//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: The Sixth Component // Story: The Moon's Wrath // by Dolphy Blue Drake //------------------------------// Wishful found herself in a tower, and through the window, she could see that the rest of the castle was below her.  She felt a distinct sense of unease; it could’ve been vertigo since she was so high up, but she had a sinking feeling it wasn’t. Her suspicions were entirely correct. Turning around, she saw Midnight Darkscales himself in all his evil glory, sneering as he took the first Component in his grip, as if he could crush it by sheer will alone. “Now, to destroy them,” Darkscales snickered.  “This shouldn’t take long.”  Somehow, he didn’t seem to have noticed her yet. Wishful narrowed her eyes, quickly coming up with a way to get his attention on her; and away from the Component.  Levitating a small piece of rubble into the air, Wishful threw it at Darkscales, smacking him in the snout. “Huh?” he exclaimed in surprise, whirling around to glare at the Unicorn filly.  “You!  How did you follow me?” Though she was fairly intimidated by the corrupted Ultima Dragoon with the power to blast her through a window glaring daggers at her, she didn’t let it show.  “Trade secret,” Wishful said with a wink and a smirk.  “Let’s dance, big guy!” “You asked for it!” Darkscales snarled, launching bolts of red lightning from his crystal horns. Wishful rolled out of the way, the bolts smashing into the walls of the tower and sending bits of rubble showering onto the floor.  Somehow, she managed to get around him before turning around and bucking him in the side with her hind legs. “You insolent little—” Darkscales was cut off by a ball of green flame being fired from the filly’s horn, singeing his Mystic and Nature wings slightly while actually setting his Fairy wings ablaze for a few seconds.  The corrupted dragon snarled in pain, turning his head to glare at her as if she would disintegrate by him simply willing her out of existence. “You meddlesome insect!” the wicked Dragoon snapped.  “I am an Ultima Dragon!  I know more about magic than you do!  Especially how to use the powers of all three major dragon tribes!” Wishful simply rolled her eyes defiantly, “And yet you’re getting hurt by a Unicorn filly about the size of one of your legs.  Clearly, your powers don’t match your ego, buddy.”  Darkscales snarled as his Nature Dragon horns glowed red, and creeping vines that were wrapped around the tower suddenly burst through the windows, thick as oak trees and covered in thorns that were large enough to split her in two. “Take this, brat!” Darkscales spat.  Wishful shrieked and tried to dodge the vines as they swung to slam into her, firing shots of hard magic from her horn at Darkscales in between his attacks. They didn’t have a whole lot of effect beyond the force of a normal punch, but they did manage to rile him up more.  Hopefully, she thought, she could make him mad enough to make a serious mistake. “You’re really starting to grate on my nerves!” Darkscales snarled as his Fairy Dragon horns also glowed red, and the air in the room started to churn as a localized tornado began to form. But though Wishful took a couple hits here and there, she continued to barrage Darkscales with her own magic, growing more confident as she heard the flapping of wings and the clicking of talons coming up the long staircase to the tower. “I’ve had enough of your silly games, filly!” Darkscales roared, finally tired of this mismatched duel.  He charged his breath weapon and fired a cloud of nightmare dust right at her.  But instead of causing the usual hallucinations, fear or confusion she expected, a searing pain went through her nerves, as if invisible claws were raking at her flesh. She shrieked in pain, trying to fight it off, but the pain was rapidly weakening her. She finally collapsed to the ground, spasming in unbearable agony as her mind blacked out to the sound of Darkscales’ wicked laughter. On the stairs leading up to the top of the tower, the six Dragoons heard a piercing scream from above, and immediately stopped to look up.  Nightfall’s eyes went wide; that was a filly’s scream. It could only be… “Oh Gwynnia, no…” he whispered, his mind processing what had happened.  He couldn’t stay here and wait for backup; he had to get to her.  Now.  He looked up at the inside of the tower and screamed, “Wishful!  No!” and suddenly teleported away. “Wut in Gwynnia’s name was that fer?” Apple Slice asked, confused at his leaving so abruptly.  “Weren’t we supposed ta stick together?  It’s not like he can help the poor filly all on his own.” Prism Slash responded with a shrug, but everygon redoubled their pace and continued following the stairs. Nightfall appeared at the top of the stairs, and what he saw tore at his heart:  Wishful Legend, his brave little filly, was lying on the ground, covered in cuts and lacerations, out cold.  At least, he hoped she was only out cold.  He felt a lump in his throat as he tried to speak, a cold feeling going down his spine.  Wishful… I didn’t get here in time to protect you. He looked up as the faint sound of chuckling reached his ears, and he narrowed his eyes.  But I am now, he thought, his jaw set as Midnight Darkscales cackled, observing Wishful’s heavily injured form with macabre delight.  And by Gwynnia, he’s going to pay for it… “You did this to my little filly!” Nightfall roared, sparks flying from his mouth, as Darkscales turned his head to face him.  “I’ll tear you to pieces!” “Oh, are you her father figure?” Darkscales said in mock sympathy, eyeing the injured filly on the floor as if she were a particularly irritating fly he’d swatted.  “I’m so sorry for what I did to her, but she tried to stop me from destroying the Components of Balance.”  He grinned in smug self-satisfaction, as if hurting her were a triumph.  “And I couldn’t have that, now could I?” Oh, now you’ve done it… “Shut up!” Nightfall screamed in rage, springing into the air and lunging for Darkscales, his horns glowing a brilliant purple as purple energy blades sprouted from his talons and his breath weapon immediately formed in his mouth, binding to his teeth and crackling with intense magical energy.  “You’ll be lucky if there’s enough pieces to put in your tomb when I’m done!  Nogon.  Hurts.  My.  Little.  FILLY!” Before Darkscales could react, Nightfall was upon him, the thick fog of rage thoroughly clouding his mind.  He bit and slashed over and over with a fury nogon had ever seen from him before, a madness burning in his eyes.  Though it was impossible to tell in the blur of battle, he was crying slightly, as if all the anger, frustration and sorrow he felt was being unleashed in this sole fight.  This wasn’t just about the Components, not anymore.  This was for the imprisoned Lumin, for his friends who’d barely gotten past Darkscales’ traps alive, for the brave souls of Draconia who stood up to the corrupted dragon and had gotten crushed for their efforts.  But most of all, it was for Wishful, the brave, kind, precious little filly who was the closest thing he had to a child of his own, who meant the whole world to him. And the love of a father for his daughter was never to be underestimated. Darkscales struggled to gain an advantage, but Nightfall’s rage was powerful enough to nearly overpower him, the two of them locked in a standstill that leaned heavily in the purple Dragoon’s favor. “Get off!” Darkscales roared, as he vainly attempted to fire his breath weapon.  But Nightfall’s jaws clamped down on the wicked Dragoon’s snout, forcing him to cancel his charge, coughing as the backblast of the stopped attack sent smoke rising from his nostrils.  Nightfall’s breath weapon-charged teeth bit down deep before he released his jaws, leaving behind teeth marks and burns that slowly healed. “She’s dying and it’s your fault!” Nightfall roared as soon as he released Darkscales from his jaws, before swiping with the energy claws he’d generated, leaving deep gashes in Darkscales’ armor and hide, eliciting an actual yelp from the other Dragoon.  The wounds slowly regenerated, but left behind searing pain as the injured flesh and muscle knit back together.  “You don’t care, so I’m going to rip your uncaring heart right out of your chest!”  And if the swipes he was making at Darkscales’ chest were any indication, he could actually do it. After taking several more hits from the enraged, grief-stricken Dragoon, Darkscales finally managed to retaliate effectively and punched Nightfall in the jaw with immense force.  Nightfall was sent spinning through the air and crashed into a wall.  As rubble showered down around him from the crater he’d created, Nightfall felt his reason start to return, the impact bringing him back to his senses. Darkscales simply watched the other Dragoon from the center of the room, the wounds from their fight still visible on his hide through the multiple holes Nightfall had torn in his armor.  “Wow, you really do care for her,” he observed thoughtfully while gingerly clutching his chest, which was still healing itself after Nightfall’s final onslaught.  The black Dragoon winced slightly, before regaining his composure and grinning smugly.  “But your power isn’t enough to stand even a sliver of a chance against me.  Compared to me, you’re just a Hatchling!  And to prove it…” Darkscales looked at the Component orbs scattered around the room, then with a nasty grin, lit his horns and sent the orbs zooming into his clutches, before crushing them to bits between his claws. Nightfall stared as the Components were destroyed before his eyes, their last hope turned to stone dust.  Did we… did we do all this for nothing?  Was Wishful hurt so badly… just for it to come to this?  Did I let her go and get herself injured like that in vain?  I’m… I couldn’t even honor the sacrifice she made right… “No!  We need those!” He cried out in despair.  I can’t believe it.  I’ve let her down.  I’ve let Lord Lumin down.  And now?  All of Draconia as well… “There.  Your one chance of defeating me is gone,” Darkscales said before throwing his head back and laughing to the sky in triumph. But, as tends to happen in moments of darkest despair, a light shone in the sea of sorrow.  Or in this case, five. At that moment, Nightfall’s friends burst through the door, taking in the scene before them.  “Nightfall!” the other five Dragoons gasped in unison when they saw his battered form on the ground. Nightfall looked back towards the door, a weak smile on his face.  Well… at least they’re still here.  Even if I let them down… I know they won’t leave me here to die alone. “You’re too late, puny Hatchlings,” Darkscales laughed, as if intentionally twisting the knife deeper in Nightfall’s sense of defeat.  “But, I’ll be merciful and put you out of your misery.  Now, hold still and kindly DIE!” Darkscales charged up his breath weapon to incredible levels, intent on annihilating them on the spot.  But when the deadly version of his nightmare breath was mere inches from reaching the five assembled Dragoons, he encountered a most unwelcome unpleasant surprise.  The shards and broken powder of the shattered Components glowed softly, and flew up to form a solid, circular wall around Nightfall’s friends, shielding the five Dragoons from harm as Darkscales’ breath weapon slammed into it harmlessly. “What is the meaning of this?” Darkscales shouted in confusion.  “You’re all supposed to be dead!  And the Components were destroyed!” Something clicked in Nightfall’s head, and he struggled to all fours and slowly walked towards the other five, a smile slowly spreading across his face.  There seemed to be hope after all, if his suspicions were correct. “I get it now,” Nightfall said, his smile growing wider with every step he took, becoming a look of pure triumph.  “Though you destroyed the Components’ physical forms, the spirits of them live on!  And each one has chosen a Dragoon to represent it!  I’ll explain them to you, one by one!” The wall around the five Dragoons fell, only for the pulverized shards to slowly circle each of them.  The ones circling Apple Slice turned a fiery orange, and started to engulf him in their light. “Apple Slice, who assured me with his truthful words in my moment of doubt, represents Integrity!” The light enveloping Apple Slice formed itself into a golden chestplate, with a bright citrine gem in the center depicting the three apples that made up his Skill Emblem. The shards around Timidwings turned a vibrant green, and he, too was engulfed in light. “Timidwings, who showed compassion on the tormented hydra, who we all mistook for an enemy, represents Empathy!” The light enveloping Timidwings also formed into a golden chestplate, but with an emerald in the center depicting his Skill Emblem of a trio of butterflies. Next, the shards around Goody Gumdrops turned a brilliant blue, and he was enveloped in light, as well. “Goody Gumdrops, who taught the Dracoliches how to laugh in the face of fear, represents Joy!” The light engulfing Goody transformed into another golden chestplate, this one with a sapphire in the center depicting his Skill Emblem of three balloons. The shards around Extraordinaire turned bright yellow, and he was also engulfed in their light. “Extraordinaire, who gave up one of his most prized possessions to restore the gatekeeper, who wasn’t capable of expressing much beyond its gratitude, represents Sacrifice!” The light engulfing Extraordinaire transformed into another golden chestplate, this one with a topaz depicting the three diamonds that comprised his Skill Emblem. The shards around Prism Slash turned a bold red next, enveloping him in light. “And Prism Slash, who wouldn’t abandon his friends for his own desires, and even fought fang and talon to continue to aid us when force was applied to stop him, represents Fidelity!” The light around Prism Slash transformed into yet another chestplate, this one with a ruby in the center depicting the cloud and lightning bolt of his Skill Emblem. After explaining all of that to Darkscales, Nightfall turned smugly towards Darkscales and expected the evil Ultima Dragoon to realize his defeat was at claw.  But instead, the wicked Dragoon counted how many Dragoons were in chestplates, then he threw back his head again and laughed. “Oh, you came so close, champion of Lumin, but you still fell short!” Darkscales sneered, pointing towards each of them with a talon.  “You’re still missing one Component!  The most important one!  Without it, the other five can’t function very well, if at all!  So what if I can’t harm them!  I can still destroy you, and without a sixth bearer, you’ll still lose!” “But it said we needed a spark!” Nightfall said, the look of triumph quickly fading as he realized something was wrong.  “I applied as much magic as I could muster, but it wasn’t enough!” “You poor, poor, ignorant fool,” Darkscales chuckled, shaking his head.  “Before I kill you, I’ll tell you the name of the one you were missing this whole time:  the Component of Power!  You need magic on par with an Ultima Dragon to summon it and wield it!  Which, sadly, you most certainly lack.”  He raised a claw in a mocking salute.  “Now, farewell, my brother’s champion.  You’ll never see your precious Lord Lumin again.  This is the end of the line for you.” “Wait!  Power!” Nightfall gasped, his eyes lighting up in realization.  “I felt stronger when we banded together, when we put our new friendships to the test!  That’s the ‘spark’ it meant!  And I feel it now, too!  That same spark!  Unity!  That’s it!  The spark is our unity, it’s us acting as one!” “How desperate,” Darkscales chuckled with a shake of his head as he got ready to kill.  “And how pitiful.  Trying to use a workaround like that to convince the sixth to aid you is pointless!  There’s no way that—” Darkscales cut off as a sixth orb appeared in the air.  It shattered into purple shards, which started to descend towards Nightfall. “Im-impossible!” Darkscales screamed in disbelief before panicking, lunging for Nightfall to keep him away from the shards that would inevitably protect him.  With a wicked glint in his eye, Darkscales opened his mouth and prepared to fire the nightmare breath to end Nightfall’s life.  But before he could launch his attack, something purple and green slammed into the twisted Dragoon, knocking him on his back and releasing the deadly stream into the ceiling, breaking through it and dropping rubble on Darkscales and Nightfall’s savior, who was his brave little filly, Wishful Legend.  She turned to smile at Nightfall, then immediately passed out onto the rubble-strewn floor. The shards of the Component of Power encircled Nightfall, enveloping him in deep purple light, and then morphed into a helmet and crown combination with an amethyst depicting the starbursts making up Nightfall’s own Skill Emblem on the forehead of the helmet. “You’re wrong,” Nightfall said as Darkscales got back to his feet and gasped in horror, backpedalling quickly as the six Dragoons stepped towards him, Nightfall leading the other five.  “Magic isn’t power, nor is strength or one’s own personal abilities.  Unity is Power!” The six Dragoons began floating into the air, their eyes glowing pure white as five streams of energy flew from the five chestplates’ gemstones and into the one on Nightfall’s helmet, before all six became linked by a shimmering, intricate web of multicolored energy.  A swirling prismatic beam of combined Chaos and Order magic rose from the center of the web and lunged for Darkscales, who promptly screamed in terror, and flew up through the hole in the ceiling, desperate to escape. “No!  No! NO!” the wicked Dragoon screamed as all of the attacks he threw at the pursuing light were absorbed, not even slowing it down. Darkscales headed for the city gates, only to hear the ancient gatekeeper say, “CRIMINAL ATTEMPTING TO ESCAPE.  CLOSING GATES.  MY APOLOGIES, OLD FRIEND.” Applying Fairy Dragon magic to swiftly pick up more speed, Midnight Darkscales sped towards the rapidly closing gates, seeing the gatekeeper on the other side, its eyes red as the gates continued to close. “No… No, I have to get out of he—”  Darkscales slammed into the gate right as it closed, trapping him inside the city walls. Trying to escape the stream of magic again, Darkscales changed direction after a few seconds of confusion, and flew faster and faster along the perimeter of the walls, desperate to avoid being affected by the Components again. But the prismatic magic chasing him sped up as well. To Darkscales’ horror, he looked over his shoulder and found the beam of magic morphing and shifting as he watched, taking on the appearance of the jaws of a massive beast.  Darkscales screamed even louder as it approached. “No!  Please!  Not again!  Don’t send me back there! PLEASE!” he screeched right before he reentered the castle through a shattered window and into his parents’ old throne room.  He only had a few more seconds of respite, before he looked back and saw his fate right in front of his face before the jaws snapped down on him.  He screamed in agony as the magic enveloped him, feeling like he was being suddenly and painfully ripped in two as the perfect balance of Chaos and Order sent waves of painful energy through his Order-saturated form, part of his very being separated from the overly-orderly darker part like cloth ripped at the seams, with one half staying behind, and the other getting shredded to pieces, and scattered.  Before unconsciousness took him, he felt a wave of regret wash over him, and his first thought since the corrupting force took hold was, “Lumin… I’m so sorry…” Back in the tower, the magic faded, and the six Dragoons sighed as they were slowly dropped back to the floor, feeling completely rejuvenated after what they had accomplished. “Did we beat him?” Prism Slash asked hopefully. Apple Slice pointed up at the sky, where the moon was rapidly setting to make way for the sun to return to its proper position.  “Does that answer yer question, pardner?”  Then the two of them noticed where Nightfall was, as he approached the unconscious Wishful on two legs.  He stopped in front of her, tears prickling at his eyes, as he reached down and picked her up in his front claws. “Wishful, please wake up,” Nightfall sobbed as he cradled the filly in his foreclaws, shaking her gently.  “Please, I don’t want to lose you!” On the sun, if one squinted hard enough, one could see the image of an Ultima Dragoon’s head vanish from it, and brilliant rays of white light streaked down from the heavenly body, streaming through the broken window of the tower.  The light soon faded, and in its place was Lord Lumin, smiling down at what he thought was going to be just a happy reunion with his student. “Thank you, my—” Lumin cut off, his smile falling when he saw his personal student desperately trying to wake up the filly he’d spent years raising.  Nightfall didn’t even look up to notice, still holding the injured Wishful. “I’ll be just a moment,” Lumin said to the five confused Dragoons who had been about to bow to him. Walking over to his prized student, Lumin placed a claw on Nightfall’s shoulder.  Nightfall’s head snapped up, but he didn’t look to see who was behind him.  He just knew Lumin’s presence anywhere. “I’m sorry,” Lumin said softly.  “I know it must hurt.  It hurt when I banished my brother to the moon all those years ago.  It felt like I had been forced to kill my own kin.  The loss of a loved one isn’t easy—” “She’s like a daughter to me!” Nightfall snapped, finally turning to glare at his mentor, revealing his face, tears flowing freely down from his bloodshot eyes.  “The last thing she said to me was she still thinks of me as a father to her!  I can’t lose her!” “You won’t,” Lumin replied gently, and looked down at the dying filly with a determined look.  The horns on his head glowed white, all three pairs for each of the major tribes, and a glowing aura of the same color encompassed the dying filly, before fading away.  “She’ll live.  I just know.” “Wait, did you just—” Nightfall asked before his mentor cut him off. “Save her?  Possibly,” Lumin replied.  “She might’ve lived on her own, but I wasn’t going to take any chances.  I gave her body a nudge in the right direction so she’ll live long enough for the reversing effects of the Components of Balance to do the rest, which will take a few minutes.” “Thank you,” Nightfall breathed, bowing his head. “Enough of that, though,” Lumin said.  “Why don’t you get her on your back and join your friends?” Nightfall nodded and dropped to all fours before gently levitating the filly onto his back and walking over to join his new friends and fellow Bearers. Once all together, the group started to incline their heads and kneel to the Regent, but Lumin held up a claw to stop them.  The group gasped when Lumin himself inclined his head and knelt to them! “You have my eternal gratitude, brave warriors,” Lumin said with a small smile after standing back up.  “All of Draconia is in your debt.  But, there’s one more thing I need to take care of, and I’d like you all to be with me while I do this.” The six Dragoons nodded, and in a flash of light, they were in a decrepit throne room, where a panting, sobbing voice could be heard from behind a throne. “I know you’re there,” Lumin said gently.  “Stop hiding from me.” Trembling, a Dragoon stepped out from behind the throne on the right.  He was a navy blue Ultima Dragoon with dark blue fins, silver vental scales, and a Skill Emblem of a white crescent moon on a black field.  While his eyes were teal like Midnight Darkscales’, their sclerae were a lighter teal instead of dark red. The Ultima Dragon was smaller than Lord Lumin was, making him only a little larger than Apple Slice was.  Perhaps he wasn’t actually a Dragoon, but a Dragonock, or adolescent. “I am sorry!” the smaller Ultima Dragon cried, looking up at his brother as if feeling unworthy to meet his gaze.  “Please don’t send me back to the moon, brother!  Please, forgive me!” “Umbra, it’s in the past now,” Lumin replied, stepping forward to hug the other Ultima Dragoon gently and comfort him.  “We can go to the relocated capital in El Dragado, and you and I can lead together until Mother and Father return.  Just like we did before.” “You must still be angry towards me, though!” Umbra blubbered into his brother’s shoulder.  “Why else would my powers be weakened and my body reduced to the size of a Dragonock?  This is my punishment, is it not?” “That wasn’t the intended result,” Lumin replied with a shake of his head.  “The power corrupting you must have taken some of your strength with it when it was removed from you.  Your strength will return in time.” Turning to look at the six Dragoons for the first time, Umbra inclined his head.  “We are grateful for all of thine efforts, brave warriors.  We apologize for all the trouble we caused.” The Dragoons nodded, but looked confused.  At that moment, Wishful sat up and weakly asked, “Why is he talking weird?” before slipping back into unconsciousness. “Weird?” Umbra repeated, “As in, ‘strange’?”  Turning to Lumin, he gave his own confused look. “I apologize on behalf of my brother, Lord Umbra,” Lumin said awkwardly, tapping his neck with a claw.  “The way dragons speak has changed in the last thousand years.” “Wait, they have?” Umbra gasped, his archaic speech now quite obvious.  “Lumin!  Prithee, aid me to get up to date!” “Of course, Umbra,” Lumin replied.  “Now, let’s get out of this dreary forest, shall we?” Lumin teleported the group to the entrance, asked Adamant to open the gate, and after the gate was open, the group left through the gate.  But before Lumin could teleport them again, the gatekeeper spoke up. “GREETINGS, LORD UMBRA,” the machine said.  “I AM PLEASED TO SEE YOU AS YOUR PROPER SELF AGAIN.” “Thou hast our thanks, Adamant,” Umbra replied, smiling widely at the sight of the old gatekeeper.  As most of the group stared at him, Umbra saw their confused faces, and frowned before asking, “What is wrong?” Lumin quickly intervened and spoke on his brother’s behalf so he wouldn’t botch his speech again.  “Umbra built him to replace the old one Mother and Father had put in place because my brother wanted a friend, and the bucket of bolts before Adamant never said anything to anygon except for maintenance purposes.” “Well, he still don’t have much personality,” Apple Slice said before Extraordinaire and Umbra both glared at him.  “Wut?” he said stupidly, not understanding what he’d done wrong. “Adamant has feelings, but can’t express himself very well,” the tailor quipped.  “You saw how he expressed gratitude to me for giving up my prized diamond to restore him and how he expressed joy to see Umbra back to normal.  Just because something can’t express itself very well doesn’t mean it can’t feel.” Umbra nodded in gratitude, and Lumin teleported the group back to Dragontown, where the airship was waiting.  As the rest of the group approached the hatch of the airship, they heard a shout. They turned to see Umbra staring slack-jawed at the airship, his eyes looking over it several times as if to make sure it was, in fact, real. He slowly walked up to it as if he thought he was asleep, ran a claw along its side with quiet awe, before taking a deep breath. Then he giggled like a Dragonling getting the perfect present for his Hatching Day before running back towards the group to embrace his brother joyfully, saying one thing:  “You made one!” As Lumin smiled down at his brother, tears of joy instead of pain on his face, he became aware of the sound of cheering. Umbra’s eyes went wide as he spotted the townsdragons that had come out of their homes to see that Lumin had returned, and he quickly attempted to hide in the shadow of his brother’s wings, however difficult it was. “I see your subjects are happy to see you back...” He said quietly enough for only Lumin to hear, looking at the crowd as if he expected them to start pelting him with stones the moment they noticed him. Lumin shook his head, answering at the same volume, “They are. But you’re still their Prince, as well. I won’t let you be overshadowed by me again. I promise.” He gave his brother a reassuring smile, before he raised his claw for silence.   “Attention our beloved subjects!” be began, nudging the trembling Umbra out from behind his wings and into the full view of the crowd.  “Allow me to introduce my brother, Lord Umbra!  He is deeply sorry for the trouble he has caused, but he was not himself while he was Midnight Darkscales.  He had been corrupted by darkness.  But he has been cleansed by the power of the Components of Balance, which were wielded by these six brave Dragoons!”  Lumin waved a claw towards the six armored Dragoons, and the crowd cheered for a bit before Lumin held up a claw again.  “From now on, when the moon rises, and when it sets, as well as when the stars appear in the night sky, it will be Umbra’s doing, not mine, for the caretaker of the moon has returned to us at last!” The crowd stared in shock before applauding. Lumin turned to Nightfall and said, “Nightfall Sheen, my devoted and prized student.  You have done well.  Come, let’s return to El Dragado and keep the Components of Balance there, where they will be safe, and you can continue studying magic to your heart’s content.” To Lumin’s surprise, Nightfall shook his head.  “I’m sorry, Lord Lumin, but I’d rather remain here in Dragontown.  I’ve made five very dear friends in such a short time, and I don’t want to lose them.  Besides, if the Components of Balance are needed to be wielded again, wouldn’t it make sense for all six Bearers to live in the same town so we can assemble quickly?” “You have made a very wise decision, my prized student,” Lumin said, once he’d recovered from the surprise.  “But we will still be taking the Components back to El Dragado for safekeeping.  But from now on, you can live here in Dragontown for as long as you want, just so long as you send me reports on your new assignment:  studying friendship and unity.” “I will,” Nightfall replied, breaking into a grateful smile.  “Thank you for letting me stay here.” The dragons watching cheered, but Nightfall was just barely aware of them; he was more focused on a certain filly who had spoken earlier, but was still lying limply on his back, her breathing ragged. Giving Wish a couple shakes, Nightfall muttered, “Hey, you feeling better, now?” Wishful sat up, threw her hooves around her father figure’s neck and said, “Yep.  And I still love you.” “I still love you, too,” Nightfall replied, his eyes lighting up with happiness and pride.  “You were really brave to take on Darkscales all by yourself.” “I knew I couldn’t beat him,” Wishful admitted.  “I just needed to buy all of you enough time to get there.  Sorry I couldn’t hold out just a bit longer.” “You were incredible,” Nightfall said as Wishful nuzzled him.  “I’m very proud of you.” “I’m very sorry to interrupt your family bonding time, my dear student,” Lumin said, tapping a talon on Nightfall’s shoulder, “But Umbra really wants to ride the airship, so we must be going.  I’ll need the Components from all of you first, though.” Nightfall nodded, and Lumin teleported a large case from somewhere and had each Bearer place his piece of armor in the case, and then he and Umbra climbed aboard the airship and departed. As the airship disappeared into the distance, the dragons of the town surrounded their new heroes and started cheering again. “Everygon’s so happy!  And we got our happy ending!” Goody Gumdrops remarked.  “Now the only way this could get even better is with a par—” “Not now,” Nightfall said, wrapping a claw around Goody’s snout, clamping it shut.  “Just enjoy the moment.  As for me, I need to have some quality time with the filly I’ve been raising for nine of her eleven years.  I’ll see you guys later.” With that, Nightfall took to the sky, heading towards the town library to spend some time with Wishful, the filly on his back sighing happily as she used a quill to finally check off “MAKE FRIENDS” from the list.