Wind whistled through Hiccup's helmet while he and Toothless soared towards a small town residing near the top of a cliff, going over his battle plan again and again to make sure he had accounted for everything. Beside him flew Astrid on the back of Stormfly, constantly shifting her axe between her hands while taking a few practice swings. Through his flight suit, he could barely feel the hooves of a slightly nervous Fluttershy holding onto him, while Pinkie watched Toothless' tail from behind her.
"We should be coming up on the town soon, but do you think it was a wise idea to come here without Luna or Celestia?" Rainbow Dash asked from Hiccup's right side as she flew alongside him, slowing down (or so she claimed) to allow the group to fly together. "I mean, we're dealing with a pony that can see the future and all, so shouldn't we have the princesses with us? Not that we can't handle her or anything, but I was just..."
"She's avoided Celestia and Luna for this long, so either she doesn't want to fight them or can't," Twilight explained to Rainbow from the side of Stormfly while looking up at the darkening sky with both concern and surprise. "And with her ability to see the future, any trap we set that involves the princesses will be seen by her."
"Then why does she not care if you're with us?" Applejack asked from behind Astrid, holding onto the back of the saddle with all of her might while she kept her eyes straight. "Yer a princess and arguably just as strong as Luna or Celestia, so why let you get close?"
"I don't have all the answers, but whatever the reason, it can't be good," Twilight stated as a few raindrops began to sprinkle the group, concerning the two dragon riders far more than the ponies that rode with them. A quick burst of magic erupted from the tip of Twilight's horn and made its way into the town, bathing the buildings in a quick, violet light before extinguishing itself. "That's what I thought. There are no citizens here! But my magic is picking up at least ten dragons and a strange power that we know all too well!"
"Just like we thought, she's after us. Alright then, listen up!" Hiccup called out to the ponies, all of whom looked over to him. "The six of us will head down and confront Wijida while Astrid and Stormfly stay up here! Twilight, you'll lead the way to where Wijida is, but I want the five of you to only step in if things get out of hand," Hiccup ordered.
"And why in Odin's beard am I staying up here and away from the fighting?" Astrid demanded, insubordination written clearly on her face as she glared at Hiccup. "You need me down there Hiccup, and I have my own little personal score to settle with this witch. So why-?"
"Because if things go south, I want you to be ready to jump in and get us out of there," Hiccup calmly explained, catching Astrid's eyes with his own. For a long moment the two seemed to stare at each other, before Astrid slowly nodded in agreement.
"Fine. But the MOMENT things go wrong, I'll take Wijida out myself," Astrid muttered under her breath as Hiccup and Toothless dove down towards the town, the flying ponies following them before Astrid and Stormfly dove down as well.
The group touched down with no incident, yet the dragons and their riders were slightly unnerved by the abandoned town that looked as if it had only been inhabited a day ago. Doors still hung open, children's toys lay in the road, and saddle bags filled with items littered the streets.
"I wonder what happened to everypony?" Twilight muttered while her friends hopped off of the backs of the dragons and slowly took in the town around them. Twilight then turned her head towards the cliffside and narrowed her eyes menacingly. "Come on everypony. She's this way."
"Hiccup..." Astrid tried to argue one last time, but Hiccup shook his head before glancing up at the sky. Astrid let out a sigh while Stormfly flapped her wings and shot up heavenward, vanishing into the rumbling clouds a moment later. The moment she was gone, Hiccup nodded to the group and they began to march forward, some of them more nervous than the others.
"So, if she can see the future, does that mean she knows we're coming? Or does she only get glances of the future and things like that?" Rainbow Dash asked in a slightly paranoid tone as she glanced around nervously. "Wait, does she know what I'm saying right now? How bout now?"
"We don't know the full extent of her abilities, but all we do know is that Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid and Stormfly are the only ones immune to most of her abilities," Twilight said calmly, yet her words only caused Rainbow to become slightly more panicked.
"Well, if she can see the future, ah hope she can see the flank whooping she's gonna get once we get ahold of her," Applejack said with a smirk.
"I just hope the dragons she's controlling are alright. How could somepony be so cruel?" Fluttershy asked sadly.
"People, and I guess ponies, like to use dragons for their ability to spread fear and terror. This isn't the first crazy person I've dealt with who wanted to use dragons to rule the world," Hiccup explained with gritted teeth as he tightened his grip on Toothless' saddle. "But don't worry, I'm sure we'll-"
Toothless let out a loud bark and hurled himself and Hiccup to the side just as a burst of fire torched the air where they had been just a moment before. The Night Fury skidded to a stop before turning towards the source of the fire and unleashing his own plasma blasts right into the dark alleyway. The burst exploded a wall and hurled a bluish dragon out of the shadows, where it staggered to a stop in front of the group.
"One of the missing adolescents," Twilight clarified with a single glance at the dragon's eyes, eyes which shone with an unnatural red. Before the group could make any further moves, the teenage dragon threw his head back and let out a roar that echoed across the town. A few moments after the call, nine more dragons of varying sizes and colors crawled out of the woodwork, surrounding the group within moments.
"Stay calm, Bud. We've gotten out of worse," Hiccup muttered to the Night Fury, who was now soaking wet from the rain that was pouring down around them. He slowly removed himself from Toothless' back and walked towards the closest dragon, hand extended and eyes slightly closed. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to free you." For a brief moment the red in the dragon's eyes flickered, but then the voice of a certain pony echoed throughout all of their minds.
'No no no Hiccup, we can't make it that easy for you,' the voice of Wijida burned in their minds with a fiendish chuckle, before the eyes of the dragons became a far greater crimson. 'Attack them my minions! Kill the ponies, but remember: I want Hiccup and his precious dragon alive!'
With ten roars of fury, the adolescent dragons hurled themselves at the six. Twilight was the first to react by casting a shield around the group, deflecting the initial attack and forcing the dragons back. Her horn glowed with power again as she took aim at one of the dragons, but a blinding pain flashed across her mind and she howled as she held her hooves to her head.
'What's the matter Twilight, that big brain of yours hurt?' Wijida's voice cackled across their minds as Fluttershy rushed to Twilight's side while the barrier fell, allowing the dragons to rush towards the ponies. Three of the dragons went straight for the princess and Fluttershy, but a flash of black tackled them in the side and sent them sprawling. With crimson rage the three glared up at Toothless, who let out a roar of his own before he unsheathed his fangs.
With Toothless dealing with three of the dragons, the other seven were free to rush down the remaining ponies and human. One of the dragons that was taller than Hiccup lunged right towards him, but with a smirk the human unleashed a cloud of green gas into the air. Smog quickly blinded the dragon, forcing it back as it tried to see through the green mist to where the Viking had gotten.
The dragon let out a furious roar as it began to slash through the smog, roaring with rage while it unleashed its fire into the mist. With another furious bellow it spun around...and found itself glaring into the slit-like eyes of Toothless. For a long moment the two glared into each other's eyes, before, slowly, the red began to fade from the dragon's sight and it collapsed to the ground.
"Are you alright, Twilight?" Hiccup asked from beside the princess while Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie kept the other dragons around them preoccupied.
"Yeah...I think I'm fine," Twilight grunted with gritted teeth as she forced herself back up to her hooves, glaring in the direction of the dragons where the remaining six were chasing her friends around. "I'll make sure to pay her back for that!" Twilight roared while she unleashed six chains of violet light that fastened themselves around the dragons and forced them to the ground. "Hiccup. Toothless. Do your thing."
"Come on, Toothless!" Hiccup called out to his dragon, who had just finished up freeing the other dragons from Wijida's control. With a bark Toothless raced to his side and quickly worked his Alpha magic upon the other controlled dragons, freeing them within a few minutes.
"Ha! Take that Wijida!" Rainbow Dash cried in victory into the air once the dragons slumped over. "Did you see these dragons losing to us?!"
'...Sadly yes, but I was hoping that I would be wrong and they would kill you. But ah, what a feeling to be...wrong,' the voice of Wijida answered with far more happiness than the ponies liked for a villain whose forces had just been defeated. 'Now that you've defeated my minions...as pathetic as they were, I invite you to come face me, if you dare.'
The group nodded to one another as they headed towards the top of the cliff, where a solitary pony could be seen resting on the edge and staring up at the thundering sky with a smile on her face. "I foresaw all of this. The five ponies, the dragons losing, the thunder and lightning, but for the life of me I cannot see what you are going to do next, Hiccup," Wijida said with a large smile as she turned her white eyes towards the human. "And no, Twilight, today is not the day I answer for what I have done. Please don't ask."
"Stop doing that," Twilight demanded with gritted teeth as Hiccup stepped forward, Toothless right beside him as the pair slowly approached the pony.
"It's not too late to stop this, Wijida," Hiccup began to reason, getting a smirk out of the pony as she pulled out a vial filled with a green liquid.
"And why would I want to stop this Hiccup?" Wijida asked as she drank the liquid, giving Hiccup a moment to realize that there was a new scar on the pony's skull. A smile crossed Hiccup's face, when he realized that scar must have been when Astrid got her shot in. "I'm having fun. For the first time in my life, I'm actually excited about something. I'm not stopping until I see how this ends."
"Again, all of THIS...because you were bored?! All of this pain and suffering because of boredom?!" Hiccup roared at Wijida, who raised her eyebrows with surprise at the rage.
"Yes, Hiccup. Because of boredom," Wijida clarified as a sinister smile spread across her face and lightning flashed across the sky; her eyes grew as white as the moon. "But my visions have told me that we're getting close to the end of our little adventure. That means I will soon be getting my hooves on that gem that you protect so closely."
"And how do you know I have the gem and the princesses don't?" Hiccup asked, but Wijida chuckled as she shook her head with a far smaller smile.
"You are smart Hiccup, so please stop trying to play dumb. I cannot see any future that has the gem in it. So either you have it with you...or your little lover does," Wijida said softly, chuckling slightly when she felt the rage growing within Hiccup. "But rest assured, I will have it. And I hope that today will be that day."
"Aside from the obvious reasons, what makes you think that we'd just hoof the gem over to you?" Twilight asked as she stepped forward with her friends, each of them (even Fluttershy) staring down the pony with narrowed eyes. Wijida turned her head to look at each of them before she threw her head back and began to laugh.
"Why would you? Why, because if you don't, Hiccup...I'll have to kill my hostages," Wijida menacingly threatened. Before any of the ponies could ask the obvious question, stone chains erupted from the ground and wrapped around the ponies while hoisting them into the air. Hiccup and Toothless spun around as stone tendrils constricted the ponies, forcing them to cry out in pain as Wijida began to laugh once again.
"What now, Hiccup? Will you hand over the gem nice and easy? Or will I get to kill these ponies? Because I've seen the future and they live...which means that you will obey," Wijida laughed with venom in her voice as she held out a hoof and beckoned Hiccup over to her.
"You're not going to get away with this," Hiccup promised her as he reached into his pocket, gaining all of Wijida's attention while she kept all of her focus on him. "You might be able to see some of the future, but even you don't know everything. And in all my years of learning about dragons, I've learned that there's nothing more dangerous than the lack of information."
Wijida smirked at Hiccup's words before her smile slightly fell and she began to think. 'Now, why would he say such a thing to me? True, I may not know how this battle of ours ends, but I can clearly see him and the ponies and that little dragon of his so...' Then her eyes widened. "Astrid."
As if she were summoning the human, in the very next moment Wijida felt a boot slam into the side of her face and send her skidding across the ground. Wijida snarled as she quickly rose up and tore a chunk of stone from the ground to defend herself from the axe strike that would have cleaved her head in two.
"Stormfly! Help Hiccup free the others! I've got business with her," Astrid called out to her dragon before she turned towards the smiling face of Wijida, twirling her axe once in her hands before the two began to circle each other. "If you believe in the gods, you better pray to them for help, because no one else will be able to protect you from me."
"Well aren't you angry today? What's the matter, Hiccup spending more time with Twilight than you?" Wijida teased with a smirk, yet Astrid tilted her head in confusion before shaking it and charging forward. Wijida smirked before changing her stone shield into a spear that she hurled at the Viking, yet in one smooth motion Astrid reached out with her free hand and plucked the spear out of the air while hurling her axe right towards the pony at the same time.
"That was close!" Wijida roared while the axe barely missed her head by a few inches, forcing her to rip up even more stone to deflect her own spear. She then forced the ground to rise up beneath her to elevate her over Astrid, who scooped up her axe before glaring up at Wijida. "Isn't this fun, Astrid?! Two warriors fighting in a battle to the death while neither knows who will survive! I've read stories like this but now I finally get to be a part of one!"
"It's fun until I sever that smirking face of yours clean from your body!" Astrid roared as she whistled hard. Wijida was about to ask what she was doing before she heard a dragon's shriek, followed by the sounds of spikes impaling themselves in the stone in front of her. Sensing even more spikes incoming, Wijida hurled herself off of the top of her pillar and to the ground below...and right where Astrid was waiting.
"Have fun in Valhalla!" Astrid roared while she swung for all she was worth, just barely missing Wijida who had the good sense to duck under her swing. For a brief moment Wijida looked from Astrid to Hiccup, who had just freed the ponies and now was advancing towards her with his dragon, before she realized where she was standing and a sinister smile crossed her face once again.
"Well, I've seen the future and know I'll survive, but you might be in luck, Twilight," Wijida said to Twilight, who looked at the pony in confusion before the ground around Astrid and Wijida shattered. Astrid had just enough time to realize what was happening before the two of them started to fall down the cliff side, while Wijida laughed all the way down with her. "Because after this, Hiccup's going to need a new girlfriend!"
"Astrid!" Hiccup called out as he and the others rushed forward, with Stormfly even diving down to catch her rider, but Wijida's eyes flashed and a thunderbolt worthy of Thor struck the ground in front of them, blasting ponies, human and dragon back. Hiccup groaned as he pushed himself back up, but fear was tearing his heart as he raced forward to the edge of the cliff and looked towards the bottom, where he could only see the shattered cliff side in the pouring rain...and the faint outline of an unmoving body.
"ASTRID!"