I do not own the How to Train Your Dragon franchise. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy Snoggletog everyone!
Two Dragon Trainers and Snoggletog
Sunset Hockerson burst out into the chilly dawn, an excited smile on her pale face. The wind was biting and freezing but the Berk native paid no heed as she ran from her home and through the village. Her furry brown boots sunk slightly into the building snow and more fluffy flakes continued to drift from the grey sky.
It was perfect Snoggletog weather.
The fourteen-year-old redhead finally reached the Haddock household. Panting slightly, the girl pushed open the front door and peered carefully inside the dark home. "Hiccup?" she called softly.
When she didn't get a response, she climbed the stairs and entered Hiccup's bedroom to find the boy still asleep. Smirking slightly she approached the edge of his bed and hollered, "WAKE UP!"
Startled, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III rocked upwards and looked around his room frantically. When he spotted his best friend grinning at him he groaned and collapsed against his pillow. "Couldn't you have found a nicer way to wake me up?" he asked in annoyance.
"Probably. But I thought this was the fun way to do it." Sunset giggled. "Why are you still sleeping?"
"Is it even light out?" Hiccup asked with a yawn. He grabbed his breast-plate helmet from his bedpost and slapped it over his messy auburn hair.
"It's the usual grey morning," Sunset reported. She glanced curiously at the empty stone slab where their Night Fury, Toothless, usually slept. "Where's Toothless?"
Just as the question left her mouth an insistent banging came from the rooftop. Hiccup smiled and gestured above. "There."
The two teens hurried outside and craned their necks up to see Toothless bouncing happily on the roof. "Nice try, but Sunset already beat you to the wake-up call," Hiccup teased.
Toothless snorted and peered down at his friends. Hiccup yawned again and rubbed his eyes. "Why do you two have a habit of waking me up so-?" His prosthetic foot slipped on a patch of ice and Toothless quickly jumped down, preventing the boy from hitting the ground.
"Good catch, Toothless," Sunset praised and helped Hiccup straighten up.
"Still not used to the foot quite yet," Hiccup admitted. Toothless growled hopefully and Hiccup chuckled. "Yeah, we'll go flying."
The Night Fury gurgled happily, giving the teens a good whiff of his morning dragon breath. Sunset wrinkled her nose and waved her hand in the air. "Aw, gross!"
Hiccup laughed and climbed into the saddle. Sunset got on behind him and the two shot into the sky, sailing through the clouds. Toothless nosedived down a steep cliff and pulled up just before he hit the water. Sunset giggled as they glided over the surface. "Awesome!"
"We're not finished yet." Hiccup beamed with anticipation as Toothless flew towards a rock archway. He unbuckled his harness and stood up carefully, Sunset following his actions.
"I hope this trick works," she muttered. "Because that water is freezing and even worse, I'm not the best swimmer."
"It'll work." Hiccup tensed as they reached the archway. "Here we go!"
In unison, Hiccup and Sunset jumped over the arch and landed perfectly on Toothless on the other side. Hiccup slipped his foot into the pedal and whooped happily. "Yeah, alright!"
"And that's how you ride a dragon!" Sunset cheered.
...
Gobber stood in front of the Great Hall, eyeing the decorations as they were hung with a critical glare. "How about here?" a woman called, holding a festive shield up to the wall. The Gronkle she was riding growled in approval.
The blacksmith, however, had a different opinion. "A little more to the right!" he called. "Yes, that's it...a little more...perfect!"
Satisfied, the woman hung the shield just over the door and flew off to get some more decorations. Stoick climbed the stone steps and slapped Gobber's shoulder, looking at the Great Hall with a nod of approval.
"You're all doing a fine job!" Stoick called. He turned around and headed for town square with Gobber walking beside him. The two men glanced around at all the dragons helping the Vikings decorate the village. "Dragons spending the winter holidays with Vikings," Stoick chuckled. "Imagine what our fathers would say."
"They'd probably tell us we've gone mad," Gobber joked.
Stoick laughed and turned to face the crowd that had gathered around the wooden, green-painted tree in the center of the square. "You've all done well in preparing the village for Snoggletog," Stoick boomed. "And I'd never thought I'd see the day where dragons and Vikings would celebrate the winter holidays together, but here we are!"
The crowd cheered happily. A soft dragon moan penetrated the joyful sounds and everyone went silent, listening as the moans grew closer. Stoick furrowed his brow in confusion. "What in Odin's name?"
Everyone looked up at the sky, where dozens of dragons were flying overhead. The dragons of Berk observed their fellow dragon-kind for a moment before their instincts kicked in. Astrid jumped in surprise and concern as Stormfly took to the air, following the flock. "Stormfly, wait!"
Snotlout watched in panic as his Monstrous Nightmare flew off, leaving him dangling from the edge of the roof. "Hookfang, what are you doing?"
Fishlegs glanced frantically at the departing dragons before widening his eyes. "Oh no, Meatlug!" he whispered, racing off to find his dragon and hoping it wasn't too late.
The Vikings started yelling in worry as all their dragons left, joining the flock above. Astrid stared after them and swallowed thickly. "Where's Sunset and Hiccup?"
...
The two teens were heading back to Berk, a storm cloud growing around them. "That was fun." Sunset smiled. "But I can't wait to see how they decorated the village." She squinted through the grey mist and gasped upon seeing dozens of shadowy shapes flying towards them. "Heads up!"
Toothless attempted to dodge the various dragons flying at them from the opposite direction. A Deadly Nadder zoomed by, its wing nicking Hiccup's head and sending his helmet falling towards the water. "Aw, my helmet!" Hiccup cried.
The Night Fury spotted the headgear falling to the sea and dove after it. Sunset grabbed Hiccup's waist as they fell into a steep decline. "It's okay!" Hiccup cried, yanking on the reins. "Toothless, stop!"
Toothless pulled up just above the water, scanning the depths for it. He knew the helmet meant a lot to his owner and wanted to get it for him. Hiccup, however, had other ideas. "We'll get it later," he assured the dragon.
"Right now, I kinda wanna see what's going on," Sunset said, voicing Hiccup's thoughts.
They flew quickly to the village, watching in puzzlement as dragons took off into the air in clusters. Toothless landed near Astrid, who quickly ran up to them. "Guys, what's going on?" Astrid asked frantically.
Hiccup and Sunset dismounted Toothless. Before they could reply Vikings rushed up, bombarding the dragon experts with questions.
"Do you know where they're going?"
"Will they come back?"
"When will they come back?"
"Just hold on," Hiccup called desperately, trying to process the questions fired at him.
Stoick pushed firmly through the crowd and stood next to his son. "Give the kids a chance to speak!" he ordered. When the Vikings fell silent he turned to the duo. "Where are the dragons going?"
Hiccup and Sunset exchanged helpless looks. "We don't know," Sunset admitted.
Everyone mumbled sadly, slowly dispersing. Hiccup watched them go, wishing he had the answers to soothe their worries. Sunset glanced over her shoulder, watching as Stormfly flew back, trying to urge Toothless to go with them. But without Hiccup or Sunset Toothless was downed.
The redhead glanced at her best friend, who was following the other Vikings into the Great Hall. She followed after him and slung a comforting arm over his shoulder. "They'll be back," she said confidently.
Hiccup managed a smile as he collapsed onto a wooden bench. Sunset sunk down beside him. The two watched as the people of Berk gathered around the fire, muttering amongst themselves worriedly. "This will be the worst Snoggletog ever," a Viking moaned sadly.
Stoick stood in the center of the room with a firm expression on his face. "We've celebrated Snoggletog for years without dragons and there's no reason why we can't do so this year!"
The other teens joined Hiccup and Sunset at their table, eyeing Stoick dubiously.
"We may not know where the dragons have gone," Stoick continued. "But we need to have faith that they'll come back."
"That's right!" Gobber agreed.
Sunset stared at his antlers and bell-covered arm in mortification. "Oh, Thor," she moaned, burrowing her face in her hands. Sometimes, she was sure her caretaker tried to embarrass her on purpose.
"Let's all sing some Snoggletog songs!" Gobber cheered.
Not in the festive mood, the seven teens got up and filed out of the Great Hall. They walked through the dark town square, coloured lanterns casting soft glows in the night. "That sucked," Ruffnut muttered, kicking at the snowy ground.
"Tell me about it," Astrid sighed. "I was excited to celebrate the holiday with Stormfly."
Fishlegs whistled softly to himself, unaware that he was doing so. Tuffnut arched an eyebrow. "What's making you so happy? Aren't you worried about Meatlug?"
The husky boy quickly halted his whistling and put on a sad expression. "Oh, yeah. I miss him so much it hurts, and I worry about his safety every second!" He let out a dramatic sob before he changed behaviour once more. "Well, night!" he called and quickly hurried to his house.
The teens shrugged and dismissed his odd behaviour. "Hey, what if we come up with some new holiday traditions to keep our minds off the sadness?" Astrid suggested.
Her friends groaned in response. She shot Hiccup an expectant look and the boy quickly perked up. "I think she has the right idea, guys!"
Tuffnut frowned at him. "Sure, you can say that. Toothless can't go anywhere without you or Sunset."
They all walked off, leaving the two friends to glance at Toothless, who was perched at the edge of a cliff in the distance.
"So..."Sunset said, breaking the silence. She wrapped her arms around herself to ward off the brisk wind. "You got any ideas?"
"A few," Hiccup admitted.
"That's good. 'Cause I had nothing."
...
The snow had piled up by the next morning, allowing the Viking children to build decent-sized snow dragons. Sunset hurried along the pathway and did not notice a smooth patch of ice that was in her way. Her boot struck the ice and she flipped backwards, her metal helmet rapping off the ground. "Ow…ouch…"
"That was one awesome spill!" a voice laughed.
Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Snotlout leaned over her with expressions of amusement. Dazedly, Sunset could only give a nod as her head continued to ring. Snotlout extended a hand and Sunset grabbed, moaning softly with pain as she was hauled to her feet.
"Are you okay?" Ruffnut asked with a giggle.
"Fine. Thank you for taking so much joy out of my pain." Sunset rolled her eyes and quickly regretted it when her head throbbed even more.
"Guys!"
The group of teens turned to see Astrid hurrying over to them with a tray of mugs and an excited smile on her face. "I came up with a new holiday tradition-Yaknog!"
"Do you smell that?" Tuffnut wrinkled his nose. "Ruffnut, gross, take a bath!"
"Not in this weather," Ruffnut snorted.
"It's good!" Astrid insisted.
Tuffnut glanced at the contents of one of the mugs and gagged. "Yeah, if I drink that I'm gonna yak the nog right back up."
Astrid scowled. "Then would you like a punch to the face instead?" ahe asked threateningly.
Sunset stared at the frothing, foul-smelling beverage. "It looks…interesting."
"Try some!" Astrid thrust the tray in front of Sunset, an expectant look on her face.
"Oh…uh…sure."
"I'll try some too," Snotlout declared. "It looks delicious."
Pleased, Astrid smiled smugly at the twins as Sunset and Snotlout took a mug. They each took a big gulp-and instantly regretted it.
Don't spit it out, don't spit it out! Sunset chanted in her mind, using all of her control to swallow the disgusting liquid. "It's very strong," she rasped, shoving her mug back onto the tray.
Snotlout shivered with disgust. "Yeah, the taste of yak is very noticeable."
"Oh, nice! What's this?"
Astrid grinned happily when Fishlegs raced up, eyeing the tray hopefully. "It's my new holiday creation, Yaknog! Have some!"
Fishlegs was about to reach for a mug when he noticed Sunset and Snotlout shaking their heads frantically behind Astrid's back. Fishlegs quickly backed away, knowing that if Snotlout was telling him not to take it, then it must be really bad. "Oh, uh…I better not, actually. I'm trying to…cut back…on delicious food."
Astrid gave a shrug. "Fine. I bet Hiccup will just love this stuff."
"I'll come with you," Sunset said, falling into step beside Astrid. "I'm heading there anyway."
The two females went to Gobber's forge. "Hey, Hiccup!" Sunset called. "You here?"
"Yeah, I'm coming!" Hiccup called back, stepping into view with a pair of clamps in his hands. "Hey, girls."
"I have a holiday treat for you," Astrid sang, setting a mug down on the worktable.
"Thanks, Astrid." Hiccup smiled.
"Is this your idea?" Sunset asked, staring at the new tailfin that was carefully laid out on the tabletop.
"It is. It's just not fair that Toothless can't fly on his own like the other dragons can. It was a long night but I think I finally found the perfect solution."
Sunset played with the golden gear, watching as the tailfin changed position with every swipe she made. "Wow. I feel useless."
"Stop that," Hiccup chided. "The idea hit me late last night and I didn't want to bother you."
"That's awesome!" Astrid exclaimed, admiring the tailfin as Hiccup took a drink of her Yaknog. His eyes widened with disgust and he hastily put the mug back on the table. "You're going to give Toothless the gift of flight!"
Hiccup could only make a sound of agreement, trying in vain to swallow the beverage that tasted like sweat and rotten fish. Sunset turned her head away as the giggles became too much to contain.
"Aren't you worried he won't come back, though?" Astrid asked. Her words quickly put an end to Sunset's mirth and Hiccup slumped slightly. Realizing that she had once again spoken with her foot in her mouth Astrid backtracked. "That's a ridiculous question, of course Toothless will come back. He loves you guys. Well, I'm off to spread the joy of Yaknog!"
Hiccup and Sunset waved as Astrid jogged away. The second she was out of sight Hiccup leaned over and spit the liquid to the ground, gagging slightly. Sunset burst into laughter once more and Hiccup glared at her. "Thank you, for the warning."
Sunset grinned. "If I had to drink that stuff then so did you."
"You're rather vindictive for someone who doesn't believe in violence," Hiccup remarked, snagging the newly made tailfin. "Come on, we better get this to Toothless."
"We have nothing to worry about." Sunset placed a hand on his shoulder as they walked towards the Haddock household. "Even if Toothless does leave, he'll come back."
The two teens arrived at Hiccup's house, where they found Toothless jumping on the roof. "Down here!" Sunset called.
Perking up, Toothless jumped happily to the ground and waddled over to his friends. Hiccup held out the new tailfin. "This is for you, bud. You like it?"
Toothless sniffed it curiously. Hiccup moved to try and fasten the tail onto Toothless but the Night Fury followed after him so that they were turning in circles. "Stand still, Toothless!" Hiccup chided. "I have to put this on."
Sunset bent down and caught Toothless' tail, causing the dragon to stop and look at her curiously. Hiccup moved beside her and fastened the new tailfin to Toothless' tail. "There! Perfect."
Startled, Toothless started jumping about, waving his tail madly in the air. "Toothless! Toothless, it's okay!" Sunset cried.
Toothless was about to snap at the foreign item with the tailfin suddenly flared out. Surprised, Toothless watched as the new tailfin followed his movements, as if it were real. Hiccup let out a sigh of relief. "See? Nothing to be afraid of."
Toothless stared at Hiccup and Sunset for a moment. Hopeful, Sunset reached out to touch Toothless' muzzle but the Night Fury backed away and took off into the air. Hiccup and Sunset watched in dismay as their dragon flew high into the sky and far from them.
"We have nothing to worry about," Sunset said again, only this time it was to convince herself more than it was to convince Hiccup.
…
For the next few days the two teens lounged in Hiccup's bedroom. The boy lay flat in his bed, staring at the ceiling while Sunset was sprawled on the floor.
"It probably isn't helping that we're sitting in the dark," Sunset commented.
"It suits my mood," Hiccup muttered.
A sullen silence followed for a moment until it was disrupted by a rhythmic banging on the roof. Brightening, Hiccup bolted upwards. "It's Toothless!"
Grabbing Sunset by the arm he sprinted outside. "I knew he would come-!"
His prosthetic foot slipped on a patch of ice, bringing Hiccup and Sunset down to the cold dirt. Sunset rubbed her head and groaned. "I don't know how many more of these bumps I can take."
Hiccup stared up at his father, who nailing more decorations to the roof. "Hey, kids!" Stoick greeted.
"Oh, hi, Dad," Hiccup returned.
"Hello, sir," Sunset said as she stood up. She helped Hiccup stand and the two glanced up at the village chief.
"Hiccup, I'm glad you're here. I couldn't find your helmet."
"Right, my helmet," Hiccup repeated.
"Well, we're going to need a place to put you're goodies, aren't we?" Stoick asked, descending the ladder.
"Of course we are," Hiccup said flatly. "I'll be sure to get on that. Come on, Sun."
His solemn attitude did not go unnoticed. "Wait a minute," Stoick called sharply, causing the two teens to stop in their tracks and turn back around. "I want to know what's bothering you two. You've been sitting inside for the past few days, moping. What's troubling you?"
Hiccup sighed heavily. "Dad, it's been three days since we last saw Toothless."
"We're worried," Sunset added.
"He's probably with the other dragons, wherever they are."
"I wish we were that confident," Hiccup muttered, eyeing his father uncertainly.
Stoick shook his head. "I understand how hard it is to miss someone you love, especially at Snoggletog. But when they're not here, all we can do is celebrate them." Stoick clapped Hiccup on the shoulder. "Yeah?"
"Yeah," Hiccup agreed softly.
"Good man!" Stoick beamed and ruffled Hiccup's hair. "Now go and get that helmet of yours. We don't need any more disappointments. Oh! And can you bring two wooden oars to one of the boats on the docks? Some dunderhead knocked the last pair into the water."
"Sure," Hiccup agreed. He watched as his father left before glancing at Sunset. "I guess my dad's right. Let's go get those oars."
The two teens went into the village and retrieved two wooden oars from the storage shed. They walked down the wooden pathways that twined between the huts and came upon Fishlegs, who held a large bucket of fish in his hands. Hiccup arched an eyebrow suspiciously. "You must be really hungry, Fishlegs."
"Starved," Fishlegs squeaked, obviously startled to see them. He slowly backed away and hurried off.
"I have a feeling not all the dragons have left Berk," Sunset remarked.
"Come on," Hiccup whispered. The two set the oars down and snuck after Fishlegs, creeping along the snowy docks. They hid behind a pole and watched as Fishlegs opened the doors to a shed and went inside, coming out only seconds later with a pleased smile.
The two friends watched as the husky boy walked away from the storage shed, whistling happily. Hiccup and Sunset waited until he was out of sight before hurrying over to the wooden doors. Hiccup grabbed the handle and yanked them open with Sunset peering over his shoulder.
Meatlug wasted no time.
She let out a growl of excitement and shot forwards, snapping the chain that had been restraining her in the process. She rammed straight into Hiccup, hosting him up on her muzzle. Sunset clung to his waist for dear life. "This was a bad idea!" she wailed.
Meatlug flew over the village, nearly whacking into Astrid in the process. "Where are you guys going?" Astrid screamed, watching in disbelief as her friends flew farther away.
"I wish I knew!" Hiccup called back.
Astrid could do no more than stare. Fishlegs, having heard the commotion, raced back into view and gaped. "Meatlug, come back!" he cried desperately.
"What's going on?" Snotlout asked as he and the twins came up to Astrid. The group looked up to where Fishlegs was staring sadly after his dragon.
"We're going to find out," Astrid said firmly.
The teens hurried up to the shed where Meatlug had been chained up. Fishlegs kicked at the chain. "I can't believe he did that."
"You can't believe he did that?" Astrid asked indigently, slapping him in the shoulder. "I can't believe you chained up your dragon!"
"Hey, I'm pretty sure he wanted to stay," Fishlegs defended. "Almost pretty sure."
"Guys, look at this!"
Distracted from their bickering, Astrid and Fishlegs turned to the twins, who were crouched over a pile of hay. "Gee, Meatlug must have been feeling sick. He barfed up all these rocks."
Ruffnut rolled her eyes. "And you people say I'm dumb. They're dragon eggs, genius."
"That's why all the dragons left Berk!" Astrid exclaimed, admiring the eggs. "They needed to go someplace to lay their eggs."
Fishlegs was baffled. "So…does that mean boy Gronkles lay eggs?"
"Um…I'm not a dragon expert, but I'm gonna say no," Ruffnut drawled. "Meatlug is a girl."
"Oooooh," Fishlegs said in understanding. "You know what? That explains a lot."
Astrid glanced at the dragon eggs thoughtfully before her face brightened. "I've got it!"
"Ugh, I hate it when she says that," Snotlout muttered under his breath.
"Since everyone is missing their dragons we can give out these dragon eggs as a new Snoggletog tradition!" Astrid exclaimed.
"Sure, why not?" Ruffnut and Tuffnut shrugged.
"It's a great idea!" Fishlegs agreed excitedly.
"Fine, let's get this over with," Snotlout sighed.
The teens gathered up the eggs, tied them up with ribbons found in the storage shed and began making their rounds. They stuck the eggs into the Viking helmets that were laid out and moved quickly as to not to get caught.
"Gee, I wonder if Hiccup and Sunset are having as much fun as us," Fishlegs wondered aloud.
…
"Hiccup! I'm not having fun!"
Hiccup could only grunt in response. They were flying high through the grey skies, the water swirling below them. He heaved himself higher onto Meatlug's face, a task that was not at all easy when your best friend was hanging onto your waist.
"Grab onto Meatlug's muzzle!" Hiccup ordered.
Sunset obeyed. Hiccup swung himself onto Meatlug's back and helped Sunset move behind him. "There. That's much better."
"I suppose," Sunset said doubtfully. "We still don't know where we're going."
"Good point. I guess we're just going to have to wait and see."
After a while of flying through the sky they soon broke through the cloud cover and came upon a beautiful sight.
A sandy island rested in the middle of the water, high cliffs stretching around the outer edge. "Whoa," Sunset breathed.
Meatlug landed and the two teens climbed off. Meatlug gave a soft grunt before she waddled off. Sunset and Hiccup stared around in awe.
Hundreds of dragons lounged about, nursing their newly born babies. Sunset clasped her hands to her cheeks. "They are sooooooooo cute! I wanna scoop all the itty bitty babies up and hug them!"
"You frighten me when you do that girlie squeal thing," Hiccup voiced. He noticed a Gronkle rolling her eggs towards a small pool of water. Curious, he ventured over to see what would happen.
The eggs burst open in the watery depths. The baby Gronkles kicked their little feet and popped up to the surface, cooing happily. "Awesome," Hiccup whispered.
"You missed one over here," Sunset observed. She walked over to the lone egg and bent down to pick it up.
Bam!
The egg exploded, sending Sunset flying back and slamming against the rocks. The newly hatched baby Gronkle shook itself off before waddling over to the dazed Sunset and crawling into her lap. "Hiccup, I can't take their cuteness," Sunset said as she cuddled the baby close to her.
Hiccup shook his head. "Man, if these things hatched on Berk, it would not end well."
…
"Well, that's every house and every egg," Fishlegs declared, joining his friends in the middle of the plaza. "I can't wait to see everyone's faces! They're gonna be so surprised!"
Bam!
An explosion rocked one of the houses near them, sending debris flying. Something sailed through the air and slammed into Fishlegs' stomach, knocking him to the ground. Tuffnut, Ruffnut and Snotlout admired Meatlug's baby. "Aw, how cute.
Astrid could only gape. "Hold on, hold on! The eggs hatch by exploding?"
She was immediately answered by a series of fiery explosions that tore through the roofs of the houses. Baby dragons landed harmlessly on the ground as the Vikings ran around, shouting in terror.
"The eggs hatch by exploding!" Astrid screamed in horror, dragging her hands down the side of her face.
Some of the fiery eggshell pieces slammed into the Snoggletog tree, sending it ablaze. "This is the best Snoggletog ever!" the twins cheered.
Stoick stormed onto the scene, making a beeline for the group of teens. He glowered down at them. "And just what is going on around here?" he boomed.
Astrid shrunk back. "The dragon eggs explode," she repeated just as the final egg blew up, sending the house behind her up in a fiery blaze. "Uh…sorry."
…
"I don't think Toothless is here, Hiccup."
After an hour of searching there was still no sign of Toothless. Sunset glanced around at the other dragons and sighed. "And it makes sense. It's not like Toothless can lay eggs."
"I know," Hiccup muttered. "I guess it was silly to hope he would be here."
The two teens climbed up some rocks and peered over the edge. There was Hookfang, snuggled comfortably with his babies (his mate nowhere to be seen) with Stormfly and her own children right beside him. "Hey, buddy!" Hiccup exclaimed. He ran towards the Monstrous Nightmare and embraced him. Hookfang snorted softly in fond greeting.
"Hey, Stormfly. Are we ever glad to see you guys," Sunset said feelingly. She rubbed Stormfly's muzzle and bent down to pet her babies. "And you guys are just plain adorable."
"I guess all these dragons came here to celebrate their own kind of holiday," Hiccup mused. "Maybe Toothless went to a special place for Night Furies. He can't be the only one in existence."
"Exactly," Sunset agreed. "He's probably chumming it up with other Night Furies. I hope I get to see his babies!"
Hiccup laughed. "One thing at a time. We better head back so we can celebrate our own holiday."
"What do you say Hookfang?" Sunset asked.
Hookfang purred in agreement and bent his neck down. Hiccup and Sunset climbed on and Hookfang took off into the air. "We'll see you guys back on Berk! Take your time!" Hiccup called down.
The dragons had a different idea.
The adults followed Hookfang's lead and flew into the air. The babies squealed and flapped their tiny wings, signalling that they were ready to go.
"We may have just started the return migration," Sunset muttered.
"Well…uh, okay," Hiccup relented. "I guess if you want to."
The baby dragons hurried for the cliff and jumped off. Sunset clapped her hands over her eyes. "I can't look!"
Try as they might the baby dragons were no match for the wind. They were carried back and deposited safely on the lip of the cliff. Hiccup frowned. "This isn't going to work."
Sunset removed her hands from her eyes. "Hmm…oh! What if we use that old ship that we passed?"
Hiccup snapped his fingers. "That's a great idea! Hang in there guys! We'll be right back!"
The rest of the adults landed back on the island while Hookfang flew Hiccup and Sunset over to the stranded ship. Sunset dismounted and carefully walked along the deck, mindful of the fact that the ship was hoisted above the water by two sea stacks. "I found some rope!" she called, finding the coils hanging on the side of the ship by a nail.
"How much?"
"Uh…seven coils."
"That should do it."
Sunset took the ropes and slung them over her shoulder. She went around and tied one end of the ropes to one side of the ship and then tied the other ends of some other ropes to the other side of the ship. "I'm good!" she informed Hiccup. "Bring the other dragons over here!"
After a moment Hiccup returned with a group of adult dragons. After making sure the ropes were clutched securely in their claws, Sunset waved her hand in the air. "Hoist me up!"
Hiccup gave the order and the dragons took flight. Sunset pumped her fist in victory when the ship was successfully lifted into the air. "Yes!"
They collected the baby dragons and flew back to Berk. Sunset peered over the edge of the ship and squinted down at Berk. "It looks like a dragon went rampaging," she observed upon spotting the destroyed houses.
Realization hit Hiccup. "Or it could have been the dragon eggs that Meatlug left behind."
"Oh. Yeah."
"Hey, it's Hiccup and Sunset!"
"And they've brought our dragons back!"
Joyful cheers followed the exclamation. Hiccup guided the dragons to set the ship carefully on the ground. The dragons let go of the ropes and the baby dragons climbed out of the ship, sniffing curiously. The Vikings gasped in amazement and swarmed forwards to welcome their dragons and the new additions.
Hiccup smiled softly at the happy reunion and slung an arm around Sunset. "I think we just gave Berk the greatest Snoggletog gift ever."
"That you did!"
Stoick wrapped his son into a tight hug. Sunset quickly stepped away to avoid having her ribs crushed but was caught up in the arms of Gobber. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" Gobber asked, squeezing his redheaded charge fondly.
"Apparently," Sunset rasped.
Stoick set his son back on the ground and Hiccup rubbed his ribs. "To the Great Hall, everyone!" Stoick boomed. "We've got something to celebrate!"
The Great Hall was lit up with lanterns and strings of light. A fire blazed in the pit and there was a magnificent spread of food on the tables. Children ran around, squealing and playing with the baby dragons.
Hiccup and Sunset walked around, arm in arm, with soft, sad smiles on their faces.
"Hey guys."
Astrid approached them with a sympathetic smile. "I know you're missing Toothless, but I just wanted to say that what you did was amazing."
Sunset glanced between her two friends and noticed that they were making goo-goo eyes at each other. Shaking her head Sunset removed her arm from Hiccup's and pushed him subtly towards Astrid just as the blonde leaned forwards for a kiss.
"Thanks, Astrid," Hiccup said softly when they pulled apart. "But just where did Toothless go?"
"And why did he go?" Sunset added.
Astrid was about to offer a comforting remark when she noticed a large, familiar black beast framed in the doorway of the Great Hall. Trying to contain her smile, Astrid coughed. "Yeah, it must really suck being you right now. You got to bring everyone else their dragon back but you couldn't get your own."
"Thank you. I'm feeling so much better," Sunset said flatly.
"That didn't help. At all," Hiccup deadpanned.
The wide smile broke through and Astrid shoved her friends forward, causing them to turn around and see Toothless waddling happily towards them.
"Toothless!" Hiccup and Sunset shouted. They hurried towards their Night Fury and embraced him. Toothless cooed lovingly and nudged their heads.
"You scared us," Sunset mumbled, pulling away and giving Toothless a half-hearted pout.
"Never do that again," Hiccup scolded. "We were worried sick! Do you know-uh, what's in your mouth?"
Toothless perked up and moved his mouth over Hiccup. He gagged slightly and Hiccup's helmet fell onto the boy's head-along with a drenching amount of dragon saliva.
"Okay, yeah, you found helmet-hey! You got my helmet!" Hiccup exclaimed. "Bud, I love you." He gave Toothless another hug and the Night Fury purred happily.
"Aw, Toothless gave you a gift," Astrid cooed.
Sunset grinned. "Yeah, he wears dragon saliva well."
The words barely left her mouth when Toothless gave Sunset a sloppy kiss, his tongue knocking her helmet right off her head. Sunset gingerly wiped the spit off of her face. "Thank you, Toothless. I love you too."
Hiccup smirked. "I think you deserve recognition for wearing dragon saliva the best."
"Shut up," Sunset grumbled.
The two teens took a seat on a bench and Toothless sprawled at their feet. "Well, it's kind of soggy now. But Happy Snoggletog," Hiccup said, removing a small wrapped gift from his vest pocket.
Sunset grinned. "Lucky for you your gift is dry. Happy Snoggletog, Hiccup."
The two exchanged gifts and Sunset curiously tore off the paper. She opened the lid of a tiny wooden box and she gasped. "Hiccup, it's beautiful!"
Inside the box was a silver ring that had been polished until it gleamed. Engraved on the band were the words; By your side, forever and for always, Hiccup.
"It took a while to get the shape just right," Hiccup remarked as he unwrapped his gift.
"It's perfect. I love it." Sunset beamed and slipped the ring on her finger.
Hiccup held out a wool scarf. "Sunset, did you make this?" he asked in awe, staring at the intricate designs on the coloured material.
"Yeah." Sunset smiled sheepishly. "I know I don't normally make stuff out of sheep's wool but since I'm the one who lost your last scarf I thought it was only fair that I make you a new one."
"It's amazing. Thanks, Sun." Hiccup embraced Sunset tightly. "You're the best."
"Happy Snoggletog, everyone!" Astrid cheered and everyone echoed her sentiment.
It was certainly the best Snoggletog Berk ever had.
…
The celebration lasted almost all night. Even though they were exhausted Sunset and Hiccup still got up early to go flying with Toothless. Hiccup slapped his helmet on his head and wrapped his new scarf around his neck.
"We're coming, Toothless!" Hiccup called and the pounding on the roof stopped.
"How come every time I sleep over I have to sleep on the floor?" Sunset complained, following Hiccup outside.
"It's my house," Hiccup said with a smirk.
"Such a gentleman."
The two teens stepped outside and walked around the side of the Haddock household, where Toothless was waiting for them. Hiccup frowned at the old tailfin lying in the snow in front of Toothless. "We don't need that anymore, bud."
He kicked the saddle aside and went to climb on. Toothless stepped aside and glanced at his humans expectantly.
"Come on Toothless. You have your new tailfin now," Sunset explained. "We don't need this anymore."
Understanding came over Toothless and he stared at his new tailfin with a slight frown. He started smashing it against the ground, kicking up clouds of snow.
"Toothless, stop!" Hiccup cried.
The new tailfin flew off of Toothless' tail. Baffled, Hiccup and Sunset stared at him. The Night Fury nudged the old prosthetic towards his humans and pawed the ground, cooing hopefully.
Sunset and Hiccup exchanged glances before grinning widely.
It was not long before they were in the air, Hiccup's foot wedged in the pedal. Sunset smiled at the sensation of wind against her face. "You guys ready?" she asked.
"You know it," Hiccup replied. He removed his foot and kicked the pedal into a position. The two teens jumped off of their dragon and fell through the air, Toothless spiraling beside them. He smiled crookedly at them and the teens grinned back.
That Snoggletog, they had given Toothless the greatest gift anyone could get-the gift of freedom.
But he had given them something even better than that.
It was the gift of the Night Fury.