(Canterlot )

Built into the side of a mountain was the capital of Equestria: Canterlot, the city of nobility and houses the kingdom’s castle, ruled by two powerful alicorn princesses. However, unbeknownst to the citizens, the princesses were away on an important matter requiring their presence. Of course, they did not leave without appointing somepony to watch over the country in their absence. With fur white as snow and neo blue mane was the captain of the royal guard: Shining Armor.

The captain walked along the marble halls, going about his rounds as per usual for his day, when the sound of doors slamming open and the sound of hooves filled the halls. “CAPTAIN!!!" Shouted a guardspony.

Quickly turning to address the guard, Shining Armor was quickly surprised at what he saw. The guard's armor was dented and had claw marks scratched along the metal gear. The pegasus stallion was faring no better: his white fur was stained with both dried mud and blood, his right ear had been cut, and his legs had the same claw marks that were on his armor, but not deep enough to be fatal. "What happened to you?" Shining asked, moving in to help set the pegasus guard down to sit.

"It’s awful, captain! My entire squad’s gone!" Shining watched as the stallion shook with fear. "We were out patrolling our usual route, when out of nowhere, a manticore attacked us." He coughed heavily.

"A manticore did this? How? Your squad should have been able to handle anything like a manticore easily." Shining used his magic to help the guard move to a room, sitting him down in a nearby chair.

"That just it captain, it wasn't just any manticore. This one was far different than what we've seen before. It was twice the size of a normal one, and looked like it crawled out of the darkest pits of Tartarus. It killed my team with little effort and I barely got away." The stallion was shaking in his armor, tears flowing down his cheeks at the loss of his brothers in arms.

"Where did you see it last?"

"Just before I got away, it ran into the Everfree Forest, heading north." Finally succumbing to the wounds inflicted upon him, the guard fell unconscious, collapsing onto the floor.

Shining Armor made his way out of the room and called the nearest guard to take the wounded soldier to the infirmary, then made his way to the armory. "Stardust!!" He called out.

A unicorn stallion with grey fur and white mane quickly approached, giving a salute. "Yes, captain! What do you need?"

"Prepare the elite guard. We need head out to Ponyville, pronto." Shining commanded as he used his magic to levitate his helmet onto his head.

"Sir, what's this all about?"

"A manticore unlike anything we've seen before wiped out a squad of guards and is making its way north of the Everfree Forest." Still using his magic, the captain picked up a spear next.

"Captain Shining Armor, I must advise you to stay here." This caused Shining’s attention to snap toward Stardust. "You are the one left in charge while Princess Celestia is away, trying to introduce Princess Luna to the foreign dignitaries of Saddle Arabia to increase her likeability. If you were to leave and something far worse comes up, the guards would be left without a leader."

Taking into consideration his first lieutenant’s advice, Shining Armor grimaced, dreading being forced to stay behind. "But my sister lives in Ponyville! She could be in danger!" He argued.

"With all due respect, she and her friends were able to best Nightmare Moon and Discord. I believe she and her companions can handle themselves until the elite guard make it there." Stardust retorted. "And need I remind you of your engagement that’s soon to take place?"

Seeing that he wasn't going to win this argument, Shining Armor removed his helmet and tossed it on the ground with a frustrated grunt. "How long until the elite guard can make it to Ponyville?"

"If we leave now by private train, we should be able to make it within two hours, at best ." Stardust moved over to grab his helmet, taking one last look at his captain. "Everything will be alright, sir. I'm sure of it."

Stardust shut the door behind him, leaving Shining alone. "Please be safe, Twily." He uttered, looking out the nearby window in the direction of the town his sister was currently living in.

(Johann POV)

This week has been something else for me. First, I end up dying after saving two complete strangers. Then I get reincarnated as a Night Fury and end up stuck in a cove unable to fly. But there is a bit of good that came out of this. For one, I met Fluttershy and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who were the most adorable creatures yet. I may be a guy, but even I have my own kryptonite, and cute animals were one of them.

Thanks to Fluttershy, I was saved from starving to death, and having her try and teach me how to fly helped, but even after a week, I'm still grounded. I wasn't sure why I couldn't fly yet; I followed Fluttershy's instructions to the letter, I ate plenty of food, and I'm still unable to get more than a few feet off the ground. Fluttershy thinks that I need some kind of trigger to kick in my flight instinct, like how birds jump off a ledge to fly. Yeah, I’m pretty sure I don't plan on doing that, even if got out of this cove.

Speaking of instincts, over the past week, I've noticed that I've started to react to some new ones. The first was one night when I was really hungry, but not for fruit, but meat. It was getting to the point where I almost found myself at the edge of the pond. Without even thinking, I quickly dove in and caught three fish in my mouth, and unlike the two from before, I did actually eat them without any problems. It wasn't as bad as I thought; kinda like sushi, except with more blood and bones. Another thing that I noticed one day was while the girls came down to hang out, Sweetie Belle had brought some makeup along for some odd reason. While she was applying said makeup, she had a little pocket mirror that she was using. Some sunlight reflected off the reflected surface, make a little light shine on the ground. I didn't know why, but my body reacted on it's own by pouncing on the little light. It didn't help when Scootaloo took the mirror and started to move the light’s reflection around. It felt like I was compelled to chase after it, no matter how much I tried not to.

I fear that, with my new body, they might have come with new instincts that could end up overwriting my old ones. 'Will I eventually lose my humanity and end up a former shell of what I once was?' I tried to shake those thoughts out of my head, fearing that I might be overthinking it. Though the idea did scare me still, could I really end up losing myself to this body?

As I inhaled through my nose, trying to calm myself down, I immediately picked up on an odd scent, my senses heightened as a dragon. I wasn't sure how to describe this smell entirely, but it almost smelled like...iron? 'That makes no sense. Why am I smelling iron? Besides metal, the only thing that could give off that smell is…..blood...'

When took another whiff to try and confirm my suspicion, I noticed the scent was getting weaker. In my mind, the only logical reason for this, if whatever was making the smell, was moving. 'So either someone is bleeding, or something is covered in blood.' The very idea sent chills down my spine. 'Fluttershy, I hope you and the girls are okay.'

(Ponyville)

After finishing up her morning errands, Fluttershy decided that she would visit Toothless later. She figured that today would be the day she would introduce him to her friends. The decision came to mind yesterday while Toothless was playing with the CMC. When the girls weren't looking, Fluttershy saw that Toothless would occasionally look up the walls that confined him to the cove. Sometimes, he would try to climb up the walls, hoping to finally leave, only to come up short every time. Fluttershy knew that if she wanted to get him out, she was going to need her friends to help. And that meant having to tell them about Toothless.

Making her way to the treebrary, Fluttershy would smile and wave at ponies she passed along the way. She was nearly at her destination when..

"Hey Fluttershy!!!" Looking up, she saw a familiar cyan mare with a rainbow mane and tail flying down to her. Rainbow Dash, one of Fluttershy's many friends, landed right in front of her. "Where have you been all week?"

Feeling a bit nervous, Fluttershy tried to remain calm. "Oh, hi, R-Rainbow Dash. How have you been?"

"I’ve "been" wondering where one of my best friends has run off to all week." She took a few steps closer toward the yellow mare. "I haven't seen much of you over the past week, and anytime I do, you’re going to AJ's place and going off into the Whitetail Woods. What have you been up to in there, anyway?"

Though she tried desperately not to, Fluttershy was sweating up a storm, fidgeting in place as she was being interrogated by one of her closest friends. She knew Dash meant well, but she wasn't sure she could tell her that she has been spending most of her time with a dragon she found. She knew that Dash would blow it out of proportion and might end up trying to attack Toothless.

Seeing that she'll have to tell her something, she thought it was best to do what she did with Applejack. "I've been taking care of a critter who's having a hard time flying." She saw Dash’s expression soften a bit. "And I've been feeding it apples from Applejack's farm to help it get its strength back. Now, if you'll please excuse me, Rainbow Dash, I need to go talk to Twilight."

Giving a curt bow, she walked around the rainbow pegasus and into the treebrary. "Hello? Twilight, are you here?"

"Hey, Fluttershy." Fluttershy looked to the left to see a purple dragon with green spikes, running down from the top of his head to his barbed tail. "What brings you here?" The dragon asked while sweeping the floor.

"Oh, hello, Spike. Do you know if Twilight is here? I need to talk to her about something important. "

"Oh yeah. She's on the balcony. I'll go get her for you." Resting the broom on the nearest wall, Spike ran up the stairs to the balcony.

Fluttershy only needed to wait a minute as her friend, Twilight Sparkle, came walking down the stairs. "Hi, Fluttershy. What's so important that you needed to tell me?" The lavender unicorn asked.

"Hello, Twilight. I hope I wasn't interrupting anything."

"Oh, nothing too important. Just a bit of reading. And cataloguing some notes on different topics." She waved it off with a dismissive hoove.

"Sounds interesting." Fluttershy added, trying to sound impressed. " Um, can I ask you a hypothetical question?"

At this, Twilight's eyes began to sparkle. "Sure! I love making theories, especially in experiments involving magic, or science, or seeing how durable a dragon's scales are to magic."

"Well, speaking of dragons. If a pony were to say, oh I don't know, find a crippled dragon in the woods and couldn't fly, and need the help of her friends, what should she do?"

"...Uhh...well, I guess that depends on...how big this dragon is?" Twilight asked with a tone of concern.

Fluttershy could easily hear the uncertainty in her friend's voice, and began to worry if she'll slip up in keeping her secret. "Let's say about the size of a pony.... hypothetically."

"...Then we just leave it alone!" Twilight abrupt shout caused her friend to jump back.

"W-what? Why? Shouldn’t we try to help it if it can't fly?" Fluttershy hesitantly asked, feeling her hope for her friends’ help starting to fade.

"It'll probably help itself to a free lunch, and it would still be stuck...in wherever it's trapped."

"But what if the pony knew it was friendly and wouldn't harm a soul?" She continued with her questions, trying to sway Twilight’s decision.

"So far, our only friendly dragon is Spike, and he was raised by Princess Celestia, some of her aides, and me and my family. All the dragons from the migration Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and I witnessed, especially those teenage dragons, were pretty cruel and reckless, and this hypothetical dragon you’re making up would be just like them."

Just as Fluttershy was going to give another compelling argument, the sound of ponies screaming came from outside. As the main defenders of Ponyville, both Fluttershy and Twilight quickly made their way out of the library. Ponies screaming in fear and running away in absolute terror was the first thing the two mares saw.

Using her magic, Twilight grabbed one of the fleeing ponies. "Hey, what's going on!?"

"There's a manticore that just came running out of the Everfree, and it's tearing up everything sight!!" Twilight released the pony, who quickly bolted for safety.

"RRRRAAAAAAAARREEEEHHHHHHH!!!" A loud and blood curdling roar filled the air, making everyone tremble, sending chills down their spines.

Fluttershy quickly ducked behind Twilight. "W-Was that r-really a m-manticore just now?" She asked in absolute fear as every muscle in her body was shaking, Twilight being just as scared as her.

"I-I'm not sure, b-but we need to go make sure everypony is safe." Quickly rushing past the fleeing ponies, both mares made their way toward the Everfree Forest.

The crowd of ponies dwindled as they got closer, the sound of the beast could be heard getting louder and deeper. Each roar made the two mares flinch as wave after wave of chills ran down their backs. When they turned the corner of one building, they saw the manticore that had been causing such a ruckus. But unlike the ones they've seen before, this one was incredibly different. It was far more deadlier than any normal manticore: poison dripping off its scorpion stinger, wings sharper and slightly tattered, but still capable of flight, sharp claws that could cut through stone, and fangs that can tear the throat of a cragodile in one chomp.

"Hey, furbrain! Up here!!!" Rainbow Dash called out, diving down and kicking the manticore’s head. The beast swiped at her with its paw, but the cyan mare flapped her wings, pushing up and away before it could strike her. "Catch me if you can, slowpoke!!" Dash shouted, waving her flank in front of the monster as she taunted it. Letting out a roar in rage, the manticore gave chase after the prismatic mare. This allowed Twilight and Fluttershy to round up any remaining stragglers and get them to safety.

Rainbow Dash slowed her speed as she flew, tempting the manticore to try and catch her, and any time it got too close, she would speed up ahead of it, narrowly dodging its claws. "Ha!! Is that all you got!?" Dash stepped up her game as she bobbed and weaved around buildings and trees, hoping to disorient the manticore and confuse it. When Dash quickly glanced back, expecting to see it close on her tail, she flared out her wings, stopping her momentum as she saw the monster was no longer chasing her. "Hey, where did it go!?" She quickly glanced around, expecting it to pounce at any moment, but there was no sign of it.

"Alright, everypony, quickly head to town hall and barricade yourselves inside!!" Twilight ordered, making sure to keep an eye out for the manticore. As the ponies rushed inside, Fluttershy hovered in the air, trying to spot anypony in need of help.

"TWILIGHT!!" As Twilight tried to count the ponies as they came in, she noticed a moderate cerise coat running toward her.

"Ms.Cheerilee? What's the problem?" Twilight asked, trying to calm the school teacher, who panting heavily.

Cheerilee gasped for air as she frantically pointed back to the town. "It's the Crusaders! I can't find them! Please tell me they came running in here!?" She asked, frantically pushing past Twilight to see if the three fillies were inside.

"I-I’m not sure. Everypony’s crowded inside. I can't even tell." Twilight tried to crane her neck upwards, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Crusaders.

"I'll go check the school house!!" Fluttershy quickly took off in the direction that led toward the school. She hovered above the school, turning in place to try and find the girls.

"Somepony help us!!" Came a cry from the playground. When she touched down near the playground, she could see Apple bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo hiding in a pair of bushes that were up against the schoolhouse. "Fluttershy, help! Scootaloo's leg is hurt!!" Sweetie Belle cried out.

Fluttershy rushed over and saw that Scootaloo had a large bruise on her front hoof. "How did this happen?"

"We were trying to get out of the school when she got shoved onto the floor. We stayed behind to help her." Sweetie Belle explained.

"Before we could get her inside, that big ol’ manticore was passing by chasing after Rainbow Dash." Apple Bloom moved to her injured friend’s side to help her stand.

"Well, don't worry. I'll help you girls get to safety, just…..girls?" Fluttershy noticed the girls’ expressions became terrified, their bodies shuddering. Before she could ask what's wrong, a low growl quickly caused her body to freeze. When Fluttershy looked over her shoulder, she immediately saw the manticore stalking it's way from a group of trees, and straight toward them.

(Johann POV)

I frantically clawed my way up against the stone wall, trying to pull myself. Not mere moments ago, I heard the sound of what I believed to be the ponies in the nearby town, followed by a blood curdling roar that made my body quiver in fear. But I had to cast those fears aside, because I know that Fluttershy and the girls could be in danger.

Each attempt to climb up the stone wall ended the same, coming a few inches short even after flapping my wings at the peak of my jump. I quickly turned to the tree root that I saw my first night, thinking that I could use it to climb my way out. I ran in front of the root and positioned myself so that I would land squarely on said root. Getting a running start, I quickly jumped once I was close enough, then flapped my wings hard to give myself a bit more height. When I was close enough, I dug my front claws into the dangling root. With my claws firmly planted into the root, I slowly tried to pull myself out. I had to make every moment slow and steady so I don’t sn-

CRACK!!!!

The root broke off from the tree and I fell, hitting the ground with a thud. 'DAMMIT, NO!!!' I tossed the broken root aside. I tried jumping up and clasping toward the remaining roots, only to come up short again. 'GOD DAMN!!' I slammed my paw into the ground in frustration. I dropped to the ground, fearing that I may have already been too late.

I tried to calm my breathing as I scanned the cove for any way to get out. But I frantically turned in place, finding no other way for me to get out. With no other environmental option, I quickly spread my wings out and tried again to fly. I pushed off the ground, furiously flapping my leathery wings and tail to lift myself into the air and to freedom. My wings actually seemed to respond to my commands as I was slowly getting close to the edge of the stone walls. I reached my front paws out, ready to grip the edge and run off to help my friends. Just as I was nearly going to touch the cliff, I started losing altitude. 'No no no no!!' My body slammed into the stone wall, forcing me to fall to the ground with a heavy thud.

The pain slowly started to fade from my impact, but I made no attempt to get back up. I knew that it was useless; no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't fly. Tears slowly started to flow out of my eyes, having given up all hope. 'I'm sorry girls. I just ca-"

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" The sound of female screams quickly pulled me out of my despair and self-loathing. I recognized those screams, coming from Fluttershy and the Crusaders.

"RRRRAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!" The demonic roar soon followed afterwards. It was then that I knew that Fluttershy and the girls were in danger. I could feel something welling up inside my chest, a burning sensation that slowly made my mind feel hazy. My dragon instincts slowly began to take control, any semblance of my humanity disappearing as it took over my body and mind.

The sound of wood splintering filled the air, Fluttershy quickly tossing the three fillies onto her back and dodging the manticore as it charged after them, letting out another roar. When the manticore crashed into the school house, Fluttershy quickly fled toward Town Hall in to get the four of them to safety. She could hear the manticore roar again as it pulled itself out of the schoolhouse and started to chase after them.

She ran as fast as her hooves could carry her, using her wings to hold the fillies tightly on her back. Town hall was within sight and the final stretch to safety was close at hoof. Fluttershy was filled with relief knowing that the girls would be safe, but that joy faded when she noticed a large shadow cast over her. The manticore leapt over her, landing in front of her, blocking her path.

"Fluttershy!!"

"Apple Bloom!!"

"Sweetie Belle!!"

"Scootaloo!!"

The ponies inside called out to their friends and family before the doors slammed shut to prevent the manticore from entering. Fluttershy froze in place as the beast turned toward her and started to slowly prowl toward them. The fillies started to whimper and cry as they watched the beast getting closer. Without warning, the manticore quickly charged, jumping up and diving toward them.

Fluttershy could only watch as the world slowed down around her, the manticore slowly running toward her and the fillies. Its razor sharp fangs bared, its claws poised to shred her. Summing up the last of her strength, she shielded the filles with her body, prepared to sacrifice herself for their safety. The world continued to move slowly until a high-pitched whistle filled the air, a black mass then slamming into the manticore midair, sending it flying away. Time resumed as the manticore's body slammed into a cart filled with leafy vegetables. "MY CABBAGES!!!" a pony called from inside town hall.

Fluttershy looked to see what it was that saved her, only to be shocked by who it was. Wings fully spread out and teeth bared, it's black scales glistening in the sun's light was the dragon she had been watching over; Toothless. But to Fluttershy, something was off about him. His normal, kind demeanor was replaced with a darker, more aggressive one. His pupils were thin slits and his back was arched upward like a cat ready to fight.

The manticore shook off the pieces of wood and vegetables that stuck to its body, then turned to the newcomer with a snarl. Toothless stepped forward, returning the beast’s threat with a snarl of his own while still arching his back and spreading his wings out to intimidate the manticore. The effect seemed to work as the manticore took a few steps back, but its sights were set on the ponies behind the dragon, quickly trying to run around Toothless to get to them. The dragon jumped in front of the manticore, roaring and snarling while flaring its wings as it tried to get close, snapping his jaws at the beast to make it back off.

Fluttershy quickly took this opportunity to gather the girls and ran into the nearest building, quickly slamming the door behind her. She pushed the fillies deeper into the house before turning toward one of the windows, unable to her friend against such a terrifying beast. "Please, Toothless, be careful."

(Warning to those with weaker tolerance the following will continue moments of intense violence and gore. Skip ahead to avoid this.)

With its prey gone, the manticore slammed its paws into the ground in rage, turning its attention to the small dragon. The two predators circled around each other, growling, baring their fangs. The manticore bolted toward the dragon, its tail poised to strike before shooting forward, aiming at the dragon's side. Toothless quickly jumped to the left, narrowly dodging the poison stinger. Pushing off his back legs, he moved in and clamped his jaws around one of the manticore's arms, sinking its fangs deep into its skin, drawing blood. The beast howled in pain and started to flail its arm to remove the dragon. Raising it's free paw, it swatted Toothless’s head, scratching the side if the dragon's neck, forcing him to let go and back away.

Toothless rubbed it neck to alleviate the pain, the sharp claws scratching deep enough to cause the wound to bleed. Taking a running stance, Toothless quickly charged straight for the manticore. Seeing the dragon charging toward it, the manticore pulled back its tail, preparing to make another strike once again. As the dragon got closer, with a flex of its tail, the manticore thrust its tail forward, aiming at the dragon's head this time. At the last second, Toothless arched his head to the left, dodging the poisonous tail once more, but before the manticore could retract it back, he grabbed it in his jaws. The manticore bellowed, trying to pull its tail free from Toothless's jaws, but with each pull, the dragon sunk its teeth in deeper into its tail’s exoskeleton.

Toothless started to whip his head from side to side, tugging at the tail, breaking more of its hard shell apart, which caused blood to gush out and splatter on the dragon’s face. With a strong and powerful tug, the stinger was ripped off, spurting out blood and green venom. The ferocious feline howled in pain, pulling what remained of its tail and clutching its now stumpy tail. Spitting out the stinger, Toothless let out a blood curdling roar, trying to force the manticore to back down and leave. But the monster had no intention of leaving, now wanting revenge. Digging its claws into the dirt, it quickly kicked dirt into the air, temporarily blinding the dragon.

Before Toothless had a chance to back away, the manticore came running through the dust cloud and rammed its horn into his chest. The smaller horns that were between the larger ones priced the dragons chest. "Rrrraaaaahhhhh!!" Toothless let out a pained roar as the manticore shoved his body against a nearby house, forcing its large horn to pin him to the wall while the smaller one sank deeper in his chest.

Toothless flailed around, trying to snap his jaws on anything to force the manticore off him. As the beast continued to force the dragon harder against the building, the sound of bones cracking could be heard from his body, causing him to roar in pain.

Toothless looked around for anything that could help remove him from his predicament. Looking around, he saw the severed stinger next to his tail. Quickly flexing his tail, Toothless grabbed it and jammed it into the manticore's side. The manticore howled, backing away, pulling it horns out of the dragons chest. Not bothering to waste time, Toothless pounced on top of the manticore's back and dug his claws in his back, ripping apart flesh as he dragged his arms down. When the manticore tried to buck of the black dragon off it's back, the dragon would bite down on its muscles, holding on tight as he continued clawing away at its back.

Roaring in defiance, the beast charged toward the nearest house, ready to slam it's back against it along with the dragon. Right at the moment of impact, however, Toothless sprung off, letting the manticore crash into the building alone. Before the manticore could regain his bearings, the dragon charged in and clamped its jaws around its throat, violently tugging away at it. The manticore could feel its oxygen depleting, frantically trying to push the dragon away, but each swipe of its paws made the dragon pull back, causing his teeth to tear away the flesh on its neck. Pulling its claw back, the lion-like beast swiped at the dragon’s back, dragging its claws against its scales, sinking into its skin.

Toothless couldn't bear the pain and released his grip, pushing off and drew a lot of blood. A wave of rage flowed through the manticore, giving into those powerful emotions as it charged forward, lunging toward the dragon and dug its claws onto its chest. Toothless roared in pain as the manticore's claws dragged against his flesh like a burning blade. When the manticore moved in to bite his neck, Toothless ducked to the right and bit down on its ear, ripping the appendage off, making the beast jump off and clutch at where its ear once was.

The battle continued on for what felt like hours, each beast turning the tides, drenching the ground around them in blood and torn flesh. Among the two, it was the manticore who had received far greater damage. Toothless was much faster and agile, his armor-like scales protecting him from the manticore’s claws and fangs.

As it bled from its wounds, the manticore could barely move, let alone fight. It could see that the dragon had plenty of fight left in it, and if it continued, it would lose and most likely die. With no other choice left, it spread it wings and began to take flight, hoping to escape. But just as it was about to fly over the houses, something tackled it from above, and it felt a searing pain in its left wing. Looking back, its pupils shrank when it saw the dragon latched onto its wing, his jaws digging into the membrane of its wing. Desperately, the manticore flailed around in the air to shake the dragon off, but its struggles made the dragon's teeth tear apart its wing.

Releasing the torn wing, Toothless darted his head forward, his jaws chomping down on where the manticore's wings met it's back. With one powerful pull, Toothless ripped one of its wings out of its socket, bone and all. The manticore let out a cry of pain as its body started to lose altitude. Kicking it hard and spreading his wings, Toothless hovered midair and watched as the beast’s body crashed onto the ground below, kicking up a huge cloud of dust.

The sound of painful cries and howls filled the air as the dust slowly settled. The once mighty and ferocious manticore was reduced to a whining beast. From the crash, one of its horns snapped off and blood gushed from its now stubby wing. Before it could crawl back to the safety of the Everfree Forest, a low snarl quickly grabbed its attention. Looking back, it watched in fear as the dragon slowly stalked toward it, fangs dripping with its blood from its wing, claws digging into the dirt with every step. But what terrified the manticore the most were the dragon's eyes; the eyes of a predator ready to make the kill.

With a swift lunge, Toothless latched his jaws onto the manticore's neck, making it cry out in agony. The dragon jerked his head side to side, ripping apart the flesh of the manticore's neck and cutting of its oxygen. Soon, the manticore's eyes slowly dimmed as the spark of life faded, its jugular vein pierced as it was painfully choked to death. Placing his paws on the manticore's shoulder, the black dragon pulled with tremendous strength until the head of the beast was ripped off its shoulders, along with a small portion of its spinal cord. The feline’s decapitated head hung from the jaws of the dragon before being tossed aside. Climbing on top of the corpse of his enemy, Toothless flared his wings out and unleashed a blood curdling roar in triumph.

(End of gore)

When the echoing roar faded and left nothing but silence, Fluttershy slowly peeked her head out the door to look around. To her horror, she saw Toothless standing atop the manticore's body, its head completely ripped off and resting several meters away from its corpse. She watched as her friend panted heavily, blood trickling out from the fresh wounds that covered most of his body, but what frightened her the most were his eyes. Unlike his usual wide pupils that made him seem docile and friendly, they were now slits that made him seem primal and bloodthirsty.

Even though she was terrified, Fluttershy wouldn't allow it to keep her away from him as she slowly crept out and walked toward him. As she got closer, she could still see him panting heavily, his eyes distant as if in a trance. When one of her hooves accidentally kicked a piece of debris, the sound made Toothless quickly turn his head in her direction, snarling menacingly, making the pegasus jump back. However, as Toothless looked at Fluttershy, his breathing became steadier and his eyes slowly changed back to normal. For a moment, the two locked eyes until Toothless looked down, jolting in shock as it saw the corpse it was standing on. Jumping off and backing away while retracting his teeth, the dragon's expression showed pure terror and fear. When he turned to look at Fluttershy again, tears began welling in his eyes, slowly rolling down his cheeks.

It didn't take much for Fluttershy to understand that her lovable dragon friend was just as horrified as she was, feeling a tremendous amount of guilt and sorrow. He let out a series of whimpers and a low rumble that sounded upsetting, filled with grief. When Fluttershy tried to step toward her friend, he would immediately back away, hiding his face behind one of his wings.

"It's okay, Toothless." She softly called out as she continued to move closer. "You didn't do anything wrong. You were only trying to protect us." When he finally stopped moving, he kept his face hidden from her. "Please, Toothless, look at me."

While reluctant, he slowly lowered his wing to look at her, the two only a foot away from each other. Fluttershy reached her hoof out to him, confident that he wouldn't dream of attacking her. For a few moments, the young drake stared at his friend’s hoof. Seeing she wasn't afraid of him, slowly, he began to lean his head closer.

Fluttershy patiently watched as her friend slowly came close. But just as her hoof was about to touch his snout, a bolt of magic struck him in the side, causing him to fall to the ground, writhing in pain while letting out a pain filled cry.

Before she tried to seek help from her friends, two stallions clad in armor quickly blocked her path. "Stay back, miss!! This dragon is under arrest and is to be taken to the Canterlot dungeon!!"

Soon, more armored ponies arrived on the scene, using lassos to quickly tie up the dragon’s limbs. "Hit it with another concussion spell!!" One of the guards ordered. One of the unicorns charged up his magic, shooting the spell at Toothless’s chest, causing him to roar in pain and thrash around. "Somepony get a muzzle on that thing and prepare the cage for transport!!"

One of the unicorn guards came running in with a large leather strap, using his magic to wrap it around Toothless’s mouth, keeping it bound shut.

"Stop!!! You're hurting him!!!" Fluttershy cried out as she tried to get closer, only to have the guard keep her back.

"Ma'am, please keep your distance. This dragon is a dangerous monster that must be taken away. It is by the order of the princesses." He ordered.

"Toothless isn't dangerous!!" She cried out, still struggling to get to her friend.

"It killed that manticore. Of course it’s dangerous. Now back away, or else I'll have to arrest you for interfering with the princesses’ orders!!" The guard shouted before shoving her back, causing her to trip and fall.

When Toothless witnesses this, he started to let out muffled roars, trying to break free from the ropes that confined him. "Will one of you idiots hurry up and knock this stupid lizard out!?! Or do I have to do everything myself!?" He barked as he charged his horn with a dark orange aura, his horn blasting the spell, which hit squarely on the dragon’s head.

Toothless let out one last bellow of pain before falling to the ground unconscious with a heavy thud. "Now get that stupid dragon into the cage and onto the wagon so we can get out of here!!"

Fluttershy could only watch as the guards lifted the now unconscious dragon into a cage, then quickly loaded him onto a wagon pulled by two earth ponies. The lead guard charged his horn, and in a flash, they disappeared.

Before Fluttershy could give chase, her friends immediately came running out of town hall to embrace her. "Oh my Celestia, are you alright, Fluttershy!?" Twilight asked while holding her friend close while the rest went to go gather the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"I'm fine, Twilight, but we need to go Canterlot!!" Fluttershy pleaded, trying to push past her friend to make her way to the capital and to her dragon companion.

Before she got any further, her body was enveloped in purple aura. "Are you crazy, Fluttershy!? Didn't you see what that monster did!?" She asked while setting Fluttershy in front of her, trying to talk some sense into her friend.

"He's not a monster! He was only trying to protect us, and he's my friend!!!" Fluttershy's friends gasped in shock. Fluttershy, the most timid mare in Ponyville, was friends with a dragon. "And if it wasn't for him, that manticore would have killed me and the Crusaders!"

"That's right! Toothless is our friend, too!!" Scootaloo shouted as she pushed her way to stand beside Fluttershy.

"He's the most sweetest dragon around!!" Sweetie Belle added before quickly blushing. "Besides Spike of course."

Apple Bloom quickly joined the others to help defend their friend. "We’ve been playing games with him for the last week, and he's never tried to hurt us."

Everypony was completely baffled except for Twilight, who quickly made a connection. "Fluttershy, that hypothetical question you were asking me earlier, it was just hypothetical, wasn’t it?"

The yellow pegasus shook her head. "No, Twilight, it wasn't. I was trying to convince you to try and help me get Toothless out of the cove because he couldn't fly. But now we need to help him by convincing the princesses he isn’t dangerous."

Twilight was so confused, so many things happening that was too much for her to comprehend. But one thing she was sure of was that Fluttershy wouldn't lie when it came to the safety of her friends. "Okay, let's head back to the library and write a letter to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna explaining the situation. I'll need you to tell them what happened since you know more about that dragon then the rest of us."

Fluttershy nodded as she and her friends walked over to the library. "And for the record, that ‘dragon's’ name is Toothless."

Once inside the library, Fluttershy and Twilight got to work writing a letter to the princesses explaining the circumstances. Fluttershy made sure to include as much information as possible, including the dragon’s name and a rough sketch of what he looked like. After the letter was written and double checked by Spike, he rolled the parchment up and set it ablaze with his emerald fire breath, magically sending it to its destination.

"How long do you think it would take for them to respond Twilight? I don't want Toothless to spend too long in the castle dungeon." Fluttershy asked while pacing around, eager to receive a response.

"I'm not sure. I remember Celestia telling me that she was going to be out of the country for a few days, so we may not hear from her fo-"

Twilight was immediately cut off by a blinding flash of light. When it dimmed down, the ponies saw both Celestia and Luna, both of which looked like they were on an urgent mission. "Where is Fluttershy!?" Celestia shouted.

Everypony quickly pointed toward the yellow mare, who was standing beside Twilight. Wasting no time, Celestia quickly made her way over to the mare while holding the letter they had sent not long ago with her magic. "Fluttershy, is everything in this letter one hundred percent true?"

Fluttershy nearly shrieked where she stood as the princess was mere inches away from her. "Y-yes, Your Majesty."

"Please listen carefully, Fluttershy. It is important that you answer this question. At what point did you meet this dragon?" Luna asked, stepping forward and stood beside her sister.

It took Fluttershy a moment to calm herself down as she felt like she was being interrogated, and by the princesses of Equestria, no less. "I-it was about a week ago."

Celestia’s magic hold on the letter disappeared, letting the piece of paper fall to the ground. She then turned to her sister, who gave a knowing nod. When she looked back at Fluttershy, she took a few deep breaths. "Fluttershy, I must ask a favor of you."

"Y-yes, princess?" She timidly answered.

"I'm going to perform a spell that will allow us to look through your memories, but only ones that involve the dragon. But, in order to do so, I will require your consent."

While a bit surprised by the fact the princesses had such a spell, Fluttershy only had one question. "Will it help prove his innocence?"

Luna stepped forward. "Dear Fluttershy, if our hunch is correct about this dragon, it may do more than that."

Fluttershy was hesitant at first, but if allowing the princesses to look through her memories will help prove her friend's innocence, then she was more than willing to go through with it. "Ok, Your Majesties. I trust you." She lowered her head down, allowing the princesses to perform the spell.

Both Celestia and Luna moved their heads down until their horns touched the top of Fluttershy's head. Soon, a soft white glow emitted from the tips of their horns, watching the memories that Fluttershy had of Toothless through their own minds. As they sorted through each individual memory, one in particular caught Celestia’s attention. The memory in question was when Toothless started to write some words that Fluttershy couldn't read, but Celestia and Luna could. When they saw what was written, both mares quickly stepped back after releasing a shocked gasp.

"Princesses, are you alright!?" Twilight shouted as she moved in to confront her teacher and her sister.

"L-luna. That name?" Celestia started as tears began to well up in her eyes.

"Yes, sister, it is the same name that belonged to him." Luna, who remained stoic, couldn't help but shed tears as well.

"Then the spell worked. He's alive. He’s here in Equestria!!" Celestia cried happily while wiping away her tears of joy.

"Princess Celestia, who are you talking about? Who is this ‘he’ you're talking about?" Twilight asked, she and the rest of her friends feeling left out.

But before Celestia could answer, a knock on the door quickly caught the attention of the ponies. The door opened, revealing a unicorn stallion with grey fur and white mane clad in golden armor came walking in. "There's no time to explain! I need you ponies to quickly evacuate the premises….." When the stallion caught a glimpse of the two alicorns in the room, he immediately went slack jaw. "P-princesses!?" He quickly bowed his head, crouching down to his knees.

"Rise, my little pony. What is it that you were trying to speak of that was so urgent?" Luna asked.

The stallion quickly rose. "I came to warn the inhabitants that a deadly manticore is on its way here."

"But the manticore has already been defeated. Your group came and took a dragon into custody, did you not?" Celestia asked seeming rather confused.

But the stallion seem even more so as he cocked his head back. "Dragon? Your Majesties, I'm afraid you’re mistaken. We had just barely arrived not a moment ago, and we didn’t receive any information about a dragon. Just the rampaging manticore."

The room went dead silent, which only lasted a few seconds before Fluttershy quickly zipped up to the stallion. "What do you mean you didn't know anything about the dragon!? A group of guards came here saying that Toothless was to be arrested!"

The stallion started to shake in fear as the mare before him stared into his eyes, almost into his very soul. "P-please, calm down miss! I'm telling you the truth! I’m part of the elite guard, and were the only squad sent to this town. There shouldn't have been anypony else."

"But, if those guards weren't sent by the princesses, then that means..." Fluttershy didn't need to finish her sentence, falling to her knees as this shocking revelation hit them. "Toothless has been kidnapped."

(Johann POV)

Every fiber of my being was in tremendous pain. My head felt dizzy, my vision was blurry, though my hearing was still fine.

"Can you believe how easy capturing this thing was?" An unfamiliar voice spoke.

"Tell me about. It was a bit close when that stupid mare tried to get us to stop. But all the boss had to do to get those small-town bumpkins to back off was to mention the princesses. What a bunch of gullible idiots. Hahaha." A second voice spoke out, and another voice I wasn't familiar with.

"A shame we lost that manticore though. That thing could have fetched us a pretty bit. But, hey, we got our hooves on the next best thing." A sudden slam at the cage I was in made my ears ring, causing me to flinch. "So, boss, how much do you think we'll get for this dragon at the arena?"

When I tried to focus my vision, the first thing I saw was the stallion who had pushed Fluttershy and knocked me unconscious, lying on his back in front of my cage. "Not sure, boys, but I do know that it has to be enough that we’ll live the good life for awhile. After all, this thing killed the manticore that salughtered those dumb royal guards, who's armor we used to play the part quite well."

When the wagon came up on a bump, my body momentarily rose up before falling back down, forcing a groan of pain out of me. "Well, looks like sleeping beauty woke up." When I looked forward again, I saw the stallion grinning evilly at me. "Now don't start getting any funny ideas, dragon. You're our next meal ticket." He charged his horn with the same orange aura as before. "Now just relax and go back to sleep. You're gonna need your strength for where you're going."

Before he fired his concussive spell, only one thought came to mind 'Fluttershy, hel-' My mind went blank as the spell made contact, my head slamming on the cage floor as everything went black.

The End.

Of act 1

Author's Note

Hey guys today's author's note is gonna be a bit long.

1st as always a big shout out to my editor Codex92, please make sure to check out his stories. Including our collab Equestrian Titan.
2nd as you saw by the end of this chapter it is the end of the first act of my story. Now there will be more to come, but because I want to make sure that the plot is strong and a big diverse from the HTTYD movie with occasional references, the time it will take to make a chapter will very. Plus I still have to work on my other stories.

3rd thank you all for your support and positive feedback, and even the not so positive. It means a lot that so many of you like my work. It makes writing worth it.

4th and last but not least. Much like this story I had a dream a few nights ago for another story. Now I can't say for sure if it will be as big of a hit as this one, but nothing ventured nothing gained. But the main reason I'm bringing it up is because I'm seeking a partner to help write this story. Now I won't go into full detail on here but I will leave a set of requirements that I'm looking for to help me with this story.

Now the story is based on well known hero. A web slinger that I'm sure you all know, Spider-Man. It will be my own take on this character. And another thing is that for this story I plan to reference another story from fimfiction that never got finished. It was an amazing story called "The Model's secretary". I will borrow a few idea from it as a way to pay homage to it and the amazing writer who wrote it.

So if your interested in working with me and possibly helping in creating another soon to be featured story the please check the requirements down bellow. And as always thanks for reading.

Basic requirements for possible collab

1 must know a good amount about spider man, along with the villains he fights and different versions of spiderman.

2 a discord account to communicate with. Makes it easier then checking fimfiction.

3 most have at least 1 story with over 30k words with a high like rating and views. This is proof for me to see that I don't get lazy writers, or half baked work.

4 must have incredible grammar, and punctuation skills.

5 capable of helping me write up ideas for chapter. Teamwork goes a long way.

If you think you qualify then DM me for my discord and we'll talk about the details of the story there.