"So let me get this straight," said Glory. She and Deathbringer had curled up together on the edge of the room, and while Glory argued against it several times, her Nightwing assassin had insisted on wrapping a wing around her protectively. Clay, Tsunami, and Sunny were all sitting closer to Starflight and Fatespeaker, listening intently. "You fell asleep a couple nights ago, woke up in a castle, met a magical talking horse with wings and a horn, found your dream visitor, then you woke up again, fell sleep with Fatespeaker, and then you both went back to that world and got shown around town by a purple lizard who could speak dragon, AND he says there are dragons there in a place called the Badlands with a queen they call a dragonlord?"
"Exactly," said Starflight. "I said you wouldn't believe it."
"Sounds weird," said Sunny. "I can't imagine one queen ruling every dragon in Pyrrhia. Could you imagine if Queen Scarlet had that much power?"
The dragonets of destiny all shuddered, though Glory had learned to maintain her emotional composure. As a rainwing, her scales would shift color with her emotion if she couldn't manage it. It also helped that Deathbringer's wing shielded most of her body and helped steady her.
"You know, I've never met her," began Fatespeaker, "but she sounds terrible!"
"You have literally no idea," said Tsunami. "Pretty sure even her own subjects think she's terrible."
"There are a lot of Ruby supporters these days," said Clay. Glory shot him a curious look, and he said, "Peril was telling me about it. She didn't see very much before she was banished, but she did see a lot of support for Ruby and hardly any for Scarlet."
Glory made a mental note of that.
"So what do we do?" asked Fatespeaker.
"What can we do?" asked Sunny. "It sounds like Starflight and Fatespeaker can't control what happens when they sleep. It really is just like a dream visitor."
"It is a dream visitor, Sunny," said Tsunami.
"Well, it might be," said Starflight. "My guess is that Princess Twilight's magic could be altering the dream visitor's effects in some way. Her magic could be reacting to that of whichever dragon created the dream visitors. That could be what's forcing us there."
"But why you and Fatespeaker?" asked Glory. "Why not any of us?"
"He and I found that dream visitor in the old castle on the island," said Fatespeaker. "Maybe that's why."
"But Starflight was the only one at first, right?" asked Sunny. "Why did Fatespeaker only appear the second night?"
The dragons pondered this for a second. Glory ran through a number of possibilities in her head for a few moments. It was Deathbringer who spoke up first.
"Maybe it had something to do with proximity," he offered. "Starflight, you and Fatespeaker slept together last night." His voice had a suggestive undertone to it, and Glory couldn't help but snicker as every dragon in the room blushed. "Maybe whatever magic took you there affected you both."
Starflight shook his head to dispell his flustered look. "That's- I mean, that's probably- you're probably right," he stammered. He cleared his throat and said, "But even if that's what happened, what can we do to stop it?"
"Good point," said Tsunami. "We need you here at the school. The dragonets need their librarian. Not as much as they need TRAINING, but they need their librarian," she finished with a smile. Though Glory thought Tsunami must have known he couldn't see it, Starflight still seemed to relax at the kindness in her words.
"Thanks, Tsunami," said Starflight.
"Well, the day is mostly done," began Clay, "but Turtle was poking around the library earlier. You're okay to finish out the day, right?"
"Yeah. I'll be fine," said Starflight. "I'll feel better once I've got my claws on a scroll again."
"That's great," said Sunny happily.
Each of Glory's family left the room one by one, saying quick goodbyes as they made for each of their rooms further into the mountain. "Ready to go?" asked Deathbringer as he gently lifted his sheltering wing away from Glory. "We need to get back to the forest soon. Grandeur can't hold down two tribes for long at her age."
"Hold on," said Glory. "I need to talk to Starflight."
"Alright," said Deathbringer as Glory stood up.
Glory noticed the look on his face and said, "In private, Deathbringer." She tried to make her voice as firm as possible, but it was hard to pull off when he was around.
She felt Deathbringer flinch away, but he dipped his head and turned away. "As you wish," he said. "Just don't be too long, okay?"
"Don't worry, you big doof," said Glory, nudging him affectionately with her wing. He smiled at her and left the room. Glory walked over to Starflight and Fatespeaker. "Fatespeaker, can I speak with Starflight alone for a moment?"
"Sure," she said. Without another word, Fatespeaker after Deathbringer.
"Wow," said Glory. "I wish I could get Deathbringer to do that."
"He's still so clingy?" asked Starflight.
"He's here, isn't he?" asked Glory. They both chuckled lightly, and Starflight smiled at Glory. She looked at his scarred face and his empty, white eyes. Glory always felt a deep pain in her chest whenever she thought about his accident and how it changed his life forever. She was sure she'd do anything to fix him.
"Listen," said Glory. "If you end up in that world again, and you plan on seeing this "Dragonlord", I have to warn you."
"Warn me?" asked Starflight. "About what?"
"I've spent the last seven months as a queen, and diplomacy has been anything but easy, especially since I have to take care of two tribes and work to keep tensions low between the Nightwings and everyone else after the war. I've dealt with enough queens to last a lifetime. If their queen really has to manage every dragon in the kingdom, she must be going crazy. Be cautious when you meet her. Keep your guard up, and don't give her an inch, or she may take a mile. Do you understand?"
"I think so," said Starflight. "It sounds like your job has been tough the past few months. I trust you."
"Thank you," said Glory. She gave him a hug, something she never thought she would be doing. "Be careful, okay?"
He returned the hug and wrapped his wings around her as well as he stared over her shoulder. "I will be," he said. "Thank you."
They separated, and Starflight said, "You know, if you're really worried, maybe you could come with."
"Whoa, Starflight!" said Glory, taking a few steps back. "You're my brother, okay? I can't just-"
"Jeez, Glory, that's not what I meant!" said Starflight. He waved his arms comically in front of him. "Fatespeaker just slept next to me, not with me!"
It struck Glory just what that meant. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "Deathbringer!"
"You rang?" said the assassin smugly as he stuck his head back in the cave. He had a comical smirk on his face, so Glory figured he didn't really leave and that he had been listening. His tone proved her right.
"We're staying here tonight," she said. "I've got some business I need to take care of."
"As do I, it seems," said Deathbringer as he walked up next to her. "If you're planning on an excursion to some far off dream world, I'm coming too."
Glory sighed, "Deathbringer-"
"Don't Deathbringer me," he said. "I'm your guard. I've seen how you interact and deal with the other queens during meetings. We know nothing about this "Dragonlord". For all we know, she could be just as crazy as Scarlet or Battlewinner. If you approach this one like you do the others, no one knows what could happen."
"You're really going to force me on this, aren't you," said Glory, phrasing it more like a statement of fact than a question. When all she got back was a stern look, barely masking love and worry, she gave in. "Fine," she said. "But we don't even know exactly how this works. If Starflight is the only one being dragged away in his sleep, then he has to be sleeping for us to go as well, right?"
"Yes, that's how it works. I think," said Starflight.
"Okay," said Glory. "You finish your work in the library today, then come back here. Deathbringer and I will wait for you."
"Alright," said Starflight. "Just don't move anything, okay? Everything is where it needs to be so I can find it easily."
Glory took another glance around the room and noted the shelves in the walls full of scrolls and wooden tablets, no doubt containing the raised letters Starflight used to read.
"Of course," said Glory. Starflight gave them a nod, and Glory watched as Starflight used his tail to find the wall and follow it out. Clever, she thought.
And so, Glory and Deathbringer sat together in Starflight's room for a couple of hours. They mainly just sat close and relaxed. For once, Glory could hear herself think. As queen, Glory was always being approached by someone to give them guidance or pass some sort of ruling. She had Jambu, Grandeur, and Deathbringer to help her facilitate everything, but it was still a challenge, especially since she had twice the traffic other queens had to deal with.
This was also one of the few times she felt she could truly relax. She would never admit it out loud, but being with Deathbringer alone, laying against him with his wings wrapped protectively around her, made her feel truly safe. She never doubted the potency of her venom, especially after using it enough times to defend herself. But, she also couldn't deny how reassuring Deathbringer's warmth was to her.
When Starflight returned, Glory had relaxed so much into Deathbringer's embrace that she didn't notice him enter the room until she heard his voice. "Glory? Deathbringer?"
The sudden voice snapped her out of her daze and she sat up quickly, almost violently pulling away from Deathbringer. "Yes. We're here."
"Great. And I've brought Fatespeaker back," he said. The dragoness walked into the room on his other side and smiled at Glory. "I also brought someone to keep an eye on us while we sleep, just in case anything goes wrong." Clay suddenly stepped around from Starflight's other side.
"Hey guys," said Clay with a broad smile.
"Hello again, Queen Glory," said Fatespeaker with a nod of her head.
"Fatespeaker, we're friends. You don't have to keep calling me "Queen"."
"Oh, sorry," said Fatespeaker. "Force of habit," she added with a nervous smile. "Anyway, are you both ready?"
"I believe so," said Glory. "Deathbringer?"
"Me too," he said. "Let's go."
"Well, we're not going anywhere," said Starflight. "We stay right here. Clay, try to wake us up in the morning. If you can't wake us up right away, try not to panic. We still don't understand exactly how moving between worlds works."
"Got it," said Clay. The usual overwhelming friendliness of his tone had been suddenly replaced with a deep worry. Glory realized for the first time that his positivity was what made him seem so strong, and that the sudden absence of that worried her.
"Okay," yawned Fatespeaker. "Here we go." She guided Starflight over to Glory and Deathbringer, and helped him lay down next to Glory. He scooted closer to her until their sides were touching, then Fatespeaker laid down next to him on the other side. At this point, Glory was beginning to feel like the meat in a nightwing sandwich. She saw Fatespeaker extend her wing to cover Starflight, and Deathbringer used one massive wing to cover them all.
The exhaustion of the sudden travel all the way from the Rainforest earlier that day, and the fact she had been cuddling (three moons, she hated that word, especially when he used it) with Deathbringer helped lull Glory into a deep sleep almost immediately. Before she knew it, she had drifted off.
Glory suddenly felt like she was swimming in honey. Every time she tried to move, she felt weighed down. She could hardly flick a talon or shift her tail. Her vision swam in front of her, and she could hear a voice.
"Starflight? Are you okay? And who are they?!"
Sounds female, thought Glory. She struggled through the haze that clouded her mind until she could see straight, and eventually, until she could hear properly and completely. The weight on her body seemed to gradually be lifting, and she managed to stand up. She appeared to be in a bedroom of some kind. Deathbringer was trying to stand between her and something else, holding one of his silver disks in one hand with his wings spread protectively to shield Glory. Unfortunately, it was also blocking most of her view.
"Deathbringer, relax!" shouted Fatespeaker from somewhere on the other side of Glory's guardian. "She's friendly."
Glory saw Deathbringer's shoulders relax, but only just slightly. He maintained his position in front of her, his blades reflecting a purple glow of some kind. "Deathbringer," said Glory groggily, but forcefully. "Move."
Deathbringer looked over his shoulder, and when he saw the fierce, commanding look on her face, he lowered his wings and stashed his blades in the pouch around his neck. On the other side of Deathbringer, Glory could now see Starflight sitting up in a bed, Fatespeaker standing next to him, and just as he had described it, a purple pony with wings and a horn.
"You must be Princess Twilight," said Glory. She lightly bowed her head.
"I am," said the pony, eyeballing Deathbringer and the pouch containing his blades. "And who are you and your... friend here?"
"I am Queen Glory of the rainwings and nightwings."
Princess Twilight's eyes suddenly widened further than Glory imagined eyes ever could, and the pony immediately bowed low. She suddenly shut her eyes tight said, "Forgive me, your Majesty. I had no idea."
"That's alright," said Glory. She had been forced to act like a firm, just queen in front of the nightwings, but it felt weird having this bizarre horse bowing to her like that. "I came here with Starflight and Fatespeaker, as did my bodyguard, Deathbringer." Glory tilted her head in Deathbringer's direction, and Princess Twilight opened her eyes and glanced at him as she stood up. "We're here to see the Dragonlord."
Glory was wrong. The princess' eyes COULD get wider. "I'm sorry your Majesty. Did you say you wanted to see the Dragonlord?"
"Yes," said Glory. "Starflight mentioned wanting to see her, and I decided I should be there to help advise him during the meeting. He lacks diplomatic experience with queens of other tribes. He'll need my help."
"I'm sorry, but I regret to inform you that the Dragonlord is... she's kind of..." began the princess.
Glory had seen these types before. They knew they had made a mistake, or something was wrong, and the last thing they wanted to be was the messenger to the queen. Glory had maintained her composure with dragons like this before, but she had to admit their lack of a spine was frustrating.
"Go ahead," said Glory. "I won't be mad, I promise."
"Missing," said Princess Twilight.
"The Dragonlord is missing?" asked Glory.
"Wait, Ember's gone?" came a voice from just outside the door. A small purple lizard with green spines stuck its head through the door.
And that must be Spike, the "dragon", thought Glory.
"Spike?" asked Princess Twilight as she turned her head to look. "I told you to wait in your room."
"Is that true? Is she really missing?" asked Spike as he stepped further into the room. Princess Twilight hung her head and then turned to face the little dragon.
"She was leading a scouting party along her southern border following disappearances of her dragons, and she hasn't been seen since," said the Princess. Spike looked like he was ready to start crying.
"Well, we have to go find her!" he said frantically. "Why didn't you tell me before?!"
"Because her dragons have been searching for weeks, and they haven't found anything," said the princess. "Not to mention, the kingdom isn't safe right now. Do you remember a red dragon called Garble?"
Spike immediately frowned. "That low-life piece of-!"
"Well," interrupted the princess, "He's risen to power and built a faction. The princesses are worried he might be rallying support to invade Equestria, and sources suggest he may have had something to do with the Dragonlord's disappearance."
Glory thought for a moment that if Spike were a rainwing, he would have turned an entirely new shade of red, and the dragons and pony in that room would be the first living things to witness it.
"Teleport me to the badlands," said Spike.
"What?"
"I said, TELEPORT ME TO THE BADLANDS!" Spike screamed. Tears were beginning to stream down his face. "We've got to stop him and find Ember!"
"Spike," muttered Fatespeaker.
"There's nothing we can do, Spike," said princess Twilight. "If we approach Garble and openly accuse him, it could spark a war. He'll have to defend his pride, and it'll be just the excuse he's looking for to invade. If he really has as much power in the Badlands as the Princess' sources suggest, it won't end well. I'm sorry, Spike, but our hooves are tied."
A thought long buried in Glory's head flashed back into her conscious. Someone should care when a dragon goes missing.
"Princess Twilight," said Glory, "Though it is out of my jurisdiction, I offer my assassin, Deathbringer, in your service to scout in the Badlands and gather information on Ember and the political state of Garble's faction."
"What?" asked the princess and Deathbringer at the same time.
"I'm sorry, you're majesty," began Princess Twilight, "but we can't risk that. Not only do all of you look completely different from every other dragon in Equestria, but even if any of you could blend in, if he were to get caught, things would be even worse and your friend might be killed."
"If I may interject," said Deathbringer. "I've been an assassin for years. My first true mission involved killing a seawing general and breaking up an alliance between Blister's faction of sandwings, the mudwings, and the seawings. I did that when I was four, and when all I had seen of Pyrrhia was a rough sketch of a single map on a wall. Something like this would be a cakewalk."
The princess didn't seem to know what to say at first. She finally spoke up and said, "That sounds like quite the task, but even so, I still can't let you go. Something can always go wrong, and someone could die. I can't put any of you at risk." Glory saw Deathbringer flinch, and she remembered the story of that first mission, and how Deathbringer had to let his injured mother be killed to avoid being caught and to succeed in his mission.
"Please, Princess," said Glory. "Deathbringer is your best bet for finding the Dragonlord quickly. He can outperform any spy you have out there now. Believe me, he's more than capable of discerning the location of a dragon as important as this one." It also wouldn't hurt to have the Dragonlord in our debt, she thought. That kind of ally would be useful.
Glory could see the gears turning in Princess Twilight's head. The pony's eyes were darting left and right, and the expression on her face kept changing.
Finally, she said, "Okay. Fine. I'm giving you one chance. I trust Starflight and Fatespeaker, and if they say so, I'll let Deathbringer investigate the disappearance of Dragonlord Ember."
"Yes, definitely," said Starflight quickly. "Deathbringer's the best in the business."
"Oh, Starflight," said Deathbringer. "You flatter me."
"Then it's settled," said Princess Twilight. "I'll brief you on the Badlands and give you a map. I can teleport you close, but as far as actually getting into the badlands and searching for information, you're on your own."
"Thank you, Princess," said Glory with a dip of her head.
"We'll meet in the council room," said Princess Twilight. "Here." The princess' horn flashed pink, and a piece of paper appeared in the air in front of her. It floated over to Deathbringer and he took hold of it. "Follow the instructions on that paper to get to the room. Come by when you're ready." With that, Princess Twilight left the room, leaving Fatespeaker, Starflight, Deathbringer, Glory, and Spike.
"Don't worry," said Deathbringer as he approached Spike. "We'll get your Dragonlord back. I can tell she's important to you."
"Yeah. She is," said Spike, sniffing and smiling.
"Glory," said Deathbringer. "Can I have a word?"
"Of course," said Glory. She turned to Starflight and Fatespeaker. "Stay here," she said. "I'll be back in a minute."
"Okay," said Fatespeaker.
Glory and Deathbringer stepped out into the hall. "What was that about?" asked Deathbringer angrily as soon as the door was shut.
"What was what?" asked Glory innocently. She rarely heard Deathbringer get angry, and that was only when she put herself in danger.
"Volunteering me for that job," said Deathbringer. "We didn't even discuss it first. You just shoved me forward and offered me to hunt down the Dragonlord."
"I'm your queen," said Glory. "You are the only one who can pull something like this off."
"I'm also your bodyguard," said Deathbringer. "I can't just leave you here on your own like this. What if something happened to you while I was gone?"
"Nothing's going to happen," said Glory. "Ponies hardly look like a threat."
"So do rainwings, and look how that turned out," said Deathbringer sarcastically.
"Are you defying my orders?"
"I'm trying to keep you safe," said Deathbringer. He took a step toward her. Glory sighed and he added, "Glory, you are the most important dragon in my life. I can't imagine what I would do if something were to happen to you. Do realize what it would be like if you got hurt, or worse, killed, and I could have stopped it? It would destroy me, Glory." He gripped her shoulders, and when she looked into his eyes, she saw true fear for the first time in a long time.
"Deathbringer..."
He pulled her into a hug and wrapped them both in his wings. "Just promise me that you'll stay here, and that you'll be safe," he said. "Don't move from this spot until I get back, okay?"
"O-okay," said Glory. She couldn't believe the hitch in her voice even as she heard it.
Deathbringer slowly pulled away. "I'm going to go to the council chamber and figure this mission out."
Deathbringer took a step away, but Glory stopped him with a wing. When he turned back to her, she stared deep in his eyes and said, "Be safe, okay?"
"You too," said Deathbringer with a smile. Glory let her wing drop, and Deathbringer walked away, stalking down the hallway until he reached a corner. He stopped for just a moment. Then he stepped around the corner and his tail disappeared from sight. For the first time in months, Glory suddenly felt truly lonely.