It was at the moat of Canterlot Castle that Fishlegs popped the question
"Um, Twilight? Is there a Queen of Equestria? I mean, if she's the one in command, then why isn't she queen?"
"You know, I asked her that myself. She told me she never wanted to forget Princess Luna and her right to rule the night. She refused to take anything away from her sister's fair share" Twilight explained.
"How about having two queens?" Ruffnut offered
"Pretty sure that's not how it works, sugarcube" Applejack chuckled.
"Princess Celly, mighty is she, Princess Celestia!" Pinkie Pie sang as she bounced over the drawbridge to the door.
"Oh, I wish I could introduce you to my brother, but he's now the Prince of the Crystal Empire" Twilight said almost to herself as she knocked on the door.
"Who'd want to rule over crystals?" Tuffnut scratched his head
"I would, darling" Rarity answered with a laugh as the door finally opened.
"You may enter, Twilight Sparkle" the guard announced, "The Princesses await you and your…companions"
"Hiccup, you're the son of your chief, so I think you should go with me. Just stick with me and be polite" Twilight offered
Hiccup sighed, feeling nervous about it. If only dad was here; he knew Berk, he knew how to be a ruler, a leader. Hiccup was just the boy who knew a dragon.
They stepped into the vast chamber, red carpet stretching from the door and in two different directions to the adjacent halls. Each doorway was guarded by two gold-armored horses, either winged or horned, sometimes bearing long golden lances. In front of them the carpet ran up a set of stairs up to the second level, splitting at the wall. The landing between the stairways was decorated with two large stained-glass windows, but it was the people in front of the windows that took Hiccup's breath away.
Or rather, the horse. They were big-huge. The largest was white, with a long horn and huge plumed wings she held unfolded. A jeweled golden collar and diadem adorned her, and her mane and tail were an ethereal aurora. At her side was a smaller but still impressive figure with the same jewelry and physical shape. She was blue-black, however, and her mane and tail were the starry night itself.
"My dear student Twilight Sparkle!" the white princess spoke sweetly, more as a mother, teacher, and friend than any ruler. She turned to one of the gold-armored spearbearers in the hall; "Gleaming Wing, could you get our human guest here? I'm sure she'd love to meet her old friends"
"Yes, your highness" As the guard trotted off, the speaking princess turned back look at Hiccup. He blushed awkwardly.
"Princess Celestia", Twilight rose from her deep, four-footed bow, "I would like to introduce to you the Dragon Riders of Berk"
"Welcome, my friends. I am Princess Celestia of the day. And this is my sister, Princess Luna of the night"
"We have met one of your kin and she has been a considerate guest" Luna spoke
Hiccup was glad at least Gothi knew how to act in this kind of situation, since the Elder always joined the chief on serious matters.
"I'm, I'm-" Hiccup stuttered briefly, "I'm Hiccup H. Haddock III of Berk. I'm the son of," he rubbed his arm and looked at the carpet, "Stoick the Vast, chief of the Vikings of Berk"
"We are honored that the son of the chief comes here. Who are your friends, Hiccup?" Celestia asked.
"I'm Snotlout Jorgeson, one of the oldest and noblest Viking families of Berk" Snotlout puffed and grinned, trying to show off.
"Astrid Hofferson. " Astrid bowed very awkwardly. Usually Stoick never had them bow, but she felt it had to do in this situation.
"Ruffnut Thorston !" "And Tuffnut Thorston! Why don't I ever go first?" "Because R becomes before T!" "Yeah, but my names start with the same letter!"
"Uh, ma'am, I'm Fishlegs Ingerman" Fishlegs said his extremely quickly, bowing even more awkwardly than Astrid.
"Princess, has anyone found…our dragons? I mean, if there's anyone hurt, I'll take the responsibility" Hiccup asked Celestia.
"I've received no word of them so far. The only other person from Berk has been Gothi the elder. She's explained to us about your culture and your dragons. The only incidents reported to me were Twilight's on you and the Outcasts, and the Viking criminal Alvin and his men are now kept under lock and key and heavy watch here."
Gothi herself now entered the room, smiling and leaning on her staff as she approached the teens.
"Gothi is unharmed. Gothi, with the help of your young friends and some of my own, Alvin the Treacherous has been captured and is now under guard"
Gothi sighed in relief, wiping her forehead and nodding in gratitude.
"I think we've found out who's responsible for us being here" Hiccup explained, "Alvin picked up a magic artifact made by someone from this world"
"Discord" Celestia sighed
"You called, mon Princesse?" The goatish dragonish figure parachuted from the ceiling, wearing a tuxedo.
"Discord, are you going to return the people from Berk to their rightful home?" Celestia's question came out more as an order.
"I suppose I could. But really, it's not that hard to figure out the spells on it. Isn't that right, Twilight?"
Twilight glared. "I've been looking at it, and if I have to, I'll use the magic myself. But this is your mess, Discord"
"That doesn't mean I have to clean it up." He blew a raspberry, the beanie on his head spinning
"You're not going to bring the dragons here, are you?" Hiccup crossed his arms
"Oh, you're getting as boring as Twilight, Hiccup. Ponies & Dragons is my favorite game! I've been enjoying it for thousands of years here in Equestria. I'm just trying out new toys"
"The dragons are not your toys!" Hiccup yelled in fury.
"Ooh, some anger. You might turn out like dad after all, m'boy." Discord changed into a black hooded robe, "Good, good. Why can't you ever raise your voice with me, Celestia?"
"You don't want us to raise our voices, Discord" Luna spoke quietly but her glare alone almost glowed.
"I'm pretty sure I do"
"Here's an idea: You're not going to interfere if we go looking for the dragons and bring everyone back to Berk ourselves" Rainbow Dash fluttered right in Discord's face, adding her own glare
Discord laughed, "My dear Rainbow Dash! I wouldn't dream of it! You told me your plan earlier and I love it. Oh Hiccup, you'll fit right into this crowd. You might not even want to come back home! I'd recommend against it!"
"Let me make my own choice" Hiccup's glare never left Discord
"That's what I like to hear", Discord's chuckle remained even after the apparition faded into the air.
"Has he been doing this for a while?" Astrid grumbled
"Yes. We had him imprisoned for his crimes, but he was released again. Last week Fluttershy was kind enough to become his friend, and now he's free again. " answered Celestia
"WHY?" Hiccup was stunned
"Because there's good in him, Hiccup. I know he likes being mean, but I think he knows now how it feels when someone you care for is hurt because of you" Fluttershy walked up to him and looked into his eyes, "I know you understand that. Wouldn't you give someone a chance if you saw that?"
"Yeah, I guess I would" Hiccup sighed, "I've done it myself. It's the right thing"
"It is, and I think we should always remember that and never feel guilty" Fluttershy put her hoof gently on his shoulder
"You're right, you trust him, I trust him" he put his hand on her shoulder in turn.
"You guys are so weird" Astrid grinned at them
"Good thing we like weird" Tuffnut said
"I've already begun planning on how we can find the Dragons, Princesses" Twilight was busy talking.
"Shall we lend you aid? I could have a company of my swiftest guards do the task in your stead" Luna offered
"No. I think all we need are the riders"
"If you give us a map and a ship, I'm sure we could do this ourselves" Astrid offered, joining the conversation
"Are you kidding? I want to meet these dragons of yours!" Pinkie Pie bounced up and down
"Until you come back home, you're stuck with us, chiefie" Rainbow Dash grinned as she agreed
"You've told us so much now I can't wait to see them!" Spike jumped in the air with excitement.
"Are you sure about this, Fluttershy?" Rarity turned to her other Pegasus friend, "I know how you feel about dragons, darling"
"Y-y-yes. If you can trust them, I can trust them. I'm sure they're nice" Fluttershy managed to state her conviction firmly.
"I had a tough time seeing any good in dragons; I almost killed Toothless. Instead I became his best friend". As Hiccup spoke, he realized what Fluttershy meant earlier, and as her eyes widened, he realized she did too.
"Tell you what-I trust Discord, you trust the dragons. Is that a deal?" He extended his hand.
"It's a deal" Fluttershy put her hoof in his hand and they shook.
"Now let's get planning!" Twilight squeed, her tail swishing furiously.
Celestia laughed, "It looks like you have things figured out. Gothi, you're welcome to stay here until they find the dragons. You all have Canterlot at your disposal. Twilight, I know you know where the guest rooms are. Luna?"
"Thank you for your visit, friends from Berk, I hope we shall meet again" Luna nodded at the guests before getting up to walk up the stairs with her sister.
"Thanks for everything!" Hiccup waved awkwardly.
"They're pretty cool" Tuffnut noted.
"The coolest!" Rainbow Dash confirmed.
"I don't suppose you'd be all right waiting here until we find the dragons, Gothi?" Hiccup turned to the old woman
She just shrugged.
"Dibs on the big bed!" Tuffnut called out when they entered the room
"They're all the same size" Fishlegs rolled his eyes.
"Then I get the one by the window!" Snotlout beat Tuffnut to the next pointless dibs.
"There are no windows in this room" Tuffnut blew a raspberry at him
"Yeah, pretty sure that's a mirror" Fishlegs took his shot
Hiccup had already chosen his bed and began sketching.
The two Viking girls shared their room with the Pegasi.
"A bed in a palace. This is so cool!" Ruffnut squeed
"Eh, the ones in Clydesdale are cooler. Those are made of clouds" Rainbow Dash couldn't help one-upping her
"Are you scared of dragons?" Astrid asked Fluttershy
"Well, except for Spike. But yes. Once, there was a dragon that covered the sky with smoke since he was living nearby. We tried to get him out, and I was scared the whole way" She explained
"Did you get rid of him?"
"Yeah. We did. He just needed a good talking to, I guess"
"And you're still scared?"
"Y-yes"
Astrid sighed, "Well, I guess I get that part. I used to be scared of them. My family and dragons have been killing each other for centuries, according to my parents. My uncle Finn who was killed by a Flightmare dragon. When I was little, I was taught to be a dragon killer. I never got old enough to do it, but I did the training and practiced every day so when I found a dragon, I could kill it"
Fluttershy's eyes widened, "Did you?"
"Nah. Turns out that cute little runt that failed at being a Viking found out dragons could be our friends" Astrid settled on her bed, taking off her headband and crossing her arms behind her head.
"He told me about that. I like him" Fluttershy nodded as she fluttered to her own bed
"Me too, Fluttershy. He's pretty special. I think you're going to like our dragons"
"Especially Barf and Belch! We've been teaching him out to burp out fireballs!" Ruffnut interrupted
"Is he that two-headed dragon? He sounds really cool!" Rainbow Dash joined in
Fluttershy sighed. It was hard being brave; it was even harder being excited about looking for dragons.