We all know who Astrid Hofferson was before things changed on Berk. She was the most dedicated trainee in the Dragon Killing Program and stopped at nothing to protect the village from the dragons that had once been her enemy. Ever wondered why she was so dedicated?
Well, it all started ten years ago…
Aurvandil's Fire was a special kind of aurora that happened every ten years. It was a dazzling display of wonderful colors sure to take your breath away. But what was supposed to be a beautiful sight became a dreaded event for a fierce dragon, known as the Flightmare, would come to Berk along with the spectacular light show. It was said that the dragon's body glowed as brightly as Aurvandil's Fire itself and it was known to 'freeze' its victims right in their tracks before moving in for the kill…
"Aurvandil's Fire! All Berkians to the safety of your homes!" one Viking cried out before the banshee-like scream of the Flightmare reached everyone's ears. "It's too late! The Flightmare is here! The Flightmare is here!" another warrior yelled as the Berkians scrambled to get back to their houses before the dragon attacked. "Oh, don't look at it!" one man warned the people. "Save yourselves! The Flightmare is upon us!" a Viking shouted as the terrifying beast arrived, its body glowing brightly.
Astrid was only five at the time and she was already eager to prove herself as a shield maiden. With her battle axe in her hands and a helmet on her head, she set out to kill the Flightmare when, suddenly, a young Viking warrior with blond hair and an equally blond beard stopped her. That Viking warrior was Astrid's Uncle, the most fearless of all the Hoffersons.
Fearless Finn Hofferson.
"Oh no you don't, Astrid. This is not a battle for you," Fearless Finn told his young niece. Astrid looked up at her Uncle Finn, disappointed. She wanted to go kill the Flightmare and protect the village and become a shield maiden! Surely her Uncle would allow her to fight just this once. But Fearless Finn knew that the battlefield was still a dangerous place for Astrid. But he also knew that his niece had the Hofferson courage and reassured her that she can fight another day by saying, "Not yet anyway."
Then the Flightmare uttered another loud shriek, directing Finn's attention to it. "You wait here. Your Uncle Finn is just going to make sure this nasty dragon doesn't destroy Berk again," he told Astrid before rushing off to where the Flightmare was. Vikings were screaming in terror and running away but Fearless Finn ran towards the danger that was the dreadful Flightmare. With his axe held up high, Fearless Finn yelled to the Flightmare, "Here I am, ungodly beast! Fearless Finn Hofferson! I've been waiting ten years for this moment. Come and get me, if you dare!"
What happened next would live on in infamy for the Hofferson family…
Astrid had managed to take cover when the Flightmare attacked. She was worried and scared. Where was her Uncle Finn?
It was only after the Flightmare had left did she know what had become of her brave Uncle Finn. "It's Fearless Finn! He just…froze!" one Viking who had witnessed Fearless Finn's demise reported to the people of Berk. And that was when the Hofferson name was shamed. No longer were they considered fearless…and all because Fearless Finn Hofferson froze in fear. "Don't say anything. The little one will hear," one Viking told him, referring to Astrid.
But the little Hofferson girl had already heard everything.
Astrid was horrified at what had happened to her Uncle. Uncle Finn was her idol and mentor. He couldn't have just frozen in his tracks when he faced the Flightmare! He couldn't have! Angry, Astrid proceeded to hunt down the Flightmare with nothing but her wits and an axe with her. Good thing Gobber stopped her before she did something risky. "It's gonna take a lot more than that wee axe, Astrid," the blacksmith told her.
As she looked at the destruction the Flightmare had wrought, Astrid could feel her anger boiling to the edge. Letting out a fierce battle cry, Astrid Hofferson vowed that night that she would hunt down the Flightmare, kill it…and restore her family's honor…
Ten years later…
Zenna Fiersome ducked as Astrid's axe embedded itself in the wall right behind her. Astrid was now in a destructive mood, thrusting her axe into objects left and right all around the Berk Dragon Training Academy. Tonight was the night Aurvandil's Fire would happen…and that meant the Flightmare was coming back. For ten years, Astrid had trained for this day. And, now, she was finally gonna have her chance to restore her family's honor. Stryka warbled and nudged her Rider as they both watched the Hofferson girl destroy everything in sight.
"You want some of this?! That's right! Who's next?!" Astrid snarled, flinging her axe again. "Yeesh…what's gotten into Astrid this time…?" Zenna mumbled worriedly as she and Stryka ducked again.
Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Astrid's boyfriend, was also worried. "I-I'm pretty sure that…yeah, I-I think you got them. All of them…" he stuttered as he was interrupted every now and then by Astrid flinging her axe around. "Astrid's been killing inanimate objects all day," Fishlegs Ingerman remarked. "She's really wound up about the Flightmare," Hiccup nodded in agreement.
Snotlout Jorgenson then stepped up. "Too bad she's wasting her time. When the Flightmare comes, the Hoffersons freeze. Right, Astrid? I mean, you are a…" he arrogantly said before Astrid's axe flies straight into the wall of the Academy just inches away from his face! "Hofferson," Snotlout finished his sentence nervously.
"You're just making things worse, you pigheaded numbskull…" Zenna sighed, shaking her head. Hiccup then chose this opportunity to calm his Milady down.
"Okay, okay, let's take a deep breath. Just because Aurvandil's Fire is coming, doesn't mean the Flightmare is, too," he said calmly. Fishlegs then chose that time to spout out his dragon facts.
"Sure, it does. Every ten years the sky lights up with Aurvandil's Fire, and when it does the Flightmare appears. Its spectral glow and banshee-like scream are unmistakable," he informed Hiccup.
"You were saying?" Astrid asked sarcastically, referring to Hiccup's previous claim as Aurora came flying in with Midnight and Snow... along with their six hatchlings.
After about a month, the three Night Fury and Light Fury hatchlings were entering their Short Wing stage. They were a bit smaller than Pouncer, Dart and Ruffrunner. "Awww...!" Fishlegs gushed at the sight of the babies.
"They are so.. cute..." Zenna added.
The three Night Fury hatchlings cooed at her in happiness while the Light Fury hatchlings chirped happily.
"So.. what did you name them?" Hiccup asked.
"For the male Night Fury - Midnight. And for the girls, Eclipse and Luna. For the Light Fury females - Winter, Snowheart and Crystal.." Aurora said and the babies chriped happily at their new names.
"They're perfect.." Zenna happily cooed. Toothless and Stryka warbled and nudged the tiny babies happily. The babies chirped and pawed at Toothless and Stryka.
"So what's this about the Flightmare?" Aurora questioned everyone.
"Here's a few more fun facts: Legend has it that the Flightmare is so terrifying, it actually freezes its prey in their tracks," he continued before Snotlout interrupted. "Just ask Frozen Finn Hofferson. Right, Astrid?" he asked jokingly.
That was the last straw for Astrid.
Enraged, she grabbed Snotlout and threw him to the ground! Planting her boot on Snotlout's face and pointing her axe at him, Astrid lost her temper and yelled at him,
"You think it's funny, Snotlout?! You think it's a joke that my family name was ruined by that dragon?!" making Snotlout cut it out. "Well, I used to, just a couple of minutes ago. But, now I can see how it might be upsetting you," he whimpered nervously.
"Might be? It is upsetting her, Snotlout!" Zenna told him off, looking annoyed.
That's when the Thorston Twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, went by the Academy, the two of them pushing a cart filled with supplies.
"Have you guys heard? The Flightmare is coming," Tuffnut announced. "Guys, we're really trying not to talk about that," Hiccup said quietly, hoping the Twins would get the hint. Unfortunately they didn't. "Hate to break it to you, but that's the only thing anyone's talking about," Ruffnut told him.
"Well, that and Astrid's uncle," Tuffnut added.
"Hey, a little sensitivity here. Can I get up now?" Snotlout mumbled, looking up at Astrid hopefully. "Ugh, whatever," Astrid grumbled, letting Snotlout go and left on her Deadly Nadder, Stormfly.
Hiccup turned to the Twins, annoyed. "So, thanks a lot, guys," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Tuffnut and his sister failed to hear the emerald-eyed boy's sarcasm. "No problem. If you don't need us anymore, we gotta go get ready for the end of the world. See ya!" Tuffnut said cheerfully.
"I don't get you guys. So what if Astrid's uncle 'froze' in battle with the Flightmare? Just because one family member makes a mistake, it doesn't mean the family name has to be tarnished. And, seriously, why is everyone treating the arrival of the Flightmare like Ragnarok? It makes no freaking sense to me!" Zenna suddenly said, surprising everyone.
"I agree with her." Aurora added.
"Zen, Aurora, family reputations are pretty important here in Berk. What happened ten years ago really affected Astrid. Her uncle Finn was her idol and to have him die while shaming the Hofferson name, well, it really had a negative effect on her," Hiccup explained to his one-eyed surrogate sister.
"If something similar happened to your family, Zen and Aurora wouldn't you want to restore their honor?" Snotlout asked the young Fiersome girl. Zenna thought about it for a few seconds. "I guess I would…" she shrugged.
"Honestly, I do not really care.." Aurora deadpanned, earning a deadpan look from everyone.
Hiccup smiled and took her hand in his.
"Come on. Let's go find Astrid," he said softly.
"Midnight, Snow, take the little ones to the stable, okay..?" Aurora said. The two parents nodded and took their tiny babies to the stable while Aurora, Zenna, Hiccup, Stryka and Toothless flying out of the Academy.
Astrid had just packed her bag and attached it to Stormfly's saddle when the two Night Furies showed up. As she heard Hiccup and Zenna's footsteps, Astrid sighed. "I don't want to hear it, Hiccup. I've waited my entire life for a chance to clear my family's name, and you, Aurora and Zenna are not going to stop me," she told her boyfriend, not bothering to turn and face him.
"Who said anything about stopping you?" Hiccup asked, making Astrid face him with a look that clearly said, 'I know you're planning on stopping me.' On her face.
"And she's onto you…" Zenna deadpanned while Hiccup decided to fess up.
"Okay, Astrid, I have to stop you. Look, nobody loves a new and terrifying dragon more than Zenna and I do, but we need you guys here to protect Berk. If that thing does show up, it's going to take all of us to fight it off," Hiccup told his Milady seriously.
"Not if it never gets here. Come on, Hiccup. Don't tell me you and Zenna haven't been dreaming about the Flightmare, going after it, learning about it, training it?" Astrid implored, hoping the last part of her question would entice her boyfriend into conceding.
"Astrid, I've never even heard about the Flightmare until today," Zenna pointed out while Hiccup said, "Well, you know, Astrid, training dragons isn't the only thing I think about," without the slightest waver in his voice. Astrid looked at him dubiously.
"Are you actually saying that to me with a straight face?" she questioned him, looking at Zenna for answers.
"Oh trust me, Astrid, dragon's aren't the only thing he thinks and cares about," the one-eyed Fiersome girl said with a sly smile, patting Hiccup's shoulder. Hiccup quickly shrugged Zenna off and tried to explain when Fishlegs came over to them at the wrong time, "There you are, Hiccup and Zenna. I did the research you two asked for,"
"Of all the times he chooses to appear, it had to be now…" Zenna sighed, face palming herself.
"Not now, Fishlegs," Hiccup said quietly. But the Ingerman boy couldn't hear him and read from his notes and map.
"But I have the path of the Flightmare right on this map. For generations, it's gone through the Northern Swamp on the way to the village," Fishlegs informed the trio, showing them the map.
"It always goes that way?" Zenna asked, confused, tracing the path on the map with her fingers. Fishlegs nodded. "Same route every time. If I could figure out why, we might be able to stop it," he said.
"Fishlegs, Astrid doesn't want to talk about the Flightmare," Hiccup said, a bit worried. "Of course she does," Fishlegs told him with Astrid saying, "Sure, I do." In agreement. "See?" Fishlegs asked Hiccup who just sighed. Zenna sympathetically patted him on the back.
Fishlegs continued speaking. "So, as I was saying, if you want to get close to it, you're going to have to be stealthy, virtually in the dark," he informed Hiccup, Zenna and Astrid, the former of the trio getting an idea.
"Kind of like a Night Fury?" Astrid asked.
"Exactly like a Night Fury," Fishlegs nodded. Astrid, getting excited at the prospect of hunting down the Flightmare, got on Toothless. The male Night Fury warbled, a bit worried.
"So, when do we leave?" Astrid asked the others. "There is no stopping her, Hicc…" Zenna sighed, looking at Hiccup. The one-legged boy looked at Astrid and sighed in defeat.
Looks like they were going after the Flightmare…
Night soon came to Berk and Aurvandil's Fire lit up the sky with its dazzling display of colors. Vikings were all running for the safety of their homes, not minding the beautiful aurora dancing across the sky.
"Aurvandil's Fire is here! Get to your homes and stay inside!" Gobber shouted to the villagers. Henna and Edgar, along with their Hideous Zippleback, Serpent and Serpentine and the Night Lights hatchlings were all watching Aurvandil's Fire in awe. "Such a beautiful sight…" Edgar murmured. "But shouldn't we be heading inside, dear? And where are Zenna and Stryka?" Henna reminded her husband.
That got Edgar's attention and he turned to Gobber. "Gobber, have you seen Zenna or Stryka?" he asked the blacksmith. "Sorry, Edgar. Haven't seen them all day," Gobber told him. Worried, Henna and Edgar decided to go search for the girls with Serpent and Serpentine. Pouncer, Dart and Ruffrunner were about to join but...
"Ah, ah, ah, you three stay with your parents." Edgar said to them.
"It's too dangerous for you young dragons, now go on.." Henna added. The hatchlings cooed sadly and watched as the four of them flew off... only to secretly follow them from behind, cloaking themselves in their plasma blasts.
"If you see the Flightmare, hide!" Gobber warned them as the Hideous Zippleback took to the skies.
Then Snotlout and Hookfang walked by, directing Gobber's attention to them.
"Snotlout, did you not hear what I just said? Get that dragon into its cage and you into yours!" the blacksmith said sternly.
"No way. If the Flightmare obliterates us all, then the last face I want to see, besides my own of course, is this one," Snotlout said proudly, patting Hookfang's face with his hands. Hookfang merely snorted.
Then a couple of Vikings passed by and Snotlout managed to hear what they were talking about.
"Hurry up, before the emergency bunker is full."
"Are you sure we can get in? I hear it's very exclusive."
"Don't worry, I know people."
Snotlout looked confused. "Hey, what was that all about?" he asked Gobber.
"Oh, I'm surprised you didn't know. Ruffnut and Tuffnut built an emergency bunker in the Academy," the blacksmith told him. Snotlout immediately looked interested.
"Emergency bunker? What do you say we check it out?" he asked Hookfang, who growled in agreement.
"I wouldn't waste your time. It's been booked up for months," Gobber rolled his eyes at him.
"Hah, we'll see about that," Snotlout snickered.
At the Dragon Academy, people were lining up to get inside the emergency bunker. But the Twins were very particular with the kind of people they were letting in.
"Okay. Lots of people are gonna want to get into our awesome emergency bunker when the Flightmare attacks. So, we need to have a secret signal to know who's in and who's out," Tuffnut told his sister who elbowed him in the shoulder. "How's that?" Ruffnut asked him.
"Not bad, but I feel like there should be a few more steps to it," Tuffnut mused. That's when Ruffnut started to punch him in the face! "What about that?" she grinned. Even if his face hurt, Tuffnut liked the punching. "I like it. You sure it's not too complicated?" he asked.
Snotlout then arrived and walked towards the doors to the bunker but the Twins spotted him and blocked his path. "Hey, Mister. Where do you think you're going?" Tuffnut asked him, narrowing his eyes. "Uh, inside the emergency bunker," Snotlout told him. "Are you on the list?" Tuffnut countered, smirking. "Pfft. List?" Snotlout scoffed, miffed.
Ruffnut then pulled out a long sheet of paper and checked the names. "Let's see here. Snothat, Snotman, Snotnose…Nope, not on the list," she declared. Tuffnut looked at the list and looked back at Snotlout. "Sorry. Unless you're friends with Snotman," he apologized, grinning.
"What do you mean, Sorry?" Snotlout glared at him.
Tuffnut's face remained cool as he said, "This is a very exclusive bunker, my friend. We can't just let anyone in." before Gustav walked past.
"Hey, Gustav," Tuffnut greeted the kid while Snotlout's jaw dropped. "GUSTAV?!" the Jorgenson boy yelled, shocked. If the bunker was exclusive, why were the Twins letting Gustav in?!
"Bunker time! Haha!" Gustav laughed as he entered the emergency bunker. "You're either in or out, pal, but you can't stand there," Ruffnut told Snotlout, who merely stared at her. Tuffnut then decided to make a deal. "Listen, you seem like a nice kid. Tell you what I'll do for you. If you want to get into the bunker, maybe you can find us one of these," he told Snotlout, handing him a piece of paper.
"Ugh, you've got to be kidding me," Snotlout muttered before conceding. "Ugh, fine. Come on, Hookfang," he said before his Monstrous Nightmare walked into the bunker!
"He's on the list," Ruffnut told him. Snotlout could only watch, dumbstruck, as his dragon joined the lucky people inside the emergency bunker.
"Ugh, last time I hold his face," Snotlout muttered before leaving to go find a rainbow-colored chicken, his ticket inside.
Meanwhile, Toothless and Stryka were taking their Riders over to the Northern Swamp to wait for the Flightmare along with Aurora. Stormfly had been made to stay behind at Berk by Astrid. Zenna was admiring Aurvandil's Fire while Hiccup and Astrid were having a serious talk.
"Okay, we are going to observe the Flightmare, Astrid. We are going to see what we can learn about it, try to redirect it. If we can't, we are falling back to town. Understand?" Hiccup reminded the axe-wielding Hofferson. "Sure," Astrid rolled her sky blue eyes at him.
"Say the words 'I understand, Hiccup.'" Hiccup requested. "Fine. I understand, Hiccup," Astrid repeated, not looking sincere.
"Holy Shields…this won't end well…" Zenna sighed, shaking her head. "Well, that just instills me with confidence," Hiccup mumbled sarcastically before Toothless and Stryka growled. A swamp soon came into view and, along with that, a faint banshee-like screech echoed throughout the land.
"There's the Northern Swamp. Sounds like we're getting close," Hiccup said, already feeling tense. "Good. I can't wait to see this thing," Astrid said eagerly. "Well, you won't have to wait long. Remember, observe only!" Hiccup reminded her as the dragons flew over to the swamp.
That's when they all saw it. The Flightmare, in all its spectral glowing glory!
"Whoa…Holy Shields…" Zenna murmured, violet eye wide. Stryka growled, not liking this new glowing dragon who she thought was a danger to her Rider along with Toothless.
"Okay. Well, it certainly lives up to the hype," Hiccup mumbled.
But Astrid wasn't content with observing. 'Don't worry, Uncle Finn…I'll avenge you and our family honor!' she thought as she jumped off of Toothless and tightened the grip on her axe.
"Uh, Hicc…!" Zenna said, frantically pointing at Astrid who was running towards the Flightmare!
"Astrid! What're you doing?!" Hiccup shouted. "What do you think I'm doing?! Defending Berk! And my family honor! We'll see who's a coward!" Astrid shouted right back at him and left.
"Oh, no, we need to follow her before she does something crazy!" Zenna said worriedly. Hiccup didn't need to be told twice, urging Toothless to follow Astrid.
The Flightmare let out a screech just as Astrid arrived and faced it. Holding her axe up high, Astrid repeated her Uncle Finn's words with courage, proclaiming, "Leave Berk now and never come back! Here I am, ungodly beast, Fearless Astrid Hofferson! Come and get me, if you dare!"
The Flightmare wasn't happy to have been challenged by a mere Viking girl and let out a strange mist from its mouth. "Is that how the Flightmare 'freezes its prey?" Zenna wondered out loud, noticing the strange mist.
"It's a paralyzing mist that can paralyze the target temporarily." Aurora added.
The mist was exactly how the Flightmare froze its victims. And, now, it froze Astrid! The poor Hofferson girl couldn't move and could hardly believe it. She'd been frozen just like her Uncle Finn!
Hiccup felt his heart drop into his stomach the minute he saw his Milady get paralyzed by the Flightmare. "ASTRID!" Hiccup screamed, the desperation in his voice completely audible to Zenna, Toothless and Stryka.
"We'll hold the Flightmare off! Hicc, go get Astrid!" Zenna yelled as Stryka went into a power dive, dive bombing the Flightmare!
"Okay. Gotta go! Gotta go!" Hiccup yelped as Toothless swooped down, allowing his best friend to grab his paralyzed girlfriend.
"You'll pay for paralyzing my friend, you glowing demon!" Zenna shouted in defiance to the Flightmare's roar as Stryka fired a plasma blast at it, effectively stunning it.
Quickly the dragons fell back into a retreat, leaving the Flightmare behind. Once they were out of the dragon's line of sight, they landed. Hiccup was breathing hard, clutching Astrid close to him.
"I think we lost him," Hiccup panted as Zenna jumped off of Stryka.
"Is she okay?" Zenna said, holding her medical kit. That's when Astrid moved, surprising Hiccup and Zenna!
"Astrid!" Hiccup exclaimed, relieved to see his Milady alright.
"What-what happened?" Astrid said shakily. "The Flightmare sprayed you with some kind of mist. It paralyzed you," Hiccup told her, still holding Astrid close. Astrid's eyes widened in realization as she said, "It froze me."
"That's how the Flightmare freezes its victims. It paralyzes them with its mist," Zenna snapped her fingers.
"Well, I-I guess the good news is the effects are only temporary, just long enough for it to strike," Hiccup stuttered, still in shock from what just happened. Astrid, having already recovered from the shock of being frozen by the Flightmare, immediately felt a lot better upon finding out the real reason behind her Uncle Finn's shaming.
"I knew my uncle wasn't afraid of that dragon. He was paralyzed by it," she said.
Suddenly the Flightmare's banshee-like scream echoed throughout the land. "And, let me guess: We're falling back to town?" Astrid asked Hiccup, who shook his head.
"No. We're following the Flightmare. We are the only thing between that dragon and Berk," Hiccup said seriously. "We're not going to kill it, but we are going to fight it in order to keep it away from the village," Zenna added. "Yes!" Astrid said, pumped up, as they mounted their dragons and flew off.
Then Zenna spotted something very unusual.
"Aurora, Hiccup! Astrid! You two might wanna see this!" the one-eyed Fiersome girl shouted, pointing to something down below. Looking down, Hiccup saw the same thing Zenna was seeing and was shocked to see it.
"What in the name of Thor?"
Snotlout knocked on the door to the emergency bunker. Tuffnut slid a panel open and his eyes locked with Snotlout's. "Hey, what's the password?" the male Thorston Twin asked him. "I'm gonna break your face," Snotlout threatened him. "Close enough," Tuffnut shrugged as he and Ruffnut stepped out of the bunker.
"I got what you asked for," Snotlout told the Twins and held up a rainbow-colored chicken. Tuffnut was extremely pleased.
"It's real! I totally thought I dreamt it!" he exclaimed. But, in reality, it was just an ordinary brown chicken Snotlout had painted.
"So, let me in," Snotlout demanded impatiently. Ruffnut, still wanting to have a little more fun with the Jorgenson boy, mischievously said, "Oh, did we say one rainbow-colored chicken? We meant two rainbow-colored chickens. Sorry."
Snotlout had a feeling this was coming and had a smug smirk on his face. "Oh, that's why I brought a spare," he said, presenting the Twins another colorful chicken. "Now, let me in. The Flightmare will be here any minute," he told the Twins impatiently.
Ruffnut and Tuffnut looked at each other and grinned. They both knew that they weren't going to let Snotlout into the bunker that easily and they had a really good plan to mess with him.
"Okay. You're halfway there," Tuffnut told him in approval.
"What? Halfway?" Snotlout asked him, jaw dropping open. "We have a few more things for you to get before we can let you in, buddy. Sorry," Ruffnut then handed the Jorgenson boy a very long list.
"Eh, you have got to be kidding me!" Snotlout grumbled, looking at the list, in annoyance. Tuffnut then brought his face close to Snotlout's. "Look closely at my face," he instructed his friend. "But don't look too closely at his face, because you might go blind," Ruffnut advised.
"Does it look like I'm kidding?" Tuffnut asked, putting on his most serious face. Snotlout was about to say yes when a delicious smell wafted through the air from inside the emergency bunker. "Oh, that wouldn't be yak butter parfait I smell, would it?" Snotlout asked, his mouth watering.
"As a matter of fact it is," Tuffnut told him, grinning mischievously, before he and Ruffnut went back inside the emergency bunker and shut the door in Snotlout's face.
Meanwhile Fishlegs was conducting serious research on the Flightmare. He had tons of books and scrolls plunked down on the table and he had read them all, but it still wasn't adding up.
"Why does the Flightmare always take the same route into Berk? It always follows the stream from the Northern Swamp into the village. Why does it follow the water? What is it about that stream?" Fishlegs asked himself, pacing about. Meatlug was busy eating a pile of rocks, which made her Rider ask her, "How can you eat at a time like this?"
Meatlug merely rumbled and continued eating. Seeing his Gronckle eat suddenly gave Fishlegs a Eureka moment. Looking at the map of Berk again with the Flightmare's route plotted out, Fishlegs finally understood.
"Wait, that's it! Meatlug, you're a genius! The Flightmare is following…" he said in realization.
"Glowing algae," Hiccup said, inspecting the stream they had landed next to. The stream was directly connected to the Northern Swamp and it ran through the village. Hiccup, Zenna, Astrid and their dragons all looked at the water closely. They'd flown by this area a bunch of times before and they never really saw anything out of the ordinary but, now, the water in the stream was glowing!
"Since when does the algae in the stream glow like that?" Zenna wondered out loud, amazed, while taking out a vial and collected a sample. "The glow must be some sort of reaction to Aurvandil's Fire. This must be what the Flightmare is following. That's why it always takes the same path to the village," Hiccup theorized.
"Not getting it," Astrid said, confused. Then Hiccup got an idea. "You ever tried to get between Snotlout and a bowl of mutton?" he asked his girlfriend.
"Yeah. That's something you only do once," Astrid remarked, remembering how furious the Jorgenson boy had been when she swiped his bowl of mutton away from him when they were kids. "Or never, for that matter," Zenna chimed in. That's when Astrid realized it.
"I get it. The Flightmare thinks we want its food," she said, finally getting where Hiccup was going.
Suddenly a maroon Hideous Zippleback landed in front of the stream. "Mom! Dad!" Zenna exclaimed, surprised to see her parents and Serpent and Serpentine. "There you are, love! Your mother and I've been looking for you and Stryka all night!" Edgar said, jumping down from Serpent to hug his daughter.
"We saw the Flightmare earlier. And it looked like it was angry. Please tell me you young'uns didn't have anything to do with it…" Henna said worriedly.
Zenna had a sheepish grin on her face and twiddled her thumbs. "Uhm…maybe…?" the one-eyed Fiersome girl mumbled uncertainly. Henna and Edgar sighed and shook their heads, knowing that Zenna and her friends were responsible for angering the Flightmare. Luckily Hiccup managed to bring Zenna's parents up to speed with the discovery of the Flightmare's food source.
"So this stream only lights up with glowing algae during Aurvandil's Fire and serves as the Flightmare's food source? Not only that, this stream is the reason why the dragon always goes the same route through the village?" Edgar asked once the one-legged teen told him all that could be told. "It attacks because it sees us as a threat to its very survival," Hiccup nodded, just as a deafening shriek echoed through the air.
"And speaking of threats…" Astrid looked up to see the Flightmare's glowing form up above.
"Oh, Odin's ghost…" Henna muttered, fearing that a fight could break out and the children will be harmed. "Quick, we need to get Toothless and Stryka up in the air so we can hide," Hiccup said seriously.
That's when Henna, Edgar and Astrid looked at the two Night Furies. Toothless and Stryka were thirsty and they drank straight from the glowing stream! "Oh, no…" Zenna's parents mumbled. "Yeah, don't think that's going to happen…" Astrid deadpanned as they watched the two Night Furies' bodies glow. Toothless yelped in shock as his midnight-black scales glow dark blue while Stryka cooed in awe as her body began to glow a bright violet!
"Ah, Toothless," Hiccup sighed. "Well that officially makes our dragons glowing targets," Zenna deadpanned. Then the Flightmare spotted the intruders near its precious food source and roared. "Glowing targets or not, we need to get out of here!" Edgar yelled. Mounting their dragons, Astrid riding on Toothless, they took off in the direction of the village with the Flightmare hot on their tails!
"It's right behind us!" Hiccup yelled. "Fly faster everyone!" Zenna shouted frantically. "What do we do?" Astrid asked worriedly as the Flightmare gained on them.
"Let me take care of him.." Aurora said before she turned and flew towards the Flightmare!
"Aurora, don't!"
The Flightmare roared and Aurora fired a plasma blast at the dragon, stunning it but the Flightmare roared and chased after her. Aurora, now fully healed from her injuries, flew through the night sky and up into the clouds. The Flightmare stopped, trying to see Aurora but with her camouflaging skin, it couldn't see her that well. Irritated, the dragon backed off.
Aurora came out of the clouds and Zenna and the others came over to her, "Now that was sneaky.." Zenna praised.
"Now's not the time for praising, sweetheart," Henna advised gently.
"Right now, we need to get the Flightmare out of here," Edgar told his daughter seriously.
"Okay, how do we stop the Flightmare before it reaches the village?" Astrid questioned Hiccup and Zenna. The two best human friends were unsure until looked over their shoulders and saw a familiar chubby blond Viking riding a Gronckle.
"Fishlegs," they both said at the same time.
"How's he gonna help?" Astrid asked them. "By bringing you some reinforcements," Fishlegs hollered and with him was Astrid's Deadly Nadder!
"Stormfly!" Astrid was very happy to see her dragon again and jumped onto the Nadder's back.
"Good to see you, girl," Astrid smiled, Stormfly squawking happily in return.
"Fishlegs, the Academy is supposed to be on lock-down," Hiccup reminded the chubby Ingerman boy. "I know, but I was following the stream because I think I figured out a way to stop the Flightmare from reaching town," Fishlegs told him, directing Hiccup's attention to the river that was now glowing brightly under Aurvandil's Fire. Hiccup realized Fishlegs' plan and it was brilliant.
"We cut a new channel for the river…" he began. "And divert the flow of glowing algae out to the sea!" Fishlegs finished for him.
"Exactly," Hiccup grinned.
"Oh! I know a good area in the river where the water flows directly out to sea!" Zenna piped up excitedly. Nodding, Hiccup turned to the dragons. "Toothless, Stryka, Stormfly, Meatlug, Serpent and Serpent and Serpentine, it's time to do a little emergency landscaping," the emerald eyed teen said as they all followed the Flightmare back to the river.
Meanwhile Snotlout had brought back everything indicated on his list and was now waiting as Ruffnut and Tuffnut checked the stuff off the list. "Yak head, check. Yak body, check. Sheep dip, check. Bread for the sheep dip, gotta have that, check. Lingonberry smoothie, shaken, not stirred, check. Hold on, nobody move," Tuffnut suddenly said and looked at the pile of food and goods with his sister. "I don't see it," he finally said. "Me neither," Ruffnut agreed with him. "What? See what?" Snotlout asked, desperate to get into the exclusive emergency bunker.
"A sturgeon dressed like Stoick!" the Twins chorused, prompting Snotlout to grab a fish he'd been saving for supper and dressed it up with a belt and a tiny Viking helmet before showing it to the Twins. "Ah-ha! That's everything. Now let me in!" he said triumphantly.
Tuffnut had a mischievous grin as he said, "We would love to, Snotlout, really we would, but you forgot the most important thing on the list."
Ruffnut also grinned as she and her brother both said, "Singing Terrible Terror!"
"What? Give me that!" Snotlout exclaimed, snatching the list from Ruffnut and saw that a new item had been added to the list in green ink! "You just wrote this in!" Snotlout complained. "No, we did not!" Tuffnut retorted. "Yes, you did! It's in a different colored ink!" Snotlout pointed out, waving the list in front of their faces. "I don't know what you're talking about," Ruffnut denied, not even bothering to clean her ink-stained fingers.
Snotlout fumed as Tuffnut reprimanded him. "Arguing with bunker management can result in permanent banishment. And that's a lot of big words," the male Thorston said before he and Ruffnut went back inside the emergency bunker, leaving Snotlout standing alone. Finally the Jorgenson boy saw that he had no choice but to go look for a Terrible Terror that could sing. "Singing Terrible Terror…" he grumbled in annoyance as he left the Academy.
Back with Aurora, Hiccup, Astrid, Zenna, Fishlegs and Zenna's parents, they were chasing the Flightmare to the river. "A live Flightmare. It's-it's-it's-it's…" Fishlegs stuttered, unable to comprehend the dragon's sheer ferocity. "It's mine!" Astrid declared, having Stormfly fly over to the Flightmare and blast it in the face!
"Oh, we have to help them out!" Henna cried out worriedly.
"Let's have Serpent and Serpentine assist them!" Edgar suggested as they prepared to get their Zippleback to help Astrid in fighting the Flightmare when Zenna stopped them.
"No! Mom, Dad, this fight's personal for Astrid. We have to let her and Stormfly deal with the Flightmare on her own. Don't worry, she's got this," Zenna told her parents firmly, making sure that nobody tried to help the Hofferson girl. A little worried for Astrid, Zenna's parents reluctantly agreed to stay out of the fight.
"Okay, bud, time for us to do what we came here for," Hiccup told Toothless. Together, Toothless and Stryka plasma blasted a new channel for the river with Edgar and Henna commanding Serpent and Serpentine to clear any debris with the Gas and Spark attack.
Aurora used her plasma blasts to aid them as well.
Fishlegs and Meatlug made sure to melt any rock obstructing the water's path as well as ensure that the water only flowed one way.
Astrid and Stormfly, on the other hand, were locked in combat with the Flightmare, the two of them dodging another spray of the Flightmare's freezing mist while the others worked on finishing the new river channel.
The Flightmare then focused on a new target, which was Fishlegs! "That-a-girl, Meatlug!" the chubby Ingerman boy praised his sweet Gronckle before suddenly getting paralyzed by the Flightmare's mist! Meatlug roared in alarm as her Rider suddenly turned rigid and fell off her back!
"Rider down! Rider down!" Henna and Edgar shouted in alarm.
"I got 'em!" Aurora called as she dove down and caught Fishlegs and Meatlug. "Got'cha..!" she said just as the paralysis wore off. "What just happened to me?" Fishlegs asked, confused, shaking his head to make sure he was okay.
"The Flightmare; its mist temporarily paralyzes you," Hiccup informed him.
"Thank Thor. I need my legs. They're in my name, after all," Fishlegs said in relief.
Astrid, Stormfly, Henna, Edgar and Serpent and Serpentine faced off against the Flightmare while the others finished the channel. Astrid had Stormfly shoot her spines at it only for the Flightmare to dodge it and knock her off the Nadder's back!
"Astrid, run!" Henna and Edgar shouted as the Flightmare gave chase! Quickly, the Hofferson girl made a mad dash towards Zenna and the boys.
"Look out!" Astrid warned them as the Flightmare emerged from the brush. Getting Astrid on Toothless, Hiccup had his friends take to the skies once more.
"That beast is a stubborn one, I'll tell you that," Edgar groaned, seeing that the Flightmare was guarding the channel. "What do we do now? If we don't finish the channel soon, it might continue onto Berk and destroy the village," Henna said worriedly.
"Okay, guys, we need to keep cutting that channel, but the Flightmare is guarding it," Hiccup said seriously.
"Yeah, but how are we going to distract that glowing behemoth?" Zenna asked him.
Suddenly...
Three more little chirps were heard, "What the-?" Hiccup asked.
"Uh.. Hiccup... is that not the Night Light hatchlings?!" Zenna exclaimed, freaked.
"WHAT?!" Zenna's parents exclaimed but they looked and saw the Night Light trio coming towards them. "Wh-What are you three doing here?!" Edgar added.
"You should be back home..!" Henna scolded.
Pouncer, Dart and Ruffrunner chirped at them, "They said they wanna help.." Aurora sighed. Hiccup and Zenna groaned.
"And how exactly can they help..?" Hiccup deadpanned.
Dart fired a plasma blast and dove into it, camouflaging herself! Aurora laughed, "Of course..! They can cloak like Snow, disappearing in the sky!" she exclaimed.
"Which can make them invisible to the Flightmare so they can force it away from the channel!" Astrid realized.
"Exactly!" Aurora stated. "Alright you three, ready for your first fight?"
Pouncer, Dart and Ruffrunner cheered happily before they all flew towards the Flightmare. The Flightmare roared before the three hatchlings camouflaged themselves with their plasma blasts, shocking the Flightmare.
Pouncer dove in and blasted the Flightmare with a weak plasma blast. The Flightmare, irritated, flew away from the channel and sprayed its mist, trying to expose the trio but they were smarter than that. Dart then blasted the Flightmare, making it look around for the three camouflaged Night Lights. Ruffrunner, who was trying to stay awake during the whole thing, fired another weak plasma blast at the Flightmare, allowing the group to contonue with the channel.
Finally, the three Night Lights reappeared in front of the Flightmare and combined their plasma blasts and stunned the Flightmare and made it crash to the ground. "That's the way you three!" Edgar cheered.
"Way'd a go!" Henna added.
"It's stunned!" Zenna reported.
"Toothless, let's finish off that channel," Hiccup told his best dragon friend. Toothless did a midair somersault before swooping down across the channel. And, with one plasma blast, the new river channel was finished and the glowing algae-filled water flowed out into the sea!
The Flightmare recovered from its fall and, upon seeing the algae flowing into the sea, left Berk for good.
"We did it!" Astrid cheered.
"Yes! Woohoo!" Edgar whooped, before noticing the strange looks everyone was giving him.
"Daaaaadd…" Zenna sighed, embarrassed at her father's childish glee.
"Ehehe…yay!" Edgar said halfheartedly.
"Oh, Edgar…" Henna sighed, shaking her head in disbelief.
The three little Night Lights came over and chirped at the others, "Pouncer, Dart, Ruffrunner, thanks.." Hiccup said to the three hatchlings. Pouncer and Dart chirped while Ruffrunner fell asleep and fell out of the air until he landed in Edgar's arms. "Got'cha.." he cooed.
Ruffrunner woke up at that moment and flew to his siblings again.
"Now, let's get home before anyone notices we're gone," Hiccup sighed with relief. On that cheery note, the dragons lifted off and flew in the direction of the village.
When they got there, they were faced with Stoick, Gobber, Midnight and Snow, who had noticed three babies missing. Midnight and Snow gave the Night Lights a disapproving look at their little stunt, "Now now, you two. I know they disobeyed but they helped us get rid of the Flightmare." Aurora said to the two parents.
Stoick was surprised and looked at his son in amazement. Then he looked at Edgar and Henna, who nodded in affirmation along with Fishlegs.
"You did? Well done, Hiccup! Well done!" the Chief smiled.
Stoick smiled and he called out, "Everyone! You can come out of your homes! The Flightmare is gone for good!"
One by one, the Berkians came outside and gathered in the village plaza. Standing in front, Hiccup proceeded to make an important announcement. "Um, excuse me, I have an announcement to make. We learned a lot about the Flightmare tonight and Zenna and I'll explain it all to you. But the most important thing we learned was that Fearless Finn Hofferson was indeed fearless," he said before looking at Astrid and smiled.
"Just like all the Hoffersons," Hiccup concluded. Everyone began to cheer and praise Astrid, who merely smiled. Gobber went over to her and grinned.
"Sounds like you did your uncle proud, lass," the blacksmith said proudly.
"Now, maybe we can just enjoy Aurvandil's Fire," Stoick suggested.
"Way ahead of you on that, Stoick!" Edgar said cheerfully as he and his wife and daughter enjoyed the spectacular light show.
"What a beautiful sight…" Henna smiled. "Definitely worth getting into a fight with a Flightmare, that's for sure," Zenna grinned.
The three little Night Lights cooed in agreement as their six new siblings joined them by their sides.