Author's Note

Note: since I've already stolen a few lines from Drago from HTTYD 2 for the last chapter, I thought I'd carry it on and get him to have a Bewilderment like dragon for Jack and Sarah to have to face.

Hope no one minds and that you're liking the story

U-D123

Chapter 12

Darkness.

That was the first thing Jack and Suzy saw once they got their vision back after being teleported somewhere because of Winter.

It was dark, it was cold (although that didn't bother them that much), and they were scared.

Scared on what might happen to them, scared on what might happen to the others, scared about the fact that they couldn't find or sense Winter anywhere.

Using his magic, Jack created a ball of light appear in the palm of his hand and held it up, relieving that they were in a windowless, medium sized room.

But that didn't bother them. No what bothered them was what the light bounced off of.

Bones of at least one hundred of different ponies were scattered all over they place. Unicorns, Earth Ponies, Pegasi, adults, and kids.

Feeling scared slightly which confused her because the Nest used to be almost just as bad, Suzy gripped onto Jack's arm and buried her face into him.

"How is this showing us Friendship, Winter?" Jack asked calling out to the darkness holding onto Suzy rubbing her soothingly.

'It's showing you Jackson Jones...' Winter's voice echoed off the walls 'That it's a waste of time. All these poor, pathetic, unfortunate, useless... Well you get the idea... They all tried, just like you and those other ponies, to show me Friendship is better than being who I am.
But then... I ask myself,' he continued as the sound of something moving caught the two's ears. 'If I agree to this 'Friendship' then I'll need to give up my freedom to stay in their good graces, wouldn't I?' And I need to make sure that these ponies would not just be wasting my time when they fail to turn me over. So I would tell them 'If they could tame my pet first... Then I'll listen.' Thankfully, none of them succeeded.'

"And... And what exactly," Suzy asked looking around trying to find this 'pet' "What exactly is this 'pet' all these ponies had to loose their lives to?"

'An excellent question my dear Changeling,' Winter said a smirk in his voice 'Here let me turn on the light and you can see for yourself...'

Suddenly the lights flicked on and Jack and Suzy had to cover their eyes until they got their eyes working again before they could look around and spotted a large white dragon that looked like it was blind in one eye, large tusks and spikes on it's head, strong mussels and thick sharp claws that looked like they could kill if they were swung at you.

'You tame my dragon, you two...' Winter said calmly 'And I might decide to listen. Take all the time you need. Forever if it's needed. But I assure you. You wont manage it.'

And with that and a classic evil-villain-laugh-he-laughs-when-he-leaves-the-hero's-to-their-death-believing-that-they-will-never-get-out-of-it his voice stopped bouncing off the walls and all was silent except for the noises the dragon was making as it just noticed the two new toys it's master had given it.

"So..." Jack asked awkwardly eyes on the dragon backing up slowly with Suzy for every step the dragon took forward until they were against the wall. "Any ideas Suz?"

"Talking to it?" Suzy asked hugging her tummy more scared for the baby then herself "I don't know? I never seen a dragon like this which means it's doesn't come from Equestria so I don't know what to do? Why do you always ask me these things anyway?" she asked going into another mood swing getting Jack to look to her "You've got a brain right? Why don't you use it?"

Jack was about to retort to that when the dragon stuck it's paw in the way and pushed him aside and turned it's attention to Suzy, it's one iced blue eye focused on the Changeling as it sniffed the air trying to find why this toy was yelling at the other one.

She didn't like it when her toys were upset, or screaming, or trying to harm her - not that there had been that many in that part but still...

If her toys weren't happy, she wasn't happy and if she wasn't happy, she'd start hurting her toys until they stopped moving or red stuff began to come out of them.

She really didn't want that to happen again. So first thing... work out what was wrong.

"JACK DON'T!" Suzy cried getting the dragon to turn around and see the other toy with a big large stick in his hands looking like it was about to hurt her.

Growling slightly she got in between the two toys and got ready to attack if need be.

"What do you mean 'Don't' Suz?" Jack called out "It was attacking you remember?"

"It was getting to know me..." Suzy replied trying to stay calm slowly resting a hand on to the dragon. "As I said I don't know anything about this kind of dragon... But I have this feeling, that it will never, ever try and hurt us on purpose."

"Are your eyes even working Suzy Changeling?" Jack asked dropping the baseball bat and looking to the sky "Look around do you not see all these fallen ponies? Do you not see those tusks and claws it has? Or how big it is?"

"Do you not remember what you thought of me when we met?" Suzy asked firmly eyes shining green with anger at how stupid this boy was. "And look at us now. Boy and girlfriend, soon to be parents - if we survive this, Warriors of Harmony... The point is you cannot judge people for who they are on the outside, with out learning about who they are on the inside... And by Insectiva if you make a joke about that relating to Changelings or anything I will kill you!"

"Would I do that?" Jack asked holding up his hands and backing away slightly.

"Just get over here and help me befriend this thing so Winter is forced to get us to befriend him too," Suzy said rolling her eyes and returning her focus to the dragon.

Sighing in slight defeat, Jack began to walk towards the two but stopped suddenly and used his magic to get out of the way when the dragon fired ice at where he just was.

"Um..." Jack said as he kept his eyes on the dragon, mixed feelings about it.
Wonder/amazement that it shoots ice instead of fire. And worry/fear for Suzy who is still there and judging by how the dragon's not letting him get any closer than fifteen feet... will be on her own for this.

"I don't think she like the idea of me coming over Suz..." Jack said as calmly as he could backing up, getting the dragon to relax a bit.

"But... But you've been around friends more..." Suzy answered backed right up to the wall fear on her face as the dragon turned back to her.

"Suz, Suz, you can do this..." Jack said getting her attention "Just I dunno... reach out your hand or something. You know like for a dog."

"You do know this isn't a dog right?" Suzy asked but did it anyway her hand shaking and eyes held tight shut.

The next few seconds felt like hours to Suzy.

All was silent, all was still, nothing was happening, her heart was gaining speed, her breathing was getting faster too, worrying thoughts about what might happen to either of them if she was found wrong about the dragon.

Then all at once time got faster again when she felt something cold, and scaly, and slightly welcoming touch the palm of her hand. Being brave Suzy opened her eyes slowly and saw the dragon was nose butting her hand, a clam look on it's face, a small smile on it's face, and a spark in it's eyes of 'Thanks for trusting me'.

Slowly taking her hand away Suzy smiled and stood up a bit straighter smiling, both her and Jack just as tall as the dragons eye was.

Suddenly the dragon breathed out a fog of frost making Suzy's hair stiffen and stick up turning it white.

"I think she like you," Jack said in the air on a pink cloud laughing slightly at Suzy's new look and her face.

"Why do you keep calling it a she?" Suzy asked getting rid of the frost in her hair.

"She looks too pretty to be a boy, and I think she came to you and protected you so well to begin with cause she could scene your dilemma's cause of Jr. and wanted to help," Jack said guessing "Most female animals, so I've heard, get mothering instinct or what ever it's called and protect others that are like that to protect them. Surely you've heard about that."

"Well thank you for being so protective over me," Suzy said looking at the dragon "But to really help, we need to get out of here and stop Winter," she said pointing to herself and Jack so the dragon could understand.

Looking around, the dragon turned her attention to the other toy confused at first at seeing it on a pink cloud, and then the fact that she could sense her master's powers in it and in the one she was protecting as well actually. And there were a few other powers in them but she didn't recognize them.

Worried on what what they might do to her, knowing how ruthless her master was with his powers, she backed up until she had given enough room and a bit more to let the toys be together again fear on her face now.

"Um... Was it something I did?" Suzy asked eyes on the dragon as Jack came down to rejoin her.

"I think..." Jack said looking at the dragons eye, his eyes turning blue with anger and the room going colder "It has something to do with us having specs of Winter's magic. Look at her eye," he said before Suzy could question. "That doesn't look like something she was born with does it?"

Suzy looked and then used her old Changeling magic to see into the dragon's past. A trick all Changeling's needed to know so they knew everything about the pony they were replacing and all the stuff around them.

After a few minutes she came back gasping and holding her head, slight tears and fury in her eyes.

"Hey Suz, you alright?" Jack's voice called out to her.

"She didn't only lose an eye... To that bucking molluscs," she said running up to the dragon a slightly stunned Jack back at the wall, letting her feelings out repeating 'I'm so sorry' soothingly stroking the dragon saying 'It's alright. We're not here to hurt you,' every time it backed away.

Giving them some time to let out all their feelings and to come back again, Jack poofed up a story and decided to get comfy.

This... is gonna take awhile, he told himself.