The Twin Islands-Wings of Fire

Artemis

The Queen blinked, then blinked again as she studied Mamba, the Rainwing calm and stone faced.

"Where did you come from?" She asks in awe, reaching out a talon to poke Mamba's snout. Potent hisses as Mamba flinched.

"I've been here." Mamba says slowly, sparing Artemis a glance.

"Mamba!" Artemis thinks as she grits her teeth, wondering why her friend just revealed herself and risked that. "Oh, no no no."

The look on Mamba's face said I'm fine, but Artemis couldn't help but worry.

"You've..been here?" Diamond narrows her eyes, like the fact Mamba had snuck along was just now dawning upon her. "And how is that?"

Mamba breaths a shaky sigh, stretching one wing out and letting colors flow over it until it looked like another pile of treasure. Diamond gasped, standing up and circling around Mamba.

"Are you a Magicwing?" She suddenly yelped, lunging forward and grabbing her talons. "Magicwings are good omens. Am I going to get more treasure? Is Lapis not really going to challenge me?"

"N-no..your majesty." Mamba blinks, closing her wing again and slowly pulling back her talons. "I'm a Rainwing."

Diamond looks more confused than ever.

"They're from the original Island, mother." Amethyst says cooly, eyeing Mamba with suspicious envy. "They have camouflage scales.."

Artemis's heartbeat nearly stopped when she thought Amethyst would also say they have venom, but the princess was done speaking. She didn't know. Thank the moons for that.. Right now that was their only secret weapon since Snowfall had revealed his frostbreath and Mamba her changing scales.

"That's fascinating." The Queen cooed. "She's very beautiful!" She turned to Mamba. "Can you turn any color?" Mamba nods and closes her eyes to change her scales when Peridot clears his throat.

"We still need to address the fact on how these...dragonets.." He trailed off as he looked at them. "Got here."

"Oh." Diamond looked disappointed. "But, yes. Why are you here?"

Artemis flinches and reaches for the necklace that hung, cold, around her neck. She didn't know if she had the guts to tell these strangers everything. Might as well start small.

"Do you know of Queen Solar?" She blurts, and the royal's eyes filled with unimaginable fear and rage.

"What about Solar?" Amethyst spits, grey eyes glowing with anger. "You aren't with her, are you?" There's an edge to her voice Artemis can't decipher.

"No! No!" Artemis yelps. "We're here to stop her." She says slowly.

Tempest picks up where her voice breaks. "I had a prophecy." The tribrid explains, looking up at the white Queen with wide violet eyes. "Me and my friends are supposed to stop her."

Peridot snorts. "How are seven dragonets going to stop a tyrant and her powerful allies in the midst of a war?"

Mudpuddle stares in shock at the prince. "A war..?"

"Solar is plotting to take over all the tribes." Amethyst seethes, her talons twitching as she crushed a coin in her palm. "She's got Zap and Angler to believe they're safe and are fighting for protection and territory! All the while our dragons and the rest of the tribes are trying to defend their homes and their queen."

"Couldn't you and the other tribes join an alliance against her?" Artemis asks.

"Not a chance." Peridot shakes his head. "One, the Lightningwings are the biggest and strongest tribe out there. Two, the other Queens are too busy to talk alliances. And three, if we do manage to kill Solar somehow then there will be nobody on the Daywing throne."

"Solar doesn't have any heirs?" Potent says.

"She killed every one of her daughters, sisters, and nieces." Diamond replies softly. "I know Solar herself is evil, but it would be cruel to leave a kingdom Queenless like that."

Artemis sighs and curls her tail around her talons.

"I'm sorry, but your 'prophecy' doesn't seem likely to happen at all." Amethyst says with fake sympathy. "Your tribes aren't even in all of this anyway, so why bother?"

Artemis looks at the coins sifting through her feet and raises her wings. "If Solar does control all of the tribes here there is no doubt she'll come for ours next."

"Maybe there is a better heir out there." Tempest muses.

"If only." Peridot sighs.

"Well.. We'll figure this out." The tribrid says hopefully. "Right, guys?"

The rest just shrugged, all excitement and thought about the possibility of actually pulling this off faded.

"And all we have to do is bring the tribes together and find a non-existent heir." Potent rolls his eyes. "That'll be sooooo easy."

Artemis pulls at her necklace again, lost in her thoughts. "Why? Why why why? Why me? Why my friends? What makes us so special? How could we do all that?" There was a tiny flicker of something in the back of her head that made her frown. Somehow she knew she'd have quite a dream tonight.

"Well." Diamond says, now uninterested in the treasure around her. "I don't see why we can't let you go."

"They'll get killed anyway." Peridot mumbles under his breath, loud enough for Mudpuddle to growl at him.

"If you want some advice.." The Queen begins. "I'll suggest heading to the Magicwings. They will certainly be interested in your little story."

"Be wary of the Lightningwings." Amethyst says suddenly, "you'll pass right over their kingdom. If they catch you..."

The dragonets nod slowly, the weight of their mission pressing down on their wings like weights.

"Very well." Diamond waves them away. "Go retrieve your other friends." She looks Artemis in the eyes. "And good luck."

~~~~~~~~
It was certainly a surprise for Seaglass and Snowfall when the others came charging into their cell, startling them from the conversation they were having. Seaglass flinched his tail away from Snowfall's at the last second.

"What happened?" He exclaimed, rising to his talons and sparing the disrupters an angry glare.

"We're leaving." Potent snatches up a torch on the wall and smirks. "Now come on, lovebirds."

Snowfall lunges forward just as Artemis steps between them. "Guys. Now is not the time. Let's go!"

Taking the directions Diamond had given them, it wasn't long until they found themselves in the entrance tunnel. Snowfall gives the crystals an angry look, but stays quiet nonetheless.

"Would anyone mind explaining what the plan is?" Seaglass asks, shuffling on his talons and glancing at Snowfall.

"We head to the the Magicwings and try to persuade them to help us." Artemis says as she breaths a plume of fire into the dark cave. "After that? I have no idea."