THIS IS MY SECOND DTAE FOR SHIMMER NOTE: THE ART IS A FILLER! THIS IS AN EXCUSE TO FINISH MY GAL’S BACKSTORY! (I’M IN TOO DEEP) Summary of previous: Shimmer accidentally leads bad guys to her home. They destroy it after reclaiming a magic stone that can heal anything and take Shimmer back to the palace, where she finds that the queen plans to use her as a servant. Her “quarters” have two guards: one is nice, one is a poopy stinky jerk face. Back to your regularly scheduled program! Even though Shimmer was annoyed by the idea of waking up early for the queen, she persisted in sleeping and eventually dozed off. She woke up to being jostled by the friendly guard. “What do you want?” she snapped at him, rolling onto her feet. “I’m going. Geez!” “Well, that’s good,” the other guard growled. “Because we’re already late and the queen hates waiting.” /The queen. My aunt,/ Shimmer thought. /I’m finally going to meet her./ The three dragons walked briskly out of her living quarters, or cell pretty much, and began to walk down the long hall. It didn’t take long for the gruff guard to pull ahead in speed, and the friendly guard drew back a tiny bit to fall into pace with Shimmer. “Look. I know this isn’t ideal,” he whispered, glancing at the guard ahead, “but I promise I’ll try to help you out of here if you take me, too.” Shimmer froze in shock. This had to be a trick. The scuff of her talons against the ground make the other guard turn and glare at her. “Keep the pace!” Shimmer rolled her eyes and kept walking, heart hammering. “Who are you?” she asked the friendly guard. “Look. I know you have no reason to trust me. But I’m asking, for both of our sakes, that you do! I’m Volt. And you’re Shimmer, niece of the queen.” “Yes,” Shimmer confirmed, and she decided she trusted him. What did she have to lose, anyways? And this dragon seemed to be about her age. Maybe she could take him in a fight. It didn’t take long after the talk to arrive in the throne room. Both guards bowed, but Shimmer refused, glaring at the queen. “Wonderful,” Queen Diadem growled. “Someone shows up late.” “Apologizes, Your Majesty,” both guards said in unison. Everyone awkwardly glanced at Shimmer. Still, she defiantly stared the queen down. “Ah, my niece at last,” Diadem mused, leaning down to look at Shimmer. She put a claw under her chin and lifted it to look into her eyes. “We’ll spend so much time together.” “Forget it,” Shimmer snapped. “I’m not going to be your servant.” “Oh, but you will,” Diadem laughed. “You’ve no choice. Sit,” she commanded, pointing to a corner of the throne room. More servants sat at equal intervals along to hall. Shimmer glared, but went to sit in the place Diadem had pointed. “Watch her,” Diadem commanded Volt. “Stand nearby and make sure she doesn’t go anywhere.” Volt nodded and went to stand by Shimmer. Although he glared, Shimmer could tell he saw the opportunity for escape. “Every day, you will come here and await my orders,” Diadem snapped at Shimmer. “And if you’re late again, I will tear you apart!” Shimmer nodded. “Then we understand each other. Good,” Diadem said, turning back to the dragons trickling in to speak with her. The next few hours passed in a boring blur. Not once did Diadem call on Shimmer for something. She was just beginning to doze off when she heard her name finally spoken. “Shimmer,” the queen snapped. “Find me some smoked salmon from the kitchen.” “Fine,” she growled. She and Volt began to stalk down the hall, him directing her to the kitchen. Once there, Shimmer walked up to someone who looked like she knew what she was doing. She wore a small chef’s hat, and was frying some fish. “The queen wants a smoked salmon,” Shimmer growled. “I have one just ready here,” she offered, passing up a decorative plate with a few salmon on it. Shimmer took it and began to walk back to the throne room. “Wait,” Volt whispered. “Don’t you want to take this chance to leave the palace?” Shimmer dropped the plate in alarm. “Of course! How could I forget!” The two began to race down the halls, searching for an exit. “You never told me why you’re here,” Shimmer asked him, out of breath as they ran. “Oh. I’m…I’m the son of two in the nobility, and the queen enlisted me as a guard. My parents died in a terrible accident, and I’ve been given no choice but to stay.” “That ends now,” Shimmer assured him before running smack into a familiar face. “Oh, moons,” she snapped as the gruff-faced guard stared down at her. “What are you doing?” he snapped. “Why aren’t you in the palace?” “RUN!” Volt shouted, grabbing her and beginning to fly. Shimmer, struggling to keep up, lifted her wings and flew hastily. “Come back here!” the guard shouted. “HELP! GUARDS!” Suddenly, dragons began pouring out of rooms and giving chase. “We have to go faster!” Shimmer shouted, feeling claws grabbing at her tail. “Hurry!” The two zipped down the halls, taking quick turns, until Shimmer finally saw an open window. (+)
(+) She dove through it, and turned around, hoping to see the face of Volt behind her. Instead, she saw Volt pinned by a hoard of other guards. “Let him go!” she shouted. “He doesn’t deserve what the queen has given him!” As she glared, she saw the crowd part to reveal a fuming Rosette and the queen herself. “You’re ridiculous, niece. You can’t escape your new home here in the palace,” Diadem growled. “And Volt isn’t going anywhere, either.” “Nonsense! You can’t keep us here forever,” Shimmer shouted. “No one deserves that!” “Well, it doesn’t matter now. You and Volt are coming back, and this time, you’re not leaving.” “No. I’m not going back!” “Then Volt dies!” Diadem shouted, pulling the young dragon to her and holding a claw to his throat. “Please, no!” Shimmer begged. “I-I’ll go back!” “Good,” Diadem growled coldly. “Time to go, then.” Shimmer felt against her will as she climbed back through the window. Diadem smirked at her as she led her away down the hall, guards flanking her and Volt. “I must say, I’m impressed with your efforts. But it looks like I have you again,” Diadem laughed. “I’m sorry,” Volt whispered as Diadem droned on. “It’s okay,” Shimmer was about to say, when she suddenly had an idea. Only a few guards remained in the lineup of marching talons, and she knew what she had to do. “Volt. We need to grab their spears,” she hissed. “What? Why?” “Just trust me.” Volt nodded, and quietly, the two slipped two spears from the guards. It was surprisingly easy, as none of the guards seemed thrilled about having to chase down two kids for the queen in the early morning. “Now we fly up, and throw the spears in front of her path,” Shimmer said confidently. “How? They’ll see us!” Volt demanded. “Not with a quick distraction,” Shimmer grinned. Before Volt could respond, Shimmer opened her mouth and started screaming, looking past the queen into the hall. “What is it? Why are you screaming?” Diadem roared. The guards, all alerted, ran to the queen to protect her, and Shimmer grabbed Volt and soared up. Together, they flew forward from the massive roof and tossed their spears right in front of the bundle of dragons. All of them began to scream and turn their eyes to the sky, but Volt and Shimmer were already flying down and back through the halls, hearing the screams of “ATTACK! WE’RE UNDER ATTACK!” Together, they made it through the open window and out of the palace. “Wow,” Volt said at last. “What do we do now?” Shimmer asked as they began flying far, far away from the castle. “I don’t know much,” Volt said, “but I do know that you saved me. So wherever you go, I want to come, too.” Shimmer looked at him with a sudden joy. Maybe she didn’t have to do everything alone. She could rebuilt her life—this time, no secrets, no nothing. One day, she could build up the courage to fight the queen back and reveal the mysteries of her family. But for now, as she and Volt soared into the sunset, laughing as they threw his guard armor into the vast forest below, this was going to be okay. OKAY I HAVE A NOTE ABOUT THIS. This story is very rushed, leaves a lot of loose ends, and never resolves the fact that Shimmer randomly trusts this dragon she wanted no biz with in the beginning. I was sleep deprived. I wrote this very late while distracted by watching MLP. It’s not my best writing! But it serves its purpose, and this entry was mostly to finish her story once I’d started it. If I win her, I will most likely rewrite it better. But the DTA closes today, so I’m satisfied. Shimmer’s design belongs to @fistash. Thanks for reading and have a lovely day/night! <3 Glacial -> out.
