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Tony had to admit that going out to look for the terrifying dragon probably wasn't the best idea. But promises have to be kept. Especially promises you've made to yourself. So out Tony went to discover everything there was to discover in the Magic Land Above the Clouds.  

Tony went through some woods. They were dark and a bit scary. After a while he came to a bridge across a river. Tony was crossing the bridge without further ado, when a ninja suddenly leapt out in front of him.  

"What do you think you're doing?" 

"I was just crossing the bridge," said Tony.  

"That's not how it works. I'm the guardian of the bridge," said the ninja in a very important voice.  

"That sounds exciting. What does it involve?" Tony asked.  

"It means that I guard the bridge. And make sure that all kinds of people don't just wander across it." 

Tony thought about that. He didn't think he was "all kinds of people" as he was Tony Pony out looking for adventures.  

"No, that's no good at all. But may I be allowed to cross the bridge?" he asked.  

The ninja made a strange sneezing sound in his nose.  

"Don't you know anything about bridge guardians?" 

"Not really," Tony admitted.  

"It's actually the first time I've left the Pony School, so there are probably loads of things I don't know." 

The ninja shook its head.  

"Well, you need to answer a question before I let you cross the bridge. A difficult question! A ... really difficult question!" 

"I hope I can answer it," said Tony.  

Tony looked at the ninja and the ninja looked at Tony. Neither of them said anything for a bit.  

"So, what's the question?" 

"Hang on, I need to think of one! People don't come by here very often, so I'm a bit rusty." 

Tony sat down and waited patiently.  

Suddenly, the ninja jumped up.  

"Right! I've got it. It's a really difficult question. Are you ready?" 

Tony nodded.  

"What's your favourite colour?" 

"Oh, that's a difficult question," said Tony. "What's your favourite, ninja?" 

"Black, of course!" 

"Well, I think I like pink best. Or ... no, wait. Orange! No ... green. My answer is green." 

"You can't just say lots of different colours. I'm the guardian of the bridge, and I demand a clear answer." 

"Green," said Tony firmly. 

"Alright, then. You may cross the bridge," said the ninja. "But where are you off to?" 

"I'm off to find and fight Drago the dragon." 

The ninja turned pale.  

"That's a really bad idea. Drago is incredibly fierce and spits fire! Maybe you should just stay here with me. We could throw ninja stars and do lots of other ninja things?" 

Tony smiled and shook his head.  

"That's really nice of you, ninja, but I've promised myself I'll find Drago the dragon, so that's what I've got to do. But maybe I'll see you again later."

Tony was really hungry after chatting with the bridge-guarding ninja, and answering questions and stuff, so he decided to eat his packed lunch.  

He found a spot in the woods, with a couple of big rocks to sit on, warmed by patches of sunlight from between the treetops. Tony unwrapped his lunch and was about to take the first bite of a sandwich when he heard something from behind a bush.  

"Psst!" 

Tony stared at the bush.  

"Psst!" he heard again.  

This was really strange. Tony got up and looked behind the bush. It was the entrance to a grotto, and inside the grotto Tony could see two sparkling eyes.  

"Um … hello?"  

Tony had never seen eyes as strange as that before, or spoken to anyone hiding in a grotto, so he didn't know what else to say.  

"Hello," whispered the voice from within the grotto.  

"Do you have any food?" 

"Yes, of course. Come out into the sunshine, and we can share my lunch," Tony said. It would be great to have some company while he ate.  

The eyes came closer to Tony, and now he could see that they belonged to a pale, thin, vampire.  

"It's no good. I'm a vampire," said the vampire.  

"Okay?" said Tony.  

"Yes, we don't tolerate the light. Not at all. So I can't go out looking for food in the daytime, and I'm a bit scared of the dark, so I don't like going out at night, either."  

"Well, that sucks. It's not easy for you. But if you sit here in the shade under the tree, I can sit in the sun next to you, and we can share my lunch. I've got sandwiches and tangerines and all kinds of things," said Tony.  

They sat and chewed for a bit.  

"I'm out to find Drago the dragon. Do you know which way I should go?" Tony asked.  

The vampire nearly choked on a banana.  

"Drago? Drago is incredibly fierce and spits fire, and he eats people and animals. Stay away from him!" 

"Yes, that's what I've been told. But I still want to find him," said Tony.  

"Well, then you need to go that way," said the vampire, pointing further into the woods.  

"Thanks a lot. I hope to see you again," said Tony, as he got up, picked up his backpack, and walked deeper into the woods.  

Tony hadn't got far before he began to wish he'd stayed at home, in the safety of the Pony School. It got darker and darker and more and more gloomy. Suddenly, he heard hoarse, cackling laughter. Right in front of him ...

Tony shivered all down his spine when he heard the hoarse, cackling laughter in the dark and gloomy woods. Ponies have really long spines, so it was actually pretty cold.  

"What was that? And can I still go back?" Tony thought, but before he could answer his own question, he was confronted by a witch.  

The witch cackled loudly and hoarsely again.  

"I won't let you past here!" 

"But …" Tony tried to speak, but the witch interrupted him before he could continue.  

"Not before you've given me all your stuff!" 

"Well, then, okay,” said Tony, pulling off his backpack.  

"What … what are you doing?" said the witch.  

"I'm giving you all my stuff." 

"That's not how it works. You need to protest and refuse, and then I'll threaten to turn you into a rock or a bicycle pump, or something scarier!" 

"Yikes ..." said Tony.  

"Sorry, it's the first time I've visited these woods and it's also the first time I've met a witch. So I don't really know how it works. But if it's important for you to get all my stuff, you're welcome to it. I don't really want to be turned into a bicycle pump." 

Tony started to pull things out of his backpack. His scarf, notebook, sword and lots of other things.  

"Here you are."  

Tony offered the things to the witch, but she shook her head crossly.  

"I don't want them at all, if that's your attitude." 

Tony thought the witch was a bit odd. But then he shrugged and started to pack his backpack again. As he struggled to get everything in, he said:  

"Perhaps you could help me? I'm off to meet Drago the dragon to fight him. I hope you know the way, because I don't." 

The witch looked quite startled.  

"Drago is a terrifying, fire-spitting creature that eats both people and animals AND he doesn't like cola! Isn't that scary?"  

"Yes, really scary. But I've promised myself I'll find him. So can you show me the way?" Tony asked.  

The witch cackled with laughter again.  

"Yes, I could. But I won't, because you didn't give me all your stuff!" 
"But ..." said Tony.  

"No buts about it. You didn't give me all your stuff, so I won't show you the way." 

The witch cackled again, turned on her heel and went on her way.  

Tony sighed. He didn't really understand what he'd done wrong. He was about to press his things into his backpack, so he could zip it up, when he noticed something inside the backpack that he hadn't put there. It was an hourglass and a letter. Tony opened the letter. It was from Jony, the greyest pony, who was the best trotter back at the Pony School.  

The letter said:  

"To Tony. I've heard that you want to go out and see more of the Magic Land Above the Clouds. But your place is among the ponies, and you can still come back to us. If you're back at the Pony School before the hourglass runs out, you can be in the Pony Parade, when we all graduate as fully-trained ponies. If you don't make it back, you can never again be part of the pony community." 

Tony folded up the letter, looked at the hourglass, and sighed deeply.

Tony walked towards the pirate ship. It was hard to walk in the sand, and his hooves were really heavy. He'd also been walking all day. He was getting close to the ship when there was a great crash and something heavy landed right next to him. It was a cannon ball! 

"Stop shooting, I just need to ask something," Tony shouted, hoping that someone could hear him. A hoarse voice replied.  

"Oh, sorry, that was an old habit. We pirates like firing canons at people." 

"Are you a pirate?" Tony asked inquisitively, drawing closer. On the deck of the pirate ship stood a girl with a patch on one eye, a large sword, an earring, TWO wooden legs, and a parrot on her shoulder.  

"Am I a pirate? Yo-ho-ho. You bet I am! I'm Teresa the Terrible, ruler of the seven seas, devil of the deep, known and feared from the North Pole to the Cape of Good Hope!" 

"Wow. That's pretty cool," said Tony.  

"But I can't help asking why your pirate ship is way out in the desert?" 

Teresa the Terrible suddenly looked rather cross.  

"Yes, why are you in a desert?" 

Tony answered: 
"Mainly because I'm lost. I'm looking for Drago the dragon, but I don't really know where to go." 

Teresa the Terrible looked shocked.  
"That's a really dumb idea. Drago is incredibly fierce, and spits fire, and eats people and animals. He doesn't like cola and he's evil, and so strong he can lift a pirate ship up into the air and drop it down into a desert!" 

Tony gulped. He thought Drago sounded worse and worse, the more he heard about him.  

Teresa nodded vigorously. 
"Yes, that's what happened. Drago dropped my ship here, and now I can't pillage the seven oceans anymore." 

"Watashi wa kyandî ga hoshîdesu," the parrot suddenly squawked.  

"Wow, does your parrot talk?" 

"Yep," Teresa answered proudly.  

"What's it saying?" 

"I don't know, as it only speaks Japanese." 

"Oh," said Tony, rather disappointed. "But do you know where Drago lives?" 

"Yes, you just need to go that way," Teresa pointed.  

Tony thanked her and set off again. Just as he was thinking how this time it was surprisingly easy to get directions, the wind started to blow. First a lot, then an awful lot, and then a tornado struck and Tony was lifted up into the air and whirled round and round ...

Tony was whirled around in the tornado with a force and speed he'd never experienced before. Besides Tony, socks, books, jigsaw puzzle pieces, a chest and thousands of other things were blown around. Tony concentrated on not getting hit in the head by a flying object, but also tried to spot something he could hold onto.  

Suddenly, the wind died down, and Tony grabbed hold of a rubber boat as it flew past him. Tony and the boat landed in a river, with a great splash. 

"Phew, that could have ended badly," Tony thought, just as he noticed that the boat was sailing at great speed, and moving faster and faster. Straight ahead, there was a gushing waterfall. Tony desperately tried to use his hooves to paddle into the bank, but no matter how hard he paddled, the boat was drawing nearer to the waterfall. Tony closed his eyes, and then he fainted.  

When he opened his eyes again, Tony and the boat had been cast up on the shore. Tony was soaking wet, from muzzle to tail, and his things lay spread out on the grass. But he still HAD his hourglass and, most important of all, he was alive.  

"Why are you lying there?" a voice said suddenly. Behind Tony was a man with enormous upper arms, and an even bigger moustache, with ropes and climbing equipment dangling everywhere.  

"Well, it's a long story, but I actually want to get to Drago's castle. Do you know where it is?" 

The big man shook his head.  

"That sounds like a bad idea. Drago is incredibly fierce and spits fire, and eats people and animals. He doesn't like cola and he's evil, and he's so strong he can lift a pirate ship up into the air and drop it down into a desert! And he has really bad breath." 

Tony interrupted impatiently.  

"Yes, I've heard that ... lots of times. But do you know where Drago lives?" 

"I can show you. We just need to get to the top of that mountain and I'll point it out. But you have to race me to the top! 1-2-3 go!" 

Tony looked up the mountain and nodded towards some steps. 

"Can't we just take the steps?" 

There was no answer, as the giant had already started climbing the mountain. Tony shrugged his shoulders and walked up the steps. On the way, he found an apple tree and picked a fine red apple. He also took a little nap and whistled with a bird before he reached the summit. 

Tony waited in the sunshine for half an hour before the giant reached the top, sweating and panting. He was also very cross. 

"How on earth did you get up here before me?" 

Tony was about to explain that he'd just taken the steps, which was much easier than all that climbing, when the man interrupted him.  

"We'll climb down again and see who gets there first!" 

Tony thought quickly.  

"Okay, but point to Drago's castle first." 

"Yes, ok. There!" said the man, pointing quickly, before starting to climb down again at great speed. Tony shook his head and started to trot in the direction the man had pointed to. Towards the big, dark castle ...

Tony was actually in a really good mood as he trudged towards the castle. It did look rather scary ... and flames seemed to burst from the roof once in a while. But Tony was on the right path, at least, and was now finally approaching the end of his journey. He'd met a lot of exciting people, but now it was time to reach his goal.  

Deep in these thoughts, he nearly fell over a pair of long legs. Outside a tent sat a wizard with a fine pointed hat, and it was his legs that Tony had stumbled over.  

"Hello," the wizard mumbled in a weak voice. And then he sighed.  

"Hi there," Tony said brightly, and was about to continue, as he was in a great hurry. But the wizard looked so sad that Tony stopped.  

"Is anything wrong?" 

"No, no, you just carry on," sighed the wizard. 

"It seems as though something's wrong?" 

"Oh, it's just ... it's hard to explain," said the wizard in an even weaker voice.  

Tony glanced at his hourglass. He didn't really have time for this, but he also felt sorry for the wizard who was so sad.  

"Can't you try and explain?" 

The wizard sighed again. So deeply that his tent fluttered.  

"I'm a wizard, you know." 

Tony nodded. He could see that.  

"Therefore I can conjure up anything. Anything in the whole wide world." 

"That sounds great!" said Tony.  

"Yes, you would think so," said the wizard.  

"But ... when you can conjure up anything in the world, you never lack anything. So I've no idea what I want for my birthday. When you can have anything in the whole wide world, you can actually be a bit bored." 

Tony thought about that.  

"Maybe you just need a hobby?" 

The wizard brightened up a little.  
"A hobby? Yes ... that might be a very good idea." 

Tony snapped his hooves, which is more difficult than snapping your fingers. He'd had an even better idea. He could actually use some company on his trip, and it would be good to have a wizard as a travel companion, if Drago turned out to be as fierce as everyone said.  

"Maybe your hobby could be adventures? So you could come along on one with me?" 

"That's a FANTASTIC idea, my young friend. Let's get going," said the wizard as he leapt up. 

"Don't you want to hear what the adventure involves?" Tony asked.  

"No, you can tell me that along the way. Let's get going." 
 

So Tony and the wizard set off on an adventure. For precisely 24 steps, after which the wizard stopped.  

"What is it?" 

The wizard sat down on a rock.  

"Argh, I think it's quite hard to walk and walk. Maybe I don't feel like it, after all. I'm also so tired." 

Tony was about to say something, but was interrupted by deep snoring. The wizard had fallen asleep. Tony sighed and wrapped the wizard in his wizard's cape. Tony was alone again,  

but not for long. Suddenly he heard hooves thundering behind him. And a voice that shouted: "Stop! Or face the consequences!"

Tony trembled as he looked over his shoulder.  

"Stop!" the voice shouted again.  

Tony didn't know what to do. On the one hand, it seemed logical to stop when someone shouted "stop!" – but on the other hand, the shouting voice sounded really cross. The problem resolved itself, since as Tony cantered towards Drago's castle, he was overtaken by an enormous horse ridden by a real knight. The great horse stopped just in front of Tony, whose forehead collided with the horse's stomach.  

"Sorry," said Tony, even though it wasn't him that had stopped in the middle of the road. The big horse glared angrily at Tony. On the other hand, the horse's rider smiled broadly – but then drew his sword very dramatically, and pointed it at Tony.  

"Get ready to die!" 

"Errr ... what?" said Tony, quivering in fear.  

"You're a dragon, and I'm a knight, and knights fight dragons and kill them!" the knight said proudly.  

"But ... wait a minute." 

Tony thought things were moving much too fast.  

"I'm not a dragon; I'm a pony." 

"You totally are a dragon!" roared the knight.  

"I can assure you that I'm not. First of all, dragons are green and, as you can see, I'm blue," Tony explained.  

The knight squinted.  

"Errrm … I'd say more greenish-blue." 

The knight gesticulated with his sword.  

"AND you have wings. So you are a dragon." 

"I'm not, I swear," Tony said in desperation.  

"My wings are tiny and I can't even fly, but dragons can. And I can't breathe fire, either!" 

Tony blew and blew and showed how no flames came out of his mouth.  

"You're definitely a dragon, and I have to kill you. Those are the rules," the knight said, raising his sword.  

Without thinking, Tony started to run as fast as his short pony legs could carry him. This wasn't very fast compared to the knight's great horse, which was close behind him. Tony ran into some bushes that he hoped the big horse couldn't enter, but it could. Tony zig-zagged to confuse the knight and the horse. This didn't work either. Suddenly, Tony was out on a plain without any hiding places. He ran as fast as he could, but the horse was right behind him. Then Tony fell. He didn't even think about whether it hurt, but just closed his eyes and thought: "My time is up."

"Excuse me, but what on earth is going on here?" 

Tony slowly opened his eyes. The voice didn't come from the knight with the big sword who wanted to kill Tony because he thought Tony was a dragon. It was a woman's voice.  

Tony looked up. At the top of a high tower stood a very beautiful princess, with her hands at her sides, and with furrowed brows.  

"Yes, fellow, it's you I'm talking to. What are you doing?"  

The princess pointed at the knight, who had dismounted from his horse. He pointed at Tony with his sword.  

"Good day, fair princess, I was just killing an incredibly fierce dragon." 

Tony was about to say something, but the knight had already raised his sword, so Tony got up and started to run. Round and round the princess' tower, with the knight in hot pursuit. Tony's legs started to get tired, but the knight just kept on running after him. Until there was a heavy "bump" and the knight suddenly said "Ow!" and rubbed his helmet.  

"What was that?" he shouted up to the princess.  

"It was an orange I threw at your head. You obviously don't know how to listen, so I have to use other ways of getting your attention." 

The princess pointed at Tony.  

"He's a pony, not a dragon." 

The knight smiled and shook his head.  

"I'm sorry to correct a real princess, but you're mistaken. It's obviously a dragon." 
"It isn't." 

"It is." 

"It isn't." 

So it went on and Tony was wondering whether he could sneak off without being seen, but the knight's big, angry horse blocked his path.  

Then the princess seemed to have an idea.  

"Mr Knight? Are you aware of a knight's most important task? More important than hunting dragons?" 

"Errr … no … I don't think so," the knight mumbled.  

"Yes, you should know that knights court princesses!" 

"Um ... yes ...courting ... what's that?" 

The princess sighed.  

"You're not the brightest knight in the kingdom, are you? Courting means you have to get me to fall in love with you. For example, by singing a wonderful song to me." 

"Oh, I get it. Right, I'm on it!" said the knight, and started to hum and lilt to warm up his voice.  

The princess winked at Tony.  

"You'd better get going. Where are you off to anyway?" 

"Thank you, princess. It probably sounds a bit daft, but I'm actually on my way to Drago's castle." 

The princess looked shocked.  

"Drago? Drago is incredibly fierce and spits fire ...." 

Tony raised a hoof in the air.  

"I'll stop you there. I know that Drago is fierce and all that. But I've promised myself I'll find him. Goodbye, fair princess. And thank you!"

Tony crept away as quickly and quietly as he could.  

"What a lovely princess," he thought as he walked. He thought about all the fun and kind and strange people he'd encountered in the course of his adventure. The ninja guarding the bridge, the vampire that avoided light AND was scared of the dark, the ugly witch, the talkative cowboy, Teresa the pirate and the mountaineer who wanted everything to be a competition.  

It had been such an exciting journey, and he'd experienced more than he'd ever done before in his life.  

But now there was some serious business ahead. Tony was not far away from Drago the dragon's castle. It was big and dark, and flames seemed to escape from the roof now and then.  

Tony stopped. He was far from home. Maybe he should just turn around? Go home to the Pony School and trot in step with all the others for the rest of his days? Tony had a long think. No, no, he wouldn't do that. He'd promised himself he'd go out into the world and find and fight Drago the dragon. So that was what he was going to do. Everyone said the dragon was really fierce, so he'd actually be doing the world a favour. Since Drago was incredibly fierce and spat fire, and ate people and animals and didn't like cola, and was evil and so strong he could lift a pirate ship up into the air and drop it down into a desert! And had really bad breath. He probably also resorted to dirty tricks when fighting, Tony thought.  

Tony continued, but quite slowly. It was as though his legs would rather just stay where they were. Tony looked down at his hooves.  

"Come on, buddies, it'll be ok." 
 

He walked and walked and then there he was, standing at the gate to Drago's castle. The gate was really large and scary, and Tony wasn't sure he wanted to know what was on the other side. But he still rang the bell. He pressed it quite gently, but it still sounded like a peal of a thousand large bells.  

Then he heard heavy footsteps. Followed by someone scraping the lock. And then the creaking door slowly began to open ...

Tony held his breath. The door opened, to reveal Drago the dragon with a big smile on his face.  

"Hi there, who are you? Would you like to come inside? Are you hungry; I can make some popcorn?" 

Tony stopped holding his breath and instead began to open and close his mouth.  

"Oh … well now … yes thanks, I'd like to come in. And I am actually quite hungry." 
"Right, so come on in. I think I have some cola in the fridge, if you're thirsty?" 

"Yes please," said Tony.  

Drago proudly showed Tony round his castle and seemed to be a really nice guy. Tony thought this was strange. He plucked up courage to ask: 

"I say, Drago?" 
"Yes?" 

"I actually thought you were ... fierce. And that you didn't like cola and stuff?" 

Drago laughed.  

"Yes, that's what lots of people think. They say nasty things when they're afraid of something. I think I'm lovely, but whenever I meet someone, they run away, so I never get to tell them I'm not fierce at all. Nobody ever comes to visit me, either. You're actually the first visitor I've ever had."  

"That's a big shame," Tony said gravely.  

Drago shrugged.  

"That's the way it is. But there are also many cool things about being a dragon. For example, I know some conjuring tricks! Dragon magic is really nice. Would you like a demonstration?" 

Tony certainly did.  

"What would you like me to conjure up? You decide.” 

Tony thought for a bit.  

"An ice cream," he suggested. It would be cool to see an ice cream appear by magic, and he also loved ice cream.  

"Great idea, I also love ice cream! Are you ready?" 

Tony was.  

"3-2-1, go!" said Drago as he waved his magic wand.  

There was a little puff of smoke and on the floor there was ... a bicycle.  

"Botheration. Wait, I'll try again. 3-2-1, go!" 

Drago waved the wand again. And conjured up a tall hat.  

"I think I'm out of practice, but I can do it. Just a moment. 3-2-1, go!" 

Drago conjured up a lamp. And lots of other things. Drago actually never managed to conjure up an ice cream, but it didn't matter as it was still fun to see his magic tricks. Drago and Tony munched popcorn and drank cola and had a really cool time. Until Tony glanced at the hourglass in his knapsack. The sand was running down steadily and there wasn't much time left. He had an idea! 

"Drago? We're friends, aren't we?" 

Drago burped a little, so a little flame escaped from his mouth and Tony nearly lost his mane.  

"Oh, sorry, the flame's a bit hard to control. But yes: we haven't known each other long, but we're definitely friends." 

"Could you help me with something?" 

"Of course!" 

"Fantastic. Thanks, Drago. Can you pack a bag because we need to leave now!" 

Drago and Tony started to walk.  

"Why do we have to go all the way to the Pony School, Tony?" Drago asked.  

"I want to tell the other ponies how wonderful and magical the world is. All they want to do is trot for the rest of their days. Can you imagine if that was all you had to do for your entire life?" 

"No, since that sounds incredibly boring." 

"Exactly, Drago, and that's why we need to stop them from trotting for eternity! I had an idea: Can't I just sit on your back, so you can fly us there?" 

Drago stopped and suddenly looked serious.  

"No, THAT's a bad idea. Dragons NEVER fly with anyone on their backs. It's a rule that we never do that." 

Tony stood for a bit.  

"Well, in that case, I have another plan: We'll just take the same path as I did; I mean the opposite direction to the route I took to get to your castle." 

Drago whistled. He often did this when someone said something wise, which Tony often did. Meanwhile, Tony was rummaging in his backpack. He found some glasses and a false moustache, which he gave Drago to wear.  

"What's this for?" asked Drago.  

"We have to pass a knight who loves slaying dragons, so you need a disguise." 

"A knight!" Drago shouted so loudly that he breathed out flames, and singed the top of a fir tree.  

"He can try! Dragons aren't afraid of anything or anyone ... except snakes, perhaps. But not knights!" 

Tony patted Drago on the shoulder.  

"Of course you're not afraid of anything, but we don't really have time for combat with knights. We need to get home to the Pony School." 

So Tony and Drago crept past the knight, who was still standing singing to the princess. But the knight saw through Tony's crafty disguise. He could see that Drago was a dragon and drew his sword immediately.  

"You're done for, dragon," he shouted.  

"Is that what you think," said Drago, getting ready to fight. The knight did likewise, coming closer and closer, with his sword drawn. Just before they clashed, the princess screamed so loudly that all the glass in the tower shattered, and both Drago and the knight froze in their tracks. Tony and the princess stood between Drago and the knight.  

"What are you doing?" Tony asked.  

"He's a dragon and I'm a knight. So we have to fight," said the knight. 

"Why?" Tony asked. 

"What do you mean? I'm a dragon and he's a knight, so we have to fight," said Drago.  

"That's how it is," said Drago and the knight together, which they both thought was rather fun.  

"Dear knight," the princess intervened. "As I understand it, Tony Pony and Drago Dragon have to get home to the Pony School as soon as possible." 

"Really?" said the knight. 

"And your singing was going really well," she continued. 

"Was it?" said the knight.  

"Yes!" said the princess.  

"Was it?" said the knight.  

"Can you see that little puddle over there?" the princess continued, pointing to a very small puddle of water. The knight went over to inspect the puddle.  

"Those are my tears, because I was so moved by the song you sang for me." 

"Were you?" said the knight. 

"Yes! You nearly won my heart, and if you continue, we could live together happily for the rest of our days." 

"Could we? That sounds wonderful," said the knight.  

"I'll sing some more, as soon as I've sorted out this dragon." 

"No! I can't fall in love with a knight who wants to fight a dragon as fine as Drago," said the princess.  

The knight looked at Drago and then at the princess. And then at Tony and Drago.  

"Do you also think I sing well?" he asked. 

"Definitely!" said Tony. 

"No, you sing really badly," said Drago.  

"WHAT did you say," the knight shouted, as his face turned very red again.  

Tony quickly stuck a leg in Drago's side, to get him to understand what the game was. Drago cleared his throat.  

"Well … you may not sing too well right now, but practice makes perfect! If you want to win the princess' hand, it's probably better that we two don't fight, so you can keep practising your singing." 

"Well-saved Drago," Tony whispered. 

"I'll just sit down for a moment, and shut my eyes, as I need to be sure about a knight's aim in life. Is it fighting dragons or winning a princess' heart?" the knight sighed, sitting up against the tower with his eyes closed. The princess winked at Tony, who turned to Drago: 

"I think we'll sneak away, Drago, and then the knight's question will answer itself."  

They left the tower, leaving the knight to think in peace, while the princess softly stroked his cheek to calm him. The knight thought this was quite wonderful.