Dragon Music Tales

The Midnight in Me

Summary: After the Riders' first victory over the Dragon Hunters, upon returning to the Edge, Juno finds some time alone to contemplate a personal discovery that she didn't even know had been haunting her for so long.

Post-RttE.

WARNING: THIS TAKES PLACE IN A STORY THAT HASN'T BEEN POSTED YET. IF YOU DO NOT LIKE SPOILERS, THEN TURN AWAY NOW OR READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

The Riders were very silent as they flew back to Dragon's Edge. Their first encounter and victory against the Dragon Hunters was one that was definitely surprising. Not only were these Hunters very knowledgeable about dragons, unlike their previous couple of foes over the years, but that their supposed ally and friend, Heather, had betrayed them again to side with her brother, Dagur.

However, Ragnar noticed that Juno was definitely more quiet than usual. Astrid told him that both she and herself were interrogated by Ryker, but they didn't break to them, and that Juno had told her that they didn't abuse or assault her, either when she came back, looking like she had seen a ghost. But something did happen that made the Solheim girl turn even quieter than a mouse.

Finally, he had enough of her silence, and carefully flew in next to her. "Hey, Juno. Is everything okay?"

Juno snapped out of her little daze and turned to the Iverson boy. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine, Rag." She assured him.

Ragnar raised an eyebrow. "You sure? Astrid told me that you've been looking like you saw a ghost for the past few hours."

Juno gave him a small smile. "Yeah, I'm fine, really. Just a little on edge. I just want to get some sleep tonight."

Ragnar saw that it seemed futile to get some information out of her right now. "Okay." He complied. "If you need to say something, I'm here for you."

Juno almost blushed at what he said, but still gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks, Ragnar." She said.

Ragnar returned the smile, and then flew off to catch up with Hiccup. Once he did, Juno's smile faded.

Later that night, in her hut, Juno tossed and turned in her bed, unable to sleep. Chills ran over her spine as she remembered her interrogation with Ryker. Strangely, there was no one else in the room. He also didn't want info about the riders, but more about her personal life, since he kept staring at her like she was a ghost.

What startled her the most was that he called her Penelope. And that was her mother's name.

He then told her that long ago, his brother had a lovely woman by his side. And that eventually, they had a child. But the mother didn't want to raise her child to be a "monster" as she soon saw what her partner truly was. So she took the child and they ran away. And that was eighteen years ago.

Juno finally gave up on sleep and left her hut. Coccinelle saw her Rider leave, and went up to her, nuzzling her. She smiled at her Grapple Grounder and stroked the top of her head. She then looked down on the strange mark on her dragon. The brand. They did that to her.

"You up for a quick flight, girl?" She softly asked.

Coccinelle seemed to sense her Rider's uneasiness and lowered her neck down for her to climb on. She smiled, swung her leg over, and the two took off into the sky.

After a few minutes of circling the island, Juno finally steered Coccinelle towards the lagoon. Once the Grapple Grounder landed, she slid off her saddle, still feeling down in the dumps. Worries came rushing through her head.

Should she tell the others about this? If she did, they would think that she is a traitor, maybe even Ragnar and Hiccup would agree.

No! She thought. They're my best friends. They would never think of me that way! Feeling her worries eating away at her conscience, Juno began to sing as she neared the lagoon.

Juno: It used to be so simple.
It was a world I understood.
I didn't know what I didn't know,
And life seemed pretty good.

When she reached the shore, she knelt down and looked down at her reflection in the moonlit water. As she looked into it, it didn't feel familiar; like she was staring at a total stranger.

But now, a darkness rises
From somewhere deep inside of me.
That power overtakes me.
Can I keep this dark past from getting free?

She looked away for a second and turned her gaze to the silver line that was the horizon. A small smile came onto her face as memories from her time as a little girl when it was just her, Hiccup, and Ragnar; to the adventures they had with the other Dragon Riders.

If I can stay with the light,
I know I'll be free.
And I can start to be whole,
I can start to be me.

The smile faded as the revelation she had concerning the Dragon Hunters came back into her mind, and Juno looked back at her reflection. But instead of the Dragon Rider she is, she saw someone completely different.

But instead I am struggling
With all that I see,
And my friends
Mustn't see the hunter in me!

The reflection Juno saw had her hair styled the same, wore a dark brown tunic with black leather guards on her arms and shoulders, and her dragon pendant was gone and was replaced with a bronze medallion bearing the tribal crest of the Hunters. In addition to her twin Gronckle Iron daggers, she also had a sheath filled with dragon root arrows. What scared her the most was the dastardly grin the reflection bore.

Juno quickly swiped her hand against the clear water, making the reflection ripple for a few seconds until she again saw her true self.

The hunter in me!
They mustn't see the hunter in me.

But is it really? She thought glumly as she finished her musical lament. Who is she really? Is she Juno Solheim, the stepdaughter of renowned warrior Erik Solheim and the biological daughter of Penelope Solheim; and a loyal Dragon Rider of Berk, or is she really meant to be a Dragon Hunter all along? And not just any normal Dragon Hunter, but the heir of the tribe; daughter of Viggo Grimborn.

It's probably best they don't know. She thought as tears finally came into her eyes all day since the frightening discovery. Juno then watched as the tears dripped into the water, rippling her reflection again. For their sake more than mine.

A/N: Geez, sorry for taking so long on updates. And this is a real update; for those who were confused when I deleted one-shots that were really bad. Sorry about that; couldn't find the time to clarify things until now.

This is the first of the three Halloween-based one-shots that I will be posting this month. The song that I used is "The Midnight in Me" from "Equestria Girls: Legend of Everfree". When I heard this song when I was working with my AU of HTTYD, I knew this could work like this. I don't own the song in any way, though.

Well, I hope you guys liked it. Please leave a review about what you think. I'll see y'all next time. Remember, after these Halloween one-shots, I'll be back to taking song suggestions if you want to make requests. But they must be clean and appropriate. This is rated K.

Got to fly! ;)