Sunflash was awakened by the lonely cry of seabirds. Lowering himself over the ship's side, he washed all traces of battle from his body and cleaned off his mace in the cold water. The badger's eyes were normal now, back to their usual mild, dark-brown hue.
Rainbow Dash landed nearby and watched as Sunflash took his mace and smashed two gaping holes in the Gutprow, one each side, amidships, just above the waterline. Placing his mace to one side, he waded into the broadstream and, bending his back and grunting with exertion, he loosened the two boulders from the streambed and rolled them ashore. The water had been building up behind the vessel, and now that it was free of the restraining boulders, the ship sprang clear. Night winds caught the sail, billowing it out; the Gutprow was off on its last voyage.
Sunflash sat down on the sand beside Rainbow Dash, his shoulders bowed wearily, saying, "She will sail out into deep waters until the waves find those holes; then she will go to the bottom."
A great fire was lit on the beach; Bella and the griffons sat round it with their backs to the rocks. Gilda flew over to Sunflash, her feathers still disheveled from fighting with Rainbow Dash. "Wow dude, you really did a number on those rats."
The badger shook his head in confusion. "I don't have a clear memory of it; it all went by so fast."
"I would have helped you take care of 'em if Rainbow 'Dweeb' hadn't stopped me," Gilda said.
"Yes, I'm sure you would have," Sunflash replied absently.
"Well, anyway, thanks. The name of Sunflash the Mace will live forever with the griffons of Griffonstone."
Sunflash nodded, but still he sat alone until his mother Bella came and sat by him. "You're experiencing the first feelings of being a Badger Lord, aren't you?" she said. "I know it's hard."
"It's terrifying," said Sunflash. "I had no control of myself while I was on that ship. If my friend Rainbow Dash or one of the griffons had flown aboard while I was in the grip of the Bloodwrath, I would have killed them without being able to stop myself. It might even have been you!"
"Bloodwrath is something all badgers must learn to deal with," said Bella. "But the good news is that many of us outgrow it as we get older, as I did. And you did do a good thing today; you liberated all those griffons from slavery."
"I know," said Sunflash. "I just… need to be alone for a while." He headed off into the sand dunes.
Rainbow Dash saw him walking away. "Where is he going?" she asked.
"He just needs a break for a while," said Bella. "The Bloodwrath has taken a toll on him; it is the same with all Badger Lords. I've seen my father, Boar the Fighter, act like this before."
"Will he be okay?"
"Yes, he will be fine," Bella said. "Our journey is nearing an end. The mountain of Salamadastron is not far away now; I can feel it in my bones."
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The last day of autumn was hot and bright as midsummer. Still as a millpond, the sea reflected a cloudless blue sky. Seabirds wheeled and called, soaring lazily on the warm thermals above the sun-baked sands of the shore. Sunflash stood for a moment, his breath taken away by the majesty of the great mountain that lay ahead of him.
"Is this it?" he inquired.
"This is it," his mother replied.
Sunflash gave a huge sigh. Leaning against a rock, he rested his club on the sand. "I feel as if I've been here before," he said strangely.
Two hares, a male and a female, stood shaded by a cave entrance. When they stepped out from the shadows, Sunflash could see that both were of a very great age. But they had smiles on their ancient faces.
"Great seasons o' soup an' salad!" exclaimed the male hare. "Bella of Brockhall! I didn't think I'd ever be seein' you again, wot wot!"
The female hare produced victuals from within the cave entrance. "Rest awhile. Eat and drink. I am called Breeze, and this is my brother Starbuck. What do they call you?"
Sunflash smiled and touched one of his headstripes. "Some call me Sunflash the Mace. I am the son of Bella and Barkstripe."
Starbuck nodded in satisfaction. "Your travelling is at an end, Sunflash. You are the grandson of Boar the Fighter and great grandson of Old Lord Brocktree. It is written on the walls of our mountain that you would come here someday."
Sunflash straightened up. He stared hard at the hares. "Written, you say. By whom?"
Breeze shrugged. "By whoever wrote that other hares will follow after us. That is the way it has always been and always will be."
Both hares stood in the cave entrance. They bowed to the badger. "Welcome to your mountain, Sunflash the Mace, Lord of Salamandastron."
The high sun above watched as the badgers and the hares went together into the mountain on the shores below.
Rainbow and Gilda had watched all from the crater peak of the mountain fortress. Fierce pride welled in the Pegasus's heart for the badger who had given her back her life all those long seasons ago in a winter forest. A single tear appeared in her eye.
"Hey dude, are you cryin'?" Gilda asked brusquely.
"Course not. It's just sweat." She wiped it away. "Last one back to Equestria is a gnarly dragon egg!"
Without a backward glance, the Pegasus and the griffon soared off into the blue.
