We waited on the steps outside Capital Hall for Radiant and Thunder to finish up whatever it was they were doing. Shield Fang had led a slightly woozy Whiteout out to join us a while back, and now I was starting to wonder what was taking their partners.

My reverie was interrupted by civilians running away and screamed in fear, and we looked skyward as ten large shadows came in for a landing. I groaned as the Whiptails and insignias revealed who it was we were facing, and I stood up as Lucky and Ivy fell in next to me.

“What do you want this time?” I yelled out to the Blood Claw members as they slid off of their mounts. “Haven’t we suffered enough after all the stuff you’ve done?”

The older mare in the middle laughed, her blond mane cut short and her magenta eyes cold with hate, “You think you can get off that easy after crossing the Blood Claw?” She shook her head and laughed some more, the other members joining in, “We only gave you time to stew in your pain after we put your little marefriend in the hospital. We had hoped to kill her, but seeing you fall apart after she hit the water was too sweet to pass up. However,” her eyes narrowed in a threatening way as she pulled a sword from her belt, “now that she’s awake, the higher-ups have made it very clear that you are not to leave this city alive.”

The other members growled their approval as they pulled out various other weapons, although their dragons seemed to be very confused. They kept looking from their riders to us and back again, like they weren’t sure they wanted to attack us.

Nilak stepped past me and winked once before walking up to the gathered Blood Claw. They stumbled back at his approach, although what happened next was completely unexpected. Instead of attacking the humans before him, Nilak lifted his head and addressed the dragons behind them.

Do you really wish to fight? He asked in a reasonable tone.

The Whiptails recoiled like they had been struck, and they shared uncertain looks with one another as the Blood Claw muttered in confusion.

Nilak smiled as one of the smaller females shook her head, I thought so. Tell you what, we don’t want to fight any more today, and you don’t want to get hurt either. If you disarm your riders and promise to be law-abiding dragons from now on, we’ll let you fly out of here without a scratch.

The same young female lowered her head and stepped forward, her eyes uncertain and her long tail flicking with nervous energy, you – you really mean it? You won’t attack us, even after all of the terrible things we’ve done?

Nilak smiled and nodded, lifting one paw to gently pat the dragonelle on the head, you were not the one to blame for your actions, as you had no free will of your own. He lifted her head with a paw under her chin until their gazes met, follow your heart now that you can be yourself, and prove that Whiptails are no different than any other dragons. Prove to the ponies who doubt you that your kind is just as trustworthy and caring as any of the other breeds. He paused as a thought seemed to come to him, what is your name little one?

She hesitated, her face twisted in disgust, Ripper, sir.

Nilak’s eyes narrowed and he shook his head, no that simply won’t do. If you are going to become a new dragonelle and follow your own heart, then you must have a name that shows you have changed.

I always liked the idea of being called Midnight, she whispered, her eyes thoughtful as her cheeks tinted slightly.

Nilak nodded, then Midnight shall be your new name. In fact, he lifted his head to address the other Whiptails, you should all choose a new name to reflect your new identity. No one will be able to forget your past if you continue to go by your old ones, so if you truly want to reform, choose a new name for yourselves and throw away the pain your old masters forced you to inflict.

They mumbled amongst themselves for a moment before the boss’s mount turned toward Nilak and the young female, we accept your offer and thank you for your kindness. Midnight, would you do the honors?

She glanced back at the elder dragon and nodded once, her eyes glistening with tears as she turned around. She cast one last grateful look over her shoulder at Nilak, who nodded in approval, before spreading her wings and flying away. On her way up, she used her tail to snatch her rider’s dagger and fling it over the roof of the next building, the blade shimmering in the afternoon light. As she flew over the rooftops and into the sky beyond, her saddle falling to the ground like dead weight, the other dragons followed her lead, ripping the weapons from their rider’s hooves and magic. They either broke them or threw them over the nearby buildings, leaving the ponies before us bare save for their clothes.

There was a rolling thunder of thuds as saddle after saddle came crashing to the ground, and the Blood Claw members cried out in despair as their mounts flew off into the cloudless sky.

The boss turned back to us, now weaponless and without a dragon, her expression one of faked innocence, “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to forget about that little misunderstanding from before, would you?”

I glanced at Lucky and Ivy, who lifted one eyebrow in unison before we turned as a group towards the now helpless Blood Claw. “Nope,” we chorused.

En mass, the Blood Claw began screaming as they fled for their lives, the comedic absurdity of it all as they scurried away like ants had our entire group in stitches. It was just our luck that Radiant and Thunder decided to pick that moment to make their entrance.

“What is going on here?” Radiant asked as she tilted her head to one side.

I managed to spit out a simple explanation before I collapsed into another fit of laughter, although it seemed that I had gotten the message across enough to make sense. Thunder covered his mouth as he sputtered and spit, trying to hold in his mirth while Radiant gave way to her humor completely and joined Lucky and Ivy in an uncontrollable fit of giggles. It took about ten minutes, but we finally got ourselves under control enough to stand up straight.

“Ouch,” Ivy winced as she held her side, “never thought laughing would hurt so much.”

“You and me both,” Lucky agreed as she leaned into me, her face scrunched up as she held her ribs, “Silver, remind me to take some pain pills when we get home.”

I nodded a couple times before her words sunk in, “Wait, what do you mean?”

She smirked up at me, “Well your house isn’t fit to live in anymore,” her eyes faded for a moment, “and your mom’s no longer there to take care of you.” She looked up and wrapped her forehooves around my body, resting her chin on my chest as she looked up at me, “Would you mind staying with me and Ivy from now on?”

I was floored, my wings flaring in both shock and something else as my face lit up in a raging blush. It didn’t help that Thunder’s wolf whistles and Ivy’s gleeful cheering were making it very hard to get my thoughts in line. I glanced over at the dragons, although as soon as I saw Mel resting her head against Nilak’s neck, I knew that it had to be this way, if not for me and Lucky, then for our partners.

I looked down into her hopeful eyes, and once again realized that I had no real reason to say no. I loved her, and our partners needed to be together as well. So, that only really left me one option. I bent down and met her lips with my own, Ivy’s fan filly scream nearly making my ears pop as I wrapped my hooves around Lucky’s barrel. I pulled away after a moment, both of our breaths ragged and heated. Her cheeks were as red as mine felt, but my mind was clear as I smiled.

“Yes, I will move in with you.” I shushed her with a hoof against her mouth, my lips curled into a smirk, “Just don’t expect me to share a room with you just yet.”

I expected and was not surprised by the slap that turned my head completely sideways, although I didn’t miss the furious blush and faint smile that teased her lips.

“You perverted, ungrateful, sick-minded jerk!” She screamed, her mortified expression doing nothing to cover up the smile that had
now taken center stage on her face, “You can forget about moving in! You’ll be lucky if I don’t have Mel roast you alive for that one!”

I crossed my forelegs, giving her my most innocent expression, “Well pardon me, I distinctly remember somepony coming on to me back in a certain bath house.” I paused for effect, knowing it would drive her crazy.

My efforts were rewarded as her playful fury gave way to a crimson blush that ran all the way down her neck as she covered her face with her hooves, “Must you bring that up all the time? I didn’t know what I was doing!”

“That’s not what Mel and Nilak said,” I countered, placing a thoughtful hoof on my chin as I rolled my eyes upward in fake thought, “I distinctly remember them saying that the mating bond didn’t make you do things you didn’t want to do, rather it simply removed your inhibitions about your deepest desires –”

“Okay, okay, I get it!” She yelled as she clamped her hoof over my mouth, her eyes threatening very naughty things as she leaned in close to me, “One more word and I’m going to strap you to a bed and then torture you until you beg me for mercy.”

I turned my head enough to free my mouth, “Is that an offer?”

She rolled her eyes as she pulled me close, her eyes glowing with laughter as she held me around my neck, “What am I going to do with you?”

I grinned as I placed my hooves on her flanks, “How about you let me and Nilak move in and we’ll work from there?”

“Deal.” She smiled and gave me a quick kiss before pulling away.

Our little moment was interrupted by one Ivy Charm, who chose that moment to add her two bits, “Oh hurry up and get a room you two.”

We turned to face her, my mouth open to send back a barbed retort, yet the absolutely beaming smile that met my gaze killed anything I could have said in reply. Radiant, I still couldn’t get used to calling her that, was looking at us with a smirk on her face and one hoof on her chest while Thunder was giving both of us a wing salute. His left leg found its way around Radiant’s shoulders, and she sent him a playful glare before leaning into his side. Ivy was jumping up and down in a circle with Winx like they had just won the lottery while Shield Fang stared at Winx with nothing less than absolute love. Whiteout gave him an elbow in the ribs, and I watched as he hesitated for a moment before walking up behind Winx. Ivy gasped as he spun Winx around with one paw and pressed his lips to hers in a surprise kiss. Winx’s frills instantly stood at attention as her whole body glowed an even brighter red than usual.

Shield Fang smiled as he pulled back from a very dazed-looking Winx, his tone teasing as he wrapped a wing over her back, guess I’ll have to see your house at some point huh?

Winx nodded as she looked up at him with Bambi eyes, any time you want big boy. I’ll gladly show you around, particularly the bedroom.

Ivy squealed and covered her ears as she blushed deeply, “Lalala, I’m not hearing any of this! Nope, not paying any attention.”

“You know,” I joked as Lucky and I walked up to her, “with Winx and Shield Fang being a couple and all, it probably won’t be long until little hatchlings are running around.”

“Yeah,” Lucky chimed in as Ivy started to look a bit faint, “they’ll be so cute running around, calling you and me Aunt while they drive Uncle Silver and Uncle Thunder up a wall.”

“I, uh,” she sputtered as she swayed slightly, “I don’t feel so hot. Maybe I should just,” she didn’t get any farther before she passed out cold, Winx stepping in behind her so that she fell over the small dragon’s back.

She sent us a playful glare, you didn’t have to put it like that you know!

Lucky raised one eyebrow at her, “Were we lying?”

Now it was Winx’s turn to blush as she hid her face behind a wing, n-no, it’s just, well, we didn’t exactly plan on having kids anytime soon. We’re both still young after all and we’ll have plenty of time for that later.

I heard Nilak and Mel chuckling as they walked up behind us. Ah young love, Nilak muttered in a reminisce tone, I remember when we were like that, all those years ago.

Mel elbowed him in the shoulder, smirking up at him with a knowing look, you’re still a hopeless romantic and you know it. Besides, she pressed her side up against his and fluttered her eyes at him, I happen to like the more mature and protective Nilak over the fawning and reckless goof I knew back home.

He smiled as he rubbed his muzzle against hers, and I love the understanding and strong dragonelle that you’ve grown up to be since we parted ways. I couldn’t imagine living without you, and I think you and I have a new home now.

All eyes turned to the duo as Mel looked up at him in confusion, what do you mean? What new home?

I meant that the caves and forests of our birth are no longer our home. He glanced around at all of us, our place is here, with our friends and loved ones and with those who have earned our unyielding loyalty. This is our home.

She smiled as she nodded, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek, you’re right. We can’t go back after all we’ve been through. This is where we belong, and I couldn’t be happier to share it with you.

I clapped my hooves together to get everyone’s attention, “Not to spoil the party, but I believe that we have overstayed our welcome. I’d rather get out of here before they notice that Mythic isn’t in attendance anymore.”

That sparked us into action, and we climbed into our respective saddles as we took off into the air. Radiant and Whiteout split off to head back to Firebrand and the Racer Headquarters, although Thunder and Shield Fang stayed with us as we headed home to Clawson City. Now that the season was over, we wouldn’t have to sign up for the next one for four months. However, I had a feeling that now that the dragons were free, we’d have a lot more competition fighting for the top spots on the leaderboard. I didn’t question Thunder’s choice to follow us, not after what Shield Fang had done with Winx, although I was beginning to wonder if the dragons should be kept in the pens anymore. They were sapient creatures after all. I shrugged, no point in worrying about it now. We’d deal with it once we had time to cool down and relax. I felt like I could sleep for a month after all of the stuff we’d been through the last couple days.

We touched down behind Lucky and Ivy’s house, although the pens were a great deal larger than I had first expected. I’d never been
inside the pens that Ivy and Lucky used to house Mel and Winx, but the two-story monster that stood before us was not what I had in mind.
Lucky pushed the doors open and led us in, revealing that the pens were actually quite nice. There was a stone section that had all the tools a pony could need to wash a dragon, while the pens themselves were large enough to hold three dragons with room to spare in each. The ground was covered with fresh hay and there was a water trough in the rear left corner in case the dragons got thirsty. The only thing that I didn’t immediately see, was where they kept the food.

Lucky seemed to read my mind, “We’ve got a walk-in freezer behind the pens that holds all the food. It’s a chore to cart the food around the building and into the pens, but it cuts down on power needs by keeping it in the shade most of the day.”

I nodded in understanding, stepping aside as Mel and Nilak walked into the pen closest to the wall, “I take it that you can modify the door so that the dragons can open it if they need to?”

She nodded, “I’ve already been thinking of things like that, although I imagine they could open it now if they were careful, they’d just need to be gentle or they could rip the handle off of the door.”

Winx giggled as she bounced into the pen behind us, Shield Fang looking slightly reluctant to follow her into what basically constituted as her ‘room’. He paused in the doorway, but slowly walked in and lay down as Winx curled up into his chest. Her snores quickly echoed around the pen, and Shield Fang looked up at us with a helpless expression on his face.

Thunder rolled his eyes, “After all of that stuff back at Capital Hall you’re still nervous about being around her?!”

We weren’t in her private space before, he muttered forcefully as he glanced around at Winx’s pen, I feel like I’m intruding somewhere I don’t belong.

I rolled my eyes, “Look at her Shield Fang. Do you really think she’d be fast asleep if she wasn’t comfortable with you in her pen, curled up against you no less?”

He glanced down at Winx with a slight nod, no, I guess not.

“Then stop being such a worry-wart and let her sleep with you,” Ivy said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “She’s already crazy about you enough to kiss you, what makes you think she wouldn’t like to sleep with you next to her at night?”

That seemed to convince the big dragon, because he simply nodded before curling his head around Winx and resting a wing over her back. He smiled as he rubbed his muzzle against hers gently, and closed his eyes as she purred softly instead of her gentle snores.

I glanced back at Mel and Nilak and found them curled up against each other as well, their heads resting next to one another while their tails had been intertwined between them. Nilak had his front paws holding hers, and I smiled when I saw they had somehow managed to lie down in the general shape of a heart. I held my hoof to my lips as I motioned for the door, the setting sun shining its golden glow into the building as we walked out. Lucky slid the door closed and nodded once to herself before leaded the rest of us inside.

Thunder flopped down on the couch while Ivy yawned widely, her eyes starting to droop as she shuffled off to her room. “I’ll see you guys next week. That should be about when I wake up.”

Lucky giggled softly but was cut off by her own yawn as she filled a glass of water from the sink, “Don’t wake me up before the Fall if you know what’s good for you.”

Ivy waved over her shoulder that she understood, her door opening and closing quietly as Thunder passed out on the couch. I groaned softly as I stretched, my back popping several times as Lucky placed the now empty glass in the sink. She gave me a soft smile before turning towards her room, indicating for me to follow with a hoof before covering up another yawn. I hesitated, not quite sure what she had in mind, but then my body started to move of its own will as she held the door open for me, her eyes tired but inviting as she stepped aside to let me pass.

I stepped into her room, once again being reminded of all the past adventures we had made up in this room. The posters of Thunder and Radiant were still up on the wall, although now that we’d met them the pictures looked overblown and stupid. Her birch wood desk was still a complete disaster area, and her closet wasn’t much better. The only thing that was different from my last visit was the bed. I didn’t know how they had gotten it in here, but her twin-sized bed had been swapped out for a queen-sized mattress, which once again made me question my presence in the room.

I glanced behind me at Lucky, but froze in shock at what I was seeing. While I had been appraising the room and reliving memories, Lucky had been changing into her pajamas. The only problem was that she was turned away from me as she slid the clothing onto her upper body, inadvertently presenting the hidden treasure under her tail in all its glory. I flushed beet red as I averted my gaze, although Lucky’s pout made me turn back slowly.

“Really Silver,” she chastised me as she walked around and sat down on the bed, “did you expect me to sleep without something to keep warm?”

I sputtered as I tried to answer, “W-Well n-no I didn’t think you’d wear nothing to bed, it’s just I wasn’t expecting to see something so,” I searched for a politically correct word so I wouldn’t offend her, “private.”

She smiled as she lay down, placing her body in a suggesting position, “What, am I making you uncomfortable with my body being on display?”

I groaned as I rubbed a hoof over my face, “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

Her smile turned into a concerned line as she sat up, “Silver, I know that mess back at the bath was distressing for you. I’m not trying to seduce you again, I just don’t normally sleep without something to keep out the chill. If you aren’t comfortable being with me than I guess you could sleep in the living room with Thunder……”

“Oh no,” I interjected, “it wasn’t your body that was making me uncomfortable.” I took a moment to appraise her now that I had gotten my shock under control, “Far from it actually.” I shook my head to clear it, “I just wasn’t sure what your intentions were. Now that we’ve gotten the confusion out of the way, I don’t have a problem with it.”

To show my conviction, I climbed onto the bed, taking note of Alice’s blush as my legs and wings flexed to keep my balance. I smirked as I strutted up to her, climbing up next to her but leaving a pillow between us. I would rather sleep with at least something between our bodies, at least to avoid us waking up in an awkward position.

She smiled as she rested her head on the pillow, her face inches from mine as she rested a hoof on top of the pillow between us. I grabbed her hoof with my own and gave it a gentle squeeze, although I regretted it as soon as she smiled and tossed the pillow to the other side of the room. Before I could react, she grabbed me around my barrel and pulled her stomach against mine, resting her head against my chest fluff as she extended her back legs towards the end of the bed.

She smirked as she slid a hoof between my wing bases, “Guess you weren’t lying when you said you liked what you saw.”

I blushed and averted my gaze as I tried to get my overactive lower half to behave, “I, I didn’t want to give you any of the wrong ideas about what I was doing here. I didn’t come in here to seduce you either, I just have natural reactions to things like any stallion would.” I slipped my hooves off of her flank but she stopped me with her own.

“I don’t mind being close to you Silver,” she whispered as she pushed my hooves back over her cutie marks, “I love you after all. If we can’t show that love to each other than what are we doing here?”

I smiled, giving in as I pulled her flush with me again, kissing her forehead gently as I rested my head next to hers on the pillow, “I love you too Lucky. More than you could ever know. I just didn’t want to ruin it after I made such a huge mistake last time we talked about our feelings.”

She returned my kiss with a soft peck on my lips, her own curled into a smile as she hugged me around my barrel, “Goodnight Silver.”

I smiled as she closed her eyes and rested her forehead against my chest, “Goodnight Lucky.”

I closed my eyes as I felt her soft breathing against my fur, and a soft pulse of magic sparked between our bodies as my own breathing settled. I didn’t know what that spark had been, but at that moment, I could care less. Lucky and I were together now, and that was what mattered. I made a silent vow as I slipped into sleep, that from this point onward, Lucky’s happiness was the one thing that would never leave the top of my priorities list. I had nearly lost her once because of my foolishness, I would not lose her again.

For the first time in a long time, the nightmares left my slumber be. I didn’t know if they would go away forever, probably not, but at least I had a feeling I could start to move on. The Blood Claw were no more, and while the pain of my mother’s death would never completely fade, I had so much to look forward to that it could at least become bearable.

Author's Notes:

Woo Hoo!! Finally done with another chapter!! Anyways, the final chapter will be up very soon, so keep an eye out for the oh-so-important Epilogue!!

Yeah it sucks the story is almost over, but every good thing must come to an end at some point. I hope you all have enjoyed this wild ride and I look forward to seeing you in my other books.

I'll see you all next chapter,
Shadow Quill, Messenger of the Moon.