"You what?" Elvira hissed, pressing her knife against Specter's throat. Ignoring the blossoming bubbles of blood on his neck, her scarlet eyes demanded an answer with such intensity even Napoleon Dusk had to look away.

Ebony sat at the other side of the table, never speaking, just watching. Watching intently and soaking every little detail up like a sponge. She had always been a rather reserved girl, one who easily faded into the background.

Until she picked up that battle axe 8 years ago. Dainty build, flitting eyes, and a tendency to evade then attack from the shadows, she was a true daughter of the Song family.

Lithe, agile in body and mind, she had earned her name: the Silent Killer.

"I-I-"

"Are you not a prince of the Duskan Empire? Speak to me like one!" Elvira ordered, while a petrified Specter seemed to sink into his chair.

"I entered the Starry Nightclub to experiment with my mind control powers on the magicians there. Princess Luna was there at the exact same time as me! She and some friends caught me, I called Ebony for backup, and....." Specter blurted out.

"You got your ass kicked by the princesses, a Star, two scrawny teenagers, one of who had drank the poison they call "Cock Tails", then fled like a coward," Elvira finished, waving her hand dismissively.

"How do you-"

"Ebony told me, genius," Elvira spat sarcastically. "And here's my question for you. How did you manage to not defeat them?"

Specter gulped. He could tell Elvira now, and risk her murdering him in a fit of rage. Or he could tell Elvira later, and risk her murdering him in a fit of rage. He didn't exactly have many options.

"Well?"

"I drank the "Cock Tails", the poison of body and mind," Specter mumbled.

"WHAT?" Elvira shrieked. "WHY in the Duskan name would you do that?"

Ebony and Napoleon both winced at the exact same time, as if they were the ones being reprimanded by the Duskan Empress.

"It was called a Bloody Mary! I thought it might've been...non poisonous?" Specter tried to explain.

"No, you idiot," Elvira groaned. "It's a name. And it's not really poison to us, just extremely bad for our systems, and that big of a dose?"

"I had to! It was a club. I chose it because I heard people always drank the "Cock Tails" and got into fights, so it would look normal! And everyone was looking at me weirdly for not ordering one, so I did to blend in," Specter continued.

"Empress. On the contrary, we did make it out alive, killed the manager, severely wounded her group, and destroyed the entire club, which was a good portion of Canterlot's economy," Ebony jumped in.

Elvira pursed her lips, examining all of them. "All of you stand up. Take off your cloaks and armor."

All three obliged and did as she pleased, removing their garments. Circling and examining them like a predator did its prey, Elvira was calculating. Calculating hard.

She nodded as she did, muttering and pacing around the room.

"Sit back down," she snapped. "Specter, tell me more about the people you fought. They seemed to be very powerful, and a potential threat. We can also use them as a leverage against Luna."

"There was this boy a few years younger than me, I think his name was Sombra. He was looking at me funny from the beginning. His magic is very powerful, and he knows martial arts," Specter recalled what he could remember. It was slightly blurry after he downed the Bloody Mary.

"He was one of the Crystal Empire refugees that fled when we took over. In fact, he was a slum citizen, so he isn't loyal to the empire. His hand must've been mangled a few years ago from a fight. His fighting technique is very unrefined," Ebony filled in the rest of the gaps.

"How do you.." Specter's jaw dropped.

"There's a reason Ebony's a spy," Elvira answered. "The others?"

"Sombra's older brother Jet. The bartender. No magical abilities, but he has surprisingly good aim and threw flaming bottles at us. There were also the Stars, who performed. There was a girl named Chrissy about my age, who poses no threat to us. No abilities, unless you count singing, dancing and being an airhead," Ebony replied.

Leaning against his chair, Napoleon pouted, sour, as he hadn't been chosen to go on the mission. Unlike his brother, he wouldn't have messed up.

"Ebony, what were you wearing?" Elvira questioned.

"A thick lace masquerade veil. You couldn't recognize me without it."

"And Napoleon, how is the Empire?"

Napoleon suddenly had perfect posture, an alert gaze and eagerness not seen before. "We're sapping a lot of its resources, and the people there are working in the mines. No one has dared rise up yet."

"And Amore?"

"Still a bitch." Napoleon rolled his eyes. "In fact, I think she's gotten worse."

"I can't wait to chop her head off with my axe," Ebony sighed dreamily.

"Or slice off her limbs one by one," Specter muttered in an equally hazy trance.

"Or do both of those things in front of the empire after giving her the Thousand Cut torture," Elvira agreed, possibly the most dream-like of them all.

"Them why can't we?" Napoleon asked.

"She's still good to use as leverage against the people, to shut them up. The last thing we need is a rebellion on our hands. Do not forget we're still at war with the Netherbanes and the Nightshades as well. They're still allies, apparently," Elvira spat with contempt.

The Netherbanes and Nightshades were the two other powerful vampire families who controlled huge empires, with smaller families as their allies. 50 years ago, the Netherbanes and Nightshades had agreed to join forces to take out the Dusks. That was called the Alliance, one of the greatest downfalls in Duskan history.

They nearly succeeded, forcing what remained of them into hiding.

Elvira sighed when those memories sprang up. Her parents' generation was labeled the Cursed Generation: four members had been disowned, crops failed, their smaller allies left, not to mention the Alliance. More than half of their family had died in battle, or had been taken as prisoners of war. On the brink of extinction, they had had to flee like cowards.

As the heiress to the throne and the only hope, it was up to her to restore them to their former glory.

"So, what's the plan?" Specter demanded, eager to advance their agenda.

"After you botched your last mission miserably, don't expect to take center stage," Elvira muttered, using her knife to carve lines up and down the table, as if trying to force herself into a planning meditative state.

"Yeah, Specter," Napoleon added, sticking his tongue out at his younger brother when Elvira turned her head.

"I don't want to start another war. We only just recovered from the Great War against the Equestrians, and we're still fighting the Alliance. Not to mention how we're in debt to the Songs, and possibly the Tamourins, who we're trying to establish a deal with. Our military is limited, and we don't need to win this war with force," Elvira pondered.

"Then we win it using strategy," Ebony answered after a period of silence. "Strategy and manipulation."

"We can send spies in!" Napoleon sent his mother a pleading look, begging for a chance to prove himself. He wanted to prove why he, not Specter, not his half-sister Nereza or any of his cousins deserved to be heir once Elvira passed.

"Correct. Ebony, you'll be able to blend in easiest. We'll need you to get close to the princesses. Even better, that little girl Chrissy, who is one of her friends. It will seem less suspicious if you befriend her first. If you can enter her group, you could also keep an eye on Sombra, whose magic is too powerful for my liking."

"Yeah, but I don't know if the poison made me see things, but his hand looked very messed up," Specter added.

"Napoleon," Elvira said next, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at how desperate he was.

"Yes, empress?"

What a suck-up. "You look similar to Specter, so this will be hard, and you need to make sure your disguise is perfect. I need you to start a spark. I don't want to hunt the princesses down in Canterlot, so what do we do?"

Napoleon relished Specter's pout, side-eying him while maintaining his smirk.

"We lure them into our trap in the empire, and disable their military. The details aren't perfected yet, but you will play a huge part in that," Elvira continued. "It will save us the hassle."

"What about me?" Specter asked.

Elvira really did roll her eyes this time, scoffing as she did so. "I didn't forget about you, my son, especially after you failed that mission. I mean, getting drunk at a club, then getting your ass kicked by a slum boy? Please."

The prince's eyes burned, then morphed into something else entirely: determination. Hope. This wasn't over. He would pick himself back up again, and he would do anything his mother threw at him.

"Oh! You wanted your assignment?" Elvira crossed one leg over the other.

"Ye-"

The old silver knife was back at his throat, tilting his chair back and jamming his head into the wall.

"Well, here's your assignment. Guard the Empire. Keep everything in check. Make sure Amore isn't being too bitchy. If she is, threaten to slit her throat. And Napoleon? Do fetch your half-sister Nereza. She's playing a part in this play as well." 

Hey guys!  

Who are you routing for? Team Luna or Team Dusk? Tell me in the comments.  Remember to vote if you enjoyed the chapter and feel free to comment any feedback or thoughts on this chapter. 

Best wishes! 

Sapphire