> How To Ponify Your Dragon
>  by Onomonopia
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Where No One Goes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blackened and charred remains of what used to be a peaceful village lay scattered across the torched earth, as the smoke from the once burning buildings blotted out the sun and cast the land in darkness. Hoof prints could be seen in the ashes, heading in every direction away from the remains of the village. Yet, despite the thousands of hoof prints running away from the city, three trails of freshly made prints showed that there were still ponies in this small town. But they were not just any ponies. They were the princesses. And they were too late.

"This devastation, it is...hard to look at," the dark blue Princess of the Night muttered with a hoof over her nose, trying to block out the smell and the soot while she and the others walked through the ruins. "To think that such devastation could be caused in a few hours..."

"And sadly, it is a kind of destruction that we have seen before," spoke Celestia, whose normally divine white coat was stained with the black soot that rained from the sky. She and the other two came to a stop in front of a massive footprint in the streets, confirming her suspicions while alerting the younger princess as to the force behind the destruction.

"Princess Celestia...this is a dragon's footprint," Twilight stated aloud as she lifted her fear-filled eyes up towards her former teacher, who nodded grimly to inform Twilight that she knew. "That would mean...that this is the fifth village destroyed by a dragon!"

"Indeed, Twilight.  It seems that there is one or more dragons attacking pony villages across the land," Celestia clarified for Twilight while she and Luna started to scan the ashen buildings in case there were any survivors.

"But...I thought that the dragons were allies of ours! Why would they go around destroying ponies' homes!" Twilight asked both of the senior princesses, frantically searching both Luna and Celestia's faces for an answer that never came. "They have been at peace with us for over a thousand years! Why would they pick now, when Equestria is arguably at its strongest, to attack us?! It doesn't make sense!"

"Perhaps because they are not alone in this assault of our lands." Luna's words drew the attention of both Twilight and Celestia, who abandoned their searches to join the Princess of the Night next to the charred rubble that used to be the town hall. "I have found more traces of the magic, Sister, just as I have at the other five villages," Luna declared as she motioned to a small trace of a strange magic that resided on the side of the building.

"So, it seems that our thoughts about the Puppeteer being behind these attacks were not entirely abstract," Celestia pondered while biting her lower lip. Twilight looked from one princess to the other, hoping that one of them would fill her in on what they were talking about.

"Um, princesses...?"

"At each of the villages that were destroyed by dragon attacks, we have discovered three facts that remain true no matter how varied the attacks were. The first is, that we could never find the dragon that attacked the village, no matter how hard we searched for it. The second is, that each dragon was a different color and size, but each of them had crimson eyes and a dark aurora. And the third," Celestia began as she motioned to the faint traces of magic, "is that this strange magic is always there, barely noticeable but never absent."

"Does this magic belong to the Puppeteer? Wait, who is the Puppeteer?" Twilight asked.

"The Puppeteer is just a pseudonym until we learn the culprit's true name, if there is another culprit," Luna answered before turning a question of her own to Celestia. "Sister, perhaps it is possible that the dragons have lost their souls to evil and have been corrupted by the darkness. It happened once before, a long time before us in the Dark Ages. It is not out of the question-"

"But this magic is not evil in nature nor is it destructive like the evil magic described in legend," Celestia reminded her sister while turning away from her, scanning the skies with narrowed eyes. A flash of magic erupted from her horn and in the next moment the sun broke through the clouds of smoke to let light descend upon the land once again. "I have also been in contact with the ruler of the Dragon Nation, and she has said that there are no dragons showing the symptoms that afflicted the dragons that succumbed to evil. No, there is another force here, one that we have not seen before."

"So then...what do we do? Gather the others? Search all of Equestria for this...Puppeteer?" Luna questioned her sister. Celestia turned away to avoid looking into Luna's eyes, not sure herself what she should do in such a time.

"I do not know. We have searched high and low with our magic to no avail. The dragons that are either used or convinced to attack the ponies are never seen again after they attack, and none of the witnesses knew anything that would help us," Celestia mused aloud, letting the other two princesses in on her thoughts.

"Um...Celestia? I may have an...well, it's not exactly an answer, but it may prove to be a course of action we could try," Twilight piped up. Celestia nodded for Twilight to continue talking and the alicorn took in a breath before she pitched her idea. "You know that after my adventures in the land of humans, I've been studying realities a bit more and I've discovered, or at least re-discovered, that there are millions of different worlds and realities out there, each far different from our own."

"I am aware of the multiverse, Twilight, but I fail to see how this aids us in our problem."

"Think about it. We may not be able to track down this Puppeteer or the dragons, but out there in the infinite number of realities, there has to be somepony that knows more about dragons than us!" Twilight reminded the two. Luna was unconvinced.

"It sounds like this plan of yours relies far more on chance than it does on reason. Even if you are able to summon somepony who knows about dragons, what if they do not aid us? What if they see us as enemies?" Luna shot back, shooting a number of holes in Twilight's plan. "I think that you are using this as an excuse to see if you can bridge a gap through reality."

Twilight had to turn to hide her blush. "Well, I'm not denying that it would be an incredible learning experience, but we do need help and we need it now. How many villages might we be able to save if we have a dragon fighter or tracker to aid us? I'm sure that if we explained our plight to them, that they would surely help us!"

Luna remained skeptical, but Celestia had lowered her head in thought while listening to Twilight's words and had only just raised it once again. She looked around at the burnt buildings, the charred landscape and the thousands of hoof prints in the soot--hoof prints of those who had fled for their lives because she was unable to help. "Twilight is right to a degree. We have exhausted many of our options trying to locate the dragons and the Puppeteer and they had all failed us. Perhaps we do need an expert's opinion on this. And with the last of the dragon trappers having retired nearly five hundred years ago..."

"We are out of options," Luna finished for her sister with a sigh. "Very well, Twilight, while I am not a fan of this plan myself, I cannot deny that we are in need of aid. Tell my sister and me what you need to complete your...plan, and we will aid you to the best of our abilities."

"I'll get into the more technical details later, but I can tell you what kind of being we're looking for," Twilight began with such confidence that Luna was certain that she had already finished most of her plan before discussing it with them. "We need somepony who is brave--courageous! Who has spent years with dragons and knows how they work, both inside and out!  Who can make dragons cower at the mere sight of them, and who can track them to the end of the world!"

"We need a dragon master!"

\\\\\
=====
/////

The roar of hundreds of Vikings was nearly drowned out by the wind racing past Hiccup's ears as he screamed by them, but despite the incredible speeds he was reaching, he still managed to hold up a hand and waved to the spectators watching the races.  The wind's icy fingers tore at him, but the leather suit that he had made, along with his life on Berk, had made him extremely resistant to the cold. Hiccup brought his hand down once he had passed the spectators and patted the black Night Fury on the top of his head, the rider and dragon both narrowing their eyes at the same time as a horn sounded off.

"Alright, Bud, looks like it's time for the black sheep," Hiccup calmly spoke to the Night Fury, whose spines shivered with anticipation. The pair then began to weave under and through the supports and bridges of the island of Berk, making their way to where the black sheep would be released. "We might be ahead right now, but if any of the other riders manage to get ahold of the sheep-" 

As if on cue, a shadow passed over their heads, getting both Hiccup and Toothless to lift their eyes up towards the dragon that was casting the shadow. The blue and yellow Deadly Nadder dove down to take the lead from Hiccup and Toothless, while at the same time allowing the rider of the Nadder to turn back and smirk at Hiccup.

"Y'know, if you focused more on the race and less on pleasing your hundreds of adoring fans, then you might not have lost this time!" Astrid taunted at him as her golden braid whipped behind her in the wind. Despite now being in second place, Hiccup couldn't stop the smile from crossing his face as Toothless flapped his wings even harder, allowing the two of them to fly side-by-side with the other rider.

"And if you didn't stop to brag, then I may not have been able to take the lead again! Come on Toothless!" Hiccup yelled with a laugh. Toothless let out a roar and surged ahead in a burst of speed, leaving Astrid and Stormfly behind them. "See you at the finish line Astrid!"

"Not this time, Hiccup! Come on Stormfly!" Both dragons dove, twisted and danced along the skies as each tried to race ahead of the other, with Toothless barely holding his lead against Stormfly. Yet Hiccup was working just as hard as his dragon, constantly moving his mechanical foot to help his dragon with each of his movements, having to react at a moment's notice and change the artificial tailfin accordingly. 

"Strange to see you up here by yourself!" Hiccup called over to Astrid when the two of them were nearly neck and neck. "Where are Snoutlout and the others?"

"Where they always are! Eating our dust! And in a moment, so will you! Faster Stormfly!" Both Hiccup's and Toothless' eyes went wide as Stormfly managed to take the lead from them in a burst of speed, but even as Astrid let out her laugh of victory smiles crossed Hiccup and Toothless' faces as they looked at each other.

"Alright Bud, go time," Hiccup signaled to his friend as he reached behind him and grabbed hold of a helmet, which he slid over his face while spines began to shoot up along Toothless' back. With an Alpha's roar Toothless rocketed ahead and passed by a stunned Astrid, to whom Hiccup waved before the pair took the lead from her. 

The stands erupted into roars as a black object could be seen ascending into the skies ahead of the racers, both of whom knew that the black sheep had finally entered the game. Yet even with victory just outside of their grasps, Hiccup turned to Astrid with a wave.

"If you want m'lady, I could retrieve the sheep for you," Hiccup offered Astrid while smiling.

"And lose out on the chance to say I beat the mighty dragon master in a race? Not a chance, Hiccup!" Astrid roared back with a mischievous smile as she and Stormfly started to pick up speed again. The blue and yellow dragon's claws extended themselves as they rose higher and higher to where the black sheep had just begun to fall back to Earth, victory shining in both of their eyes.

But in an instant, that victory was snatched away when Toothless screamed past the two and plucked the black sheep right out of the air. Astrid let out a curse and slammed her fist into her thigh as Toothless tossed the sheep up to Hiccup, before looking down at Astrid with his signature toothless smile.

"To the finish line, Toothless!" Hiccup called out as the screams of Astrid's frustration echoed in his ears, Hiccup clutching the baying sheep tight while it struggled to escape him. With speeds that no other dragon could match, the dragon rider and his trusted friend zoomed towards where the goals were kept. The goals were simply nets that dangled from beneath a bridge with the face of the dragon to mark whose goal was whose, yet somehow there was always somebody scoring for someone else in the race.

"Keep it straight," Hiccup ordered as he cast a quick glance over his should to see Astrid and Stormfly just barely behind him, with the other dragon riders off in the distance with no chance to catch up. With his victory all but assured, the two tore through the air towards the finish line and Hiccup lifted the sheep to slam it in.

With an air ripping screech, the very fabric of reality was torn apart in front of the dragon and its rider, creating a purple maw into the unknown in front of the both of them. Hiccup let out a cry of shock as he dropped the sheep to grab hold of Toothless' saddle with both hands, pulling up hard as the dragon struggled to slow down in time. Toothless extended his wings wide to slow his forward momentum as much as he could, but the two of them were already moving too fast to stop then.

"HICCUP!" Astrid called out desperately, all of the competitiveness that had filled her voice a moment before replaced with terror. She grabbed hold of Stormfly's reigns and laid down as far as she could go to increase her dragon's speed. "Stormfly, GO!" 

Yet she never caught them, as in the next moment Toothless and Hiccup flew right into the purple vortex, which closed behind them a few seconds later. The pair both roared in silent pain as the magic consumed their very bodies, making them feel as if they were being ripped apart only to be assembled atom by atom moments later. The two struggled against the magical energies as long as they could, but eventually both of them succumbed to the magic and their minds were consumed with darkness.

\\\\\
=====
/////

The pain that slowly pounded through his head told Hiccup that he was starting to wake up again, but as the dull thudding got louder and louder the more he wished that he was still asleep. Then the memories of the vortex returned to him and in the next instant his eyes snapped open, allowing him to take in the fact that he was laying sideways in a small field. His helmet was still upon his head, yet he could see through the eye slits that a beautiful blue sky rested overhead. He sat up and removed the helmet, placing it at his feet as he felt a warm breeze caress his face.  He found that strange, because warm breezes were foreign to Berk.

"Ugh...Toothless? You there, Bud?" Hiccup called out as he pushed himself to his feet, wincing as pain throbbed through his head and limbs. He groaned as he turned around to see that his dragon companion was standing behind him, looking down at Hiccup with hints of concern flashing in his green eyes. "There you are. Man, what the heck happened back there? Do you think that the gods had something to do with that strange...thing?"

"Actually, I was the one who brought you here." 

Both Hiccup and Toothless spun to face the voice, Toothless snarling while Hiccup prepared for battle. Yet, both of them were certain their eyes were deceiving them when they found who had spoken. Standing at four feet tall, with wings, a horn, a mark on her flank and a multicolored mane, was the strangest horse that the two of them had seen.

"I am Princess Twilight Sparkle. And I need your help, dragon master."
> Strange and Bizarre
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

For the longest moment, neither human, dragon nor pony moved as they all observed each other. Hiccup's first instinct was to pinch his cheek to see if he were dreaming, his logical mind telling him that he had simply crashed during the race and had passed out. Toothless, on the other hand, let out a roar that startled Twilight before lunging between her and Hiccup. With a snarl his teeth unsheathed themselves as blue fire began to well up in his stomach, getting the pony to back away with uncertainty in her eyes.

Hiccup was doing his best not to panic. One moment he had been flying through the sky, about to win another dragon race, when the next thing he knew he was in...wherever he was with a talking horse. Yet, since he spent nearly all of his days with strange and wonderful creatures, he wasn't sure if it was fear or curiosity that prevented him from hopping on Toothless and flying away.  In the face of such a bizarre creature, he found that he wanted to know more.

"Hold on a moment, I need to see if I'm understanding this," Hiccup finally broke the silence as he placed a hand on Toothless' side, getting the dragon to give him a curious look before he quelled the fire in his body. "You're a horse...and you just talked?" Hiccup asked Twilight, who nodded in response. "Am I being pranked? Is Loki out there somewhere messing with me?"

"This is no prank human, I am in need of your help," Twilight explained as she took a step forward to meet the human, but once again the black dragon roared and placed himself between the two of them. Despite being cautious of the unknown dragon that looked like it wanted to kill her, Twilight saw both loyalty and the desire to protect its partner in the dragon's eyes, telling her that she had chosen wisely. "My magic is what brought you here, and it would have only done so if you were an incredible dragon master. And from the way this dragon seeks to protect you, it seems that you have trained it into your...pet...quite well?"

"Friend. He's my friend," Hiccup clarified for Twilight before he knelt down next to Toothless and scratched the scales on his head, calming him down to the point where he retracted his teeth. Hiccup then turned his eyes to Twilight with confusion. "And I'm going to need some serious answers right now. Where are we and why...how did you interrupt our race?"

"As I was saying...um...?"

"Hiccup."

"Hiccup? Er, as I was saying Hiccup, I used my magic to bring you here," Twilight stated again, but when both the dragon and the human gave her a disbelieving look she decided to be more direct. "Fine. I see that I owe you a demonstration." As she said this her horn began to glow with a strange light, one that caused both dragon and rider to open their eyes wide. In the next instant, Hiccup was slowly being lifted off of the ground, with the same light surrounding his body.

"Whoa, what's going on?" Hiccup exclaimed, slightly panicked as he struggled to keep from rotating. "Toothless, help!"

Toothless roared with fury before he hurled himself at the pony, wings extended and body glowing with a blue color as he tackled Twilight to the ground. Twilight let out a yell as her concentration broke, dropping Hiccup to the ground while she focused her magic on keeping the dragon from killing her. 

Yet, in the next moment a rainbow blur appeared out of nowhere and struck Toothless in the jaw, sending him staggering back with a roar. Toothless snarled as he looked around for what had hit him, crouching low to the ground as he did so while his slit-like eyes shot in every direction. When he failed to find what had struck him, his eyes focused back on the pony who was just getting back to her hooves and he began to advance forward.

"No Toothless, that's enough," Hiccup ordered as he once again walked over to Toothless and placed a hand upon his head, shifting Toothless' slit eyes back into more round ones as Hiccup began to scratch the dragon's scales. While he did this, Twilight watched every movement and interaction before she began to look over the pair herself. She was interested in the black leathery armor that Hiccup wore, yet her attention was immediately drawn from the armor to Hiccup's foot...or lack thereof.

"Yeah, when you work with dragons you sometimes lose limbs," Hiccup spoke aloud as he followed her gaze, holding out the peg leg with a smile. "I lost this in a giant inferno that I only survived because of this guy here. He's very protective of me. So I would recommend that you don't try anything like what you just did."

"I apologize, I was simply trying to show you that I speak the truth," Twilight muttered with a slight bow of her head, yet when she looked up she found that both Toothless and Hiccup were looking away from her and towards one of the trees that surrounded the area. "The rest of you might as well come out. I think Rainbow gave away the fact that you're here."

Hiccup felt Toothless' wing wrap around him tightly as four more ponies of varying sizes and colors appeared from behind the trees, subconsciously gripping the hilt of his blade as they got closer. As the four joined Twilight, Hiccup looked into each of their eyes with a curiosity and caution that he found reflected back at him. The pink one with the poof mane had a huge smile on her face, hopping up and down with excitement. In contrast, a yellow one with a light pink mane hid behind one of her friends, yet peeked out to look at Toothless with starry eyes. 

"Well, isn't he an...interesting specimen?" a white horse with a purple mane asked as she tried to get closer, but Toothless let out another snarl that forced her back.

"Yeah, well this dragon doesn't look that tough." Upon seeing the rainbow-maned pony that floated before him and remembering what had hit him, Toothless let out another snarl as he began to advance towards her and was only stopped by Hiccup.

"There are...more...of you," Hiccup said, trying to maintain as much of his composure as he could.

"Yes. These are all my friends. Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Rainbow Dash, who did not wait like I had instructed her to," Twilight introduced before flashing Rainbow a look that she ignored. Hiccup let out a sigh before sitting down on Toothless' back, running his fingers through his hair as he struggled to make sense of what was happening.

"Look, I come from a world of Vikings, dragons and gods, but this," he began as he motioned to the ponies with one of his arms. "Is really starting to freak me out. If you have an explanation as to what's going on, I would really like to hear it."

"Certainly. Let me start with this world. You are in the land of Equestria, a land that is home to many different ponies as well as other species. We're all sentient, we all can talk and we all mostly get along...until recently. As I was saying, I used my magic to bring you here from your world so that you can help us. The reason for this is...we have been having a dragon problem as of late." At this Hiccup's eyes became more focused and for a moment the shocked look that had been in his eyes vanished. He folded his arms as he and Toothless shared a look, Hiccup nodding to the dragon before motioning for Twilight to continue.

"Normally we are friends with the dragons and are on good terms with them, but recently...things have changed," Twilight began, her friends listening closely since this was also the first time they were hearing this news. "Some of the dragons now attack our homes, burn our villages and torch the land. My superiors believe that there is a force at work that is controlling or manipulating the dragons into attacking us, most likely against their will."

Hiccup's eyes narrowed slightly while a frown overtook his face, her words bringing back all too recent memories from his mind--memories of Drago, of the massive battle between the dragons and the Alpha...and the pain of loss with which he was still trying to cope.

"I am sad to say that none of us had made much progress in finding out who is behind this, but with the threat of dragon attack constantly looming over all of our heads...I thought it best that we seek the help of an expert on dragons and see if they would aid us," Twilight continued, looking up at Hiccup with her purple eyes. "And that's why you're here. Because my magic sought out the greatest dragon master and brought him here. So...I assume that you are the dragon master than can help us, right?"

'Okay...let's see if I got this right. These...talking horses...need my help in stopping an evil force that is manipulating dragons into attacking their homes and to do so they used...magic...to bring me here,' Hiccup recapped, his frown growing longer as he crossed his arms once again. 'Yeah...still not sure how I feel about that. Or any of this.'

Toothless then let out a small moan and pushed his head up under Hiccup's arm, looking up at him with quizzical eyes that seemed to question what Hiccup would do next. Hiccup looked down at his best friend with a sigh, knowing what he was asking. 'But they are right in saying that I know more about dragons than anyone else on Berk, and if they were so desperate for help that they used...magic...to bring me here, then things must be serious.'

'And I know better than anyone what it's like to have dragons forced against their will to cause destruction,' Hiccup remembered as he reached down and patted Toothless on the head, helping to make up his mind. 'So if something here is causing dragons to go crazy and attack horses...who can still talk...and they're desperate enough to come to me for help, well...helping others has always been something I'm good at.'

"So...will you help us?" Twilight hesitantly asked.

"Yeah, I guess I will, but I will probably never get used to talking magical horses," Hiccup informed them as he rose off of Toothless. "Alright Toothless, we're going to be helping these horses. So try not to accidently set any of them on fire."

"So, his name is Toothless?" Fluttershy asked as she squeezed in between both Rarity and Rainbow Dash to get closer to Toothless. She looked up at the dragon with awe-filled eyes while Toothless tilted his head and looked down at the pony, not sure what to make of her. "Wow, I've never seen a dragon before with such a pretty shade of black," then she gasped, "and look at his green eyes! They're so pretty! Can I touch him?"

"Whoa, careful there, it takes a lot of training to even approach a dragon this dangerous, let alone..." Hiccup stopped talking when Fluttershy, completely unafraid of Toothless, walked up to him and began to scratch underneath of his neck. Toothless' eyes rolled back in his head and he slumped over with a happy sigh, whereby Fluttershy began to scratch all along his neck and face. "You're lucky he's just a giant softy," Hiccup smirked with a roll of his eyes when Toothless let out a happy roar.

"Fluttershy can makes friends with nearly all animals. It's not that strange," Pinkie said with a huge smile as she got her face as close to Hiccup's as she could, seemingly looking into his very thoughts with her eyes.

"I'll...take your word for it," Hiccup muttered with hands up as he backed away from one crazy, only to bump into another crazy.

"Hello there darling," Rarity said with a beautiful smile and a bat of her eyelashes as she looked Hiccup up and down, causing her smile to grow wider when she got to his face. "Well, well, I may not know much about humans, but I do know when somepony is...quite the catch."

"Ahaha...yeah," Hiccup half-laughed nervously as he backed away from Rarity, nearly tripping over Fluttershy when he backed into Toothless. The dragon gave him a growl and raised a questioning eyebrow at him. "Look, Bud, I know that these horses are...strange, but helping people...horses...helping others learn how to train and live with dragons is what I do best. So if they need my help, I guess I'm the right guy for the job."

Toothless rolled his eyes at Hiccup before turning his attention to the ponies that began to crowd around the both of them, save for Rainbow Dash who seem to be acting too cool to care. Fluttershy had started circling Toothless while eyeing him with curiosity, but she let out a horrified gasp when she got to his tail.

"Oh my gosh, what happened to him?" she asked as she knelt down next to the fabric fin that had replaced the missing part of Toothless' tail, gently petting the dragon's tail while looking up at Hiccup for answers. "Did another dragon or human do this to him?"

"Well funny thing is...wait, there are humans in this world?" Hiccup asked with a slightly shocked look, but before any of the others could answer Twilight stepped in.

"No, there aren't any humans here aside from you, but I've met others before," Twilight explained before looking off in the distance, Hiccup following her gaze to see a small town with a giant crystal castle on the other side of it. "Alright, Princess Celestia and Luna, my superiors, will be here tomorrow, so until then I'm just supposed to make you feel at home. So if you would come with me, I would like to show you my home."

"Uh...sure," Hiccup agreed, waving for Toothless, who now had Fluttershy sitting upon his back, to join them. Once the dragon and the other ponies had joined with the princess and human, they all started to head towards the town with Twilight and Hiccup in the lead.

"That's quite the interesting suit that you have there darling," Rarity pointed out as she looked over the leather and metal masterpiece with an expert's eye. "Seems to have a number of different functions. Which tailor of yours made it for you?"

"Oh this? I made it myself," Hiccup proudly declared as he held up his arms so the ponies could see the suit. "It's my armor, my harness to Toothless, and I can even glide with it for short periods. Really one of my best inventions." His words got an eyebrow raise out of Rarity before she motioned Twilight to join her, pulling Twilight in close once she had done so.

"It's quite impressive that he managed to make that by himself. While fashionably it isn't that impressive, I can see that it serves numerous different purposes and functions besides the ones he mentioned," Rarity informed Twilight, who looked over at the black suit with interest. "Seems we have another little inventor on our hoofs. Not a bad looking one either, I might add."

"So now you're an expert on human fashion and looks as well as ponies?" Rainbow Dash smirked from behind the pair, but Rarity ignored her as she motioned for Twilight to talk to their humans some more, since he looked really out of place.

"So...Hiccup...can you tell me...why hasn't Toothless spoken to any of us yet?" Twilight asked, trying to get small talk started. 

"Because he's a dragon. Dragons...don't talk," Hiccup replied with a shake of his arms as if she had asked him why is the sky blue, yet his response gained Hiccup both a small giggle and a look from Twilight.

"Okay, so dragons don't talk in your world, but I can guarantee that they talk here. Spike will show you that when we get back." Hiccup's jaw nearly left his mouth at Twilight's words, but before he could speak Pinkie leapt up in front of him with a smile.

"So Mr. Hiccup, you're taking this whole being teleported to a different reality by a number of talking ponies with magical powers to fight evil dragons awfully well," Pinkie pointed out excitedly.

"I'm used to the strange and bizarre...but I gotta admit that if I wasn't seeing this, then I doubt I would ever believe it. Not sure I still believe it," Hiccup muttered under his breath. "Still trying not to panic." If any of the ponies heard him, they didn't say anything because the six of them finally entered into the town.

"Alright then, Hiccup, allow me to be the first to introduce you to Ponyville!" Twilight exclaimed as she turned to face him, yet Hiccup's face remained emotionless as he looked down the streets to see hundreds of different ponies, each with a different color, mane and strange mark upon their flanks.

'Yep. I still don't know if I believe this is happening.'
> When Dragons Talk Back
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Please refrain from chipping any of the crystals off of my castle," Twilight commanded with a sly smile, having caught Hiccup examining the crystal walls far too closely for her liking. He shot up straight and walked away with a shamefaced grin. Twilight had taken the human right to her castle, taking a detour around most of Ponyville so that the ponies didn't see him. They had lost Rainbow Dash along the way, as she said that she had something she wanted to do. She would introduce him to them soon enough, but now didn't seem the time.

"They're just so...unbelievable! I've never seen any mineral like them where I come from," Hiccup informed Twilight as he gazed up in awe at the massive structure that glistened in the light, his eyes darting to each part of it as if he were trying to take it all in at once. "I would love to examine these more when I have some free time. I'd love to see what new things I could create with them."

"You're an inventor Hiccup?" Fluttershy asked from atop Toothless' head, the dragon being kind enough to give his new friend a lift.

"Oh, what do you know, we have another scientist on our hooves," Rarity said. "You must share some of your knowledge with Twilight, she just enjoys learning about new things."

"First I'd like to focus more on the dragon problem," Twilight cut in as she used her magic to open to doors to her castle. "Welcome to my home, Hiccup and Toothless. Make yourselves at home." Both Toothless and Hiccup's jaws dropped, hitting the crystal floors when they saw the majesty of the interior of the castle. Twilight couldn't help but smile at the awed looks of the human and dragon, whom she was starting to notice seemed to be just as expressive as its master.

"Wow...this makes all the dragon resistant buildings I helped design look like...nothing," Hiccup muttered beneath his breath as the five entered into a room with a six thrones around a star engraved in the ground. 

"Don't feel too bad, the whole place was created by a magic box filled with the power of rainbows that helped us send a centaur to the depths of Tartarus!" Pinkie explained "helpfully" for Hiccup. While Hiccup tried to place what Pinkie said to any sort of reason, a small purple and green dragon ran out from a different room and skidded to a stop in front of Twilight.

"Twilight! You're finally back from your errands with the princess!" Spike exclaimed with joy as he tackled her leg, hugging it tight while Twilight wrapped a hoof around his back. "You won't believe what I managed to do with my fire in the few days that you've been gone!" Spike grinned as he broke free of Twilight's grasp before he looked over at the wide-eyed human, finally noticing Hiccup for the first time. "Oh, are you that human Twilight told me about? The dragon master?"

"By Odin's beard, he actually can talk," Hiccup whispered before he stuck out his right hand and slowly began to approach Spike, gently placing his hand upon the top of Spike's head with a small sigh. For a long moment he stood in silence with his hand upon Spike's head, before Rarity finally broke the silence.

"Um, darling? Whatever are you doing?" Rarity asked.

"Whatever he's doing, it feels nice," Spike lazily said as he closed his eyes and leaned into Hiccup's hand. In a moment Hiccup was on his knees and examining every scale, spine and tooth with wide eyes. Hiccup began to mutter under his breath as he reached underneath his chest armor and pulled out a ragged looking journal, opening it and pulling out a pencil. With quick strokes and movements he drew an accurate picture of Spike, before writing Spike at the top of the page and underlining it.

"You really are an incredible dragon," Hiccup muttered as he squinted his eyes at Spike, the young dragon puffing out his chest in pride. "But not an easy to place dragon. Not a striker, not a boulder, definitely not a tidal. What type of dragon are you?"

"That's easy! I'm a fire breather!" Spike exclaimed before inhaling deeply and unleashing a pitiful burst of green fire from his mouth. Fluttershy let out a small giggle at the sight before Toothless let out a yawn and walked over to Spike, whose eyes shrunk as he noticed the black Night Fury for the first time. He held perfectly still as Toothless prodded him with his nose, taking in a deep breath, and smiled a toothless smile at Spike before he went back to exploring the castle room.

"Well, Toothless seems to like you. No, definitely not that class either...hmm, this might take a while," Hiccup muttered while his pencil scribbled away furiously in his notebook and it wasn't until Twilight levitated the notebook out of his grasp that he broke out of his thoughts. "Hey!"

"You can focus on categorizing Spike later, but right now we need to talk about living conditions, meeting with the town, proper etiquette-"

"Aw, come on Twilight, I like the attention," Spike said before he let out a small hiccup, snapping Hiccup's attention back to the small dragon.

"A dragon that can get the hiccups? Amazing," Hiccup muttered as he pulled out another sheet of paper from a compartment in the suit and began to scribble down on the page while observing Spike. Twilight threw her head back with an exasperated sigh before looking down at the journal she still had clutched in her magic. With a shrug she opened the pages and flipped through them, quickly scanning and taking in the pictures while finding to her annoyance that she couldn't read the words.

"Most of those do not look remotely like the dragons that we have around here," Rarity muttered as she peeked over Twilight's shoulder, Twilight nodding in agreement as she saw an image of a dragon with a massive maw filled with razor sharp teeth and white, blank eyes.

"So many different variations and species. And according to this he's trained or battled all of them," Twilight noticed as she looked at a page with a giant, reddish dragon that towered over the others before her gaze turned towards Hiccup once again, the human trying to examine Spike's mouth. "Seems we really did get a dragon master."

"So what's up with the six thrones?" Hiccup asked while looking inside of Spike's throat, holding open the dragon's mouth with his hands. "You said that you were a princess and that you had superiors. Are these their thrones?"

"No, those are for me and my friends. We are the champions of friendship and work to unite all who live in this land," Twilight explained as she walked over to her own throne while Hiccup pulled his head out of Spike's mouth, letting the dragon go. Twilight levitated the notebook back to Hiccup as she continued to speak. "See, each of my friends is a member and when all of us are together we can unleash a power far greater than any other magic in the land. By looking at the markings on our thrones, you can tell which one belongs to whom. This one is obviously mine," Twilight said with pride as she sat upon the throne with her cutie mark.

"So Rainbow, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie...wait, who's that one?" Hiccup asked as he pointed to the one with apples on it.

"Oh, that belongs to Applejack, our resident honest pony. She's off delivering apples to another part of Equestria, but she should be back soon," Twilight explained as she rose off her throne and pulled out a map of the castle. "Let's see, I have a few rooms available in the lower part of the castle if you're fine with that, but if not I've got a spare bedroom up in the-"

"Nah, I'll just use Toothless for a bed. I've done it before whenever I'm gone from my home for awhile...like now," Hiccup said as realization began to cloud his eyes and he sat down next to his dragon with both hands massaging the sides of his head. 'But just how long am I going to be in this strange land? How long can Berk last without me? With all of our enemies and Drago still being out there? Astrid should be able to cover for me for a few days, but eventually they're going to need me...'

"Hiccup? Are you alright?" Fluttershy asked, stepping down from Toothless' head when she saw Hiccup's eyes change. He shook his head once and gave a tired smile to the Pegasus before looking at her wings with a curious expression. 

"You know, I had only read about Pegasus in myths and legends, kinda like the unicorns. How many different variations of ponies are there?" Hiccup asked.

"Three, for the most part. Earth, Pegasus and Unicorn," Rarity explained with a kind smile, cutting Twilight off before she could start. "Unicorns are magical, pegasi can fly and Earth ponies are exceptionally skilled with the mud and grime that I would rather not touch."

"But then there are alicorns like me, a mix of all three," Twilight added as she walked beside Rarity. "Alicorns, at least as long as there has been written history, have been the rulers of Equestria, aside from the few times evil has tried to overthrow them."

"Interesting. A ruler is picked depending on their...features instead of it being passed down through family," Hiccup muttered, getting a curious eyebrow raise from Twilight.

"Seems that your world's hierarchy is different from the humans I...know of," Twilight quickly fixed before revealing too much to Hiccup. "You said that leadership is passed down through families?"

"Right. My dad is...was the chief of Berk, but now I am," Hiccup said with a small sigh as he slightly hung his head. Toothless blinked twice before wrapping his tail around Hiccup and licking the top of his head, getting both Hiccup and Rarity to exclaim in disgust as Hiccup was covered in saliva.

"So...you're kind of like a king then?" Rarity asked before adjusting her mane and putting on her prettiest face. "Hello there Hiccup, my name is Rarity."

"Chief is the more accurate term," Hiccup corrected as he wiped the dragon saliva off of his suit and flicked it onto Toothless, who grunted as he tried to paw the spit off of his face. Hiccup then looked up through one of the windows at the sky, trying to take in everything that he had learned in the past couple of hours. "This is all a lot to take in. Do you guys mind if I go sort all of this out?"

"Er, I guess not?" Twilight answered. Hiccup nodded before hopping onto Toothless' back in one well-practiced motion, sliding his foot and metal leg into the stirrups on either side of the Night Fury. He rotated his leg twice and the fin on Toothless' tail responded by moving, getting a smile out of Hiccup before he looked down at Toothless and said, "Let's go flying, Bud." 

With a roar of happiness Toothless bounded out of the castle foyer and blasted open the doors with a ball of fire, Hiccup apologizing to the ponies over his shoulder before Toothless rocketed outside and shot into the sky with a burst of speed. Twilight and the other ponies ran outside to see that the Night Fury had already ascended rapidly into the sky, getting an impressed look from Spike.

"Wow, that dragon's fast! I don't know too many dragons that can fly like that," he exclaimed.

"Spike...you don't know too many dragons at all," Twilight reminded him.

"I rest my case."

High above the land, Hiccup could see just how strange this place was from his cold and tough home. Where Berk blew cold air, the air in this land was warm and comforting. Where Berk was grey and mostly rock, Equestria was filled with life and color, so much so that it was a little hard on his eyes.

'It's hard to believe, but even harder to deny. I'm definitely in a different world now. Still half-thinking this is a trick by Loki,' Hiccup mused as he shifted his foot, allowing Toothless to spin to the side and dive down slightly, giving the pair a closer look and the lands below. But as they flew, they quickly found an area of land where the ground was scorched and the smell of a smoke was all too familiar to the both of them.  It clung to the air. Hiccup knew what he was going to find before he even saw the torched village, but his stomach sank a bit as he and Toothless gazed over the burned buildings and blackened landscape.

"Seems that she was telling the truth and they do need our help. Talking, magical ponies need our help...this is definitely one of our strangest days," Hiccup said with a shake of his head before patting Toothless on the top of his head. "What do you think, Bud? Think we should figure out a way to get home or should we stay and help these ponies with their dragon problems?"

Toothless' response was to dive down to the town and land dead center in what used to be the square, looking around as he inhaled the air. The dragon's eyes narrowed as it began to move around, sniffing while his eyes moved left and right.

"Smell something, Bud? Is it the dragon that attacked this place?" Hiccup asked, but at that moment Toothless let out a roar of fury and whipped both himself and Hiccup around quickly, fire in his mouth as he looked around for the being that was watching them. But despite nearly feeling the eyes upon him, Toothless found that they were alone. He slowly let the fire die in his mouth before letting out another roar and taking back to the sky with a confused Hiccup in tow.

Yet, while he had been unable to see anything or anyone there, Toothless was certain that they had been watched, that there was something there that his regular sense just didn't see. And whatever it was, he didn't like it and wanted to get Hiccup as far away from it as he could. But as the dragon tore through the sky on his way back to the town, he made sure to remember what the sensation felt like in case it ever appeared again.

And he would be ready if it did.

\\\\\\
====
//////

"And finally, you appear," a silky voice muttered, yet there was a darkness that clung to every word, a voice as dark as the inky black cave in which the voice took refuge. Yet in the darkness, a white, toothy smile could faintly be seen as the owner of the voice opened their eyes, eyes that were just as white as the smile. "I was not sure whether or not you would come so quickly, but it seems that the dragon master is finally here."

The voice then rose from a throne that was made with the bones of numerous different beings and sauntered into the cave, away from the throne of bones that had been charred black by an intense heat, heat that came from the very dragons that the master was there to combat. The voice came to a stop in front of a massive mountain of fire and scales, yet fear never once crossed her eyes as she poked it with her hooves.

"There's a place I want you to go and a...master that I want you to test," the alluring voice spoke, causing the massive dragon to lift its head and gaze down at her with pure red eyes. "Ponyville. Do whatever you need to draw out the master and test his abilities. If he isn't as good as I've seen, then I have no issues with you killing all of them. Fly quickly now."

The dragon bellowed as it flapped its wings, rising to its full height before hurling itself towards the exit of the cave in a fury of power and flame, leaving the voice all alone as another toothy smile broke out across its face. "Yes, with the dragon master here, nearly all of the players are in place. And when they are all together, then we shall see if this vision of death is truly as entertaining as I believe it to be."
> Burning Down the Town
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Argh, how can that dragon be so darn fast?!" Twilight growled while she held a hoof over her eyes, blocking out the sun as she scanned the skies to where Toothless had flown off. Twilight was standing next to Fluttershy and Rarity in the middle of Ponyville, having gone to look for the human when he didn't come back. "I thought that Hiccup was just going to take a walk or something, not fly off on his dragon to Faust knows where!"

"Well if I had a dragon, I know I would enjoy flying on its back," Fluttershy stated meekly, but her words fell on deaf ears as Twilight conjured a seeking spell to locate the dragon. A violet arrow appeared in the air before Twilight, yet she raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Strange, according to my spell there's a dragon on its way here right now.  Huh, Hiccup must be coming back," Twilight muttered with a shrug as she canceled the spell. "Still, never thought that the dragon master that I brought to our land would be so...technologically inferior. Normally when I read about humans or examine their technology, while not magical, it is still pretty advanced."

"How do you know that Hiccup's isn't darling?" Rarity asked with a coy smile. "Have you been examining him closely?"

"Look at his outfit and what's on it," Twilight explained, completely missing Rarity's hint. "Basic armor, parchment that looks like it belongs in the medieval era; all sorts of old fashion items. I always thought that all human realities were more advanced.  I'll have to make an addition to the book on humans when I find it again." 

"So Twilight dear, what are your first impressions of our human friend," Rarity asked. "He seems to be quite the curious human and was very interested in Spike."

"Well, if the dragons in his world don't talk, then I'm not surprised that he took an interest in Spike," Twilight analyzed. "But some of those dragons within his book really interested me. While he may not look the part, it's clear that he has dealt with many different species of dragons. Hopefully that will be enough to..."

"Um, Twilight? Are the pegasi supposed to create a thunderstorm today?" Fluttershy asked from beside Rarity and Twilight, interrupting them while drawing their attention to the sky. Black clouds had rolled in, covering the land in darkness, yet the clouds had hints of red burning within them. Twilight narrowed her eyes at the clouds before she began to flap her wings, ascending into the clouds to see what was causing them.

"Strange, there are no pegasi moving these clouds," she muttered to herself as she began to scan the clouds with her magic, finding to her surprise that they were being moved by a strange magic that she had only sensed once before. 'Wait a moment, this magic feels like...oh no.' An earth shaking roar assaulted her ears while informing her that she was not alone in the clouds. The Princess of Friendship spun around to see a massive blue dragon with crimson eyes flying right at her, maw alight with crimson flames that licked the edges of its mouth hungrily.

A flap of its mighty wings nearly blew Twilight out of the sky, yet with the power of the alicorns she managed to stop her descent and turn to face the massive monster, which was glaring at her with eyes beyond all reason. "Halt dragon! By order of the princesses I-" Twilight's words and nearly the princess herself were consumed in a torrent of fire that bellowed from the dragon's mouth, turning the clouds a raging red as the fire ignited the air around her.

Twilight created a barrier to shield herself from the burning fire, yet even with the magic protecting her she could still feel the waves of the intense heat as the fire scorched the air around her. The dragon let loose a roar of fury before it dove down through the clouds towards the village below.

"No you don't!" Twilight ordered as she dove down after the typhoon of death, firing bolts of magics through the blackened clouds in an attempt to slow the beast down. Yet either her spells weren't affecting the dragon or it no longer felt pain, for even when one of the spells struck the dragon in the eye it continued down without pausing for a moment. 

In one last desperate attempt to stop the dragon, Twilight twirled her horn while drawing a line of magic in the air, a line that became a lasso a moment later. While her skills with a lasso weren't as great as Applejack's, she managed to whip the magical line around the dragon's throat and pulled it tight. "You aren't getting Ponyville! Not while I'm still alive!"

All of Twilight's courage died in her throat after uttering those words, for in the next moment the dragon slowly turned to face her with a malicious smile upon its face, taking her words to heart. With teeth that could shred diamonds, the dragon tore through Twilight's line before aiming those same fangs at the unicorn, who would have been shredded to pieces if she hadn't teleported out of the way.

"I've got to stop you!" Twilight roared as she reappeared behind the dragon, taking aim at the back of its head with perfect precision. But with her focus locked onto bringing the dragon down in one shot, she never noticed the bringer of flame whip its tail towards her. A ton of scale and muscle slammed into the side of Twilight's body, striking her out of the air with one mighty blow.

'Can't...fail here...got to...save everypony,' Twilight weakly thought as she fell, but her world got infinitely hotter and she looked up to see the dragon barreling towards her, maw opened wide as hellfire itself burned in its jaws. Twilight tried to summon the concentration to deflect the flames, but she found it was too late as flames burst forth from the dragon and consumed the area around her.

But instead of hearing the sounds of death and fire, all Twilight could hear was a loud scream-like sound that was getting louder and louder. She closed her eyes as the fire prepared to consume her body and soul...only for the heat to go away a second later. She slowly cracked one eye open to see the smiling face of Hiccup looking down at her. Both her eyes snapped open and she looked around to find that she had been tucked into the crook of Hiccup's arm while Toothless flew them out of the fire that illuminated the sky.

"Hello there, Princess. I see that your dragon problem is back," Hiccup said with a dorky grin that caused Twilight to blush slightly.

"Yeah...yeah, this dragon just showed up out of nowhere," Twilight informed Hiccup as she shook her head while breaking free of his grip, relocating herself behind Hiccup while coughing once. 

"Yeah, seems you've got a class A Stoker on your hands...hooves. What I'm saying is, this is one heck of a fire breather and might take some effort to bring down," Hiccup said with a serious tone, observing the blue dragon as it bellowed at the Night Fury and tore through the skies to get to them. 'It's somewhat fast, but seems to be a bulkier Stoker with increased fire power instead of speed. We can deal with that, but the problem will be quenching its fire before it sets the town below on fire. Could really use some of Thor's magic right about...magic...'

"Twilight, can you make water with your magic? We need to extinguish that guy's fire before he sets the whole place ablaze!" Hiccup called out over his shoulder to the unicorn, whose eyebrows furrowed for a second before she shook her head.

"I can create water, but not enough to stop that much raw fire...but if I gather the other pegasi we might be able to create a rainstorm over the dragon!" she exclaimed.

"Alright, you go do that then," Hiccup instructed as Toothless turned back towards the dragon, letting out the roar of an Alpha as he began to pick up speed.

"Wait, what are you going to do?" Hiccup turned back to look at Twilight with a quick wink before facing the rapidly approaching dragon with a serious expression.

"What I do best, Princess," Hiccup said as he reached behind him and pulled out his helmet, sliding it over his face with a smile. "Stopping those who hurt others." Twilight fell off of Toothless' side right before dragon and rider shot ahead at incredible speeds, Hiccup nearly laying down flat upon Toothless' back to provide as little wind resistance as possible. The blue dragon erupted with fire that torched the skies around the two, but with a majestic roll that no Equestrian dragon could replicate, Toothless swiftly avoided the flames.

"Alright, Bud, time to show this dragon why you're the Alpha," Hiccup instructed. Toothless let out a roar of agreement before blasting out a shot of blue fire that exploded against the side of their foe's face. The dragon roared with rage as the fire and smoke blinded it momentarily, allowing Toothless and Hiccup to circle around behind the dragon with ease.

"Fire!" Another bolt of blue fire struck the dragon in the back, getting the mighty beast to roar in fury as it blindly spun and lashed out with lethal claws. Yet it only struck air as Toothless folded in his wings and dove through the razor's edge, slipping right under the dragon's arm before rocketing out on the other side without a scratch.

"Man, I don't recall ever seeing a dragon this big back on Berk, aside from the Alpha," Hiccup muttered as he turned his gaze back towards the dragon that roared with fury, placing it above the Nightmare in terms of size and strength. It belched a roaring inferno into the sky in hopes of torching the dragon that assaulted it, but with his speed Toothless was more than able to avoid the raging flames. "And those flames could be a real problem. Hopefully Twilight's plan works or else we might end up toast."

Toothless let out a roar before trying to motion to Hiccup, getting the rider's attention as he looked down at his friend. "What's the matter Bud? You...sense something strange with the dragon?" Toothless let out another roar with a shake of his head before moving his head towards the beast's eyes. Hiccup narrowed his own eyes as the two tore past the dragon, noticing that the eyes were an unnatural crimson that looked unusual even for a dragon. Yet, he recognized all to well the slit-like pupils that filled the dragon's crimson eyes and knew what those eyes meant.

"It's under somebody's control," Hiccup informed Toothless, who growled angrily with a shake of his head as memories of being mind controlled surfaced again. "That means this just got harder. If this dragon isn't in control of itself, we need to bring it down without hurting it. Come on, Bud, let's keep its attention on us!"

Toothless dove back down towards the dragon once again, shrieking through the sky as he built up more and more speed. Practically a blur at this point, he opened his jaw wide to shoot another bolt of blue flame into the side of the dragon, gaining its attention while getting it to roar with fury. Hiccup looked back at the dragon to confirm that it was following them before looking up to see a number of thunderstorm clouds growing off in the distance. He squinted when he thought he saw shapes zipping in and out of the clouds, with a smile crossing his face when he realized those were pegasi moving the clouds.

'They can move clouds? Weird, but works out well for us,' Hiccup mused before patting Toothless on the head. "Alright Bud, I'm going to need you to lure that dragon into those clouds. Think you can outrace a lightning bolt if needed?" 

Toothless' fearless roar answered for him and with a few flaps of his wings the Night Fury shot into the thundering clouds, with the blue dragon now covered in flames billowing in after them. It came to a stop in the center of the clouds with a roar, turning left and right as it sought out its foes. Rain began to pour down upon the dragon, extinguishing the flames that had burned along its scales, but the beast didn't notice for it was far too focused. 

A shriek of speed and a blast to the back of the head gave away Toothless' position, but when the dragon spun around all it saw was the dark clouds. Another shriek of speed roared behind it and the dragon spun to unleash its fire, yet only cloud felt the diminished flame of the dragon. Again and again it heard the Night Fury speed by it, but by the time it unleashed its fire the dragon was long gone.

With a mighty bellow of rage it lifted its head back with maw open wide, taking in both air and rain water as it prepared to burn the entire sky down if it needed to. Then, out of the corner of its eye, it saw the black form of the Night Fury and spun to face the dragon, throwing its head forward while unleashing all of its hellfire upon its foe. 

At least, that was what it wanted to do.

But after having swallowed so much rain water, the flames within its stomach had been quelled for the time being, resulting in only a small puff of smoke blowing out of its nostrils. It roared with fury as it tried again and again to unleash its fire, but it couldn't even muster up enough flame to create smoke, let alone the fire it wished for.

"Alright Twilight, NOW!" Hiccup's roar was quickly drowned out by a flash of purple lightning that cracked across the sky and struck the dragon in the back. The beast roared with pain as the lightning coursed through its bones, the sheer fury of the lightning making even the mighty dragon succumb to its power. The dragon let out a weak growl before it began to fall to the ground, where it was caught in a net of purple magic right before it struck.

"Seems the plan worked," Twilight said to Hiccup as she floated down beside the Night Fury, both of them landing in the fields outside of Ponyville while Twilight dropped the dragon on the ground before them. She ceased her magic before both she and Hiccup shared a look, a look that concerned the fire breathing beast. "So...what do we do with him? I mean, I can look up a counter spell to the magic that's controlling his mind, but that might take a while and I don't know if he'll stay stunned long enough to..."

Toothless began to walk forward towards the dragon, eyes locked on the red slit eyes of the blue beast that still tried to force itself back up despite the bad injury. Twilight was about to ask what he was doing before she saw that a small crowd of scared ponies had formed around them, all of them waiting with baited breath to see what would happen next.

"Don't worry Twilight, I think Toothless can help," Hiccup informed her.

The blue dragon roared with defiance as it glared at Toothless, who was many times smaller than it was, but when Toothless glared into the dragon's eyes it suddenly began to quiet down, as if intimidated by the black dragon before it. Toothless' eyes began to vibrate slightly as he glared into the crimson slits of the dragon before him, but after a few moments of glaring the crimson began to fade away and the slits slowly lengthened until they were similar to Toothless' eyes.

"W...what happened?" the dragon asked in a weak voice filled with confusion, lifting a claw to rub its head while it looked around at the ponies in confusion. "How did I get here? Where is here anyway?" Toothless stood up on his hind legs with a roar of victory, one that was followed by the cheers of Hiccup a moment later. Toothless came back down on all fours with another roar while Hiccup turned to look at Twilight, who had the most confused look upon her face.

"I don't understand. None of the magic Celestia and Luna used to break the dragons free of the magic had any effect, yet all Toothless had to do was look into the dragon's eyes and he was freed," she muttered with a small shake of her befuddled head. "How did he do it?"

"Because Toothless is like me, Twilight. He's the dragon's Alpha. And all dragons, no matter how big or how magically influenced, obey the Alpha." As the ponies began to approach the scene and Hiccup began to explain to the dragon where he was, Twilight looked upon the rider and dragon with a number of emotions. The first was confusion, the second was bafflement, but the third...the third was amazement.

'I can't deny it, but that was...impressive,' she thought to herself as she looked upon the team with a smile crossing her face, before her eyes glanced up at Hiccup, who was patting Toothless on the head. 'I got to admit that Rarity was right about you, Hiccup. I have never met another human like you. And that's not a bad thing.'
> On the Backs of Dragons
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The setting sun shined through the multicolored glass of one of the many crystal windows that adorned the crystal palace, yet for a certain human he found the multitude of colors that the light created annoying and distracting. His reason was sound, as the light got in his eyes and prevented him from fixing his slightly damaged armor.

Twilight had been nice enough to give him a room where he could repair his suit and take refuge for the night, but while Hiccup was too busy to take advantage of the soft bed in the corner, Toothless lay upon the soft mattress with his tongue out and legs up, smiling with content.

"There we go, Bud, that should keep the shoulder plate from falling off," Hiccup triumphantly informed his friend as he lifted the now repaired shoulder guard and placed it back upon his armor, too happy with his work to notice that the dragon was passed out happily. Hiccup moved his shoulder a few times to make sure that the repairs would hold up, yet his attention was drawn away from the armor when he heard hooves walking into the room.

"Good evening, Princess," Hiccup greeted Twilight as he turned in his chair to meet the smiling face of Twilight. "Thanks for loaning me this...well, incredible room! Sure is nicer than the wooden house that I live in."

"After what you did for us, this is the least I can do," Twilight said with a smile before looking over at the snoring Night Fury, a small laugh escaping her lips as Toothless twitched in his sleep. Twilight's gaze then shifted over to the crystal table at which Hiccup sat, where his notebook, knife and a strange baton of sorts rested upon it next to a number of tools.

"So, how is the dragon that Toothless freed?" Hiccup asked as he turned back to the items. "Been cooped up in here since we got back and I haven't been able to make anything out through those doors of yours."

"Celestia and Luna took the dragon to Canterlot, our most important city, to interrogate while healing him," Twilight informed Hiccup while walking beside the table, tilting her head with curiosity as she looked upon the baton. "Yet, they haven't been able to get much out of him. According to their report, the last thing the dragon remembered was sleeping in his cave when a strange pony in a cloak walked up to him. He roared at them to go away, but then their eyes flashed white and the next thing he knew he was in Ponyville."

"Hmm, I don't like that. Whoever this pony is, if they can control dragons just by making eye contact, then they will definitely be a problem," Hiccup muttered as he flipped open his notebook to a page that Twilight noticed had a drawing of the dragon they just battled. He made a few additions to the page, before catching Twilight out of the corner of his eye looking up at him with slight admiration. "What?"

"Just...thanks. For saving me," Twilight said while avoiding Hiccup's curious eyes. "And for saving all of Ponyville, of course! If you hadn't shown up when you did, I'm not sure if the town would have survived that dragon attack. So, since I brought you here you've saved a princess, a town--and freed a dragon from mind control. Not bad for a first day on the job."

"Now I understand why you ponies brought me here. No dragon should be forced against its will to be evil," Hiccup said with a quiet fire in his voice that brought out the strength in his features. He then looked down to catch Twilight looking at the items he had strewn across the table, smiling as she reached out for his sword.

"Like it? I invented it myself," Hiccup boasted slightly as the collapsed blade shot out into its full glory, getting Twilight's eyes to widen. "Yep, it's a retractable sword. Took me months to figure out how to compact it without sacrificing its ability to give and take hits. But that's not its only cool feature." 

As he said this he pushed another button, causing the blade to erupt into a torrent of fire. Twilight jumped back slightly as Hiccup began to swing the sword around, explaining how he made it. "The blade is coated in Nightmare saliva, making it resemble a dragon's fire when lit. This way I can convince them that I'm one of their own. It's also good for scaring away any people who want to mess with me."

"And you built this yourself?" Twilight questioned as Hiccup motioned for her to take it. She examined every inch of the weapon while holding it with her magic, amazed but also confused at the same time. Hiccup noticed the confusion and asked her what was wrong. "I'm just having a hard time placing you. You ride around on dragons and are human, yet your weapons and armor seem almost...primitive. Just a quick question, do you have electricity where you come from?"

Hiccup lowered his head for a minute as he thought about her strange question, not sure what she was asking. "Yeah we have lightning, but since it's nearly impossible to capture lightning without somebody getting really hurt, we try to avoid it." 

Twilight's face had turned into a frown while Hiccup had explained, because the fact that he confused electricity for raw lightning meant that he was farther back in human history than she had originally thought.

"Hey Hiccup, what was the most important invention or discovery that you've had recently?" Twilight asked, determined to place his era. Hiccup had to think about his answer for a moment. 

"Well, a few years ago we discovered that if a Gronkle, a kind of dragon, eats a special kind of rock it will belch up a new kind of metal," Hiccup explained as he reached over to Toothless, messing with the saddle for a moment before he drew out a long metal rod. "This new metal is far stronger and lighter than the old ones we used, but unfortunately it's really hard to come by. That was really important, since it helped reduce the weight of Toothless' saddle. But other than that...have to think about it."

As Hiccup reattached the rod onto Toothless' saddle, Twilight had managed to place Hiccup and she was concerned about the era from which he came. 'From what I've learned about humans through history books, Hiccup would have to be from an earlier part of human civilization. Maybe around the time of the Vikings or such, but that means the only skill he has--that we don't--is his ability to train and work with dragons. Aside from that, I'm certain we could replicate most of this stuff. Did I make the right choice in bringing him here?'

Her thoughts were broken when Toothless let out a loud yawn, before rolling off of the bed and to the floor with a loud THWUMP! He shook himself once as he rose to his feet, before walking over to Hiccup and biting the back of his armor, dragging the human out of his chair.  Toothless nearly made it out the door before Twilight freed Hiccup with her magic.

"What's wrong with him?" Twilight asked cautiously as she helped Hiccup up, not liking that the dragon was running back and forth while bounding off of the bed and walls.

"He's just excited that the sun's setting," Hiccup explained as he scratched Toothless under the chin, not seeming to realize that his explanation just made Twilight all the more confused. Hiccup caught her confused look and elaborated. "Sunset means that we are going to go flying one last time before we call it a day. It's probably his favorite time to fly because the stars are starting to come out. And if Toothless doesn't get his flight, then I don't get any sleep. Best to take him now."

"I did not realize that flying your dragon was like walking him. I thought you only did it when you needed to travel," Twilight muttered.

"Are you kidding? Riding Toothless while he's flying is just as much fun for me as it is for him," Hiccup informed Twilight, while Toothless nearly broke down the door to the room. "You should try it. Once you've ridden on the back of a dragon, you'll wonder how you managed to live without doing so."

"No thanks, I can fly fine on my own," Twilight reminded him as she flapped her wings. 

"Yeah, but that's not flying on a DRAGON!" Hiccup reminded her. She gave him a look and with a sigh he gave up, opening the door for Toothless and allowing the dragon to tear through the castle before bursting through the front doors. Hiccup sprinted after him with an apology to Twilight, catching up to his friend out in the sun soaked field that lay in front of the castle.

"Alright alright, just calm down long enough so that I can get on your back," Hiccup grumbled as he struggled to fight through Toothless' excitement in order to mount up. Hiccup had just sat down on Toothless' back and hooked his foot in when he heard a cough behind him, both dragon and rider turning to see the Princess of Friendship looking up at him with a nervous smile. "Change your mind?" Hiccup asked with a smile.

"Well, not many ponies can say they've ridden on the backs of dragons without being torched, so I thought this would be a great experience," Twilight muttered quickly. Hiccup patted the spot behind where he was sitting and helped pull Twilight onto the seat, yet when he told her to wrap her hooves around his waist it took a minute before she did so. "Just so you know, I'm doing this just so I know what it's like to ride on a dragon. Nothing else."

"You say that now, but just wait till we start flying," Hiccup warned her with a smile before turning forward and patting Toothless on the head. "Okay Bud, let's start out slow for her. Nice and gently now..." With a roar Toothless shot off into the crimson sky, forcing Twilight to hang onto Hiccup for dear life. He flapped his wings hard and let out a roar that scared away all the birds in the nearby vicinity, while Hiccup struggled to regain control of him. In a few seconds after lift off, Toothless had already broken through the small cloud cover that hung over the town, where he slowed down and leveled out.

"Sorry about that, he's just really excited," Hiccup apologized over his shoulder, but Twilight had him in a death grip while she shook slightly. "I said gently Toothless!" Toothless groaned an apology before he began to fly more gracefully. With a flick of his foot Hiccup helped Toothless spin swiftly while keeping the bumpiness of the flight to a minimum, occasionally glancing back over his shoulder at Twilight.

At first, Twilight hung on to Hiccup for dear life, but after getting used to the movements of the dragon (and remembering that even if she fell she had wings) she began to look around more, her eyes growing wide with awe when she saw the sky around them. The clouds shone softly in the dying light of the sun while the amber skies relaxed her, seeming to melt the stress that the dragon problem had created within her.

She looked straight up to see that just as Hiccup had said, the stars themselves were coming out to play. Thousands of lights began to twinkle overhead as the Nighty Fury rolled, spun and looped his way across the sky, flying in a way with such precision and grace that Twilight had to question the very way she had been flying before.

Once she had gotten more comfortable with how Toothless sailed across the skies, she eventually let go of Hiccup and spread her arms, closing her eyes so that the wind could embrace her whole being in a way she had never felt before. Hiccup lowered himself down to get out of her way, trying to allow Twilight to feel the full experience.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Hiccup eventually asked her when the sun had fully set, allowing the night moon to gently shine its glow upon the three as they glided through the soft, white clouds. Twilight simply nodded her head in response as Toothless started to fly straight up, making Twilight feel for a moment that she could reach out and touch the stars before Toothless fell backwards. The three dove straight down through a number of the clouds before bursting out of them above the City of Canterlot, which shone with a thousand lights that created a soft glow in the dark.

'I don't get it. I've flown plenty of times before but this is the first time that I've felt like...I've truly experienced what it means to be one with the sky,' Twilight thought to herself as she let out a sigh and sat back a bit, looking over the city of Canterlot before glancing at the lights of Ponyville that was rapidly approaching the three. 'But why is this time so different? What is Toothless doing in his flight pattern that I never did?'

Her answer came when Toothless let out a happy groan, his voice echoing across the night sky. She looked past Hiccup at the face of the dragon, who turned his head back slightly so that one of his green eyes was peeking at her. The eyes were practically smiling, seeming to tell Twilight that this is how one truly flew.

'It's all Toothless. The way he moves, the way he seems to become one with the very sky itself. Toothless truly is a master of the sky,' Twilight thought to herself as she gently petted the dragon beneath her, before realizing that a small rope connected the false fin on Toothless' tail to the stirrup. She realized that the stirrup was the same one where Hiccup's false foot was and, after watching how Hiccup moved his foot in conjunction with the movements of the dragon, realize that it wasn't just Toothless who was a master of the sky.

'So you two work together then, using your combined skills to make up for what you've lost,' Twilight deduced with a large smile, her opinion of both Toothless and Hiccup changing for the better. No longer was Toothless just some dragon that Hiccup had brought with him; he was now a master of the skies, a dragon that flew in a way no Pegasus could match.

And then there was Hiccup, the human who only a half hour ago, Twilight thought was only useful for his dragon training skills. But now she could see that he and Toothless were essentially one, each of them working together in near perfect unison to arch across the skies in a way that no Pegasus had ever attempted. He was truly a master of the dragons.

'They're incredible,' Twilight thought to herself with a slight warm face as she looked from the dragon to the rider. 'The both of them.'

"So what do you think now? Still think that there's any other way to fly?" Hiccup asked with a knowing smile, forcing Twilight to hide her face as Toothless started to descend into Ponyville.

"Okay, you were right...I've never experienced any sort of flying like that. It's like...the two of you were one with the very sky itself," Twilight blurted out right before she was forced to grab hold of Hiccup again, needing to hold onto him as Toothless came to a screeching halt on the ground outside of the castle. Hiccup smiled as Twilight pried her hooves off of him and hopped off the back of Toothless, who let out a loud yawn before he moved up the steps to the castle. Hiccup went to follow him before Twilight let out another cough to gain his attention. "That...was actually really fun. Would you mind if we did it again sometime?"

"Sure. I bet when Spike gets older he wouldn't mind flying you around himself," Hiccup said before the both of them entered into the castle again, Twilight using her magic to close the doors while Hiccup joined Toothless in their rooms. Twilight peeked in on them a few minutes later to see Toothless curled up in the corner with Hiccup laying against him, the both of them already asleep.

"Thanks...for today," she whispered before following their example and heading to her own chambers. She brushed her teeth, organized her books and finally set herself down in her bed. But sleep did not come easily for Twilight, as her thoughts were back in the air where she remembered flying as if she were a free spirit. But when sleep finally did come and take her off to never land, she found that her dreams were hardly any different than the thoughts she had before bed...thoughts of sailing through the air on the back of a dragon while holding onto a certain human, perfectly happy.
> Sugar
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Alright. Second day in strange pony land and already I've made friends with one of the leaders, saved their town from burning down and now have to go meet the citizens to show them I'm not here to hurt them," Hiccup recapped as he, Twilight and Toothless walked through the streets of Ponyville, where the citizens barely gave the human a glance before their eyes glued themselves to the Night Fury that was sniffing and exploring everything within eyesight. "Shouldn't be too hard, since all they like to do is glare at us."

"They're just scared. With all the dragon attacks lately, any sign of a dragon will put them on edge," Twilight explained to Hiccup, while the dragon master had to wrestle Toothless away from a stand selling a strange selling incense that attracted him. "For a few days, they even wanted to throw Spike out of town."

"Well, they seem like a reasonable and understanding sort," Hiccup grunted as he tried to pry a glass bottle out of Toothless' mouth, yet the Night Fury was more than able to hold onto his prize. "Kill the dragons that we don't understand and wage a war with creatures that fight against their will. That'll solve the problem. Toothless, drop!"

"As I said, they're just scared," Twilight reminded Hiccup with a look. 'But from the way he said that, I guess he's dealt with this kind of situation before, where dragons were wrongly accused of their actions and were killed because of it. Maybe that's how Toothless got injured.'

Hiccup managed to wrench the bottle of incense out of Toothless' steel trap, but when he offered it back to the pony who owned it, she demanded that he pay for it. He looked to Twilight in desperation, getting a roll of the eyes out of the alicorn while Toothless tried to sneak another bottle. Once Twilight had paid for the bottle of incense and Toothless had been caught, the three continued their walk into the town.

"Well, something smells good," Hiccup muttered as both he and Toothless began to sniff the air, their noses having been caught by an aroma that they had never taken in before. Toothless locked onto the source of the smell and bounded ahead, leaving Twilight and Hiccup to play catch up once again. The two caught up when Toothless had managed to wedge himself in the front doors to a strange building, a building that both pair of noses realized was the origin of the smell.

"What...is this place?" Hiccup asked in awe as both he and Twilight managed to push Toothless through the doorway and into the shop, where the dragon and rider wandered around with half-closed eyes, simply taking in the scents. "I've never smelled anything so...delectable." 

"What, you mean you don't have sweets where you come from?" Twilight asked as another piece of the puzzle fell into place for her. "This is Sugarcube Corners, the finest sweet shop in all of Equestria. Here you'll find all sorts of cakes, cookies, ice cream and any other sweet that you can think of. Normally Pinkie is here on a day like this, but I don't see..."

Twilight stopped talking when she realized that Hiccup and Toothless were both no longer listening to her. Instead, they were both following their noses to the counter, where a large number of sweets rested behind glass just in case ponies or beings like them showed up.

'Well, since they've never had sweets before, I guess I should introduce them,' Twilight thought before walking over to the pair, both of whom were drooling, but only one of them was trying to control themselves. "How about you two? Want to try something?" Their faces answered for them and with a small smile Twilight rang the bell on the counter top.

"Oh, hello Twilight," Mrs. Cake said as she bounced out from the back of the shop, smiling at the princess with a small bow before she turned her head towards the two strangers, one of whom was licking the glass with huge eyes, while the other tried to pry him off. Mrs. Cake flashed a quick glance at Twilight, looking for an answer.

"It's okay, they're the help that I brought in to deal with our dragon problem," Twilight comforted the mare as she drew forth some bits and placed them on the counter. "Sorry they're acting this way, they just don't have sweets where they're from."

"Oh, well then I'd recommend that you start with something small. I remember when Pinkie tried too many sweets at once and....yikes," Mrs. Cake warned Twilight with a small shudder, Twilight taking her words to heart as she ordered two chocolate cupcakes for the pair. She felt their hungry eyes follow her as she levitated the delectable over to a table, where she motioned for them to join her while placing the cupcakes down.

"Alright, you two, these are called cupcakes," Twilight began as Hiccup sat down, yet Toothless gazed hungrily upon the sweet smelling treat with his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth. "They're created with chocolate, sugar and a number of other ingredients.  They are-" Toothless barked before slamming his face onto the table, snatching the cupcake up in his teeth before tossing it into his mouth. The moment the sugary goodness hit his tongue, his eyes went wide and a massive grin crossed his face, getting two more happy barks from him before the Night Fury began to run around the room, knocking over tables, chairs and occasionally Hiccup.

"Toothless. Toothless! Calm down, Bud!" Hiccup called out as he tried to get a hold of his dragon, yet Toothless ran circles around Hiccup before tripping him with his tail. Toothless let out a low laugh before he leapt up to the rafters, where he began to weave around beams of wood. "Toothless! What is the matter with you?!"

"That would be the sugar," Twilight explained before levitating Hiccups' untouched cupcake before her eyes with a frown. "Maybe I should have started with something smaller." It took around ten full minutes for Toothless to finally calm down to the point where he would come back down, but both Hiccup and Twilight were on guard in case he tried to go for any of the other sweets. Figuring that they had made enough of a mess, Twilight paid a few extra bits more for the damages before escorting Hiccup and Toothless out of the shop, keeping the other cupcake safe in a magic bubble.

"I haven't seen him act like this in a long time," Hiccup groaned as Toothless started to climb up buildings and leapt from rooftop to rooftop, clearly still under the influence of the sugar.

"Sorry, I didn't know that your dragon would react like this. Spike's normally fine whenever he eats there," Twilight apologized before levitating the cupcake in front of Hiccup and shaking it temptingly. "You still want yours?" Hiccup snatched the sweet from the bubble and took a bite of it while keeping his eyes glued on the dragon. Twilight snickered as Hiccup's eyes went wide, and he flashed a quick look down at the sweet, then Twilight, before looking back up at the dragon again.

"So, how is it?" Twilight teased.

"It's good. Come on, we better calm him down." The pair chased Toothless through the streets for nearly an hour, trying to catch the dragon who thought the objective of the game was to not get caught. They might have never caught Toothless, if not for a divine ray of sunlight that struck the dragon when he had been racing through the streets. After being basked in the sudden warmth, Toothless let out a soft yawn before he curled up on the ground, snoring under the warm rays of the sun a few moments later.

"Thank...Thor. He finally...stopped..." Hiccup wheezed as he came to a stop next to his sunbathing dragon, resting his hands on his knees while struggling to regain his breath. "But where...did that beam of light come from?"

"That would be me." Twilight smiled as both she and Hiccup looked up at the snow white alicorn descending towards them, her regal mane fluttering gently in the breeze while she shone like the sun itself. Hiccup went-wide eyed as the alicorn landed before them, giving Twilight a nod in greeting before turning to Hiccup. "Hello, young dragon master. I am Princess Celestia, Princess of the Sun and co-ruler of Equestria. It is nice to finally meet you."

"Yeah, um, hi?" Hiccup stammered as he stood up straight, clearly off put by the alicorn that was taller than he was.

"This is Princess Celestia. She was my teacher for a long time and is the one who moves the sun," Twilight whispered to Hiccup. "Don't worry, she's really nice."

"I have received word of how you aided Twilight in stopping the dragon that sought to destroy Ponyville. For that, you have my thanks." Twilight smiled as Hiccup stammered out a reply before Celestia walked over to Toothless, smiling down at the dragon that had rolled onto his back and was enjoying her sunlight. "And this one must be Toothless, your faithful dragon. I was watching that little chase of yours and he seems quite a hoofful."

"Yeah, he can be a bit much at times, but he's still my best friend," Hiccup said as he rubbed Toothless' belly, getting a happy sigh out of the dragon.

"Princess, do you have any new information for us?" Twilight asked, seemingly reading her former teacher's mind.

"Yes Twilight, I do bring news," Celestia said in such a serious tone that both Twilight and Hiccup looked up at her with full attention. "While talking to Scorcher, the dragon that Toothless freed from the mind control, we found that a strange amnesiac spell is placed upon the dragon so that they do not remember anything about the pony that controlled them."

"But Scorcher has told us that he very distinctly remembers the pony, and it is a pony, he remembers that as well--mentioned that they were going to seek out a stone that would give them control over all dragons across Equis." Twilight's face fell while Hiccup's hardened at her words, both of them thinking about how disastrous it would be if they got that kind of power. "I believe that Twilight has knowledge of what I'm talking about."

"Yes, Princess. It's called the Draconis Gem, a gem that was crafted by our ancestors thousands of years ago when the dragons were far more ruthless and carnivorous," Twilight explained for the benefit of Hiccup. "The stone allowed whoever held it to have complete control over any dragon that entered the gem's sight. With this artifact, we were able to calm the dragons down and help discover peace and harmony. When the dragons became allies of ours, our ancestors hid the stone in a place where nopony could abuse its power."

"So, you want us to get it before whomever we're facing manages to get ahold of it?" Hiccup asked the princess.

"Yes. The stone is located in a temple in the forgotten lands, where it is guarded by spirits of those who swore to protect it. Only when a dragon and another being are in perfect harmony can they open the chamber to where the gem rests," Celestia further clarified, nodding towards Hiccup and Toothless. "So I have no doubt that the two of you will be able to undo the seal."

"When do you wish for us to go, Princess?" Twilight asked, but her eyes flashed to Celestia that there was more she wished to speak about.

"Sooner is better. Hiccup, would you mind gathering the rest of Twilight's friends? This will give you a good opportunity to learn the lay of the land, and we will need all of their help if we are to secure the gem soon."

"Um, sure. Come on, Toothless, let's go flying." Upon hearing those magical words, Toothless' eyes snapped open and he sprung to his feet, practically hurling Hiccup onto his back before he took off running. Twilight and Celestia watched as Hiccup barely managed to strap himself in before Toothless took to the skies, becoming a small black spot in a blue sky in a few moments.

"Shouldn't we tell him?" Twilight asked.

"Tell him what?"

"The other reason the gem was locked away...and what it's keeping locked away."

Celestia mused over Twilight's question for a moment before shaking her head. "As long as the gem stays out of the Puppeteer's hooves, then there is no need to worry him about beings that should remained buried."

"But if it gets free?"

"Then we are doomed."

\\\\\\\
=====
///////

With a sigh of relief, Applejack removed the straps to her cart from her back, rubbing her aching shoulder before moving the cart up against a wooden rail and tying it down. She had eyed a particularly nice looking shop that sold drinks when she had entered the small town, the last one between her and Ponyville.

'And heaven knows, ah need a drink. Ah've been pulling that cart for days on end and could really use a break,' she thought with a tired sigh as the orange cowpony placed her hat upon her head and walked over to the shop, pushing against the door only to find, to her confusion, that it was locked. She knocked her hoof against it before placing her ear against the door, frowning as she banged harder on the door.

"Ah know ya'll are in there, ah can hear ya trembling! Now come out and tell me what's the matter or else ah'll kick the door in!" The door flung open and a number of hooves grabbed hold of the pony, yanking her into the darkness before the door slammed shut behind her.

"You shouldn't be out there!" a pony hiding in the dark room whispered to her once they lay a metal beam across the door.

"What in the hay is going on? Why are all of ya hiding in yer houses on such a nice day?" Applejack demanded, yet her angry eyes were met with only fear and worry. "Come on, spit it out."

"T-there's been reports of a strange dragon and creature seen at the edge of town since yesterday!" one of the ponies stammered out. "Ever since then we've been hidden in our homes, only hearing roars of the dragon every once in a while to tell us that the creature is still out there!" Applejack narrowed her eyes before she turned and walked to the door, tossing off the metal bar before walking back out into the sunshine, ignoring the pleas for her to come back inside.

With strong determination and a heart filled with courage, Applejack began to walk towards the edge of town, planning on getting rid of the dragon and monster herself if she had to. Yet when the honest pony reached the edge of town, she found that the townsfolk had been telling the truth, as her eyes locked onto a strange dragon that looked nothing like the ones that she had seen before. It stood in the middle of the road and seemed be on patrol, looking back and forth while standing over something.

But her eyes were dragged away from the dragon when AJ saw a hooded creature sitting in the dirt beside the dragon, unable to make out what kind of being it was by the hood. But after watching from afar for a moment, she realized that the hooded creature had complete control over the dragon, because it obeyed their every command. 

Steeling her courage, AJ marched over to where the dragon and hooded being were without any fear. The dragon saw her and narrowed its eyes, hissing as she got closer. But the hooded creature slightly turned their head and made a motion that caused the dragon to stop hissing, but as AJ closed in she knew that the dragon's eyes never left her.

"Pardon me, but would you happen to be the creature and dragon that has been scaring the townsfolk for the past day?" Appejack asked the creature, yet she got no answer in response. "Well if ya are, ah'm going to have to ask you to kindly leave so that the ponies here can get back to their lives."

"Well, it's not my fault that they refuse to help me and hide in their homes!" an angry voice yelled out from under the hood. "I've been stuck here for Thor knows how long and these maps of theirs don't make any sense!"

Applejack was confused by the answer and decided to push forward a bit.  "So, yer not here to terrorize the town and instead are...?"

"I'm looking for someone, okay? But since I can't read these maps, I've been unable to find them!" the hooded figure grumbled before looking down at the map again. AJ thought about what to do for a moment before coming to an answer.

"Alright, how bout this? You come with me to see Princess Twilight, and ah'll help ya find her friend? That way ya can leave the ponies alone, and ah'll help ya with yer map problems? Ah mean, it's not like you were making any progress on yer own." The hooded figure let out a sigh as they mulled it over, finding no other alternative before they nodded at AJ in agreement. "Alrighty then. Oh right, introduction. Ah'm Applejack, Element of Honesty," AJ said as she held out a hoof. "And you are?"

The hooded figure looked at their hood before reaching up and lowering it, letting a braid of golden hair free from the confines of the hood and allowing it to tumble down their shoulder. The being then rose to its full height and held out a hand with five fingers on it, which they used to shake Applejack's hoof.

"Well then, I guess it's nice to meet you Applejack, which is a strange name. I'm Astrid."
> Temple of the Dragons
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Got to admit, it's weird flying through the sky while not on the back of Toothless," Hiccup pointed out to the other ponies while looking over the rail on which he was leaning, marveling at the landscape below. But with a slight turn of his head, he found that the sky-ship he was on was far more marvelous than the land below ever could be. Held up by a large 'balloon', as Twilight had called it, the ship looked like a more advanced version of one of his Viking longboats--except that it was flying. "But wow, is this thing amazing!  I never thought to incorporate metal beams in such a way or to use inflated sacks to help achieve lift off.  I could learn a thing or two from you, Twilight."

"Oh, it was nothing. Just something I helped improve in my spare time. The trick to making it go faster wasn't a bigger balloon, but a stronger engine instead," Twilight said with a proud smile. "You came up with some creative ways to imitate dragons, though. I never thought of using dragon saliva as a fuel for a firesword before. Normally we just use magic," Twilight said before a loud bark gained both her and Hiccup's attention.

"Well, you seem to be enjoying being flown around instead of flying others," Hiccup laughed with a smile as he glanced over at Toothless, who was dangling his head over the side of the ship with his tongue hanging out. Hiccup had just begun to scratch Toothless under the chin when Fluttershy and Rarity walked over to the pair, Fluttershy going right for the black dragon while Rarity pulled Twilight in close.

"He really seems to be impressed with your improvements to the ship, Twilight. It's so rare to find a stallion that appreciates you for your mind nowadays," Rarity whispered into Twilight's ear with a smile, while the two watched Hiccup show Fluttershy where and how to scratch Toothless. "He might be a real keeper."

"What are you trying to say, Rarity?" Twilight asked with a slight smile.

"Come on, isn't it obvious? You're an inventor, he's an inventor. You're a ruler and he's a ruler. The fates rarely design a match so perfectly, darling," Rarity mischievously said.

"Rarity, I really can't focus about a dating life right now. I've got too many problems and issues and-"

"That's why I'm here darling, to make sure that your already abysmal love life doesn't descend further into the darkness!" Rarity said with a the strength of a warrior, while Twilight made a face at the description of her love life. "Besides, you seem to hit it off just fine with Hiccup, don't you?" Rarity questioned with raised eyebrows.

"Well...I don't dislike him," Twilight weakly admitted, getting a victorious smile out of Rarity before the fashionista pulled Twilight into another hug.

"See, half the battle is already won!  All that's left is to show him he should go out with you...but that seems to be an area you would struggle at, so I will tell you what to say," Rarity offered generously, getting another look from Twilight. "First, the most important thing is to like whatever they like. Next is..." Rarity and Twilight yelped as a bolt of blue fire streaked by their heads, slightly singeing Rarity's mane. Rarity let out a shriek as she ran around trying to extinguish her mane, while both Fluttershy and Hiccup looked at Toothless with confusion.

"I'm sorry, I must have scratched him in a place that made him do that," Fluttershy apologized with a downcast look, but the look Hiccup gave the smiling Night Fury was one of suspicion instead of wonder.

"I don't think that was you. Toothless, did you shoot fire at Rarity?" Hiccup asked in a stern voice, only to get a deep chuckle from Toothless that mimicked laughter. "Oh, not going to tell me? Then you leave me no choice but to use force!" Hiccup tackled the midnight black dragon as he said this and quickly put Toothless into a headlock, getting a gasp out of Fluttershy while RD, who was flying above, began to cheer the two on.

"Give up dragon!  I've gotten stronger since the last time we fought!" Hiccup bragged as he locked his arms around Toothless' neck, getting the dragon to roll his eyes before he began to shake the human off. "Whoa...not this time Toothless!" Hiccup laughed as he clung on.

"Please be careful! I don't want to see either of you get hurt!" Fluttershy called out as she and Twilight, who had just extinguished Rarity's mane, watched the pair wrestle.

"Don't worry Fluttershy, I've fought this guy here for years! There isn't anything he can do that I can't-" Toothless, deciding it was time to show Hiccup why he was the Alpha, stood up on his hind legs so that Hiccup was dangling down his back. A toothy grin then broke out as he smiled at the ponies before he fell backwards, crushing Hiccup between the wooden deck and the mighty dragon.

"Hiccup!" both Twilight and Fluttershy called out as the human was squished, watching with horror as his arm flailed about on the deck while the rest of him was covered in dragon. Toothless let out another laugh before rolling to his side and off of the rider, who began to gasp for air desperately.

"Are you alright?" Fluttershy asked as the two mares ran to his side, searching for injuries while Toothless started to lick Hiccup's face.

"Stop it stop it! Ugh, first he crushes me, then he thinks he can make it all better with a few licks," Hiccup spat as he tried to keep Toothless' tongue off of him as much as possible. Unfortunately for Hiccup and the ponies, there was no escaping the wrath of Toothless and within a few seconds both pony and human had been bathed by the Night Fury, who laughed as they gagged at the spit.

"Ugh, this is going to take forever to get out," Twilight grumbled as she tried to magic the spit out of her mane.

"Bad dragon. No licking the ponies," Hiccup scolded, with no effect whatsoever.

"Oh, don't be mad at him, that's just how he shows his affection," Fluttershy defended as she placed her head underneath of Toothless' neck, getting a happy moan out of the dragon as her mane tickled his scales.

"Avast me hearties, it seems that we are coming upon where the treasure be!" Pirate Pinkie Pie roared from the helm, swinging the ship hard to port. The ponies that weren't thrown to the deck by the sudden shift looked over the side to find that there were now flying towards a broken down temple that rested in the middle of a wasteland, where nothing but nothing could be seen for miles.

"I'm up! I'm up!" Spike yelled as he ran up from below decks, racing over to where Twilight and Fluttershy were before stepping in some spit that nearly propelled him over the side. Toothless was fast enough to react to the sliding Spike and managed to grab hold of Spike's tail with his jaw just as the dragon went overboard. 

"Thank you, Toothless, that was too close," Twilight sighed in relief when the Night Fury dropped Spike back onto the deck, where he bashfully looked at the others with a weak laugh.

"Remind me again why we brought Spike on this trip?" Rainbow Dash asked as she floated down onto the deck, sticking out her tongue as she lifted a slime covered hoof. Spike's face fell slightly at Rainbow's tone, but Twilight quickly pulled him into a hug.

"Because Celestia said that in order to get into where the gem is kept, we would need a pony or person that was really close to a dragon. Now while we may have Hiccup and Toothless, I know that me and Spike can open the place up if needed," she said in defense of the young dragon as she pulled him into a tighter hug, getting Spike to both blush with embarrassment and gag as she slightly choked him.

"Alright, everypony off! Time to go explore the spooky scary abandoned temple!" Pinkie sang happily as she hopped off the side of the ship, the rest following suit. Twilight levitated Hiccup down, but before she could do the same for Spike, Toothless placed his head beneath the young dragon and licked him up onto his back. Once Spike was safely secure, Toothless hopped over the edge and flew next to the others.

"Aw, I think he likes you," Fluttershy cooed as Spike clung to Toothless for dear life. Pinkie bounded ahead and left the others playing catch up, but there was no way to lose the pink pony for, aside from the temple and the ship, there was nothing around them for miles.

"Alright, let's see what we got."  A massive pair of black and red doors greeted the group, doors that had an ancient language written upon them that none of the ponies seemed to be able to read. All except for Twilight. 

"Let's see, it says that you who have made peace with the fury of the skies, you may enter and retrieve that which helped end the war. If you be enemy of those who wish for redemption, then your life will be the price," she translated. "Ooookkaaaaayyy, good thing we're friends with the dragons or else this would be bad. So Spike, want to open the doors with me?" 

Spike stuck out his chest proudly as he walked forward, nearly tripping over the ancient stone, before standing next to Twilight, both of them waiting for the door to judge them. For nearly a minute they waited before Spike finally spoke up.

"Um, should something be happening?"

"Yes Spike, something should have happened by now. This isn't right," Twilight muttered as she walked up to the door and placed a hoof upon it. The doors swung open at the slight touch, worrying the princess and the others. Twilight motioned for them to follow before she entered into the temple with her horn aglow, waiting for any sign of trouble.

The room beyond the doors was pitch black, even with the small light generated by Twilight's horn. Fluttershy kept close to Toothless while Pinkie hopped on ahead, humming to herself as she checked out the room. Toothless had barely taken a few steps into the room before he sniffed the air a few times and growled, lowering his head to the floor and sniffing harder. Another angry snarl escaped his lips, a snarl that immediately put Hiccup on guard.

"Somebody's been here," Hiccup said as he pulled out his blade and activated it, creating a light source that illuminated further than Twilight's horn. The light showed that thousands of ancient paintings covered the room, each depicting a different part of the war with the dragons from thousands of years ago. But what drew everypony's eye was the shattered and charred statues in the center of the room, statues that looked like guardians. "Somebody dangerous."

"Think it's the Puppeteer?" Rarity whispered to Twilight, who only shook her head in response as she continued on ahead. Another pair of doors resided at the end of the room, doors that were similar to the statues in that they were charred and cracked.

"A dragon did this, but it wasn't a Stoker," Hiccup said with an expert's opinion when he got to the doors, letting Toothless sniff the doors as he ran his hand over them. Toothless then let out a growl and kicked a rock at his feet, informing Hiccup of what they were up against. "According to Toothless, whatever dragon did this is a Boulder class, meaning that its fire is lacking but its incredibly tough and strong. If we have to fight this thing in such a confined space..."

"It'd be no problem. I've dealt with bigger and I've dealt with badder," Rainbow Dash boasted as she threw a couple of quick punches, getting a sigh from Hiccup.

"Stop boasting and focus, Snotlout."

"What the heck is a Snotlout?"

"Sorry, force of habit. Let's go." The group pushed onward, past the burnt and broken doors and into a new room. But this room was nothing compared to the other one.

The room was massive and filled with what looked like stars, making everything within glow with a divine bluish tint that brought out the beauty in all of them. A bridge rested on the other side that shone like a sapphire star, glimmering with beauty. For a brief moment the group was entranced by the beauty and mystery of the room. The next moment was one filled with fear when a gargantuan beast slammed into the stone floor before them with a roar, cracking the bridge upon impact with its weight. The dragon was a stone color and was covered in cracks and chips, making it look like a gargoyle up close.

"Battle stations!" Twilight called out before one of the beast's mighty claws shot out, wrapping itself around Twilight and yanking her into the air. Rainbow Dash let out a yell as she hurled herself at the beast, only to slam into the dragon's chest and nearly break herself against it.

"Ow! Feels like I tackled a brick wall," she groaned while staggering in the air, struggling to recover.

"Yep, definitely a boulder class," Hiccup clarified before rushing to Toothless. "Come on bud, let's...!" The gargoyle let out a bellow that rained wet stone down upon the group, cementing Hiccup, Rarity and Toothless to the ground while Fluttershy and Pinkie barley managed to avoid the spray. The gargoyle lifted a claw to crush the remaining ponies and dragon before a blast of magic caught it in the side of it's head, getting it to slowly turn it's head towards the angry Twilight.

"Let me go dragon! You are not yourself! You're being controlled!" Twilight called out as she struggled to fire another shot, but the dragon gripped her tightly before bringing the princess right before it's crimson eyes. It then opened it's maw as far as it could go while blood red flames began to burn in it's mouth.

"Twilight!" Spike called out in fear from behind Fluttershy as Twilight created a shield around herself, but right before the flames consumed her the dragon perked up and looked off towards the end of the bridge with keen alertness.

"I...obey..." it grumbled with a voice like gravel before it reached down with it's other claw and grabbed hold of both Hiccup and Toothless, clutching them both tightly before turning towards the end of the bridge. With footsteps that shook the whole temple it began to march ahead, ignoring the small bolts of magic from Rarity or the kicks to the head from Rainbow Dash.

The moment it reached the other end of the bridge it dumped the princess and dragon-rider combo onto a stone circle, where the three groaned as they pushed themselves up. The moment they lifted their eyes to see what was before them, all the pain was cast away as awe and shock entered their minds. Resting before them, was a massive stone pedestal with a green gem that had a golden dragon biting its own tail forming the perimeter. In the moment he looked upon it, Toothless desired that gem more than anything else in his life. But then his eyes moved a little to the right and all of the desire was replaced with wrath.

"Well, well, it is about time that you finally came to greet me. Though that is rude of me, for this is the exact moment that you are supposed to be here," a very seductive voice said.

"Who are you?" Twilight asked, getting a laugh from the pony as Hiccup took in who was standing before them. The pony was as tall as Twilight but was a pitch black color with a bone white mane. The mane was hard to see however, because it was hidden mostly by a giant skull belonging to some sort of creature that rested upon her head, acting like a helmet of sorts.  On her flank was a mark like the rest of the ponies, but her mark was an open eye with a strange power radiating from it.

Then Hiccup looked into her eyes--eyes that were completely white along with the pupils--that stared straight ahead into nothingness and led him to believe she was blind. But the eyes unnerved him, for despite the fact that the pony was blind she still seemed to be able to see everything that was happening in the room, for she reacted to every tiny motion and action that they did. Toothless snarled at her when she didn't answer, but when she cast her eyes upon him he shook his head slightly and backed up with a hiss.

"That is truly a fascinating dragon that you have brought with you, boy, one that I have never foreseen before," she praised with a grin before bowing to Twilight in a mocking way. "But where are my manners? The princess has asked my name. I am called Wijida and I see all."
> What She Can't See
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Wijida. You're the one who has been mind-controlling the dragons and making them attack our homes!" Twilight roared with royal fury as she pointed her horn at Wijida, but the blind pony chuckled slightly before removing her skull helmet with a mocking bow. Twilight's eyes widened when she saw Wijida's head, for there was no unicorn horn atop of it. "W-what? But that doesn't make sense! How can you control the dragons if you aren't a unicorn?"

"I possess many a different talent, Twilight, but the greatest of them all is my mind," Wijida politely replied. "Not to mention that a certain being is...aiding me with the control of the dragons." With an earth shaking impact the gargoyle-like dragon slammed down beside the princess, dumping off the rest of her friends next to her before backing off. 

"Ugh, brute," Rarity mumbled as she dusted herself off, but her jaw fell when she saw what Wijida was wearing. "Oh dear Celestia, that has to be the sickest and most disgusting apparel I have ever laid eyes on! How can you stand looking at yourself?!"

"Perhaps, it is because I cannot see with my eyes?" Wijida replied with a laugh, shutting Rarity up while confirming Hiccup's suspicions.

"Wait, we have to beat up a blind pony? Don't know how I feel about that," Rainbow grumbled as she took to the air again.

"Fear not Dash, for while my eyes may be of no use to me, my mental capabilities far more than make up for it," Wijida replied with an eerie look as she turned her blank eyes towards the Pegasus. "For with it, I can see and do so much more. For example..." The next thing Dash knew a force had grabbed hold of her and slammed her into the stone floor, getting a yelp of surprise out of the Pegasus. "You are putty in my hooves."

"So, you've developed telepathy. And I'm guessing that your powers don't end there, do they?" Twilight deduced, getting another blank smile from the pony. "You've obviously got mind-controlling properties, that's how you can control the dragons."

"What's telepathy?" Hiccup whispered to Twilight.

"It means she can control and move things with her mind," Twilight whispered, causing fear to ripple down Hiccup's spine. "But there's one more thing I want to know. And that's-"

"Why control the dragons and force them to attack ponies?  Excellent question, Twilight!  Well done!  It's not for power or for glory Twilight, for I can have any of those. Pull up a chair and allow me to tell you my story," Wijida said with a chuckle as all the ponies suddenly felt themselves sit down against their wills, while Hiccup remained standing. "I have money Twilight, a lot of money. And I have power as you have clearly seen. But I also have an ability, an ability that has taken all the fun and suspense out of life. See...I can see the future with nearly one hundred percent accuracy."

The ponies all gasped at the revelation while Hiccup tried to fathom how that was possible. Wijida "saw" the looks of bewilderment and shock upon their faces and let out another small chuckle as she began to strut. "Yes, I was born blind in these two eyes, but my internal third eye was always active, allowing me to move around the world as easily as if I could see. But it could do more as well. Lottery numbers, who's going to win the big game, what ponies the world will love and adore. I could see it all perfectly as if I were watching a video, so it was easy to become rich and famous in my city."

"But as gleeful as seeing the future sounds, after a while it began to get boring. Always knowing what was going to happen, always knowing how I would escape from trouble or what dangers lurked around a corner for me. It's like having an entire story spoiled for you, right as you pick the book up and turn each page, knowing full well what will happen next," Wijida explained with a bored tone as she sauntered back and forth, sighing occasionally as she did so.

"Wait, does that mean that you've never had a surprise party in your whole life?!" Pinkie exclaimed in horror, getting an eye roll from Dash and a sigh from Rarity.

"I have never had a surprise in my life dear, but thank you for your concern," Wijida said with a slight bow before looking over at Twilight with a wicked grin on her face. "But you said that your vision was nearly one hundred percent accurate," Wijida began, speaking every thought that had been going through Twilight's mind. "That means that you've failed to predict the future before!"

"Don't...do that," Twilight growled, but a snarl from the dragon behind her prevented Twilight from attempting anything.

"That is the very reason why I have turned the dragons against you, Twilight. Because I had a vision," Wijida began with a smile of joy as she sat herself down in front of the dragon gem. "One day while I was lounging about, bored out of my skull, a vision came to me. It showed the future where I led an army of dragons against the ponies of Equestria, against Celestia and Luna themselves, with only the Elements of Harmony and two creatures that I had never seen before to oppose me. Our armies clashed, lives were lost, the creatures battled with me and a monstrous dragon and then..."

"And then what? Come on, don't leave me hanging!" Pinkie screamed.

"I don't know," Wijida said with a giddy smile as she practically hopped up and down. "The vision ended there. I didn't see who won, who lost or how the battle would go. For the first time in my life, I didn't know the outcome of something. Upon realizing this, I focused my third eye and tried to view the events that would lead up to such an event, but I found that most of them were obscure, even to me. It was a future that I didn't know."

"So that's your twisted reason for doing this?!" Twilight screamed with fury when she figured out the reason. "You're endangering thousands of lives and tearing apart a treaty that we've had for centuries with other creatures all because you were BORED?!" Wijida's eyes narrowed on Twilight and in the next moment she felt herself in pain, as if her own brain was attacking itself.

"I have waited all my life for this moment, Twilight, for an outcome that I do not know and a story that I could read freshly. I do not care for the lives that are lost during this battle. I know how nearly all of them are going to die anyway. I do not care for the dragons that I control. All they do is hoard gold and go into fairytales. No, what I'm doing, I'm doing for the world!  A grand story, one whose end nobody can predict!  Aren't you all just excited?!  Aren't you all just on the edge of your seats as you wait for what comes next?!" she asked the group with a huge grin.

"No, because I know how this story ends." All eyes turned towards Hiccup, who was glaring at the voodoo pony with a look of loathing burned onto his face. "This ends with you being stopped. And I don't need to see the future to know that if you hurt any more ponies or dragons or anything else, then I'll stop you myself." To drive his point home, Hiccup drew forth his blade and whipped it around, sending flames burning around him and Wijida.

"Ah yes, you are the one that Twilight brought to aid the ponies in the battle against me, are you not?  Please, may I have your name?" Wijida asked, getting a skeptical look out of Hiccup. "You are one of them, dear...creature. You are one of my blind spots. I knew that Twilight would bring something from across space and time to fight against me, but everything else about them was outside of my vision. I would like to know the one who has given me this great opportunity."

At that moment, Hiccup remembered seeing his father in similar delicate negotiations with rival chieftains threatening war.  He therefore raised himself up to his full height, imitating his father's posture and announced, "Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, Chief of Berk and Master of Dragons."  After introducing himself, Hiccup pointed the blade at Wijida's throat, the motion threating her while doubling as a signal for Toothless to move. The Night Fury let out a roar and lunged at the pony, but the stone fist of the gargoyle slammed into the ground before him. Toothless barked as he backed away while the gargoyle stepped between the dragon and Wijida, who smiled slightly before levitating into the air and across the bridge.

"Farewell then, Hiccup. We shall meet again," Wijida called over her shoulder as the dragon began to lumber towards the ponies and others. "You may get the gem for now. I will have it eventually. Or maybe I won't?  That's what makes this so much fun!"

The moment she left the large, starry room, the gargoyle let out a bellow of fury before raising its hands above Fluttershy and Rarity, hurling the rock fist at the two ponies with intent to kill.  But faster than a blur, both Rainbow and Toothless moved the pair out of the way, while Twilight and Hiccup worked together to gain the dragon's attention.

"Alright Hiccup, you said this dragon was a Boulder class, right? How do we fight it?" Twilight asked as she shot a number of magical bolts into the creature to divert its attention. It's crimson eyes slowly swiveled to the pair of them, glaring at Twilight for a moment before focusing on Hiccup and his sword.

"Aim for the eyes! Their hide is generally too tough to penetrate without specialized weapons!" Hiccup called out as he raced over to Toothless, hopping onto the dragon's back while flipping his peg leg into flight mode. The two ascended within moments and began to circle around the gargoyle, who bellowed with fury as he began to swat at the two. "Alright Toothless, think you can use that trick again to free this guy?"

Toothless flew around in front of the dragon and began to concentrate, willing the dragon to stop fighting them and to give up. And for a moment the dragon shook his head and seemed to fight the control. But then the fierce crimson color returned to his eyes and with another roar he spat out a ball of molten magma that missed the pair by inches.

"Darn it, as long as he's able to fight it seems that the spell will hold. Twilight! Get the gem! We'll keep this guy distracted!" Hiccup roared down at Twilight as he and Toothless began to circle the gargoyle, peppering him with blasts of blue fire. 

"Spike!" Twilight called out, the little dragon running out from behind Rainbow and racing over to Twilight's side. "Come on Spike, we need to get this gem before that dragon hurts Hiccup." Spike nodded and the two of them then turned towards the pedestal, where a green aura washed off the gem and began to scan the pair. After nearly a minute, the aura turned blood red and a roar echoed across the chamber.

"T-twilight, what's the matter? Did it work?" Spike asked, right before Rainbow Dash tackled him to the side as a giant chunk of the ceiling landed right where he had been standing.

"I don't get it! Spike and I are probably the closest dragon and pony pair in all of Equestria and it still wasn't enough?!" Twilight roared at the pedestal, only to get the bellow of a thousand dragons back at her in response. With a scowl she looked up to see the gargoyle getting dangerously close to catching Hiccup and Toothless, who were having a difficult time maneuvering in such a small chamber.

"Rainbow! You and me are going to aid Hiccup and Toothless! Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie! Help get Spike out of here! Spike, go with them!" Twilight ordered before hurling herself into the sky alongside Rainbow Dash, where she began to unleash her magic upon the stony skin of the gargoyle.

"What are you doing up here?! I thought you were getting the gem?!" Hiccup yelled at Twilight while barely dodging another magma ball.

"Change of plans, seems that Spike and I didn't cut it!" Twilight yelled over the gargoyle as she wrapped her magic around its throat like a leash, gritting her teeth as she tried to reign the creature in. "You and Toothless are going to have to try! And hurry up, this place is coming down!"

Hiccup looked from the dragon to the gem before letting out a growl and descending down towards it, looking back one last time at the ponies he had left to fight his battle. The gargoyle belched more molten fire at the pair as they skillfully dodged and weaved past the fire. At least, Rainbow Dash did, but Twilight's lack of flying experience made dodging the fire all the more risky for her, and she was so focused on not getting caught by the fire that she never saw the stone paw that reached up and punched her right out of the air.

"Twilight!" Rainbow called out as she lunged for the princess, but another stone claw shot out and pinned the rainbow maned Pegasus to the wall. With a bellow, the dragon turned its flaming maw down towards Twilight, who groaned as she looked up at the flames with narrowed eyes. The dragon opened its mouth to unleash its inferno right as Twilight started her dousing spell...yet both were interrupted as the Night Fury streaked by and blasted the dragon right in the nose.

"Hiccup? You were supposed to get the gem!" Twilight yelled up at the dragon rider as he made another pass at the gargoyle.

"Gem could wait, you needed my help!" he called down to her as Toothless spun beneath a stone claw.

"No I didn't! I had it under...oh whatever," Twilight said with a smirk as she flapped her wings and got back into the fray. With a burst of royal magic, Twilight managed to buckle one of the dragon's legs and drove it down to one knee, where it was forced down further by a barrage of fire from the Night Fury that streaked by it.

"Alright Bud, let's try this one more time," Hiccup instructed before the pair hovered in front of the dragon again, Toothless glaring into its eyes with his own. For a long minute the crimson within the dragon and the will of the Alpha battled it out, neither side budging an inch. But finally the crimson within the dragon's eyes faded away, leaving the dragon to blink with confusion as it looked around the shaking room.

"Where am...what's going...?" he began before realizing that the whole place was coming down. With a yell he bolted for the exit, accidentally knocking Hiccup and Toothless out of the way as he ran. The pair crashed into the pedestal where the gem was located, smashing through it with enough force to knock Hiccup off of Toothless. The dragon barked with worry as he ran towards Hiccup, but he quickly found himself in danger when a stone from the ceiling fell onto his wing, pinning him to the ground.

"Toothless! Hang on Bud!" Hiccup called out as he raced to his dragon, trying in vain to lift the boulder that had fallen upon his friend. Despite straining with all of his might, the stone remained unmoved. However, one of the stones that had been loosely embedded in the ceiling came loose and descended on a deadly course towards Hiccup's skull. Yet as he looked up just in time to see the boulder, a burst of purple magic shattered the rock with a single blast before a purple aura lifted the stone off Toothless' wing.

"Twilight!" Hiccup called out as his savior raced over to his side, using her magic to help Toothless back up.

"Seems like it's my turn to save you," Twilight said with a smile. "Come on, time to leave!" A field of magic surrounded the pair of them and in the next moment Hiccup and Toothless found themselves standing outside of the temple with the others, having just enough time to turn around and watch as the temple folded in upon itself, just barely avoiding being their tomb. Hiccup and Toothless looked at each other for a moment before the both of them sighed in relief.

"Thanks for saving us back there, didn't know if we were going to make it," Hiccup thanked Twilight, who gave an embarrassed smile at the praise that didn't escape Rarity. "Where did the dragon go? Didn't he run out this way?"

"He came running by us and then just took off. Seemed terrified out of his mind, the poor thing," Fluttershy explained for those who hadn't seen the dragon. Twilight sighed as she and Hiccup turned to look at the pile of stone and dust that had been the temple, where the gem was now buried beneath.

"Well, that's going to take a while to sift through," Twilight grumbled as she stared at the ruins of the temple. "And we don't even know if the gem survived the collapse." She had just begun to lift one of the boulders when Toothless made a loud retching sound, turning all eyes to him as he gagged twice before barfing out a small green and gold item onto the ground. All eyes stared at the hurled up gem for a moment before looking up at the smug dragon who seemed happy with himself.

"I'm not picking that up," Twilight said, right before Rarity fainted.
> Another Rider
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Celestia gently levitated the green gem with the golden dragons from Twilight and gazed at it with narrowed eyes, silently thinking to herself how she wished to never lay eyes on it again. The rays of the sun shone through the castle windows and onto the gem, casting both princesses and the room in an emerald glow.

"You have done well, Princess Twilight, to have recovered the dragon gem as quickly as you did," Celestia praised while raising an eyebrow at the saliva that seemed to cling to the gem no matter which magic she tried.

"I wish I could accept your praise, Princess, but it was a team effort," Twilight spoke up for her friends. "I'm not sure we would have made it if we all hadn't worked together, especially against...Wijida." Celestia heard Twilight's voice quiver a bit when she spoke the Puppeteer's name, and she turned her attention from the gem to her student to see hints of fear in Twilight's eyes.

"There is no need to be afraid of Wijida, Twilight. Now that we know who and what we're up against, we will work together to figure out a way to free the dragons from her clutches." Celestia had hoped for her words to inspire Twilight as they had done in the past, but instead Twilight looked up at her teacher with confusion and fear.

"But what if she already knows our plans? What if she knows what we're going to do and how we're going to try and capture her! She can see the future and has abilities that can rival my own!" Twilight reminded Celestia while starting to panic. "Wijida probably knows what we're talking about right now and is-"

"Twilight." Celestia's tone silenced Twilight's words and the Princess of Friendship looked up at her teacher intently. "Wijida is powerful, that is true. But so was Tirek. And Discord. And...Sombra, to an extent. They were all foes that could match us and had abilities that we could not match. But you and your friends beat them with the power of friendship every time. And I am certain that you will do so again. You have never failed me."

"But none of them could see the future," Twilight whispered. "None of them knew everything that was going to happen."

"And neither does Wijida. Or did you forget what she said about Hiccup and Toothless?" Celesita asked, a smile crossing her face when she saw the fear slowly begin to dissipate. "Even she is blind to the future in some areas. We will use that to our advantage. But I feel as if you have been stressing over this for too long. I recommend that you take a break and spend some time with your friends. Rarity has sent me a letter or two saying that a certain somepony has caught your fancy?"

Celestia's smile spread when Twilight's face turned red and she started to stammer out excuses for herself and Rarity, but after a moment Celestia held up a hoof. "I jest, Twilight. I will not pry into your personal business. But I will ask that you, or rather Hiccup, hold onto this," Celestia said in a serious tone when she gave the gem back to Twilight. "If Wijida has been honest with us, then no matter where I hide it she will know its location. But if Hiccup holds onto it..."

"I understand, Princess," Twilight replied as she took the gem from Celestia before looking up at her teacher with a smile. "And I promise that I won't let you down. Are you going to head back to Canterlot?"

"Yes my dear, I must be on guard in case of another dragon attack," Celestia replied as she began to glow like the sun. "Remember, your friendship is the ultimate magic. Not even a being that can see the future can overcome its power." 

The light shone so brightly that Twilight had to look away, but when she could see again she found that she was the sole occupant of her castle once more.  She then looked down at the gem that Celestia had entrusted to her before clutching it tight, promising not to fail. She remembered what Celestia told her about spending more time with her friends and flew out of her castle with a smile, wondering what her friends were up to. She was not expecting the answer.

"Puuuulllleeeeeezzzzeee. There is no way that overgrown lizard can beat me in a race," Rainbow Dash laughed at Hiccup with a smug smirk, getting an eyebrow raise out of Hiccup. Twilight found her friends near Sugarcube Corners, where Dash and Hiccup seemed to be in a heated argument, while Fluttershy and Pinkie were lavishing Toothless with attention.

"You sure seem confident for someone who has never raced against a Night Fury before. Toothless here just happens to be the fastest and greatest flier out of all the dragons," Hiccup responded while motioning to the dragon with one hand, neither of them noticing that Toothless was on his back with his tongue hanging out, a common effect from being petted by Fluttershy.

"What are those two arguing about?" Twilight asked as she floated down next to Fluttershy and Pinkie.

"Hiccup is trying to convince Rainbow that Toothless could beat her in a race," Pinkie said with a smile as she held out a cupcake in front of Toothless' nose while just out of reach of his tongue, giggling to herself as Toothless began to lick lazily at the air in an attempt to grab the cupcake. Both Fluttershy and Twilight smiled at the dragon before the princess looked back to the arguing pair. 

"I should probably break that up. Toothless may be fast, but I'm certain that Rainbow Dash would be much too fast for him," Twilight said as she took a step forward, only for a white hoof to wrap around her throat and pull her off her hooves in a flash.

"Twilight!" Rarity exclaimed as she looked down at the floored Twilight, who looked up at the smiling face of Rarity while trying to piece together what just happened. "I have great news for you darling! You know how that fair that you enjoy going to is coming up?"

"Uh, I think so?" Twilight said weakly as she pushed herself up, using her magic to get the twigs and leaves out of her hair.

"Well, I just so happened, by the purest of coincidences, to get two V.I.P tickets ahead of everypony else," Rarity said as she flashed two tickets under Twilight's nose before holding a hoof to her head and throwing her head back. "Alas, I cannot go and yet I have no idea who to give these tickets to." 

Twilight raised an eyebrow at Rarity's performance. "Rarity, if you want to give these to me, all you had to do was say so. And don't worry, I'm sure one of the girls would love to come with me," Twilight said as she took the tickets.

"Are you sure there isn't...someone else that you would rather go with you instead?" Rarity teased, flicking her eyes from Twilight to Hiccup. Twilight let out a sigh as she tossed the tickets back at Rarity.

"Rarity, for the last time, I don't like him like that," Twilight muttered, but a smile crept across Rarity's face at the lack of conviction in Twilight's voice.

"Of course not, darling. That's because you haven't gotten the chance to learn more about him," Rarity teased as she held the tickets in front of Twilight's face, nearly covering her eyes with them when Twilight tried to look away. "Darling, you have been so focused on work and princess business too much!  You deserve a break.  Ask him out. If he says no, then no harm done. But I don't know anypony that could say no to you."

Twilight considered saying no for a moment, but then when she looked over at Hiccup (who was still arguing with Rainbow Dash) she remembered how he had helped them with no questions asked, how he had marveled at her inventions while his own were equally incredible, and how the two of them had worked together so well. 

'Not to mention it's so rare to find somepony who is a lot like me--who likes to read, who enjoys learning and...when the two of us went flying together...' Twilight thought to herself before she felt her face reddening and she quickly buried her thoughts. 'Y'know what, all this stuff with the dragons has been pretty stressful as of late and I would like to get to know him better...'

"Fine Rarity, I'll ask," Twilight caved, but there was a small smile on her face when she walked over to Hiccup, holding the tickets behind her back as she approached. "Hey Hiccup?" Hiccup turned around as Twilight began to clear her throat, practically hearing Rarity squeeling behind her as she did so. "Would you mind, I mean, you don't have to if you don't-"

Twilight's words were cut off as Toothless ran in between the both of them, tackling Hiccup to the dirty road and roaring happily as he began to run around in circle, mostly on top of Hiccup.

"Get off me!" Hiccup yelled before he was buried beneath the Night Fury again, who ran over to Fluttershy and licked the pony before racing back to Hiccup, who had just managed to pull himself up.

"What's with him?" Twilight asked in confusion as Toothless reared up on his hind legs and began to bark.

"I'm...not sure..." Hiccup muttered as he watched his dragon's movements carefully, his eyes widening in surprise as he recognized them. "But that can't be right, the only time he acts like this is when Storm-"

A cry from above cut Hiccup off and turned all eyes skyward to see what had caused the sound. The ponies saw a strange blue and yellow dragon flying over the town, but for Hiccup, he only saw the glimpse of a black shadow before he was crushed by a falling object.

"Ooooowwww....that hurt. What landed on me?" Hiccup groaned as he looked up, right into the beaming smile of a person he knew all too well. For the longest moment there was nothing but silence, until a confused but ecstatic smile spread across Hiccup's face. "Astrid?" he asked the female human in disbelief.

"Who else would jump off their dragon to see ya, babe?" Astrid replied before pulling Hiccup into a tight hug, laughing with a huge smile on her face. Hiccup looked from Astrid to Toothless before wrapping his arms around Astrid as well, laughing with her while the numerous spectators around them wondered what was going on. Dash, Shy and Pinkie looked confused, Rarity's jaw was on the ground and Twilight looked on with a blank expression.

"Hiccup?" she asked in a small voice. "Who is this?"

"Oh, right. Um, Twilight and others, this is Astrid," Hiccup began as he looked from the golden haired Viking to the princess and ponies. "Astrid...these are...well, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie," Hiccup introduced, with only Pinkie waving at Astrid.

"So...the ponies here talk as well?" Astrid nervously asked Hiccup, who replied with a smile and a shrug.

"Yeah, freaked me out a first too, but...I got used to it," he shrugged. "Most of them I consider to be friends at least. Don't worry, they're nice enough. Say hi."

"Nice to...meet you," Astrid said with a look at the ponies before turning back to Hiccup. "So, I finally found where you've been all this time. Do you have any idea what I went through to find you? Stormfly and I had to sleep outside while constantly being watched. It was exactly what I'd call fun."

"I don't even know how you're here," Twilight thought aloud, getting both Hiccup and Astrid to turn their attention to her. "I can only assume that you got here through the same portal that I created to bring Hiccup here, but that shouldn't be possible because the portal closed probably a second after he entered it." 

"I'm with Twilight. How did you get here?" Hiccup asked. To Twilight's surprise, Astrid's answer was to look at Hiccup with a smug smile on her face.

"That second she mentioned was how close you were to losing your title as dragon racing champion," she smirked as she punched Hiccup in the shoulder, laughing before freeing herself from his arms and standing up, offering him a hand as she did so. "I've always got your back." 

Hiccup grabbed her hand and she pulled him up, but the fact that neither let go of the other's hand was not lost on the ponies. But their attention was diverted when the blue and yellow dragon landed in the middle of the group, where it roared and began to look around at the number of ponies with interest. The ponies were wondering whether they should attack or not when an orange object rolled off the dragon's back and to the dirt, where she staggered weakly to her hooves with a green face.

"Ugh...ah'm never...flying...on one of those dragons again," Applejack muttered before holding a hoof to her mouth, fighting back down her lunch before looking at Astrid. "Ah thought ya said...that would be...relaxing?"

"What, flying through the sky while diving and weaving through trees wasn't relaxing?" Astrid asked with a smirk before catching Twilight's blank stare. "What's the matter with you?"

"Oh nothing!" Twilight quickly said before holding out a stiff hoof to Astrid with an even stiffer smile on her face. "Happy to meet you, Astrid!" Astrid looked from the hoof to the smile on Twilight's face, her eyes just barely narrowing for a second as she began to think.

"Come on Astrid, don't be rude. Twilight here saved my life just the other day," Hiccup told her while gently elbowing Astrid in the side.

"Fine. Nice to meet you Twilight and thanks for saving Hiccup's life," Astrid replied as she tried to shake Twilight's stiff arm. She let go just in time to turn around and get tackled by a mass of black and scales, getting a shriek out of her as Toothless laid on top of Astrid and began to lick her face. "Agh! Toothless! Good to see you again!" she laughed while Toothless greeted her with dragon kisses, barking happily as he did so.

Hiccup laughed at the scene before he felt a nose nuzzle its way under his arm, getting him to look down to see Stormfly peering up at him from under his arm. "Of course I'm happy to see you as well," Hiccup said as he scratched Stormfly on her neck, getting the dragon's eyes to roll back in her head. Twilight watched the dragons greet the humans for a moment before she turned to Applejack, who was being greeted as well with more concerned eyes.

"Are you doing alright, dear?" Rarity asked Applejack, who was fighting the desire to vomit as best she could.

"Ah'm fine...never...urp...better," AJ groaned before casting a look at Astrid, who was still trapped beneath Toothless, though Hiccup was doing his best to get the dragon off of her. "Glad to see...she found who she was looking for."

"How did you meet Astrid?  Is she your new friend?" Pinkie asked enthusiastically, but when AJ failed to answer Pinkie picked her up and started to shake the pony. "Come on, tell me about your new friend so I can become her new friend!  Tell me!" AJ's answer was not what Pinkie was expecting, and Fluttershy had to walk Pinkie back to her house so the party pony could wash off while the others stayed with AJ.

"Ah brought Astrid here because she was looking fer somepony, so ah figured that Twilight would be able to help us ask," Applejack groaned with a hoof on her stomach. "Didn't expect that somepony to be here. Ah also...didn't expect...to fly...uh-oh." Rarity patted AJ on the back while her lunch exacted its revenge, giving Twilight a moment to look over at Hiccup, who had finally managed to get Toothless off of Astrid and helped her up.

"Well, now that the usual greeting is over I guess we have a lot to talk about?" Astrid asked, but to her surprise Hiccup grabbed hold of her hand and began to run off with her in tow. "Agh Hiccup?! Hold on! Where are we going?!" 

"We can talk on the way, but there are so many cool things here that I need to show you!" he yelled over his shoulder, getting a bark from Toothless and Stormfly as the dragons followed him as well. "But first let me show you something called sugar!" And all the while Twilight watched with sad eyes, watched the smiling pair run through the streets with their dragons chasing them, holding the tickets to the fair behind her back.
> Second In Command
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Whoa there, slow down Astrid. I'm fairly certain that too many of those things would be bad for your health!" a concerned Hiccup said to Astrid, who had wolfed down her third brownie with awe-filled eyes. "Just one of those things was enough to send Toothless into a frenzy, so who knows what three of them would do."

"I can't help it! I've never tasted anything so...like this!" Astrid exclaimed while seeking a word to describe the incredible taste that invigorated her taste buds. Astrid's eyes glanced around the room when she bit into a fourth sweet, taking in some of the strange items that lay around Sugarcube Corners. "Y'know, for talking horses they sure seem to be able to do and make some pretty amazing things. Back in the town I ended up in I saw the strangest...inventions that blew my mind."

"You think that's weird? I found out that some of the ponies here can do magic," Hiccup said, giving her a serious nod when Astrid skeptically looked at him.

"What strange place have we ended up in this time?" Astrid asked as she rubbed her fingers against her temples. "I mean, we've dealt with some strange dragons and beasts from time to time, but those were all...believable. But not only do the ponies talk, but they can also use MAGIC? That might be a bit too much for me to handle." Hiccup reached across the table and placed a hand upon her shoulder, gaining him a grateful look from the Viking. "How do you handle this?"

"I'm still struggling with it myself, but right now my explanation is that we're in a part of the nine realms that we never heard of," Hiccup said. "It's the only thing I can think of that makes some sense."

"Yeah...yeah, I think I can accept that," Astrid replied, before she looked up as the ponies walked in through the front door of the Corner. "You feeling better, Applejack?  Sorry if the ride was too much."

"Ah'll live," AJ responded weakly as the group pulled up a number of chairs and sat with the humans. "Are ya sure, though, that ya can leave yer dragons out there unattended? The two of them were playing tug a war with a large branch. They might destroy something."

"Are you kidding? Who doesn't love a game of tug and war?" Pinkie asked as she grabbed hold of a towel and began to play tug of war with herself. Her friends smiled at the pink pony while Astrid just gave her a look.

"So...Hiccup, you didn't completely tell us who your friend...Astrid, was it, is?" Rarity asked with small laugh. Hiccup opened his mouth to answer, yet was cut off when Astrid reached over and pulled him into a half hug, half headlock.

"Friend, Girlfriend, second in command, the only reason he's survived as long as he has; any of those would be accurate," she bragged, Hiccup smirked at her display as he gently pushed her off.

"Hey, I've saved you just as many times as you have saved me."

"Eh, details."

"Um, Hiccup?" Twilight began weakly, snapping the two humans out of their little debate and turning their attention to the princess. "I was told to give you this." She slid the gold and green gem across the table to Hiccup before looking down at the floor, an action lost on the humans as Hiccup picked up the gem with a frown.

"So, what have you gotten yourself into this time?" Astrid asked, the look she gave Hiccup telling him that she knew something was up. Hiccup explained quickly and Astrid's face fell further and further as he relayed what had happened. "A future seer. Okay, that's bad, that's really, really bad. Ugh, and I thought giant dragons were bad enough."

"It could be worse. According to Wijida, she can't see into the future where Hiccup's involved, so maybe she can't see the future with you either," Rarity spoke up while elbowing Twilight under the table, but her action barely got a reaction out of her.

"That might be true. She never did mention Astrid once during the entire time we were talking to her," Hiccup added. "So she can see the ponies' futures, but she can't see human's futures?"

"Perhaps that's because the both of ya aren't from Equestria?" Applejack suggested.

"We'll take that as our working theory for now," Hiccup said as he picked up the gem and held it up to the light, Astrid moving her head in close so the both of them could examine it. Hiccup cast a quick glance at Astrid before standing up, Astrid following suit without a moment's hesitation. "Excuse the both of us for a moment," he said as they left the room and headed outside, where they were immediately tackled by the pair of dragons who had a Fluttershy sitting on one of their backs.

"Here are your tickets back, Rarity," Twilight said softly as she placed the tickets on the table in front of Rarity.  Rarity let out a small gasp as she looked from the tickets to the sad Twilight, her brows furrowing with rage before she grabbed the tickets and placed them back into Twilight's hooves.

"I am sorry darling, but I cannot allow my friend to lose what might be the perfect stallion...person...gah, for her without any attempt to aid her!" Rarity roared in a whisper as fire blazed in her eyes, not noticing the look that Twilight was giving her.

"Rarity, it's fine. Hiccup already has a girlfriend and it's not that-"

"Not that important! Darling, this is love, true love that we are talking about! The chance to be with your soul mate!" Rarity interrupted with passion in her voice. "You and Hiccup are so alike that it must be destiny!  Twilight, as your friend I will do everything in my power to make sure that this destiny comes true! You focus on showing Hiccup the best side of yourself, I will deal with the rest!"

With speeds that made Rainbow's jaw drop, Rarity burst forth from the Corner and sprinted off into the distance, leaving AJ, Rainbow and Pinkie to share a quick glance while wondering what that was about. They turned to Twilight and were about to ask what had happened, when Hiccup and Astrid walked back in.

"Well, that was a long talk," Rainbow muttered.

"Sorry, just needed to talk to Astrid about something...important about the dragons," Hiccup responded before his eyes went wide and a smile crossed his face, a smile that made Astrid slightly back up when he faced her. "Dragons! That's right, you and Stormfly haven't met Spike yet! Oh you're going to love this!" Hiccup said with excitement as he grabbed her arm and took off outside again with the confused Astrid in tow.

\\\\\
=======
/////

"Look at the little guy," Astrid said with a smirk as she bent over slightly to look at Spike, whose face turned red at being referred to as a little guy. Hiccup had asked Spike to come outside so he could meet someone, but the little dragon had been shocked to see another human. Astrid was just intrigued. "But aside from the color, what's so special about this dragon?" she asked Hiccup, who stood behind her with a knowing smile.

"Hey, I'll have you know that I'm the right size for a baby dragon around my age!" Spike said with some heat as he crossed his arms and glared up at the stunned human. "And what's special about me is that I, unlike other dragons, can use my magic to send letters from Celestia to Twilight, so there!" Hiccup had to bite down hard to avoid laughing, as Astrid looked from the talking dragon to him with a gobsmacked look on her face.

"He can talk. T-the dragons here can talk?" she stammered out. Hiccup nodded while a small laugh slipped out, snapping Astrid back to her usual self. She gave him a quick look before kneeling down in front of Spike and looking at him with the same wonder that Hiccup had in his eyes. "Okay, so dragons can talk here. So, what's your name then, little guy?"

"It's Spike, not little guy. Stop calling me that," Spike grunted.  All of Spike's chaff vanished when the blue and yellow Stormfly walked up beside Astrid, his eyes shrinking slightly as the dragon moved her nose close to his face and sniffed a couple of times. Stormfly almost seemed to smile before she began to nuzzle the little dragon, who was completely caught off guard by the sudden display of affection.

"Don't worry, that's just how she shows she likes you!" Astrid laughed as Stormfly began to bathe Spike with her tongue, getting cries of disgust out of the baby dragon. He ran for his life with his hands over his head, but instead of leaving well enough alone, Stormfly let out a cry of delight and began to case after him. Astrid then cast a quick glance at Hiccup, who waved her over.

"You still have your axe, right?" Hiccup asked when she joined his side.

"You expecting a fight?" she asked in reply.

"Wijida's going to try something soon. I just know it," he said with certainty in his voice while he crossed his arms. "This is all just one big game to her and the dragons and ponies are just pieces of that game...she doesn't care at all about the citizens or the dragons!"

"Hey, we'll beat her," Astrid said as she wrapped an arm around his shoulder and pulled him closer. "We'll stop her just like we've done all the other crazies that tried to use dragons as weapons. And don't worry, Berk will be fine without you there for a while. Your mom and Gobber can cover for you."

"What? But...how?" Hiccup began before Astrid gave him another look that shut him up.

"Because I know you. And I know that you're just as worried about Berk as you are about the ponies here. You like to worry about others. One of the many things I like about you." Hiccup turned to hide his smile as he wrapped his arm around Astrid, the two of them watching Spike try to hide from Stormfly and Toothless, who seemed to think chasing the running dragon was fun.

"We should probably go break that up," Hiccup said after a minute.

"You're no fun." After a moment of getting Toothless and Stormfly to stop chasing Spike, and after an even longer time of having to chase their dragons down themselves, Hiccup and Astrid managed to get a hold of their dragons once again. But it was clear to the pair that the fresh air of Ponyville, and the gently breeze that wafted through it, was invigorating the dragons and making them playful. 

"Wow, they really want to go," Astrid said as she had to stop Stormfly from flying off for the fourth time, but it was clear from the way she was acting the dragon wasn't going to stay down much longer. A wicked smile then crossed Astrid's face as she looked over at Hiccup, who slightly shrunk as he felt Astrid's gaze upon him. "Hey Hiccup, we never did finish that race back on Berk. And I was this close to beating you."

"Oh really?" Hiccup began as a smile crossed his face as well. "Because I'm fairly certain that I didn't see either you or Stormfly in front of me as I approached the finish line. Are you sure that the strange air here isn't messing with your head a bit?"

"It is on, Haddock!" Astrid laughed as she pulled herself up into Stormfly's saddle, only to see Hiccup and Toothless rocket right past her as they took off. 

"Come on Astrid, race has started!" he called back with a laugh. Astrid smirked before nudging Stormfly on, but the Deadly Nadder didn't need any encouraging to chase down Toothless. The two quickly were out of sight of the castle, allowing Spike to leave the bush that he had been using as a hiding place with a shake of his head. 

"Ugh, I'm glad that's over. Those dragons are weird."

The wind whipped by Hiccup's face as he leaned down onto Toothless are far as he could, trying to provide as little wind resistance as possible while the two screeched over Ponyville. But to both his surprise and confusion, he found that no matter how fast Toothless went Astrid and Stormfly were right behind him.

"What's the matter Hiccup, you seemed surprised to see us here!" Astrid roared over the wind, while with a great effort, Stormfly managed to catch up to the pair and fly alongside them. 

"Wow, I do not remember Stormfly being so fast!" Hiccup yelled over to her, getting a smirk out of Astrid as she placed her hands behind her head and smugly smiled at him. 

"Yeah, I think the air here has really done wonders for her. It's sad that the two of you will be second for the rest of your lives now, but at least you can say you're girlfriend's a winner." Toothless and Hiccup both looked at each with "oh really?" written on their faces before the both of them looked forward with determination carved into their faces.

"If you want first place, then you'll have to win it from the both of us. First one around the mountain and back takes the prize!" Hiccup roared as Toothless flapped with ferocity, hurtling the two forward while splitting the air with their speed. Astrid and Stormfly tore after them at top speed, not letting the two spread the gap as the dragons shrieked across the sky. Ponies in the streets looked up to see two blurs fly overhead before vanishing in the next instant. 

Toothless was the first one to make it around the top of the mountain, but when Hiccup looked back to see how far ahead they were he found Astrid right on his tail and slowly gaining. "What has she been feeding Stormfly?" he muttered to himself before looking forward and placing a hand on Toothless' head. "Alright Bud, time to go all out!" Toothless roared in agreement as he flapped with every muscle in his wings, gaining both speed and altitude with each wing-beat. 

Astrid watched from below with confusion as the pair climbed higher and higher, allowing her to catch up to and in a few moments pass the pair. But with a smile on his face and a plan in his head, Hiccup angled Toothless downward at a diagonal angle. The air shrieked as the two rocketed downward at incredible speeds, quickly passing Astrid and Stormfly and taking back the lead in one quick motion. With another flap of his wings Toothless leveled out while keeping his momentum, put the dragon and rider on a straight course right for the Crystal Palace.

KKKKRRRRAAAABBBBOOOOOOMMMM!

Toothless and Hiccup had just enough time to register the sound of the sky shattering before a rainbow blur tore past the both of them, the shockwaves generated by the action nearly knocking Toothless and Hiccup out of the sky. The blur skidded to a stop in front of the Crystal Palace nearly ten seconds ahead of Toothless and Hiccup, who landed with stunned faces when they saw who had outraced them.

"Like I told you, there was no way that overgrown lizard would be able to beat me," Rainbow Dash said with a smirk on her face as she examined one of her hooves.

"Rainbow Dash?  Where in the name of Thor did you come from?" Hiccup asked with shock written on his face as he looked at the Pegasus, barely noticing when Astrid and Stormfly landed behind them.

"I saw the two of you racing and I decided to get in on the action. Of course, it wasn't much of a competition once I entered it, but at least the head start I gave the both of you made it a challenge," Rainbow said with a smug smile.

"It wasn't a fair race. You entered later than either of us," Astrid spoke up in defense of both the dragons and Hiccup. "If all of us started at the same time, I have no doubt that Stormfly would be able to outrace you, let alone Toothless."

"Please Astrid, there's no way any overgrown lizard would be able to beat me. Neither of your dragons provide a challenge," Rainbow bragged.

'Then how about I provide a challenge for all of you then?' The moment the voice echoed across the group's minds, a mighty roar was heard and a massive green and gray dragon erupted from the ground in the center of the town, taking to the skies with its six wings before it began to rain spikes down upon the ponies. Astrid and Hiccup barely shared a look before the two had taken to the skies again with Rainbow rocketing ahead, so focused on the mission that they barely heard Wijida speak in their minds once more.

'Another human arrives that prevents me from seeing the future. It is very nice to meet you, Astrid. Here is your 'welcome to Equestria' present.'
> Sharp, Pointy Everything
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Astrid barely moved her head out of the way as a razor sharp scale hurled itself past it, nicking the end of her braid and showing her just how close she had been to losing her head. But a smirk crossed her face while she and Stromfly began to circle the green dragon.

"Stormfly! Show this dragon just how sharp your spines are!" Astrid ordered, her dragon letting out a roar of agreement before whipping her tail forward and hurling dozens of spines at the beast. They struck it in the foot and worked their way up into it's leg, getting the dragon to howl with fury as it locked onto her. It took aim with the razor scales embedded in its wings before taking a blast of fire to the face that made it change target.

"Looks like it's a Sharp class!" Hiccup yelled to Rainbow Dash as Toothless and the pony began to weave across the sky to dodge the fury of pointy objects.

"Could have figured that one out on my own!" Dash yelped as dagger-like scales tore by her head. Hiccup began to examine the dragon for weak points when Astrid flew over beside him, a number of scales embedded in Stormfly's armored body and a few cuts on Astrid.

"Are you alright?" Hiccup asked her with concern.

"Please, do you know how many times I've been cut by Stormfly before? This is nothing!" she replied with confidence while she reached down and knocked the scales off of Stromfly, revealing that the scales hadn't penetrated deep enough to inflict damage. "And Stormfly is more than tough enough to take this Sharp class on. You just do what you do and focus on calming this dragon down! Leave keeping this guy busy to me!" Astrid roared as she and Stromfly dove down at the dragon.

"Ha! I like the way you think!" Dash laughed before diving down after her, Stromfly letting out a cone of fire into the face of the razor dragon and gaining its attention. It bellowed with wrath before it began to chase after the Nadder and rainbow pony, who both began to fly higher and higher above the town. "So what's the plan, dragon rider?"

"Sharp classes generally stop moving the second before they hurl their spikes! You see him stop; you prepare to dodge!" Astrid informed Dash right before the green and grey dragon came to a stop above the clouds, giving Astrid and Dash a moment to share a smile before they both dove out of the way of the hail of razors. "Next up, see how his eyes are on the side of his head and not in front? That means if someone as small as you stays directly in front of his face, he may not be able to see you!"

"Maybe? I'm not flying directly at a mind-controlled dragon for a maybe!" Dash yelled over to Astrid before flying out of the way of a number of razors. Astrid narrowed her eyes before whistling out a tactic to Stormfly, getting the dragon to roar as she turned and began to fly straight at the dragon. 

"Hey ugly! Over here!" The dragon turned towards Astrid, both of its eyes narrowing when it saw her approaching rapidly. The moment it saw her Astrid reached back and grabbed the handle for her axe, drawing it and lifting it over her head as she took aim. She caught the dragon moving its back wings where the scales were held and knew what it was about to do, meaning she had to time her action perfectly.

"Steady, Stormfly," Astrid muttered when Stormfly let out a worried bark, hefting the axe back as she concentrated. She waited until she saw the muscles on the dragon's wings tense and, for a brief moment, its eyes again narrowed at her. 

"NOW!" she yelled as she let the axe fly, and in the next moment Stormfly had spun upside down, where both dragon and rider could hear the scales whistle through the air just over where they were flying. But even upside down, Astrid was able to track her axe as it flew right at the clueless dragon in a perfect arc. The sound of metal striking scales screeched across the sky as the axe struck the dragon right on the nose, getting a howl of fury as a claw reached up for its face and the axe began to fall.

"What I tell ya?" Astrid called to Rainbow Dash as Stormfly dove right under her axe, allowing Astrid to catch it before the pair circled around back for another run. "Now try to aim for the area around its eyes! If a dragon has trouble seeing it can't fight!" Both Dash and Astrid began to fly straight at the dragon, but before either could get close a barrier of magic placed itself between the both of them and the beast, cutting both off from the other.

"What gives, Twilight, we were just about to win!?" Rainbow Dash growled as the caster of the spells revealed themselves and the purple alicorn flew up beside Dash and Astrid.

"No, you were both about to put yourselves into the hospital," Twilight corrected with a glare at them both. "That dragon's scales are way too hard and sharp for a direct attack. Just take a look at Astrid's axe, if you don't believe me." Both pairs of eyes looked down at the axe to find that the blade had a huge knick in the center of it, and the rest of the axe was horribly scratched. "That dragon's scales can slice almost anything that touches it. We can't get too close without risking getting cut. And see that darkness emanating from his scales? It's preventing my magic from hurting him. We have to find another way."

"Twilight's right, getting up close is a bad idea," Hiccup agreed as he and Toothless hovered beside the dragon rider and ponies before giving a smile to Twilight. "You sure picked up on how that dragon worked quickly. We might have another dragon rider on our hands." Twilight beamed at Hiccup's words, but the moment was ruined as a hail of scales ripped past their heads that Twilight barely managed to deflect.

"Alright then, dragon master, how are we supposed to beat this guy if magic and hitting him doesn't work?" Dash asked with a growl as the dragon roared and began to fly towards them.

"Astrid, you're the Sharp class expert, any ideas?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah, but you're the expert in generally all classes. Hmm, if we give this guy multiple targets, he might have trouble aiming properly," Astrid reasoned before having to dodge out of the way of another volley of scales. "Not to mention that there has to be a limit to how many scales this guy can shoot! Try to get him to waste his shots before bringing him down! Then Hiccup and Toothless can handle the rest!"

"Alright then, Astrid, you're with me! Let's get this guy to waste his shots! Dash and Twilight, focus on bringing this guy to the ground and keeping him there! Let's go riders!" Hiccup ordered as he and Toothless rocketed ahead, with Astrid and Stormfly following him closely. Twilight and Dash nodded to each other before Twilight began to sending bursts of blinding magic into the dragon's eyes, helping to make sure that he wasn't able to focus.

"Be careful not to hurt this dragon too badly! He's being mind-controlled by Wijida, so it's not his fault he's attacking!" Hiccup called over to Astrid, who nodded her head before flying low, while Hiccup went high. The dragon cleared his eyes with a shake of his head and looked from dragon to dragon, trying to decide which one to go after.

'The Night Fury rider. He has the gem.'

Crimson flooded the dragon's eyes and with a bellow of fury he shot upwards towards the Night Fury, fire erupting along his wings and scales as he chased after the master. Hiccup looked down just in time to see flaming scales rip and burn the air around him, motivating Toothless to go faster.

"Okay, didn't know that he could do that!" Hiccup yelled as another volley of flaming scales nearly ripped the two of them apart. The dragon was so consumed with Wijida's magical influence that he never noticed when magical chains wrapped themselves around his legs and started to drag him towards the earth, though with little to no effect.

"Urg, whatever form of magic or telekinesis that Wijida is using...it's incredibly strong!" Twilight grunted as she struggled to pin down the dragon. 

"Argh, I'm doing nothing down here! I'm getting in on the action!" Dash yelled and tore off towards the dragon before Twilight could even speak. "Hey ugly, prepare to face the awesomeness that is the Sonic Rain-" The words were smacked out of Dash's mouth as the dragon's tail whipped her across the face, popping the rainbow pegasi straight up as the dragon turned to face her.

Hiccup saw what was about to happen and immediately dove down with Toothless firing blasts of plasma into the back of the dragon, taking his attention away from the rainbow Pegasus and towards the Night Fury once again. But with the sudden burst of speed Toothless was unable to completely avoid the hail of razor scales that the dragon hurled from its wing. Toothless roared as he lifted his body and head to shield Hiccup from as much of the storm as he could, but despite his best effort once the scales made it through and sliced right through Hiccup's peg leg, removing the leg from his body and also removing one of the only ways he was attached to his dragon.

"HICCUP!" Twilight called out with terror as Hiccup separated from Toothless and they both began to tumble through the air, forgetting her spell and releasing the chains on the dragon as she started to work up a spell to catch the human. But in an instant, Hiccup dove his hands through two leather rings on his pants before pulling up and revealing wings of his own. "Hiccup, this way!" Hiccup heard her and angled his body right for Twilight, where she cast her teleportation spell at the human and quickly teleported him to Twilight.

"Okay, wow, that was weird," Hiccup exclaimed when the magic vanished and he sat up on the ground, looking down at his missing peg leg to the unconscious Rainbow Dash, before both he and Twilight looked up at the still tumbling Night Fury, who was rapidly being approached by the other dragon. 

"Why isn't he flying? He's going to be killed!" Twilight exclaimed with confusion as the dragon continued to tumble

"Toothless lost a tail fin years ago. Without somebody to aid him he can barely hover, let alone fly," Hiccup said with narrowed eyes as he watched what was happening. 

"Then we have to do something! I have to try and catch him or-"

"Don't worry. Astrid's got this." Twilight looked back up at Toothless to see that Stormfly was barreling down beside him, lining up perfectly with the dragon, who streamlined himself as much as possible, before rolling over and placed Astrid in a spot where she could almost reach Toothless.

"Hang on Toothless, I've got you," Astrid calmly said to the dragon as she took in a quick breath to steady her nerves before, in an act that terrified both Hiccup and Twilight, she leapt off the back of Stormfly and grabbed hold of Toothless' saddle. With the dragon still tumbling in the air and the sheer force of the wind that was whipping past them, Astrid nearly lost her grip the moment she grabbed hold. But with sheer willpower she forced herself into the saddle of the Night Fury and slipped her foot into the fin control, flicking her foot to open up the fin again.

"Up Toothless, UP!" Astrid yelled as she pulled back on the handles as hard as she could, her actions mirrored by Toothless as he flapped with all his wings while the ground got uncomfortably close. Right before certain doom Toothless flapped with all of his might, rocketing forward as his underbelly just skimmed the ground before the both of them soared back into the sky.

"Oh, I hate it when she does that," Hiccup sighed in relief before placing a hand on his heart, while Twilight watched in utter bafflement.

"Okay Toothless, we can't attack his scales, we can't hurt his eyes...so we have to make him waste his shots and then bring him down!" Astrid growled and Toothless barked with agreement. The Sharp class dragon bellowed with fury before igniting his wings again and hurling the flaming scales towards the pair, creating an image of the very sky being set ablaze by the sheer amount of fire. But to both the dragon and Twilight's surprise, Astrid and Toothless ducked dodged and weaved around every shot and scale that was hurled their way.

"I might be Toothless' rider, but that doesn't mean I'm the only one who can fly him," Hiccup explained when he saw the confusion on Twilight's face, his words drawing her attention as Hiccup began to fiddle with what was left of his peg leg. "Astrid and I have been together for years now and have spent time learning each others dragons. She can fly Toothless almost as well as I can and Toothless trusts her completely. Oh, hey Stormfly," Hiccup said as Stormfly landed in front of him, sniffing Hiccup to see if he was hurt before barking up at Astrid when she discovered he wasn't.

"Aren't you going back up?" Twilight asked.

"Can't fly with one leg. Besides, Astrid's got this."

"Hear that Toothless? Hiccup's fine," Astrid informed the Night Fury before both of them looked at the other dragon with rage in their eyes. "And let's make sure he stays that way. Toothless, heart burn." With a roar Toothless shot forward towards their foe while hurling bolts of plasma into the stomach and chest of the dragon, getting him to roar with fury as he brought his wings back and set himself ablaze. Toothless' ears flicked for a second, but Astrid placed a hand on his head and kept the dragon straight. 

Their foe bellowed with rage and hurled his flaming wings forward to finish off his foes...only to find that no scales flew forward and the fire that consumed his form quickly extinguished. 

"Just like I thought," Astrid said when the dragon looked at himself in confusion. "You're out. Toothless, now!" Toothless rammed himself head first into the gut of the dragon, doubling it over and causing it to gag in pain. The moment it did so Toothless aimed up and spat plasma right down the throat of the dragon, causing an explosion to erupt from its mouth. The dragon's eyes rolled back in its head and it began to plummet to the earth below, as Toothless and Astrid flew after it. "Your turn, Twilight!"

Twilight nodded before creating a magical pillow to catch the dragon, strengthening it with incantations so that when the dragon crashed into it he would feel no pain. After catching the dragon she caused the pillow to vanish, allowing the dragon to slump to the ground where it looked at the pair with dazed eyes.

"So what happens now?" Astrid asked as she and Toothless landed next to Hiccup, Stormfly joining them a moment later.

"Now, Toothless works his own magic." Toothless walked forward and gazed into the eyes of the other dragon and once again the will of Toothless battled with the will of Wijida. And just like the past two times that their wills battled, the will of the Alpha won out and shattered the magic that was controlling the dragon. The dragon blinked twice before a small smile crossed his face.

"Thank...you..." He lowered his head to the ground and closed his eyes, where he began to softly sleep a moment later.

"Man, that was tough," Astrid groaned as she hopped off of Toothless' back and walked over to Hiccup, kneeling down next to him and examining his peg leg. "Yep, it's broken again. Why don't you listen to me and just make the whole thing out of metal?"

"Because then I would have to recalibrate Toothless' harness again to account for the extra weight, which would also slow the both of us down," Hiccup rebutted, but all his word did was get him a hard stare from Astrid.

"Maybe it would, but it would also prevent it from being destroyed as easily or cut off. And every other time that's happened, you haven't been able to fly Toothless at all," she reminded him before standing up and holding out a hand. "Come on, let's get you patched up," she grunted as she wrapped his arm around her shoulder and helped lean him against her.

"Um, Astrid?"

"Don't tell me. You don't have the spare."

"Sorry."

"Well Twilight, you know any place that works with metal, because we're going to have to make him a new leg?" Astrid asked Twilight, just barely noticing the look Twilight had before the alicorn put a hoof to her chin and thought about it.

"Yeah, I do know somepony who will be able to help us," Twilight muttered before looking up at the sun, which was just beginning to sink over the horizon. "But we'll do it tomorrow. You four should get your rest and I need to get Rainbow Dash to a hospital to make sure nothing's broken. I'll also send a letter to Celestia and ask her to pick this dragon up." Astrid looked back at the tired dragons and figured that Twilight was right, so with a grunt she helped Hiccup onto Toothless' back before the four of them headed back to the castle while Twilight levitated Dash away.

"Hey Hiccup?" Astrid began, once Twilight was out of sight.

"What is it, Astrid?"

"What in Thor's name is a hospital?"
> Family On the Farm
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"And we consider ourselves lucky if we get any cabbage to grow on Berk," Astrid muttered to herself as her eyes shifted among the hundreds of trees that held a crimson fruit in their branches, shining with a brightness that Astrid had never seen in any of Berk's crops. "The gods must smile on you if you can grow this many trees with ease."

"Well, ah don't know about any gods aiding us, but mah family works hard to get these trees looking the way they do," Applejack said with a smile while she glanced at each of the strong, fruit bearing trees with pride.  Astrid looked ahead down the dirt path along which she, Applejack and Stormfly were walking, with wide eyes to find that the orchard of trees just never seemed to end.

"And you and your brother grow, manage and harvest ALL of these trees by yourselves?" Astrid asked with disbelief in her words while she gave up trying to count how many there were, shaking her head slightly when Applejack proudly nodded back to her. "By the might of Mjolnir, that's insane. There must be...wow."

"Ah take it that ya don't have any apple trees as impressive as these where yer from?" Applejack asked with a knowing look, getting a small nod out of Astrid as the Viking continued to gaze at the pristine orchard. A bark from the skies above turned AJ's gaze upwards to see that Stormfly was chasing around a small number of fruit bats, who were clearly not happy that a dragon was chasing them in the middle of the day. "Hope that dragon of yers doesn't hurt any of the bats. They do good fer the trees...most of the time."

"Don't worry, Stormfly just like to chase. She only attacks if I give the order or if me or Hiccup is in danger," Astrid consoled Applejack before reaching up with her axe to free an apple from its branch, which she caught in her right hand while examining it with narrowed eyes. She sniffed it once before trying a bite of the red fruit, her eyes going wide before she shook her head in surprise. "Wow, that is...that's unlike any apple I've ever had. Does everything in this realm taste incredible?"

"Speaking of Hiccup, why aren't ya with him while he repairs his leg?" Applejack asked, getting a shrug out of Astrid as she shouldered her axe and took another bite of the apple. 

"Metalworking's not really my thing. Besides, I wanted to see this farm that you told me so much about on the flight here," Astrid clarified as she polished off the apple, leaving only the core. "I also wanted to see how in Odin's beard ponies managed to do anything without fingers."

"If ya don't want that, ah'll finish it," Applejack offered, finishing off the core of the apple in one bite before eyeing the fur on Astrid's hood with cautious eyes. "So, ah have to ask. Is that...real fur?" Astrid looked from the fur on her hood to Applejack.

"Yeah. It get's really cold on Berk and we need a way to stay warm. Fur's one of the best ways," Astrid explained with another shrug before catching Applejack's expression. "Hey, if you lived on a cold, wet and nearly inhospitable rock for all your life while being attacked by dragons, you'd see how 'easy' it is to survive. We do what we need to, to live."

"So, this Berk," Applejack began, shaking her head while trying to change the topic. "If it's so...inhospitable, why do ya and the rest of yer village live there? There must be better places out there that you can head to instead?"

"If only it were that easy," Astrid replied with a smirk as she looked up at the glowing sun, trying to remember the last time she had seen the sun shine so brightly. "First of all, Berk is our home. Not the most kindly home, but our home nonetheless. My father lived there and his father lived there, and so on. Kind of like how you explained your farm and the Apples' family. You wouldn't just up and leave your farm if things got tough, would you?"

"Heh, ah suppose ya got me there," Applejack admitted with a smirk, before looking back at Astrid to continue.

"Another one of the main reasons was that, until about five years ago, we were under constant attack by dragons. You try moving locations when fire breathing bringers of death are attacking you every night," Astrid grumbled with a sigh before a flash of yellow and blue landed next to her, getting the Viking to look up at Stormfly with a roll of her eyes. "Of course, none of you are like that now, but that's how things used to be. Stop looking at me like that!"

Stormfly barked again before walking over to one of the trees and sniffing an apple, snapping it off the branch in a flash. AJ and Astrid watched as Stormfly ripped apart the apple before shaking its head and spitting the mushy remains of the once red fruit into the dirt next to the tree. Stormfly barked again before flapping her wings and ascending into the sky once more, leaving Applejack to shake her head.

"Yer dragon must have poor taste if she don't like mah apples," AJ muttered before she and Astrid continued to walk, both of them spotting the gray roof of the barn that appeared over a small hill. "There she is Astrid, where Apples have stayed fer generations. Come on in and ah'll give ya the tour!"

"Sure," Astrid replied with a shrug before the sound of barking reached her and AJ's ears, getting a large smile to cross Applejack's face as she turned towards a brown and white blur that sprinted towards them. Applejack let out a laugh as the brown dog zipped up to the pony with a loud bark, before it began to run circles around her, only coming to a stop once AJ whistled.

"Aw, I didn't know you had a dog," Astrid muttered as the dog turned its head towards Astrid, lifting its ears up while its hackles slightly lifted.

"Easy there Winnoa, she's a friend," Applejack said as she placed a hoof on the dog's head and ruffled her fur, getting another happy bark out of the dog before she slowly walked over to Astrid. Astrid knelt down slightly and extended a hand for Winnoa to sniff, giggling slightly when Winnoa's wet nose tickled her hand.

"She's just precious," Astrid said as she began to scratch the dog behind her ears, smiling as Winnoa began to kick her hind leg with pleasure. AJ whistled once again and in a heartbeat Winnoa raced over to Applejack, barking happily as she stood beside the pony with a wagging tail. 

"You'll never find a more loyal companion than Winnoa here. She even gives Rainbow Dash a run fer her bits and she's the Element of Loyalty," Applejack said with a small laugh as she and Winnoa walked ahead, while Astrid took a moment to look up at Stormfly flying overhead.

"Never find a more loyal companion? Think you might be wrong there." 

Astrid, Applejack and Winnoa walked through a small, white gate with an apple sign hanging over it that served as the entrance into the yard, and gave Astrid her first look at the farm house and the surrounding area. Large stalks of corn grew off to one side while even more fruits and vegetables that Astrid didn't remember sat in a field farther away. Her attention then changed to the chicken coups that rested on the right hand side next to the large bales of hay, before she cast a quick glance at the well that stood to her left as they entered. 

But the main attraction had to be the large, crimson red building that towered over the rest of the farm. Astrid didn't need to see the apple aesthetics that adorned the building to know that it was Applejack's home, but she found it impressive all the same.

"Wow, looks a lot nicer than most of the buildings we got on Berk. Everything here seems to be nicer," Astrid noticed as she looked around the farm once again before glancing down at Applejack, who was eyeing Astrid's axe with an unfriendly gaze.

"Mind putting that away while yer here?" Applejack asked with concerned eyes. "Mah baby sister lives here and while she's a kind filly, sometimes it seems like she doesn't have any common sense, and ah don't want anything dangerous around here that she might-"

Applejack's words were silenced as loud screaming could be heard coming from the chicken coup, followed by the panicked clucking of a large number of fowl mixed in with the roar of a dragon Astrid knew all too well. With a Viking swear, Astrid and AJ raced to the chicken coup, where a filly with a red mane and bow was being swarmed by chickens while they all fled in terror from the Deadly Nadder that was looking back and forth between the clucking birds, debating which of them to eat first.

"Astrid! Do something!" Applejack roared over the clucking and screaming as she whipped out a rope. She twirled the rope three times before hurling it towards the Nadder, but Stormfly caught the movement out of the corner of her eye and she quickly hurled razor sharp spines towards the rope that shredded it instantly.

"Stop stop stop! Don't try and tie her up, she hates that!" Astrid yelled over at Applejack before walking straight up to the Nadder and glaring into her eyes. "Stormfly, sit!" Without a moment's delay the dragon sat down in front of Astrid, glancing down at the Viking with guilty looking eyes. "This isn't Berk, Stormfly. No terrorizing the chickens! Or any of the live stock here while we're at it. You got that?"

Stormfly let out a bark that sounded half like an agreement and half sass, getting Astrid to raise an eyebrow at her dragon before reaching up and scratching her dragon under Stormfly's neck. Stormfly's eyes rolled back in her head as she sighed and slumped to the side, allowing Astrid to also sigh while she looked over at Applejack and the still terrified, but also curious, filly.

"I am so sorry about that! Chicken is one of Stormfly's favorite foods and on Berk she's able to just eat them as she pleases and I'm so sorry," Astrid apologized before glancing down at the small foal that was still hiding behind Applejack. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"N-no, ah'm fine," the small pony stammered as she slowly walked out from behind her sister, glancing from Astrid to the now snoring dragon with wide eyes. "How did ya do that?"

"Do what?" Astrid asked as she followed the filly's gaze to Stormfly.

"Make it fall over like that! Are you...the dragon master that ah've been hearing about?!" the filly said with huge eyes and an even wider smile before she raced up to Astrid with speeds that made the Viking double take. "Can ya teach me how to train a dragon?!  Me and the other crusaders have been thinking that dragon taming might be our cutie marks, but mah sister won't let us try on a big dragon and Spike won't talk to us after what happened last time and-"

"Easy there, Sugarcube, this here ain't the dragon master," Applejack cut her sister off as she wrapped a hoof around the filly's shoulder with a smile. "This here is Astrid. She's a human just like Hiccup, who is the dragon master. Astrid, this is mah little sister Applebloom. She can be a bit of a hoofful, but she has a good heart."

"Nice to meet you Applebloom, and sorry about what Stormfly did," Astrid apologized once again as she offered a hand to the filly, who glanced at it for a moment with interest before she finally shook it. "And I actually am considered one of the best dragon trainers in all of the land, so don't listen to your sister."

"Never do!" Applebloom said with a huge smile, not noticing Applejack roll her eyes beside her.  Applebloom then quickly glanced from Astrid to Stormfly, an idea forming in her mind. "Can ah...go and see it?"

"Sure, you can go see her," Astrid agreed after seeing Applejack nod. Astrid walked the little filly over to the relaxing dragon, trying hard not to smile herself as she saw the wonder and awe fill up Applebloom's eyes while she looked at the blue and yellow Nadder.

"Ah've never seen a dragon like her! Granted, the only dragon ah've ever met is Spike and he's not that interesting, but her...what was her name again?" Applebloom asked Astrid. 

"Stormfly."

"Stormfly," Applebloom repeated. With her name being mentioned several times the dragon lifted her head and glanced down at the filly, who wiped her hoof off before sticking it out towards the dragon. "Nice to meet you Stormyfly! Ah'm Applebloom! Ah'd like to know more about ya." Stormfly looked down at the small hoof for a second before she moved her face closer to Applebloom and sniffed her once, letting out a happy bark a moment later before she bumped her nose against Applebloom's side, nearly knocking her over.

"Uh, what's she doing?" Applebloom asked Astrid as Stormfly continued to nuzzle the filly.

"She likes you. This is how she shows her affection," Astrid said with a smile as she crossed her arms, but a moment later she read the confusion on Applebloom's face that reminded her about the dragons. "Oh, right. See, Stormfly here doesn't talk like Spike or the other dragons. She's pretty much like a cat...or a dog? Maybe a mix of both? Bottom line is, she isn't like the dragons you know."

"So, then why is she so nice?" Applebloom asked as Stormfly used one of her wings to try and pull the filly close to her and was only stopped by the iron hoof of Applejack that held her sister tight. "Did you train her?"

"Yep," Astrid said with pride before Stormfly bumped her in the side with her nose and gave Astrid a look. "Fine, Hiccup helped a bit," Astrid admitted with a sigh. Applebloom looked from Stromfly to her blank flank, a large smile slowly growing across her face as an idea came to her.

"Hey Applejack..." Applebloom began, but her older sister looked into her young sister's eyes and immediately knew what the filly was going to ask.

"The answer is 'no'," Applejack responded strictly, getting a groan of frustration out of Applebloom.

"But ya haven't even heard what I was gonna ask!" 

"You were gonna ask if ya could try training Astrid's dragon," Applejack answered perfectly, having nearly read her sister's mind. "And mah answer is still no, because the last time you tried to find out if you and yer friends cutie marks were related to dragons, poor Spike had to-"

"Ah know, but this time we've got two dragon experts with us! And Stormfly is way safer than the dragon that lives in a cave nearby that the Crusaders and ah were gonna try and-" Applebloom held a hoof to her mouth, but she had said too much, and Applejack looked down at her baby sister with cold eyes. 

"How many times do ah have to tell ya not to do anything dangerous?! Walking into a cave and waking a dragon is bad enough, but with Wijida around we don't know which dragons we can trust!" Applejack half shouted with some heat before sighing and pointing to the farm. "Go on inside and ah'll talk to ya in a minute." Applebloom walked away with her head held low, yet Applejack waited until her sister was inside the barn before she groaned and sat down.

"Ah don't know what to do with her. Every time those three believe that some task or action will get them their cutie marks, they'll run off into danger head first without a second thought," Applejack lamented with another sigh as she moved her hat back, while Astrid wondered what a cutie mark was. "Why did they have to believe that their marks were related to dragons, now of all times? Ah can't keep an eye on them all the time and soon they'll be running off to find out."

"If it's that much of a problem, why not let her and her friends train Stormfly?" Astrid offered, gaining her Applejack's full attention. "I mean, Stormfly won't hurt a hair on her mane and with both me and Hiccup there to monitor them, you won't have to worry about them doing anything stupid. Maybe they get those...cutie marks or maybe not, but at least they'll know and stop running off." 

Applejack turned over Astrid's question in her mind for a few minutes, knowing practically for certain that neither her sister nor her friends' cutie marks revolved around dragons. But she also knew that they wouldn't stop until they knew for certain.

"Alright Astrid, ah'll take you up on that offer," Applejack relented with a sigh as she gave Astrid a small smile. "Tomorrow, Applebloom and her friends will learn how to train yer dragons."
> CMC Dragon Tamers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"How did you manage to talk me into this?" Hiccup asked his girlfriend with crossed arms while he glanced down at the three fillies that were barely able to sit still. "Teaching three...children how to train dragons? Don't you think it might be a bit much for them? He shifted his weight onto his new (and slightly improved) peg leg as he said this, leaving Astrid to shrug with a smile.

"Because I know you," she replied with a proud smile while she patted Stormfly beside her, who was watching a number of butterflies float past.  A warm breeze caressed her face, and with a sigh of contentment she looked out across Sweet Apple Acres, the only place that Applejack had agreed to let the two "train" the CMC. 

"A better question is, how did she manage to talk ME into coming here?" Spike asked with a snarl as he crossed his arms and pouted. Toothless barked from beside the small dragon, getting him to jump slightly, before he picked a fallen branch off of the ground and dropped it at Spike's feet while wagging his tail with large eyes. "Hiccup, your dragon's staring at me again," Spike pointed out while he slowly backed away from Toothless.

"He just wants you to play with him. Toss the stick," Hiccup replied as he turned back to the fillies, who had ceased to bounce in place due to the stare of Applejack, who sat beside Rarity and Twilight off to the side. Spike picked up the small branch and gave it a good chuck, smiling as Toothless bolted after it with Stormfly in hot pursuit.

"Wow, they act more like pets than actual dragons," Spike noticed as the two began to fight over the small branch, neither gaining much ground on the other. "That's...weird. I mean, I haven't met many dragons, but to see yours acting like this is..."

"Well, how do you think we felt when we heard you talk?" Hiccup retaliated as he pulled out his notes on how to train dragons for beginners and glanced over them. "None of our dragons could and then when we ended up here, the first dragon we meet speaks to us. THAT was bizarre. Darn, I think I'm missing a few pages."

"Oh sure, you remember your notebook but you forget something as crucial as your spare leg," Astrid chided from beside him. "You'd forget that big head of yours if it wasn't attached to your body."

"Thank you for saying that in front of the class, Astrid," Hiccup replied with a sigh. "Always great to show your students you know what you're doing." As he said this he looked up at the three fillies again, who were now talking amongst themselves while waiting with bored expressions. 

"Okay class," Hiccup began as he closed the book loudly, gaining the undivided attention of all three fillies...for about half a second before the orange and white one looked past their teacher at the two dragons who were racing back to the group. "Oh great, Stormfly tore down a different branch," Hiccup noticed immediately when both dragons dropped their branches at Spike's feet, each waiting for him to throw the branches again. Astrid made a motion with her hand and the dragons walked away from Spike to rejoin the humans.

"Okay Sweetie, Scootaloo and Applebloom, you are here today because you want to train dragons for some reason, and your sister wants you to stay out of trouble," Hiccup brought up with a nod to AJ, who was watching the dragons carefully as they started to mock fight with each other.

"Actually, we don't want to just train them. We want to see if our cutie marks are somehow related to dragons in any way," Sweetie clarified for Hiccup, who raised an eyebrow at the word "Cutie mark," but made no remark before he continued.

"Well the first step to interacting with a dragon is to bond with one and train them to trust you," Hiccup began as he turned to face Toothless, who had gone through Hiccup's demonstration enough times to know what to do. Hiccup held out his hand and slowly began to walk forward while Toothless extended his head slightly and pressed his forehead gently into Hiccup's palm. For a brief moment the two stayed like that in complete silence, before Hiccup retracted his hand and looked back at the fillies, expecting awe or praise.

"Is that it? You just put your hoof on their head? Lame," Scootaloo scoffed. Hiccup sighed in frustration as Astrid giggled slightly, motioning for Toothless to walk up beside him before he focused on the three.

"There was much more to what you just saw than me putting my hand on Toothless' head. There was body language, how I made sure not to unnerve him and that I made sure that I didn't come across as a threat," Hiccup further explained. "Without those tools, some dragons will either back away or straight up attack you." Toothless cemented this point by lashing out with his tongue and giving Hiccup's head a quick bath.

"Or they might do that," Astrid added while Hiccup wiped the slime out of his hair, ignoring those who were laughing at his expense.

"Come on, Teach! Show us something cool!" Applebloom called out. Hiccup opened his mouth to argue with them, but then he sighed and cast a quick glance to Astrid, who shrugged before nodding.

"Alright, you kids want to see something cool? Then feast your eyes on this," Hiccup began as he placed one hand on top of Toothless' head and scratched it once, before scratching him with the other hand under his frills. Toothless let out one loud sigh before he collapsed to the ground, his eyes lazily rolling back in his head as he sighed once more happily. Hiccup turned around with his head held high only to find that the fillies were only moderately curious and not impressed in the least.

"So what did ya do, knock him out?" Applebloom asked as she and her friends approached the Night Fury, who cracked an eye open to gaze at the three.

"Every dragon has a spot or two that can be used to help them to relax," Hiccup explained once again as he walked over to Spike, who was eyeing Hiccup cautiously after the trick he just pulled. "At first they can be really hard to find, but after you've been at it for a while." He turned and scratched Spike right under the chin, smiling as the dragon collapsed without another sound. "All dragons have these spots, though how effective they are vary from species to species."

"That's neat and all, but there's a problem," Sweetie began as she held up her hoof. "We don't have nails like you. So this is a bit useless." Hiccup grumbled something under his breath as Toothless let out a sigh and rose back up, but fortunately for the dragon master, Astrid chose that moment to intervene.

"Alright, enough making fun of the instructor. Scootaloo with me, Sweetie with Toothless and Applebloom, you can either partner with Spike or wait for one of your friends to practice first. Hurry up." Under her command the three fillies quickly split into groups, with AB opting to wait on her friends instead of bothering Spike, who was fast asleep on the ground.

"Now then, you're all going to practice calmly approaching our dragons with your hands-er, hooves outstretched," Astrid ordered with glances at all the fillies to make sure they obeyed. "Now our dragons won't attack you, but if you don't get it right, they will most likely back off or ignore you, so try and get it right. Let's go ponies."

With a little grumbling, but genuine interest shining in their eyes, the fillies broke into groups and each faced their dragons. Applebloom went with Sweetie Belle to practice with Toothless, since she still hadn't fully recovered from Stormfly scaring her the previous day. 

"Now comes the fun part," Hiccup muttered under his breath as he, and the mares, watched while Scootaloo held out a hoof and took a step forward towards Stormfly. Yet, she had barely gone a couple of steps before Stormfly let out a bark and began to walk away from her, ignoring Scootaloo's cries of protest.

"Get back here, you overgrown lizard!" Scootaloo roared as she began to chase Stormfly, who let out another bark while she began to sprint away from the orange pony who struggled to keep up.

"Now, how did I know that was going to happen?" Astrid asked with a smirk as Scootaloo roared in frustration, before both she and Hiccup turned their attentions to Sweetie Belle, who, despite having hints of fear on her face, slowly began to walk towards Toothless with her hoof outstretched. All it took, though, was one look at the Night Fury's face for the two masters to know that Toothless wasn't impressed, and to the surprise of neither when Sweetie got close, Toothless simply stared at her with a raised eyebrow.

"W-what am I doing wrong?" she squeaked over at Hiccup nervously while she slowly lowered her hoof.

"Toothless knows that your heart's not in this," Hiccup explained before jumping back as Stormfly came racing by with an orange filly attached to her tail.

"I'll take care of that," Astrid muttered before whistling and chasing after the two.

"Okay, I'm a bit afraid of him. I've never seen a dragon like him before," Sweetie Belle admitted, but Hiccup's smile in response to her words confused her for a moment.

"It's okay to be afraid. Dragons don't judge you for being afraid of them. Heck, I was pretty scared of Toothless the first time I tried this, and he still accepted me," Hiccup recalled for the filly, whose eyes went wide at his words. "But you have to be willing to push past that fear. That's what the dragons are looking for, at least that's what Toothless does. Now give it another try."

Sweetie Belle took in a deep breath before sticking out her hoof once again towards Toothless, who glanced down at it again before glancing at Sweetie with a look. She turned her face slightly away from him, but with another deep breath she ventured a step forward, gaining another eye raise out of the dragon. But then, to her surprise--and the surprise of the mares watching closely--Toothless moved his nose forward and bumped it against her hoof.

"I did it!" she squealed happily as she began to bounce around, laughing to herself as Hiccup smiled and shook his head slightly. 

"Well, it's a start," he muttered before looking at Applebloom. "Alright Applebloom, it's your turn." 

Applebloom nodded as she steeled her courage, taking in a deep breath like Sweetie Belle had done before holding out her hoof and walking towards Toothless, who turned his attention from the still skipping Sweetie to the new pony. Without flinching and without breaking eye contact, AB walked right up to Toothless and extended her hoof, staring into his eyes while waiting for him to move. Toothless looked the pony up and down for a moment before looking into Applebloom eyes while tilting his head. They both stared each other down for a moment, before Toothless let out a snort and rested his head upon his legs as he turned away from the pony.

"Hey! What are you waiting for?" Applebloom asked Toothless, but the dragon let out a yawn as he curled up tightly and ignored the filly completely. "But...you...Hiccup, what did I do wrong?"

"Um...I'm not sure," Hiccup muttered as he walked over and placed a hand on Toothless shoulder, trying to budge the stubborn dragon to no avail. "I've only seen him act like this once or twice before...I guess he just doesn't like you. Um, sorry?" Applebloom's response was cut off when Astrid walked back to the group, holding Scootaloo under one arm while keeping her other hand on Stormfly's nose.

"Well, it seems that you're cutie mark isn't making friends with dragons," Astrid said to the pouting pony who crossed her arms and looked away from Astrid. "You do any better?" Astrid asked once she had placed Scootaloo next to Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, though all it took was a look at the pair's faces to know what happened. "So, he didn't accept Applebloom huh? Weird, I thought for sure she could do it."

"He just didn't seem to like her for some reason. Maybe it's just Toothless though," Hiccup muttered before an idea came to him. "Hey Applebloom, try again but this time work with Stormfly instead of Toothless. Maybe that will make a difference."

Applebloom did as Hiccup instructed and approached the Deadly Nadder with her hoof outstretched, though this time she tried to be a bit more slow in her approach. Stormfly tilted her head to the side slightly, just as Toothless had done, before she closed her eyes and gently bumped her nose against Applebloom's hoof. A smile spread across the filly's face as excitement grabbed ahold of her heart, and she began to cheer loudly as she pranced around.

"Weird. Why was Stormfly accepting of Applebloom when Toothless wasn't?" Hiccup muttered to himself as Sweetie and Applebloom discussed what happened with one another, while Scootaloo glared from the pair off to the side with a less-than-thrilled expression.

"Well ,Stormfly has always been an excellent judge of character. That's why she allowed me to be her rider," Astrid reminded Hiccup, but Hiccup wasn't satisfied with the answer and continued to ponder, before telling the fillies that was all for the day with a sigh.

"Well, that was certainly interesting," Rarity finally managed to say after letting out a long held sigh of relief, waving at her sister as she raced off with her friends. "However, it doesn't seem that befriending dragons is any of their special talents, something I'm sure we all saw coming."

"Yes it most certainly was," Twilight agreed absentmindedly, while she closed the notebook in which she had been writing down everything that she had watched before glancing over at where Spike still lay. Her horn glowed and a moment later she dragged the baby dragon over to her, poking him once to wake him up. "Spike, are you actually asleep? Wow, whatever Hiccup did to you sure was-"

"Are they gone?" Twilight rolled her eyes with a chuckle as she placed Spike beside her, who let out a groan while he stretched his back and grumbled something about the short end of the stick.

"While that was something to behold, ah'm going to sleep easier at night knowing that mah baby sister won't be chasing dragons no more," Applejack said with confidence before her face fell slightly. "At least, ah hope she won't. Maybe ah should go check up on her and her friends one last time..."

"So, what was it like watching Hiccup at the forge?" Rarity whispered to Twilight once Applejack had raced off after the fillies. The question immediately snapped Twilight out of her thoughts and she whipped her head around to look right at Rarity's smile with indignation.

"It was interesting seeing how he forged his peg leg, and it clarified that he and Astrid are indeed from a time period that is technologically behind ours," Twilight replied calmly, getting a "hmph" out of Rarity as she made a duck face. "But what he lacks in technology, he certainly more than makes up for with creativity. I've only seen a few ponies work with metal the same way he did. He crafted that new peg leg in half a day without any magic," Twilight continued, gaining Rarity's interest once again.

"Quite impressive, wouldn't you say darling?" Rarity asked with a coy smile. "Skilled, handy and a inventor. It seems almost too good to be true that he was the one you pulled in from across all of space, hmm?"

"Not this again," Twilight muttered in reply, but without much defiance. The two were interrupted as the dragon masters and their dragons walked over to the two ponies, both Astrid and Hiccup looking up at the sky with baffled looks.

"Uh, not to sound crazy or anything, but I think I see ponies pushing a number of clouds over here," Astrid said as she and Hiccup stared at the sky. Both Rarity and Twilight turned to see a large number of black clouds that were flashing lightning being pushed towards the town of Ponyville. Twilight looked from the clouds to the faces of the humans, an idea crossing her mind, and despite herself she clapped her hooves excitedly.

"Actually Astrid, the pegasi ponies here are responsible for pushing the clouds into position," Twilight informed the pair, smiling as their jaws dropped in disbelief before she dropped the hook. "Do you want to see how they do it?" From the look of amazement on both their faces, Twilight knew she didn't need to wait for an answer.
> City of Clouds
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

No words known by either of the Vikings could give justice to the floating impossibility that rested on the clouds before them, so neither Astrid nor Hiccup bothered to try, while the two rode their dragons down onto the clouds with Twilight leading the way. With a spread of her wings, the alicorn of Friendship slowed her descent to a dead stop, allowing her to place her hooves on the clouds to gain her balance.

"Okay, I think that does it," Hiccup muttered from the back of Toothless while Astrid stared at the pony with a gobsmacked expression. "Talking ponies I can handle. Magic and wings are within the realm of believability, though just barely. But an entire city made of clouds that can be walked on? That's where I draw the line."

"I drew the line the moment the first pony spoke to me. I just kept telling myself that it was all a bizarre dream," Astrid said very slowly with multiple shakes of her head. "Trying to cope...and failing at it."

"What are you two waiting for?" Twilight cheerfully called out to the pair with a wave, barely seeing the glance that Astrid and Hiccup shared. "It's okay, your dragons are...not from around here, right. So maybe having them walk on the clouds is a bad idea."

"Wait a moment, you wanted us to jump off onto clouds without testing to make sure we could walk on them?!" Astrid called down to Twilight while Toothless tried to place a foot on the cloud, only to pull his paw back with a hiss when it passed through. "Are you sure you're not being mind controlled to kill us?!"

"Please, my mind is far too strong to be mind controlled!" Twilight yelled back with indignation before a light bulb went off over her head. "And here's an idea." As she said this, a blast of magic erupted from her horn and quickly consumed both the humans and the dragons. The sudden surge of magic shattered Toothless' focus and with a roar the dragon and rider both plummeted into the clouds...only to bounce once when they landed on the comfiest street in all of Equestria.

"Okay...what just happened?" Hiccup muttered shakily as he slowly pushed himself up to his hands and knees, looking back at Toothless while the dragon shakily pushed himself to his feet.

"You alright?!" Astrid called down with a look of concern, which quickly changed into a nasty glare that she directed to Twilight when Hiccup nodded. "Care to explain what you just did, Twilight, or am I going to have to use you for target practice?!"

"Calm down, all I did was cast a cloud walking spell upon the both of you and your dragons," Twilight clarified as Hiccup wobbly rose to his feet, sticking his arms out while he rocked back and forth. "Whoa, careful there Hiccup, it'll take you a few minutes before you get your cloud legs."

"This is...incredible!" With a laugh Hiccup knelt down and waved his hand through the cloud below, scooping out a small chunk with wide eyes before holding it before him. Beside him, Toothless licked up a small cloud and smacked his lips twice before making a face with a shake of his head. "I've flown through clouds so many times, but to actually be standing on one...I never thought the day would come where I would experience something like this. Thanks, Twilight."

"Oh, it was nothing," Twilight said with a shrug of her shoulders and a smile.

"Make way!" Twilight and Hiccup both yelped and dove to the side as Stormfly barreled into the clouds beside them, kicking up a large amount of fluff as she skidded to a stop. The moment her dragon was stationary, Astrid swung her legs wide and kicked off her dragon...only to bounce as she touched down on the clouds and fell straight onto her rear. 

"Wow!  These are a lot softer than I would have thought," she observed while pushing herself back up, looking like Hiccup had looked as she struggled to stand on the soft surface. She tried to take a step forward, only to have her foot sink into the cloud slightly and should have fallen on her face, had Hiccup not staggered forward as well and grabbed her arm.

"This will definitely take some getting used to," Hiccup half-chuckled as he and Astrid leaned against each other for support, managing to stay upright as long as they supported the other.  That was until Toothless and Stormfly sprinted past the two of them and bowled them both right over once more. "And of course, the two of you have already adjusted," Hiccup sighed when this time Twilight helped the pair to their feet.

"So, how does it feel to stand on a cloud?" Twilight asked with a smile while Hiccup and Astrid finally managed to stand without help.

"I've never experienced anything like it!" Hiccup laughed with enthusiasm as he started to bounce slightly, taking a few steps forward with confidence, and his smile grew larger when he didn't fall flat on his face.

"Surreal. That's all I can say about this," Astrid answered with a less-than-thrilled look while she kept her eyes glued to the white road beneath her, as if she were certain that any moment the clouds would part and she would plummet to the planet below. "I've flown and fallen through plenty of clouds to ever tease the idea of standing on one, so to actually be standing on one is...ugh."

"Don't worry, you get used to it quickly," Twilight assured the pair as she walked ahead of the both of them and waved for them to follow. "Come on, I want to show you how the weather is made here before the pegasi shut down the factory to visitors! This way!"

"Did she just say...make the weather?" Astrid asked with a face, while Twilight trotted on ahead before she looked up for any signs of lightning. "Think Thor will strike her down for offending him like that?"

"Maybe he just lets them think they control the weather," Hiccup put forward as he started to hop after Twilight, one foot after another. "Or maybe Thor doesn't come to this world and they have to make the weather. But there's only one way to find out! Astrid, Toothless; let's go!" The midnight dragon took off after Hiccup, knocking him over on his way into the cloud city, leaving Astrid to sigh as she looked up at the sky.

"You know, if you wanted to scare them with a bit of thunder, I wouldn't blame you," Astrid sighed with a shake of her head before whistling to Stormfly, both of them chasing after the others.

With eyes wide and jaw dropped, Hiccup nearly spun in place as he followed Twilight through the streets of the cloud city, his eyes unable to get enough of the majestic insanity that was built around him. "This is...incredible! Rainwater wells, ice used as glass--and are those rainbows I see decorating houses?!" Hiccup asked with childlike glee, his excitement infecting Twilight, and she couldn't help but smile as he gazed around with wide eyes.

"Yup. Pegasi have a unique magic that allows them to manipulate almost anything weather related," Twilight explained for Hiccup, who was moving his hand through a rainbow while Toothless walked around with an ice window stuck to his tongue. "Rainbows and clouds are just some of the things they can manipulate. They can even use the power of lightning and thunder."

"Now you're just asking for Thor to strike you down," Astrid interjected when she finally caught up to the group, panting heavily as she rested her arms on her legs and bent over slightly. "Ugh, those soft clouds are hard to walk through. Where's this darn factory and can we hurry up and go there already?!"

"Sure. Follow me." Twilight led the four through the streets, only occasionally losing her way or making a wrong turn. She also made sure to keep an eye on both the dragons and Hiccup to a degree, for every time he saw something incredible he would rush over to it and copy it down into his notebook. The dragons just either destroyed or messed up whatever grabbed their attention, which meant they were distracted every couple of seconds. And that just left Astrid...

"What's the matter, Astrid, walking on clouds not exciting?" Twilight asked the Viking warrior, who was walking in the center of the street with arms crossed and eyes glued to the road, though she did spare a second to give Twilight a look before glancing down again.

"Exciting...terrifying...close enough," she muttered, so that Twilight wouldn't hear before glancing at Hiccup--who was sketching a flying tortoise--with a disapproving glance. "We're literally standing on clouds far above solid ground, relying on pony magic to ensure that we don't fall to our deaths, and you aren't the least bit worried?"

"I trust Twilight's magic. She hasn't failed us yet," Hiccup replied with a nod towards the pony, who smiled with pride. "Besides, if Toothless and I do fall through the clouds, I know that you and Stromfly will be there to catch the both of us. So come on, relax a bit."

"That's what I tell you back on Berk. Is everything backwards here?"

"So Twilight, where are the rest of the pegasi?" Hiccup asked after finally noticing that the streets were practically deserted, with a single gray Pegasus representing the city. 

"They're all off helping move in the clouds towards Ponyville and the surrounding area. I think that there's a massive storm scheduled for tomorrow. But after that, the fair comes here for..." Twilight cut off at the mention of the fair, but Hiccup's interest had already been peaked.

"What's a fair?"

"It's a place filled with games, rides and attractions that ponies go to in order to have fun, alone or with others," Twilight responded after a minute, shaking her head while she regained focus. "But that doesn't matter right now, what matters is that we're here!" She spun around and spread both her wings wide as she said this, but the two humans and even both of the dragons' eyes looked straight up at the massive structure constructed of clouds that towered over them. Off to the side, Hiccup and Astrid could see dark clouds flashing with light exiting from the side of the building, where pegasi scooped them up and flew off with them.

"Okay, even I can't say anything to that," Astrid muttered while Twilight turned and opened the white doors with her magic, motioning them to follow her inside. As the dragons and humans followed the princess into the factory, any amazement they had felt towards its outward appearance was immediately replaced by the majesty that was the interior. Columns of the whitest clouds were stacked high and wide, each of them shining in the sun as they supported the sculpted ceiling. Pools and fountains that sprayed rainbows gave the whole place a multicolored lighting, while the hum of electricity and lightning ran through the walls and floor.

"I've never seen anything like this," Hiccup whispered as both he and Toothless were struck dumb by the sheer scope of where they were. Stormfly stuck close to Astrid, her eyes widening slightly every time she heard the distant roar of thunder from the clouds outside, but Astrid looked around at all the signs saying, "No Access" before narrowing her eyes and glancing at Twilight.

"So, how come you're allowed in here? Do you work here or is it because you're a princess?" Astrid asked in a far more hostile voice than she intended. Twilight picked up on the tone, but a look back at the slightly sorry face of Astrid convinced her not to call the human out.

"Well, as a princess of the land, I need to understand how everything works so I can fix anything if things go wrong.  I actually know how most of this factory works, but I will admit that I am still learning something new everyday," Twilight explained with a slight chuckle, before walking up to a large pair of doors that made her smile grow. "Hey, either of you want to see how they make the clouds?" 

Hiccup's face answered for the pair, and a moment later they found themselves in an incredibly large room with tables that held pieces of clouds, cabinets that held all sorts of jars, and items and a massive tanker in the back filled to the brim with water. 

"This is where the pegasi craft all the clouds in Equestria, from those that float gently on the breeze to those that hold the strongest of lightning bolts," Twilight explained like a tour guide while she led the group past numerous items and machines. She also occasionally glanced back at the dragons and kept them in line with her magic, making sure that they didn't touch anything, though Toothless was the real problem. Stormfly stuck close to Astrid.

"Even hail? Even snowstorms?" Hiccup asked while he looked into a machine that was absolutely frigid and had the words "ICE" written on bags within. Hiccup reached out to grab one of the bags, but his hand pressed against a cold, nearly invisible surface, and he retracted it almost immediately. "Whoa, that's weird."

"Over here Hiccup! This is what I wanted to show you!" Hiccup broke away from the frigid machine and raced over to Twilight, only to be once again struck dumb by the mighty machine before him. Hundreds of gears clanked and turned while a single exit constantly churned out different clouds, each of which were conveyed to an exit. Without a word, Hiccup knelt down next to the machine and began to examine each gear, lever and part, while Twilight watched with a smile the entire time, giggling to herself every time Hiccup either figured something out or got frustrtated.

"This is incredible. Walking on clouds was amazing, but this...this could change everything," he whispered as he stood up and backed away to take the machine in as a whole, the gears in his own mind spinning like crazy as he thought. "If I could figure out how some of these mechanics worked, along with what allows them to move independently from a person or dragon, this could change everything on Berk." Twilight looked at the machine with him before an idea came to her and with a smile she looked up at the human.

"Well if you like, I could explain how some of these mechanics work...while maybe showing you around the fair as well?" Both Astrid and Hiccup looked down at the pony, who was holding a pair of tickets with a smile. "You guys have only seen the serious side of Equestria since you've been here, but I want you both to get the full experience. Come on, give it a try."

"Sure, after showing me this, I'd love to see what a fair's like," Hiccup agreed as he took one of the tickets and read the words upon it, his eyebrows furrowing when he read what was written. "Wait, do these only allow one person in the fair at a time? So how will Astrid get in then?"

"No problem," Twilight said as she levitated the second ticket over to Astrid, who looked at it for a moment before finally taking it.

"Thanks, but how will YOU get in," Astrid asked.

"Oh, that's easy. I can always get another one. Princess Celestia told me that most ticket salesponies always keep another ticket in case a princess wants to go," Twilight explained before hearing a whistle sound off in the distance. "Oops, seems that the pegasi are done for the day. We should probably get out of here before this place gets crowded. Come on, maybe we'll have enough time to see where they're setting up the fair before the storms hit."

Twilight and Hiccup headed towards the exit with both dragons following them, but a flash off to the side caught Astrid's eye and she looked down to see a bottle with streaks of golden light bouncing around within. She gently picked up the bottle, immediately feeling a tingling sensation run through her fingers.

"Careful Astrid, that's bottled lightning!" Twilight called out, her scream nearly getting Astrid to drop the bottle. Astrid nodded to Twilight and placed it back on the table before turning to see Twilight sigh, as she, Hiccup and the dragons left the room. Astrid took a step to follow them before something within her, deep within her soul, caused her to turn and look down at the bottle of lightning once again. For a long moment she pondered her next course of action before she grabbed the bottle and stashed it in her hood.

"Sorry Twilight, but something tells me that I'm going to be needing Thor's power soon," she apologized in a whisper before running off to join the others once again.
> A Fair Day For A Fair
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight couldn't help but smile when the screams of ponies plummeting down the metal tracks reached her ears, and as she gazed up at the massive attractions that belonged to the traveling fair, she managed to forget about Wijida and the mind-controlled dragons for a moment. 

'Just think, when I was little I never even gave these fairs a second chance, and now they're some of my favorite ways to relax,' she mused with a smile when the smell of kettle corn reached her nostrils with their delectable scent. 'But I wonder how Hiccup and Astrid are going to react to a place like this? Heehee, it'll be funny seeing the looks on their faces.'

"Twilight, darling!" Twilight shook herself free from her thoughts and turned her head to spy Rarity trotting up towards her, making sure to dodge every stain or discarded piece of trash that lined her way. "I am so sorry that I'm running behind, but I had a brilliant idea that just had to be created and...oh, is Hiccup not here yet?"

"Not yet, Rarity, but I'm sure they'll be here eventually," Twilight replied while Rarity raised an eyebrow with interest. "Unless of course they got lost, which would mean that I'd have to go find them right away..."

"Twilight, you say they'll? Did you invite...Astrid as well?" Rarity asked with a half-chuckle, yet her eyes pierced into Twilight's in a way that made Twilight back away from her friend slightly.

"Of course I did, Rarity.  I mean, neither of them have seen anything like this before and I wanted to see their faces when they do. I can see the look of surprise on them now!" Twilight smiled with a small laugh, yet the laugh faded when Rarity let out a sigh and held a hoof to her face.

"Twilight darling, you may be the smartest pony I know when it comes to magic, but your dating skills leave a lot to be desired," Rarity groaned while Twilight tilted her head with some confusion before the realization set in.

"I wondered why you'd dare going to a fair Rarity, but for the last time-"

"Okay, how did the ponies get a cart to stay on those tracks without casualties?  Because the last time I tried to invent something like that, I set half the village ablaze." Twilight and Rarity turned to see the pair of Vikings walking towards them, both sets of eyes glued to the giant roller coaster with awe.

"I remember that day. We all had to help you put out that fire--after chasing down that one poor sheep whose cart refused to stop," Astrid recalled as the memory brought a smile onto her face. "I had never seen your father so mad at you, except for the first time you saved Toothless. That was pretty bad."

"And now that you've brought up another one of my many failures, hi Twilight. Hi Rarity," Hiccup greeted the ponies after gently nudging Astrid in the side with his elbow, before turning his gaze through the entrance before them and into the land of fun within. "So, is this the fair that you were so excited to show us?  Because that massive...cart racer?...is worth the trip alone. I wonder what sort of pulley system they used to keep the carts on the tracks while..."

"So, you managed to get a ticket after all?" Astrid asked as Hiccup began to make notes of the coaster. Twilight nodded before she flashed the piece of paper in front of Astrid, who nodded before glancing over at Rarity. "Oh hey...argh, keep forgetting your names. Are you the shy one?"

"No darling, I'm Rarity," Rarity clarified with a slight bow, yet neither Astrid nor Twilight caught any sign of kindness in the motion. Rarity's gaze then glanced down at Astrid's attire and her face scrunched up with disgust. "And if I may be brutally honest with you darling, you should come by my boutique after we are done here. I have a number of outfits that you might-"

"Well, that's about all I'm going to learn about that contraption from out here. Come on, let's get going!" Hiccup unintentionally interrupted as he quickly walked in-between the ponies, grabbing Astrid's arm when he walked by her and half dragged her towards the entrance. Twilight shrugged at the pouting Rarity before following the two, who were trying to figure out how to get past the pony taking tickets.

"Well, that got a lot easier once you showed up," Astrid pointed out to Twilight after they had all gotten inside, which had been sped along by the mere presence of the princess. "That pony took one look at you and practically threw himself to the ground. Being a princess sure has its perks."

"Well, I will admit that it is nice being looked up to, but I would prefer to be treated just like everypony else," Twilight quickly said with a wave of her hoof before she glanced up at Hiccup. "I'm sure that being chief of Berk gives you similar..."perks" as Astrid put it...when it comes to dealing with others?" Hiccup's face slightly fell the moment Twilight mentioned Berk, but before Rarity or Twilight could say anything, Astrid punched Hiccup lightly on the shoulder and laughed.

"Well, you two didn't get to see the one time Hiccup had to deal with an entire fleet of traders that had all gotten lost and washed up on our shores, especially since only some of them spoke our language. I thought for sure he was going to pull his hair out trying to work it all out. Ah, good times," Astrid said with a smile as she shook her head, yet her eyes quickly flashed towards Hiccup with concern deep within them.

"Then, there was that one trader that just wouldn't cooperate no matter what I tried, so you hopped onto Stormfly and flew him around the island while threatening to drop him into the water," Hiccup said with a laugh, a laugh that allowed Astrid to sigh slightly with relief when he wasn't looking. "After that he sure behaved himself."

"Yeah. Twilight, Rarity, can I see the two of you for a second?" Astrid asked as she waved the two of them over to her, bowing her head low so that only the two of them could see the annoyed expression that she cast at the both of them. "If the two of you wouldn't mind, try to refrain from calling him the Chief of Berk unless absolutely necessary," Astrid hissed with annoyance, taking the two ponies aback. "There are some painful memories there, and I would prefer that neither of you bring them up!"

"And what would the cause for those memories be?" Rarity ventured to ask, but a look from Astrid silenced any further questions.  But Twilight looked beyond the annoyance in Astrid's face and found the concern and worry underneath, allowing her to see the Viking's true intentions.

"Alright Astrid, I'm sorry. I'll do my best not to bring up any painful memories," Twilight apologized with a slight bow of her head, getting both Astrid and Rarity to look at her in shock.

"Oh...thanks?" Twilight broke free of Astrid's grasp and motioned for the others to follow her into the main part of the fair. Rarity followed after her friends with a puzzled expression adorning her face, but Hiccup slowed his walk until he was right beside Astrid.

You know I don't like it when you do that, right?" he whispered to her with a look.

"Do what?  I was just asking them to watch their words," Astrid replied with no sign of regret, but she peeked at Hiccup's face out of the corner of her eye and sighed in defeat when she read his expression. "Just trying to look out for you."

"Thanks, but I can handle myself.  Just as I can handle being the Chief of Berk," Hiccup said as he gently held her shoulder before his smile returned at the sight that greeted the both of them. Hundreds of ponies were amassed in a large area that held a plethora of tents, games and attractions, getting both of the humans to gawk in awe at the sheer volume of attractions. "Okay, this fair just got really interesting."

"And it wasn't before?"

"Come on you two, over here!" Twilight called out from beside a large object with a bell at the top. Astrid and Hiccup walked over to her and Rarity with both amazed and confused looks at the object.

"Uh, and what sort of fun activities are you supposed to have with this?" Astrid asked with a smirk as she looked down at the round piece of wood that sat near the bottom, before her gaze caught the large hammer that rested beside it. 

"Oh, what you do with this is you hit that circle there with the hammer as hard as you can, and then the board here will tell you how strong you are," Twilight explained as she motioned to the board in between the circle and the bell, which Astrid and Hiccup both realized had a number of names on it, ranging from "newborn foal" to "strongest in the land".

"And what is the point of this?" Astrid asked with a raised eyebrow.

"If you manage to win at this barbaric game, not only do you get to express yourself as strongest in the land, but you also get a prize from that stallion over there," Rarity explained as she pointed to a pony in a stall, who had a number of stuffed animals and creatures that adorned his tent's walls. She then cast a coy glance at Hiccup before levitating the hammer to him. "Why don't you go first, Mr. Dragon Master. I'd like to see just how strong you are."

"I-I don't think that I should do this," Hiccup stammered as he glanced at Twilight, hoping that she would stop her friend. But an interested look from Twilight and an amused expression on Astrid's face told him that he had no way out, so with a sigh he stretched his arms and grabbed the hammer. "Alright, but stand back as I show all of you just how strong this Viking really is."

"Try not to hurt yourself, babe," Astrid "encouraged" from the sidelines, getting her an expression from Hiccup that made her smile. Hiccup then grasped the hilt of the hammer tightly before swinging the hammer back over his head, taking perfect aim before bringing the hammer down with all of his might to strike the circle dead center. The moment he struck a bar of light shot out from the bottom of the large board...only to come to a stop about halfway up the list of titles.

"Hmm, middle aged mare. You know that sounds about right for you," Astrid teased with a smirk that turned into a full on laugh when Hiccup looked at her with a raised eyebrow and a slightly silly expression.

"By all means Astrid, if you believe that you can do better, go right ahead," Hiccup teased in reply as he tossed the hammer to her, which she snatched out of the air with one hand before a smile crossed her face and she walked past Hiccup to the circle.

"Don't worry about it Hiccup, you tried your best," Twilight said kindly to Hiccup once he had rejoined the ponies.

"Yes, these inventions are meant for ponies. I doubt Astrid will do any better," Rarity muttered under her breath.

"I would bet against you on that."

"Stand back, Hiccup and let a real Viking show you how it's done," Astrid called back over to Hiccup before she lifted the hammer over her head with one arm, before bringing it down in one mighty swing to strike home. The force of the strike was so great that the light shone all the way up the board and it struck the bell almost immediately, before the whole contraption fell over. Astrid looked back at the two gobsmacked ponies and smirking Viking with a smile, as she rested the hammer on her shoulder before she strutted past the three and to the tent with the prizes.

"So, what do I win for doing that?" she asked while she looked at the stallion, who was slightly cowering before the Viking with both eyes glued to the hammer that she hadn't put down. 

"You can take whatever you want.  Just don't hurt me."

"Here ya go babe, since you like dragons and all," Astrid laughed as she chucked a small, red and green stuffed dragon to Hiccup, who caught it with a smile of his own. "Well, now that I've defend your honor and broken one of the attractions here, where should we go next?"

"Um, how about we go to either the shooting gallery or the roller coaster, since you seemed to interested in that earlier?" Twilight suggested nervously.

"Let's go to the roller coaster. I have to know how it works," Hiccup offered before heading off on his own towards the attraction that nearly towered over the rest of the park, leaving the three ladies to follow after him.

"Um, Astrid? You're not supposed to take the hammer with you," Twilight informed Astrid, who was resting the hammer on both of her shoulders.

"What? This is my prize for winning that game. The pony did say I could take any prize I wanted," Astrid reminded them both with a smile before looking ahead. "Besides, I needed a new stick to play fetch with Stormfly. She's chewed through all her other ones."

"Speaking of your dragons, just where are they. I trust that you didn't leave them with Spike or let them loose within the town?" Rarity asked with some fear as she glanced off towards Ponyville.

"Left them with Fluttershy. She seemed really eager to spend a day with them for some reason," Astrid said with a shrug. "Hiccup told her what to do and how to act around them, so she should be fine and...uh-oh. Where did he go?" Twilight and Rarity both looked past Astrid to find that indeed Hiccup had vanished into the large crowd of ponies.

"He probably got lost in the crowd. We should split up and look for him. A human among a crowd of ponies shouldn't be that difficult to look for.  I'll look in the north section of the park while Rarity checks the south. Astrid, look wherever you want," Twilight ordered, getting nods from both Astrid and Rarity before the three of them split off in three separate directions.

\\\\\\\
=========
///////

"Hiccup!" Twilight called out as she ran around the northern part of the fair, having taken to the air once or twice, but she was unable to find any trace of him from up there. "Hiccup!  Darn it, how can one human have gotten away from us so quickly?  And how can he be so hard to find?"

She ran around a corner to see a tall, human figure walking far ahead of her. Figuring that it was Hiccup, Twilight began to chase after the figure. Yet her chase only led her to the front of the fair once again and to her annoyance, she found no trace of the human that she thought she had been following.

'Wait, why do I detect faint traces of...her magic?' Twilight asked herself as a faint trace of magic that she had learned to memorize alerted her, and she glanced around for any sign of the pony. 'But whatever she's here for, it can't be good. I need to find the others.'

\\\\\\\
=========
///////

"Hiccup Haddock Horrendous the THIRD!" the hammer-wielding Viking yelled into the park, scaring off a large number of ponies that had been close to her. "Ugh, how hard can it be to find the only other Viking in a place filled with nothing but ponies?" she growled in frustration as she swung her hammer into a wall, startling the ponies on the other side.

She sighed as she glanced up at the attraction beside which she had come to a stop, an attraction called the house of mirrors. She shook her head and was about to turn to leave, when something in the back of her mind told her to look within the house. Astrid glanced behind her quickly with some annoyance, only for shock to overwrite her annoyance when she spotted her boyfriend standing at the end of the first line of mirrors.

"Hiccup, what are you doing in there? Come here!" she yelled over to him, but a smile that Astrid didn't know Hiccup could make crossed his face and he vanished deeper into the maze of mirrors. Astrid narrowed her eyes before she sprinted ahead into the maze, hammer grasped in both hands as she prepared to use it. 

'I know you, Hiccup, and I know that something's up,' she thought to herself as she ran into the maze. 'I just hope that you're alright.'
> Mirrors and Monsters
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Every one of Astrid's senses were on high alert as she took one step after another down the endless maze of mirrors, trying to avoid glancing into each one of them as she passed. Yet, when she did catch a glance of what was within, the images scared her more than any nightmare--or Nightmare--she thought ever could. The many images of her dead body were bad enough, but then, every once in a while the mirror would have more than just her body. Sometimes, Hiccup's was there with her. Sometimes, it was Stormfly. But each image made her sick to her stomach.

'Focus Hofferson. Hiccup's in here somewhere and you need to get to him,' she reminded herself as she clenched down on the hammer with enough force to turn her knuckles white. A particularly nasty reflection caught her off guard, but a moment later the horror was replaced by rage, and in one swift swing she shattered the mirror into thousands of pieces of glass which splintered across the floor. She breathed heavily while she stared down at the glass, a small smirk crossing her face when she saw the images vanish.

'Temper, temper.' Astrid's head snapped up as the coy and seemingly happy voice sang in her head, causing a shiver to run down her spine as she glanced at the hundreds of mirrors, all of them reflecting her nervous expression. 'You'll never find me if you can't keep your cool. But that does seem to be a problem of yours, doesn't it?'

"How are you doing that? Get out of my head or in the name of Odin I swear I'll-!" Astrid's threat was cut off by a high-pitched laugh that echoed both throughout the maze and through her mind, shaking her enough to force her to drop her hammer as she planted her hands over her ears in a futile attempt to block the voice out.

'You'll what, Astrid?  I'm genuinely asking, because for some reason I can't seem to see the future of you and your lover,' the voice asked with a chuckle, the voice just as loud despite Astrid trying to block it out. 'But that's what makes the both of you so much fun. Not to mention that most of my powers, such as my telekinesis, don't seem to affect you either. But as for my telepathy,' the voice continued before another hair-raising laugh roared across Astrid's mind, 'that seems to be working perfectly.'

"So, you're Wijida? The crazed monster that's causing innocent dragons to attack these ponies," Astrid roared, trying to block out the voices with rage while she glared around the room for the source of the voice. "Then you made a mistake coming here, because once I get my hands on you..."

'We'll meet in time girl, but first...aren't you worried about a certain somepony...one?' 

As Wijida said this, all of the mirrors that had surrounded Astrid flashed images of a broken and bloodied Hiccup. Astrid's eyes went wide while horror crushed her heart, yet a moment later she shook her head and growled with fury and rage. 

"No...Hiccup wouldn't go down that easy!  He's knows that if he died on me, I'd kill him!" Astrid roared as she swung the wooden hammer into another mirror, shattering it as well. She then charged ahead into the maze, never taking more than a second to decide which way to go whenever she came to a crossroad. It took nearly ten minutes, but she eventually came to the center of the maze, where she found a black pony with white eyes and strange markings smiling at her.

"Finally, you make it here. I can see why you and Hiccup make such a good team. You'd be hopeless without his brains. But it is finally nice to meet you in person. You're far more interesting than anything else I've looked at," Wijida taunted with a laugh. Astrid's response was to swing the hammer back before, with a Viking battle cry, she hurled the hammer for all she was worth at the pony. But to her shock and terror, the hammer came to a dead stop right before it struck Wijida in the face. The pony chuckled before narrowing her eyes, which caused the hammer to splinter into hundreds of wooden fragments. Astrid was barely able to make sense of what she had just seen, because Wijida tossed the pieces aside and smiled at the human once again.

"See?  I should be able to do that to whomever I please, but for some strange reason..." Astrid felt the faintest sensation of something touching her and when she looked down, she found that her fur hood was slightly moving. "That's all I can do to you humans and your dragons. And it fascinates me. Why are you immune, when most ponies are not?"

"Maybe because cheap tricks don't work on real Vikings!" Astrid yelled as she began to run forward, but with a flash of light hundreds of glass shards floated into the air and all aimed themselves right at her. Astrid came to a dead stop as the light reflected off of each of the deadly knives that floated around her, not daring to move as Wijida chuckled.

"Do not mistake my inability to touch you with my powers, to mean that I cannot kill you if I wish," Wijida clarified for Astrid, who was looking for a way out of her predicament.

"Then why not just kill me and Hiccup if you're so powerful?" Astrid asked as she glanced to a mirror on her right that hadn't been shattered yet, an idea coming to her while she slowly brought her hands up. "Hiccup told me that you can't see either his future or mine, so you have to know that we're the only ones that stand a chance of beating you. Can it be that you can't actually kill us? Or maybe you're not as strong as you claim to be?"

"Because, as I stated so clearly for your partner and the ponies, this is the first time I've not known the end of a story or event, and I'm going to make sure that nothing happens to ruin it," Wijida began with a laugh, closing her eyes as she did so and giving Astrid her moment to act. "I want to see if I can best the two of you without already knowing the outcome, to see how you will react to my plans, and when I finally win, it will be the first time that I had done so without knowing the outcome. Now after hearing all that, how could you possibly-?"

In one swift motion, Astrid lunged to her left and clenched her hands around the mirror beside her. The moment she did so, thousands of shards of glass hurtled towards her with deadly precision. Yet as one of the strongest Vikings on Berk, Astrid was strong enough to rip the mirror from the floor and fast enough to move the mirror in front of the shards the moment before impact. She braced herself as the glass shattered against glass, gritting her teeth while even more bits and pieces of splintering glass cut into her.

"Impressive, Astrid. These are the kinds of actions that make fighting the pair of you so-" Wijida was cut off mid-sentence while Astrid roared with fury as she hurled her makeshift shield right at Wijida, catching the blind and arrogant pony off guard. A laugh escaped Astrid's lips as the mirror smacked Wijida dead center in the skull and snapped her head back, the mirror crashing to the side while the pony collapsed to the floor. Astrid smiled as Wijida pulled herself up with a growl, blood trickling down her face while she turned to glare at the human.

"What's the matter, oh seer of the future? Didn't see that coming?" Astrid taunted with a laugh while she grabbed a larger glass shard and held it like a knife. Wijida snarled with rage a few times as she stood up, but then she let out a small sigh and let a smile cross her face.

"That's it. That's the fighting spirit that I want to have opposing me," Wijida said with a nod before her eyes flashed with a light that blinded Astrid, who snarled with rage when the light cleared and she found that the pony was gone. 'A week from now though, Astrid, I'm going to do something in a town not too far from Ponyville. I'm looking forward to see what the you and Hiccup will do to stop me. Give my regards to him by the way. Oh, and go to a doctor, you've got a couple of cuts.'

Astrid opened her mouth to respond before she looked down and found that her arms were covered in blood, with multiple cuts on her face and a few pieces of glass imbedded in her skin. Another flash of light went off and every mirror collapsed to the ground, allowing Astrid to see both exits around which a large number of ponies had congregated. She then looked back to where Wijida had vanished with a snarl, before clutching at her wounds while she staggered towards the exit.

\\\\\\
========
//////

"There you are!" Twilight called out when she finally spotted the human from the air, finding him next to the Ferris Wheel where he was getting yelled at by the maintenance pony that ran the wheel. "This sure as heck doesn't look like the roller coaster!"

"Oh, hey Twilight," Hiccup waved to her after the pony managed to kick him away from the wheel, Twilight shaking her head as she landed next to him. "Sorry if I just ran off, but I spotted this and I just had to see how it worked. Then, I met that charming pony over there and well, you saw the rest."

"Do you know how worried we've been about you?" Twilight asked him as she started to escort him back to where she had last seen the others. "When you just vanished, we assumed that something bad had happened to you, so we split up to look."

"Sorry, but what could happen here?" Hiccup asked, yet when he saw Twilight glance around before motioning him to get closer, his smile fell. "Did something happen?"

"I sensed some of Wijida's power near the gates," Twilight whispered to Hiccup once they reached a spot where there weren't that many ponies around, getting the human's eyes to widen in shock. "I haven't been able to find her, but any reason for her being here can't be good. I sent Rarity to find Astrid and then I came to find you. Glad to see you're safe."

"Forget about me. Astrid might be in danger," Hiccup said with concern as he began to march forward through the crowd, glancing over the ponies while his search became more and more desperate. Then, after five minutes of searching, both of them looked to the sky as a white bolt of magic exploded like a firework above a section of the park, confusing Hiccup, while Twilight's eyes widened.

"That's the signal Rarity uses whenever she needs help! She might be the one in danger!" Twilight yelled. Hiccup began to run towards the light, but a moment later Twilight had taken to the sky and yanked the human up with her magic as she flew towards the flare. "I see Rarity...and she's with Astrid. They both look alright but..." Twilight descended without another word and dropped to the ground next to the pony and human. 

"Twilight! Hiccup! I know that the flare is only supposed to be used in emergencies, but when I saw Astrid like this I..." Rarity let out an exasperated sigh before she held a hoof to her head and collapsed right in the center of the road, yet Hiccup raced past her to Astrid's side without a glance.  

"Astrid..." Hiccup whispered as he laid eyes upon her and her numerous injuries. Twilight had a similar reaction once she had moved Rarity out of the way and joined Hiccup. "Are you alright?!  Here, let me stop the bleeding-!" he clamored while he reached into his suit and removed the emergency bandages he carried. However, before he could apply first aid, Astrid grabbed hold of his hand and looked up at him with a smile.

"Please Hiccup, I got worse injuries when we dealt with that rouge Nadder. These are nothing," she said with a slight grit of her teeth as she stood up, refusing to let any pain show on her face. "So, instead of worrying over my scratches, let me tell you how I got them. Because you might find that far more interesting."

"You encountered Wijida, didn't you?" Twilight asked, getting a nod as well as a confused look from Astrid. "I sensed her magic when I went near the front of the park. I sent Rarity after you and went to find Hiccup the moment I realized she was here." Twilight didn't know why, but she looked away from Astrid's gaze as she said that last part.

"So, she did this to you?" Hiccup asked with an eerie calmness in his voice, but both Twilight and Astrid were able to pick up on the bubbling anger building beneath his blank face.

"You should have seen what I did to her. Caught her right in that arrogant mug with a mirror," Astrid said proudly while crossing her arms, yet it only took a moment for her to realize what a bad decision that was as she burned with pain.

"We need to get you medical attention," Twilight said as she glanced over Astrid's arms and face, looking at the glass shards sticking out of her skin with a horrified expression. "Some of these wounds are..."

"I'm fine. These are nothing." To prove her point, Astrid grabbed one of the shards and pulled it free, biting her tongue hard to keep from making any sound. "See...nothing to...worry about."

"I'm with Twilight, you need help," Hiccup agreed, staring down the look Astrid gave him with one of his own. Upon seeing the look, Astrid let out a sigh of defeat and leaned against Hiccup, whereupon he gingerly draped one of his arms over her shoulder and helped to move her towards the exit.

"So...Wijida came after you this time," Hiccup stated as Twilight levitated the still unconscious Rarity and followed the pair. "I shouldn't have run off like that. I should have been there to help you when she-"

"You were being you. Besides, I was more than a match for her," Astrid said with a smirk. "You should have seen the look on her face when the mirror bounced off her skull. For a pony that's supposed to be able to see the future, she sure didn't see that coming."

"Heh, leave it to you to not only take on a pony that can...manipulate objects with her mind and see the future...and not only fend her off, but also manage to draw blood in the process," Hiccup said with a small smile. "You are amazing, you know that?"

"Of course I know that, but I wouldn't mind hearing it again," Astrid smirked before her eyes went wide when she remembered something. "Right, knocking that smug look off the pony's face wasn't all that happened in that mirror place. Wijida also told me that in a week's time she's going to attack a town close to Ponyville. She didn't say which one."

"There's only a hoofful of towns that are close to Ponyville," Twilight added as she walked up beside them, carrying Rarity on her back. "I need to get back to Canterlot and inform Princess Celestia immediately. Buckle up you two, we're going to take a shortcut back to Ponvyille."

"Oh, no you don't," Astrid began as she tried to back away from Twilight's glowing horn. "I'm not getting anywhere near that magic of-" The two Vikings and the two ponies were completely enveloped in Twilight's magic, causing them to vanish without any trace of them having been there.

\  /
/  \

"That was quite the move the human performed back there," a dark voice spoke from beyond the shadows while Wijida wrapped a bandage around her skull, smirking to herself as flashbacks of the fight kept flowing through her mind. "And you do not seem to be the least bit upset, that a regular human managed to do what no all-powerful unicorn has come close to doing. She hit you, Wijida."

"Yes she did. I never saw it coming. You cannot imagine my surprise when I felt the corner of that mirror slice through my skull," Wijida responded with joy in every word. "Surprise. That was the first time in my life I truly felt surprised! And slightly scared too! For a moment, I thought that the human had flung her axe at me and that I was going to die! I feel so alive right now!"

"And then, you told her of your next move...I swear, if you deny me my vengeance-"

"Will you relax, I have seen the outcome of what will happen there," Wijida responded with a far more controlled and mysterious tone than the one she had been using. "Even with the humans' interference, all will go as I foresaw. And do not forget that you work for me. Now go. I believe that you have a rematch to get ready for, do you not?"
> Dragon Sledding
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

With a shiver, the Princess of Friendship slowly cracked her eyes open, shivering once again as she let out a yawn and turned her head towards her window. She blinked twice while wondering why it was so darn cold, but after rubbing the sleep out of her eyes she realized that the gray that she had been staring at hadn't been because of her eyes.

"Wait a moment...it wasn't supposed to snow today," she muttered while she shook herself awake and sprang to her hooves, throwing open the door to her bedroom and trotting towards where her assistant slept. "Spike? Are you awake?" she asked while banging a hoof against his door, yet silence only answered her. "I need to ask if any letters came for me in the middle of the night regarding the weather? Spike?"

She knocked twice more before deciding to enter, yet when she grabbed hold of the door she was surprised to find that it wasn't locked like usual. She gently pushed it open slightly and glanced through the crack, yet with the light of the hallway illuminating the room she found that she couldn't find her assistant.

"Spike, where did you get to?" Twilight asked with slight worry starting to creep into her voice as she closed the door and ran to the kitchen, yet the dragon was nowhere among the rustic utensils and cabinets. With the worry starting to turn to panic, her horn began to glow as she prepared the spell that would teleport that dragon to her...before the faintest sounds of beings laughing outside of her castle caught her ear.

Upon hearing the laugh, her spell changed from one that would teleport Spike to her and instead teleport her outside, and in one blinding flash of light later, the princess found herself standing on her frigid front porch while watching two humans and three dragons build, throw and chase each other through the snow.

"What's...going on?" Twilight asked, ignoring her freezing breath while Spike took cover behind a wall of snow to avoid a snowball.

"Well, good morning Princess!" Hiccup greeted before he too had to duck down behind his own wall of snow to avoid a near perfect toss from Astrid, who was in a fortress of snow and pelting both Spike and Hiccup at the same time. "And here you thought that she was going to sleep in all day, Astrid!"

"Look, we tried to get her up and she didn't budge. I thought she would be asleep for days," a still bandaged Astrid replied with a shrug, before ducking a weaker, but almost far more precise, snowball from Hiccup.

"You went into my room?" Twilight asked as one of her eyes twitched before she spun towards Spike and advanced on his fort, constructing a barrier of magic around herself in case either of the humans got a funny idea. "SPIKE!" The baby dragon leapt nearly a foot in the air before he turned towards Twilight with a smile on his face, one that grew far more afraid as she stared him down. "I thought I specifically asked you not to let any guests into my room while they were staying at the castle! Why didn't you stop them?!"

"Okay look, they both got up before me and by the time I realized that they were up they were already in your room, and then they invited me to do some snow battles with them...and then Stormfly carried me outside against me will..." Spike quickly replied, adding more and more to his story until Twilight had narrowed her eyes so tightly it was almost as if her eyes were closed.

"Don't be too hard on him, Twilight, it's mostly our fault!" Astrid called over from her fort, before turning her head and taking a snowball right in the mug. In one, slow motion she reached up and wiped the snow off her now red face, which she then turned towards the Viking who now feared for his life.

"A-Astrid, before you do anything rash, I'd just like to apologize and-"

"Stormfly. Avalanche." Hiccup let out a sigh before he turned to see a massive dragon's wing scoop a large pile of snow off of the ground and hurl it towards him, giving him enough time to cover his face before he was buried beneath the powder. Toothless let out a bark and raced towards Hiccup's side, digging at the pile with his claws until he unearthed Hiccup's hair. Toothless then bared his fangs as he grabbed hold of the brown mop and pulled with all of his might, drawing forth a very upset Hiccup a moment later.

"No...Toothless...OW...let go of my hair!" Hiccup ordered as he pushed the dragon off of him, wincing slightly as he touched where a large number of hairs had gone missing. "You're in trouble now, Hofferson!" he called over to Astrid, who raised an eyebrow at his words with a smirk on her face. "You know what using Stormfly in this battle means!"

"That you'll actually put up a fight now?" Astrid mocked before a flash of black slammed into the side of her fortress and brought the entire snow fort down around her, gaining a laugh from Hiccup as Toothless ran back over to his trainer, and the both of them watched as Astrid dug herself out.

"Oh, it is on now Haddock! Stormfly!" Astrid called out as she sprinted towards her dragon, who let out a bark of her own as the Nadder raced over to Astrid. In one swift, well-practiced motion Astrid vaulted onto Stormfly's back and had the dragon whip her tail, and a large quantity of snow, towards the Viking. In another flash of black, Toothless placed himself between the snow and his friend, letting loose a bolt of plasma that turned the snow to mist in a single shot.

"Alright Astrid, but remember, you started this!" Hiccup laughed as he boarded Toothless' back and had his dragon charge towards Stormfly, who backed away by flapping her wings while kicking up snow to blind her attackers.

"Yeah, I think this is the part where I'm going to call it quits," Spike said as he dusted snow off of his shoulder and stood beside Twilight, who was watching the two teams come up with creative ways to throw snow at each other. "I figure if I try to get in on that, I'll either get trampled, buried or both."

"It's too early in the morning for this kind of commotion." The two turned to see that Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were all trotting to the castle in their snow outfits, three of them with smiles on their faces, while Rarity looked like she hadn't woken up yet. "These two dragons are waking up the whole town and interrupting my much needed beauty sleep. Twilight, please get them to stop!"

"What are you four doing here this early?" Twilight asked after greeting each of her friends. "We didn't have anything planned for today."

"Just because we don't have to save the world doesn't mean that we won't come over just to say hi," Applejack said as she looked over at the two teams, which now consisted of Stormfly and Toothless wrestling over a crystal branch that they had snapped off the castle, and the two humans, one of whom was in a headlock while the other poured snow on his head. "Though I gotta agree with Rarity in saying that they sure are noisy. Strange how different their dragons are from ours." 

"Hold on you guys! Pinkie wants in on the action!" Pinkie called out before she reached behind her and revealed her party cannon, which she quickly stuffed with snow before wheeling it into the fray with a battle cry.

"It's so interesting, seeing how their versions of dragons play on a day like today," Fluttershy softly observed as she sat down and watched Toothless and Stormfly chase, bow and play across Twilight's yard while wrestling for control of the crystal branch. "They seem more like cats or dogs than like actual dragons. I wonder if they like being scratched or having their bellies rubbed?"

"Well, we've got two dragon masters right here. Ya can always just ask," Applejack reminded Fluttershy before moving in a bit closer. "So Twi, any word yet on our future-seeing, dragon manipulating, no good varmint?"

"No. And the letters from Celestia and Luna have given me nothing to work with," Twilight grunted with rage as she recalled all the nothing she had received over the past couple of days. "Aside from the incident a few days ago with Astrid and Wijida, the pony hasn't shown herself at all. Speaking of which...ASTRID!" Twilight yelled with all of her might, stopping human, dragon and pony alike in their tracks, and all turned their heads towards her. "You should be in bed right now resting, not trying to smother Hiccup with snow!"

"Please, these wounds are nothing. You should have seen what I looked like when we caught that rouge Nadder and Hiccup asked me to train it," Astrid said with a shake of her head before pointing to her side. "I had one of its scales go clean through my side. Trust me, THAT is the kind of wound that keeps a Viking in bed. These..." Astrid tried to argue, but she caught a glare from Twilight that made her groan.

"Maybe she's right Astrid. You shouldn't be putting yourself through this," Hiccup agreed, ending the battle then and there.

"Oh, not you too," Astrid grumbled as she crossed her arms and looked away from Hiccup and Twilight.

"I'm with her. I wanted to have more fun in the snow," Pinkie argued as well, matching Astrid's pose and face perfectly as she pouted along with her. Hiccup placed his hand under his chin as an idea came to him, drawing a smile across his face as he glanced up at Astrid.

"Hey Astrid," he began with a slight hint of competition in his voice, somewhat getting his girlfriend's attention. "While you might not be able to do anything in your condition, that doesn't mean that we can't still have fun in the snow."

"What are you implying, Hiccup?" Astrid asked with a raised eyebrow and an intrigued look.

\\\\\\\
=========
///////

The wind whipped and whistled around the two teams as every eye looked down the steep descent that rested before them, but only a handful of them were afraid of being so high up in the mountains. Hiccup sat on Toothless, with Pinkie and Fluttershy sitting behind him, the latter clutching onto her friend for dear life. Resting beside him, and giving him a competitive smile, was Astrid on Stormfly, who also had Twilight and AJ resting on her back.

"So, are we all clear on the rules then?!" Hiccup called over to the other team. "The first DRAGON to reach the bottom of the mountain and pass Rarity, dragon, not the rider, will be the one who wins! I am not losing to another technicality like last time!"

"Technicality?! You're just upset that I managed to cross the finish line without the aid of Stormfly and beat you," Astrid bragged with a smile. "I'm still the reigning champion in terms of Dragon Sledding."

"You mean where Stormfly crashed into a tree and hurled you across the finish line?" Hiccup shot back with a laugh before he flattened his body on Toothless. "Yeah, I remember that day! You took first place and won a broken leg for your aerial acrobatics!" 

"Um, Mr. Hiccup, not that I'm complaining or anything but...why are we here?" Fluttershy asked nervously as she tried to avoid looking at the bottom of the mountain.

"Well, you guys said that you wanted to see how we controlled our dragons and helped them to fly so well, didn't you?" Hiccup asked as he looked back at her, waiting until he barely saw her head nod before continuing. "The fastest way to learn is through first hand experience. Now hold on," Hiccup began as he reached beside him and grabbed his helmet, which he slid over his head. "Because things are about to get intense."

"On yer marks!" Applejack called out. "Get set..." Both Astrid and Hiccup flattened themselves even further while Twilight created magical seatbelts for the ponies. "GO!" The moment the word left her mouth, the dragons hurled themselves forward and landed on their stomachs, skidding down the mountain at a breakneck pace as they carved through the snow. Fluttershy screamed and covered her eyes while Pinkie laughed with joy, while Toothless weaved back and forth past trees and any other obstacles that barred their way.

"Keep up, Astrid!" Hiccup called out as he and Toothless skidded past Stormfly, who had to pull back to avoid crashing into the Night Fury and his passengers. To further throw salt into the wounds, Toothless looked back at the four with a smug look on his face before he propelled his team forward with a flap of his wings.

"Darn it, they're pulling ahead!" Applejack called out.

"Not for long. How do the two of you feel about unnecessary risks?" she asked her two passengers.

"Wait, what kind of risks are we talking about her?" Twilight asked with uncertainty in her voice as Astrid pulled hard to the left and angled Stormfly towards a fallen tree. "Because if it's sixty-forty or even seventy-thirty, I'm fine with those, but anything higher than that is-aaaaaaAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"

Twilight let out a loud scream while both Astrid and AJ hollered as Stormfly went airborne, sliding right up the fallen tree to launch herself into the sky. With another hard tug of the saddle Astrid angled their fall so that they would land right in front of the other team...or close enough.

"INCOMING!" Hiccup and his team had just enough time to look up before the Deadly Nadder belly flopped onto the snow right in front of them, blasting all four of them with snow while the sounds of laughter assaulted their ears. Hiccup quickly wiped the snow out of his eyes to reveal that Astrid had pulled ahead, getting a smirk out of him as he looked back at his crew.

"Alright you two, hold tight," he warned them as he flattened himself completely against Toothless, who let out a small chuckle before his spines opened up and clapped together twice, fascinating Fluttershy for a moment before she looked ahead and realized what they were about to do. "Because I'm about to get reckless."

As if the word triggered something in the back of Toothless mind, the dragon's eyes narrowed before he shot ahead in a burst of speed, slicing through the snow almost like a blade while using his wings to stay steady. Pinkie and Fluttershy clutched onto each other and Hiccup for dear life as the Night Fury slowly began to overtake Astrid and her passengers.

"He's almost passed us again! How is he catching up so fast?!" Twilight reported as she glanced down at Astrid, who had turned her head to look back at the advancing team with a frown.

"Argh, that's Hiccup for you. He's the best flier out of all of us," Astrid said before swinging one of her legs over the side of the saddle so that she was sitting sideways on it, making her entire body face the rapidly approaching dragon and freaking Twilight out at the same time.

"W-what are you doing?!" she half-screamed at Astrid, who gave Twilight a smirk before narrowing her eyes at Hiccup. 

"Hiccup's the reason Toothless is catching up. So if I can eliminate Hiccup..." Astrid began, getting Twilight's eyes to widen in horror as she realized what Astrid was about to do. "Twilight, take over for me...NOW!" The moment she said this Astrid hurled herself at Hiccup, tackling the rider right off of his dragon and sending the both of them crashing into the snow. The dragons raced ahead as the pair rolled down the mountain, both stopping when they crashed into a snow bank.

"Astrid?! What are you doing?!" Hiccup exclaimed when he pulled himself out of the snow, helping to pull Astrid out before the pair of them turned towards the rapidly vanishing dragons.

"Winning, Hiccup. Alright Twilight, it's up to you!" Astrid called down to Twilight. Twilight grabbed hold of the front of Stormfly's saddle, fear filling her eyes as she tried to figure out what to do. Over on Toothless, the dragon considered stopping and turning back to get Hiccup, but then he felt a calm hoof rest upon his head.

"Easy there, Toothless. We can get them when we've safely gotten to the bottom," the calm voice of Fluttershy spoke, focusing the dragon's attention. "Let's win this for Hiccup." Toothless let out a bark and began to pull ahead once again, while Stormfly glanced back at the panicking Twilight with questioning eyes.

"Turn! No Stop! Do something!" Twilight blurted out all at once as she tried in vain to steer the dragon. Stormfly raised an eyebrow at her before spreading her wings and slowing the group down, getting cries of confusion from Twilight as Toothless rocketed ahead.

"And...Toothless has crossed the finish line," Hiccup said with a smile while the Night Fury slid past Rarity and covered her in snow before coming to a stop, letting the two ponies off of his back before Fluttershy collapsed immediately. Stormfly crossed the finish line a few moments later, where she dropped her ponies off before flapping her wings and heading up for Hiccup and Astrid. 

"Looks like I'm the Dragon Sledding Champion now, and I didn't even have to drive him," Hiccup continued with a smile at the less-than-thrilled expression on Astrid's face. "Actually, you might have won if you hadn't have jumped off Stormfly to tackle me. So in a way, you're the reason that I won. Thanks, M'lady."

"Annndddd you're going back in the snow," Astrid said before turning and tackling Hiccup back into the snow.
> Dragon Out the Meeting
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Despite having fought crazed Vikings, hordes of monstrous dragons, and the very worst that their world had to throw at them, the two Vikings couldn't help but shift uncomfortably in their chairs as they glanced around at the large--and very fancy--restaurant in which they found themselves. Hiccup glanced behind him at the group of ponies playing a number of musical instruments (with their hooves no less) while also noticing that they were dressed in very...fancy attire--attire that was a sharp contrast to his dragon spit stained armor that had seen better days.

"Is it just me, or do you feel really out of place here?" Hiccup muttered to Astrid as he glanced down at the lacy table cloth to avoid making eye contact with any of the elites.

"I can't believe they made me not only leave my axe at the door, but our dragons as well," Astrid muttered with crossed arms and a less-than-happy expression while she turned to look out the window, spying the Nightfury and Nadder chasing around a flock of birds. "At least someone's having fun here."

"I wish that they'd stop staring at us like this," Hiccup continued as he caught a look from a pony that quickly turned his head, but the message had been convoyed all the same. "Like, they're all judging us for something."

"Why are we here again? I thought we were supposed to spend the day learning the lay of the land and how to track down Wijida?" Astrid asked before giving a very cold stare to a long mustached pony who immediately looked away from her.

"Twilight said that the princesses had something very important they wanted us to see, and someone they wanted us to meet," Hiccup reminded her, though he sounded just as unhappy as she was. A loud bark followed by the sound of something shattering got the Vikings' attention, but to their disappointment, when they looked outside they found that the dragons were out of sight. The two sighed as they faced forward again...to find that the Princess of the Night was now sitting across from them.

"Oh hey, you're Princess...Luna, right?" Astrid struggled to recall, before smiling while Luna nodded her head in confirmation.

"Indeed Astrid, I am Princess Luna. And I hope that the two of you have not felt too terribly...out of place while you have been here," she asked with a slightly apologetic tone, before waving her hoof to the other ponies that were in the room. They all bowed without a sound and left the room, leaving only the three of them. "You may let your dragons in now if you wish. We only kept them out so as not to disturb the other patrons until I arrived." 

"Alright then. Stormfly!" Astrid called out before making a dragon like sound. A moment later, the roars of both dragons could be heard followed by the shattering of more glass, and both Vikings turned with smiles when their companions raced over to them while Luna raised an eyebrow at the broken windows.

"Sister will not be happy about that," Luna muttered before looking across the table at the twin dragons that were now swarming the humans and knocking over anything that was unfortunate enough to be close to them, taking an interest in the both of them almost immediately. 'Twilight reported that while they are dragons, they do not talk and do not seem to be as...intelligent as ours. Yet they are both so fascinating, especially in their design.'

Toothless raised his ears with wide eyes before turning towards the Princess of the Night, who quickly realized she was staring and swiftly turned her head to the side to focus on a potted plant. The Night Fury cocked his head to the side slightly before zipping over to Luna and sniffing her, while studying her with curious eyes.

"Seems that you're not the only one that's interested in who's sitting across from them," Hiccup said with a smile as Toothless examined the night-sky like coat that covered the princess, while Luna looked into the green eyes of Toothless with the same curiosity.

"He is magnificent. And you called him a Night Fury, is that correct?" Luna asked as Toothless buried his face in her mane. Toothless then removed his face from her mane and stuck it right into her face, staring into her eyes this time. "Well, hello there Toothless. You seem to be...a curious dragon." 

"Wow, he liked you fast. Must because the both of you are night related," Hiccup said with a small chuckle before both he and Astrid opened their eyes wide with some shock before they looked at the floor. "Call me crazy, but did I just feel...?" Another faint boom could be heard followed by a small shockwave that got both Astrid and Hiccup to stand up and look around with concern.

"No, I felt it too." 

Both Toothless and Stormfly snarled as they crouched down low at the next quake, and all eyes turned towards the garden in the back, where the source of the quakes was revealed to the complete shock of both the humans and dragons. A massive, scaled monstrosity that shone with bright silver and crimson colors was walking towards the place where the group sat, nearly towering over the whole building as it approached.

Not wasting a moment, Toothless and Stormfly immediately formed a circle around Hiccup and Astrid and began to roar at the giant lumbering towards them, fire burning in their maws as they roared up at the beast. Astrid had snatched her axe off the back Stormfly the moment she had the chance, but instead of going for his sword, Hiccup had grabbed his notebook first and cracked it open to a new page.

"Look at the size and wingspan on this dragon! This might be the largest one we've seen since we came here!" he exclaimed with amazement as he started to draw quick sketches, gaining him a look of sheer disbelief from Astrid. 

"NOW?!  You're picking now to do this?" Astrid criticized him, but before she could say any more the roof to the place was removed by the giant silver and red dragon, who peered down into the room at the small dragons and the humans. Toothless and Stormfly stood their ground and glared up at the monster, but Hiccup and Astrid shared identical looks of worry when they saw the armored scales and large fangs that adorned the dragon. For a long, tense moment the two sides stared at each other, before Luna cleared her throat and spoke up.

"Ah, King Zardon. It is good to see you again," Luna said with a warm smile as she bowed slightly to the dragon. "Please come in. I do not wish to be an inhospitable host." The dragon then let out a large, bellowing laugh that nearly blew over the dragons and their riders, who were far beyond confused at that point.

"Are you sure that is a wise offer, Luna? For I recall that the last time your sister and you offered me entry into your castle, I accidentally crushed the main hall with my size," the king laughed in a good natured tone before resting his arms on the wall of the room, while making himself more comfortable. His gaze then turned to the two humans and the dragons next to them, another toothy grin crossing his face. "So, one of you must be the legendary dragon master that I've heard so much about. Well, whichever of you it is, greetings. I am King Zardon, king of all dragons across the world...except for those two, given by the way they're glaring at me." 

"Down, Toothless," Hiccup said calmly as he placed a hand on the side of Toothless' head, causing the dragon's pupils to grow as sense returned to him. "I...I'm the dragon master that you've heard about. I am Chief Hiccup Haddock Horendous the Third. It is...an honor to meet a dragon such as yourself."

"Hmm," the king growled before moving his face down into the room, stopping it right in front of Hiccup and examining him with eyes that were as large as Hiccup's full body. He looked the human up and down, stopping at the symbol on his shoulder for a moment, before exhaling a puff of smoke from his nostrils that caused Hiccup to start coughing while he rose to his full height once again. "You are not what I imagined when I heard that a dragon master was in the land, freeing the dragons from Wijida's control.  I imagined that you would be...taller."

"Trust me, you're not the only one who thinks that," Astrid added as she stepped in front of Hiccup along with Toothless, the both of them staring up at the king with narrowed eyes. The king simply raised an eyebrow in response before his massive gaze turned towards Toothless and Stormfly, both of whom were looking up at him while waiting for the order to fight.

"And these must be the two dragons that are unlike the others, those that do not speak and only follow the orders of their riders," Zardon muttered as he moved his face closer to Stormfly, but in a flash of spines he found that the dragon preferred her personal space. "Hmm...and clearly they do not listen to the king of the dragons as well," the king muttered as he started to pluck the spines out of his cheek, yet his eyes remained on the group...or more precisely, Toothless. "And you. You have the air of a ruler about you. Are you the king in the land you come from?"

"Yes, Toothless is the alpha of all the Berkian dragons," Hiccup explained while he placed a hand each on both Astrid's shoulder and Toothless' face, gently stepping past them while giving them both a look to stand down. "If I may, your highness, what does the king of the dragons wish to meet me for? I mean, I assume that the reason you are here was to speak with me."

"Yes, oh master of dragons, I did wish to have words with you and the princesses," the king agreed with a nod as he crossed his arms. "But first, I must say...thank you." When Hiccup and the others looked up at the king in surprise, he let out a soot-filled sigh as he bowed his head. "It pains me to say that I am helpless to stop what Wijida is doing. While I may be able to stop a dragon that she controls, I am unable to break her curse that she places upon my people. The only way to stop those possessed from harming others...was a more permanent solution."

Hiccup and Astrid shared a horrified look before they both glanced back at Toothless and Stormfly, neither of whom liked the sound of a permanent solution. The king took in a deep and sad breath, before he steeled his nerves once again and returned to his more kingly disposition. 

"Then I heard word of you, the dragon master and his midnight black dragon that can not only defeat those that Wijida has placed under her control...but also free them as well," the king softly said with amazement in his voice. "Three of my subjects have already been freed and returned to me, three saved that I would have been unable to. While I may question your title as a dragon master, I cannot deny that you have done much for me. So for that...I thank you." The king then bowed his head towards Hiccup with gratitude in every action, getting the human to rub the back of his head as he looked at his allies, who beamed at him with pride.

"T-there's no need for the thanks. I just can't stand to see dragons under the control of those who wish to hurt others or the dragons," Hiccup meekly said as Astrid lightly punched him in the shoulder. "So, I can't forgive Wijida for what she has done to the dragons here--to your subjects. And I promise that I will do everything I can to help stop her from hurting anyone, be they dragon or pony." The dragon king looked down at the human for a moment before his toothy grin returned and a loud laugh escaped his lips.

"Well said! Very well then, Dragon Master, we shall work together to stop Wijida once and for all!" Zardon decreed as he nodded at Hiccup before turning his gaze to Luna. "You were right Princess, he is interesting. Now, I am ready to tell him what we have learned."

"It pleases me to hear you say that, King Zardon. Hiccup. Astrid. Please sit," Luna asked as she motioned to their chairs. "King Zardon has recently discovered a number of dragons that have gone missing from his kingdom," she began once they were seated, doing everything in her power not to laugh at the sight of Toothless resting his face on the side of the table and licking at the items on it. "Numerous. Take note of that fact. Now then, King Zardon, I believe that there was more you wished to say?"

"Yes. Unlike the past attacks where only one dragon was taken control of at a time, this time over ten have gone missing, all of them adolescents or young adults," King Zardon revealed with bitter regret in his voice. "You should know, as your dragons are different from ours, that adolescent dragons are still fairly large, larger than you and your dragons. So ten of them will be a considerable threat. Yet, I have received word of three possible locations where they have been spotted, all of them towns close to Ponyville." At this Hiccup and Astrid shared another look, one that was not lost on the Princess of the Night.

"Now I ask, Dragon Master, what should we do? You and your allies are the only ones who have come into contact with Wijida multiple times and have not been controlled or killed," the king pointed out, getting Hiccup to place a hand under his chin while he began to think.

"Hiccup, is there something you wish to say?" Luna asked with a knowing air, but Hiccup remained silent for a few minutes before he finally came to a decision.

"Wijida made this between her and the two of us," Hiccup stated as he motioned to Astrid and himself. "And with her ability to see into your futures, it's...more than likely she will be avoiding the two of you and focusing on me and Astrid. So no matter where we check, she'll be at the place where me and Astrid are. We have the gem, after all."

"The Draconis Gem?" King Zardon whispered with disbelief and fear in his voice. "But the only reason she would be after that would be..."

"Yes. She wishes to resurrect him," Luna confirmed, this time gaining her looks from both Astrid and Hiccup. The king placed a clawed hand under his chin and lowered his head, clearly disturbed by the news that he had just learned.

"Then, she must be stopped at all costs. If the ancient one is resurrected...we cannot let that happen."

"I agree. That is why the Elements of Harmony will go with Hiccup and Astrid to whichever town they decide to go to," Luna agreed before turning to the Vikings. "It is as you say, Hiccup, with her ability to see into the future, any plans that my sister or I come up with are useless. Only the two of you are able to escape her gaze, so only your actions can defeat her. We will give you the locations that Zardon has discovered and the pair of you can decide. As for you, King Zardon, I thank you for coming out in person to tell us this, but you must be wanting to return home."

"You are right there, Princess. I must return to my kingdom to make sure that nothing has happened while I was away," the king agreed with a nod of his head before smiling down at the two humans. "It was a pleasure to meet the two of you, Dragon Master and Fearless One. I look forward to battling alongside you." 

Zardon then spread his mighty wings and with a single flap took to the skies, sailing into the blue and white before vanishing a few minutes later. Once he was gone though, both Hiccup and Astrid turned towards Luna with narrowed eyes. 

"So, the Draconis Gem has another feature aside from being able to control any dragon?" Hiccup asked with an upset tone, yet Luna's look was one of confusion instead of guilt.

"Yes. It does. Did my sister not tell you?" Luna asked with confusion, raising an eyebrow when both humans shook their heads. "Sigh...she always does this. Yes, the Draconis Gem does have another use, one that will spell the end of our world if one such as Wijida gets her hooves upon it."

"What else can it do?" Astrid asked as she gripped her axe tightly.

"It can be used to resurrect a dragon that has been sealed away for years, far longer than anypony aside from us, and the king of the dragons remembers," Luna explained with fear in her voice, a fear that brought back memories of when the dragon was last free. "The destroyer of lands; Bringer of the End; Thanatos--a dragon who swore on the day he died that he would not rest until he had either conquered the world or met his match in combat. And none can match his power."

"Wow, a dragon like that. Sounds...bad," Hiccup said with fear...and a hint of something else that only Astrid caught.

"Don't you dare suggest trying to train it," she sternly said with a glare at Hiccup, who opened his mouth to answer, realized it was pointless, and closed it again with a sigh.

"Fine. But if Thanatos does get free, I will deal with him."
> Collapse
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wind whistled through Hiccup's helmet while he and Toothless soared towards a small town residing near the top of a cliff, going over his battle plan again and again to make sure he had accounted for everything. Beside him flew Astrid on the back of Stormfly, constantly shifting her axe between her hands while taking a few practice swings. Through his flight suit, he could barely feel the hooves of a slightly nervous Fluttershy holding onto him, while Pinkie watched Toothless' tail from behind her.

"We should be coming up on the town soon, but do you think it was a wise idea to come here without Luna or Celestia?" Rainbow Dash asked from Hiccup's right side as she flew alongside him, slowing down (or so she claimed) to allow the group to fly together. "I mean, we're dealing with a pony that can see the future and all, so shouldn't we have the princesses with us? Not that we can't handle her or anything, but I was just..."

"She's avoided Celestia and Luna for this long, so either she doesn't want to fight them or can't," Twilight explained to Rainbow from the side of Stormfly while looking up at the darkening sky with both concern and surprise. "And with her ability to see the future, any trap we set that involves the princesses will be seen by her."

"Then why does she not care if you're with us?" Applejack asked from behind Astrid, holding onto the back of the saddle with all of her might while she kept her eyes straight. "Yer a princess and arguably just as strong as Luna or Celestia, so why let you get close?"

"I don't have all the answers, but whatever the reason, it can't be good," Twilight stated as a few raindrops began to sprinkle the group, concerning the two dragon riders far more than the ponies that rode with them. A quick burst of magic erupted from the tip of Twilight's horn and made its way into the town, bathing the buildings in a quick, violet light before extinguishing itself. "That's what I thought. There are no citizens here! But my magic is picking up at least ten dragons and a strange power that we know all too well!"

"Just like we thought, she's after us. Alright then, listen up!" Hiccup called out to the ponies, all of whom looked over to him. "The six of us will head down and confront Wijida while Astrid and Stormfly stay up here! Twilight, you'll lead the way to where Wijida is, but I want the five of you to only step in if things get out of hand," Hiccup ordered.

"And why in Odin's beard am I staying up here and away from the fighting?" Astrid demanded, insubordination written clearly on her face as she glared at Hiccup. "You need me down there Hiccup, and I have my own little personal score to settle with this witch. So why-?"

"Because if things go south, I want you to be ready to jump in and get us out of there," Hiccup calmly explained, catching Astrid's eyes with his own. For a long moment the two seemed to stare at each other, before Astrid slowly nodded in agreement.

"Fine. But the MOMENT things go wrong, I'll take Wijida out myself," Astrid muttered under her breath as Hiccup and Toothless dove down towards the town, the flying ponies following them before Astrid and Stormfly dove down as well.

The group touched down with no incident, yet the dragons and their riders were slightly unnerved by the abandoned town that looked as if it had only been inhabited a day ago. Doors still hung open, children's toys lay in the road, and saddle bags filled with items littered the streets.

"I wonder what happened to everypony?" Twilight muttered while her friends hopped off of the backs of the dragons and slowly took in the town around them. Twilight then turned her head towards the cliffside and narrowed her eyes menacingly. "Come on everypony.  She's this way."

"Hiccup..." Astrid tried to argue one last time, but Hiccup shook his head before glancing up at the sky. Astrid let out a sigh while Stormfly flapped her wings and shot up heavenward, vanishing into the rumbling clouds a moment later. The moment she was gone, Hiccup nodded to the group and they began to march forward, some of them more nervous than the others.

"So, if she can see the future, does that mean she knows we're coming? Or does she only get glances of the future and things like that?" Rainbow Dash asked in a slightly paranoid tone as she glanced around nervously. "Wait, does she know what I'm saying right now? How bout now?"

"We don't know the full extent of her abilities, but all we do know is that Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid and Stormfly are the only ones immune to most of her abilities," Twilight said calmly, yet her words only caused Rainbow to become slightly more panicked. 

"Well, if she can see the future, ah hope she can see the flank whooping she's gonna get once we get ahold of her," Applejack said with a smirk.

"I just hope the dragons she's controlling are alright. How could somepony be so cruel?" Fluttershy asked sadly. 

"People, and I guess ponies, like to use dragons for their ability to spread fear and terror. This isn't the first crazy person I've dealt with who wanted to use dragons to rule the world," Hiccup explained with gritted teeth as he tightened his grip on Toothless' saddle. "But don't worry, I'm sure we'll-"

Toothless let out a loud bark and hurled himself and Hiccup to the side just as a burst of fire torched the air where they had been just a moment before. The Night Fury skidded to a stop before turning towards the source of the fire and unleashing his own plasma blasts right into the dark alleyway. The burst exploded a wall and hurled a bluish dragon out of the shadows, where it staggered to a stop in front of the group.

"One of the missing adolescents," Twilight clarified with a single glance at the dragon's eyes, eyes which shone with an unnatural red. Before the group could make any further moves, the teenage dragon threw his head back and let out a roar that echoed across the town. A few moments after the call, nine more dragons of varying sizes and colors crawled out of the woodwork, surrounding the group within moments.

"Stay calm, Bud. We've gotten out of worse," Hiccup muttered to the Night Fury, who was now soaking wet from the rain that was pouring down around them. He slowly removed himself from Toothless' back and walked towards the closest dragon, hand extended and eyes slightly closed. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to free you." For a brief moment the red in the dragon's eyes flickered, but then the voice of a certain pony echoed throughout all of their minds.

'No no no Hiccup, we can't make it that easy for you,' the voice of Wijida burned in their minds with a fiendish chuckle, before the eyes of the dragons became a far greater crimson. 'Attack them my minions! Kill the ponies, but remember: I want Hiccup and his precious dragon alive!'

With ten roars of fury, the adolescent dragons hurled themselves at the six. Twilight was the first to react by casting a shield around the group, deflecting the initial attack and forcing the dragons back. Her horn glowed with power again as she took aim at one of the dragons, but a blinding pain flashed across her mind and she howled as she held her hooves to her head.

'What's the matter Twilight, that big brain of yours hurt?' Wijida's voice cackled across their minds as Fluttershy rushed to Twilight's side while the barrier fell, allowing the dragons to rush towards the ponies. Three of the dragons went straight for the princess and Fluttershy, but a flash of black tackled them in the side and sent them sprawling. With crimson rage the three glared up at Toothless, who let out a roar of his own before he unsheathed his fangs.

With Toothless dealing with three of the dragons, the other seven were free to rush down the remaining ponies and human. One of the dragons that was taller than Hiccup lunged right towards him, but with a smirk the human unleashed a cloud of green gas into the air. Smog quickly blinded the dragon, forcing it back as it tried to see through the green mist to where the Viking had gotten.

The dragon let out a furious roar as it began to slash through the smog, roaring with rage while it unleashed its fire into the mist. With another furious bellow it spun around...and found itself glaring into the slit-like eyes of Toothless. For a long moment the two glared into each other's eyes, before, slowly, the red began to fade from the dragon's sight and it collapsed to the ground.

"Are you alright, Twilight?" Hiccup asked from beside the princess while Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie kept the other dragons around them preoccupied. 

"Yeah...I think I'm fine," Twilight grunted with gritted teeth as she forced herself back up to her hooves, glaring in the direction of the dragons where the remaining six were chasing her friends around. "I'll make sure to pay her back for that!" Twilight roared while she unleashed six chains of violet light that fastened themselves around the dragons and forced them to the ground. "Hiccup. Toothless. Do your thing."

"Come on, Toothless!" Hiccup called out to his dragon, who had just finished up freeing the other dragons from Wijida's control. With a bark Toothless raced to his side and quickly worked his Alpha magic upon the other controlled dragons, freeing them within a few minutes.

"Ha! Take that Wijida!" Rainbow Dash cried in victory into the air once the dragons slumped over. "Did you see these dragons losing to us?!"

'...Sadly yes, but I was hoping that I would be wrong and they would kill you. But ah, what a feeling to be...wrong,' the voice of Wijida answered with far more happiness than the ponies liked for a villain whose forces had just been defeated. 'Now that you've defeated my minions...as pathetic as they were, I invite you to come face me, if you dare.'

The group nodded to one another as they headed towards the top of the cliff, where a solitary pony could be seen resting on the edge and staring up at the thundering sky with a smile on her face. "I foresaw all of this. The five ponies, the dragons losing, the thunder and lightning, but for the life of me I cannot see what you are going to do next, Hiccup," Wijida said with a large smile as she turned her white eyes towards the human. "And no, Twilight, today is not the day I answer for what I have done. Please don't ask."

"Stop doing that," Twilight demanded with gritted teeth as Hiccup stepped forward, Toothless right beside him as the pair slowly approached the pony.

"It's not too late to stop this, Wijida," Hiccup began to reason, getting a smirk out of the pony as she pulled out a vial filled with a green liquid. 

"And why would I want to stop this Hiccup?" Wijida asked as she drank the liquid, giving Hiccup a moment to realize that there was a new scar on the pony's skull. A smile crossed Hiccup's face, when he realized that scar must have been when Astrid got her shot in. "I'm having fun. For the first time in my life, I'm actually excited about something. I'm not stopping until I see how this ends."

"Again, all of THIS...because you were bored?!  All of this pain and suffering because of boredom?!" Hiccup roared at Wijida, who raised her eyebrows with surprise at the rage.

"Yes, Hiccup. Because of boredom," Wijida clarified as a sinister smile spread across her face and lightning flashed across the sky; her eyes grew as white as the moon. "But my visions have told me that we're getting close to the end of our little adventure. That means I will soon be getting my hooves on that gem that you protect so closely."

"And how do you know I have the gem and the princesses don't?" Hiccup asked, but Wijida chuckled as she shook her head with a far smaller smile.

"You are smart Hiccup, so please stop trying to play dumb. I cannot see any future that has the gem in it. So either you have it with you...or your little lover does," Wijida said softly, chuckling slightly when she felt the rage growing within Hiccup. "But rest assured, I will have it. And I hope that today will be that day."

"Aside from the obvious reasons, what makes you think that we'd just hoof the gem over to you?" Twilight asked as she stepped forward with her friends, each of them (even Fluttershy) staring down the pony with narrowed eyes. Wijida turned her head to look at each of them before she threw her head back and began to laugh.

"Why would you? Why, because if you don't, Hiccup...I'll have to kill my hostages," Wijida menacingly threatened. Before any of the ponies could ask the obvious question, stone chains erupted from the ground and wrapped around the ponies while hoisting them into the air. Hiccup and Toothless spun around as stone tendrils constricted the ponies, forcing them to cry out in pain as Wijida began to laugh once again.

"What now, Hiccup? Will you hand over the gem nice and easy? Or will I get to kill these ponies? Because I've seen the future and they live...which means that you will obey," Wijida laughed with venom in her voice as she held out a hoof and beckoned Hiccup over to her.

"You're not going to get away with this," Hiccup promised her as he reached into his pocket, gaining all of Wijida's attention while she kept all of her focus on him. "You might be able to see some of the future, but even you don't know everything. And in all my years of learning about dragons, I've learned that there's nothing more dangerous than the lack of information."

Wijida smirked at Hiccup's words before her smile slightly fell and she began to think. 'Now, why would he say such a thing to me? True, I may not know how this battle of ours ends, but I can clearly see him and the ponies and that little dragon of his so...' Then her eyes widened. "Astrid."

As if she were summoning the human, in the very next moment Wijida felt a boot slam into the side of her face and send her skidding across the ground. Wijida snarled as she quickly rose up and tore a chunk of stone from the ground to defend herself from the axe strike that would have cleaved her head in two.

"Stormfly! Help Hiccup free the others! I've got business with her," Astrid called out to her dragon before she turned towards the smiling face of Wijida, twirling her axe once in her hands before the two began to circle each other. "If you believe in the gods, you better pray to them for help, because no one else will be able to protect you from me."

"Well aren't you angry today? What's the matter, Hiccup spending more time with Twilight than you?" Wijida teased with a smirk, yet Astrid tilted her head in confusion before shaking it and charging forward. Wijida smirked before changing her stone shield into a spear that she hurled at the Viking, yet in one smooth motion Astrid reached out with her free hand and plucked the spear out of the air while hurling her axe right towards the pony at the same time.

"That was close!" Wijida roared while the axe barely missed her head by a few inches, forcing her to rip up even more stone to deflect her own spear. She then forced the ground to rise up beneath her to elevate her over Astrid, who scooped up her axe before glaring up at Wijida. "Isn't this fun, Astrid?! Two warriors fighting in a battle to the death while neither knows who will survive! I've read stories like this but now I finally get to be a part of one!"

"It's fun until I sever that smirking face of yours clean from your body!" Astrid roared as she whistled hard. Wijida was about to ask what she was doing before she heard a dragon's shriek, followed by the sounds of spikes impaling themselves in the stone in front of her. Sensing even more spikes incoming, Wijida hurled herself off of the top of her pillar and to the ground below...and right where Astrid was waiting.

"Have fun in Valhalla!" Astrid roared while she swung for all she was worth, just barely missing Wijida who had the good sense to duck under her swing. For a brief moment Wijida looked from Astrid to Hiccup, who had just freed the ponies and now was advancing towards her with his dragon, before she realized where she was standing and a sinister smile crossed her face once again. 

"Well, I've seen the future and know I'll survive, but you might be in luck, Twilight," Wijida said to Twilight, who looked at the pony in confusion before the ground around Astrid and Wijida shattered. Astrid had just enough time to realize what was happening before the two of them started to fall down the cliff side, while Wijida laughed all the way down with her. "Because after this, Hiccup's going to need a new girlfriend!"

"Astrid!" Hiccup called out as he and the others rushed forward, with Stormfly even diving down to catch her rider, but Wijida's eyes flashed and a thunderbolt worthy of Thor struck the ground in front of them, blasting ponies, human and dragon back. Hiccup groaned as he pushed himself back up, but fear was tearing his heart as he raced forward to the edge of the cliff and looked towards the bottom, where he could only see the shattered cliff side in the pouring rain...and the faint outline of an unmoving body.

"ASTRID!"
> Old Sayings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sickening horror tore apart Hiccup's heart as he hurled himself and Toothless down the cliff face towards the bottom, where a single Viking lay next to a large pile of boulders that had made up the top of the cliff. Toothless practically slammed into the ground before he rushed over to the motionless Astrid, barely stopping long enough for Hiccup to dismount before he was sniffing her body.

"No. Oh gods, no," Hiccup whispered as he gently picked up Astrid into his shaking arms, eyes brimming with terror when he saw the way her arm was bent. Hiccup didn't register that the ponies were also down with him until Twilight was at his side, scanning Astrid with her magic before Stormfly practically ran over the princess to get to Astrid.

"Is...is she okay?" Fluttershy dared to ask from beside Hiccup, as he placed an ear to Astrid's chest, holding his breath for a brief moment before he let out a small sigh.

"No, she's not okay...but she's alive," Hiccup whispered with relief in every word before he looked over to Twilight, who had just pulled herself out of the mud and started to scan Astrid again.

"She's in bad shape. Multiple broken bones, internal damage and some severe trauma," Twilight informed Hiccup, whose rage was building while she uncovered the full extent of the damage. "She may be alive for now, but I don't know if she'll live much longer! Back up!"

The ponies did so, but Hiccup refused to budge an inch, getting a small smile out of Twilight before her eyes glowed with a violet light while her magic flowed from her horn into Astrid. For a few tense minutes, all watched as Twilight bathed Astrid in her magic, before eventually the pony let out a sigh and the light faded from both her eyes and the Viking.

"My magic ensured that she won't die on us now, but if we don't get her to a hospital, it's just a temporary fix," Twilight explained as Hiccup looked down at Astrid, who had slightly more color in her face and was breathing easier than before. "We need to go now."

Hiccup nodded as Twilight cast a spell around Astrid, allowing her to aid Hiccup in lifting the broken and bleeding Viking onto the back of Toothless. "My spell will hopefully allow us to move her without inflicting further harm, but I can't be certain," Twilight explained to Hiccup as the rider clutched Astrid tightly before telling Toothless to take off. "Rainbow, lead them to the hospital."

Rainbow nodded before she shot off after Toothless and Stormfly, who hadn't wasted a moment in following the black Night Fury who held her rider. Twilight and the remaining four ponies watched the dragons vanish into the dark, cloudy sky with fear clawing at each of them, none of them daring to speak until the dragons and Dash were completely out of sight. Twilight then turned away and walked towards the rock pile, scanning it with her magic with rage flashing in her soul.

"What are you doing, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked when Twilight used her magic to rip Astrid's axe from the rock pile with a sigh of frustration.

"Scanning for Wijida," Twilight seethed while she drove the blade of the axe into the ground before turning her magic to the surrounding area. "That monster of a pony fell along with Astrid, yet there's no body. And that can only mean she survived."

"Unless she's buried under the rock pile," Applejack pointed out as she slammed a hoof into the pile, displacing some of the rocks slightly. 

"No, I just scanned it and there's no trace of her in there," Twilight began in a tone that gained her the others' attention.

"What's the matter, Twilight?" Pinkie asked in a slightly happy tone, which meant that she was really upset with what had happened.

"I sense Wijida's magic all over the place, if I can even call it magic, but there's no trail," Twilight muttered while she scanned the ground with a violet light that revealed patches of black energy that resided in the ground. "I have no idea where she's gotten to! And she can't teleport...at least I think she can't, so where did she get to?"

"Well wherever she got to, ah can guarantee you that she'll be back," Applejack said with complete honesty. "But ah also know that right now Astrid needs us. Forget about Wijida for now. She didn't get the gem. She can wait." Twilight gritted her teeth for a moment before letting the rage out with a sigh as she nodded to Applejack. She then encased herself and her friends in a magic bubble that took off into the sky after the dragon riders, turning their attention away from the crazy witch pony and to their wounded friend.

\\\\\\\
=============
///////

At first, Hiccup had found the constant beeping of the strange machine that Twilight had informed him was a heart monitor annoying, but after the third day of having to sit beside it he found it was much easier to tune out. What wasn't as easy to get rid of as he sat beside Astrid's bedside, was the sense of fear and worry, despite the doctors telling the group that the magic had healed most of Astrid's injuries and that she would be fine in a few weeks.

'I'm going to get you for this, Wijida,' Hiccup silently thought to himself as he rested his arms on the bed, gazing down at the sleeping face of Astrid. A small smile crossed Hiccup's face before he extended his hand and gently took Astrid's in his. "Thank Thor that you're going to be alright. For these past three days, I was afraid that...after Dad...I can't lose you as well."

The first few days at the hospital had been the hardest, and not even Twilight's magic had been able to pry Hiccup from Astrid's side. Despite being in a place filled with technology and medical equipment the likes of which Hiccup had never seen, his eyes remained glued to one person, day and night, until the doctors informed him she was fine.

A loud bark from behind Hiccup nearly got him to jump out of his chair, but with a sigh he turned around to see the tip of Stormfly's nose poking through the open window, worry in her eyes as she glanced from Hiccup to Astrid. Another bark came from below the window, telling Hiccup that Toothless was down there as well.

"No guys, she hasn't woken up yet. Trust me, the moment she does I'll let the both of you know," Hiccup said to them right before the door to the room was opened and a number of ponies walked inside.

"Hi Hiccup. Any change?" Twilight asked as she, Fluttershy and Rarity walked into the room, each of them placing flowers beside Astrid's bedside while they passed by it.

"As I was just telling these two, nothing has changed," Hiccup repeated as he motioned to the dragon nose sticking in the window, which started to sniff harder at the arrival of the new entrants. The ponies nodded as they pulled up seats and sat down beside Hiccup, before Twilight caught Hiccup looking at her with a strange expression.

"What's the matter, Hiccup?" Twilight asked.

"It's just...the healers told me that if you hadn't used your magic on her back at the bottom of the cliff, they wouldn't have been able to save her life," Hiccup began quietly before giving Twilight the most grateful and genuine smile she had ever seen. "Thank you, Twilight. Thank you so much. Astrid...means a lot to me."

"Oh. You're welcome," Twilight replied with a small smile and a nod of her head.

"How did you and Astrid meet, if you don't mind me asking," Rarity asked the moment Twilight had finished, giving a strange look to both Hiccup and Astrid...almost as if she was seeing the two for the first time. "I mean, the two of you are incredibly close and you seem to be able to work with one another perfectly. I was just curious, that's all." The ponies all looked to Hiccup with interest, their expression telling him that they were all curious to hear the story as well.

"Well, believe it or not we weren't always this close," Hiccup began as he rested his chin on his knuckles as his mind flashed back to years ago. "As a matter of fact, for the longest time Astrid hated me, along with every other Viking on Berk. Man, those were some days."

"You were hated by the people of your home?" Fluttershy asked with surprise.

"Oh yeah, aside from the dragons that attacked us, I was probably the most hated thing in the village," Hiccup added with a bitter laugh. "Then again, back then the Vikings of Berk didn't like you if you couldn't swing a sword or throw an axe or take off a Gronkles head with a single strike." The collective gasp of the ponies snapped Hiccup out of his flashback, and he glanced over at them to see horrified looks on their faces.

"Right, you didn't know what Berk used to be like. Until about five years ago, Vikings on Berk killed dragons instead of training and living in peace with them," Hiccup revealed, gaining him ever more gasps from the ponies. "Yep, for generations the dragons and Vikings battled to the bloody death. The dragons would attack, we would repel. We would then go on the offensive, but they managed to avoid us. That's how I was raised by my Dad, by the way, to kill dragons."

"You...killed dragons?" Fluttershy asked in a horrified voice.

"No, I haven't killed any. Unless the Red Death counts. But no, I was too weak to lift an axe, let alone kill a dragon," Hiccup clarified before continuing. "Instead, I created a contraption that would knock dragons out of the skies and make them easy targets. And it worked. I caught a dragon with the bolas and downed it."

"What happened to that dragon?" Twilight dared to ask. Hiccup's answer was to smile before leaning towards the window and letting out a whistle that was quickly answered by a bark the ponies knew well. "Toothless was that dragon?"

"Remember his missing tail?  My fault," Hiccup admitted before motioning to his leg. "He got me back for that one though. But yeah, Toothless was the dragon I downed. And despite having him captured, I saw myself in his eyes. Scared, in pain and desperate. So I let him go. And in return he didn't tear my head off of my shoulders."

"So you started to learn about dragons from Toothless," Fluttershy guessed, getting a smile from Hiccup as he nodded.

"After a few months of studying Toothless, I started to realize that dragons weren't the fire breathing monsters of destruction that my father said they were. That they could be reasoned with...and that they could be trained," Hiccup flashbacked. "I developed his tail, his saddle and helped him to fly again despite the missing fin. We became a team of sorts."

"So, where does Astrid come into this?" Rarity asked, trying to get the story back on track.

"She was the first one to discover that I had been training Toothless, and at first she wasn't too happy about it. Toothless had to drop her off at the top of a tree to keep her from running off to the village," Hiccup recalled with a small smile.

"I bet that made you really popular with her," Twilight ribbed.

"She was upset at first, but after flying on Toothless for a while she came around to the idea that dragons weren't evil. The real task was trying to convince the rest of the village about that," Hiccup recalled with a far more somber face than before. "To make a long story short, Toothless saved me from a dragon, my Dad got furious with me and I was left alone on the island of Berk, disowned and watching as my Dad took Toothless off to find the nest of dragons. Not my best moment."

"So how'd you fix that mess?" Rarity asked, fully engrossed into the story at this point.

"Well...Astrid was the one who forced me to get back up," Hiccup admitted. "She supported me and refused to let me give up. If it hadn't been for her...I may have given up then and there. Heh, now that I think about it, she's probably the main reason we managed to make peace with the dragons for the most part."

"Wait...so you convinced your entire island to stop their war with the dragons and they listened?" Fluttershy asked, deducing what happened next.

"Well...yes...but there's a bit more that happened before that," Hiccup continued. "So, me and the rest of the dragon-slaying class hopped onto the backs of the dragons that we had and-"

"Ugh, I hurt. What in the name of heaven happened to me?" All heads swung around to the hospital bed, where Astrid was slowly starting to move. In an instant Hiccup and the ponies were beside her, Hiccup helping her to sit up as she blinked her eyes and looked around at all of the faces in the hospital room. "Where am I?"

"You're in a hospital, Astrid. Don't worry, you're safe," Hiccup explained to Astrid, who turned her head towards Hiccup with a confused look on her face. "Right, don't know what that is. A hospital is where the ponies' healers tend to the sick and wounded. And you've been here for three days."

"Three days? Has it been three days already?" Astrid asked before her eyes went wide and she looked around the room, fully alert. "Where's Wijida? The last thing I remember was the ground collapsing and then I was falling...and then..."

"Wijida's gone for now, but we're certain she'll show up again," Twilight explained, her voice turning Astrid's head towards her. For a brief moment Astrid stared at Twilight with a strange look before she blinked again and nodded. "But at the moment our biggest concern was getting you to safety and getting you all patched up."

"And good thing we did darling, you wouldn't have lasted much longer without Twilight's aid," Rarity stated as she walked beside the bed with a smile. "Seems you owe Twilight one."

"Yeah...sure..." Astrid muttered as she pushed the sheets back and slowly moved her legs to the side of the bed, gritting her teeth as pain flooded through her body. "Okay, that hurt."

"You need to take it easy. Your life might not be in danger any more, but you're still in no shape to be moving around on your own," Twilight ordered as Astrid stood up and leaned against Hiccup for support, shaking her head a few times as she tried to focus.

"Focus, darn it. Focus," Astrid muttered to herself before a loud bark at the window was heard, right before Stormfly started to jump up at the window to try and get a glimpse at Astrid.

"It's okay, Stormfly, she's fine!" Hiccup called out the window to the dragon, who let out another happy cry before she tried to fit her head through the window and failed miserably. 

"I'll use my magic to make sure that she doesn't destroy the window," Twilight smiled as she walked over to the window, leaving the other ponies to approach Astrid, who sat back down on the bed again while letting out a pained sigh.

"I'm glad to see that you're alright," Fluttershy said with a small smile, but Astrid ignored her as she clenched and unclenched her fists while continuing to blink, struggling to grow accustomed to the light. 

"Where's the gem...did Wijida...?" Astrid began, but Hiccup sat down beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder with a shake of his head.

"No. We've still got it," Hiccup said with a smile, yet Astrid only nodded slightly as she closed her eyes and took in a few deep breaths.

"I've got your axe back at the castle, just in case you're wondering," Twilight added as she walked back over. "Once we get the doctors to take a look at you and make sure that you're fine, you can reunite with it." Twilight jested with that last bit, but Astrid just shook her head, then nodded once again.

"Er...thanks...do you all mind if I have a moment alone? I need...to regain my senses." The ponies and Hiccup all looked at each other before each of them stood up and left the room, with Hiccup taking a moment to kiss her on the cheek before he left. When they were gone, Astrid took in a few deep breaths before, with a grunt of pain, she pushed herself to her feet. She staggered forward and had to catch herself on the sink by the bed, where she panted heavily while she looked up at the mirror.

"I can do this," she grunted as she pushed herself off and forced herself away from the sink, her legs shaking as they struggled to keep her upright. Yet by sheer force of will she kept herself standing, despite the shaking of her legs. Astrid then looked up at the mirror and took in the image of herself before a large smile crossed her face and she nodded with approval. 

"Okay everyone, I'm ready to go. Let's go home."
> Who You Trust
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Now that everything is more or less back to normal, I'd like to talk to you all about what happened back there with Wijida," Twilight began in a regal tone while she and the others entered into her castle, with even the dragons managing to fit through the large twin doors. Twilight immediately brought them into the room with the map of the land and sat down in her chair, constructing other chairs for Astrid and Hiccup with her magic. "Because I, for one, can't figure out why she attacked that town."

"Maybe because she's crazy and just wants to mess things up as badly as she can?" Rainbow Dash reminded the group as she leaned back in her chair, most of whom agreed with her except for the princess who shook her head with a frown.

"She may be crazy Rainbow Dash, but it's the calculated kind of crazy. Wijida's not the type of pony to just attack a place with no reason," Twilight discerned, furrowing her brow while she lost herself in thought for a minute or two before snapping back into reality. "Even if her plan was to draw us out, what was the point? Yes, she hurt Astrid, but killing her couldn't have been the reason for her attack. There's something else going on here, something that I'm not seeing."

"Are you feeling alright?" Hiccup whispered to Astrid while the ponies continued to discuss what Wijida might be after. "You just got out of their hospital after all, and I was just wondering..."

"Thanks for the concern, Hiccup, but whatever magic they used on me in there really patched me up well," Astrid responded with a small smile before a large, blue nose stuck itself in-between the two of them, getting Astrid to slightly jumped back while Hiccup smiled up at Stormfly. Stormfly pressed her nose against Astrid before tilting her head slightly as if in confusion, before she started to sniff the human with slightly narrowed eyes.

"You probably smell like ponies now, since you've been sleeping in one of their beds for so long," Hiccup said with a laugh as Stormfly practically rammed her nose into Astrid's face, forcing Astrid to push against her dragon to keep her back. It seemed that Stormfly wouldn't stop sniffing until the doors to the chamber opened and a small purple dragon peeked his head in, immediately gaining the attention of Stormfly, who finally lost interest in her rider.

"Yes Spike, what's the matter?" Twilight asked upon seeing her assistant, who slipped into the room with a note clutched in his claws.

"The princesses sent you a letter, Twilight," Spike informed the princess while he took a step forward before glancing at everyone in the room, slightly flinching when he caught Astrid's gaze.  Then, clearing his throat, he looked down at the scroll.

CRACK!

The dragon and ponies had just enough time to register the sound of something breaking before Stormfly threw herself over Spike, just in time to catch the shattered crystals--that had been a part of the ceiling--with her body. The Nadder let out a cry of pain as a particularly sharp piece caught her in the wing, but further harm was prevented when Twilight used her magic to gather up the rest of the falling shards.

"What in the name of Faust happened?" Rarity asked, as Hiccup and Astrid raced over to Stormfly's side, Hiccup grimacing at the gash in the Nadder's wing. Astrid placed a hand on Stormfly's wing, but the dragon whipped it away from her grasp with a growl.

"It looks like the ceiling collapsed," Twilight said with confusion while she looked up at the cracked crystal in the roof of her palace. "But how could that happen? This castle is far stronger than any other building, and nothing short of powerful magic could...are you okay, Spike?" Twilight asked the baby dragon as he crawled out from beneath Stormfly, breathing heavily while he glanced up at the Deadly Nadder with a confused look.

"Twilight, can you get me some bandages?" Hiccup asked, placing his hand on Stormfly's wing, calming her down as he examined the injury further while Twilight left the room. She returned a moment later and Hiccup applied the bandages to the dragon, who gingerly moved her wing while Hiccup coxed her to her feet.

"Is Stormfly going to be alright?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yeah, but she's going to need to rest for a few days," Hiccup said as he glanced back at Fluttershy. "Do you mind if she stays at your cottage? Astrid or I can show you how to take care of her."

"Oh, of course you can. I'd love to get to know Stormfly a little better," Fluttershy nodded as she smiled up at the Nadder.

"Is that alright with you, Astrid?" Hiccup asked Astrid, who shook her head slightly before nodding.

"Sure, Stormfly will be well taken care of with Fluttershy," Astrid agreed as Hiccup handed his notebook to Fluttershy, opening the page to Nadder care.

"I'll take her to my place right now so I can get started on her care," Fluttershy said as she walked alongside Stormfly and escorted her out of the room, where the dragon looked back at Hiccup and Astrid one last time before leaving.

"You're not going to go with her?" Hiccup asked.

"No, I need to be here so we can plan out our next move against Wijida," Astrid said with a shake of her head before looking to Twilight. "You think that the attack may have been her trying to take the Draconis Gem from us?"

"I'm almost certain that was the case," Twilight agreed as she flew up to the ceiling, examining the crystals while trying to determine what caused them to break. "Fortunately for us, the princesses left guarding the gem up to Hiccup."

"You've still got the gem, right Hiccup?" Astrid asked Hiccup, who stared at her for a second before nodding.

"...Yeah, I'm fairly certain that she hasn't gotten the gem yet, but that will only make her more desperate," Hiccup began, gaining him a few looks. "Wijida said that we were getting close to the end of our adventure, which means that she'll need the gem soon. Is there a curse or something, along with that gem, that will allow it to raise Thanatos only on a certain day?"

The look Twilight gave Hiccup as he asked this question was one of complete bafflement, but Hiccup then motioned for her to speak and from the looks her friends were giving her, the princess knew that she had no choice.

"Yes, there is a condition that requires Thanatos to be resurrected," Twilight admitted with a sigh. "Once every thousand years, the portal to the afterlife can be opened, and whoever wields the Draconis Gem will be able to draw forth one dragon back from the dead and into the land of the living. And that thousand years is almost up."

"Why is it always a thousand years with this end of the world thing?" Applejack asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Well, technically it's nine hundred and seventy two years, but Celestia told me that a thousand sounds more ominous," Twilight admitted with a slight blush.

"So, the time for the portal is almost here, so that means that Wijida is going to have to try even harder to steal the gem from us," Astrid recapped, getting a nod from Twilight. "Meaning, we'll have to be at our best to guard it from her. You should let me hold onto the gem Hiccup. She'd never see that coming."

"Maybe you're right. She wouldn't see it coming," Hiccup quietly said before looking out the window at the sun, which was just starting to sink behind the horizon. "It's getting late. I'm going to fly Toothless around, and then we should go check up on Stormfly to make sure that she's doing alright."

"You want me to come with you?" Astrid asked. For a long moment, Hiccup stared at her before shaking his head. In one quick motion he hopped onto the back of his dragon before Toothless bounded through the doors, bursting into the front yard of Twilight's castle, then kicking off of the ground with one mighty flap of his wings. The dragon and rider sliced through the sky as they climbed higher and higher, before Toothless leveled off and glided in the glow of the setting sun.

"What do you think about all of this, Bud?" Hiccup asked, getting a soft growl from Toothless in response as the dragon looked up at him with his emerald eyes. "Yeah Bud, it's all strange to me too. Don't worry, I have a plan, but if it doesn't work...then I get to go to Valhalla early."

\\\\\\
============
//////

Sunlight beamed down on the town of Ponyville, casting a calm and warming glow upon the citizens and guests. Having been raised under the freezing winds and nearly inhospitable conditions of Berk, the two Vikings and Night Fury were drinking in as much of the warm weather as they could on the way to see Stormfly.

"What a beautiful day!" Astrid practically sang with happiness while she walked down the street with Hiccup and Twilight, hands clasped behind her back as she slightly squinted under the bright rays of the sun. "On a day like this, you'd almost forget that there's a crazy pony waging war with mind-controlled dragons, wouldn't you?"

"Don't worry, I'm never going to forget what Wijida did," Twilight promised. 

"Neither will I. I've seen plenty of madmen use dragons against their wills for power or glory, but the way she does it...somehow it seems even more sickening than before," Hiccup snarled before looking down at Twilight. "By the way Twilight, did you figure out when Wijida would need to use the gem to revive Thanatos from Hel?"

"Yes actually, that's why I was up all night...well, that and your dragon's snoring," Twilight teased before reaching back into her saddle bag and drawing forth a large book, which she cracked open to reveal pages filled to the brim with different dragons and creatures. "A week from tomorrow, is when Wijida will have to use the gem to unlock the gate to the afterlife and rip Thanatos' soul from the grave. If she misses that window, then she'll have to wait another thousand years until she can try again."

"Don't you mean nine hundred and seventy two years?" Astrid poked with fun, getting Twilight to roll her eyes in response. The three chatted, though mostly it was Twilight and Hiccup who talked, until the group spotted Fluttershy's cottage on the edge of the field...as well as the yellow pegasi chasing around the Deadly Nadder, who was chasing all of her chickens.

"Oh boy, Stormfly's at it again," Hiccup laughed before racing forward and placing himself between the Nadder and her prey. "No Stormfly, you can't just eat all of-oh no!" Hiccup yelled as Stormfly raced right by him, barking her head off while she glanced at the numerous chickens that fled in fear, trying to decide which of them to go after first. "Astrid, she's not listening to me again! Calm her down!"

"Um...sure. Stormfly, over here!" Astrid called out to the dragon. For a moment, Stormfly snapped out of her chicken craze and glanced over at Astrid, but then the dragon narrowed her eyes before turning back to the chickens and continuing the chase. "She's not listening to me either! What do we do?"

"Odd, Stormfly always listens to Astrid," Hiccup muttered as he decided what to do next, but the answer came when a streak of black raced by him and threw himself in-between Stormfly and the chickens, barking at the Nadder. For a brief moment, it looked as if Stormfly was going to contest Toothless' decree, but Toothless' eyes narrowed into slits and Stormfly quickly found herself stopping the chase.

"Oh...thank goodness...I thought...she was going to...oh I'm tired," Fluttershy panted as she collapsed to the ground in front of Twilight and Astrid, sucking in as much air as she could while she shakily stood back up. "That injury sure hasn't sapped any of her energy. I've never seen a dragon run around so fast."

"To be fair Fluttershy, you only really know Spike, and Celestia knows that dragon is the laziest being I've ever met," Twilight giggled as Toothless walked Stormfly back over to the group, where Stormfly stood next to the Night Fury instead of listening to Astrid's calls. "She really isn't listening to anypony today. Good thing we have the Alpha dragon here or else those poor chickens wouldn't stand a chance."

"I'm just surprised that you didn't try to wrestle Stormfly back under your control. This kind of reminds me of the time she accidentally ate a spiny eel and spent nearly three days terrorizing the village. You eventually had to lasso her, and rode her around for ten minutes trying to wrestle her back under control," Hiccup reminisced with a smile, his smile shrinking slightly when Astrid chuckled as well.

"Oh yeah, I remember that. I was sore for days after that incident," Astrid recalled as well, though she did glance over at Stormfly while she said this and noticed that the dragon continued to ignore her. "I'm surprised that you were so willing to let Stormfly come here to recover Fluttershy. From what Hiccup and Twilight told me about you, I thought you would have hid under a table instead of dealing with her."

"Oh no, I love all animals, but I especially love to learn more about ones that I know little about, like dragons," Fluttershy disagreed with a shake of her head before walking over to Stormfly and scratching her under the chin. "But your dragon is one of a kind, just like Hiccup's. We don't have any dragons like them here, so being able to observe them up close is a real treat. Though I will admit that I may have bitten off more than I could chew with Stormfly here."

"Well, aren't you just the brave little pony?" Astrid asked with a smirk. Twilight chuckled at the line along with Fluttershy, before she cast a quick glance over at Hiccup...and immediately realized that something was up with him. His face was turned up towards the sky with both eyes closed and hands clasped together, almost as if he were praying--or saying his farewells to the world. Then he opened his eyes and, after taking in the deepest breath Twilight had ever seen, turned towards Astrid with a smile on her face.

"Fluttershy is indeed brave, isn't she. Not like that uncle of yours, that our entire village calls the shame of the Hofferson family," Hiccup laughed while elbowing Astrid in the ribs slightly, catching the Viking off guard as Hiccup looked at the ponies. "The village once called him Fearless Finn Hofferson, but after facing down the Flightmare and after being frozen in fear by the creature, everybody on Berk called him Frozen Finn. Man, you're family sure hates talking about him, don't they?"

For a long minute Astrid just looked at Hiccup with a blank expression on her face, yet while she remained expressionless, Hiccup's face began to fill more and more with terror. And upon seeing the unnerved expression of Hiccup, the ponies silently watched with baited breath to see what would happen next. Then, a smile crossed Astrid's face and she let out a laugh that made the ponies sigh in relief, though no one saw Hiccup's face harden.

"You're right about that Hiccup, Uncle Finn definitely was a stain on the family name. We're almost glad that the Flightmare got him," Astrid laughed as she crossed her arms and thought back. "Yeah, having him in the family sure put a blot on our name, but after a while we-"

Faster than any of the ponies could react, Hiccup spun and slammed his shoulder into Astrid's stomach, knocking the wind out of her and nearly doubling her over from the impact. Stormfly let out a roar of rage and took a step forward, only for Toothless to slam into her side and tackle her to the ground while pinning her at the same time. Astrid had just enough time to look up in confusion at Hiccup before the Viking went low and sweeped Astrid's feet, knocking her right to her back where she landed hard.

"Hiccup, what in Faust's name are you doing?!" Twilight screamed at him as she took a step forward, but before either pony could move, a bolt of plasma erupted at their hooves and pushed them back. Astrid was about to ask Hiccup the same question before the singing sound of metal sliding on metal could be heard, and she looked up to see that the tip of Hiccup's sword was right in front of her face.

"Hiccup, what are you doing?" Astrid gasped as Hiccup placed his peg leg on her chest, looking at him with pleading eyes that were met only with a stare as cold as the steel in Hiccup's blade.

"Something that I should have done back at the hospital," Hiccup whispered in a dangerous tone that was unlike him, while he reached down and placed a hand around Astrid's chain to pull her up slighty. "Now answer me this. Where. Is. Astrid?"
> Viking VS Viking
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Where is she?!" Hiccup demanded again as he practically choked out Astrid, shaking her slightly while he moved the tip of his sword closer to her face. Once again, Twilight and Fluttershy tried to step forward to intervene, certain that there was some mistake, but this time Toothless lunged off of the back of Stormfly and placed himself between the ponies and his rider.

"W-what are you talking about?" Astrid stammered out while she struggled to push Hiccup off of her, but all her small resistance did was cause Hiccup to narrow his eyes and tighten his grip.

"If you're not going to answer my question, then this is going to hurt," Hiccup snarled as he pressed a button on his sword, causing fire to erupt along its blade. Astrid's eyes shrunk while she gazed into the fire, but after a moment she closed them shut and forced herself to look away. "Last. Chance," Hiccup whispered as he moved the blade dangerously close to Astrid's neck.

"Hiccup, are you insane?! That is Astrid!" Twilight called over to Hiccup while she tried to skirt around Toothless, only for the dragon to move in-between them once again.

"No...it isn't," Hiccup snarled with a shake of his head before glaring down at Astrid with eyes colder than any frost giant. "Still not going to talk, then? So be it." Hiccup took aim at Astrid's leg and brought his sword back to strike, but before he could tease the thought of swinging Astrid let out a laugh, a laugh that was not only cold, but it also was identical to a laugh that the ponies knew well.

"No way..." Fluttershy whispered as Astrid smirked and smiled up at Hiccup.

"Oh, Hiccup my darling, how did you figure it out?" the Viking asked with a coy smile on her face, but her eyes had changed from the ones Hiccup thought he knew to ones that were much colder and crueler. Hiccup scowled before a blast of power caught his sword and flung it out of his hand.  Then a moment later, "Astrid" slammed her feet into Hiccup's chest and sent him sprawling back. "And here I thought that my disguise was perfect. My voice sounded exactly the same and everything," Wijida pointed out as she rose to her feet, crossing her arms while Hiccup did the same. "So how did you know?"

"Because it was all...wrong," Hiccup began with another shake of his head, before picking up the sword and pointing his blade dead center at Wijida's chest. "The way you spoke, how you moved, how Stormfly acted around you; all of it was wrong. I know for certain that the only time Stormfly disobeys Astrid, is when she's either being controlled or terrified. And when she was chasing those chickens, she was neither."

"It could have just been coincidence," Wijida put forward, but Hiccup shook his head once again.

"Then, there was the question about the gem and not knowing where it was. At first I thought that you...Astrid was confused because of the wounds she suffered, but when you genuinely asked me about it back at Twilight's castle...was when I began to suspect," Hiccup clarified while he slowly walked forward, keeping the flaming sword pointed right at Wijida. "Because I gave it to Astrid to keep a hold of, so if she didn't know, then something was seriously wrong."

"So, that's why I couldn't find it," Wijida whispered under her breath while Hiccup continued to advanced, yet each step only drew a larger smile across the Vikings face. "But that could also be attributed to my...Astrid's injury. Perhaps she struck her head?"

"Maybe, but the final, damning piece of evidence was how you answered me a few moments ago...when I insulted Fearless Finn," Hiccup said with finality, get a small sigh from Wijida as her smile widened slightly. "I know Astrid better than anyone, so I know that if me or any one else insulted her uncle and her family name the way I did, not even the gods above would have been able to save them from Astrid's wrath," Hiccup smiled coldly. "Not even me."

"So, the joke about this Finn was your final test and I failed it. Ah Hiccup, this has been quite the experience," Wijida chuckled as she tilted her head to the side and smiled once again. "So, now that you've deduced the truth, what are you going to do next?"

"It's not what I'm going to do, it's what you're going to do," Hiccup stated as he walked forward and held the blade close to Wijida's face. "Because you're going to tell me what you did with Astrid, and then you're going to take me to her. Because if you don't, then Thor help me..."

"Ah, but Hiccup don't you see? Astrid's already here," Wijida stated. When Hiccup narrowed his eyes at Wijida with confusion, she rolled hers before gesturing to the Viking standing in her place. "This is Astrid. Her body at least. Her mind is currently trapped in a dream that is keeping her preoccupied and allowing me to...have my fun, as it were. So I would advise keeping that fiery blade of yours away from her, because I'd hate for your loved one to wake up and find out that her boyfriend had gone and burned her."

Hiccup snarled in response, but after a moment he pressed the button on his sword once again and the flames extinguished while the blade retracted. Wijida smiled wickedly before lunging forward and hurling a haymaker at Hiccup's face that he failed to block in time, resulting in him taking a blow to the jaw from one of Berk's strongest.

"Hiccup!" Twilight and Fluttershy cried out while Hiccup spun and collapsed into the dirt, gritting his teeth in pain as he pushed himself back to his knees and glanced back at Wijida, who was shaking out Astrid's hand. Twilight's horn began to glow with power, yet before the spell could be cast Wijida flashed her eyes towards the pony and caused her to cry out with pain as she clutched at her head.

"Do not forget, Twilight, that even though I am in this human's mind, I still wield the power that crushed you before," Wijida reminded Twilight while her eyes glowed with an even brighter power, forcing Twilight to her knees as the pain overwhelmed her. "I could still crush you in an instant if I wanted to."

Despite her strong words, Wijida's concentration was broken when a leather-clad Viking slammed into her side and tackled her to the ground. Wijida cursed with pain as Hiccup tried to pin her down, but a smile crossed Wijida's face once again before she strained with Astrid's might to quickly overpower Hiccup.

"Come now Hiccup, you should know better than anypony else here that Astrid is far stronger than you!" Wijida bellowed before driving a boot right into Hiccup's gut and hurling him off of her, smirking when she stood up and glanced down at Hiccup. Toothless and Stormfly both barked and raced towards Hiccup, but the rider held out a hand to stop the both of them before he slowly rose to his feet.

"You really think that?" Hiccup asked with a thin smile that made Wijida raise an eyebrow in interest. "Because what if I said that I could defeat Astrid in hand-to-hand combat? Would you be willing to get out of her body?" Wijida pondered over Hiccup's question for a moment before a sinister smile creased her face.

"Oh, this is good Hiccup, an excellent addition to this story," Wijida chuckled while she stretched Astrid's fingers and took up a fighting stance. "Because the only way you'll be able to keep this body down is if you kill me, but that would also kill your little lover, wouldn't it? Not to mention that every blow inflicted upon her would be a blow that she would feel if you managed to free her. I like it. Very well, Hiccup, I accept."

With that she lunged forward and went to wrap her fingers around Hiccup's throat, but in one swift motion the Viking caught both of Astrid's arms before falling backwards while placing one of his feet into her gut. Hiccup then fell to his back while kicking up at the same time, using his legs' strength to hurl Wijida over his head and onto her back. Wijida coughed slightly before Hiccup wrapped his legs around her waist and clenched his arms around her head, slowly suffocating the Viking who elbowed at him with all of her might.

"And...you're dumber than I thought, if you didn't believe that I'd fight Astrid without a plan!" Hiccup grunted in-between blows to his ribs as he held on for both his and Astrid's life, a smile starting to cross his mouth as he felt her blows weakening. "Because once we've got you unconscious again, I'm certain that Twilight will have no problem getting you out of Astrid's head."

"Ah yes, thank you for reminding me of her," Wijida coughed out before her eyes flashed over to Twilight, who screamed with agony as she collapsed to the ground again with tears streaming down her face. "Now...release me...or I crush her brain!"

With no choice but to follow Wijida's instructions, Hiccup growled and released her, and immediately paid for his decision as Wijida spun around before driving her fist into his jaw, knocking him flat. Wijida smirked while she grabbed hold of Hiccup's chest piece and pulled him back to a standing position, where she cocked a fist back before swinging at his face again. Hiccup's head snapped back as her fist caught him square in the jaw, getting a weak groan out of the Viking while blood poured down his nose.

"Come on Hiccup, that can't be all you've got. You're supposed to be the smart one, the one that has a plan for everything," Wijida taunted as she swung again, her knuckles splitting Hiccup's cheek open while she knocked his head to the side. "So what's your big plan now? Because you can't die here, we still have the grand finale to look forward to!"

"Oh, don't worry. I've still got a few plans left," Hiccup spat out before a loud bark could be heard--followed by a shriek that tore through Wijida's mind. She howled in pain when the noise assaulted her ears, forcing her to release Hiccup as she clamped her hands to her ears in a desperate attempt to shut out the pain. She slowly turned her head behind her, to see that the Night Fury had his jaws wide open and was emitting the sound that was tearing apart her mind. But before the pain got too intense, Hiccup motioned for Toothless to stop and tackled Wijida down once again.

"Found out Toothless could do that when a ferocious Timberjack thought that he had us. Weaponized sound," Hiccup proudly said to Wijida.

"What?!" Wijida yelled back before slamming her head into Hiccup's nose, sending him staggering back while more blood poured from his nose. This time, the both of them staggered back up to their feet simultaneously, with Hiccup wiping the blood away from his nose while Wijida rubbed her ears a few times to stop the ringing. She was the first to act and once again lunged at Hiccup, tackling him while also grabbing the sword from his belt. A right hook to the face knocked him into the dirt before Wijida pressed the button to extend the blade, pointing it right at Hiccup's throat when he turned to face her again.

"Well, it was a noble effort Hiccup, but it seems that either Astrid is just too good or you don't wish to hurt her. Whatever the case...this is where your part in this story ends," Wijida smiled with glee before glancing at the dragons, knowing that at any moment they would attack her. With a flick of her eyes though, Wijida hurled both Twilight and Fluttershy into Toothless and Stormfly, knocking out the ponies and stunning the dragons long enough so that she could smile down at Hiccup.

"Now die," she whispered as she swung her sword...only to find her arm come to a dead stop right before the sword severed Hiccup's head from his body. Wijida looked down at her arm with confusion for a moment before she tried to swing again, but her arm remained locked firmly in place. "What? What magic is this?!"

"Not magic. Just the second to last part of my plan," Hiccup panted while he pushed himself back up, wiping the blood from his nose as he smiled weakly at Wijida. "Astrid may like to show her affection through love punches, but she would never hurt me if she was in control. And even if someone else, like you, was controlling her, I know that she would never allow that person or pony to kill me. I know that she will defend me to the death. And it seems," Hiccup smiled as he motioned to Wijida's motionless arm. "I was right."

Wijida sneered at Hiccup as she prepared to use her power to fling the sword into his gut, but then his choice of wording caught her attention. "Second to last part of the plan? But what then could be the-?" A blast of lunar magic slammed into Wijida's back, causing her to scream as the magic forced her to her knees. She gritted her teeth in pain while looking back--to see a midnight colored alicorn land behind her, eyes narrowed with a devious smile on her face.

"That. That is the final part of my plan," Hiccup stated before waving to Luna. "Greetings, Princess. I take it you found what you were looking for?"

"Indeed I did, Hiccup. After you voiced your concerns to me last night, I investigated "Astrid's" dreams and found that you were right," Luna confirmed while she began to stalk towards Wijida with her horn glowing dangerously. "And ever since then, I have been seeking for the cure and I believe to have found it," Luna continued before revealing a green potion that she quickly ingested, causing Wijida's eyes to widen in fear as the princess advanced.

"No...you know of-?"

"The mind-controlling potion? Yes Wijida, while I may have not seen one since I was a young mare, I remember them all to well," Luna informed her with a wicked grin on her face. "And I also know that, while my magic may not be able to counter your telekinetic power...it is still more than a match for spells or potions!"

With a roar, Luna turned into a bluish wisp that enter into Astrid's mind, causing the Viking to cry out as she collapsed to the ground. Hiccup staggered to her side and pulled her into his arms, watching in concern as red and blue clashed inside her eyes...before a light of gold shone in-between the two lights. Then, a blast of light erupted from her eyes while a red wisp was hurled from her mind and to the ground, where Wijida quickly retook her form as Luna exited Astrid's mind and landed beside the Vikings.

"What is the matter Wijida, you look surprised?" Luna taunted while she began to advance on the dark pony, who pushed herself back up with her white eyes flashing with fury as she turned towards the Princess of the Night. "I thought that you could see the future? So how did you not see this coming?"

"I will admit that this possibility was slim at best, so I paid it little mind. But I suppose the real reason was that this result was a part of Astrid's future, so it would be impossible for me to see," Wijida panted while she glared at Luna, whose horn glowed with royal power as she stared down her foe. "But now I must ask you, Princess, what will you do? You admitted that your magic cannot combat my mental power, so if I wanted to, I could crush your brain and be done with you. How do you hope to stand against me?! How can you-?!"

Wijida was cut off as a small dart dug into her neck, causing her to stop speaking as she glanced down at the small device. She opened her mouth to ask a question before her whole form became stone like, and she collapsed to the ground, stunned as she found herself unable to move. Her eyes twitched once before they rolled back in her head and her eyelids closed, prompting Luna to walk over to her and poke the pony with her hoof.

"Speed Stinger venom, mixed with an herb known to put both dragons and people to sleep," Hiccup explained as he walked over to Luna with the sleeping Astrid still clutched tightly in his arms. "Fast acting, and will create a near paralysis for hours after being injected. She isn't going anywhere for a while."

"That was quick thinking, Hiccup. Much like coming to me last night when you had your suspicions," Luna praised with a nod of her head  before turning and walking towards the ponies, who were laying on the ground next to the dragons that were starting to move properly. "And it seemed that your trap worked. But how did you know that she would not look into my future?"

"Because for as much as she can see, Wijida can still be blinded by arrogance," Hiccup said as he glanced down at Astrid, before letting out a relieved smile. "With her ability to see your futures, I wagered that she'd bet that you would all be too afraid to act without me, and thus she wouldn't have to bother with looking into your futures. It was a gamble, but she was arrogant enough to swing the odds into our favor."

"How very clever," Luna whispered as she began to wake Twilight up. "You truly are every bit the dragon master that others have said you are."

"I wouldn't say that. Now let's hurry and get them to a hospital. I'm losing a lot of blood."
> To the Races
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Heh, you never were that good at this," Hiccup chuckled before biting his lip while Astrid placed the towel against his face again, pain and regret written clearly on her face as Hiccup winced again. "But I appreciate it, nonetheless. If you want though, I can do it myself."

"No. I...need to do this. It's my fault after all," Astrid muttered with a pained voice while she tried once again, being as gentle as she could be while she pressed the towel against his face--and doing her best not to look at the blood that was staining it. Hiccup sighed as she said this, and reached up with his hand to gently grab hers, yet when he tried to look into her eyes, Astrid suddenly became fascinated with the crystal floor of Twilight's palace.

"It wasn't your fault," Hiccup tried to convince her yet again, but he didn't need a response to see that she wasn't listening to his words. "Wijida threw you off a cliff and messed with your head. None of this is your fault, and you shouldn't blame yourself for what happened. I knew full well what I was doing when I fought her...you...you know what I mean."

"I hurt you, Hiccup. Wijida made me hurt you," Astrid whispered through gritted teeth as her sorrow slowly shifted into rage at herself. "All because I wasn't strong enough to fight her. Because I let her get inside my mind. And it could have been worse...I could have..." Hiccup reached out with his other hand and grabbed hold of Astrid's, giving her a small smile before gently placing his forehead against hers.

"No, Astrid. Wijida tried to kill me. And I believe the only reason she didn't was because you fought back. You saved my life back there," Hiccup said in a comforting tone while he tightened his grip on her hands. "And I would endure far worse to get you back safe and sound. So, these wounds are my fault, not yours." Astrid didn't say anything, but she leaned forward a bit into Hiccup and closed her eyes as well.

"I can still hear her voice in my head slightly. Still see...what she made me do," Astrid whispered with full on rage in every word. "She used me to hurt everything I care about. Stormfly, you...you still didn't tell me what they did with her."

"She's being kept in Canterlot, in a special chamber that the princesses developed to combat her mental powers. She won't be hurting anypony or dragon ever again," Hiccup explained to Astrid, who sighed slightly as she sat up straight again and opened her eyes. Hiccup opened his eyes as well, but before he sat up he gently pressed his lips to hers with a small smile. "So please don't blame yourself for what happened. For me?" Hiccup gave her his puppy dog eyes as he said this, getting a small laugh out of Astrid before she sighed and nodded while standing up.

"Alright Hiccup, I won't blame myself. Not much anyway," she muttered to herself. Hiccup sighed with relief as he stood up as well, but the relief turned to fear when he saw Astrid grasp the handle of her axe with thunder flashing in her eyes. 

"Astrid...what are you going to do?"

"Nothing much. Just going to pay that pony a visit," she seethed as she swung the axe at the edge of a bedpost in the room, cleaving the top of it off with a single strike. She hefted the axe onto her shoulder while she turned to leave, but before she could escape the room Hiccup had lunged forward and grabbed the handle of the axe as well. "Let go, Hiccup," Astrid demanded.

"Actually, I just remembered--you should probably go talk with Twilight," Hiccup quickly stammered out as he tried to wrench the axe from his girlfriend's grasp, but despite pulling with all of his might, Astrid kept a death grip on her weapon. "She did save your life when Wijida brought that cliff down around you. The healers did say that if she hadn't helped you out, you wouldn't be alive right now."

"And if she hadn't, none of this would have happened," Astrid muttered.

"Astrid."

"Fine, Hiccup, I'll go talk to Twilight," Astrid resigned with a sigh as she freed the axe from his grasp and swung it onto her shoulder, before looking back at Hiccup with a dangerous glare. "But I will see Wijida sooner or later. And whether it be from me or the princesses...she will pay for what she's done." 

And with that last line that caused fear to slowly fill Hiccup's heart, Astrid walked out of the room, leaving the Berkian chief to let out a long sigh as he sat back down again. He rested his head against the wall before a bark could be heard out his window, which he opened to reveal the smiling Night Fury who was trying to claw his way inside.

"Hey, Bud. How ya doing?" Hiccup asked while he slipped out of the window and landed on the back of the Night Fury, who looked up at him with concerned eyes before turning his head in the direction where Astrid had left. "She's hurting, Bud...and she's slightly afraid. She's trying to hide it with anger, but...this...Wijida taking control of her...it scared her. I want to talk to her about it, but...she doesn't want to be around me right now."

Toothless let out another bark before flapping his wings twice, signaling his intentions to Hiccup as his tongued rolled out of his mouth.

"You want to go flying? Sure, I could use a break right about now," Hiccup said as he crouched down on Toothless. The Night Fury let out a loud bark before flapping his wings and quickly ascending into the sky, gaining altitude with each powerful wing-beat. Within moments, the pair of them burst through the cloud cover and soared into the bright sunlight, which seemed to melt away the worry and pain that had hung over the rider. 

'We did it. Now all we have to do is keep the gem out of any one else's hands until the chance to resurrect Thanatos has passed,' Hiccup planned as Toothless twirled to the side and dove down, looping over each cloud that he passed. At the top of a loop, Toothless spotted a group of pegasi flying by, and he let out a bark before diving towards them with incredible momentum. He blew past them in a burst of speed, nearly knocking them out of the sky and snapping Hiccup back into reality.

"Whoa there, Bud, stop scaring the locals!" Hiccup called out to his dragon, who let out a laugh as Hiccup reigned him back in. Hiccup was about to give Toothless a talking to before the sky shattered around them as a rainbow blur rocketed past. Toothless had to spread his wings to steady the both of them as the blur came to a stop in front of them, a smirk on its face as it watched Toothless regain his balance.

"Sorry, I guess I should stop scaring the tourists," Rainbow Dash said with a laugh before zipping around the two a few times, making Toothless dizzy while he struggled to keep up with her. "What's up, Hiccup? Haven't seen much of the two of you since everything around here got so dangerous.  What happened to your face?"

"Just enjoying the day, now that Wijida's finally been stopped," Hiccup said with a relaxed smile as Rainbow raised both eyesbrows in surprise.

"So, you finally caught her, huh? And without inviting me to kick her flank as well? What kind of friend are you?" Dash asked while pretending to sound hurt.

"Trust me, there was no 'flank kicking' as you put it," Hiccup clarified as he urged Toothless forward, the two of them soaring through the clouds with Rainbow Dash right beside them. "that's how I got this.  The only reason we managed to beat her was because we took advantage of her arrogance and got in a cheap shot."

"Hey, whatever it takes to win," Rainbow Dash laughed before a devious thought came to her mind, and she looked towards the dragon and rider with a sinister smile. "Hey dragon master, we never did get around to seeing which of us was faster--the fastest in Equestria or the Nighty Fury. How about we finally put that question to rest?" 

Hiccup took a moment to ponder his answer, before he and Toothless looked at each other with the same expression on their faces.  Then, the both of them smiled together. They both looked at Rainbow Dash with the same competitive fire in their eyes.

"Alright. We're not too far from where the pegasi race, so we can have this little competition there," Rainbow instructed before bolting ahead in a flash of rainbow. "I'll show you the way, that is, if you can keep up! Come on slowpokes!"

"You heard her, Bud. She wants us to keep up," Hiccup chuckled as he reached behind him and grabbed hold of his helmet, which he slid over his face. Toothless twisted his neck side to side before flexing the spines along his back, his eyes narrowing before, with a mighty flap, her hurled both of them forward and sliced through the sky. The pair caught up to Dash standing on a cloud top, a cloud top that had numerous rainbow-colored hoops all along it.

"Here we are, soon to be losers of the race!" Dash exclaimed as she motioned to the track, while Hiccup and Toothless hovered in the air above the clouds. "This is where pegasi come to practice for the big events, but seeing as nopony is here today, I figured that we could use it for our own purposes. Look good to the both of you?"

"I'm just wondering why you picked a place so close to your home," Hiccup began as he placed a hand on his chin. "I mean, any number of pegasi could fly by and see you lose this race. Are you sure this is the place that you want to do this?" 

"Finally, we get to hear some smack talk from the dragon master!" Rainbow laughed before walking to the starting line and crouching down with fire in her eyes. Toothless let out a small burst of fire as he flapped above the clouds beside her, his eyes narrowing while he began to work out how the track ran. "Let's just hope you can give me something that remotely resembles a challenge. Now then, on the count of three."

"Come on Bud, you've got this," Hiccup muttered as he placed a hand on top of his dragon's head, the both of them closing their eyes as they began to synch up. 

"One...two...three!"

Both racers rocketed forward in a burst of speed, with Rainbow Dash taking the early lead from her experience with the course. With ease she weaved and sped past or through the hoops, laughing aloud when she turned to see how far she was ahead. Yet, the moment she turned a burst of black hurled past her and Toothless stole the lead, smirking back at Dash as he did so.

"Come on Dash, try to give us a challenge!" Hiccup called back before laying down flat against his dragon as they continued to speed ahead. The smile fell from Dash's face and was replaced by a scowl while she forced herself to go even faster, becoming a blur that whipped past the hoops as she tried to catch up with the Night Fury. Toothless saw the pony coming out of the corner of his eye and forced himself to go even faster as well, before opening the spines on his back so that he could perfectly take a sharp turn. Happy with how precise his turn had been, Toothless let out a small laugh and fired a bolt of plasma into the sky above him.

"Don't get cocky Bud, she's right behind us." Toothless glanced behind him to find that indeed Rainbow Dash was still right behind them and was somehow catching up fast. With a snarl of his own he flapped his wings with all of his might, screaming ahead as Hiccup clutched onto his saddle for dear life. The duo faced another sharp turn ahead, and in preparation Hiccup slammed his pegleg down before reeling it back to spread the tail fin as far as it could go, giving Toothless the perfect angle to speed around the corner without losing any velocity.

"Come on Bud, we're nearly there!" Hiccup called out while Toothless managed to pick up even more speed, straining with all of his might to go even faster. The pair smiled at the same time as the finish line came into sight and Hiccup threw his arms up to begin celebrating...before he was nearly blasted off the back of Toothless by a blur of speed that shattered the air around them. 

Toothless let out a bark of both confusion and fear when the shockwave nearly knocked him out of the sky, forcing the dragon to strain his wings to keep the two from going into a death spin. When they had recovered, both dragon and rider looked up to see a massive ring of rainbow that was still spreading across the sky...along with a pony doing a victory dance at the finish line.

"No way..." Hiccup whispered while Toothless gazed at the rainbow with his jaw slack, taking in what had happened, before finally managing to regain enough of their senses to lower themselves to the stable ground below. The moment Toothless landed Hiccup slid out of his seat and collapsed to the ground, still feeling the shockwave in his legs, while Toothless looked back up at the rainbow before turning his head towards the pony that made it.

"Well, I will admit that you gave me more of a challenge than most, but the result was the same as it's always been!" Dash bragged with a laugh as she descended from above and landed next to Hiccup, who was leaning against Toothless to keep from falling over while he removed his helmet. "So, what did the two of you think of my Sonic Rainbow? Isn't it just the coolest thing that you've ever seen?"

"It...might actually be!" Hiccup exclaimed with amazement as he shot to his feet, hands in his hair as he tried to process what he had just witnessed. "Not only did you do what I thought only Toothless could do and break the speed of sound, you somehow managed to create a rainbow...ring while doing so! I've never seen anything go so fast to be able to do that! Even Thor would be impressed!"

"Oh...well...but yeah, I know I'm awesome. And I guess we all now know which of us is the fastest being in Equestria," Dash bragged as she gave Toothless a smug look. The dragon responded by narrowing his eyes to slits before he let out a grunt and laid his head down onto his paws in the direction away from the pony. "Don't feel too bad, Hiccup, everypony loses to me when it comes to speed. You guys just took longer than most."

"I'm not going to lie Dash, that was probably one of the most incredible things I've ever seen," Hiccup admitted before glancing back at Toothless with a large smile on his face. "Hey Toothless, you know what this means? This means that we finally have a rival that can keep up with you." Toothless lifted his head back up and glanced back over at the both of them, looking Rainbow Dash up and down with a look before spitting out a bit of fire at Rainbow Dash's hooves.

"Sorry about that, he doesn't like to lose," Hiccup apologized for his dragon after Dash stomped out the flames.  The Chief of Berk looked at the pegasus with an interested expression. "You know, you pulled off some incredible stunts back up there, some tricks that I wouldn't mind teaching Toothless. Think you could give us flying lessons sometime?" The moment Hiccup asked this, Toothless quickly rose to his feet and walked over to his rider, glaring him in the eyes before swiping him off his feet with his tail. The moment Hiccup was down, Toothless grabbed hold of his leg and began to drag him away from the pony, but with his new perspective Hiccup saw another pony that surprised him.

"Wait a moment...is that Luna?" Hiccup asked, just as the princess descended next to the three of them. "Greetings Princess, what...let go of my leg, Toothless!" Hiccup grunted as he slid his leg out of the dragon's grasp and quickly rose to his feet, brushing the grass off his outfit as the princess walked up to him. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh nothing much, just came by to give both of you this," the Princess of the Night said before levitating two envelopes to the pair, who grabbed them with interest before looking back to the princess...to find that she was gone.

"Huh, wonder what that was about?" Rainbow asked while she and Hiccup both opened their envelopes...and went wide eyed at what was inside.
> The First Steps
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight could hear the sounds of Stormfly barking while she walked up to Fluttershy's cottage, telling her that the dragon was still there. And just as she had been informed, when she walked around to the back of the cottage and spotted the dragon, she found the rider beside her as well. Stormfly was lying on her back and rubbing her face into the grass while Astrid scratched her belly, neither of them noticing the alicorn until Twilight was right beside them.

"Hey, Astrid," Twilight began when the human looked down at her, but all the Viking did was nod to Twilight before focusing on Stormfly again. Astrid moved over to her bandaged wing and began to softly pet it, getting a happy sigh out of Stormfly as her eyes rolled back in her head. "Um, Hiccup told me that you had gone out to look for me. Said that you wanted to talk to me or something?"

"Yeah...yeah I did," Astrid said as she patted Stormfly on the stomach, snapping the dragon out of her trance. The dragon rolled to her feet and shook the dirt off of her scales, letting out a huge yawn before spying some butterflies and rushing after them. Astrid watched the dragon go before sitting down on the grass, then collapsing to her back and staring up at the clouds.

"So...what did you want to talk to me about?" Twilight continued when Astrid didn't say any more, laying down exactly like her and staring up at the clouds as well.

"First, for saving my life," Astrid said after a minute of silence. "Hiccup told me what you did for me back when Wijida threw me off that cliff. If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't be alive right now. I owe you my life. And I'll find someway to pay you back one day."

"Oh please, you don't have to repay me," Twilight said with a dismissive laugh, but the look Astrid gave her informed the princess that the Viking wouldn't let go of the debt that easily. "So um, anything else?"

"Yeah. For helping to stop me when Wijida was in control of me. If you hadn't helped Hiccup, I might have..." Astrid began while biting her lip.

"You can't blame yourself for that. Wijida was the monster that made you act the way you did," Twilight told Astrid, who smirked at being told the same thing by two different beings. "But that's what friends are for right? Helping each other out when we can't overcome our problems on our own."

"Huh? Didn't know that you and I were friends," Astrid pointed out with a raised eyebrow at Twilight, whose face reddened while she started to stammer out about how it was just a saying. Astrid shook her head slightly before standing up and offering a hand to Twilight, who took it with some confusion as she got up as well. "Alright then, Twilight, if there's ever anything you need me to do for you, all you have to do is ask." Astrid waved to Twilight while she turned to leave, but as she walked away Twilight looked from her to Stormfly with a question coming to her mind.

"Actually Astrid," Twilight began with some hesitation, her tone making Astrid turn back around to glance at the nervous alicorn. "I was actually wondering if you could teach me...how to...properly ride Stormfly?" Astrid raised an eyebrow at Twilight before nodding and waving the pony over to her, before whistling and calling her dragon over as well.

"Alright, we'll start things off simple. Hop on up," Astrid instructed. Twilight glanced up at Stormfly for a moment before opening her mouth to argue, but Astrid gave her a look that silenced all unasked questions, and with a resigned sigh Twilight floated up onto the back of Stormfly.

"Now what do I do?" Twilight asked once she was firmly seated in the saddle. "Don't I have to place my hoof on her nose or something like that?"

"Nah, we'll just put you up there and see how things go from there. Not to mention, I don't think she'd even do that for you," Astrid muttered to herself before taking a few steps back. "What I want you to do now is, try to get her to follow your lead. Once you do that, I should be able to tell how to train you properly."

"I thought we were training the dragon," Twilight muttered before mimicking how Astrid sat on Stormfly, waiting until she had matched the position perfectly before looking down at Stormfly, who glanced up at her with an amused expression. "Um, alright Stormfly I want you to go over to that tree there," Twilight instructed with absolute confidence. Stormfly continued to glance up at her for a moment before she let out a snort and resumed watching a number of butterflies that were circling overhead.

"Um, Stormfly? To the tree please," Twilight instructed again, but with far less confidence as she glanced over to the judging eyes of Astrid. "Stormfly?" The dragon blew out a bit of smoke before she turned and started walking over to the small stream, sitting down in front of it and watching the tiny fish as they swam back and forth, wondering if she could get a bite.

"That's what I thought," Astrid muttered to herself while Twilight tried in vain to get the dragon to listen to her, to no avail. Astrid let the scene go on for another minute before she let out a small whistle that immediately got the dragon's attention, causing Stormfly to race over to Astrid with interest. "So, how did it go?"

"She doesn't listen to a word I say!" Twilight stammered out as she tried to look Stormfly in the eyes, but the dragon continued to ignore her. Astrid looked up at Stormfly's eyes before a smile of her own crossed her face, and she backed away from the dragon.

"I think I see what the problem is," Astrid said with a nod while glancing up at Twilight, who was looking eagerly at Astrid while she awaited the answer. "It's you."

"Me? Why would it be me? I've done everything exactly like you and Hiccup!" Twilight argued with a bit of heat, but Astrid let out a smile as she motioned for Twilight to come over to her.

"You have mimicked the movements of me and Hiccup, but you aren't doing everything we do. For starters, you are trying to be the one in control," Astrid began, yet all her words did was gain more confusion from Twilight.

"Well, yes. Isn't that what the rider of the dragons does, makes the decisions?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, but there's more to it. See Twilight, your problem is that you think that you giving the orders means that you are the more important part of the pair," Astrid clarified while she swung up onto Stormfly's back, placing a hand on the dragon's neck with a small smile. "But even though you might be the rider, your dragon is just every bit your equal. The two of you are more than just a person riding a dragon. You act and fly as one. Neither of you is more important than the other."

As she said this Stormfly's eyes went wide and she shot up into the sky, rolling and looping perfectly. "Twilight, pick up some of those rocks and hurl them into the air!" Twilight glanced from the pair to the rocks, before shrugging and using her magic to hurl them up, where Stormfly and Astrid dived down towards them with incredible speeds. Twilight watched closely as the rider and dragon hurtled towards the rocks, but to Twilight's surprise, all Astrid did was place a hand on Stormfly's neck before the dragon shot her spikes into the rocks and shattered them into pieces.

"How'd she know to do that?" Twilight asked when Astrid and Stormfly had landed next to her. "Aren't you supposed to give the order."

"Most of the time I do, but sometimes I leave it up to Stormfly's intuition," Astrid said while she rubbed Stormfly's nose with a smile. "Glad to see your wing's doing better. She's definitely one of the smarter Nadder's that you'll ever meet. But that's what I mean, when I say you're equals and work as one. You have to trust each other's judgment. Now most the time the dragons follow our lead, but they're still more than capable of making smart choices."

Twilight nodded with a small frown while she took in what Astrid was teaching her, before she stepped forward towards Stormfly, who glanced down at her with interest once again. Twilight took in a small breath, before holding out her hoof towards Stormfly and closing her eyes, not seeing the dragon tilt her head to the side in response.

"I am sorry if I offended you or made you feel like you were less important than me. Ever since I have become a princess, that is an issue that I have struggled to deal with constantly, and I try to make others feel as if they are just as important as me. So, I know we got off on the wrong hoof, but if you would allow me to-" Twilight stopped talking when she opened her eyes and found that Stormfly had placed her nose against Twilight's hoof, though when Twilight looked up at the dragon she had a curious expression in her eyes.

"Well, color me surprised, she's willing to give you a chance," Astrid laughed when Twilight looked to her for answers. "But I've seen that look on her face, and that means you're in for a wild time."

"W-what's that supposed to mean?" Twilight stammered.

"Well, hop on up and we'll find out!" Astrid laughed as Stormfly crouched down and motioned for Twilight to saddle up. Twilight looked from the smiling human to the almost smiling dragon with some trepidation before she placed herself back up on the saddle. 

"Okay, this time I won't try to control her, I'll try to work with her," Twilight whispered to herself, but not quiet enough so that Stormfly couldn't hear. "Okay Stormfly, if you wouldn't mind, please walk over to that tree." Stormfly looked up at Twilight before the dragon let out a yawn and crouched down on the grass, starting to nod off as Twilight looked down at Stormfly with frustration filling up her eyes. "What did I do wrong now?!"

"You're being too submissive to her now." Both Astrid and Twilight turned to see Fluttershy walking up to the pair with a bucket of fish being dragged behind her. "I had this problem with her at first, before Hiccup explained to me what was going on. You have to act as equals, Twilight. If you think of yourself as less, then she'll be the one who gives the orders."

"And there you go," Astrid said to Twilight as Fluttershy dragged the bucket over to Stormfly and showed her the fish, immediately gaining her the dragon's full attention. Twilight was nearly thrown from Stormfly's back as the dragon doubled over to eat away at the fish, and she quickly teleported off of the dragon before another quick movement from Stormfly tossed her off.

"Ugh, I think that's enough dragon training for today," Twilight muttered while she sat down next to Astrid and Fluttershy, watching Stormfly devour the fish quickly with keen eyes. "It's so strange to think that it's only been a couple of weeks since the pair of you appeared in Equestria. And now we've captured Wijida and all is well. Guess, soon I've got to think about sending you four back to your own world."

"And how are you going to do that?" Astrid asked.

"Oh please, I mastered Star-Swirl's method of dimensional crossing not that long before you got here. The only problem is that it requires and incredible amount of magic that can completely wipe me for days on end," Twilight explained with a small sigh. "I was bedridden for days and Spike had to work around the clock to take care of me. It was still really weird meeting a pair of dragons that didn't talk."

"You think you had it weird? Hiccup and I were just racing each other when all of a sudden, these strange things appeared in front of us and Hiccup got sucked into them. I barely made it through before it closed behind me, and when I wake up I'm in a world of talking ponies. WE got the weirder end of that," Astrid argued, and Twilight was forced to concede that she was right.

"I'm glad that we got to meet the four of you, though. It's been so much fun learning about the dragons while you've been here," Fluttershy added while Stormfly finished off the fish and rested the bucket on her nose, trying to find the fish that wasn't in there. "Especially since they're so different. It makes me wonder just how many other kinds of creatures are out there, that are different from ours?"

"That's the multiverse theory, Fluttershy, and that's one long night of studying to even begin to understand," Twilight said with experience, before her horn began to glow and she teleported a pair of envelopes over, which she then offered to the both of them. 

"What are these," Astrid asked as she opened up hers to find a golden ticket inside, glancing at it curiously before Fluttershy squealed beside the human in excitement.

"These are tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala, the most premier party in all of Equestria," Twilight explained while Astrid tried to deduce if the tickets were made from real gold or not. "And Celestia wanted to invite both of you as a sort of, 'thanks for all you've done'. I assume Hiccup's already gotten his."

"Some kind of get together huh?" Astrid asked as she turned it over. "Where is this taking place again?"

"In Canterlot. Why?"

"Oh, no reason, just wondering," Astrid muttered to herself before nodding at Twilight. "Sure, I guess I'll go. It'll be one last pony thing I get to experience before Hiccup and I return to Berk. What's the worst that could happen?"

\\\\\
=========
/////

"All of the invites have been sent, Sister." Celestia opened her eyes and looked up to see her sister descending onto the balcony next to her, the two nodding at each other before turning and walking into the castle. "And from what I have heard, all of the mane six have agreed to come as well as our human and dragon guests."

"That is good, considering that King Zardon wanted to speak to them both and personally thank them for what they have done," Celestia said with a nod while the two descended deeper into the castle, into the parts where only the most dangerous weapons and ponies were kept. They walked past a full platoon of guards before coming to a stop in front of a glass wall that revealed a single, black pony with strange markings and white eyes on the other side.

"Well, hello princesses, I'm sorry that I didn't get up but I didn't see either of you coming," Wijida laughed with a sinister smile as she turned to face the glass, where the two princesses stared at her from the other side. "Please, take a seat--both of you--and tell me what's on your minds. Please do, since I can't read your minds from behind this strange glass you have."

"And you never will again, Wijida, not as long as you reside behind these walls," Luna snarled at Wijida before Celestia placed a hoof on her sister's chest and shook her head slightly. 

"My sister is right, Wijida. This glass and these walls have been infused with the greatest magic that my sister and I can muster to suppress your powers. The magic seeps into your brain and prevents you from concentrating. We figured that to see the future and move things with your mind must take a lot of mental strain. And due to the fact that you are still in here, proves to us that we have been successful," Celestia informed Wijida, a smile crossing the princess' face when she saw Wijida turn away with a frown. "It is finished, Wijida. The only chance you have to resurrect Thanatos will pass in a few days and then you will be placed on trial for what you have done. Until then, please enjoy our hospitality," Celestia said before turning and walking away.

"Oh, this story isn't done yet, my dears. I don't need to see the future to know that," Wijida laughed as she rose from her single seat and walked over to the glass, staring into the remaining princess' eyes with her own blank ones. "We will dance the final dance soon enough. But speaking of dancing, I have heard that the gala is coming up soon, yet the two of you forgot to invite me. I will remember that when I rain destruction upon the land."

"Do not bother with threats, you are beaten," Luna snarled at Wijida, who simply smiled in reply. "You cannot escape this cell, and even if by some chance you could, you still do not know where the Draconis Gem is. And with your powers sealed off, I highly doubt that you will be getting out of here."

"Oh, but I will Luna. I can see it in your future," Wijida whispered, but all her words did was cause Luna to chuckle.

"Please. You cannot see anyponies' future while you are locked in there. You cannot see anything." Luna turned and left with a snort after saying this, leaving Wijida to sigh as she shook her head and walked back over to her chair.

'Well, you are not wrong there, princess. I cannot currently see into anypony's future while trapped within this cell,' Wijida thought to herself before she closed her eyes and opened her inner eye, an inner eye that, while blinded to nearly all of the beings in the land, still had something it could see. And what she saw made her smile. 

'Yes, Luna. No pony's future, indeed.'
> Who Invites Vikings to Fancy Parties?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Despite living with dragons that could ignite an entire village within moments if they chose to do so, Astrid and Hiccup were still stunned, by the sheer amount of light the massive castle that towered over the rest of Canterlot gave off as they approached with their dragons and the mane six, plus Spike.  Everyone in the group had put on their very best outfits, aside from the Vikings, who only had what they were wearing and who both had refused to let Rarity make them new clothes.

"If this is what fancy looks like, I'm glad that I look the way I do," Astrid said aloud as dozens of ponies in strange attire walked by them, none of them bothering to hide their looks of disgust or curiosity while they walked past the humans. "And it also seems that any one who wears clothes like that turns into a jerk," she added as a pair made a nasty remark about her outfit, but she took pleasure in watching them run towards the castle when she brandished her axe.

"Please try not to cause too much chaos Astrid, I want tonight to go well," Twilight said in a slightly panicked tone while she pulled out a checklist that seemed to have no end, going over everything she had checked off. "And please try to keep the dragons from doing anything crazy! Tonight needs to be perfect!"

"Last time I checked, Twilight, every time we go to one of these things it always takes a turn for the worse," Spike reminded Twilight, who turned on him with a blazing inferno in her eyes. "Or who knows, perhaps tonight will be different?!" Spike quickly amended, sighing in relief when Twilight looked back at her list.

"Don't worry Twilight, Astrid and I will be able to keep the dragons under control," Hiccup promised before looking over at Toothless, who was glancing at a pony's feathered hat with a befuddled expression. "Though, I can't promise that they'll understand why ponies are dressed the way they are."

"Hey Twilight, can I ask you something?" Dash began, her words forcing Twilight to rip her eyes away from her list and look back at her friend. "Why did our invites to the gala say something about being on guard in case the worst were to happen?"

"Because Rainbow Dash, tomorrow is the day when the Draconis gem can be used to open up a hole to the realm of the dead and bring Thanatos back from the dead," Twilight whispered to her friends, each of whom gave each other a look before Twilight continued. "So if Wijida is going to try to get the gem, today would be her last day to do so. You've still got it safe, right Astrid?"

"Yep. There's no way she could know where it is. Heck, even Hiccup doesn't know where it is," Astrid added. "And there's no chance in Hel that I'm going to tell her. And if I do, it'll be to her dismembered-"

"Okay, that's enough of that," Applejack butted in before Astrid could finish. "Look, we're finally there!" The entire group faced forward as they walked up the marble steps to the entrance to the castle, each of them drinking in what they could see, past the crowd of ponies that crowded around the door. The pony taking the tickets gave their group a quick glance before sighing and looking down at his list.

"No need for a ticket, Princess Twilight, you can come in. Same goes for your friends," the pony said with a slightly tired tone, before his eyes perked up when Hiccup and Astrid walked up to him. "Okay, that's something I haven't seen before. I assume that both of you have tickets?" Hiccup and Astrid both handed their tickets to the pony before walking inside, but when the dragons tried to pass as well, the pony stepped in the way. "And do you two have your tickets?"

"Don't worry, they're our plus ones," Hiccup explained to the pony while Toothless and Stormfly walked right past the pony without a second glance, leaving him to sigh and turn back to the guests that were entering. Now that they were within the castle walls, Hiccup and Astrid were free to see the majesty that was the Canterlot Castle...before Stormfly and Toothless ran past them and immediately began to destroy the snack bar.

"What have we done?" Astrid asked with a laugh as Twilight started to pull her mane out, though with an act of incredible self-discipline she managed to regain enough of her sanity to give some instructions to the humans.

"Okay you two, just have fun and try to mingle as best you can. If you need anything just ask me or any of the other princesses and-Toothless NO! Put that down!" With a shriek Twilight tore after the Night Fury, who had what looked to be a part of the ice sculpture in his teeth. Toothless wagged his tail before racing off into the garden with a screaming Twilight racing after him.

"Well, glad to see she's having fun," Astrid laughed as Hiccup wrapped his arm around hers.

"Well M'lady, shall we do what the fancy ponies do and have a ball?" Hiccup asked with as silly an accent as he could muster, and Astrid had to cover her mouth with her hand to keep from bursting out laughing.

"Yes, we shall," she choked out when she managed to suppress the laughter. The two of them began to walk around the castle floor, examining all the different ponies that were speaking with each other with interest. 

"Wow, I never knew that ponies could grow to be so large," Hiccup muttered to himself when they came across a particularly large stallion that was as buff as the Vikings of Berk. 

"I didn't know they could be so annoying," Astrid growled as a pair of ponies began to flash lights at her with a strange box. After scaring them off with threats of violence on them and their line, the Vikings made their way to the bottom of the royal staircase, where they spotted Luna and Celestia standing at the top.

"Greetings, Astrid and Hiccup. We are glad to see that you are enjoying the party," Luna said with a warm smile to the both of them, but then she caught the look in Astrid's eyes and let out a small sigh. "Yes Astrid, I will see what I can do about the reporters so they do not hound you. Give me a moment."

"Well, while my sister is dealing with the press, might I speak with the two of you?" Celestia asked before motioning for the two to follow her to a balcony that no other ponies went near. "For nearly the past month, the two of you have been most useful in aiding us with Wijida. But now that she is captured, I believe it is time that we focus on getting you home."

"Yeah, Twilight was saying something similar to us a couple of days ago," Hiccup informed Celestia, who nodded with a smile.

"It seems that she is starting to think like a princess as well. We are very grateful for what you have done, so I believe it would be cruel of me to keep you from your homes any longer. So the day after tomorrow we shall return both of you to Berk," Celestia informed them.

"And the reason for that is, just in case Wijida tries anything? Don't worry, Twilight told us that as well," Astrid added when Celestia gave her a surprised look.

"Yes, despite having completely captured and imprisoned her, my sister and I still fear that she may somehow find a way to break free. Tirek, Discord and Sombra, many of the villains that we believed to have imprisoned for good, seem to find a way to break free," Celestia mused, though it seemed that she was talking more to herself that her guests. She then shook the thought from her mind before turning back to Hiccup and Astrid with a smile on her face. " I also wanted to let you know that Zardon will be arriving here soon to speak with you both. But before that happens, I have gifts for you."

"Did Snoggletog come early?" Hiccup asked with a smile. 

"Here you are, Hiccup," Celestia began as she materialized a book whose cover was imbedded with gold and an assortment of jewels. "In here is a large amount of technology and how to build it. Twilight told me that you had a fascination with how some of our things worked, so I figured that you would get great use out of this."

"Thanks Celestia, you just ensured that he won't get any sleep for weeks," Astrid sarcastically said as Hiccup swiped the book out of the air and hungrily began to carve through the pages. "Alright Celestia, it's my turn. Let's see how well you know me."

"Oh, I believe that I have something that you will enjoy," Celestia said with a smile before she materialized a massive hammer before Astrid, a hammer that had blue streaks near the head along with yellow lining down the sides. Astrid's eyes went wide as she gripped the hammer, giving it a few test swings to see that it was perfectly balanced. "Twilight told me how you broke the one that you won from the fair, so I decided to replace it. I also asked for it to have your dragon's colors. I hope you don't mind."

"Oh, I like it a lot," Astrid said with a massive grin before she practiced swinging the hammer with both hands.

"Thanks Celestia, now you've given her another thing to throw at me when I try to read all night," Hiccup said with a chuckle while Astrid accidentally took out a bit of the balcony with one of her swings. "But we are both very grateful for the gifts. I can tell just by looking at the pages in this book that these inventions will change Berk forever."

"I am glad that you are happy, but now I must excuse myself. Twilight has not come to tell me of how she could help, or that something is going wrong, and that concerns me," Celestia said as she walked by Hiccup and Astrid, who both shared a knowing smile as they examined each other's gifts.

\\\\\
========
/////

With a sigh of relief, Rarity found Twilight leaning against the rails of a balcony, her dress slightly torn and her mane a mess. Yet, there was a look of triumph on her face and when Rarity glanced out into the garden, she found that both dragons were fast asleep.

"It took a lot of running and nearly every sleep spell I know, but I finally got those dragons to calm down!" Twilight said triumphantly as she peered down at the dragons, before letting out another tired sigh and leaning against the railing. "So, how's the gala going for you Rarity? You find that perfect stallion that you always come here seeking?"

"No, Twilight, and actually...I was wondering what you propose to do," Rarity began in a tone that Twilight hadn't heard in a while, but she motioned for Rarity to continue while bracing herself. "I mean, in two days the humans are both heading home and you haven't even so much as tried to-"

"Rarity, let me stop you right there," Twilight said with authority that immediately silenced Rarity. "I am grateful for what you have tried to do for me, but I'm going to have to ask you to stop. Hiccup is my friend. Astrid is my friend. And if they are happy together, then I won't do anything to ruin that happiness. So once again thank you, but enough please." Rarity huffed once before letting out a sigh of resignation.

"Oh very well Twilight, I suppose that is your decision," Rarity said with a small bow as she turned to leave. "But when you finally do find that stallion...or man...that you cannot keep your hooves off of, all you need to do is ask and I shall be there to aid you."

"Thanks Rarity. I, er, appreciate it?" Twilight said with a nod as Rarity left, allowing her to finally sigh and rest her head on the railing. "I'm so glad that's finally over."

"That was most mature of you Twilight." Twilight looked behind her to see that Celestia was walking over to her. "Not only how you handled Rarity, but also your opinion on Hiccup and Astrid."

"It's the truth, Celestia. Yeah, I like Hiccup, but I wouldn't want to ruin his and Astrid's relationship over something so petty," Twilight admitted, getting an approving nod from Celestia as the two princesses stared up at the night sky for a while.

"It is probably for the best," Celestia eventually said, getting her a confused look from Twilight. 

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked. Celestia let out a small sigh before finally speaking.

"Do you know that I advised Cadence from seeing Shining when they first started dating?" Celestia asked, her words shocking Twilight. "I could see how well the two of them got along and it made me worry."

"But why would that make you worry if they were happy together?" Twilight asked.

"Because Cadence is immortal. Shining isn't." Twilight's face fell slightly at Celestia's words, catching onto what she was implying. "My advice to her, and my advice to you, Twilight, is if you can, try to find somepony who can live as long as us," Celestia said as she turned to head back into the party. "Because if you don't, heartache is all that awaits you. Take it from a pony who didn't learn her lesson for a long time."

"Thanks Princess, I'll...consider what you told me," Twilight said with a nod as she stared back up at the sky, pondering Celestia's question while wondering what her friends were doing.

\\\\\
========
/////

A smile creased Wijida's lips as she heard the dancing and singing that was going on in the floors above her, cracking her eyes open slightly with a small sigh. She then stretched on her bed before rising to her hooves, shaking out the numbness in them as she walked towards the glass.

"Excuse me guards, but may I ask each of you a question?" Wijida began, waiting until all of the guards had turned to face her before continuing. "I was wondering which one of you strong, handsome stallions would be willing to open up this cell for me. The one that does will have the honor of taking me to the gala while the rest will be subjected to severe pain. Don't all rush forward now."

"You're crazier than Celestia said, if you believe any of us will open the cage for you," she heard one of the stallions snarl at her. "And don't bother trying to mess with our minds, because that cage prevents you from accessing your powers."

"Oh, don't be like that," Wijida teased with a small laugh, feeling each and every eye in the room on her--which was exactly what she wanted. A moment later she could hear the sound of the glass sliding down from the roof above her while the guards cried out in confusion and glanced to where the controls to the cell were.

"What's going on?! Why is the...you? What are you doing?" she heard one of the guards say before that same guard was lifted into the air and slammed against the wall, where he slumped to the floor without a sound. The remaining three guards all spun towards the cell, where Wijida walked out with a coy smile on her face while her eyes burned with a pure white light.

"Dear me, none of you wanted to take a gem like me to the gala?  Tsk, you don't know what you were missing out on," Wijida teased with menace underlining every word. She heard the guards yell as they all charged her at the same time, but her eyes flashed and the guards were all slammed into the ceiling. Her eyes flashed again and she hurled the guards into the prison, where she heard the glass slide shut behind them.

"Well, how about you then?" Wijida asked as she turned towards the one that had freed her from her prison. "Would you like to go to the gala with a mare like me?" Her answer came when she heard the dungeon door open for her, causing a large smile to cross her face. "Very well then my date, let's go see if we can find a gem that can go well with my dress."
> Watch Your Backs
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Haha!  When I last spoke with the two of you, I started to believe that you might be able to defeat Wijida, but to think that you actually went and did it!" King Zardon roared with a large smile while slapping his hand against his knee, causing the entire castle to shake from the force of the impact. Astrid and Hiccup smiled up at him awkwardly while he continued to praise them, although Toothless and Stormfly were content with sniffing the massive dragon king.

"Well, she certainly wasn't a walk in the park, that's for sure," Hiccup said with a shake of his head as he took a drink of liquid that the princess had called "Punch."  "But I'm glad that no other dragons or ponies are going to be hurt by her anymore."

"Well, we dragons will always be in your debt. I am also glad that I can call the first humans I met friends!" Zardon laughed as he smiled down at the two, Hiccup smiled back up while Astrid looked out a window into the night sky with a strange expression on her face. "I cannot wait for you to meet my children! They are fascinated with myths and legends, so for both of them to meet a pair of humans may be too much for them!"

"Thank you, King Zardon, but we will be returning to our home in a matter of days," Hiccup responded with a slight bow. "In fact, after tonight we will probably be preparing to return the day after tomorrow."

"Hmm, I'm sad to hear that but I can see that you wish to return home," Zardon agreed with a nod of his head before his toothy smile returned. "Both of you deserve the rest anyhow. I just hope that the people of your land believe your story so they can sing praises of your heroism."

"Heh, I highly doubt that any of them...Astrid?" Hiccup asked when he turned to find that the Viking was no longer at his side but had instead wandered out onto a balcony. "Excuse me, King Zardon but I-" Zardon held out a hand to stop Hiccup before waving him away with a smile. Hiccup bowed in return before walking out to where Astrid was rubbing her head, wincing in pain every few seconds.

"Astrid, are you doing okay?" Hiccup asked as the dragons flanked either side of her, Stormfly sniffing her with concern.

"No...my head is killing me," she snarled through the pain before opening her eyes with a sigh of relief a moment later. "Ugh, that was weird. Suddenly my head just started hurting and...ugh." She shook her head before leaning against the railing, staring at the sky with an expression that only Hiccup could read. 

"Astrid, there's something else bothering you, isn't there?" Hiccup asked, though from his tone it was clear that he knew that something was plaguing her. "Is it about Wijida? Astrid, you don't need to worry. We beat her. She's going to be locked up for a long time. We won."

"Did we, though?" Astrid asked with a scowl, rubbing her fingers against her temples. "I mean, yeah we've got her locked up in a cell, but did it occur to any of us that maybe she saw that coming? That maybe she would get captured by us and we would bring her to Canterlot?" Hiccup placed a hand under his chin while he considered her words, but a moment later he shook his head with a frown.

"Astrid, what are you trying to say?"

"What I'm trying to say is that this feels too easy, that she went down to easy," Astrid added. "I mean, she can see the future and move things with her mind. How are you supposed to stop a pony like that? We've sprung a number of traps where we pretended to be captured Hiccup, and we've had a few sprung on us...and I feel like this is the latter. That she allowed herself to be caught."

Hiccup opened his mouth to argue before he, Astrid, and both the dragons were immediately dragged away from the conversation when they heard the sound of screaming coming from the room behind them. Without wasting a moment the group sprinted into the ballroom, Hiccup leaping onto the back of Toothless while Astrid swung her hammer onto her shoulder. Yet, when they entered the main room and discovered which pony was hurling other ponies across the room, while using her powers to fend off the princesses' magic, they were nearly struck dumb.

"Wijida?" Hiccup whispered with confusion when the pony turned to look at him, a wicked smile spreading across her face as she dropped a pony that had been caught within her mental grasp. "But that's impossible! You were trapped! In a cell that you couldn't-!"

"Hiccup, you are from a land of fire-breathing monsters and were recently sucked into a pony-filled land of magic and mystery.  Surely you have learned by now that nothing is impossible," Wijida taunted before she started to saunter forward towards the pair, but a combined blast of fire from Toothless and Stormfly stopped her in her tracks. "And your girlfriend was right Hiccup, all this...well, my plan may have been derailed a bit, but I am glad to admit that being brought here was a possibility that I prepared for."

"Then you have sealed your doom!" Just as soon as the voice had finished rocking the castle, a massive dragon of a crimson hue smashed through the ceiling and came to a stop in front of the pony, who lifted her white eyes up into the flame--filled fury that was Zardon's eyes. "I did not have the pleasure of meeting you in pony before Wijida, but know that I am glad that you escaped..." Zardon began as he brought one of his claws back. "So that I could have the privilege of ending you myself!"

Yet, right before Zardon struck down Wijida, a tremendous roar rocked the entire castle. A roar that made the king stop mid-swipe as he looked towards the night sky with a look of both horror and dread upon his face. "No," he whispered. "It cannot be."

"Did you really think that I would simply walk into a room filled with the strongest beings in the land without calling a little backup first?" Wijida chuckled to herself with a shake of her head and a sigh. "It seems that none of you can possibly think ahead. Yes, Zardon, I made sure to call in a friend of mine that you should know well. For the rest of you, meet Zardon's brother Ferno...and the dragon who wants the throne at any cost."

The king let out a roar that shook the whole nation before, with a mighty flap of his wings, he ascended into the sky and began to clash with the other dragon, leaving Hiccup, Astrid, the mane six and the princesses to turn to face Wijida, who smiled at all of them with a toothy grin.

"So, you managed to get rid of the giant dragon; don't look so pleased," Astrid snarled before she swung the hammer into the floor in front of her, smashing through the marble with one powerful strike. "That just means that there's more of you for the rest of us."

"You would be wise to listen to Astrid, Wijida," Celestia added as she stepped forward, the little action turning the blank eyes of the dark pony to her. "Because as powerful as you are, you cannot hope to defeat all of us. One princess may be manageable for you, but how will you deal with three?"

Yet once again, Wijida chuckled to herself at Celestia's words before she shook her head with a smile. "Oh you fools, I said it before but it seems that I will have to say it again. Did you really believe that I would come here, against the strongest beings in the land, without some backup?" 

Before any of the others could ponder what she meant, they all heard Hiccup cry out in pain and Toothless roar with fury. Both pony and Viking spun around to see what had happened, but all logic was struck from their minds when they saw Hiccup being pinned to the ground by-

"Spike?" Twilight whispered in horror as the purple dragon held his clawed hands to Hiccup's throat, his red eyes scanning around the room almost as if he were daring any of the ponies to move. "Spike, what are you doing?!...No..." Twilight whispered as she turned towards the beaming Wijida. "You didn't..."

"A few days ago, as a matter of fact. Just in case I needed an inside pony to...help me out of a tight situation," Wijida smirked before whipping her mane back and turning her eyes toward Astrid. "Now then, my dear Viking, I believe that you have something of value that I require. If you would be-"

"Go to Hel!" Astrid roared with defiance as she lifted her hammer, but before she could take a step she heard Hiccup cry out again and when she spun her head back to look at him she saw that Spike had drawn blood with his claws.

"Oh, none of that my dear. I don't need to see the future to know that you will do exactly as I say," Wijida whispered in a far more menacing tone than she had ever used before. "Because if you don't, then not only will your lover's head be sent rolling across the floor, but also Spike will have to live with the fact that he killed another in cold blood...and that goes double for the rest of you ponies. None of you try anything. So what will it be, Astrid?"

"No Astrid! I'm not worth-" Hiccup tried to say before Spike lifted his head back and slammed it into the floor.

Astrid glared at Wijida with a look that even the blind pony could see as she pondered every other possible action, aside from giving the gem to the madmare. But then she looked to the ponies and saw the fear not only for Hiccup in their eyes, but the desperation in Twilight's as she tried in vain to figure out a plan. So, as the realization of her situation sank in and she knew that she had no other options, she hurled her hammer into the floor before looking at Stormfly.

"Stormfly..." she began as she glared at Wijida with loathing and hatred in every word. "Spit." Stormfly barked before making a gagging sound while tipping her head back, gurgling once more before she spat out a green gem in the shape of a dragon onto the floor. "Here," Astrid whispered as she picked it up and hurled it at Wijida, who caught it with a look of disgust. "I hope you choke on it. Now let them go."

Wijida smiled coldly before glaring at the dragon, who blinked twice as the red faded from his eyes. He glanced around in confusion before being tackled in the side by Twilight, who held him close while glaring daggers at Wijida while the pony turned and began to walk away...before being stopped by a wall of magic.

"Now you have the gem, but it will do you little good," Celestia seethed as she and Luna pointed their glowing horns at the pony. "Because you will not be leaving here under your own power!" 

"Ugh, do you ever listen? Backup Celestia, I brought backup." As soon as she said this, two massive dragons slammed into the side of the castle, with the crimson one taking a blow to the face that sent him hurtling into the streets below. The ponies watched through the windows at what was happening before turning back to Wijida with fury. "Something tells me that you will all be far more preoccupied with helping the dragon king than dealing with me. So what are you waiting for? Go help him!"

With a roar of fury Celestia turned and shot out through the busted ceiling, her sister and the others following behind as best they could. Wijida smirked before exiting through the front doors unopposed, though she came to a stop when an axe barely missed her head.

"Not today, Astrid. We will meet in the final chapter!" Wijida laughed before ripping out a chunk of the floor and hurling it at Astrid, who dodged out of the way and rolled to her feet only to find that the pony was gone. With a snarl she turned and raced over to Hiccup, who was getting onto Toothless' back with anger in his eyes.

"Are you alright?" she asked him as she leapt onto Stormfly's back.

"No, I'm not. How could I not see Wijida using Spike coming?!  She can control dragons, of course she would control a dragon closest to us!" Hiccup raged before shaking his head and taking to the sky with Astrid close behind him. The two riders shot out of the castle like bullets and immediately found themselves caught in the battle between the king and his brother. The azure dragon that was slightly larger than his brother bellowed with a sky rending fury before lunging towards the king, who braced himself as best he could before the two slammed into the other, tackling each other out of the sky.

"Celestia, what do we do?!" Rainbow called over to the princesses, who were firing on the azure dragon with no effect.

"I do not know, Rainbow. His scales are strong enough to stop our weaker spells and his rage is great enough to ignore our stronger ones!" Luna called over in place of her sister, who was too busy lassoing the azure monster and pulling him back. The dragon screamed with rage before yanking his head forward, and in turn yanking Celestia as he bit down on his brother's throat. Zardon roared in pain as blood began to seep from his wound before Ferno drove his claw through his brother's stomach, silencing the cry as well as drawing out even more blood.

"Get me in there, Toothless and I can free him from Wijida's control!" Hiccup called out before the dragon and rider launched themselves forward and into the battle.

"Wait Hiccup, we need to plan!" Astrid called after him, but he shook his head and narrowed his eyes.

"No time! Toothless, plasma blast!" Toothless roared in agreement as a bolt of blue fire erupted from his maw, striking the dragon in the back of the head and gaining his attention. "Now higher, Bud, we need to take him away from the city!" 

Toothless ascended with all of his might as the pair heard the azure monster bellow in response, flapping his own mighty wings while he leapt into the air after them. As fast as the mighty monster was, the Night Fury still had the edge in speed, so within a few moments Ferno had lost sight of the dragon in the dark of the night. A sound like screaming reached his ears and when he turned towards the sound he got a face full of fire.

"Keep it up, Bud, we need to tire him out!" Hiccup ordered as the pair vanished back into the blackness of the night, leaving the dragon to bellow while he looked around for the pair to no avail. Another scream followed by more fire struck him in the back of the skull, causing him to roar with fury as he began to unleash a torrent of fire into the sky around him.

"Now's our chance!" Hiccup called out when he saw the dragon take in a few deep breaths after having unleashed so much fire. The pair rocketed towards the dragon's face before Toothless brought himself to a stop right in front of the dragon's eyes...eyes that were perfectly clear and glared at the two of them with rage. "You're...not being controlled by Wijida?" Hiccup whispered with fear.

"No, child. I am not." With speeds that neither Toothless nor Hiccup thought possible Ferno reached forward with both hands and grabbed hold of the pair, tearing Hiccup off of Toothless' back and grasping both dragon and rider in separate hands. "And I will not hesitate to crush anyone who stands in my way. Now then, prepare to-"

A roar of fury reached the three pairs of ears a moment before a crimson dragon slammed into the stomach of Ferno, driving the dragon into the air while the force of the blow forced him to release Toothless and Hiccup. Toothless was close enough to Hiccup so that the two could quickly link up again, but when they looked up towards their savior they found that Zardon was glowing with a dangerous light.

"What are you doing?!" Toothless called up to Zardon, who smiled with pain in response.

"You saved many of my people, Hiccup, including one of my own children. You risked your life for them," Zardon explained before the smile grew wider. "Now, I am repaying that debt. I...may not live to reclaim my throne...but neither shall he!" Before either dragon or rider could react or even call out, a massive inferno erupted from the king, engulfing both of the dragons in its all-consuming fire. Ferno roared in fury as the fire burned him away into nothingness, while the king let out one last chuckle before he too was consumed by the fire. And all Hiccup could do was watch in horror, watch as a dragon he respected was burned away into ash.

Watch as another of his friends was lost to Wijida.
> Back From the Dead
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Astrid gently knocked against the crystal door three times, waiting for a full minute in silence before trying again. She knew that Hiccup was in there, she could hear the scratches of his pencil against the parchment, but aside from Toothless, he had refused to speak to anypony for the rest of the night.

"Hiccup," Astrid spoke softly to the door as she leaned against it, hearing the scribbling stop as she spoke. "I know that you're upset over what happened...I was like that just yesterday as well...but we have bigger problems to focus on. Wijida is free and she's got the Draconis Gem, which can only mean that she's going to be heading to the land of the decayed. Celestia told us that we don't have much time, but first I want to-" 

Astrid's words were silenced when she heard a scratching sound followed by the door swinging open so suddenly, that she had to steady herself to keep from falling over. She entered into the room as Toothless moved out of the way, to see Hiccup sitting at a desk with a large amount of crumpled up paper around him and anything but guilt in his eyes.

"Hiccup, are you alright?" Astrid asked when she glanced over his shoulder, while he began to furiously scribble in his notebook once again, causing Astrid to silently gasp when she saw he was writing battle plans. "Hiccup, these are...amazing," Astrid whispered when she picked up one of the crumpled papers and read what was on it.

"Yeah, but not amazing enough," Hiccup fumed with a rage that Astrid had not heard from him in a while. "I've tried to think of some strategy to defeat Wijida, but with her countless abilities and sure-to-be dragon allies, I can't figure out a way to defeat her before she resurrects Thanatos."

"You...know how she plans to resurrect Thanatos?"

"I asked Celestia last night after...well, you know, and she told me what Wijida would have to do," Hiccup clarified as he rose to his feet while picking up the book as well, glancing over his most recent plan with a frown. "But we've only got a few more hours until we should head out, which only gives me a few more hours to think up a plan."

"And none of these crumpled ideas have the plan you're looking for?" Astrid asked while motioning to the dozens of pieces of paper that were strewn around the room. When Hiccup remained focused on his work, Astrid let out a sigh before walking over to him and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Before we do this, I want to make sure that you're alright," she whispered, getting a look of curiosity from Hiccup.

"What do you mean, 'alright'?"

"I mean, with Zardon sacrificing himself to stop his brother and to save you...so soon after the death of your father..." Astrid began, but Hiccup cut her off by placing his hand overtop hers with a serious expression.

"I am upset over what happened, but we can't focus on that right now," Hiccup whispered before his eyes set like flint. "Besides, it's just like my Dad used to say, 'There will be time for mourning after the battle.' Now come on Astrid, we've still got time to-"

Whatever Hiccup was going to say was scattered to the winds when the door to the room swung open and Twilight ran inside, skidding to a stop when she saw both riders were there. "It's time to head out. Celestia and Luna informed me that the ceremony that is required to bring back Thanatos is somehow starting early." The two riders' eyes widened in shock, but a moment later they were surrounded by Twilight's magic. One teleportation spell later they found themselves standing on the outskirts of Ponyville with the other ponies and Stormfly. 

"I am glad that you found them so quickly, Twilight, because we do not have much time left," Celestia spoke with urgency as she looked off into the distance, where the others followed her gaze to find that a circle of an ominous green light was starting to swirl into the sky. "I do not know how, but somehow Wijida is starting the ritual ahead of when it should be possible. We must move now if we are to hope to beat her!"

"If all of you would kindly link arms or hooves with one another, my sister and I will use our powers to teleport us there as quickly as we can," Luna instructed without any room for disagreement, waiting for a moment until all hooves or hands were linked, before both Luna's and Celestia's horns began to glow, surrounding all with a divine light of both sun and moon. Another flash of light later found the group standing in a barren wasteland that was completely covered by shadow, a shadow that was caused by the massive swirl of green magic that blocked out the sun. 

"We are here: The Land of the Decayed." All sets of eyes gazed across the land on which they found themselves standing, to see hundreds of skeletons that all seemed to come from massive monsters, many of which had numerous scythe-like hands or razor-like wings. But despite the terrifying bones that littered the land, all eyes eventually rested upon a massive stone structure that towered over the whole landscape from the top of a giant cliff, a tower where the green column of magic was ascending into the sky. And at the top of the tower stood a pony that they each knew all too well.

"Greetings, my friends! According to my visions of the future, you are all a minute later than I saw you to be. That means today is off to an excellent start!" Wijida called down to them with a laugh before looking at the Draconis Gem that floated before her and muttered a few more of the ancient words. 

"Wijida, this ends today!" Twilight began, but the moment she started speaking, Wijida let out an exasperated sigh. "Today is the day-"

"Skip the speech, Twilight, and let me just cut right to the chase," Wijida interrupted as she looked back down at the group. "The resurrection of Thanatos is nearly complete and when it happens, we shall finally all see how this story ends. You don't want me to do that, so you will try to stop me before it does. You won't."

"You've been wrong before, so how do you know that you won't be again?!" Astrid roared up at Wijida, who smiled wickedly before letting out a cackling shriek that made all hairs stand on end. "You can't fight us all! Not without any of your backup to stop me and Hiccup!"

"Ah, Astrid, you are right. Today will be unlike any day that I've had. Because today something will happen that I cannot see coming," Wijida laughed before smirking at all of the ponies. "But you are wrong in saying that I do not have backup. Because this gem here, while I will be using it to revive Thanatos, will also have enough life left within to fully resurrect any of the lost souls you see here. And I'm sure they all want to be the ones I bring back."

The moment she said this the ground around the ponies, dragons and humans began to shake. Twilight and the other princesses threw up a shield around themselves as thousands of bones long thought dead began to combine and take the shape of the beasts they used to be. Fear filled up the mane six and their allies as beasts of terrible power retook their ancient forms, eye sockets glowing with an unholy light as the now six massive monsters turned towards the group with wicked looks.

"Here is your offer, beasts long since dead!" Wijida roared to the skeletal titans as they all looked to her for instructions. "Whichever one of you can kill the most ponies will have the honor of being brought back to life with the great destroyer himself, the mighty Thanatos! And speaking of the destroyer..." 

With those words, a torrent of green magic thundered down from the sky and into the black chasm that rested behind the tower of stone where she stood, filling it with the mighty power of the Draconis Gem. A roar of ancient and bestial power shook the whole of Equestria when the chasm was filled to the brim with ancient magic...before a pair of green eyes opened within the chasm.

"It's time for the main attraction to take the stage!" Wijida cackled with delight as shadows wrapped around the ancient bones of a gargantuan dragon that, despite moving slowly, managed to overtake the tower within a few moments with just his head and neck. Wijida then spun around to look at the ponies and dragon riders with a wicked smile while the skeletal titans advanced towards them. "That's my move, Hiccup! I can't wait to see yours! Let's make this finale one that will be remembered for all time!"

"Girls. With me," Twilight said in a no-nonsense voice. The other ponies nodded before taking up positions beside her as a rainbow light began to encompass all of them. Then a shockwave of rainbow light erupted from them, revealing the ponies empowered with the very rainbows themselves. Twilight and the others stared down the advancing skeletal monsters for a brief moment before she turned to look at Hiccup. "My friends and I will deal with the skeleton monsters. Luna and Celestia will aid the four of you in battling with Thanatos. Stay strong my friends, because the power of our friendship will defeat this monster."

"Alright Twilight, we'll leave you to deal with those things," Hiccup said with a nod before he gestured to Astrid and raced over to Toothless, leaping onto his back while Astrid flipped onto Stormfly's back. With a cry to the heavens, the two dragon riders shot into the sky with the night and day behind the both of them. The skeletal beasts of days past roared with a hollow rage as they reached up to grab the ponies and dragons out of the air, but each was blasted by a different color of the rainbow which turned their attention to the six glowing ponies before them.

"Oh, no you don't. You're dealing with us," Twilight whispered in a menacing voice before she and her friends hurled themselves into battle. Meanwhile the riders and princesses launched themselves towards the shadowy, bony dragon that was growing larger and larger, with his wings and shoulders beginning to appear over the edge of the chasm.

"Princess, what can we do to put that thing back in its grave?!" Hiccup called over to Celestia, who narrowed her eyes before glancing down at where Wijida was. 

"If we can cut off the gem's connection to the deceased, we may be able to push him back into the grave before he has enough power to break free!" Celestia suggested, getting a nod from both Hiccup and Astrid as they both turned towards where Wijida was...before a massive column of dark magic in the shape of a claw tore apart the sky around them. The shadowy form of Thanatos let out a silent roar before his other arm dragged itself out of the chasm and swung for the princesses and riders, who had to scatter to avoid being ripped apart by the claws.

Tendrils of darkness that erupted from the arms of Thanatos, coils that lunged towards the princesses and riders who barely had enough time to react before the tendrils were upon them. Luna and Celestia tried to fend them off with magic, but they quickly found themselves ensnared in the darkness. Astrid and Stormfly dodged and weaved around the tendrils as best they could, but the Nadder wasn't agile enough to keep dodging and they too quickly found themselves caught within the darkness. Only Toothless was fast enough to dodge and keep dodging, allowing the Night Fury to circle back around and blast the tendrils off of his allies with well aimed plasma bolts.

"Is everyone alright?!" Hiccup called out to them as they broke themselves free of the rest of the darkness, each of them nodding to him before Thanatos began to lunge at them with his claws once again.

"We cannot get close to her while Thanatos is still there!" Luna called out as she weaved around another claw strike that tore the air around her. "Yet, if we do not get to her we cannot stop Thanatos from rising! How are we supposed to-?!" The answer to her question came when a shrieking sound reached their ears followed by the blast of a plasma bolt to the side of the shadow's head, getting it to silently cry as Toothless whipped by it.

"We lead it away from her and then come back to deal with Wijida!  Princesses, start firing magic at Thanatos!  If he has any memory of the two of you, he's sure to follow after you!" Hiccup called out to the pair of them before motioning for Astrid to come to his side. The princesses nodded before they faced the monstrosity and began to unleash their power of the sun and moon upon the dragon, who opened his maw to roar with silence before he began to chase after the pair of them.

"What do you need me to do, Hiccup?!" Astrid called over the sounds of the princesses unleashing their magic, along with the blasts of rainbow light that erupted from the battle going on down below. Hiccup glanced over at Thanatos before scanning where Wijida was, almost as if he were coming to a decision.

"I want you helping the princesses fend off Thanatos' shadow from up here," he ordered, ignoring the look of surprise that spread across Astrid's face. "I'm going to go down there to deal with Wijida. If any of us have the best chance of getting that gem from her, it's me."

"Are you crazy?! Not only is she too much to deal with on your own, the princesses won't be able to beat Thanatos without your help! They can't dodge his attacks forever and neither can we!" Astrid reminded Hiccup, who narrowed his eyes as he tried to think of a new plan. "But you're not only the only one who can avoid Thanatos, you're also riding the Alpha of Berk, the dragon who opposes all other dragons. Only the two of you together can stop this monster."

Before Hiccup could argue his point, Thanatos leaned his head back and finally let loose the roar he had been trying to bellow, a roar that echoed across all of the land of Equestria and to the borders beyond. And unbeknownst to the riders or the princesses, all of the dragons' eyes across the lands began to glow with a red light before they took flight and began to rain destruction upon wherever they were. Then the dragon began to once again pull itself free of the chasm, despite Luna and Celestia unleashing all of their might to try and push it back.

"You are the dragon master, Hiccup. There is no dragon, not even this one, that you cannot train or defeat," Astrid reminded Hiccup one last time before looking down at where Wijida was. "They're your specialty. But crazy, power-wielding maniacs that try to hurt those that I care about? Those are my specialty."

"Astrid. You can't be thinking what I think you're thinking," Hiccup whispered to her when she looked back at him, but all he saw in her eyes was the confirmation of his thoughts. "I won't let you! It's too dangerous! You're-"

"The only one here who managed to score a hit against Wijida. The only one here who has had her in her mind. The only one here who can face her," Astrid reminded Hiccup before looking back to the princesses. "Please Hiccup, let me do this. This battle with her is personal." Hiccup wanted to argue, he wanted with all of his soul to argue with her, but then the princesses cried out in pain and he glanced back to find that they were being ensnared with the tendrils once again.

"Fine," he finally agreed with a tone of absolute regret before looking up at her. "But on one condition."

"What's that."

"Come back alive." He then turned Toothless back towards the battle with Thanatos and rocketed off to aid the princesses, leaving Astrid to turn Stormfly towards where Wijida was and dive down towards the top of the tower.

"Greetings, Astrid. I wondered if you would face me yourself," Wijida greeted as Stormfly landed on the platform. Astrid hopped off of Stormfly's back before looking up at the dragon with steely eyes.

"Stormfly...I want you to go help Hiccup," she ordered. "Don't argue," she continued when the dragon barked in defiance. "He's going to need all the help he can get. Don't worry about me, I can handle this pony. In fact," Astrid said with menace in her voice as she turned towards Wijida, axe in one hand and hammer in the other. "I don't think you'll want to see what I'll do to her." The dragon let out one last bark before spreading her wings and flying off to where Hiccup was, leaving Wijida and Astrid to stare each other down.

"And this is where it all ends," Wijida began with a smile on her face while she looked out across the landscape to the multiple battles going on. "Who will win? What will happen? Who lives or dies? Doesn't it just...excite you?"

"Lady, you've made dragons attack innocents. Forced a dragon to battle his brother to the death. Took control of me and made me assault the man I love," Astrid seethed before slamming the hammer into the tower floor, while swinging the axe onto her shoulder before she glared up at Wijida with the rage of Thor himself in her eyes.  "I don't care what future you see for everyone else out there, there is only one way this ends for you. Painfully."
> Bringer of the End
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Flame, claws and darkness all roared past the dragon's head as Hiccup and Toothless pulled up with all of their might, narrowly avoiding certain death as the area around them was consumed by darkness and fire. Toothless had to quickly level out before the next wave of darkness bombarded the heroes of Berk.

"Toothless! Roll now!" Hiccup ordered the split second before the dragon followed his orders, spiraling out of the way while another column of darkness ripped apart the air. Toothless and Hiccup stopped rolling just in time to see the dragon pull one of his legs out of the chasm and shake the ground below with his first footstep in over a thousand years, causing darkness to seep from his leg into the area around him.

"Is that...his scales?" Luna asked when she and Celestia flew over next to Hiccup, all eyes on the dragon's face and neck while scales of a purple hue, which were as large as pony armor, began to form across the darkness. Thanatos then let loose a bellow to the skies that nearly knocked the group out of the air before he lifted his second leg out of the chasm, planting it into the ground next to his other foot while he began to flap his wings.

"He's trying to get airborne and we can't let that happen!" Hiccup called out before he and Toothless dove at the dragon. "You two need to see if you can keep his wings under control! Toothless and I will draw his attention!" Numerous plasma bolts erupted from Toothless' maw as he unleashed fire upon the dragon's face, but they might as well have been flinging matches at Thanatos for all the effect their fire had.

Yet, Hiccup's plan succeeded in one regard because Thanatos' green eyes turned away from the flashes of rainbow that went off below him, and instead focused on the Night Fury that constantly vanished into the dark sky. Another bellow of fury escaped his lips as he tried to flap his wings, only to find that both wings had been bound by the sun and moon respectively. But despite not being able to fly at the moment, Thanatos still turned his gaze forward and unleashed his black fire into the sky, burning away the dark clouds in a matter of moments and revealing the dragon and rider that had been hiding among them.

'That boy and his dragon are all that oppose you. If you slay them, then I shall finally grant you what you wish. I shall grant you freedom,' the voice of Wijida whispered in the back of his mind.

With one strain of his rapidly returning muscles, Thanatos shattered the spells that had bound his wings and blasted the princesses back with one flap of his mighty limbs. With the second flap, he achieved liftoff and ascended into the sky after the pair, catching up to them in only a few wingbeats. Toothless was forced to move faster than he ever had before to avoid the razor-like fangs of darkness that were rapidly becoming bones again.

"He's becoming more and more lifelike! We need to hurry!" Hiccup informed Toothless, who snarled in reply to tell Hiccup that he already knew that. But the next surprise came when two more arms of darkness burst forth from Thanatos's sides, giving him double the arms with which to slash at Hiccup and Toothless. As the two dodged and weaved to avoid the seemingly endless onslaught of limbs, they found that they could barely dodge the attacks, much less find a way to stop the dragon from growing stronger.

Yet, when Thanatos caught up to them and they believed for a brief moment that the dragon would destroy them both, twin flashes of sun and moon slammed into the back of the dragon and sent him spiraling down towards the land below. He spread his wings quickly to stop his fall, but with his rapidly growing mass he was unable to stop himself in time and so created a second crater with the force of his impact.

"Thanks for the save back there. I thought for sure that he had both of us," Hiccup gratefully said to the princesses, but they both shook their heads when the dark monstrosity slowly rose back up and turned its emerald eyes towards them with fury flashing within.

"That was enough magical power to put Discord down for the count, yet all it seemed to do to Thanatos was annoy him," Celestia informed Hiccup, who followed their gaze down towards the dragon that had just lifted all four of his arms at them. Hundreds of tendrils erupted from the dragon's arms and slithered through the sky to reach the four of them, forcing Toothless and Hiccup to dive as the sisters created barriers of magic with which to fend off the tendrils.

"We need to find a weak spot, Bud, something that we can exploit," Hiccup instructed Toothless, who immediately began to search the dragon for something that could give them the edge. His eyes narrowed when he spotted a part of Thanatos's back where the muscles were connecting to his wings, yet the scales hadn't fully formed around the muscle to protect the spot. He barked up to Hiccup, who immediately locked onto where Toothless was looking. "Good find, Bud. Now let's see if he hates being hit between the wings!" 

The pair dived down at a rapid pace towards Thanatos' back, weaving past the dark bolts he fired at them as they dove. Yet Hiccup found to his satisfaction that despite the dragon being fairly nimble in the sky, he was slow to turn on the land and was unable to keep up with the speed of the Fury as it whipped around behind him. The moment Toothless laid eyes on the weak spot, he wasted no time unloading all of his plasma bursts into the joints, causing Thanatos to roar with pain as the fire blasted apart his still growing tendons. 

"Alright, Bud, that's what I like to see!" Hiccup praised Toothless before the smoke cleared from Thanatos' back, revealing a new pair of dark wings that he had grown. With his new wings, the dragon slowly turned to look up at the rider and dragon with what seemed to be a smile crossing his face before he flapped all four of his wings at once, rocketing off of the ground and hurling himself into the air towards the pair with all four arms outstretched. 

"That's what I don't want to see. Toothless!" Hiccup roared as Toothless spun out of the way, nearly getting knocked out of the air as the now faster Thanatos quickly turned and barreled towards the both of them with flaming eyes.

\\\\\\\
=============
///////

With another blast of her rainbow infused magic, Twilight managed to blast the skeletal monstrosity back into the ground.  It quickly began to reform before rising back up and lunging at her with its scythe-like appendages. 

"Come on, I've beaten you down more than enough times to warrant your defeat! So why don't you stay...down!" Twilight roared as she unleashed her rainbow infused magic into the chest of the bull-like skeleton before her, once again blasting it into pieces. But a scowl crossed her face when she found, just like all the previous times she had beaten it, the bones began to reform and within a matter of seconds the skeleton had risen up once again. "Argh, this hardly seems fair," she growled before creating a barrier of magic that deflected a strike from the creature.

Yet, despite the towering creature of darkness and bone that should have had her full attention, Twilight found herself glancing over to where Hiccup was battling with Thanatos, who now, to Twilight's horror, had four arms and two sets of wings and was putting the both of them to good use as he chased after a dragon, a dragon that shot multiple blasts back at the dark monster.

"Darn it!" she snarled as her focus was brought back into the battle, when the skeletal beast swung at her with two of its scythes, forcing her to reinforce her shield to prevent it from being shattered by the blow. A roar from the monstrous Thanatos fueled her anger and with a  powerful discharge of magic, she managed to blast the skeletal beast into pieces that scattered across the graveyard.

"Ponies, group up!" she yelled over to the other five rainbow powered ponies that were each struggling to keep their adversaries down. Twilight then glanced to see that her foe would be reforming himself any moment, so the second that all of her friends were beside her she created the strongest barrier that she could around them.

"Things aren't going well, Sugarcube," Applejack quickly explained as Twilight's foe began to hammer away on her shield, with its brethren racing towards them with their weapon-like appendages raised in anticipation to strike. "No matter how many times we blast these...well blasted creatures apart, they keep fixing themselves right up and come at us again."

"I know. I like kicking butt as much as the next pony, but even I get tired of blasting these guys apart over and over again," Rainbow Dash complained before the whole barrier cracked under the combined strikes from the skeletons. Twilight glanced through the skeletons to where Hiccup was still fending off Thanatos before looking back to her friends with a grim look on her face.

"Then we have no choice. It's time to unleash the rainbow."

"But Twilight, ever since we've defeated Tirek, we've been unable to summon that kind of power again," Fluttershy reminded Twilight, but as the barrier reached its breaking point Twilight glanced at each of her friends with a smile.

"I have a feeling that with the fate of the world on the line, the rainbow powers will cut us some slack," Twilight replied before the barrier shattered around them.  Yet when the skeletons looked through the shattered magic, they found the six glowing with a power that forced them back slightly. Their missing eyes somehow managed to widen in fear as the multicolored light of the ponies before them washed over each of the monsters, allowing them to feel for the first time in centuries...and know that the power before them was going to put them back in their graves.

With a unified cry the ponies combined their rainbow might to unleash a shockwave of such power and magnitude, that the green swirls in the sky were blasted away, along with anything within a thousand yards of the six. When the power faded and they opened their eyes once again, they found that the six skeletons that they had been facing, along with the rest of their skeleton foes, were now nothing more than ash.

"Come on girls, no time to wait. Hiccup and the princesses need us," Twilight said to cut off any celebration as she looked over towards the princesses and Viking, finding that the only force of darkness that hadn't been destroyed by their power was Thanatos, who only seemed to still be growing larger. The other five nodded before racing off in a flash of color towards where the princesses were, but before Twilight flew off she turned her gaze away from Thanatos and looked instead at the tower, where a column of green energy still shot into the sky. She then shook her head and flew into battle.

\\\\\
===========
/////

Astrid pulled herself off of one of the pillars that adorned the top of the tower as the rainbow light faded, groaning when she fell to her knees. Her vision blurred for a moment before she fought through the pain and forced herself back to her feet, glaring at the smirking Wijida who was twirling her axe in the air with her mental powers.

"That was a close one, wouldn't you say Astrid?" Wijida asked before hurling the axe at Astrid, who barely managed to lift her hammer in time to deflect her own axe strike. The double-sided axe clattered to the tower floor next to her, yet when Astrid lunged for it, it rocketed across the ground and rejoined Wijida's side. "No, no, my dear, you have to earn your axe back. Though it was a good thing that I was able to shield myself from the rainbow power or else this fight would already be over for me."

"Let me guess, you looked into the future and saw how somepony would manage to beat it?" Astrid snarled as she used her hammer to push herself back to her feet, getting a smirk out of Wijida before the pony motioned for Astrid to bring it. "Well, I'm glad for my own reasons that the rainbow blast didn't finish you off. Because that means I get to be the one that stops you!" 

Astrid then lunged forward with her hammer brought back, swinging right at the pony's smiling mug with enough force to crack a Gronkle. Yet once again--and to Astrid's increasing frustration--Wijida seemed to know just how to deflect the blow to avoid any impact whatsoever, so for a second time Astrid found her hammer striking empty air instead of the skull of her foe.

"Tsk-tsk Astrid, you're going to have to do much better than that if you hope to stand a chance of besting me," Wijida teased as she swung at Astrid's head with her axe. Astrid barely managed to move her head out of the way, yet when she leapt back to avoid any future strike she realized that her braid was now lying on the floor, and strands of her hair were floating past her head. "Oh, I can't say that haircut is an improvement dear, but the mauled look does fit you so. Don't know if Hiccup will like it, though. He may go after another if you don't fix it."

"How?" Astrid asked as she repressed the anger for her missing braid, instead focusing the rage into her concentration as she gripped the hammer with both hands and slowly began to advance towards Wijida. "The last time we battled, you couldn't even see where I was, let alone counter me like this. What are you doing different?"

"You don't want the answer to that, my dear," Wijida teased with a small shake of her head, but when Astrid's eyes narrowed even further Wijida smirked at her with a small bow. "Oh, very well then, but remember that you asked. See, you seem so brave and confident now, but what if I were to tell you something that would fill you with fear? Something that would terrify you?"

"Lady, I fight Vikings and dragons every day of my life, sometimes both at the same time," Astrid snarled as she swung for the fences with her hammer, yet once again Wijida was able to leap back at precisely the right time to avoid the blow. "You don't have anything that can scare me."

"So you say now, but what if I said...that I can now see your future, my dear?" Astrid felt her heart freeze as the words hit home, causing her to stagger back slightly as Wijida began to laugh. "Yes Astrid, I know that I told Hiccup and the ponies that I could not see the future of you humans or your dragons, but then something happened that even I could not predict. I entered into your mind. For a brief time, I became a part of you. And in that brief time, all of your doors were open to me...and despite us having been separated, I have retained that sight. The ability to see into your future. I know your every move, word and thought before you."

"No...it can't be! You're lying!" Astrid bellowed before lunging forward, raising her hammer high to strike Wijida down in one, mighty strike. But Wijida's eyes flashed and Astrid felt a searing pain explode in her leg. With a cry of pain she collapsed to one knee, glaring through the tears at her leg which now had blood gushing from a wound on her knee.

"Desperate right hook," Wijida smirked in front of Astrid, who was confused for a brief moment before the idea entered her mind. Fear then, began to override the pain as the cold truth washed over Astrid--a truth that she could no longer deny. "I admit that I was surprised myself, yet I could barely keep the secret," Wijida giddily said as she swung at Astrid's head, smiling when the Viking deflected the blow with her hammer. "I knew you would do that. But when I woke up in that prison and found myself able to look at your future, it was...like I was seeing for the first time. But now...there is nothing you can do to me that I won't see coming. But by all means...try."

Astrid snarled as she went to grab her hammer, but in a flash she found the butt of her axe slammed into her face. Her head snapped back as she fell to her back, groaning in pain when she tried to roll to her right, but the moment she tried she found herself staring at the blade of her axe.

"As I said, Astrid," Wijida began with a cold venom in her voice. "I can see your futures now. Which means that I've seen how you meet your end, here and now. Which makes you boring. And we can't have boring characters..." Wijida began as she lifted her axe above Astrid's head. "In my grand finale!"

"Then you won't mind if I spice things up a bit?!" Wijida roared with pain as a blast of magic slammed into her side and hurled her across the top of the tower, dropping the axe next to Astrid as the human looked up to see...

"Twilight?"
> Into the Unknown
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Twilight?" Astrid asked with confusion in her voice when the purple alicorn painted with a rainbow of colors floated down next to her, horn glowing with a plethora of colors while she glared at the blind pony who also wore a look of confusion. "But, I thought you were..."

"We dealt with the skeleton monsters, and my friends are helping Hiccup deal with Thanatos," Twilight informed Astrid with a small smile before glaring back at Wijida. "Now then, Wijida, we're finally at the end of the story that you wanted to see so badly. Are you ready to see how it ends?"

"Oh please, Twilight, you don't scare me," Wijida smirked as she sauntered right up to the princess and glared into her eyes. "I can still see into your future. In fact, I'm doing it right now. And all I see is that you lose to me, no matter how much power you have or-"

CRACK!

Wijida's head snapped back when Astrid's fist connected with her jaw, sending the pony sprawling to the ground as Astrid had to lean against Twilight for support. Wijida slowly picked herself back up with disbelief written across her face while she held a hoof to her jaw, before slowly turning to look back at the smirking Astrid.

"What's the matter Wijida, didn't see that coming?" Astrid taunted as she pushed herself off of Twilight and lifted her hammer once again, ignoring the blinding pain that burned in her leg. "For a pony who constantly brags about seeing the future, I see that stupid look of surprise on your face more than I have anypony else."

"This cannot be...how did you manage to sucker punch ME?! I can see your FUTURE!"  Wijida roared with fury as her eyes flashed, but the moment they did so Twilight's horn glowed and a bolt of magic drove itself into Wijida's chest and hurled the pony into one of the pillars that adorned the tower top. "How?" she whispered weakly as she picked herself up again. "How can I not see these attacks coming?"

"Because you've just confirmed a theory that I've had for a while," Twilight explained while she glanced down at Astrid's bleeding leg, her horn glowing once again so that her magic closed the gash.  She gave Astrid a quick nod before turning her focus back to Wijida.

"What theory?" Wijida spat with rage as her eyes flashed again.

"A theory about your future vision...and how to exploit its weakness," Twilight smiled as fury and confusion spread across Wijida's face. "Whenever you talked to us about the future, you used vague terms and talked in a broad sense, like you were leaving out important details. Yet, whenever you chose to fill those details in, you were always focusing on one of us in particular."

"I fail to see what that little detail-"

"That's it right there. You fail to see," Twilight cut Wijida off, making the pony snarl again. "When you fought me at Fluttershy's cottage, you only focused on my future, no pony else's. And then Luna somehow managed to sneak up on you, despite all of your claims about being able to see all of our futures. And that's when this theory hit me. When you're fighting a pony, you need every detail you can get. Meaning, that you have to focus your future vision on them and them alone."

"But then you get into a situation like this one," Astrid caught on as she smiled at the sheer genius of Twilight. "Where you've got to fight two incredibly powerful warriors at once. So the question becomes, how quickly can you switch between our futures...while taking in every detail needed to avoid certain death," Astrid snarled as she slammed her hammer into the ground before lunging forward. Wijida's eyes flashed and she brought her axe back to slice the advancing Viking, but a blast of magic knocked the axe out of the air and left Wijida open for Astrid's attack.

Wijida managed to save herself by pulling up a chunk of the tower top to intercept the attack, her eyes flashing as she glared over at Twilight. Twilight began to cry out in pain when Wijida's telekinesis assaulted her mind, but in the next moment Wijida felt a boot place itself on her muzzle and snap her head to the side. Wijida crashed to the ground with blood starting to pour from her nose, her mind fuzzy as she pushed herself back up with eyes flashing multiple times while she did so.

"Seems she just can't keep up with us, Twilight," Astrid said with a smirk before glancing over at Twilight. "So why'd you come over here instead of helping out Hiccup?"

"Well, I figured that my friend could use my help," Twilight said with a smile in response. Astrid shook her head with a smirk before the both of them turned their focus back to Wijida, who had turned to face them with a wicked smile across her face.

"Oh, this just gets better and better. Here I thought that this would be an uneventful final battle, but here you are...proving me wrong once again," Wijida said as a shiver of mirth ascended her spine. "But I've seen enough of the both of your futures to know that neither of you will manage to defeat me in time to stop the resurrection of Thanatos...and then he will kill both of you. But..."

Wijida then spun her head to where the gem was and grabbed it with her mind, ripping it out of the place where its energy could be absorbed by the dark dragon. She then focused with all of her might before, to the shock of both Astrid and Twilight, she shattered the gem into pieces with a maniacal laugh.

"I find that future to be boring!  So there we go girls! Now, even I have no idea what's going to happen next!" Wijida bellowed with laughter while she slammed down onto all fours with insanity flashing in her blank eyes. "So come on, let's all rush into that great unknown together. Towards an ending that neither side will see coming. We don't know who will win! But I know I can't wait to find out!" With one last shriek of joy Wijida hurled herself at Astrid and Twilight, who each nodded to each other before they lunged at her as well.

\\\\\\\
=============
///////

"You think that using the powers of the sun and moon along with the power of rainbows would be enough to keep him down, but nope. It can't be that easy!" Hiccup yelled down to Toothless while they weaved out of the way of a torrent of darkness that billowed towards them. The torrent was halted when the five rainbow wielders threw themselves in front of the blast and combined their powers to intercept it, just barely managing to stop the attack with their combined might.

"Hiccup, this battle continues to get worse!" Celestia called over to Hiccup while bolts of darkness tore apart the air around her. "For every wound that we inflict upon Thanatos, that gem infuses him with even more power to repair the damage done and then some! We need a plan! We need-"

Celestia's words were cut off when a shockwave of green energy washed over them, turning all heads, including Thanatos', towards the tower where the gem had once been. The column of green energy that had been constantly pouring into Thanatos slowly ebbed away into oblivion, leaving the dragon only partially covered in his scales.

"What happened?" Luna asked as she flew up beside her sister and the rider with a confused look, but Hiccup only had a smile on his face when he glanced towards the tower. 

"Astrid and Twilight did it," he said with a sigh of relief before his eyes narrowed and his mind locked onto Thanatos with a razor-like focus. "This is our chance to strike! Thanatos will be weakened after losing the gem and my bet is that he can't repair himself like he's been doing! Time to attack with our all!" To cement his point, Toothless let out a bellow into the sky before the Night Fury began to glow with a blue energy that coursed through his body, making his entire form look even more powerful than before.

Then, with another bellow Toothless rocketed down at Thanatos, spewing bursts of plasma that tore the purple scales off the dragon and caused him to shriek with pain. The ponies began to add to the fire, unleashing their own multicolored attacks upon the dark dragon as well. And with each attack that injured the monster, the smaller and smaller he began to shrink.

"It's working! Keep firing!" Hiccup ordered to the others. But despite not having the gem fuel his body any more, Thanatos still let out a bellow of defiance as he unleashed black fire into the sky, temporarily blocking out the light of the ponies. He then turned his rapidly decaying head towards Toothless and Hiccup and let out a shriek while he hurled himself into the air after them. 

"So, you want to finish it with us? Fine by me. Let's go Toothless," Hiccup ordered as the azure Night Fury turned and shot up into the sky, Thanatos following him up with flames billowing from his jaws. Yet, despite the fact that Thanatos had the speed advantage before with Toothless going all out, now Thanatos quickly found that he was unable to keep up with the Night Fury and a moment later he lost the dragon within the clouds.

Thanatos came to a stop in the black clouds and kept his head on a swivel so that he wouldn't be caught off guard. That was why he was so surprised when a bolt of blue streaked by him and tore through his leg, blasting apart the shadow and bone with one mighty impact. The dragon looked down at where his leg used to be before he unleashed his fury into the sky around him.

'You cannot best me, dragon!' Thanatos roared with fury as he let his darkness rip apart the sky once again. 'I am far more powerful than you can ever hope to be. I am the bringer of the end, a dragon whose power has no equal!'

"It's the same with any large dragon that we've come across," Hiccup's voice echoed throughout the sky around Thanatos, who turned towards the source of the voice, only to see a streak of blue whip by his head and blast apart one of his wings when the blue light tore through him. "No matter how strong they think they are or how high up in the food chain they are, when they go up against a foe that's smarter or faster...they always lash out in desperation."

Thanatos proved Hiccup's point when he billowed his black fire into the sky around him, setting the whole sky ablaze with black flames as he spun in a circle unleashing the hellfire. When he ran out of steam, he paused for a moment to look around in vain hope that he had somehow managed to hit the dragon and the rider. But then, through the black smoke and fire, he saw a dragon burning with blue light--a light that was heading right for him.

"And then, after they've exhausted their fire and believed themselves to have won," Hiccup began as he slammed his helmet onto his face, flattening himself against Toothless while the dragon glowed with an incredible light, "is when they are at their weakest. Toothless, NOW!"

Toothless barked before his whole form burned with the blue light as if he himself were on fire, rocketing into and then through Thanatos' stomach in one supersonic impact. Thanatos could only cough out black smoke as he looked down to see his stomach missing, before he began to plummet to the ground with the darkness vanishing into nothingness. And as he fell, Toothless and Hiccup watched with blank expressions on their faces.

"So, yeah, you might be bigger and tougher and quite possibly able to end the world," Hiccup said as he shook his head before motioning for Toothless to follow him. "But that doesn't make you unbeatable. And it certainly doesn't make you as good as an Alpha." Toothless and Hiccup found Thanatos laying in the center of a crater, far smaller than he had been when they knocked him out of the air. He was hardly any larger than Toothless, though that could have been because he was missing half of his body while the rest was fading back into darkness.

"Well, bringer of the end, you don't look so impressive now," Hiccup said coldly when he and Toothless walked up to the black dragon, who stared up at the sky as the dark clouds began to clear. "So then, Thanatos, anything to say to yourself before the ponies come and seal you away once again?" Hiccup asked as he glanced up to see the ponies descending towards them.

'End me,' Thanatos asked, snapping Hiccup's head back towards the still shrinking dragon with confusion on his face.

"Wait a moment. Thanatos, the bringer of the end, is asking us to end him?" Hiccup said with a look as he and Toothless glanced at each other. "Why do you want us to end you?"

'Because you are the only ones who can,' Thanatos said softly while he continued to stare up at the sky. 'For so long my soul has been bound to this land by my curse, a curse for myself more than it was for the ponies or dragons. The curse that until either I ruled the world or was bested in combat, I would not die. But all those I fought alongside are gone...the world I wished to conquer is no more...all I wish is to move on. To be free.'

Thanatos then slowly pushed himself up to a sitting position, at that point hardly any bigger than Hiccup was. 'And you are the only dragon that has been able to best me. Or, pair that was able to best me. So, that means that you are the only ones who can set my soul free. Please. For if you seal me, I believe that one day another will come to use my power again...and you may not be there to defeat me.'

Hiccup looked down at Toothless, who had a grim look on his face when he glanced up at his rider. "It's up to you, Bud. You're the Alpha and the dragon the bested him. It's up to you." Toothless let out a sigh before walking up to Thanatos and looking him in the eyes with rage, yet there was pity and regret in them as well. For a brief moment, the two spoke without saying a word before Thanatos nodded.

'Thank you.' Thanatos's body then began to completely decay away, leaving behind only a piece of him that looked eerily similar to the Draconis Gem. Toothless then looked up at the sky and let out a melancholy howl as the ponies landed behind the two. 

"Come on you guys," Hiccup said to them after they laid eyes on what was left of the dragon. "There's still one more pony who needs to answer for what they've done."

\\\\\\
==========
//////

The ground tore itself apart as Wijida ripped up chunks of rocks from the tower and hurled them with a maniacal cackle while she hurled the stones towards Astrid and Twilight, the latter easily deflecting the rocks with her magic. Wijida's eyes flashed and Twilight quickly found herself being slammed face first into the ground, but before Wijida could focus on Astrid's future once again the hammer-wielding Viking slammed the hammer into Wijida's hind leg. Wijida roared with pain when her back leg shattered, but the roar quickly turned into laughter as she glared at the human and pony before glancing over at where Thanatos had been.

"Aw, he's been beaten already. Guess he wasn't the bringer of the end that everypony says he was, was he?" Wijida cackled while she levitated herself off of the ground, ripping out the pillars from the tower as her eyes flashed and her mane completely stood on end. "Well now, that leaves me in an interesting predicament, doesn't it? If I can't kill both of you soon, I'll have two princesses and the other members of the rainbow rangers to deal with. So come on girls, let's write that final chapter!"

Wijida let out another shrieking laugh while she hurled herself right at Astrid, but when Twilight started up a spell to stop Wijida in her tracks Wijida's eyes flashed once again and Twilight screamed as she aimed her own spell at herself. Astrid was tackled in the gut at full speed by Wijida while Twilight collapsed to the ground, leaving Astrid pinned down by the crazed pony whose eyes flashed as she glared at Astrid with a smile.

"And it seems that you'll be the first to go. No offence Astrid, but you're the only real threat to me out of the two of you," Wijida cackled before she turned her head to the side to see that not only was Twilight on her hooves, but she was also pointing her horn right at Wijida's head. "Are you sure you want to save her, Twilight? Think about it, with her gone there would be no pony left between you and Hiccup. You could-" Wijida swore when the spell just barely missed her face and she was forced to leap back as another spell tore by her head. Her eyes flashed once more while she hurled the pillars at Twilight, who was forced to deflect them with her magic, which left her open to Wijida's mental powers.

"Isn't that just like you, Twilight, always playing the goody good," Wijida cackled as she grabbed Twilight by the neck and began to twist slowly. "You could have anything you wanted if you just threw a few of those morals out the window. But if you want to die first, then so be--what's with that smile?" Wijida demanded to know when she saw Twilight smiling.

"Isn't it obvious? You took your eyes off the main threat." Wijida spun around and her eyes flashed, but as she did so Astrid was already in the air with the hammer swung back with one arm. Wijida's eyes narrowed while she prepared to grab the hammer and stop the attack, but then Astrid reached behind her and hurled a small object at Wijida. The fear of the unknown overcame the pony, so she caught the object right in front of her face...to find that she had just caught lightning in a bottle. 

"By the power of Thor...you finally fall!" Astrid roared when she landed and swung her hammer for all she was worth, shattering the bottle with the head of the hammer as she swung through the bottle and slammed both the electricity and the hammer into Wijida's face. An explosion of lightning burst across the tower as the blind pony was hurled across the top of the it, skidding to a stop at the edge with half of her face missing.

"So...this is how...it ends," Wijida whispered with a smirk before sighing. "Sadly...I could see...this end...coming...oh well." Wijida then closed her eyes and rolled off to the side of the tower...only to stop a moment later when she felt somepony grab her head. Her one eye flickered and she looked up to see... "Astrid? You saved my life?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I would love nothing more than to drop you here and now," Astrid grunted as she held onto the pony with one arm, unable to use her other arm due to losing feeling in it. "But you're not answering to me, you're answering to the ponies. So, you can't die until they get a crack at you." Wijida looked up at Astrid with surprise before a small cackle escaped her lips.

"I've got to say...I never thought...that you would save my life...that's got to be...one heck of a plot twist," Wijida laughed as she looked into Astrid's face. But then her good eye began to shrink slightly and her face became blank for a moment, leaving Astrid to wonder what was going on. Then Wijida began to laugh, laughing so hard that Astrid had to tighten her grip to keep the practically crying pony from falling to her death. "Oh, that is good, that is just too good! Enjoy your victory now Astrid, because soon all you will know is despair," Wijida whispered to Astrid before grabbing hold of the Viking's axe with her mind. "And Berk will never be the same." 

Astrid leapt back with a yelp as the axe slammed into the tower right in front of her, severing Wijida's arm from her body. But as the black pony began to fall into the black chasm below, all she did was laugh with a wicked smile on her face while she continued to stare at Astrid, knowing what was to come.

"So...is it over?" Twilight groaned while she floated over to Astrid, holding a hoof to her neck as she glanced down into the chasm. Astrid let go off Wijida's arm and watched as it fell after its owner, remembering the look of sheer joy that Wijida had on her face when she told Astrid what was to come.

'She was lying to you Astrid. Trying to get in one last shot before she lost,' Astrid decided before pulling her axe out of the side of the tower and standing up, smiling slightly while she looked up to see Hiccup and the others flying towards them.

"Yeah, Twilight. I think it's finally over."
> Into the Future
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Three alicorns combined their magic in a flash of radiant light, blinding all who were watching as well as tearing open a hole in the fabric of reality in the center of the throne room of the Canterlot castle. Yet, when the light died down all eyes looked into the portal to see a village where dragons of various colors flew around buildings that were painted to look like the dragons...as well as buildings that were mostly set ablaze.

"And the village is burning to the ground without me around. I'd better go put a stop to that before things get out of hand," Hiccup sighed as he placed a hand against the portal only to find that he couldn't pass through. "Hey, what gives, I thought that this would take us back to our homes?" Hiccup asked when he turned to look at the three princesses.

"Well, you came here on the backs of your dragons, so you'll both need to be riding them to pass through the portal," Twilight explained, getting an eye roll from Astrid.

"Way to overcomplicate things," she smirked, getting a slight smile out of Twilight in the process.

"Ah gotta say that ah'm sad that ya'll will be leaving so soon, but judging by the state of yer village you'll be needed more there than here," Applejack observed as a group of dragon riders began to dump buckets of water onto the flames. "But if any of ya get sucked into our reality again, feel free to stop by and say 'hi'."

"Yeah, but I doubt that you'll want to show your faces around here again after the horrible loss that you suffered to me," Rainbow Dash said with a smirk while Toothless and Hiccup shot her a look. "I mean, you might be fast on your world, but here you just can't touch me."

"Oh, don't you worry. Once Toothless and I here have trained ourselves to go even faster, we'll be sure to come back and give you a rematch that will go down in history," Hiccup promised the pony, but before any more 'promises' could be slung at each other, Celestia stepped forward with a proud smile.

"Hiccup and Toothless. Astrid and Stromfly," she began, drawing all four sets of eyes to the princess, who then proceeded to bow to the four. "I cannot thank you enough for what you have done for us. Had it not been for you, Wijida may have unleashed the most destructive dragon that the world has ever seen upon us."

"I'm not too certain she would have. It seemed in the end that crazed pony was more concerned with creating an ending she couldn't see, more than she was unleashing Thanatos," Astrid muttered under her breath, with only Twilight close enough to hear.

"I wish that there was more that we could do to reward the four of you than the small trinkets we gave you previously, especially since Astrid managed to break her hammer in the final battle," Luna pointed out, but the Viking shrugged before spinning the axe around in her right hand before flipping it up onto her shoulder.

"That's alright. I'll stick to this old girl instead," Astrid smirked before looking down at Twilight, just barely catching the glance that the princess had been giving her. "If you all don't mind, I need to talk to Twilight in private for a second." She motioned for Twilight to follow her as the pair walked to the other side of the throne room, Twilight looking slightly nervous while Astrid leaned up against the wall. "Alright Twilight, if you've got something to say to me, say it now."

"It's just...I...I thought you should know that I haven't been entirely honest with you," Twilight began with deep regret in every word. "Ever since you...actually, since Hiccup came here-"

"You have feelings for him." Twilight's eyes snapped wide as she swung her head to look at the Viking, who was smirking at Twilight without any hostility. "Oh, I've known. Almost since the moment I got here. Hiccup may be the brains of our group, but I'm far from stupid. And trust me, Twilight, you're not the first and I doubt you'll be the last."

"Then, you knew all this time that I...then why didn't you say anything...or do something?" Twilight hesitantly asked.

"Oh, trust me, if that flirt Rarity tried anything herself with Hiccup, I would have imbedded my axe in her skull long ago," Astrid clarified with a sinister smirk that made Twilight's mane stand on end. "But you...you were different. You never made any moves, you didn't try to undermine us...hel, you're probably one of the few that didn't try to kill me in some way. And...I'm not sure why. With your power it would have been easy."

Twilight let out a small sigh before looking into the wondering eyes of Astrid, knowing that it was time to be totally honest. "Because...as much as I care for Hiccup...I genuinely see you as my friend. And I wasn't going to ruin my friendship with both you and Hiccup just so I could stand a chance with him. And I certainly wouldn't kill you. Besides, you two are so happy together...that I didn't mind just being friends. And honestly, I'm glad I did. I learned a lot from the two of you...about many different things."

Astrid stood stunned for a moment, having never heard this kind of response to the question she had asked a few times to others. But as Twilight's words sank in, she found that she couldn't help but smile slightly before letting out a sigh and patting Twilight on the shoulder.

"That's awfully noble of you, Twilight. Thanks for being honest and for helping the two of us out here...friend." Twilight's eyes had just begun to widen before Astrid punched Twilight in her shoulder, getting the mare to stagger while Astrid let out a laugh. "Now we're really friends!"

"You see us as friends...ow...that's great," Twilight said with a pure smile before she winced and rubbed her shoulder, while slightly cringing. "Well, if you guys ever come back, I'd like to know more about training dragons from your world and in general. It came in handy against the dragons that we fought here."

"Sure. But if you and your friends ever find themselves in Berk, you have to stop by and try some of my cooking. It's an experience that you can't pass up," Astrid proudly said with a large smile, neither she nor Twilight noticing that Hiccup instinctually retched off to the side.

"I'll make sure to do that," Twilight said before she and Astrid walked back over to where the others were waiting, both of them noticing that Fluttershy had been saying a very tearful farewell to the dragons while somewhat ignoring Hiccup. "Come on Fluttershy, it's time to let them go home," Twilight said as she pried the pony off of Toothless.

"'Bye, new friends! Come by again sometime soon!" Pinkie made them promise.

"Are you sure that you require nothing else from Equestria?" Luna asked, but Hiccup held up the book and waved it at the princess with a smile. 

"Don't worry, I think I got more than enough to make some huge changes to Berk," Hiccup said while he and Astrid hopped onto the backs of their dragons, before turning the both of them towards the portal.

"Well, it was certainly nice meeting both of you as well as your dragons. Please come again soon," Rarity said to them, getting a nod from the pair before they both looked to Twilight, who simply waved with a smile on her face. Hiccup and Astrid then nodded to each other before the both of them raced into the portal, which closed shut behind them the moment they vanished from the ponies' reality.

"I'm going to miss the four of them," Fluttershy sadly said, the others agreeing with her as the mane six congregated and began to walk out of the throne room, leaving Celestia and Luna to look at each other with hesitant faces.

"We...did the right thing, didn't we Sister?" Luna asked once the mane six were out of earshot.

"Yes Sister, this is for the best," Celestia comforted her before looking to the portal where the riders had vanished. "As skilled dragon tamers as they are, there are far too many threats in Equestria that could destroy their home and way of life if they managed to find a way to Berk."

"But we've permanently closed off the portal between worlds," Luna reminded her sister, who nodded somberly.

"Yes, but it is for the best. As sad as it is...it will be easier to protect both of our worlds this way. But come Sister, Wijida is defeated and it is the time for celebration. We shall tell Twilight and her friends soon of our choice...when they've had time to relax." Celestia then walked off after Twilight and her friends, leaving Luna alone in the throne room to gaze at where the portal had vanished along with the riders.

'But I do not like it. If the worlds were more open, then perhaps there would be more champions of good to fight against the darkness that constantly bombards our worlds,' Luna thought with small shake of her head before following after her sister, leaving the room empty once more.

\\\\\
========
/////

"Well, that's a full bucket of salmon that you owe me," Hiccup said with a grim smile to Astrid as the pair looked around at the burning buildings, the panicking Vikings, and the other dragons riders that were trying in vain to stop the fires from spreading.

"What are you talking about? I specifically said that the village wouldn't burn to the ground if you were gone for a while. Most of the buildings are still standing," Astrid retaliated, not willing to lose the bet yet. Hiccup opened his mouth to argue, but then the loud bark of a dragon he knew well cut him off, and both riders looked up to see an insectoid-like dragon flying down towards them, with a very relieved and annoyed son of Eret smiling at them.

"Why, by Thor's beard I don't believe it! Both of you are alive," he laughed with relief before glancing back at the burning village. "And you sure picked one heck of a time to come back."

"So, I'm gone for only a few weeks and you manage to burn the whole village to the ground?"

"The buildings are still standing."

"Sorry about not having a proper welcome back ceremony, but we've had a number of rogue dragon attacks as of late and have to spend all of our manpower just to keep the village from burning down," Eret explained before Skullcrusher let out a roar and waddled over to Toothless, bowing to the Alpha before nodding to him. 

"Well, looks like I won't get to take a break after all. Come on Eret, let's put these fires out and then see what we can do about those rogue dragons," Hiccup instructed as Toothless bound forward with Skullcrusher following right behind.

"That reminds me, be best that you avoid your mum for a few days. She's been worried sick about you since you...vanished off to wherever you went," Eret explained as the two flew off, leaving Astrid to watch them go. "Where did the pair of you vanish to anyway?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Stormfly let out a bark and spread her wings to follow after the two, but then Astrid placed a hand on the dragon's head and stopped her takeoff. The Nadder looked up at her rider with confusion in her eyes, but when she looked into Astrid's eyes she saw that her rider was a million miles away.

'So, Wijida's crack at Twilight wasn't just her trying to distract us, that was just one of the many futures that she saw,' Astrid pieced together when she remembered what Twilight said, before Wijida's last words echoed throughout her mind as well. 'So does that mean...that she really saw a terrible future for Berk? For Hiccup?' Her eyes then set like flint as she watched the Chief of Berk help to extinguish the fires, shaking her head before making a decision.

'No, not as long as I'm around. As long as I draw breath, I promise that nothing will happen to Berk or Hiccup. I swear on the hammer of Thor!' she promised to herself before signaling for Stormfly to take to the skies, following after the two dragon riders with her determination restored.

'And I don't care what future she showed me, a Hofferson is afraid of nothing. Not even the future.'

(X)

Each painful breath ushered in a new kind of hell for the pony, because every breath caused her nerves to wail with agony that shook her broken form. Her coat was sticky due to the amount of blood that she had lost from her missing leg, and clung to her despite her having dragged herself out of the pool a while ago. She was beyond dizzy from the lost blood and had only managed to avoid bleeding to death by cutting off circulation to her leg with her mind.

'Which will do me little good if I cannot get out of here,' Wijida chuckled to herself as she tried once again to peer into the future, only to see emptiness. 'So, is this how I die? Face down in my own blood while the ponies celebrate their victory? Heh, that's a boring end to this story.'

Then the pony felt something, something other than pain for the first time in nearly a day. She felt the ground shaking beneath her. With the last of her strength Wijida rolled herself over to where the cause of the shaking came...and her breath left her lungs when she saw what was walking towards her. A tall creature that was almost human was walking towards her, yet where its right arm and leg should have been she could barely sense metal instead of flesh. She tried to look into the creature's face, but all that greeted her was a brown hood that was a part of a shredded brown cloak that only slightly covered its body. The creature came to a stop next to her and knelt down, making a "tsking" sound as it observed her.

"Strange. You were not supposed to die here. You were supposed to win. Triumph. Prevail," the creature spoke quickly and in a soft voice that sounded like it hadn't see much use in millennia. "That was the outcome of this world. But something changed, yet the change was not caused by them. How strange. Peculiar. Infuriating."

"W-wait," Wijida stammered out when the creature stood up, gaining its attention for a moment. "If I am not supposed to die here, then take me with you. This ending...is boring. I want a better ending. An ending that all of the worlds will remember." For a brief moment the creature looked down at her, pondering its options. Then the hood seemed to darken and it lifted its metal leg over her head.

"No. Your story was supposed to end here. And seeing as you offer nothing of interest...end here it shall."

"But what if it didn't end here?" Wijida asked. "What if I lived on...and made another outcome besides this one? Doesn't that thought excite you?" For another moment the creature considered her words as it lowered its leg, then its hood slightly rose as it pointed a metal finger at her and snapped its fingers. Wijida vanished in a flash of darkness, quickly followed by the cloaked being.

"Indeed it does. Excite. Tease. Begin."