“Uh…” The moan droned out of him painfully, scratching at his dry mouth and parched throat. The numb sensation of feeling returned to him slowly, some patches of his skin feeling a dull throb while others tingled with renewed blood flow.

His muscles ached as he slowly worked them, twisting his neck and checking his arms and legs with small flexes. He could feel them scratching across some hard surface; a painful sensation that ungratefully quickened his awakening.

“Ugh, what?” The groan and question came from his lips, eyes still heavy with sleep and fatigue. There wasn’t a memory in his mind regarding when he used the energy. He was in a castle, he was surrounded by horses, then he was… was…

Slurp

The sudden sensation of a wet tongue licking over his face slapped the boy awake. His eyes fluttered open, only to have their vision stained with slobber and wet drool. It only made him smile a bit more.

“Hey, cut it out Toothless,” Hiccup automatically spoke, raising one of his still stirring hands to push the dragon off of him. It fell over the familiar sensation of scales, hard and enduring with a faint trace of heat, much unlike the lizards of his island.

Slurp, Slurp

“C’mon, seriously Toothless. Your breath stinks.” Despite his words, a playful laugh came from his lips, pulling a smile with it. “Seriously, your breath reeks like sulfur… sulfur…”

Something wasn’t right.

Hiccup may not have known Toothless for the better part of his life, but he knew the Night Fury extremely well. From the dimensions of his wings, to the small habits during his day, and even the smell of his breath.

Toothless’s breath stank of rotten fish and undigested gas. There wasn’t any sulfur in his breath.

Slowly, as carefully as he had awoken, Hiccup reached up to his face with his opposite hand, pulling the slime and drool away from his eyes. Blinking away the remaining saliva, his vision became clear to where he was.

A dark brown rock ceiling hung above him, complete with stalagmites and a wet surface of condensation. He could make out the sharp shadows made from the rocks, doubtlessly created by fire that hung on the walls. Leaning upwards, Hiccup saw just that. A torch was imbedded into the wall, sticking out of the stone as if it had grown from it. It was odd, but it wasn’t what he was focused on.

Twisting his head a bit to the side, he saw what he once thought was his best friend.

It wasn’t Toothless.

“Happy thoughts gone.”

Hiccup spoke in a deadpan voice, staring at the creature with still eyes.

The moment of silence that passed between him and the creature was tense, harder than the stone he was sitting on. His green eyes stared in the monster’s yellow buds, pupilless and seemingly blind.

That assumption was quickly proven wrong.

SCREEEEE

“AGH!” Hiccup yelped as the creature screeched at him, forcing him to back away quickly. The hard rocks beneath him dragged and scratched at his skin, his clothes useless between them.

The cry only encouraged the lizard-like creature to twist its head, focusing one of its eyes on the boy. Then, in another quick movement, the creature opened its mouth again.

SCREEEE-

The creature’s voice was cut off in mid-cry.

A ball of fire had flown into its mouth.

Hiccup watched, mouth agape, as the creature apparently swallowed on the fire. Then, like it was caught beneath water, its body began to sway, as if having extremely difficulty keeping its weight on its feet. Its head twisted left and right, jaw opening and closing with gasps of air.

Then, unceremoniously, it fell over.

“Oh good,” Hiccup breathed, raising a hand to his chest in relief. “I thought for sure I was-”

Then the creature exploded.

The dull boom and force of the creature’s detonation instantly made Hiccup raise his arms in defense, shielding himself from the force. He felt wet blotches of scales and guts hit him, much to his disgust. The sick stench of sulfur and rot was upon him in a moment, filling his nostrils and churning his gut. It was almost as bad as the sound of the organs making wet slaps across the stone.

“O-Okay,” Hiccup spoke with dry heave, doing his best to not let one of his fluid-covered hands reach for his face. The stench was bad enough without drowning his nose in it. “That… that was gross. That was really gross. Ugh.” He flung his hands at his sides, making some of the liquid sticking to his clothes fly off.

It was just after that a wet tongue ran over Hiccup’s face again.

“Toothless…” he spoke far more cautiously, fully aware of how this situation had just turned out last time. “Please tell me that’s you and not another exploding lizard monster.”

The familiar bark of the Night Fury filled Hiccup’s ears, easing his still heart.

“Oh thank the gods,” He spoke with a slump, turning his head to look at his dragon. It was done in perfect tandem to allow the dual-pronged tongue of Toothless to wipe up Hiccup’s face, replacing the reek of blood, guts, and sulfur with the familiar, and welcomed, stench of fish.

With a small bit of laughter, Hiccup reached up with his arms, wrapping them around the Night Fury’s scales. The smooth black exterior of the dragon was easy on his hands, far less callous than the ground he sat on. Toothless, in turn, pushed his head into Hiccup’s chest, his tongue rolling up the blood-stained shirt.

“Not the best way to clean myself, but this seems like a good compromise. Good thing Astrid isn’t here, at least.” The sardonic words left Hiccup’s mouth with a sigh. He began examining his dirty and worn clothes, now mixed with the blood of a creature. That reminded him of something.

“You blew that thing up, didn’t you?” The boy lightly accused his dragon, a smirk pulling at his lips as he spoke. Toothless pulled his head back just far enough to eye Hiccup with his large green irises, round and open with innocence. It would almost have been a convincing display, if the pull of a smile at the dragon’s lips wasn’t so obvious.

“Thanks buddy, I owe ya one.” Hiccup wrapped his arms around the Night Fury a bit tighter. “Well, more like ten now, but I’m pretty sure you can’t keep track.” Toothless barked at the comment, earning a snicker from the boy. “Yeah, of course you can. What was I thinking?”

Hiccup’s hand began to run over the black scales of the dragon, comforted by the heat that emanated from the thick hide of the fearsome beast. For a moment, and only a fleeting one at that, Toothless leaned into the action, enjoying the embrace. But then, quick as the wind, he turned away from Hiccup. The boy watched with a quick jump in his chest as the peaceful round eyes of his best friend narrowed into the familiar vicious slits he had seen when they first met.

“Whoa, Toothless, what’s wrong?” Hiccup quickly questioned, rising up from his seated posture. As he did so, he turned his body, moving to face the direction the dragon was glaring at.

As he turned, the boy was able to see where they were for the first time. It was a cave of sorts, little different than the many had been in while he was a child. Torches lined the walls, no differently than any miner worth his skill would have done. But aside from the stone walls, floor, and ceiling, there was little much else to see.

But when his vision matched with his dragon’s, Hiccup was reminded of a question he had forgotten. Why was he here?

The unconscious girl and small orange pony were quick to shake the dust from his mind.

“Whoa! Hey!” He called out, rising to his feet before jogging over to the two figures. The sleek body of Toothless was just beside him, puffing on the air as he did so. Hiccup reached the girl first, kneeling down by her side as he pressed his hand to her red hair.

She was facing downwards, splayed over the ground ungraciously, and facing away from him at that. Her torso was lightly rising, doubtlessly from the force her chest was making against the ground she slept on. Hiccup was quick to correct himself. She wasn’t asleep, she was knocked out. Big difference-- in the long run, at least. One usually meant you had an enemy.

“Okay, I got this,” he spoke carefully, reaching one of his arms over her body and grabbing her side lightly to flip her. With only a small amount of force, he rolled the girl over, having her back take the place of chest on the ground.

If he had a moment, even a second, Hiccup would have been able to look the girl over to check for anything that would clearly show trauma or damage to the body. Infections, bruises, maybe even open wounds. It usually only took a passing glance to find those. However, he didn’t have a moment.

It took less than a blink of an eye for the girl’s metal arm to slam into his head.

“Ow!” Hiccup yelped as the steel impacted his skull, forcing him onto his rump. It made his ears ring and head spin from the force. He wasn’t a stranger to a bit of trauma, growing up on an island of warriors attacked by flying beasts, but it was hard to get used to the force of metal hitting you anywhere. Hiccup didn’t have the muscle to absorb the blow.

“Oh, geez,” He groaned, grabbing at his head with both hands, letting it rest on his folded knees. Toothless licked at him, his slobber slipping beneath Hiccup’s fingers. “Odin’s beard, that hurt! Agh!” He seethed through his teeth, hissing as the sting refused to die down. The boy squinted at the girl, watching her with grit teeth and a throbbing head.

Her clothes were like nothing he had ever seen before, overly complicated in their colors, stitchings and designs. That was failing to mention the distinct lack of any protective material over her body. There wasn’t any metal, leather, or even thick cloth over her, just frilly designs Hiccup couldn’t see the practical point of.

All of that was clear to him. That, and the fact that she was still almost snoring as she continued to lay back on her behind.

“Ah great,” he let out in a huff, his fingers clenching against his head a bit tighter. “One other person here and she’s out cold. That’s awesome, really.”

“Too darn loud…”

The voice, somehow, made Hiccup forget his pain, albeit momentarily. He twisted his head up from his knees, still gripping them with his dragon-drool-coated fingers. What he expected to see was the girl getting up, gripping her head with her hand like he had done.

What he saw instead was the pony just past the girl stirring on the ground, moving her legs like she was fighting the action of waking up. As familiar of a reaction as that was, it wasn’t one Hiccup could afford to wait for.

“Hey,” he called, earning only a low groan from the small pony. “Hey!” His voice raised in volume, matched by Toothless, who growled by the human’s side. The combination of the two successfully got the pony moving.

The foal turned over on her back, facing the two with squinting eyes and a tangled mane. One of her forelegs rose up, wiping away the sleep from her vision, just as if she had woken up from a nap. The familiar ritual was completed with wide yawn, the cuteness of the act almost relieving HIccup of his concussion.

“Hey there,” the boy spoke, raising one of his hands as she blinked her half-lidded eyes at him. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Big Mac?” The filly spoke the name like a question, her eyes almost shut and barely able to see. “What’s wrong? Ya sound funny.” Hiccup felt a ball slowly move down his throat.

“Um, yeah, I’m not… Big Mac?” His hand scratched at the back of his head. There wasn’t much else he could do until the foal was awake enough to process who he really was. Fortunately, or not, he didn’t have to wait long.

The yellow-coated filly blinked away the remainders of her slumber, taking deep, yawning breaths. Like in a slow dream, her orange eyes fell onto the boy, ghosting over the red-haired girl between them.

When their gazes met, the filly’s eyes grew to the size of shields.

“Hey hey hey,” Hiccup quickly began to speak, holding his hands up for the pony to see. “It’s alright, it’s okay.” The foal had yet to say anything, but the boy was already well-aware of what people did in states of shock. He had seen more than his fair share when the town found out about Toothless. He could only assume this pony would act much the same way.

“I-Is that… a dragon?” The words slipped and sputtered from the filly’s mouth, one of her forehooves shaking as it motioned behind the boy. Hiccup bit his lip.

“Okay, alright, aw crap.” His words fell as he spoke. “Um, look, hear me out. He’s alright, Toothless is a nice dragon. Right buddy?” The boy spun lightly as he spoke, putting on a smile for the scaled beast behind him. Toothless mimicked the expression, his fangless grin meeting Hiccup’s gaze.

“See, nothing to worry about.” The boy spun back to the pony, only to see her eyeing them. There wasn’t any fear or trepidation in her gaze, just a familiar look. A look that Hiccup had borne on more than one occasion. It was full of curiosity.

“Wait… Ah think Ah know you,” the filly began. “Ah saw you before somewhere…”

“Um, yeah, we have met. It was brief, though, even for me.” Hiccup began to move his hands in circles, searching for a good word or phrase to say. The foal didn’t look scared or agitated, but again, he was used to people changing on the tip of a sword. It didn’t take much, especially with a dragon as black as night.

“Huh?” She asked with a huff of breath. “Ah thought I saw ya in mah dream, but…” her eyes began to move around the cavern, taking note of where she was. That was when Hiccup saw the familiar signs of panic taking over the foal again. That couldn’t happen, for now at least.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright,” he spoke up again, raising his voice to grab the filly’s attention. “We’re alone here, at least now. Just you, me, Toothless,” Hiccup’s eyes looked down, spying the woman between them. “And her.” The filly followed his eyes. It didn’t do much to calm her down.

“Wait, w-who’s she?” she questioned intensely, stumbling over her words. “A-And why ain’t she movin’? I-Is she… she...”

“No! No,” Hiccup yelled and then whispered, unable to decide which was better. He was not used to calming people down. Usually it was someone else who was tasked with straightening him out. ‘Out of his element’ wasn’t nearly strong enough a phrase to describe how foreign this sensation felt to him. He would have felt more at home talking about killing dragons.

“Then… why,” Hiccup didn’t give her the chance to continue.

“She’s just unconscious, asleep. You know, your body just kinda stops on you?” He made a fruitless motion with his hand, one the pony didn’t understand. “Look, I just woke up here, you just woke up here, Toothless,” Hiccup looked to his friend, who in turn looked back at him. The dragon was staring at him expectantly. “Toothless was probably already awake. Look, I’m just trying to show you we aren’t here to hurt you. Honestly, we’re kinda in the same boat.”

“Wait. Then…” the filly began, doubtlessly searching for the right words to say. At least she and Hiccup were having similar problems. “Then do ya know where we are, ‘er what happened?”

“Uh, no and no, so double no.” The words fell from Hiccup’s lips, dropping like his optimism. The only good thing he could see so far was that the filly wasn’t acting nearly as scared as she was before. “Last thing I remember is trying to help you get away from that… uh… thing I guess.”

“You did?” The filly asked again, her ears falling to one side as her head twisted itself. The same ears perked up as she eyes widened. “Oh yeah, that’s where Ah saw ya before! You were tryin’ ta fly me outta the castle after Discord tricked us, right?”

“Yeah! Yeah, that’s it.” Hiccup pointed at the filly, a smile pulling at his lips. It wasn’t much, but it was something. “Yeah, not really sure how we got here, but, um… we’re here now.”  His hand scratched behind his head, an absence of knowledge of what to say coming over him again. “So, um… what’s your name? I didn’t catch it before when… yeah.”

“Oh, um, mah name’s Apple Bloom,” The filly spoke proudly, standing to her four hooves as she did so. “What’s yours?”

“I’m Hiccup, and this is Toothless.” He wrapped one of his arms around the dragon’s neck, making a futile attempt to pull the muscled beast down to his level. The action actually lifted him off the ground. It made the filly laugh, something the boy was grateful to hear. After all, it was hard to laugh genuinely when you were afraid.

“Toothless, huh?” Apple Bloom questioned as her orange eyes peered at the large beast. “He looks pretty strong. He’s got wings, too!”

“Well, uh, yeah, course he does.” Hiccup patted his dragon’s side, letting himself fall back to the ground as he did so. Toothless hummed deeply at the affection. “All dragons have wings. Toothless here is one of the fastest dragons, though.” What Hiccup wanted the filly to be impressed by was the speed at which the Night Fury could fly. What he got instead was a discrediting fact from the foal.

“No way. There are dragons that can’t fly. Ah even know one.” The filly argued back. “His name’s Spike, and he works at the library around town. There aren’t any wings on his back, but he’s plenty smart enough to not need them. Ah mean, he talks up a storm about what Twilight’s doing ‘round town and-”

“Wait, wait, stop, back up,” Hiccup waved his palm in between the pair. “Did you say the dragon talked?” The boy scrutinized the foal with a look of perplexing wonder. “Ye-no, sorry, but dragon’s can’t talk. Trust me, I’d know by now.”

“Well sure dragons talk,” Apple Bloom spoke, as if it were a subject of common knowledge. “We don’t see a lot of ‘em around Ponyville, but Spike talks all the time. Ah mean, he’s helpin’ me and the girls with-AGH!”

Without even a hint of warning, the filly found herself wrapped in the embrace of a pair of arms.

Hiccup jumped at the sudden action, falling back onto his hands. Toothless growled lowly, hunching over with peeled eyes. His wing encircled Hiccup almost immediately, draping over the boy like a shield. Apple Bloom couldn’t make a sound, her muzzle smothered by the body that was holding her tightly.

All the while, the redhead merely yawned deeply as she pulled the pony closer to her.

“Not now DT,” she spoke in the midst of her own dream. “Dad said we have to wait till morning…” Her body turned over, the pony becoming cocooned by it.

It took a moment for Hiccup to realize just how viciously Apple Bloom was fighting the embrace was in. She was pushing against a metal arm.

“Oh, hey. Hey!” Hiccup spoke louder and louder, grabbing the girl’s shoulder. He began to shake her back and forth as he yelled louder still. “Hey! C’mon! You gotta wake up! Hey!” Yet for all his yelling, the girl snoozed almost peacefully. A flashback of his father following a raid came to Hiccup’s mind. It took a monsoon to wake the sleeping chief.

That, however, brought an idea to the boy’s mind.

“Toothless,” he spoke the dragon’s name with authority, earning the black beast’s attention. “How loud can you yell?”

The dragon bared his teeth at the boy, something Hiccup would have feared should it have come from anyone or anything else. The Night Fury moved around Hiccup, positioning itself over the sleeping girl. Her red hair swayed lightly underneath the dragon’s heavy breaths, but it did nothing to disturb her heavy slumber. Apple Bloom was only becoming more and more restless.

The dragon leaned back onto his rear legs, chest puffing out as a large breath was taken into its lungs. Hiccup recognized the action, as he had been the victim of it the first time he and his friend had met. His hands roughly covered his ears, pushing them against his head as hard as he could. He did it just in time.

RAAAGH!!

“GAAAGH!” The scream from the girl followed the roar from the dragon. The echoes of the beast’s bellow shook the walls, flickering the flames that hung on the wall. It more than drowned out the girl’s shriek.

Thankfully, the yell did what it was intended to do.

The flame-haired teen woke up with a shot, freeing Apple Bloom from her captivity. The foal took in a deep breath of air as she did so.

“What the hell!? What the hell!? What the ever living and breathing hell?!” The girl began to scream left and right, jumping to her feet faster than Hiccup would have given her credit for. Her eyes moved with her head, looking around herself defensively.

It was probably one of the worst times Hiccup had had attention focused on him.

“You!” The girl shouted with a thrust of her hand. “What’s going on?!” She managed to take two steps before Toothless placed himself between the still shocked Hiccup and the angered teen. It did nothing to calm her down.

“Whoa!” She nearly shrieked again. “And what is that?!” Her metal arm swung towards the beast, most likely out of some misplaced belief it would protect her. Realistically, it was probably a better guard than her other arm. The silence that followed her words only encouraged her to continue on.

“No, wait, screw that! Where am I?! Who are you… things!?!” Oddly enough, it wasn’t the girl’s threatening screams that caused Hiccup to relax. It was the several-hundred pound dragon behind him.

Hiccup felt the wind rush past his hair, at the same time as a deep rumble shook his bones. He didn’t have to look to know that the Night Fury was crouched to the cavern’s floor, preparing to pounce like the girl was his next meal. That was something the boy had to stop.

“Toothless! Stop!” He cried as he whirled from the ground, grabbing at the dragon’s neck as he did so. Not even a blink of an eye later did the dragon start snapping at the fiery redhead, shocking the horrified woman silent. Apple Bloom appeared to be faring no better. “Calm down buddy! It’s alright, it’s all okay,” Toothless, if he wanted to, could have broken through Hiccup’s weak hold like wet cloth. But that would risk hurting his partner, something neither of them would ever intentionally do.

The dragon stopped its jaw, but kept his teeth bared and mouth clenched. The sight wasn’t any less terrifying than before. It also didn’t help that the vicious barking was replaced with low growling deep enough to shake the stones they stood on.

“It’s okay buddy, it’s alright, they’re friends.” Apparently, to the girl, Hiccup had just insulted her.

“Friends?” she asked incredulously, somewhat over her shocked stupor. “I don’t even know! I don’t even know what that is!” Toothless growled once more at the words, smoke billowing from his nostrils at the clear insult. Hiccup tightened his grip just a bit harder.

“His name is Toothless,” he spoke back with some bite, hoping it would either calm the dragon or the girl. It did neither. “Mine is Hiccup, alright?” He tentatively held out his hand, loosening his hold on the Night Fury.

“And mine’s Apple Bloom!” The high voice of the filly earned the immediate attention of the girl, her red locks whipping at the speed her head spun. When her green eyes met the wide and excited gaze of the foal, she froze.

For a moment, a brief moment at that, Hiccup was afraid she’d start screaming again. It wouldn’t be too odd, after all. A pony had just talked to her. That’s wasn’t normal in most places. Then, slowly raising her metallic hand, the girl pointed at Apple Bloom.

“You… spoke…” the girl muttered matter-of-factly. “You spoke… words…” The filly either didn’t perceive or didn’t care about the girl’s shock. She was most likely just too happy to hear the girl not screaming or smothering her.

“Yup, sure did,” Apple Bloom spoke back once again. “Ah can also count, sing, and work some fancy mathematics, too!” The filly made a small jump in the air, doubtlessly happy that she could openly brag about herself.

That was until the redhead promptly picked Apple Bloom up off the ground. The smile across her once-screaming face was unmistakable.

“Oh my god!” The girl spoke cheerfully. “You’re a pony! A talking pony! Oh my gosh, you’re so adorable!” Apple Bloom had all of a breath’s length of time to prepare herself. In that time, the girl pulled the filly close to her, pushing her cheeks against the coat of the foal. “Wow! You feel just like one of my dolls back home!”

“Hey!” Apple Bloom cried back indignantly. “Let go of me!”

“Aw, why?” The girl countered with a voice that sounded to be everything but serious. “You’re just so cuddly and soft. How can I not hold you cl-”

Her words were roughly cut off by a swipe of a tail.

The lurching sound of breath leaving lungs dragged itself through the air. Hiccup, always the strategist, followed the source of the sudden assault on the girl as opposed to the victim herself. It didn’t take much thought or even evidence to see that it was Toothless who had whipped the fiery redhead with his tail.

Apple Bloom landed on the ground with a light plop, jumping to her hooves and backing away from the girl at an impressive speed. Again, Hiccup couldn’t help but notice how quickly the filly was able to retreat. She was either used to heights or used to pain. He really hoped for the former.

Hiccup turned his gaze back to the redhead, who had both her real and metallic hand clenched around the area Toothless had hit her, her gut. He didn’t need to ask to know that it was with a significant force. She wouldn’t be doubled over otherwise.

That only made the fierce gaze she gave him both justifiable and terrifying.

“Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa!” Hiccup hastily spoke, holding up his hands defensively. He backed away as he did so, well aware that words alone wouldn’t be much if she didn’t respond to them. Of all the times he wished he were a bit stronger, now was one of them. Maybe then he wouldn’t be afraid of every girl who was a bit taller than himself. “Look, let’s all just stop for a second.”

“You’re… telling me… to… stop?” The girl wheezed the words, her breath still working to expand her chest. Wisely as ever, Hiccup waited the girl out. It was odd, treating her like prey in the woods, but if there was any lesson he had learned from hunting, it was that a beast was at its most fierce when it was wounded.

“I… just want to talk.” He spoke simply, using straight and unmistakable words. They were all he would say until she spoke again.

The girl took a few more tentative breaths, testing out the strength of her muscles before standing to her tallest again. Hiccup hated being shorter than girls. His inferiority complex was already severe enough as it was. It didn’t help that she was staring at him like Astrid would after someone had called her weak.

“Okay, let’s all just… stop for a second, alright?” Hiccup begged the human and pony in front of him, Toothless standing on his rear legs behind him. The boy held no illusion that it was the dragon’s presence that gave him authority. He let out a small sigh, probably to calm his own mind.

“Look, we’re all lost right now, aaaand we hardly know one another. I can’t really pretend that I’ve done this before, but I can at least guess that if we want to figure out what’s happening, we should probably do a bit more thinking and a bit less reacting.” His gaze was focused hard on the girl to his left. “We all sort of just… reacted... a bit ago. None of it was intentional, I’m sure, but right now, wherever we are, we have to stick together. Make sense?”

The girl didn’t answer immediately, and neither did Apple Bloom. The filly, however, was clearly waiting for the redhead to speak first. Said girl was twisting her eyes in thought, her tongue clearly pushing against the inside of her cheeks as her mind continued to work. Thinking was a good thing. It meant her actions would be less… primitive.

“Okay, yeah,” the girl agreed, sighing as she did so. “I’m calm, you’re calm, she’s calm, it’s calm, we’re all calm.” She threw her hands up in the air, calm clearly still outside of her reach. Her moping was still better than screaming or cheering, though.

She began to take deep breaths, inhaling quickly and intensely enough to be heard over the crackling flames from the torches that lined the walls. Her head swayed forwards and backwards, her hands placed squarely on her hips, just over the hem of her skirt.

Hiccup and Toothless exchanged a look of confusion as the breathing continued. The boy turned his gaze to the filly, who gave him a similar, expression complete with lopped ears. He watched her orange gaze look up to his dragon. He could only guess that she and Toothless were giving each other the same look.

“Alright,” the girl’s voice finally spoke again, calm for perhaps the first time. “I got a clear head, for now at least.” She turned back towards the trio, looking first to Apple Bloom.

“You,” she spoke with a soft tone, something neither Hiccup nor Apple Bloom expected. “I’m sorry for scaring the crap out you. Ponies are… well, I grew up playing with dolls and stuff. Seeing you just felt like, well, a dream. You know, kinda like what all of this feels like.” Her hands waved into the air, motioning at nothing but indicating everything. Apple Bloom giggled at the words and action.

“It’s alright,” the filly easily accepted the apology. “Ah’ve seen mah sis wake up from nightmare before. All that matters is yer calm now.”

“Yeah, thanks for understanding.” Another sigh left the girl’s mouth, her eyes closing lightly as she did so. But in the next moment, she turned her attention to Hiccup.

“And you,” she spoke, pointing her metallic hand at the boy. Hiccup felt his legs tense at the word and action. “I’m sorry for… whatever I did.”

“Uh, sure,” Hiccup took the apology for what it was worth, which was probably as much as the stone he was standing on. Funny, too, because the smack she gave him in her sleep still throbbed atop his head. Not to mention the insults she threw at Toothless stung. But to Hiccup right now, any ground gained wasn’t worth losing. Not over petty matters like name-calling, at least.

“So, um, what’s your name?” The redhead gave a confident grin before answering the question. Apple Bloom would later swear she had seen the same smile before, only somewhere else.

“Gaige,” she spoke easily-- proudly, at that. “Gaige the Mechromancer.”

“‘Kay, Gaige,” Hiccup spoke, testing the name and the reaction it brought forth. He could feel the pride emanating from the girl as he said it. Vanity was clearly not beyond her. “Alright, that’s good. We all know each other. That’s something, right?”

“It is,” Apple Bloom spoke up, grabbing the attention of both teens. “But Ah gotta question.”

“What’s up?” Gaige responded before Hiccup. “Something you think I can answer? ‘Cause I’ll warn you right now, I have no idea what we’re doing here.”

“Nah, I already figured that,” the filly dismissed. Before she spoke again, however, she pointed one of her fore hooves at the girl. Specifically, at the false limb attached to her left side. “I wanna know what happened to yer arm.”

“Oh, this?” Gaige responded innocently, as if it were the first time she had ever been asked that question. Hiccup doubted that as much as he doubted his ability to hurt a dragon. “It’s no big deal. I just cut into it with my plasma saw and decided in the moment to replace it with a digi-struct module of Ti-84 component steel. No sweat.” Hiccup only understood half the words she said. Apple Bloom understood even fewer.

“But you should see what I can do with it.” He wasn’t sure if it was the glint in her eyes or the excitement in her voice, but Hiccup felt, perhaps by instinct, that doing that was a bad idea.

“Yeah, how about we wait until we get somewhere safe, alright?” Hiccup spoke, grateful that the word was finally being used properly. Everything was, for the moment, all right. “Just a guess, but it looks like we were dumped at the bottom of some cave, maybe an old mining shaft. I have no idea where we are, Apple Bloom has no idea, Toothless doesn’t either, and I’m sure you don’t.” Hiccup’s hand motioned towards Gaige as he spoke, who nodded with raised brows and closed eyes.

“So, do we head down the ominous cave to who-knows-where, or just sit and wait for something to happen?”

“Uh, is that a serious question?” Gaige asked while leaning towards her younger peer. “We’re heading down the cave, duh.”

“Actually, it isn’t that obvious,” Hiccup countered with a raise of his hand. “Most caves are like mazes: you don’t know where which direction will take you. If we go one way,” his hand motioned down one end of the hall, Toothless following his hand out of instinct, “We could end up going even deeper into the mine, probably finding monsters, a few trolls, maybe even the entrance to Hell if we’re lucky.”

“Sounds like fun,” Gaige spoke in response. Hiccup couldn’t tell if she was being honest or sarcastic. He prayed for the latter. “Tougher enemies means better loot. I bet we could find some pretty killer stuff down there then.” And, just like all of his prior prayers, they fell on deaf ears.

“Uh, no. How about no?” Hiccup shot back. “I’d rather go towards the way out. You know, where there’s a sky and no walls and maybe even some peop… ponies looking for us?” His gaze fell on Apple Bloom as he spoke. She took it as a queue.

“Well, Ah’m sure mah sis and her friends are gonna be looking for us.” Hiccup held up a crooked smile at the words. “But she wouldn’t want me ta be cowerin’ in a cave waitin’ for her, either.” And then he felt a frown take over in a second. His confidence took residence on Gaige’s features, as her spunky smile only became determined from the filly’s words.

“And now the vote’s two to one,” the girl counted with no lack of joy in her voice. “Do you wanna ask your pet dragon what he thinks?”

Hiccup grumbled indignantly. Said dragon pushed against him, cooing curiously about what was going on. He gave the Night Fury clear eye contact, finding himself relaxing under the strong gaze of his draconic friend.

Toothless wouldn’t have been able to give him an answer, since there was no way to ask the question. But if he could, if Hiccup were able to phrase the question to the Night Fury in a way the son of lightning and death could understand, he knew the answer he would receive.

Dragons didn’t wait for anything, and Toothless certainly wouldn’t depend on the strength of others.

“Alright, fine,” Hiccup conceded, his hand grabbing at his forehead as he did so. He was going to get a bad headache soon; he just felt it. “All aboard the terror cart to spooky tunnel. Next stop, nightmare town.”

“Aw, quit whining.” Gaige gave him a rough push as she spoke to him, nearly knocking him from his feet. He was only too thankful she didn’t hit him with her metallic arm again. “I bet we’ll be out of here in no time. It’s not like the heroes ever die, right?”

“Oh don’t say that. Please don’t say that.” Hiccup couldn’t wipe away the dread from his face no matter how hard his hands scraped against it. “There isn’t a faster way to prove yourself wrong than doing that. Ah, gods…” He left himself mumbling, ignoring the snort of laughter that the redhead gave in return. She was going to be the death of him, he figured, he just didn’t know how yet.

“Um, Hiccup?” The call of his name called the boy’s attention, specifically to the small filly looking up at him with another curious gaze. “Do you mind if I ride on Toothless?” Her hoof motioned towards the black dragon, who looked from one to the other silently.

“Ride him?” Hiccup repeated, looking at the small pony compared to the massive dragon. Honestly, to Toothless, it probably would have felt like carrying air. It made the boy shrug. “Sure, why not? He’ll probably enjoy it. Isn’t that right buddy?” The dragon gave an open tooth grin, letting his serpentine tongue roll of his mouth as he did so. It was as good a sign as any.

“Awesome!” The filly cheered as she trotted and jumped onto the dragon’s back. Hiccup couldn’t help the small smile that pulled at his face, watching the pony paw her way over the dragon’s black scales. Toothless was patient with her, watching Apple Bloom kick her way onto him.

For another flash of a moment, Hiccup wondered if it was any different from how dragons would take care of their young, letting them ride on their backs while they had to move. But again, it was just a thought, and one he didn’t have time to ponder over.

“Alright!” Apple Bloom cheered again, standing at her tallest between the Night Fury’s wings. “It feels like Ah’m ridin’ the princess’s cart ta Canterlot!” The beaming filly appeared to be fighting herself, one part eagerly awaiting the dragon to move, the other part wanting to jump up and down with her abundance of energy.

It was while Toothless was entertaining the ecstatic filly that the girl came up behind the boy. She didn’t do anything malicious, dark or unwanted, but the action she did was surprising nonetheless.

Gaige merely wrapped her right arm, her real arm, around Hiccup’s neck, leaning on his shoulders as she watched Apple Bloom swaying left and right on the Night Fury’s back. Hiccup felt her hair mingling with his own, tickling his scalp. He scratched at it out of instinct.

“So,” she began, her voice containing nothing teasing or mocking. “Which way are we heading?” Gaige asked, giving the boy time to respond. Hiccup dismissed it.

“Doesn’t matter. We’ll know if we were right or wrong eventually.” The answer seemed to sit well with the girl, at least for the moment.

“Oh yeah, there was something else I wanted to ask.” Hiccup turned to face the redhead, ready to ask her just what this eluding question was. But as he did, he felt the touch of cool metal over his vest. He didn’t even need to glance to see that it was Gaige’s fake arm pushing on him.

“Where did that blood come from?”

Oddly enough, Hiccup felt the blood drain from his face as he processed the question.

“Yeah, funny story about that…”

“Hmm…  three more to wander through the caves, another party for the lost.” Azula mused to herself, lightly wrapping her fingers over check as she did so. The manicured nails tapped on her porcelain skin. “That makes five groups of toys on the move with another seven still left in a cold slumber.”

A sly grin drew itself over the flame princess’s sharp features. Her back straightened from the alcove, allowing her to stand to her tallest. The railings of the balcony barely reached to her hips. The giggle she gave at the thought was dark and treacherous.

“Such small things; weak in their bodies and doubtlessly in their spirit.” Azula continued to speak to herself. She let one of her hands slowly move over the cool marble that was the railing, appreciating the smooth texture and expert craftsmanship. “Their minds are strong, though. At least more intelligent than the average mutt.”

“There’s one!!”

The sudden shout did not startle Azula, but it did earn her attention.

Her sharp golden eyes looked down the dark hallway, the one her large green ally had ventured down some hours ago. Now, instead of his monstrous form, a trio of ponies were galloping towards her, all layered with golden armor and coats as white as snow. Their rush towards her was softened by the carpet beneath them, but their gazes were no less vicious-- perhaps more so under the shadows of the hall.

They, however, only made the dark-haired firebender grin. Her smile was sharp enough to cut ice.

The trio of ponies stopped just in front of her, blocking her entrance back into the castle. This left only Azula on the balcony. Strategically, it was a sound decision, limiting her movement. Without proper information, however, it was a rushed and poor formation. It was only to the ponies’ further lack of luck that they were dealing with a woman who made leaps and bounds upon the weaknesses of others.

“Speak your name!” One of the ponies yelled, a unicorn by the looks of it. He had small scar beneath one of his eyes, a sign of either poorly monitored practice or survival of a close encounter on the field of battle. Given the peaceful nature of the land, Azula wagered on the former. “And while you’re at it, tell us what you are!” He didn’t lack in authority, at least. A bit short in brains, though.

“Please, there’s no reason to yell,” Azula smoothly spoke, waving her hand as she did so. It quickly took its place behind her back, folded neatly and in a dignified style. “I’ll cooperate so long as you treat me with respect.”

“Shut up!” The same pony roughly yelled at her. It earned a narrowing of the flame princess’s eyes. “I gave you an order! Speak up or face the consequences!”

“You are very loud,” she spoke smoothly yet again, undeterred by the guard’s rough nature. “Could you lower your voice for a while? I want to enjoy the rest of the show.”

“There’s your answer, commander,” one of the other golden armored ponies spoke, a pegasi this time. “She has to be one of the conspirators. She’s cheering on the violence against her highness!”

Azula watched the pony carefully. It was hard to judge age among them, but he seemed to be the youngest out of the trio. None of the familiar signs of age wore down on his skin, or what little she could see beyond his armor. That only made him more likely to be full of energy. But the trouble with untamed energy, as the princess was keen to remember, was the brashness that often came with it.

“It’s good enough for me,” the now labeled commander spoke in return. It made a wry smile grow over the flame princess’s lips. The youngest was quick to judge, but it appeared that the commander was little different. It would have been amusing if it were not so easy.

“Well, am I to expect you three to attempt something on me?” Azula chose her words carefully. The less she touched on, the more the enemy would clarify. It meant little now, but it was never a good idea to fall out of practice.

“We’re going to take you into custody until we can rescue the royal princesses. Until that time, you will be staying in the dungeons.” The smile that curled over the pony’s lips was confident. “Chances are, though, it’ll be an indefinite stay.”

“Ah,” Azula spoke simply, taking in a small breath of air as she was done. “I’m sorry to say I don’t have time for that. There is still much I’m expecting to happen, and it would be awfully difficult to watch the show from behind bricks and stone.”

“So you’re going to resist?” The commander clarified, doubtlessly enjoying the chance to fight the creature in front of him. If only he knew what he was dealing with. Azula, however, knew fully well what pegasi and unicorns were capable of.

“But,” she began to speak on, ignoring the unicorn’s question. “I am becoming quite chilly up here. The altitude and the wind aren’t good for keeping in the heat.”

A flash of her smile was all it took to make the ponies feel colder than ice.

“But you three will make excellent kindling.”

With a snap of her fingers, the three burst into flames. There wasn’t even time to cry.

Blue flames blazed from beneath the golden armor, completely engulfing the ponies. Their protective metal fell to the stone with harsh clanks, rocking over the heavy flames. It only took a few more seconds before the metal began to bend, softened by the intense heat. A moment longer and puddles of gold began to form beneath the still-blazing blue.

Azula’s golden eyes watched the entire display, lifting her hand to feel the heat emanating from the ashes.

“Adequate at best.” The princess judged her own work, only partially satisfied with the result. “But for only three small ponies, it is a decent fire.” She clenched her hand, gripping her fingers until they shook. “And it only required less than a thought to make.”

The princess’s teeth shined from between her lips, her smile more dangerous than the flames she had conjured.

“But that’s to be expected,” Azula spoke. Her hand raised itself to her head, adjusting her black bangs around her ears. They had fallen out of place sometime during the ponies’ entrance. “Now, where was I?”

She turned back to the monolith in the sky, its black screens twisting slowly to show more and more of the dangerous dances the ponies inside were enduring. Azula felt her eyes drawn to a familiar trio, all the closer to her given one of its members.

“And how will you play your part?” She questioned aloud, voicing her words to the wind. “Will you claim the power you swore to hold, or crumble like the stone you’re made from?”

Her hands folded together, hiding her sharp-edged smile.

“Either way, it will be interesting to watch.” Next Chapter: And So It Goes Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 30 Minutes