Shining Armor paced back and forth outside of the small hut where the rebel Fierce Rapids was being held.
Not even five hours earlier, his little sister had been kidnapped by the enemy, along with one of Spark Storm's companions.
Lemon Pop had been used to combat, had been trained as a warrior for years. But Twilight Sparkle was a student, for Celestia's sake! She was a diplomat, she wasn't supposed to see action!
Shining knew that bringing her on this mission was a risk, but he never in his wildest dreams thought that she'd be caught up in something dangerous like this, and it was his fault for bringing her into this.
He turned once more to the hut. It had been silent for too long. He headed for it, only to be stopped by Spark Storm standing in his way.
"Spark...Get out of my way."
Spark shook his head, staring the bigger Unicorn in the eyes, a stony look on his face.
"Shining, I get it. Your sister and one of my partners are kidnapped, and I'd really rather not think about what's happening to them right now. But you can't go in there. Neither of us are fit to interrogate him, we'd both end up hurting him, and there's no honor in torturing someone who can't defend themselves."
Shining Armor bristled at the lecture Spark Storm was giving him. "Are...are you even listening to yourself? Spark Storm, you're a twelve year old colt lecturing a Lieutenant in Celestia's royal guard! You're in no position to be giving me advice!"
Spark Storm stood his ground, though his hooves dug a little into the ground to hold his temper. "Shining Armor, I'm in a position to be giving you advice because right now the only thing keeping that Pegasus in there unhurt is me. If I step aside and let you in there, or go in there myself, that's going to change. I don't want that to change, Shining. You and me, we're not torturers."
"Oh don't give me that!" Shining challenged, stepping closer, glaring angrily down at the younger pony. "I know what you are! You're one of those monster hunters, you kill in Celestia's name, every day!"
Spark Storm's fur bristled, this time with electricity flowing through his wings. The threat didn't budge Shining Armor, he merely activated a blue hue of magic around his horn, prepared to fight if he had to.
Instead of attacking, however, Spark continued to speak, though his gentle tone was barely controlled.
"'Monster' and 'hunter' go together, Shining. We hunt and kill monsters, not ponies. We don't kill ponies. We don't torture ponies. We're not the monsters, Shining, and neither are you."
Shining Armor stared down at Spark Storm. As pissed as he was, and as prepared to fight as he was...Spark Storm was right. He wasn't a killer, and he wasn't cruel. Shining visibly deflated, his horn powering down.
Spark reached up and put a hoof on the big Unicorn's shoulder. Without a word, Shining turned and walked away.
Spark Storm heaved a heavy sigh. That was close. When he'd brought in the unconscious Pegasus, Spark had wanted nothing more than to light up the small pony until he revealed all he knew. All his secrets.
Wait a second...He thought. Secrets? If there was one pony in this entire camp who knew anything about secrets and hidden information...
Shimmering Oasis paced back and forth in her room. Though she was far from panicking, she was far from calm. That fool Rapids just -had- to get himself caught. If his captors managed to get him to talk, there would be severe complications to her plan.
She stopped pacing. There was another problem. That dark, lame Pegasus. Spark Storm. His skills and abilities were a threat. Especially if what she saw that night was true.
Two weeks earlier...
Shimmering Oasis smiled to herself in her reflection. She admired her hair, her eyes, and most importantly, her lovely, innocent smile. All her people loved and trusted her to be honest, to be mysterious, and to be loyal. She had at least one of those down.
For years, her father had been fighting to qualm civil war in their country. For years, she had served as adviser to him, and as surrogate mother to so many of their people. It was, of course, an elaborate lie.
For hundreds of years, her father had controlled her life. While the father and daughter pair were not nearly as old as Celestia, they had both seen many, many years, and her father wanted only the best for her. The problem was, his best just wasn't good enough for her.
He would never let her love, it wasn't the business of a ruler to love. He wouldn't let her have fun, they had responsibilities. He wouldn't let her be free. She would never, ever be free from what she was born into.
He meant well; she understood that completely. She just didn't care. Of course she had portrayed the figure her father wanted her to be. She had to, he wouldn't let her do anything else. Honor and tradition were his words. Lie and sneak were hers.
Some eight to ten years ago, she had been in a meeting between her father and a new recruit for his military, Blazing Dragonfly. It had been at this meeting that she had met Dragonfly's sister, Fire Lotus, who would later become the Golden Lord's greatest adversary and major advocate of civil war in Neippon.
At this particular meeting, the two of them had snuck off to speak of the future. Lotus' military training and profitable visions, paired with Shimmering Oasis' illusionary skills, the two of them concocted a plan that would take several years to develop.
When Lotus wasn't raining war and profiting from the weapons manufactured to repel the very war she was instigating, Shimmering Oasis was using her powers to control her father's three greatest weapons: Triplet Dragons, much older than the two Alicorns. No one really knew where they came from, but they appeared one day, two hundred and fifty years ago, offering fealty.
The Golden Lord sent the dragons to battle, but only when it was truly necessary to unleash them on his enemies, or sometimes on a rescue mission. Shimmering Oasis had a different use for them.
Through the use of her powerful illusion spells, and a scrying ability that her father didn't know about, the devious Alicorn could see through their eyes and witness the terrible acts that she often tricked the dragons into doing.
She was using her scrying ability now, staring at herself through the eyes of the Dragon standing before her. "Go, my beloved Dragons. Destroy the invaders, before they cause problems for Father. They must not reach our land, or they will hurt Father. Go!"
The three Dragons leapt into the air, disappearing into the foggy evening. Shimmering Oasis made her way into her room, to watch through the eyes of her servants as they decimated the enemy with their elemental powers.
She watched with a soft smile on her face as the Dragons kept to the clouds that they created to hide themselves from the enemy as they shot lightning down on their hapless vessel.
But then, something happened. One of the little wretches actually clambered up on top of the ship, and let the lightning hit them. What a fool. Brave, or stupid. Probably both.
But then...the figure still stood. It took strike after strike of lightning, and after a few minutes, actually began to divert the lightning away from the ship. And then, the little upstart actually shot the lightning back at her Dragons!
One of the Dragons had even been hit. It surprised her so much that she nearly dropped her spell. If this continued, her Dragons might get hurt, and then she'd have some explaining to do...She called them home.
She'd been furious, of course. The ponies on that ship were coming to aid in the conflict spreading across her land, and it was something she could not afford to ignore.
Of course, she'd been shocked when she realized that the brave, stupid pony that had thwarted her attempts to destroy that ship was just a twelve year old Pegasus. Still, he was employed under one of the most revered and powerful Alicorns on the planet. He was bound to be talented. Talented enough, maybe, to have seen the Dragons that night. She had seen glimmers of his eyes, reflective eyes that could see in the dark.
At this point, she had adjusted her plan. Sending a hidden spell message to Fire Lotus via dragonfly, she told her partner to capture the dark Pegasus. It wouldn't be easy, she had warned. He was powerful and dangerous.
This plan fell through, however, when Lotus' cousin was captured. They had captured the sister of the one they wanted dead, and that was something, but her partner's cousin could ruin everything, even though he was in the dark about his cousin's and his enemy's daughter's partnership...
Shimmering Oasis shook herself out of her memories. She needed to do something, and she needed to do it fast. She stepped out into the open air, and immediately wished she hadn't. The very Pegasus that could ruin everything was walking towards her. When he noticed that she was already outside, he quickened his pace. The Alicorn put on her most convincing smile, and waited for him.
"Princess." Spark bowed before the Alicorn. He rose to his hooves once more, a look on his face that told Shimmering Oasis that he was about to say something most troubling.
"How can I serve you today, Storm?" She said, that mysterious smile on her face.
"Princess, I have no idea how your abilities work, but...could you possibly go and see if you can get information out of Fierce Rapids?...Without hurting him?"
The Alicorn thought to herself a moment, though not on the Pegasi's request. This could actually work in her favor.
"I believe that I can..." She began, and gave Spark Storm a kind smile. "It is good that you ask. Leave me with him, Storm, and I will do what I can."
Spark Storm smiled hopefully as the Alicorn trotted past him.
Fierce Rapids squinted as light flooded into the dark room where he was being held. More interrogators? What a joke. If they had been at all serious about interrogating, they would've...he paused mid-thought at the sight of who had entered.
"'You?'" He said in his native tongue. "'Don't make me laugh. You're just a sheep for your father. You're far too soft and weak to pry anything from me.'"
Shimmering Oasis smiled down at him as her horn lit up the area with a soft light. She walked closer to him. As she did, her eyes lit up, seeming to billow with a light that creeped out of her skull like a fine mist.
Rapids gasped and tried to move away from her, despite his bonds. "'What are you doing? Leave me alone!'"
She shushed him as her powers seeped into his eyes. Making the connection between their minds, she shut him down into a deep sleep. Then, as a precaution, she sifted through his memories, just to make sure. He had no idea of her connection to Fire Lotus. This made her very happy.
After twenty minutes had passed, she slipped outside, only to be greeted by her father, Shining Armor, Spark Storm, and Emerald Skies, tending to the King and his translation needs.
Suddenly finding herself on the spot, Shimmering Oasis did what she did best: She lied.
"He is sleeping now. I have convinced him to share his secrets." She glanced to Spark Storm. "Your friends should be safe, but not for long. The enemy plans to execute them tonight, regardless of whether Rapids is returned to them."
Spark Storm and Shining Armor both looked ready to go to war, but the Alicorn wasn't finished. "I have wrested the enemy's location from him." Spark gave no indication that he cared if she had taken it by hurting him or not.
Emerald Skies relayed Shimmering's message to her father, so she wouldn't have to repeat herself. The Golden Lord looked upset, but he looked to his daughter as he usually did for the next step.
Shimmering Oasis looked at her comrades, then smiled mysteriously. "Let us send the Dragons in first, Father. They will return our friends. Then let us go and finally defeat our enemies and bring Fire Lotus to justice."
Again, Emerald translated. The Golden Lord, ever trusting, nodded his head once more.
Forty minutes later, Shimmering Oasis laid in the grand room constructed just for the dragons. It was elaborately decorated with gold and jewels encrusting the doors and walls. There was a large opening in the ceiling for their entrance and exit.
The Alicorn laid in the center of long, winding bodies. Shimmering Oasis never really questioned their affection for her. She figured it had something to do with being attracted to purity. If that was the case, the Dragons were indeed stupid.
"You must go now, my Dragons." She spoke as she worked her illusion magic over their minds. "Go and lay waste to our enemies, as you have always done."
Usually, she set them go after the simple command, which usually had them flying around in circles or destroying small villages, leaving behind no witnesses to pin the blame on some ransacking by Fire Lotus and her army. Lotus didn't care; it brought her business.
Today, though, she held them close, their large heads pressed against her, returning her feelings of affection. Today, she felt sentimental. Today, she was going to have the Dragons killed. If the Dragons could somehow break her spell, it would mean her death when the coup came. They needed to be out of the way. Still, she would miss them.
She lightly kissed each Dragon on the nose, then sent them on their way.
After they had left, she blew a spell into life, taking the form of a vivid gold dragonfly, and also sent it out the window, flying much faster than the Dragons. Today would be a very interesting day.
Fire Lotus shivered. As she walked outside towards the prisoner's hut, out in the hot summer air, a shiver usually meant that a spell was headed her way.
She looked around under the hot sun until one of Shimmering Oasis' dragonfly messages came to light on a raised hoof. She stared at it until it erupted into a fine mist, and sank into her eyes. Shimmering's voice spoke to her through her mind.
Complications have arisen. Kill your prisoners. I am sending the Dragons to you. Kill all of them. We will begin the coup tonight.
Fire Lotus laughed to herself quietly. So the time had come, at last. She turned once again to face the prisoner's hut. She was headed there anyway. Time to give the girls the last glimpse of sun they'd ever see.