Crossing the Divide

by RF and AG

Chapter 9: Ponyville Panic!

“Let’s see here. Rainbow Dash, Rainbow Dash, Rainbow Dash. Hmm. Ah! Here you are! Okay, I’ve got you for this checkpoint. It looks like you fell to the last third of the racers. But a couple of days ago, you were vying for first place with Tornado Alley. What happened?” one of the official checkpoint ponies asked me.

“My coach, his dragon and I rescued a bunch of foals from some slavers and we weren’t about to abandon to fend for themselves after we rescued them. Being number one isn’t worth it if I have to constantly be reminded that I abandoned a bunch of foals who needed us, just so that I could be number one in a race. Besides, this is actually a rather decent handicap for me. I still plan to win, but whether I actually will or not is anypony’s guess at the moment,” I informed the New Yoke checkpoint official, whose badge plaque informed me that her name was Tally Taker.

I rejoined Hiccup and Toothless as we all went to a nice shady place whereupon Hiccup and I started to take inventory of what we had and taking note of what we needed to restock up on. Toothless, the big goof rolled over onto his back in a sunny spot nearby with his tongue hanging out and eyes closed as he basked in the warm sun.

“Hmm, well it looks like I need to restock up on a couple of flares, a roll of bandages and travelling food and water. What about you Rainbow Dash?” I heard Hiccup ask me.

“Well, I really only need the travelling rations and water. Otherwise, I’m good.”

I led Hiccup to a replenishing station, where wooden crates were piled high with various supplies contained in each box.

A spindly looking stallion looked at Hiccup and ran off screaming something about a monster and yelping help when not screaming about the monster.

“Well, that went swimmingly.” I could hear Hiccup comment, with a slight upturn at the corner of his mouth.

“Well, with your looks, you won’t be winning any Equestrian Beauty contests,” I teased.

I grinned even more as I heard Hiccup laugh. “Heh, Odin, Vili and Ve broke the mold for beauty when they made me!” I heard him joke.

“Who are they?”

“Who? Odin, Vili and Ve? They’re the gods of us Vikings. They’re especially important as they created the first Vikings.”

“Huh, I’m sure Twilight would try to know everything you know about them and then write a huge book about them. Anyways, wait here and I’ll see if I can’t find somepony that won’t run off at first sight and think you’re a monster. I mean you’d think that even though they’re rare enough, that a pony would have seen a gryphon or minotaur enough to not think anything that isn’t a pony is some kind of monster.”

“Well, it’s better than how a Viking would react to a monster.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because they’d either try to beat it into submission, or kill it.”

“Why didn’t you try to do that when we first met?”

“I’m not exactly your average Viking. Plus, after meeting talking dragons, deer folk and gryphons, I was pretty much ready to accept whatever weird stuff this world has to offer.”

“Huh, okay … well, I’m going to see if I can’t get somepony to help us, otherwise I’ll ask if we can just help ourselves to the supplies.”

I flew off to help find somepony that could either help or answer the questions that I’d be asking, if they weren’t able or willing to help at the restocking stations.

I decided to take this time to check my flying gear and look for any obvious signs of wear and tear and to take care of the gear that didn’t need to be swapped out. Toothless was sniffing around the crates and scaring the crap out of the more dragon-shy ponies. He wasn’t even showing any signs of being violent, he’d just look at them and they’d flee as though they were living during the events foretold regarding Ragnarök. I did keep an eye on him, since I didn’t want Toothless to be attacked by anything wanting to hurt him. Not after what happened at the G.E.R. guard post where Zephyr was stationed.

Speaking of Zephyr, I wonder how she’s doing? Sure we might not have left her all that long ago, but she had been pleasant company. I smiled as I remembered me teasing her about her name. I think it might’ve helped with getting her to accept a couple of strange creatures that had appeared before her.

I mean, I’m sure she probably saw all manner of mysterious and wondrous creatures that she’d probably employed at one point or another and just having another strange creature in front of her was just a daily event. But for Toothless and I, who came from a world where we didn’t have talking dragons, elemental dryads, or strange-looking, intelligent talking ponies, it was wondrous. To see the different forms and their strange cultures as they lived their lives. If you ignored what they looked like and some of their culture, it wouldn’t be all that hard to imagine that I was talking to a fellow Viking. Well, with the exception they wouldn’t try to beat something senseless, or even try to kill it, when encountering something strange and new.

Though now that I think about it, I wonder if the usual Viking response to bash first and ask questions later, after whatever it is they were bashing was either beaten senseless, or dead is a hereditary thing, or if living in a climate where cold rains, ice, and snow year round as a matter of course just makes us Vikings short tempered? To vent their anger and frustration about having to live on an island like Berk, where it seems like the weather is always against us? Maybe I might’ve turned out that way, if I hadn’t been born such a hiccup.

I continued with checking over my flying gear, oiling the leather fabric with a small jar of fish oil that I kept in my travelling bag. Or removing the stuff that was starting to look frayed, cracked or thin. As I took care of my flight gear, I gradually started to become aware of an intense desire to go for a flight with Toothless. To soar the skies high above the world, in all of its breathtaking majesty and just spend some quality time in the air with my best friend. Maybe I’ll ask him if he’s up for it after we stop at the next point wherever Rainbow wants to make camp.

I was suddenly broken from my reverie as Rainbow tapped me on the shoulders.

“Hey … are you alright, dude?”

“Hmm? Oh! Yeah, I was just thinking.”

“Heh, Luna’s sake, it sounds like you and Twilight would get along well.”

“Perhaps, but I won’t know until I actually meet her.”

“Nah, Twilight’s … not cool, but she’s a great friend. Well, once she got assigned by Princess Celestia to study the magic of friendship. I don’t really fully understand it myself, but me and my girls can punch out some kickass rainbows when facing down bad guys.”

I couldn’t help but snicker when she said that.

“Hey! Don’t laugh!”

“Sorry, sorry. It’s just that I tried to imagine Vikings trying to use rainbows to defeat the bad guys. Rainbows don’t work like that back home, so the whole image of trying to defeat bad guys with rainbows and friendship power is just ridiculous. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that it can work for you guys like that, but it just wouldn’t work like that back home. I mean friendships back home are wonderful and with it we can accomplish so much more than we could by ourselves. And true friends are to be cherished, since a true friend is worth more than all the money in the world. But we still need our Viking weapons and our dragons to defeat our enemies.

Though I am curious. What does your friendship magic do to your bad guys? Does it gives them a change of heart or something? Why would they stop attacking just because they got hit by some pretty colors?”

“Well, it’s not exactly cut and dry. With Nightmare Moon, it purged her of her jealousy towards her sister, reverting her to who she was before she let her jealousy consume her. With Discord, it turned him into stone so that he couldn’t continue making chaos for the ponies of Equestria. For Sombra, it annihilated him, because of his dark magics endangering the peace and prosperity for the crystal ponies of the Crystal Empire. With-”

I held up a hand and interjected, “Hold up, crystal ponies? Like made with actual crystals and everything?”

“I don’t really understand it myself, but while they’re fully flesh and blood ponies like me, there’s something about the magic that they’re born with that gives them the translucent look and the light makes them look as though they’ve been chiseled out of a larger block of crystals. Though, even ponies not born in the empire can look like a crystal pony once they’ve entered into the realm of the Crystal Empire.

With Tirek, however, it returned all of the magic he stole from the ponies of Equestria and then locked him in a cage and returned him to the pits of Tartarus,” Rainbow explained.

“Tartarus? What’s that?”

“It’s a place where bad guys go to suffer eternal punishment.”

“Hmm … I don’t really know what to say to that. Did you find someone that would help us, or can we help ourselves to the supplies?”

“The G.E.R. must have less strict punishments about abandoning their posts in the face of danger. They told us that we could help ourselves, since none of them wanted to get anywhere near Toothless.”

“You did let them know that Toothless wouldn’t harm them, right? At least not without serious provocation or endangering me or himself. And honestly, given how tough dragon scales are, anyone wanting to hurt him would have to have some serious weapons. Don’t get me wrong. Dragons, even tough ones like Toothless are able to be wounded or killed, but you’d need some serious agility, weapons and not an insignificant amount of luck to harm or kill a dragon.”

“I tried, but I guess with our past experiences with dragons and how irritable and easily provoked they are, there aren’t very many ponies that have had a positive encounter with a dragon. That’s why Spike is so important to us, not only as a friend, but as a pony-raised dragon. Because living as a pony, while yet remaining a dragon shows both ponykind and dragonkind that it is possible for dragons and ponies to live together in harmony.”

Rainbow and I rummaged through the crates looking for the stuff we needed to stock up on until—

“Ah ha! Score!” crowed Rainbow from a crate several crates behind me.

“What’d you find?” I asked, still looking for food for Toothless, replacement flares for me, replacement bandage wraps for me and I was still looking for travelling rations as well as an eye out for fresh water. I did want to top off my canteens and Toothless’ water skin, as I had no idea what kind of terrain we might run into in this foreign country of Equestria. Though if Rainbow had found rations for herself and I, then I figured I could stock up on my travel rations and at least eliminate one thing off of my mental checklist of stuff I needed to stock up on.

I weaved through the clutter of overturned crates and Odin knows what some of that stuff on the ground was. “Find anything good?” I asked her once I drew next to her, peering into the crate at a really strange sight! “What in Helheim is that!?”

“This is the greatest stuff to have as trail rations, Hiccup. We load up on this and we could travel for about a month on this stuff!”

“Yeah, but what is it? It looks like if a Viking had taken gruel and dried it out until it was a complete solid and then cut it into those rectangular bars.”

“What you’re looking at is a mixture of wheat, rice, oats and alfalfa mixed with peanuts, cashews and almonds and then mixed in honey with a powdering of sugar over it all. Do you know how much energy is contained in one bar, Hiccup? A lot, that’s what! Grab as much as you want. Because these are delish!”

I stuffed several handfuls of the sweet treats into my rucksack and once I was satisfied, I checked on Rainbow to see if she needed any help. From the look of it, she definitely did, because she was grabbing each one individually in her teeth and dropping it into her saddlebags. I helped speed things up by scooping a bunch of the bars in my hands and depositing it in her saddlebags.

“What is that stuff wrapped around the bars? It doesn’t look like any paper I’ve ever seen.” I inquired of Rainbow Dash.

“You’ve never seen wax paper before?”

“Is that what that stuff is called? How do they get the wax in the paper?”

“I don’t know! Ask Twilight after the race, she’d probably know.”

“Alright.”

I saw several barrels and used a crowbar to open one. “Toothless! Fish!”

I watched as Toothless bounded over, knocking the open barrel over and began gorging himself on the fish.

“If you ponies are herbivores, why do you even keep fish?” I asked Rainbow.

“Duh, because we have gryphons, dragons and other fliers in this race. Plus pegasi like fish for easy to replenish energy. Especially the pegasi that live near the ocean, such as Manehattan.”

“What about you?”

“I like fish, but it’s hard to get anything but the farm raised stuff the farther inland you go.”

“Huh. Well, while Toothless is filling himself up on fish, I need to find the flares and bandage wraps, so keep an eye out. Plus fresh water for the canteens and water skins.”

It took a while longer before we found a large barrel filled with blue and red flares, which I grabbed several of each, and found a chest full of bandage rolls, of which I took several. We opened several more barrels before we found barrels of fresh water, which Rainbow and I topped off our canteens and I fully filled Toothless’ water skin.

“Alright, we’re restocked, so let’s fly!” I heard Rainbow exclaim as she hovered over the ground as she was often wont to do.

I ran back to where I had left all my flying gear, while giving a sharp whistle for Toothless to come to where I was. The big lug bounded over barrels and through crates, and making an even bigger mess than when Rainbow and I started looking through the stuff. I put on the flying blanket over Toothless’ back and then placed the saddle over it. It took me a short while to ensure that the belts were cinched securely, and then I started to load Toothless’ water skin, hanging it from a couple of hooks, while the other side I hung my rucksack. I hung my pack about midway behind my saddle, before swinging myself into the saddle. I made sure that the belts on my glidingsuit were securely fastened to the saddle hooks. I called out to Toothless: “Take us on up, buddy!”

“We’re going to have to push ourselves if you’re going to get back to the front of the race!” I informed Rainbow.

“We’ll do that after Canterlot! I want to visit my friends in Ponyville for a day, and then the following day I need to see Princess Celestia and inform her of what’s been going on overseas!”

“How far away to Ponyville!”

“We should get there in about an hour! Just look for a village next to a really thick forest! Also keep an eye out for an apple orchard that ends at the borders of a thinner, neighboring forest. It’s named Whitetail Woods!”

“Got it!”

The flight to Ponyville wasn’t too exciting, well, unless you count the fright a flock of fruit bats gave us when they started flying in the night sky as we soared over the apple orchards. I was impressed with the number of apple trees that one of the farms had, though.

“What are you going to do for a place to sleep for you and Toothless?” I heard Rainbow ask me.

“I did see some G.E.R. tents set up just on the outside of that farm’s fence. I figure that I’ll see if Toothless and I can’t share a tent.”

“Cool! Well I’m gonna go sleep in my bed tonight, ‘cause let me tell you sleeping on a cloud mattress is perhaps the most comfortable mattress in the entirety of existence. Seriously, you don’t know what you’re missing out on, if you’ve never slept on one. See you in the morning!” With that farewell, I watched her zoom off towards this massive cloud palace in the sky. This place looked like it could house anywhere from five hundred to a thousand ponies in that place and still have room to spare!

“Let’s head back to that camp we flew over Toothless, the one next to the farm!” Toothless nodded as I made minute adjustments to his tailfin, so we could bank and head back in the direction where we saw those G.E.R. stuff.

Suddenly I heard what sounded like somebody banging a metal ladle against a frying pan and the panicked yelling of some pony yelling out:

“Dragon! To arms! To arms! Civilians, to the nearest pond or lake!”

Soon there were a bunch of ponies carrying spears and swords, while other ponies were wreaking havoc in the camp as the ponies not part of the G.E.R. Guard were running into each other, tents, supplies and even some of the guard, in their panicked rush to run in any direction other than where Toothless was approaching.

“Hold!” I cried out, not wanting them to hurt Toothless. Sure, he’s a dragon, and his scales make an excellent protective armor, but that didn’t mean that he was completely invulnerable. Plus, what kind of friend would I be, if I didn’t do what I could to keep my best bud from getting hurt?

Toothless hovered just outside of throwing reach of the pony spears, but I could see some of the pegasi start flying with short swords, crossbows and a weird shackle or bracer looking thing around their hoof with a small blade attached to it.

“Ho, dragon! Why are you attacking this camp!” some pony yelled.

“We’ve come seeking shelter and rest! No harm will come to you ponies. Just put down the weapons!” I responded.

“Ha! So you can do what? Roast the lot of us where we stand and make a meal of us without a fight!?” a pony shrouded in the dark of night called back.

“Fine! Don’t believe me! Can I get you to at least swear on whatever you hold sacred that you won’t start fighting with my dragon without proper provocation? And by that, I mean an actual attack!” I queried the pony shrouded in the dark.

“We swear by Celestia’s sun and Luna’s moon that no harm shall befall you, with the exception of an attack being initiated by you, dragon!” the pony replied.

Toothless started to gradually decrease his altitude, though I noticed about nine pegasi encircling Toothless, looking ready to attack if he even so much as made a hostile looking move.

“Right. Toothless and I are Rainbow Dash’s trainer, and so I’d like to speak with the Quartermaster about getting a tent for my buddy Toothless and I,” I informed as I dismounted from Toothless’ back and started unhooking things from the saddle’s hooks and removing the saddle and saddle blanket and leaving him as naked as the day he was born. Well with the exception of his fake fin, but honestly, it’s pretty much become as much a part of him as my fake leg has for me. Sure it feels strange, not having it, and sometimes it even feels like it’s still there, but now it feels more natural to have the fake leg, than I would feel without it. Plus, hopping to get places would get really, really old after awhile.

A seasoned looking mare stepped into the glow the unicorns were casting from their hooves, while one by one, torches were being set up. Her coat had the brown of an oak tree’s bark, while her mane looked like the dark green of the ferns that grow on the forest floor. But what really marked this mare as experienced, were the various scars riddling her body and face. Some looked smooth, like a clean, straight-bladed cut, while others looked jagged, as if she’d taken a hit by a saw-toothed blade. Her eyes were as the blue of bluebells. I still couldn’t get over how big their eyes were. By Odin’s beard, with eyes like that, they should be able to see in nearly pitch black conditions! How they can tolerate being out in the sunlight, with eyes as big as that, I may never know. Whatever it is, it must work for them, since many of them are awake during the daylight hours.

“I’m going to have to ask that you leave the dragon outside the camp,” came the gravelly sounding voice of the Quartermaster.

“What? Why!? Toothless won’t hurt anybody that isn’t a threat to him!” I tried to explain.

“Our relationship with dragons are … tense at best, and outright bloody at worst. You can vouch for this ‘Toothless’’ being peaceful, but given our history with the draconic races, and because I have to think about the other ponies in the camp, it’ll just be better for everypony involved, if the dragon doesn’t come within the camp,” the Quartermaster pony informed.

“What if he stays in my tent for most of the night? Miss—?”

“Stuffed Pantry. And the dragon stays outside of the camp and that is final! You can stay in the camp, or you can sleep with your dragon, but this ‘Toothless’ stays outside of the camp. He even sets a claw within the camp, then we’ll take it as an act of enmity and will react accordingly.”

She enters one of the few tents still standing, and it looked like it was sturdily built, if it hadn’t gotten knocked over from all the scared ponies running into nearly everything.

“Here a tent and here’s a sleeping roll,” Stuffed Pantry murmured as she then spat the tent bag handles and the bundled sleeping roll at my feet.

“My thanks for your hospitality,” I replied and picked up the two items, grossed out that some of it had been covered in pony spit. Plus, I was really, really irritated at how these ponies were treating Toothless. I picked up the rest of my gear and whistled for Toothless, who bounded to my side.

“Sorry bud, but it looks like we’ll be camping outside of the camp. They can’t believe me when I tell them that you wouldn’t hurt anyone who isn’t a danger to you!” I spat in disgust and continued storming past the camp’s perimeter, and then throwing everything down once we had gotten about halfway between the camp and Ponyville.

I picked up some branches and dried grasses and built a smallish conical shape.

“Light it up, bud?” I asked.

He snorted a brief twin gout of blue flame, which was enough for the tinder to catch, and soon we had a small fire burning merrily, as I used the light of the fire to assemble the tent. I unrolled the bag and chucked the bag into the tent. I used Toothless’ water skin to put out the fire, and held the tent flap open for him.

“Goodnight, Toothless.” I murmured, as I felt him coil himself around me and bringing me into a hug to his really warm underbelly. I heard him sleepily growl in response, smacking his lips several times as we both fell into the blissful embrace of sleep.

“C’mon, Hiccup! Wakey wakey, sleepyhead! You going to sleep all of Celestia’s day away?” I heard the familiar voice of Rainbow as she roused me back to the land of the living. I felt myself as I gave a huge yawn.

“What time is it?” I managed to get out, though a yawn pervaded my attempt at speaking it plainly.

“It’s nearly eight in the morning, sleepyhead! Put the tent away and the sleeping roll, and let’s get a move on, already! Why are you even sleeping way out here?”

“It would seem that your fellow ponies are really cautious around the dragon-folk.” I replied with a scowl.

“Sounds rough. I’m sorry they gave you guys such a hard time.”

“It’s not your fault. Though I would like to go someplace where dragons aren’t shunned and feared. It’s kind of getting old,” I replied as I rolled and retied the twine bindings which kept the sleeping roll in it’s roll-looking shape. Then I removed the tent cover, chuckling as my sleepy buddy growled and covered his eyes with his forelegs. The tent was soon in its bag as well.

“You mind hanging with Toothless while I return these? Also, what are we going to do about breakfast?” I asked Rainbow.

“I don’t mind. We’re going to meet up with my Ponyville friends and grab a bite at a restaraunt.”

“What’s a restaraunt?”

“Do you have a place that prepares meals for people in exchange for something?”

“You mean like a tavern?”

“Yeah, like a tavern, but more focused on the meals and not getting everypony drop dead drunk.”

“That’s half of the fun of it! Though we usually go through furniture and several people end up getting hurt. Hazards of being a Viking,” I replied, grinning at my rainbow haired companion.

“I kind of want to go to your home with you, just to see that, now that you mention it.”

“We’ll see. Anyways, I’ll be right back!”

After I had returned the tent and Rainbow, Toothless and I were walking towards Ponyville, a thought came to me.

“What about Toothless? Won’t there be a huge panic when there’s a big black dragon entering the city?”

“Toothless? Nah, I mean, yeah there might be the initial panic, but once they see that he’s not razing the village and isn’t eating ponies, then they’ll just go about their lives as usual. See, we already have a resident dragon. He’s not as big or as impressive looking as Toothless here …”

I watched as it seemed as though Toothless was puffing his chest out, and walking with a strut to his walking, altering it from how he usually walked.

Great! Now he’s going to have a huge, overinflated image of himself and likely be completely insufferable for the next few days! I felt my forehead smack into the palm of my hand, slowly dragging my hand down my face and giving what I hoped was a miffed look to Rainbow.

Then again, Toothless could probably use with some encouragement, given how dragons had been received at the various places we had been. Some were better than others, but the others made up for the acceptance these other places exhibited.

“Sounds great!” I deadpanned, watching as five other ponies, whom I assumed were Rainbows friends, approached us.

“A- a- a- d- d- d- dragon!” I heard a pale yellow pegasus mare with either butterflies or moths on her butt.

Toothless rolled onto his back, completely exposing his underbelly, and a blissful look on his face as his tongue lolled out, like some great big dog. His display definitely helped the mare to be less afraid of him, though she kept her friends constantly between her and him.

“My name is Twilight Sparkle and I’ve never seen anything like you in either Equestria’s Big Bestiary Book or in the various zoological tomes from around the world!” a purple looking unicorn mare greeted, gazing at me intently.

“Twilight, why must you constantly neglect to mention your royal title?” A white unicorn with a deep purple mane done all fancy complained. “My name is Rarity and the lady who just spoke is her Royal Highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

I honestly didn’t know how to react to that revelation, though I did manage to flourish a bow, and simply responded with, “a pleasure.” This seemed to please the unicorn mare enough that she tittered and bat her eyelashes in my direction.

An orange mare with a blond ponytail and a strange-looking hat started to shake my hand vigorously, enough that I was concerned that she might wrench my arm out of its socket. “Howdy Pardner! Name’s Applejack. Nice to meet ya!”

Once she released my hand, I gave her a sheepish grin and waved, and then rolled my shoulder to loosen up the muscles and lessen the tension in that shoulder.

Though somehow I had not been paying attention, and suddenly my vision was filled with a ridiculous amount of pink. Bright blue eyes peered into mine, while I started and leaped back from my sudden invasion of personal space.

“Gah!”

“Hi! My name is Pinkie Pie! Do you like parties? I love parties and since you’re new to Ponyville, I’m going to throw you a party!” I looked to the others for help, as the mare spoke way too fast for me to understand her.

Princess Twilight came to my rescue and interpreted the pink pony’s rapidfire talking for me. “She says her name is Pinkie Pie and she asked if you like parties, because she loves parties and she told you that she’s going to throw you a party because you’re new to Ponyville.”

“Hold that party for after the race, Pinkie,” I heard Rainbow say.

“What? Why? Don’t you want me to make our new friend feel welcome to Ponyville?” Pinkie replied as the strangest thing happened with her hair. It was as if someone had let out the air in a leather ball. That pink mare did things I didn’t even know were possible!

“Of course I want you to make Hiccup and Toothless feel welcome to Ponyville! But once the sun goes down, Toothless, Hiccup and I will be leaving for Canterlot. I’m still in the middle of a race, you know! Plus, I want to be able to be there for their party!”

“Whyever did you decide to spend time in Ponyville if you’re that pressed for time, Rainbow darling?” I heard Rarity ask her rainbow-maned friend.

I still can’t get over how ponies can actually have rainbow-colored manes. The guys back home are never going to believe what happened to me!

“It’s because you guys are my friends and I wanted to hang out with my friends before I hit the track again,” Rainbow replied.

“We miss you too, Rainbow. Life in Ponyville isn’t just the same without having you here to enrich our lives,” I heard Princess Twilight say.

We had arrived at the restaurant, which had a pony with a feedbag over its muzzle. I prepared myself to see a bunch of ponies with feedbags strapped to their faces.

“What’s up, Hiccup? You look like you’re expecting expecting something scarey to pop out at you!” I heard Rainbow ask me.

“Oh, don’t worry about it, Rainbow. I-” I was suddenly cut off as one of the pony patrons screamed out; “Dragon!”

Suddenly the entire establishment was completely empty and looked like a raiding had taken place, with overturned chairs, shattered plates and cups, and tablecloths scattered in a haphazard fashion. I looked to see my buddy with his head lowered and his eyes closed tightly.

I hurried over to him and wrapped my arms around his head, burying his face into the my chest. “Hey, hey. It’s not your fault that they’re scared of dragons. Look at me,” I said, as I had to stumble, because he had turned his head, in a gesture that pretty much indicated that he wanted to do anything but look at me. “Look at me,” I demanded, with more firmness in my tone of voice. I looked into the watery eyes of my best friend. “You are my best friend and even if the whole world turns against you, I’ll always be on your side. And if these ponies can’t look past you being a dragon to see the awesome friend that you are, then that’s their loss!”

I continued to maintain my embrace, and felt one of Toothless’ forelegs wrap around my back and pulling me firmly against him, as I felt my shirt get soaked in my best friend’s tears. I could hear a sniffle from behind Toothless and I, and I spared a glance to see that Rainbow and her friends were looking at us with teary eyes.

I turned my attention back to my buddy and gradually, one by one, I could feel Toothless’ grip on me tighten slightly as his balance shifted. I opened my eyes to see Toothless and I embraced by Rainbow and her friends. I don’t know about Toothless, but I know I definitely felt better as Rainbow and her friends showed care and compassion to two, what must’ve been to them two complete strangers.

Eventually though, I felt lighter and lighter, as one pony after another ended the hugfest. I, also ended my hug with Toothless, opting instead to rub his head. I watched in fascination as Rarity and Twilight started magicking the broken plates and cups into large trashcans. Pinkie and Applejack were righting overturned tables and chairs, while Rainbow and Fluttershy removed soiled tablecloths and put fresh ones on. The homely scene was interrupted by Toothless’ and my stomach growling nearly simultaneously. We then went outside to one of the outside tables and sat down, Toothless sitting at the end of one of the tables.

“You really think they’ll come back?” I asked Rainbow, as my doubts about what she had said about Ponyville’s ponies started to grow, the more time had passed.

“Sure! It’ll be the foals first, because of Toothless being a fully grown-up dragon, and colts wanting to be brave in front of their friends. Then it’ll be nervous parents hovering near the edge, ready to grab their foals and dash. Then it’ll be the rest of Ponyville, once they see that Toothless isn’t some rampaging dragon,” I heard Rainbow state with confidence, something she seemed to have no shortage of; confidence, I mean.

Sure enough, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted colts and fillies peering around buildings, as colts shoved each other in Toothless’ direction, as though daring each other to be the one to get close to the ‘big bad dragon.’ The fillies were a little more … hesitant about approaching Toothless, but once they saw that he wasn’t eating one of the colts who had dashed over and touched Toothless’ tail, they too started to draw near as they gazed in awe and wonder at my best friend.

I also saw adult ponies peering around the buildings, most of them biting their hooves in anxiety. Which was honestly a … weird sight to see. Especially, when hoof shavings dropped to the ground. I mean, shouldn’t their hooves be too hard for them to even want to do that? Like I said, weird.

Soon they were drawing near, gathering around the fence and talking amongst themselves, as eventually the crowd swelled with even more ponies, who were the rest of Ponyville’s residents.

I could hear several ponies asking their fellow ponies things to the effect of: ‘why isn’t that dragon attacking us?’ and ‘are we really safe around it?’ I got up and approached the fence, the ponies backing up as I approached them. Though, having Toothless languidly walk up beside me might have had something to do with that.

I cleared my throat as I spoke as loudly as I could without actually yelling. “Yes, Toothless here is a dragon! Yes, you are safe around him, unless you decide to attack him or me! Yes, he can understand what you say! No, he can’t speak like you or I do! No, that doesn’t make him stupid! He just can’t speak as you or I can! And no, he’s not going to eat you, even if you ask him to!”

“How do you know that dragon isn’t deceiving you!?” somepony in the audience called out.

“Toothless and I are best buds! Besides, if he really wanted to make a meal of me, then he missed plenty of opportunities! Besides, trusting is something that friends do! I trust Toothless not do hurt the innocent and undeserving! And he trusts me not to harm his fellow dragons! Because we all have family, friends, feelings and hopes and dreams! Don’t judge him by his looks, but rather let his actions speak for him! Which one of you has he attacked!? Which of your foals has he harmed!? Which of your neighbors has he eaten!? Anyone!? You judged him before you even got to know him! You hurt his feelings, because you couldn’t look past his appearance to see the great friend that he is!” I clamped my mouth shut after that, before I could start saying the hurtful things I so badly wanted to tell those ponies. How their treatment of Toothless made me sick. I stormed back and sat down heavily at the table, Toothless next to me at the end and nuzzling me, sensing my foul mood. I had closed my eyes once I had sat down, trying to release the tension that I was feeling towards these ponies. Aside from the birdsong and the sound of wind and insects, it was utterly quiet.

I felt what felt like pony hooves wrap around me from behind, and I looked down to see that they were a pale yellow. I was honestly surprised that a pony that behaved as timidly as she did, would even dare to hug a strange creature like me. Well, strange to them. She never said anything, but simply held me as I let out a shuddering sigh. It did wonders for my tense state though, and soon I looked up to my tablemates. I looked around and to my surprise, the ponies that had gathered around the fence had dispersed to carry on with their daily lives. Well, excluding the foals, who continued to stare at Toothless in fascination. Even the restaurant was starting to resume its bustling activity.

A cream colored mare with a mane the color of freshly ripened straw and emerald green eyes placed menus in front of each of us, even Toothless. She had a cutie mark of … I guess it was a bird’s-eye view of an empty dinnerplate and a knife on the left of the plate with the fork and spoon to the right of it, in that order. She also looked to be a pony like Pinkie and Applejack, not having either horn, or wing.

“Howdy folks, my name is Delicious Repast and I’ll be serving you folks today! Can I get you started with anything? Coffee, tea, or perhaps juice?”

Twilight ordered something called Colt-lumbian coffee. Rarity wanted an Earl Grey tea, while Fluttershy went with a Chamomile tea. Applejack wanted orange juice, while Rainbow selected spiced cider to drink. Pinkie went with … Colt-a-cola.

“And for you and your dragon?” Delicious Repast asked me.

“We’ll both have water. Serve Toothless’ water in a half-barrel, if you have one. Or a big bowl, if not.

“Alright, I’ll be back with your drinks,” Delicious informed us.

While we were waiting, I continued to watch Toothless twitch his tail, as the colts among the foals dared each other to pounce upon his tail.

“Ponyville ponies are weird,” I commented, and stared at the six ponies who collectively gasped in offense and then entered into various states of protest.

“Why I never! Humph!” I watched Rarity reply as she turned her nose up at me.

“Now just hold on a sec, pardner!” Applejack protested.

“Not cool, Hiccup; not cool!” This came from Rainbow

“Um—that wasn’t a very nice thing to say,” Fluttershy quietly protested, while hiding behind her curtain of mane.

“Don’t be a meanie pants!” Pinkie yelled, somehow suddenly pressing her nose against mine and glaring at me.

“Would you care to clarify on that statement? It just seems odd to me that you would venture such an opinion, when you are the oddity among us,” this came from Twilight, a curious mix of hurt and curiosity in her expression, which were scarily like a human’s.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! I meant does no one here find it strange that the very same ponies who fled upon seeing a ‘ferocious’ dragon, is now just going about life as usual?”

“Well, you reassured them that Toothless wouldn’t eat them, right?” Twilight replied.

“Yeah, but that’s the word of a complete stranger. What if I had been lying just to lure the ponies out?” I queried, trying to understand how these ponies could just trust a complete stranger.

“Well, you didn’t attack the little ones,” Fluttershy quietly responded.

“What if that was just an act to lure the rest of you out of hiding?” I shot back.

“Then your actions would prove ya to be a liar and a deceiver,” Applejack replied, looking strangely serene.

“Huh,” I replied, temporarily at a loss for words. “That’s not how it would have played out in Berk, even with me being Chief. Even now, most Vikings wouldn’t trust a new friend until they had fought alongside in battle, with each other and proven themselves in combat.”

“I’m sorry, darling, but that sounds like an absolutely horrid way to live,” Rarity responded.

“I don’t disagree, but changing a society, especially one that has lived a way of life for some time, change just doesn’t happen overnight. I’d like to think that we’re making progress, now that I’m Berk’s chief.” I replied, watching as the waitress brought everyone their drinks. Well, except Toothless, who needed a couple of earth pony stallions to carry his ‘cup.’

Once all of the drinks had been delivered, Delicious stood next to Twilight.

“Now, have you folks decided on what you want, or do you need more time?” I heard her say.

“Can this place serve Toothless raw uncooked fish?” I asked, not seeing it on the menu.

“Well, normally we aren’t supposed to serve meat raw, but if that is what your dragon will eat, I’ll see what we can do,” Delicious responded.

“Great! Give him a half-barrel of raw fish then!” I ordered, watching in fascination as she wrote down on a small pad of … parchment? She held it in one upturned hoof, while the strange looking writing utensil hung from her mouth, as she moved head and lips as words began to form on the pad.

“And for the rest of you folk?” I heard her ask, once she had finished writing Toothless’ order down, the writing utensil suspended around her neck on a small piece of rope.

“Actually, I have a question. I can’t eat the grasses, hay and flowers that ponies can. How can I tell if something on the menu is edible for me?” I asked Delicious.

She walked over to my side, opening to the inner part of the menu.

“Right! If you see a fang and flat tooth image next to a menu item, then it means that it is something that somepony who can’t eat what ponies can. If it is just a fang, then it is more for those who can’t eat anything that a pony can,” Delicious informed me.

“Okay, now I’m just confused. If your restaurant serves food for meat eaters, then why did the ponies of Ponyville run away from him when they saw him in the city?” I asked, completely confused on the inner workings of the ponies of Ponyville.

“Well, because he’s a big dragon, and we haven’t exactly had the best of experiences with dragons in the past. We usually have an unspoken agreement that we won’t bother the dragons if they don’t bother us,” I heard Twilight explain.

“What about the dragon who lives in Ponyville?” I asked, still rather confused.

“Heh, you mean Spike? He’s a baby dragon. Tartarus, he acts more like a pony than a dragon! Rarity’s cat is more ferocious than Spike!” I heard Rainbow reply, trying and failing to choke back laughter.

“Hey! Opal is a complete darling!” I heard Rarity protest.

“Well, Opal just requires someone with the know how to properly handle her.” This came from the still quiet Fluttershy, who hid behind her curtain of hair.

“Yes, as Rainbow says, it is probably a mixture of the fact that he’s a baby dragon and was essentially raised by ponies and behaves mostly in accordance with equine sociological norms, that the residents of Ponyville don’t see Spike anything like a ferocious and dangerous dragon,” I heard Twilight further elaborate.

“Er, would you folks like some more time to decide, or are you ready to order?” Delicious inquired, looking slightly irritated, her voice certainly sounded somewhat impatient.

I looked at the others at the table.

“Don’t let me hold you up, feel free to go ahead and order. I’ll just look through the menu some more.” I informed Rainbow and her friends.

“Well, I’ll have a Veggie Supreme omelet, with breakfast potatoes and the southern biscuit in the creamy white gravy,” Twilight ordered.

“I do believe that your crumpets with spiced peach preserves and hot raspberry crumble will do for me, darling,” Rarity informed Delicious, repeating the order several times when Delicious asked her to.

“I’ll have the Tropical Delights crepes with extra whipped cream. I’ll also have the Hearty Mare’s flapjack stack, too!” Pinkie ordered, squirming around in her chair. I don’t think I’ve seen Pinkie be still and motionless at all, since Rainbow introduced me to her.

“I’ll have the Ragin’ Cajun quiche with the stuffed peppers and spicy breakfast potatoes,” Applejack ordered.

“I’ll have what Applejack is having,” Rainbow butted in, giving Applejack a challenging look. “Last one to drink wins!”

“I’ll have the Garden Herb Delight omelet with the seasoned hash browns and buttered grits,” I heard Fluttershy order, Delicious also asking her to repeat the order several times before reading it back to verify she had her order written correctly.

“And you, stallion?” Delicious asked me.

“I think I’ll try this—Mexi-colt breakfast goulash with the sour cream potatoes and the pan-fried seasoned Rainbow Trout,” I ordered lastly. Delicious read the order back to make sure she had gotten it correct.

“Alright folks, I’ll bring out your orders as soon as they’re ready,” Delicious informed us, before heading off in the direction of another table where some ponies were sitting.

“Oh, there are so many things I want to ask you! I want to know everything about you and where you come from!” Princess Twilight replied, the varying murmurs of assent from her friends.

“Well, I don’t know how well I’ll be able to answer your questions, but ask away and I’ll try to answer as best as I can,” I responded, rubbing the back of my head, feeling a little embarrassed at all this attention, especially that royalty would want to know anything about me, was, I’ll be honest, a little flattering.

“Well, I think I can speak for everypony here, but why’d your folks name you—Hiccup?” Rainbow Dash asked before anybody else could ask a question.

“Well, because I was considered a runt amongst Vikings, a ‘hiccup’ in normal Viking body-build. My full name is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. The reason why we get saddled with such Odin-awful names is because Viking parents believe that the more horrible your child’s name is, the more likely that such a name will frighten off gnomes and trolls,” I expounded to Rainbow and her friends.

I did manage to smile as I saw Twilight furiously scribbling away on a scroll that was floating in the air.

“Darling, what in Celestia’s name is a troll, or a gnome for that matter?” Rarity asked next.

“Well imagine a troll being about half to three-quarters the height that I am. Now make it look as horrible-looking as possible with grotesquely misshapen body parts and give them a love for eating humans. Gnomes on the other hand, are about the same height as the trolls, but less horrid-looking. Imagine me at half my height and with a big beard and a nightcap or stocking frequently adorning their heads. They’re earth-dwelling folk and can move through dirt and rock as easily as I can walk across the land. They’re very protective of the land’s health and a swift punishment can be expected for anyone who they know is polluting the land. They are most famous for causing rockslides or fatal pitfall traps for anyone who is found guilty of tainting or poisoning the land. There is also a saying that they’re famous for collecting precious ores and gems. But I’ve never met one personally, so I can’t tell you if there’s any truth to that.”

“What about Odin? You mentioned his name, so I image that he is very important to you,” Twilight asked as she still continued to scribble furiously on her scroll.

“He’s extremely important to me and Vikings in general, because we believe that he is one of three gods who created the Vikings. Not only that, but we believe that he is the father of all of the Viking gods which we believe in. He’s constantly seeking after wisdom and knowledge. In fact, he even sacrificed one of his eyes to gain some of the wisdom and knowledge he now has! He pays special attention to those who rule over others and also looks out for the outcasts. But yeah, he’s the most important god in Viking faith,” I explained.

It didn’t cover everything about Odin, but I also didn’t want to overwhelm Rainbow and her friends with too much information. I could see that only Twilight was really listening to me as she continued to furiously scratch away on her scroll. Rainbow and Applejack looked like they were nodding off, while Fluttershy and Rarity were having a hushed discussion. And Pinkie was … staring at a balloon? Weird, sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever get used to Pinkie’s antics.

“What about systems of governance?” Twilight asked as she temporarily finished whatever notes she had been taking.

“Berk has a chief type of society. The chief makes final decision, though on tough matters he may consult with trusted friends or advisors to help him decide the best possible decision. The chief has trusted men to go among the villagers to make sure his decisions are obeyed and to inform of any dissatisfaction or unrest among his people. For us Vikings of the Island of Berk, we rule the entire island, because we are well capable of defending our island. Things did get a bit hairy when the King of Dragons showed up at Berk, but that’s a story best saved for another time,” I explained, still giving a very simplified explanation of how Berk was ruled.

“Do you have any pets?” This came from Fluttershy.

“Well, we wouldn’t call them pets, but we have a pretty good relationship with all kinds of dragons. We also raise sheep, but I don’t know if we’d call them pets,” I explained.

“What about the Viking fashions, darling?” Rarity inquired.

“Well, a lot of what we wear either tends to be wool or leather. Some of us Vikings will paint on various dyes, or even soak some of our fabrics in a particular dye. Otherwise, whatever we wear is usually whatever the color that it was originally. Black, brown, and white wools. The leathers are usually brown or a tan color,” I disbursed to the fashionable pony.

“What is this leather, you speak of?” Rarity inquired. “I’ve never encountered a fabric by that name.”

“You probably wouldn’t, considering that leather is cured animal skins,” I explained to her.

“Y- you kill the poor cute little animals and then cure their hides!?” This outburst came from Fluttershy.

“Well, yeah. What you must remember Fluttershy, is that animals aren’t smart like you and I are. And because humans eat both veggies and meat, then it is only proper and befitting that we humans not only keep their populations from growing unchecked, but that they provide us with many things, from the nourishment of their meat, to the protection of their hides, and even their bones are used, for needles, fortune telling and even weaponry. We are thankful for the bounty the animals we’ve killed provides. We even hold a special ceremony after successful hunts to send the animals’ spirits back into the Great Beyond, so that their spirits may return when new babies are born. Remember to keep things in order. From the viewpoint of the plants that you guys eat, it might be considered murder, but most ponies likely never think twice about something like that, because it is just the accepted way of life. For humans it is like that, eating meat is simply an accepted way of life for us, so to kill and eat something is no great pang on our conscience, because it is just how it is,” I tried to explain to Fluttershy in a way that she might hopefully see the point I was trying to get across.

“I still don’t like it, I understand why you do it. I- I just don’t like the idea of harming another living creature. I care for several omnivorous critters, but I have never been able to remove the feeling of unease, knowing that I’m feeding them something that was once alive,” Fluttershy replied.

“Let me ask you something. If you stopped giving them the meat that they need, and you watched as they slowly started to grow weaker and sicker, would that make you feel better then? Would not feeding them the meat that they need ease your troubled mind?” I responded.

“Goodness no!” Fluttershy cried out, looking a mix between shocked and appalled.

“Then you need to decide which is the lesser of the two evils. To feed your meat eating critters the meat of other animals so that they can be well fed and healthy, or to deny them meat and watch as they fade away. Or get a gryphon to feed your meat eaters if you still can’t get over the whole meat eater part with some of your animals,” I ventured.

“Hey Twilight?” I called out, watching as she furiously scribbled in her scroll.

“Just a moment please. I need to get this all down while I can,” she replied as she continued to write in the scroll. “And done! Were you going to ask something Hiccup?”

“Yeah, I happen to notice that you have a whole lot more females than males for your pony population. So why is it that the guys don’t seem to have the same or similar rights as you females do? Just kind of struck me as odd while I traveled with Rainbow Dash,” I asked the princess.

“Yeah, we’re still not certain why the gender ratios are so skewed, but on average there is a colt born for every five fillies. As for the reason why stallions don’t have the rights that mares has is—complicated. Legally, the kingdom grants them the rights they enjoy as Equestrian citizens, but there is a lot of social pressure for stallions to ‘follow the system,’ as it were. To adhere to the traditional model of having a mare with the legal powers to execute his estate, assets and represent his interest in regards to legal matters.

There are also certain companies that a stallion who, for whatever reason, does not want to be herded or have a relationship with a mare, but still is willing to contribute to helping mares who don’t have their own stallion, but want to have a foal, to have those foals. It isn’t viewed as favorably in a matriarchal society like ours, as it appears as though the stallion is unwilling to adhere to the societal norms of herding with one or more mares. However, these stallions are tolerated since they help mares that don’t have their own stallion to still have their own family, to have their own offspring.

The homosexually oriented stallions have it hardest, usually being hired for jobs that nopony else would want to do. Or not being hired at all. They’re ostracized by their neighbors and family. Banks and businesses will refuse loans, services and goods. So because of this, many of them choose to emigrate to other countries that are more willing as a society to tolerate that kind of lifestyle.

There is also a bit of a schism between a lot of pony folk and the homosexuals, since we don’t really understand why they would choose to live that kind of lifestyle, when there are so many mares that would want to find a stallion that will make them happy. By choosing the homosexual lifestyle, it narrows the pool of choices and hurts the chances of colt foals being born.

As with any lifestyle choice or hot button issue, there are your extremists who would as soon kill you instead of adopting a ‘live and let live’ policy. There are others who aren’t shy about being verbally abusive and degrading, but are not as inclined to engaging in physical altercations. There are those who disagree and aren’t shy in explaining why they are against something. There are those who disagree, but are willing to adopt a ‘live and let live’ policy if the ones they’re in opposition to don’t pursue and persecute them. Then there are those who are either indifferent, or they’re not well informed enough on the issue and the pros and cons voiced by either side to really be an effective ally or dissident for either camp.

The physically violent are naturally booked and processed by Equestria’s legal system and are prosecuted to the fullest extent possible. Especially since Princess Celestia desires that Eqestria be a kingdom which accepts beings from all walks of life and differing beliefs. It is for this reason that she has hate crimes prosecuted as harshly as she does.

Despite Princess Celestia’s age and experience, she confides to me that she is at a loss on how to reduce or eliminate the less violent discrimination without the kingdom descending into either a civil war or going into a regicidal mode. She rules by the consent of the citizens. Because even in spite of her wisdom and experience, even she isn’t powerful enough to fight off an entire kingdom’s worth of an armed and angry army of enraged citizens,” Twilight explained while looking ashamed at Princess Celestia’s and her own inability to satisfactorily address this social issue.

It was at this moment that Delicious came carrying a large tray on her back and some weird collapsible table thing, which when she opened it up, slid the tray upon it, making sure it was well centered, before picking up each pony’s dish and setting it before them. Needless to say, conversation fell off while we ate our freshly cooked meals. That Mexi-colt goulash had some kick to it! I must’ve gone through five glasses of water alone just for that part of the meal! I will say that I did get some amusement as watched Rainbow and Applejack make funny faces as they tried to hold out the longest on not drinking from their glass of water. Rainbow won, but she quickly emptied her glass of water once Applejack threw in the towel. Toothless had nearly emptied his half-barrel of fish and ended up curling up to sleep it off while he waited for the rest of us to finish.

We each finished our meal and left a five bit tip for Delicious’ service, as well as going above and beyond, since she not only served us, but saw to it that even Toothless had something to eat.

“Well Hiccup? What do you want to do now?” asked Rainbow.

I furrowed my brow and just stared at her for a good couple of minutes before speaking.

“Uh, I’m a complete stranger in this town, so I don’t know what there is here or even where to go to get there,” I replied, frowning slightly. “Why don’t you choose someplace or something for us to do?”

“Ooh, ooh! We should totally check out Sugarcube Corner!” Pinkie suggested.

“Well, it is closest to our current location so, why not?” Twilight responded.

I watched as Pinkie hopped the entire way there. To be honest, I felt a bit jealous of her seemingly boundless energy. Not to mention that I’d hate to get bucked by her at any time! Seriously, her legs must be hard as rocks! The weird thing about it was that thinking about Pinkie’s legs got my mind going in a direction that I’d rather not put down on paper … or tell, for that matter. Needless to say it got very weird, so I shook my head as though doing so would dislodge such thoughts from my mind.

I guess me getting distracted with my inner thoughts caused me to miss the journey to this ‘Sugarcube Corner’ place, because suddenly in front of my eyes I saw the most unbelievable sight! It looked like a giant gingerbread house! I could even see what looked to be bite marks in the building!

“For the love of Thor, please tell me that’s not really food,” I asked, my eyes continuously trying to deceive me and tempting me with the temptation of otherworldly delights. Toothless was pretty much drooling like crazy looking at the building.

“Nope, not food! Believe me, I’ve tried! Tastes nothing like food! Blech!” Pinkie informed.

I decided to ignore that particular stomach churning thought and turned my attention to the Corner’s insides.

I tell you, if sweets could look like they might kill, then Sugarcube Corner was a mass murdering factory. Seriously, I think I gained a couple of pounds just by breathing their air! Too much of a good thing, I tell you!

“Heya, Mr. and Mrs. Cake! Meet Hiccup! He’s a—” Pinkie looked at me as I tried to look at anything but the sweets. “What did you say you are?”

“Viking,” I stated simply, not trusting my ability to speak too much, because all these sweets and sweet aromas was honestly making me nauseated.

“—Right! A Viking!” Pinkie introduced us with sugar-fueled fervor.

“Well It’s nice to meet you Hiccup!” Mrs. Cake greeted me, and extended her hoof to me, which I shook.

“Likewise.” I responded simply. Unable to take the sweetness of the sugary aromas, I excused myself and took deep breaths of the non-sugar laced air.

After a few moments of waiting, Rainbow and her friends came out, though Pinkie’s hair was strangely flattened.

“Didn’t you like Sugarcube Corner? Didn’t you like Mr. and Mrs. Cake?” Pinkie asked, her head so low that I wouldn’t have been surprised if she had gotten dust on her nose.

“I like them both, but Vikings can only handle so much sugar. That’s why I left early, because too much sugar is bad for us,” I explained to Pinkie.

“So, you aren’t mad at me, or hate Sugarcube Corner or the Cakes?” Pinkie asked.

“Nah. Like I said, I left early because smelling all that sugar and seeing all of those sweet treats wasn’t doing me any favors. Friends again?” I asked Pinkie.

“Silly billy! We were never not friends! Unless you’re a big meanie, like grumpy ol’ Gilda!” Pinkie replied, her hair doing this most amazing and disturbing reinflation of her curly hair.

“Who’s Gilda?” I asked. Was she some kind of pony or perhaps even a species I had never met yet?

“Gilda, was an old gryphon friend of mine, back when we were in the Flight Academy. Then after we parted ways after Flight Academy, something happened to where she cared more about looking ‘cool’ in the eyes of others, than about the feelings of my friends and fellow Ponyvillians,” Rainbow explained.

I hummed at this. Without knowing this Gilda character personally, then I really couldn’t draw any conclusions, but what with my encounters with the gryphon patrol and them treating me with suspicion and distrust, or the gryphon youth that had tried to attack me, my opinion regarding gryphons as a race wasn’t very favorable. But hey, at least they were better than Dagur. Then again, just about anything was better than Dagur and his band of Berserkers.

“I’d totally show you my house and workplace, but uh … . Heh, the sky is where I work,” Rainbow Dash boasted.

“Why would your workplace be the sky?” I inquired, clearly not understanding what she meant by her statement.

“What I mean is that I’m Ponyville’s regional weather manager. There is nopony around who can work the weather as well as I can, or do it as fast as I can, either,” She boasted further.

“Or as humbly as you, either,” I joked.

“Nah, when you’re as awesome as I am, well being bumble is so far from awesome that you gotta learn how to leave the humility behind!” Dash continued boasting, striking a ‘heroic’ pose, with head held high, and a foreleg stretched fully out and as far up as she could get it. Both of her wings were extended upward and she was sporting a slight smile that was full of arrogance, or confidence, or smugness. It might’ve even been a combination of the three. It wasn’t a Fluttershy smile, this was a ‘I’m the best and everybody knows it!’ kind of smile.

“Well then, darling, I believe it is high time that I showed you my business, my pièce de résistance! Onwards!” Rarity cried, as she led her friends and Toothless and I to the strangest building that I had ever seen!

It looked like a mix between a really er, girly yurt, meshed with a princess tower! It had all kinds of light and medium purples, light and medium creams, with other parts having dark burnt orange color. There were pinks and light and medium blues. Seriously, it just screamed girly. Evenly spaced on the outside, from what I could see was a pole or column that was alternating medium and light purples. The door, painted in a bluish-purple with the bordering trim being several shades darker, had two diamond shaped windows, one for the foals to look into, I guess, and the other for fully adult ponies to peer through. On either side of the door were two oval windows, with two half-dome awnings on either side. Well, they weren’t truly half-domes, more like 1/8th half-dome or 1/16th half-dome? Right, moving on. So the awnings had alternating light and medium creams in a vertical striped pattern, while the bottom of the awning had a dark burnt-orange half-circle dropping down from the awning. The ones at the edge looked more like ¼ to 1/8th quarter-circle, but that’s enough about that. Moving on! at the bottom of the cylindrical shaped part of the boutique was a light purple base with a darker purple crisscross, creating the shapes of two triangles and then a diamond, and it followed that pattern. Most of the walls were a moderate blue, but near each window there was a light blue motif, like that of a twisting ribbon, one on each side of the window. Over each ‘ribbon’, there was a light blue ribbon, but with a scallop design pointing upwards. Over the highest point of the window was two inward spiraling curls, which met together. Over the peaked entryway, the silhouette of a moderate cream pony decorated the front above the door. It even had a medium pink bridle and saddle! A medium purple pole bisected this pony, and ended towards the top in three different hearts. One was a small medium purple heart, then just above it, it was as if the pole divided with the two smaller poles curling inward to make another heart. At the very apex sat a pink heart. On either side of this cream colored pony were two purple s shapes, which followed the inward angle of the peak-ing part of the roof. All around the edge of the circular awning was a light pink scallop design. The roof was alternating diamonds of light purple and light pink. Near the top, probably where the base of the second floor of the boutique was a band of dark burnt orange color with a medium cream squiggle dividing top from the bottom. The cylinder of the second floor was in a light blue, with surrounding motif being of a more moderate blue. The largest window faced the same direction as the main door and was circular, with a grid of three vertical to four horizontal, squares, that is. Two hearts were over this window, though up higher, a band arced upward and outward, reminiscent of a cross-section of a waterfountain’s vertical spray. On either side of these hearts were three tear shaped ‘drops’ that angled further downward with each ‘drop.’ To either side of the main window were two smaller port windows, the pane only being divided into quarters, given their much smaller size. Above each of these windows was a heart, but it had a line dividing the heart into two halves. At the base of this second story cylinder, at the very front, it looked like a rectangle with an x dividing the insides into four triangles. On either side of this ‘rectangle’ were some lemon shaped ovals, except with each end ending sharp points. Inside the lemon shape was a light blue diamond shape. There was poles all around this level as well, spiraling upwards until it split off into two opposite directions and curling inward and upward. Two had more pony shapes, though these didn’t have bridles or saddles on them. The underside of the roof overhang was a dark burnt orange color. Just above this was an upturned part of the roof. The smaller parts were two horizontal ‘s’ shapes with a five petal flower in the middle. The larger parts looked like two fully extended crab claws melding at the top. Like a shallow, elongated ‘c’ shape. Underneath this was a medium purple heart. Underneath the heart were two inward curling cane shapes and between the heart and the end of the curling cane was three cascading teardrop shapes. To either side of the roof, it looked like windows jutting out, it looked like there was a banner attached to each one. Circle in shape with a stripe of white dividing the blue of the banner and a five pointed star in the middle of the white stripe. Higher up supporting the highest conical roof, were four pillars, though it was probably really eight, since I could only see four in my field of vision. The topmost part of the pillar looked like upside down top, then it widened into a cylinder before transitioning into a spherical shape. Then it widened back out into a smaller cylindrical shape, and ended at the base in a downward pointed arrow shape. Above the supporting pillars was a medium purple border with three darker purple ovals spaced evenly in between each other. Above that, were arches also with a medium purple, but leaning outward, like a crown. In the center of each of these arches were two darker purple ovals which slanted inward until they touched each other near the top. It kind of looked like eyes, but perhaps it was just the way I was looking at it. The conical top was horizontal stripes alternating in a medium cream and a lighter cream color. The pole at the top, looked like a stylized crown with the central pole rising from the center of it. The crown part had four metallic thin cones arching outward and ending with a sphere at the end of each cone. The pole rose about a foot or two higher and ended with a sphere at the top. Halfway up this pole, an orangish-red banner flew in the wind.

I entered the boutique, looking about, seeing about six pony shaped dolls attached to a pole and a flattened dome shaped base. I was honestly impressed with the design and styles, though I thought that she needed to lay off with the sewing of gems into the dress’ fabric. There was a rounded raised platform with several steps encircling the platform. Around this platform arranged in a half-circle, were five large oval shaped mirrors. Behind the platform, arranged in a horseshoe shape, were large purple curtains that reached from ceiling to floor. A couple of u-shaped poles stood on either side of the curtain’s opening with a short horizontal pole with a lighter purple curtain on it. There were three of these kinds of rooms. There was also a curtain dropping from the ceiling to about where my shoulder’s height.

“Hey, Rarity?” I asked, as Rainbows other friends looked around the store at the fashions and accessories.

“Yes, darling?” She turned around, tilting her head slightly upward to look me in the eye.

“How come you have three of these curtained off places, and what’s with the curtain hanging over the open part?”

“Gracious, darling! Those are my changing rooms. And the curtain is to provide additional privacy from any pegasi that might happen to be flying about within my shop,” Rarity explained.

In another section of the store, were three horseshoe shaped desks with a very large mirror attached to each one. Each desk had two drawers on either side and in the middle of the horseshoe shape, each desk had an oval shaped basket. The basket started narrower at the base and gradually grew wider the higher up it went. Each desk was divided with purple curtains on either side of the desk. There was also what looked like a quarter-circle of drape hanging from the ceiling and disappearing in the folds of the curtains it joined into. Attached to each of these quarter-circle shaped drapes were lighter purple half-circles decorating the outer edge of the quarter-circle shaped drape, very frilly looking. At the top were what looked to be some kind of yellow flower design, but the center was a light. I was very curious how it worked, since Berk used torches, candles and fireplaces for light sources after dark.

“So, this is Carousel Boutique, where making you feel fine and fashionable is our aim! What do you think?” Rarity asked me.

“You really want to know what I think?” I responded.

“I wouldn’t have asked, if I didn’t want to know, darling,” Rarity replied.

“Well, I honestly don’t know much about this fashion stuff. I can tell that the outfits are well made, though I strongly suggest trying something other than gems, especially if your dresses might be worn outside. Plus, too many gems on a dress, and it probably not only gets heavy and interfere with movement, but it can look gaudy and convey a bad kind of taste in fashionable things. Or if you absolutely feel that you must have gems in your outfits, cut them very small and use them sparingly. Because sometimes more isn’t better. Sometimes less can be more beautiful than lots of big gems badly worn,” I spoke, giving her my opinion about her shop. Well, more like giving an opinion on the things she sold within the shop, really.

“Well then, I guess it’s my turn,” Twilight stated, turning about and leading everyone out of the shop.

I ended up using a hand to provide some shading for my eyes, as a massive purple … tree castle decorated the town’s landscape.

“Sweet eye of Odin!” I muttered, completely in awe at the amount of crystals that this building had! Whoever lived in this thing must be wildly rich! I couldn’t even imagine how much that much crystal would sell for at market price! Once could probably retire wealthy beyond their wildest dreams!

I watched as Twilight opened the massive doors of the castle and Rainbow and the others entered into the building. Gems which hung from … some kind of black looking rope glowed, though the main light lighting the castle came from lamps attached to the wall. We went down several hallways until we reached a cylindrical shaped library.

“When Tirek blew up Ponyville’s Golden Oaks library … well, suffice it to say that I was upset. Really, really upset. But after we beat Tirek, the Harmony Seed flew off and planted itself into the ground, from which grew this castle. So, while I do have my duties as one of the princesses of Equestria, I still act as the town’s librarian whenever I can. This library is even better, because it’s seventy five percent bigger than the old library! I will admit being a little concerned about how I was going to get the books to properly fill these shelves, but once the libraries in the cities and towns all across Equestria heard about what happened, they donated books and held donation drives for what books they couldn’t donate! Plus, Ponyville had an emergency fund in case events like a library being obliterated into oblivion happened. So, now I have so many books that I haven’t read yet! I’m so excited!” Twilight explained.

“Yeah, aren’t we all,” Rainbow replied in an awkward, yet sarcastic sounding tone of voice.

“So what was with the round table with all the thrones around it? I happened to see that room as we came here. It looked very important,” I commented.

“I, with my five friends make up the Council of Friendship. Though that ‘table’ is no ordinary table, but a real-time holographic map of Equestria and the lands beyond. It’s still a little unclear, but at certain times, one or several of our cutie marks will become active, indicating that that pony with the active cutie mark is needed to solve a problem somewhere in the world. So then it is up to that pony, or ponies, to determine what the problem they were sent to solve is, and then come up with some way to solve the problem. Now that I’m the princess of friendship, then it falls on my friends and I to teach others about being friends,” Twilight explained.

I had no idea what to say in response to that, so instead I redirected their attention elsewhere. “So, who’s next?”

“I reckon that we’ll hit Fluttershy’s place next before finishing up with my place,” reasoned Applejack.

“Does that sound fine to everypony?” Twilight asked her friends, who responded with various words of agreement.

Needless to say, once again, I was surprised. Fluttershy’s roof was green! As though whatever she had used for thatching had rooted itself in the wood and sprouted! I honestly thought it was some kind of small trimmed tree, which had been made to look like a roof, but it was really her roof.

“Uh … . Oh, hey, Fluttershy! How come your home is on the outskirts of Ponyville?” I asked her, at a complete loss for words on how to take her having a thick, green roof.

“Oh, I—I don’t deal well with other ponies, so I live out here because most ponies won’t come out here to visit me unless they’re my friend, or have an injured or sick animal,” she replied.

“You don’t seem to be that bothered by me.” I commented.

“But you aren’t a pony. Plus, I can trust my friends to have my back, so even if you were a pony, while I would be hesitant to be near you, I would be able to do it, because of my friends,” Fluttershy reasoned.

“So about the animal thing, are you an animal whisperer, or something?” I asked her.

“I don’t know what you mean by that, I do care about all kinds of critters, and it just pains me when they’re in pain, or sick. So, I look after the injured and sick animals until they’re better. I also provide pet care services. I even groomed Rarity’s cat Opalescence one time, and she asked me if I had used my ‘Stare’ on Opal!” She exclaimed and then giggled quietly.

“What is this about a stare?” I asked her.

“Oh, goodness! W-well, from what I’ve been told it’s a special ability of mine. The one I use the Stare on, experiences extreme terror and shame. Um, so after a Stare session, the one I stared at is usually willing to see things my way,” Fluttershy explained.

I raised an eyebrow, since that sounded rather incredible, but then I’m in a world of talking pastel ponies, gryphons, nymphs, dryads and things I’d honestly never seen before Toothless and I came into this world.

Fluttershy showed me a bunch of her animals, which looked like a lot a bunch of animals from my world, except they seemed more intelligent. They couldn’t speak in my tongue, but they behaved as if they understood Fluttershy when she talks to them. It was kind of weird really, but then again, this whole world is different than the one I came from. Maybe this kind of thing is normal for them.

“Next stop, Sweet Apple Acres!” Applejack called out, as we all departed from Fluttershy’s extremely unique cottage.

We followed a dusty trail, which joined and went alongside a white picket fence that bordered the orchard. Soon we came to the entrance of the farm, which was a white, wooden archway, and it had some kind of vines growing all over it with what looked like ripe apples growing off of them. It looked rather strange to me, since I’d never heard of an apple growing off of a vine before, but perhaps they could get it to work in this world? The barn which was straight ahead was painted in a reddish-maroon color, while the trim was white. There were various vines and fern-looking plants painted in a darker maroon color on the barn. The two large barn doors were fully swung open, above which was a trapezoid-shaped roof overhanging the barn doors. The roofing was in a medium purplish-grey color. On the left side of the barn was a window with its pane divided in two, and it was open by about a foot. Farther back, it looked like a smaller barn got built into the larger barn, which I thought made it look rather … strange, anyways, moving on! The open window I mentioned earlier, had an overhang, as did the arched window on the smaller barn part. The open window’s overhang was triangular shaped, while the arched window had an arched overhang. The arched window also had a flower box located just beneath the window. The door on the smaller barn attachment was a divider door, the lower part of the door was closed, but the upper part was completely open. Above this door was a small arched window. From the angle that I was looking at, on the second story, were two windows jutting out from the roof, each with a flower box beneath it. There was also a window above the double doors of the front of the barn, also with a hanging flower box. The barn also had a small one story-ish tower. The side facing the double doors had a small arching window, while the window on the side looked like it had a metallic reflector or windbreaker, so a candle or lamp wouldn’t go out, because of the wind. At the very top of this tower was a weathervane with a red apple above the arrow part. Closer to the entrance on the left was a well, while on the other side was a chicken coop. Farther back were a series of four shed-looking buildings. Farther to the left were about seven high piles of hay, while just on the other side of the fence, leading to the smaller barn’s door, were two more high piles of hay, along with three haybales, built in a pyramid shape. There were two additional arches, similar to the one at the front entrance, except the vines covering these were much more sparse and neither had ripe apples hanging from them. One was to the left of the barn, a little farther back than the haybales. The one on the right was just to the left of the leftmost shed. One thing about the front entrance that I forgot to mention was that they had a wide plank of wood with an apple shape carved out of it.

“Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres! We not only have the best apples in Equestria, but we’re the largest apple farm, too! But we don’t just grow apples, but we also grow veggie crops, such as corn, carrots, and tomatoes, among others. We’re probably one of the most successful farms that I know of! Because not only do we care about the quality of our produce, but we also care about the ponies that buy from us. That’s why we always strive to have fair, reasonable prices for what we sell,” Applejack informed me.

I gauged the shadows the trees and other upright objects, like the fencepost, to get me an idea of how late in the day it was getting. From what I could tell, it was about half-way between midday and the next eighth segment that Vikings divided their days into. A loud rumbling occurred coming from Toothless’ belly, It was soon followed by the rumbling of my own stomach.

“I know! We could have a picnic!” Pinkie Pie cried out, sounding rather enthusiastic about the idea.

“Yeah, but Toothless only eats fish, and a lot of it! How are we going to make sure that he doesn’t get left out?” I replied, not wanting him to be neglected in this proposed picnic.

“Well, um, I have a dragnet to help me catch fish for some of the meat eating critters that I take care of. I don’t know if it’ll be enough to feed Toothless, but do you want to come with me and find out, maybe? If you want to, that is,” Fluttershy responded, drawing a circle in the dirt with her right forehoof.

“Sure, why not? Hopefully it’ll be faster than trying to fill his belly by foraging for fish,” I replied, giving a hearty smack to the side of my buddy, causing him to look down at where my hand had landed and then up at me. I saw a glint in his eye as he gave me a toothless grin.

“You better not be thinking what I think you’re thinking!” I warned, feeling nervous.

Toothless whipped around and grabbed me in a bear hug and then proceeded to lick both sides of my face!

“Ugh! Toothless! You know that stuff doesn’t wash off!” I cried, using my sleeves to try and remove his drool from my face, much to the laughter of the other ponies. Especially Rainbow and Pinkie.

I followed Fluttershy with Toothless right beside me as we headed back to her cottage, not only to feed Toothless, but to put together something to bring to the picnic to share and pass around with our friends.

She led us to where she had a dragnet stretching across a small stream. There were four large tree trunks embedded into the ground. Two were on either side of the bank, while two were spaced evenly between each other in the middle of the stream. Then a netting of vines and ivies stretched across the stream, a bunch of big fish splashing about in the water, as they tried to continue swimming farther upstream.

“Alright, Toothless, have at it while I help Fluttershy for a bit,” I told my friend, watching his big toothless grin become even bigger, as he bounded into the stream and started eating the fish that had been caught in her dragnet.

I followed Fluttershy into her cottage, a small, white bunny giving me the stink-eye and pointed at his eyes and then me. He then followed Fluttershy into the kitchen and dining area.

“What’s with the bunny?” I asked her. “And what are we making?”

“Oh, that’s my pet bunny Angel. I saved him when he got sick as a newborn, and he’s been with me ever since. As for what we’ll be bringing, I was thinking of bringing some sweet potato casserole, some potato salad and some deluxe sandwiches. Could you take those two pots and fill them about halfway and then get the stove stoked?” Fluttershy informed me.

“Sure thing,” I replied, grabbing the two large pots and carrying them over to her water pump and filling them as instructed. I sat the pots on the top of the oven and removed a knife, carving into a log and making a pile of wood shavings. I then took her flint and stone and struck them together until the tinder caught, as I added small logs and branches, to make sure that the fire got started correctly. Once it had, I added logs until the firebox couldn’t take anymore. Fluttershy was peeling the sweet potato and cutting them into chunks. I grabbed another knife and started peeling the potatoes and cutting them up. The deluxe sandwiches as Fluttershy called them had something she called spinach on it, along with tomatoes, onion, cucumber slices as well as some sliced vegetable called black and green olives. On one side of the two pieces of sliced bread, she spread some kind of zesty vegetable paste. I might have to get into my jerky reserves, just to have some kind of meat as part of my meal. After about an hour and a half, Fluttershy’s basket was full and ready. She and I left her cottage, with me carrying her basket. I still don’t understand how they can accomplish some of the stuff that they do.

“Hey Toothless, did you eat your fill?” I called out to my friend as Fluttershy and I waited for him to reach us.

Toothless grinned, emitting a very loud burp and grinning at me shamelessly. I chuckled and scratched under his chin, I could feel myself smirking as he had this dopey grin on his face.

“Well, I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. Thank Miss Fluttershy for her generosity and hospitality,” I told him.

Toothless made a series of growls in his way of saying ‘thank you,’ and even gave her a wing hug. Fluttershy made a squeaking sound and I could see her cheeks flushing.

“O-oh, it was no problem. I’d just feel awful if I didn’t help you out, if I had the means to,” Fluttershy replied in a soft voice, hiding partly behind her cascading hair.

We walked and eventually made it to the place where we had agreed to have the picnic.

“By Celestia’s mane, you are so slow Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash griped, crossing her forehooves and frowning as she hovered over her.

“Well, if you were in such a hurry, why didn’t you come over to help? It would have taken less time if you had helped. Alone, one can only accomplish so much, but if others pitch in to accomplish something, it gets done that much faster and has a higher chance of being done right. So tell me, Rainbow Dash, why didn’t you help Fluttershy?” I berated, upset with how she was treating her friend.

“I, uh, I didn’t think about it,” Rainbow replied, rubbing the back of her mane and looking rather sheepish.

“And?” I continued.

“What?” Rainbow replied, looking at me in confusion.

“Don’t you think that you unjustly came down on Fluttershy and hurt her feelings? Aren’t you going to apologize because of your harsh words?” I responded.

“I’m sorry, Fluttershy,” Rainbow apologized. “I’m also sorry if I hurt your feelings.”

“I forgive you, Rainbow.” Fluttershy smiled slightly.

While all this was going on, I was unloading the picnic basket and placing the tubs of potato salad and sweet potato casserole as well as arranging the sandwiches on a plate. Princess Twilight had brought sandwiches with some kind of flower in it as well as a container of deviled eggs. The other container she had unloaded looked like it had some kind of creamy noodle. Rarity brought what looked like a wrap filled with vegetables, and then cut the wrap up into slices and used a small wooden pick to keep it together. She also set out a bowl filled with some kind of vegetable salad and a small basket with some kind of boomerang shaped bread. Rainbow had set out some kind of really long bread which was cut in half and filled with all kinds of vegetables and sauces. She also had what looked like fried potato sticks as well as a bowl of potato chips. Applejack pulled out a creamy looking apple salad with some other fruit mixed in. She also had a tub of pickled vegetables, if the vinegary aroma was anything to go by. She also had a basket with some triangular shaped pastry. I think that it probably had pieces of apples in it, if I was smelling it right. Pinkie Pie unloaded all kinds of sweet treats, bars, muffins, cupcakes and a weird tire-shaped pastry with a hole in the middle with all kinds of sugary coatings.

We sat down and started filling our plates with whatever we wanted. Since I had helped Fluttershy to make the potato salad, sweet potato casserole, and her deluxe sandwiches, I grabbed those first.

The five mares started filling Rainbow in on notable events that had happened while she had been away to participate in the G.E.R. I heard one story where Twilight’s assistant had accidentally startled her while she was absorbed in her studies and a misfired spell ended turning some grey pegasus mare named Derpy into an earth pony, until Twilight could find a cancellation spell and return the pegasus’ wings back to her. I couldn’t help but notice that Rainbow looked really uncomfortable hearing that story.

“Something wrong, Rainbow?” I asked her.

“That story just gives me the heebie-jeebies. I’d hate to have my wings taken away from me like that! Especially since I know the thrill and joy of soaring through the skies. It would be like having your hands taken away from you. Life just isn’t the same when taking away something that you were born with,” Rainbow replied, ruffling her feathers and giving several shivers.

Rarity shared a story where her little sister Sweetie Belle came home covered in pine needles and tree sap. Apparently the had been trying to get a … tree scaling cutie mark? Rarity ended up carrying Sweetie Belle in her magic and depositing her in her wash basin to keep Sweetie Belle from tracking pine sap all over the house. The others and I laughed about it, even though I did feel a little bit bad for what Rarity had to go through. I can only wonder if my child will be like that.

Pinkie told a story where Mr. and Mrs. Cake’s foals got into some frosting that they weren’t supposed to and it made them even more hyperactive than usual. Pound Cake was apparently a pegasus colt and he was bumping into all kinds of stuff and knocking them over, some of them breaking. Pumpkin Cake was a unicorn filly and so she was rapidly firing off various magic beams, which added to the chaos and mayhem. It wasn’t until after they exhausted themselves that the mess could be cleaned up and they invited Twilight over to fix the broken stuff. I couldn’t help but chuckle, since it sounded similar to something that happened to me as a child.

Applejack shared a story where she had to put a stop to the Cutie Mark Crusaders from going for their living pony cannonball cutie marks! She still doesn’t understand why a prank and joke shop would lease a cannon to those young fillies, especially since they were fairly infamous for the chaos and destruction those fillies were notoriously known for. Not to mention that they were not only aiming for the bales of hay in the barn, but was going to use something flammable in a barn filled with lots of flammable stuff! Needless to say, Apple Bloom got grounded for a week and had to come straight home after school and couldn’t go cutie mark crusading during that period, and had to help with the chores around the farm.

Fluttershy told a story about how she had been looking after a snake, to help him properly shed his skin, since apparently the atmospheric conditions weren’t right to help him properly shed his skin. Twilight had come over to visit, but because Fluttershy’s body was blocking her view of the snake, she didn’t see it until she was nearly beside Fluttershy. She was afraid of snakes apparently and screamed upon seeing one and accidently let off a magic blast, which bounced around the room before exploding in a large display of sparkles and a loud booming sound. The other critters residing at Fluttershy’s cottage got scared and essentially rioted and caused a lot of mayhem and destruction, before they managed to tear her front door down and get outside. Twilight ended up fixing the damage and the broken door, while frequently apologizing to Fluttershy.

The girls wanted to know how I met Rainbow, so I ended up telling them. Rainbow was blushing and giving me the stink-eye, which amused me greatly for some reason.

When it came to Rainbow’s turn, she told the story of how she and I rescued a bunch of foals from a bad Viking ship. Rainbow tried to make the story sound more grander and heroic than it was, so I ended up giving the ‘less awesome’ version as well as explaining to an extent what Vikings were. Rainbow was miffed with me and gave me a pouty face, turning her head away and slightly upwards. Our friends agreed that Rainbow was still awesome for helping me free the foals, even if the events didn’t play out as she had told them.

We finished the picnic and packed the leftovers away and basically cleaned up the blanket. I had a full belly and was surrounded by good friends, even if I hadn’t known them as long as Rainbow. I laid on my back and closed my eyes, just thinking that I’d relax and digest the wonderful meal.

Wrong! I fell asleep, and when I woke up, my body felt incredibly heavy. It was nearing sunset, and I saw a rather endearing sight. Applejack and Pinkie were laying crossways on my chest and stomach, while Twilight and Rarity was hugging one of my arms to their body. Rainbow and Fluttershy had lain crossways on my legs. Rainbow on the upper part and Fluttershy lower down. My arms and legs were hard asleep, so I anticipated a bad case of pins and needles once they weren’t weighed down by a pony.

My hands were near where Rarity’s and Twilight’s tummies were, and feeling a bit mischievous, well and wanting to get proper circulation restored to my arms and legs, I decided to see if ponies were ticklish at all. I started wriggling my fingers into the soft, fuzzy underbelly of the two ponies on my arms, getting them to snort, giggle and squirm, until they released my arms and sleepily gave me the stink-eye.

“You are evil!” Twilight declared.

I simply continued grinning at her, while I started flexing my wrists and fingers, feeling that familiar tingly feeling, that feeling of pins and needles.

“Twilight’s right, darling. That was simply uncalled for,” Rarity admonished.

“Oh, but waking you up this way was so much more fun!” I chuckled, our conversation causing the others to start awakening. Soon my body was free of the pony pile, and after a little massaging of my legs, I moved into a more, sitting position.

My friends sat beside me, with Twilight, Rarity and Fluttershy on my right. On my left was Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. Toothless sat behind me as we all gazed at the setting sun. It was a magnificent sight. The sky awash in reds, oranges, yellows, and purples and greyish-blues. The underbelly of the clouds illuminated and painted in similar colors. Then the sky gradually darkened, the lighter colors fading and the darker colors becoming stronger, until the stars came out one by one.

I stood up and dusted myself off. “Well, my friends, I’ve enjoyed my time together with all of you, however short it was. Rainbow and I must continue on to the next leg of the race, however,” I informed them. A chorus of various sounds of disappointment greeted my ears. “So, uh, how do you say goodbye?” I asked them.

“With hugs!” Pinkie enthused.

I got on my hands and knees and was nearly bowled over by the pink pony, her forehooves curled over my shoulders and her nuzzling my hair.

“Bye bye, Hiccup! Take care of yourself out there,” Pinkie murmured.

“Bye, Pinkie. You take care of yourself, too, okay?” I murmured back.

Next came Applejack, who hugged me like Pinkie did. “Bye, sugarcube. Don’t let RD push herself too far now,” Applejack murmured.

“Bye, Applejack. But who’s RD?” I asked her.

“It’s my way of shortening her full name. I took the R in Rainbow and D in Dash and combined them together to get RD. It’s a lot faster than saying either Rainbow or Rainbow Dash, you know?” Applejack explained.

“Ah, now it makes sense!” I replied, followed by a brief chuckle.

Next came Rarity, who hugged me next after Applejack.

“Farewell, darling. Take care of yourself and our dear Rainbow Dash. Oh, and if you happen to come across some exotic fashion, could you do me a favor and make a sketch? I’m always looking for fashion inspiration, and foreign fashions might spark something with my inspiration.”

“If we have time, I will, Rarity,” I murmured, smiling as we parted once again.

Twilight then threw her hooves around me.

“Farewell, Hiccup. Be safe in your travels and though I know Rainbow can look after herself, do keep an eye out for her. She’s sometimes too hotheaded for her own good, and though she’d deny it, she was probably lonely before you joined up with her.”

“I will, Twilight. Though could you do me a favor while I’m in this race with Rainbow?” I asked, a little unsure, since I had no idea what her duties and responsibilities might be like as a princess of Equestria.

“What is is?” Twilight inquired, tilting her head to the side.

“Well, Toothless and I came into this world through a massive bank of clouds. I tried to return home one time, because my gliding suit had gotten torn, and I didn’t want to cause any strife with the local inhabitants by using the materials that I would have normally used. However, it would seem that the cloudbank moved somewhere else. If it’s still acting as a door to my world, then I need to find it and get Toothless and myself back home to my world. Also, I don’t know how many bad Vikings came through, so if they give you or your government any trouble, then I apologize and ask that you don’t think that all Vikings are bad, just because these bad Vikings were stirring up trouble. Rainbow and I took care of one of the ships of Vikings. I just don’t know how many came into your world. Most of the bad Vikings will have a spiky dragon silhouette on their mainsail. Don’t underestimate them, because they won’t hold anything back when in a fight, and I’d rather not have to live with knowing one of you ponies died because you underestimated them.”

“Thanks for the warning, Hiccup. I’ll see what I can find about this cloud phenomenon. Maybe it’s the cause of the occasional missing pegasus reports that the Cloudsdale Weather Bureau get on occasion! Maybe we can eliminate or at least reduce the number of missing pegasi reports, if they know that that cloudbank is really a portal to other worlds!” Twilight enthused.

Next came the shy Fluttershy. She hopped up and gave me a hug.

“Bye bye, Hiccup. Take care of yourself and Rainbow Dash while you guys are gone.”

“Bye, Fluttershy. You take care of yourself too. I know that I haven’t known you long, but I like what little I do know, so have more confidence in yourself and your own self-worth.”

I watched as Rainbow said farewell to her friends. Though I smiled as Toothless gave a growly sound that sounded like an imitation of our ‘bye-bye’ and wing hugged Twilight, Rarity and Fluttershy. He pounced after Pinkie, who wasn’t caught, much to our amusement, until she was good and ready. Then they engaged in a playful little wrestle, which ended up with Pinkie being pinned underneath him. He didn’t even bother with Applejack, doing a surprise rush, rather than any attempt at subtlety and the two also engaged in a playful wrestle. There were several times when I thought Applejack would come out victorious, but Toothless would use his wings and tail and regain the upper hand. He eventually won, smugly pinning a panting Applejack to the ground.

“You won this time, you overgrown bat, but you won’t be so lucky next time!” Applejack admonished, shaking a curled and upraised hoof, rather reminiscent of a human shaking an angry fist at someone.

Toothless rolled his eyes and opened and closed his mouth, mocking Applejack. I chuckled as I started to throw the saddle blanket over Toothless before placing the saddle over the top and cinching the belts, checking for any signs of weakness, such as cracking of the leather, or thinness of the straps. Basically, I got Toothless ready to go on the next leg of the journey.

“Ready to go?” I asked Rainbow.

“I was ready in ten seconds flat!” Rainbow boasted.

The two of us launched into the skies as we got back onto the racing track and started flying in the deepening dusk towards our next checkpoint: Canterlot.