoke up. "Um, should something be happening?" "Yes Spike, something should have happened by now. This isn't right," Twilight muttered as she walked up to the door and placed a hoof upon it. The doors swung open at the slight touch, worrying the princess and the others. Twilight motioned for them to follow before she entered into the temple with her horn aglow, waiting for any sign of trouble. The room beyond the doors was pitch black, even with the small light generated by Twilight's horn. Fluttershy kept close to Toothless while Pinkie hopped on ahead, humming to herself as she checked out the room. Toothless had barely taken a few steps into the room before he sniffed the air a few times and growled, lowering his head to the floor and sniffing harder. Another angry snarl escaped his lips, a snarl that immediately put Hiccup on guard. "Somebody's been here," Hiccup said as he pulled out his blade and activated it, creating a light source that illuminated further than Twilight's horn. The light showed that thousands of ancient paintings covered the room, each depicting a different part of the war with the dragons from thousands of years ago. But what drew everypony's eye was the shattered and charred statues in the center of the room, statues that looked like guardians. "Somebody dangerous." "Think it's the Puppeteer?" Rarity whispered to Twilight, who only shook her head in response as she continued on ahead. Another pair of doors resided at the end of the room, doors that were similar to the statues in that they were charred and cracked. "A dragon did this, but it wasn't a Stoker," Hiccup said with an expert's opinion when he got to the doors, letting Toothless sniff the doors as he ran his hand over them. Toothless then let out a growl and kicked a rock at his feet, informing Hiccup of what they were up against. "According to Toothless, whatever dragon did this is a Boulder class, meaning that its fire is lacking but its incredibly tough and strong. If we have to fight this thing in such a confined space..." "It'd be no problem. I've dealt with bigger and I've dealt with badder," Rainbow Dash boasted as she threw a couple of quick punches, getting a sigh from Hiccup. "Stop boasting and focus, Snotlout." "What the heck is a Snotlout?" "Sorry, force of habit. Let's go." The group pushed onward, past the burnt and broken doors and into a new room. But this room was nothing compared to the other one. The room was massive and filled with what looked like stars, making everything within glow with a divine bluish tint that brought out the beauty in all of them. A bridge rested on the other side that shone like a sapphire star, glimmering with beauty. For a brief moment the group was entranced by the beauty and mystery of the room. The next moment was one filled with fear when a gargantuan beast slammed into the stone floor before them with a roar, cracking the bridge upon impact with its weight. The dragon was a stone color and was covered in cracks and chips, making it look like a gargoyle up close. "Battle stations!" Twilight called out before one of the beast's mighty claws shot out, wrapping itself around Twilight and yanking her into the air. Rainbow Dash let out a yell as she hurled herself at the beast, only to slam into the dragon's chest and nearly break herself against it. "Ow! Feels like I tackled a brick wall," she groaned while staggering in the air, struggling to recover. "Yep, definitely a boulder class," Hiccup clarified before rushing to Toothless. "Come on bud, let's...!" The gargoyle let out a bellow that rained wet stone down upon the group, cementing Hiccup, Rarity and Toothless to the ground while Fluttershy and Pinkie barley managed to avoid the spray. The gargoyle lifted a claw to crush the remaining ponies and dragon before a blast of magic caught it in the side of it's head, getting it to slowly turn it's head towards the angry Twilight. "Let me go dragon! You are not yourself! You're being controlled!" Twilight called out as she struggled to fire another shot, but the dragon gripped her tightly before bringing the princess right before it's crimson eyes. It then opened it's maw as far as it could go while blood red flames began to burn in it's mouth. "Twilight!" Spike called out in fear from behind Fluttershy as Twilight created a shield around herself, but right before the flames consumed her the dragon perked up and looked off towards the end of the bridge with keen alertness. "I...obey..." it grumbled with a voice like gravel before it reached down with it's other claw and grabbed hold of both Hiccup and Toothless, clutching them both tightly before turning towards the end of the bridge. With footsteps that shook the whole temple it began to march ahead, ignoring the small bolts of magic from Rarity or the kicks to the head from Rainbow Dash. The moment it reached the other end of the bridge it dumped the princess and dragon-rider combo onto a stone circle, where the three groaned as they pushed themselves up. The moment they lifted their eyes to see what was before them, all the pain was cast away as awe and shock entered their minds. Resting before them, was a massive stone pedestal with a green gem that had a golden dragon biting its own tail forming the perimeter. In the moment he looked upon it, Toothless desired that gem more than anything else in his life. But then his eyes moved a little to the right and all of the desire was replaced with wrath. "Well, well, it is about time that you finally came to greet me. Though that is rude of me, for this is the exact moment that you are supposed to be here," a very seductive voice said. "Who are you?" Twilight asked, getting a laugh from the pony as Hiccup took in who was standing before them. The pony was as tall as Twilight but was a pitch black color with a bone white mane. The mane was hard to see however, because it was hidden mostly by a giant skull belonging to some sort of creature that rested upon her head, acting like a helmet of sorts. On her flank was a mark like the rest of the ponies, but her mark was an open eye with a strange power radiating from it. Then Hiccup looked into her eyes--eyes that were completely white along with the pupils--that stared straight ahead into nothingness and led him to believe she was blind. But the eyes unnerved him, for despite the fact that the pony was blind she still seemed to be able to see everything that was happening in the room, for she reacted to every tiny motion and action that they did. Toothless snarled at her when she didn't answer, but when she cast her eyes upon him he shook his head slightly and backed up with a hiss. "That is truly a fascinating dragon that you have brought with you, boy, one that I have never foreseen before," she praised with a grin before bowing to Twilight in a mocking way. "But where are my manners? The princess has asked my name. I am called Wijida and I see all."