For the next three weeks Mel trained with Winx in the hopes that the little dragon would be ready for our battle with Mythic, assuming we won the Draconic Heaven. We saw very little of Black Beauty or Thunder during that time, though when we did pass them in the hallways it seemed that they still hadn’t come up with a counter to Nilak’s speed boost ability.

Lucky still showed no signs of waking up, even though both her and Mel’s injuries had fully healed. While Mel wished that she could join us, we all knew that her earlier words about drawing attention were true. There was no way she could get at Mythic without a rider to accompany her. The odd thing was that we saw very little of Winx outside of Mel’s magic training. She would disappear for hours on end with no contact with any of the rest of us. Ivy was worried out of her mind the first time she vanished, and it was even worse when the red dragonelle wouldn’t explain where she had gone.

Finally, the day was upon us. The Draconic Heaven was going to take place the very next morning, and a tense hush had fallen over all of us as the weight of our mission came crashing down on our shoulders. None of us spoke all that much, and even then it was only when necessary. Winx especially was absurdly quiet compared to her normally talkative self. Sometimes we forgot she was in the room until she moved or sighed.

The morning was spent with all of us trying to relax in our room together. We didn’t want to be harassed by fans or reporters because none of us were in the mood to deal with clueless civilians. Winx and Ivy went a few practice laps on the track behind headquarters, but even from our window I could see they couldn’t put their hearts into working hard. The pressure of what was coming seemed to suck the energy out of all of us like a sponge in the desert.

Finally, the sun began to set, and I felt it was time we took care of business. We walked in silence down to Mel and Lucky’s room, taking care not to disturb the other racers as we went. Soft snoring could be heard from behind some of the doors, and I had a feeling those of us that were light sleepers weren’t going to be getting much rest tonight.

I led our group into the girl’s room and shut the doors behind us as Winx, Ivy and Nilak filed in after me. Mel was curled up next to Lucky’s bed as always, not bothering to lift her head as we came in.

Good evening everyone, she said as she glanced out of the corner of her eyes at us, I’m glad you came. Lucky is still asleep, but I was hoping that she might wake up if you all came to visit. She let out a gusty sigh that riffled Lucky’s mane, I guess I got my hopes up for nothing.

Don’t say that Mel, Nilak said gently as he laid down next to her. The instant you give up hope is the day that Lucky is truly lost to us. We must believe that she will wake up. Even if it takes years, we must keep hope alive that she will return to us one day.

Assuming we survive long enough to see that, Winx muttered before covering her mouth with one paw, I didn’t mean that!

Ivy rubbed the small dragon behind her ears in a reassuring way, “We know you didn’t mean it Winx. It’s a possibility that we might not all live through our battle with Lord Song. We must be willing to sacrifice everything in order to stop him and free the dragons.”

I walked up to Lucky’s bedside, my eyes locked on her sleeping face. She seemed so peaceful like that, without the worry lines around her eyes and mouth that I had seen more often than not when serious topics came up. I sat down on the bed by her hip and gently took her hoof in mine, rubbing over her fur gently as I stared at her. The others fell silent as I continued to look at Lucky’s face, my thoughts jumbled and my heart rate climbing steadily.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers in a chaste kiss, her breath mingling with mine for a second before I pulled back. I had heard Ivy gasp at my actions, though it hindsight she must have seen it coming in some corner of her mind.

“I’m sorry all of this has happened Lucky,” I said as I sat up. “I’m to blame for your injuries, even if the Blood Claw were the ones who pulled the trigger. I upset you, which made you and Mel refuse to put on your armor. Had that not happened, I know that you wouldn’t be in that bed right now,” I took a shaky breath as my lip began to tremble, “a-and I’d be able to tell you that I love you. I know that I made you uncertain back at the baths, but I know for sure now. I love you Lucky Star, and if we all survive this, I’m going to ask you to marry me.”

This time I heard all four of them gasp, and I couldn’t help the smirk that crossed my lips as my eyes began to leak. I lifted my hoof to wipe away the tears but more only came to take their place. I sniffed as I closed my eyes and looked away from her, ashamed that I couldn’t keep my emotions in check.

“Must have the heat on too high in here,” I muttered as I wiped my eyes with the back of my leg, “my eyes are perspiring.”

Ivy walked up on the other side of the bed, her own eyes shining as she bent down and kissed Lucky’s forehead, “We’ll be back for you when this is all over. You’d better be awake when we come back or else I’m, I’m,” she couldn’t finish as she broke down in tears.

She fell to her knees as the waterworks began, her chest heaving as great sobs sputtered past her trembling lips. She rested her head on her forelegs as she leaned onto the bed, her mane hiding her face from view as her shoulders shook. Winx walked up and draped her wing over the evergreen mare’s back, her eyes alight with worry and even more unshed tears.

I forced myself to look away, thinking that Ivy deserved a bit of privacy in her grief. Instead my gaze landed on Nilak and Mel, who were taking alternating glances at each other when they weren’t looking at Lucky and me.

I smiled sadly as I caught them looking at each other out of the corners of their eyes, “Well, go on you two.”

They looked up at me with matching confusion on their faces, go were? Nilak asked.

I indicated the door that lead into the adjacent room with my eyes, “You two have some goodbyes to say as well. Don’t let us stop you.”

They glanced at each other before turning back to me with gratitude in their gazes, and as one they stood and walked into the next
room. It was empty at the moment, so they’d have some privacy in case there was anything kinky going on. While I didn’t know how dragon courtship went exactly, I had a feeling that Mel and Nilak would be expecting hatchlings pretty soon if they had anything to say about it. That is, assuming they both survived the coming storm.

The door closed behind them with a soft click, and I turned back to Ivy and Winx, the former of which had finally gotten herself under control.

She sniffed thickly as she wiped her bloodshot eyes, “Sorry about that Silver. It’s just what you said hit me pretty hard.”

I nodded, “I wasn’t that surprised. I’m actually more shocked that Winx didn’t break down in tears too. I was certain that you’d be sobbing your eyes out alongside her after what happened.”

She shrugged, someone had to keep calm, or else we’d be here all night. She sniffed once as she glanced at Lucky, doesn’t mean I don’t care or anything.

“I never said you didn’t,” I replied. “I just wasn’t expecting you to step up like that. It shows that you’re maturing faster than we realized.”

She nodded, though the barbed reply I was expecting never came which told me she probably didn’t hear a word I said. I reached over the bed and held onto Ivy’s hoof, her eyes locking with mine as she sent me a weak smile. We sat there in silence, collectively ignoring the soft sounds of rapture that leaked through the wall every once and a while. It was like we were trying to find some peace in this last moment before our mission turned our lives upside down, remembering a simpler time not so long ago when the fate of the world didn’t rest in the hooves and paws of four scared individuals.

We returned to our room once Mel and Nilak finished their little escapade, although it seemed the weight of the day had taken much of the joy out of it from their blank expressions. Nilak passed out in the living room while Winx climbed into bed with Ivy, leaving me to relax for a bit on the couch as I tried to get my head to stop spinning. A lot had been said during our trip to the girl’s room, and I had a feeling that things were going to get rather exciting once the sun rose in the morning. The full moon was just rising above the horizon as my eyes drifted closed, and I sighed as the thunderstorm in my head finally gave way.

“So nice to see you again little Silver.” It was the same voice that had haunted my sleep since my mother’s murder, “You’ve come a long way since that day I slit your mother’s throat.”

I turned around and faced the stallion who had tried to kill me, my own expression oddly calm as I looked up at his pitch black eyes.

“You never got to that point,” I said slowly, “you were dead long before my mother’s murder.”

His lips parted into a sadistic grin, “Yes, but my brothers got to her for me, and now I get to wait here for you, just itching to carve you up like a turkey and listen to your screams of agony.”

I clenched my teeth in rage, “You can’t hurt me, and I’ll make sure you never hurt my friends again.”

“Oh,” he replied in a sarcastic tone, “like you protected that little girlfriend of yours? Face it you little brat, you’re time is up, and sooner or later somepony is going to kill you. We might not even need to do it at the rate you’re going. You’ll serve yourself up to that upper crust
wizard and he’ll send you all to Hell for us.” He laughed as he threw his head back in mirth, “In the end we won’t have to do anything, you’ll send everypony you care about to their own deaths and it will have been all your fault!”

I clenched my jaw and threw a punch at his face. He caught it with his own hoof and I threw my other leg at him, only to get stopped a second time. “Shut up! My friends are going to come out of this alive, and then we’ll kick you Blood Claw idiots to the curb just like we’re going to kill Mythic Song! Mark my words you pile of ashes, we can and will survive anything we set our minds to, just wait and see.”

He chuckled as he let go of my hooves, stepping back and fading into the darkness around us, “You talk a big game little colt, but we both know the truth. Your friends will die battling Song, just as your mother died because of your actions against us. We never let a target go, and I’ll make sure to enjoy the terror and helplessness on your face as everypony and everything you care about is destroyed. Sleep well Silver Spirit, because it’s the last night of sleep you’ll ever have.”

I jerked as my mind snapped into wakefulness, the horror of the dream still clinging to my mind. I was about to sit up when I head a soft clicking sound coming from behind me. I stayed perfectly still as the clicking moved past me, and I kept my eyes open in narrow slits as a large shadow moved through my field of vision. It was only as the moonlight fell across the figure that I recognized it as Winx. I let out a silent sigh of relief, my mind having flashed to a Blood Claw member come to assassinate us. However, there was something odd about how Winx was acting. Instead of walking around like she owned the place, her head was lowered and she kept checking behind her as if she were being followed.

She stepped over Nilak’s tail with care, freezing in place when he snorted in his sleep and kicked reflexively. Only when he had settled did she continue, slowly moving over to the exit and silently slipping out of the room. I sat up slowly, in case she came back, but when it was clear she was gone, I stood up and walked over to Nilak.

“Hey,” I whispered, “wake up.” I tapped him on the tip of his muzzle and he shifted slightly before opening his eyes.

This had better be good Silver, he muttered in an irritated tone.

“Winx just snuck out,” I whispered back. “I don’t know where she’s going, but she was acting strange, almost like she’d get in trouble if she got caught.”

He stretched once before rolling to his feet, fine, but if this is just a wild goose chase then I’m going to flatten you for waking me up. He glanced at the bedroom door, which Winx had left slightly ajar, should we wake up Ivy as well?

I shook my head, “Probably not a good idea. Ivy’s matured a lot during all of this, but if we catch Winx in something embarrassing or unusual, then Ivy would probably blow our cover in the first second.”

He nodded agreement, true enough. Well, the night’s not getting any younger. I say we get moving so I can get back to sleep.

I smirked as I walked beside him over to the door, “You really are a lazy lizard.”

He rolled his eyes without looking at me, a warrior only uses excess energy when he absolutely has to. It’s not laziness, just smart thinking.

Now it was my turn to roll my eyes, “Sure, whatever you say Nilak.”

We peeked out of the door to make sure Winx was gone, then slowly made our way down to the lobby by way of the stairs. It was slower, but using the incredibly loud elevator would turn our chances of staying hidden to zero faster than we could say “Boo!”.

We came out into the main hall just as the front doors swung closed with a soft click. Normally the sound wouldn’t have been audible, but in the complete silence of the night it was like a firecracker detonating in a small room. I shared a glance with Nilak, who nodded, before walking out into the main hall and slipping in along the left wall. We paused several times as soft noises alerted us to smaller creatures about, but other than that we had the place completely to ourselves.

I pushed the door open and let Nilak move through before I closed it behind us, making sure to limit the noise it made in the process. Once the door was safely closed, I glanced over at Nilak, who had his head raised as high as it would go and tilted slightly to one side.

“Can you tell where she went?” I whispered as I came up on his left.

He tilted his head the other way and turned slightly to the right, I’m using the bond we share to try and locate her. If I accessed her
mind to find out her location it would alert her to our presence, so I have to use more unconventional methods. He paused for a moment before his head lowered and rotated right side up, she’s heading west at a decent pace. Whatever she was worried about inside, she doesn’t seem to care about it now.

“Probably because she didn’t want to get caught by us or another rider,” I said as we began walking, “I hope she’s not in trouble or anything like that. Secrets between team members now could get one of us killed.”

Let us hope you are wrong then, he muttered in return, for all our sakes.

We followed Winx’s trail for about a mile before the ground began to tilt slowly upward. Nilak slowed to a near crawl as we came near to the top of the hill, and as the trees thinned out I could see why. Winx and Shield Fang were standing at the top of the hill, where the trees gave way to short grass and the open sky. Nilak and I moved in to hide just short of the tree line, hoping to remain unseen as the two dragons moved closer together.

Can you hear what they’re saying? I asked, not trusting my voice to go unnoticed.

He paused for a minute before replying, they have an open connection, so if I patch us in they probably won’t notice us. However, once I connect us, we can’t say anything or else they’ll be able to hear us as well as we can hear them.

I nodded, do it.

There was a short span of silence, but once I could hear their voices, I nearly gave us away with a gasp of shock. Apparently this moonlit meeting was of a very romantic sort, as evident by the first thought that sauntered through my mind.

It’s been too long love, Shield Fang said with a far deeper tone then I was used to hearing. The last couple days have been far too slow without being able to see your radiant form.

Oh stop it you big goof, Winx said as I saw her duck her head in embarrassment, it’s only been two days since I saw you last and I would hope our lovemaking didn’t leave your memory that quickly.

I was floored at what I was hearing. I knew that Winx and Shield Fang had flirted off and on when they first met, but I had no idea they had taken it this far. I glanced up at Nilak and noted his completely slack jaw. Apparently he hadn’t seen it coming either. I focused back on the two before us, and I had to contain my groan at the sappy comments being said between them.

Far be it from me to forget such a momentous event, Shield Fang said as he moved a large step closer to Winx. Your love was like the purest bliss to my mind and soul. Your body was heaven on Equis like the Goddess herself had descended before me. He stepped closer once more, now at such a distance that he could touch noses with Winx, how could you ever doubt my love for you?

I could hear the raw emotion in Winx’s voice as she lifted her head to rub her face against Shield Fang’s, I would never doubt you my love, because through all of this, you have been my knight in shining armor, with supporting words and a tender touch to wash away my deepest fears. She pulled back and smiled up at him, their eyes alight with the purest flames of passion, you are everything to me Shield Fang, and I wish for nothing more than to be your mate once this is all over. She stepped up and fit her shoulder against his, resting her head on his back as he curled his neck down and around her own, promise me you’ll be here when I return.

I promise Little One. I could have sworn I could hear a tremor in the massive dragon’s voice, but you must promise to return to me so that I will not wait forever. Swear on our love that you will come back from what awaits you, and that you will still love me when your mission has been completed.

I promise, Winx whispered as she closed her eyes, purring into his flank as Shield Fang pulled her into his broad chest with one foreleg.

I tapped Nilak on the shoulder and jerked my head back in the direction of Headquarters. He nodded and I felt the connection break as we turned away from the two lovers. I cast a last glance over my shoulder at them, feeling a smile grace my lips for the first time in days. It seemed that even in our most critical hour, there was still room for tender moments with those we held close.

Nilak and I returned to the room, making a silent agreement not to tell Ivy about what we had just witnessed. She would find out in good time, and right now we needed to stay focused on the mission at hand. The Draconic Heaven was tomorrow, and we couldn’t afford to let anything stand in our way. Victory was absolutely essential, because only the victor of the Draconic Heaven was invited to speak with Lord Song. No team had ever won the Draconic Heaven before, but the rules were the same either way. Like it or not, the end was in sight. The only question was, who’s end would it be? Would Mythic Song finally fall, or would our great mission end in disaster? Would we even survive if we failed? My mind flashed back to my nightmare, and I felt my heart shudder for a moment before I could get it under control. We would be risking everything to fight Song, but we had come too far to turn back now. We were seeing this through to the end, and with our drive and spirit I couldn’t see any way we could possibly fail.

Author's Notes:

Short little chapter to tie up some loose ends. Anypony see the ship between Winx and Shield Fang coming, or did I blindside you all with that little moonlit meeting? Let me know in the towel section below and I hope to see you all in later chapters.

One more chapter and then it's time for the big race!!
Get set to get decked because this is going to be one for the history books. Buuut, you'll have to wait until I post the newest chapter before you get to see it.

Anyway, love and hugs for all my readers, and I'll see you next chapter,
Shadow Quill, Messenger of the Moon.