And I'm back with the final instalment of Fiery Mane and Shadowy Scales. I had this written up ages ago, then realised it was completely horrible, so I deleted it and rewrote it entirely, and this is what a came up with. I personally quite like it. Hope you like it too. :)

Guest: Why thank you. And no way is Hiccup marrying Heather. Grrr. I think that might be the first ship I don't really like. Huh. As for the heir thing, read on.

The news of the old chief's illness spread like wildfire, through the village of Berk, then across the sea to the ears of a certain Highland queen. Many years had passed since the adventures of Hiccup's youth, and as he lay propped up on his palette in his hut he breathed a frail sigh of longing for the past. The Night Fury rested at his side, letting out a mournful gurgle. The old chief shifted slightly and patted his old friend's head, earning himself a suffering look from the dark dragon.

"Almost there, hey bud."

There was another burble from the dragon.

"Yeah, I know. It'll be good to see Astrid again though."

"Rrrrr."

"Mmmm, you think more people would come to see me die," Hiccup murmured wearily.

Just as the words passed his dry lips, a crowd burst into his room. His old friends, Ruff, Tuff and his cousin Snotlout. They had unfortunately lost Fishlegs to last winter's chill.

"Always knew I'd outlive you cousin," Snotlout joked half-heartedly as he led in his eldest son. Fortunately for the village, Snotlout had found himself a strong willed wife, who Snotlout deeply loved, and she questioned his every step with a raised brow. Snotlout was always stumbling over himself to please her. His children had grown to be a lot wiser than his younger self, so it was with great pleasure Hiccup had bestowed the chieftainship to Snotlout's eldest son.

"So, you're on your now, Asmund. Any last questions?"

The man shook his head, looking like he was trying to hold back tears.

"Very good, I had hoped you'd have the hang of it by now."

That earned him a sad grin.

"So, how long until I see you two again?" Hiccup asked as he turned to the two twins.

"We're on a one way trip to Valhalla," Ruffnut nodded. "We'll start a battle tomorrow in your honour, and then go and die in the heat of it."

"Wouldn't it be cleaner if you just stabbed each other?" Snotlout asked.

"Probably," Tuffnut shrugged, "but it wouldn't be as fun."

"The Thorstons always go out with a bang," Ruffnut said solemnly, her voice contradicted by the wicked grin on her face.

"Hopefully I won't be there to see that," Hiccup smiled wearily.

They were interrupted by a horn that announced the arrival of visitors. There was soon the sound of chaos outside before a figure fell through the doorway. Merida had only improved with age. Her face was decorated with the light trails of wrinkles, and her fiery mane had begun to fade to grey, but there were still streaks that told tale of its former glory. It was still as thick and curly as ever. She wore a forest green dress, ornamented only by her sword and quiver at her waist. She was the image of a Celtic warrior queen, who bowed to no one.

"Someone told me you were planning on dying today," she called in her usual bold way as she straightened herself up, a bowl still spinning on the floor behind her having been knocked from a nearby shelf.

"Is that the reason for your most graceful entry?" Hiccup asked sardonically.

"Nah, I was down to my last pair of leggings, and I wanted get here before all the good colours were gone," she spoke as she lifted her skirts up to her knees, displaying a pair of brightly striped leggings that were otherwise concealed under her dress. They were coloured hot pink, lilac, and royal blue. Hiccup's eyes crinkled with humour, then a thin man strode in through the door. He wore the DunBroch plaid kilt, with a leather chest plate over a green tunic. A dark cape was draped from his shoulders, and his now grey hair still stuck in all directions.

"How's it going Gilleabart?" Tuffnut asked, beating the lean man on the back.

"As good as I can be after decades of chasing this mad woman around," he grinned at the male twin, before turning to Hiccup.

"How are you feeling lad?"

"Perfectly horrid," the old Viking smiled.

"Aye, I can imagine."

Hiccup turned to Snotlout. "Is everything ready?"

The saddened cousin gave a nod, and Hiccup closed his eyes and sighed. "Let's do it."

Together, Hiccup's old friends lifted him from his bed and carried him out of the house, largely helped by the weakened man's dragon, who kept letting out desolate groans, his eyes as wide as saucers.

The crowds cleared a path for them, as the group solemnly walked down to the sea. There, a small decorated boat waited for him, pulled far enough onto the shore to keep it from floating away in the tide.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Gilleabart asked, frowning at the boat.

"Yes, I'm going to Rán. She is the one who keeps Astrid. Hel already has her sights on me, I'm just making it known where I belong."

"With Astrid," Merida nodded.

"With Astrid," Hiccup echoed in confirmation.

There was a sad exhalation from the group as they helped Hiccup into the boat. Toothless held his head up to his fading master.

"Good bud, you know what to do."

His close friends circled around him to say their last goodbyes. Snotlout gave a slightly tearful pat on the back, the Twins expressed their love of what he has brought to this village, specifically the dragons of mass destruction. Gilleabart shook Hiccup's hand, thanking him for the good times, and Merida gave him a tearful kiss on the cheek, before turning and hugging her husband. The crowd behind them gave a final cheer, in the celebration of Hiccup's life, rather than the dread of his death. Hiccup gave a final smile and wave to them, before turning to the sea.

"Let it be done," he breathed in finality.

His friends pushed the boat off, Toothless helping once again. The boat drifted slowly out to sea, its small sail catching the gentle breeze. Once Hiccup had travelled a fair distance from the shore, he turned to face the isle of Berk.

"Now, bud!" he called in a voice that he had not been able to conjure up in years.

Toothless, who was standing proudly at the sea's edge watching his rider anxiously, let out a peeling shriek, and shot out a bright bluey-purple ball from his mouth.

There was a cry of shock from the crowd as the blast hit the edge of the boat and it began to sink to its demise. There even more surprised murmurs as the dragon dived in after him, with no second glances. No one expected the dragon to survive long without his rider, but nobody expected him to do something this drastic. The crowd just watched in awed horror as the last known Night Fury leapt to his death after his lifelong friend.

As the water filled the boat to greet Hiccup, he thought only of Astrid's embrace.

Hiccup's eyes snapped open, and he swam upwards, towards the narrow hole of light above. As he broke the water's surface, he looked around in confusion. He was on an extremely white beach, with a figure waiting nearby to greet him. He pulled himself out of the pool to find something strange. He appeared to be back in his 20 year old body. The age she was when she died. He looked up at the waiting being in front of him.

"Rán?"

"Well you certainly figured it out quicker than the girl did," the goddess smiled.

"I made it? She's here?"

"Most certainly," she nodded.

Hiccup whooped with glee, and ran up to give the woman a hug. Rán gave a shocked laugh, and patted thee soaking man on the back.

"Hiccup?" an extremely familiar voice spoke, even after all these years.

"Astrid," Hiccup gushed out.

The two ran up to take each other in their arms, pressing their lips firmly together. Hiccup spun Astrid around in joy, and the girl giggled with glee.

"I waited so long to do that," Hiccup breathed when they finally drew to a halt.

"So long," Astrid agreed.

The two began to walk arm in arm down the beach, when there was a greeting gurgle behind them. They both spun around, and Astrid let out a joyful laugh to see the sleek black dragon pull himself out of the pool that Hiccup had just come from. He paused and shook the water from his ears.

"Toothless?" Hiccup spoke in delighted bewilderment.

The Night Fury gave a happy chirp, and squeezed himself between the reunited couple. Astrid gave the dragon a hug, and a kiss on the nose.

"Stormfly?" she asked, looking up at Hiccup.

"Merida still has her. She has been helping Gilleabart entertain their grandchildren."

"Merida and Gilleabart?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yup, and that's not the worst of it. It took Gilleabart years to convince her to marry him," Hiccup began, and he continued to inform Astrid on all the things she had missed out on, while they walked down the beach, hands firmly clasped together, a content Night Fury bounding around them in excitement.

Hmm, so there you go. I have just about everyone's fate figured out, so if you want to know anything about the characters not mentioned, or not mentioned enough, feel free to ask by PM or review. As you can see, I mostly ignored HTTYD 2. However, it doesn't mean it didn't happen. If you want to, you can imagine those events still happened, just not quite in the same way.

Thank you so much to all the followers, favourites and reviewers. Especially reviewers. :D

Special thanks to DinoRhino, who has supported this since the first chapters. Thank you dearie! (Did I just say 'dearie'? Hmmm.)

Okay, and now,

Coming soon to a digital device near you:

The Night's Fury

This is a Beauty and the Beast tale, How to Train Your Dragon style. The details are still yet to be confirmed but, basically, when Hiccup finds he has shot down a Night Fury in the woods, he is cursed, to live the life the Night Fury has. By day a man, by night a beast. He cannot return to Berk now, he will be shunned, exiled as an abomination of nature, so he hides in the woods, living a lonely life for 5 years. Then he is discovered, by none other than Astrid herself, and his life takes another turn, for better or for worse. Romance/Fantasy. T rated. Straight HTTYD fic. This will be told in third person, but mainly from Astrid's point of view.

If you are interested, stay tuned! I want to have this well planned out before I start posting it (unlike this story) so it will be a while, but it is coming! There is a lot more to the story than what I've written here so please check it out. :) I am super excited about it, and I hope you will be too. Once again, feel free to ask questions.