A Tale That Wasn't Right
Of Three Queens Who the Seeds of an Old Sovereign.
Two will die, One will Escape.
To continue her Work, until New Dragonets come.
Please Save us now Dragonets, you are our only Hope.
The War will End, to bring new Light.
. . . And New Dark.
There was no time. They had to find it, and they had to find it now. . . . So they dug, dug as fast as they could, as much as they can . . . right where Queen Oasis was buried.
"It has to be here," Sunny cried.
"It is," Smolder said, "I know it is."
"What do we do if or when we do find it?" Tsunami asked.
"We stop the war," Clay said, "once, and, for, all."
Darkness engulfed the scenery. The only light emanating was from the three full moons, introducing the millions of stars . . . and the meteor that headed straight for the planet. All dragons in the seats were watching intently, and with horror on their faces as the tension rose higher and higher. This was the night, this was the end of the War for SandWing Succession. None knew what to do, they could only watch as the Dragonets dug up the grave of Queen Oasis . . . and the battle taking place not that far away from them.
Queen Blister had unleashed a dragonbite viper into the arena, ultimately killing Burn, but was killed itself by Clay, who was bitten right when he crushed it. Now Blister was after her youngest sister, Blaze, who was covered in scratches and blood from the strikes she took from her sister - she was dying, and so was Clay.
He dug harder and faster, trying his best to fight through the pain, fight through the poison . . . but it soon took over his system. Clay groaned, and fell backwards.
Peril knelt down beside him. "Clay!"
"Peril," Clay said weakly.
"Please don't die on me."
He gave a small smile. "I won't . . . I promise." The other dragons took notice of what was going on, and stared at their friend with worry in their eyes. "Keep digging, you have to find the Eye of Onyx."
They were hesitant, but continued anyway.
"What made you suspect the Eye of Onyx was hidden here the whole time?" Thorn asked.
"When Aftermath agreed with Burn that they must kill Six-Claws," Smolder said, "I went up to him, and asked him about the Eye. He kept talking about how Oasis' death was so easy, that the only thing he needed to do was drive his claw through her heart, making it look as if she was killed by a Scavenger. 'Take a heart for a heart, an eye for an eye. The eye of the beholder, the eye that sees the truth of the lies, and the heart from where it originated from.' That is what he said to me, and that tells me the Eye of Onyx has to be inside of Oasis' body, but no one ever found it because he hid it in her corpse where he cut out her heart."
"So Aftermath the SkyWing, the three eyed dragon was the one who started the war," Tsunami said. "We were all lied to, now look where that has gotten us."
"We stop this, we stop Aftermath's legacy," Qibli said. "Ironic that his name is exactly what has happened after his death."
Although Qibli was young, he was the only soldier available for Thorn to take with her to face the end of the war. He was strong, he was smart . . . he was annoying, but clever all the same, a true Outclaw for Thorn and her army.
"In the midst of all this," Queen Glory said, " . . . I'm glad I'm living it with you guys. You are the only ones that gives me, and all of these dragons hope."
"We all appreciate your enthusiasm Glory, we really do," Deathbringer said, "but now is not the time. . . . It is time to stop the war."
"Deathbringer's right," Smolder said. "The sooner we find the Eye, we end this for the world."
"I had a vision," Fatespeaker said, "that if we don't stop this war here and now, everyone will be frantic, go crazy and mad, try to kill each other because we failed."
"I think, after the destruction of the NightWing Island," Starflight said, out of breath, "I doubt you have powers anymore."
He was blind, his eyes burned, taken from him during the fight against Morrowseer as the volcano destroyed the NightWings' home. But he was not willing to give up now. They could not stop, they had come this far, there was no turning back.
All of a sudden, they heard Clay growl in pain. Peril had her hand on his leg where the dragonbite viper had bit him, and was trying to ease the pain with her burning scales, to burn out the poison.
Tsunami walked over to them. "What are you doing?"
"I'm just trying to help," Peril said, not daring to look up at her.
"You're hurting him."
"Tsunami," Clay said, " . . . it's alright . . . I'll be fine. My scales are immune to fire, remember?"
"You were poisoned by that snake."
Clay gave a smile. "It's going to be okay," he looked at Peril, " . . . just give her a chance . . . as we have given each other a chance."
Tsunami stared at her friend. No . . . her brother . . . her Big-Wings.
At last, they had reached the end of the dig, just as they heard Blaze roar in pain as Blister continued to torture her. All the Dragonets stared in bewilderment at the skeleton of Queen Oasis.
" . . . That's her," Glory said.
"In all of her pride," Smolder said.
Sunny saw the light, the orange glow in the long dead queen's chest. The rib cage was smashed open, and in the place of her heart . . . was the key to end all of this. Sunny knelt down, reached her hand into the bones, then stepped out of the hole. She held it high above her head, so everyone could see it, the treasure hidden for so long, the only thing that could stop the war . . . the Eye of Onyx.
Every dragon stared in awe and cheered for their saviors, knowing this will finally, finally be, the end of the war.
" . . . Well . . . this is it," Deathbringer said.
"Yeah, but, what do we do?" Tsunami asked. "We have the Eye, now what?"
" . . . We are the Dragonets," Starflight said, " . . . we choose the queen."
Sunny stared at the Eye of Onyx, watching its power course inside the ancient artifact. She turned to Thorn. " . . . You protected me . . . you kept me safe . . . even though I was an outsider. . . . You . . . you are the queen!"
That statement seemed to echo throughout the arena, and all dragons gasped.
Thorn put her hands up. "Listen, Sunny . . . I may be the leader of the Outclaws . . . but I am not fit for the seat as queen."
"But, you must . . . you have to."
Just then, a loud cracking sound was heard, and silence fell upon the arena. It was the sound of bones separating from each other, then a thump. Queen Blaze . . . had died, her head twisted freakishly to the side. There stood Blister, panting, the feeling of victory weighing heavy on her. She turned, glaring at the Dragonets of Destiny.
She pointed a hard claw. " . . . The Eye . . . it's mine!"
Blister took flight, hurtling herself at the Dragonets. They breathed their fire, trying to stop her. The queen dodged all the strikes, and shoved herself through the dragons, taking the Eye of Onyx right out of Sunny's claws. She hovered above them, the scowl and anger not leaving her face.
"Mother!" Sunny cried. "Please . . . don't do this."
Blister turned her head threateningly towards her. She stared at the SandWing, the hybrid . . . her own blood. The queen scoffed. "There is nothing you can do now . . . daughter."
Sunny stared into the eyes of her only parent, her own mother who never tried to look for her, and never knew they were related until a few days prior. "You can still change, you can stop this. Submit, and we won't have to-"
"Kill me? Is that what you want?"
"No. . . . All of us don't have to live in a battle anymore. The war ends, tonight . . . and no one has to die."
"The war will never end as long as you and your pathetic excuses of friends are still alive. The war will end once you all are dead. . . . I thought I could convince you to choose me . . . but now . . . I only want to kill you all."
"Starflight!" Fatespeaker cried. "We have to stop Blister before she burns down the entire world with the Eye of Onyx. I saw that in a vision!"
"Oh, shut up," Blister growled, "you can stop pretending now. There's no point in hiding anymore."
For a second, everything went dead silent. All the dragons stared at Blister, then slowly turned their attention towards Fatespeaker. She looked back at them with wide eyes that sent off an emotion of guilt.
Queen Blister smirked. "Oh . . . you haven't found out yet? Well . . . I guess at this point there is no need to hide the secret anymore - you would find out eventually. I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet."
"What are you talking about?" Starflight demanded.
"Isn't it obvious that she does not, and never had any powers to begin with? It was the most hilarious thing I have ever heard when she told me that you believed her 'visions!' And you suggested that maybe her powers were not as strong as most NightWings. Let's not forget the fact that you tried to help her be a better mind reader, even though she was lying to you the entire time you were on the NightWing Island."
" . . . Is this true?" Starflight asked.
Fatespeaker stared at him, then at the dragons around her, who all gave her glares. " . . . Starflight . . . I'm sorry . . . I didn't mean for any of this to happen."
"Didn't mean for any of this to happen!?" Tsunami screamed.
"You lied to us," Glory snarled. "This whole time . . . you were working with Blister."
"I should have known," Deathbringer said. "I should have seen this coming. That's why you 'disappeared' when we snuck into the tunnel to save the RainWings. You went to Blister, and told her everything that was going on, and when you 'suddenly' appeared back in the Rainforest, you said you 'escaped.' You weren't captured . . . you were fulfilling your duties as a spy."
"Yes!" Blister screamed. "You finally understand! It was so entertaining to hear you all worried sick about a 'potential' premonition, because your 'friend' had a 'vision.'"
"That's why I found my Dreamvisitor in Flame's room," Starflight said. "He didn't take it, you were trying to make me blame him. And when I found it smashed the next morning, you said Morrowseer found out about it and destroyed it. But no, it was you!"
"S-Starflight, everyone, p-please," Fatespeaker pleaded, "I never meant for any of this to happen."
"I can already hear the lies slipping from her tongue right now," Qibli said. "Playing with our minds, trying to make us believe whatever made up fantasy she can come up with."
Fatespeaker stared back at the glares. Her head fell to the ground. At one point, she did feel terrible for everything she had done. But now the secret was out . . . now her lies were revealed.
"You know, Fatespeaker," Blister said, " . . . when you decided to join me, I knew you would be a perfect addition to my . . . hidden army. I knew you would be the greatest spy I have ever had in all my years of royalty."
Fatespeaker looked up at her, eyes gleaming with satisfaction. " . . . R-Really?"
"Yes. . . . But now . . . I find that you are useless and pathetic as much as all of these, Dragonets."
Blister swooped down, flying past the Dragonets, grabbing Fatespeaker by the throat, lifting her above the crowd.
"You are useless," Blister growled, "you are nothing. My reign as queen begins now . . . starting, with, your, death."
With almost no hesitation seen, Queen Blister drove her tail through Fatespeaker's stomach, blood falling to the ground. The queen pulled her tail from the already dead body, and dropped it to the sand.
Sunny screamed in terror.
"Blister!" Thorn shouted. "The Eye of Onyx chooses whoever wears the Eye. It won't choose you, and it never will. Instead, it will give you pain, and your own death."
"You can not stop me now." Blister held the Eye to her face. " . . . It's time. . . . My age of sovereignty . . . has finally arrived . . . ."
She closed her eyes, and before the Dragonets could react, Blister put the Eye over her head, and around her neck. She held her arms out, awaiting acceptance from the Eye . . . nothing happened. Blister opened her eyes, and looked down at the ancient trinket. The Dragonets exchanged glances, and only silence filled the air. For a moment, Blister had thought she failed, and pure anger rose over her.
Before she could let out a roar of rage . . . pain shot into her chest, as if she was stabbed with a spear. Blister lurched forward, vomiting, choking on her own saliva. It felt as if her heart exploded, but it was only beating faster with every passing second. The world seemed to spin, but through the pain she managed to keep herself in the air. Her wings curled, blood pulsing with agony, teeth grinding together to the point of shattering. Although her wings were curled, she did not fall out of the sky. The Eye of Onyx then did something no one saw coming. It glowed. Fire emanated from it, circling the SandWing Queen. The fire grew hotter, flew faster, engulfing the queen. Blister could not take the pain. She could not stand to face the agony that flew throughout her entire body as fast as her blood rate. She lifted her head to the sky, and roared at the top of her lungs.
The ground started to shake, and a strong wind blew. The hundreds of dragons in the crowd started to worry, and when they looked to their left . . . they all screamed in horror. Pounds of sand was flying towards the Stronghold - a sand storm so powerful it could decimate the kingdom itself. The dragons did not hesitate to take flight and get away as fast as their wings would let them. For the Dragonets of Destiny however . . . there was absolutely no hope of escape.
Blister continued to scream in agony as she was lifted higher into the sky, and that was when the sand engulfed the entire Stronghold. Sand blew in their faces, slamming against their bodies, lifting them off the ground. The wind was excruciatingly loud, deafening to the ear, and after what felt like hours . . . it calmed.
Sunny blacked out for a few seconds, then woke up to find herself on the ground. She stood up, rubbing her head, wincing at pain. She was covered in sand, body aching, but soon forgot about it when she examined her surroundings. Her eyes went wide at what she was looking at. A giant sand tornado, swirling at hundreds of miles, blocking out the moons and sky. High above her, descending from the top of the tornado with her arms held out to her sides, and covered in flames . . . was Queen Blister.
The Eye of Onyx had taken over Blister's entire body. Its symbol shown brightly on her chest, presenting how powerful and threatening it really was; her scales had turned a golden yellow color, along with orange and black; her ridge was flaming; her eyes were darker than ever; her tail barb was freakishly long and sharp; her veins were black and orange, covering her whole body; and her wings . . . were fire.
Complete terror crossed Sunny's face, staring up at the true horrifying power of the Eye of Onyx.
Blister gazed up at the sand tornado, then examined her claws and wings, witnessing what she had become. She looked down . . . and saw her daughter. " . . . Look . . . now I am the supreme ruler of the SandWings." She looked at her arms, the black veins flowing with blood and flames. "Power beyond your control . . . power beyond your imagination . . . power that can counter Animus Magic!"
" . . . Mother," Sunny said.
"What, daughter? What could you possibly desire? . . . Your friends? Love? Affection from me? Well, let me tell you another truth, daughter. . . . I never wanted you . . . you were a mistake . . . a mishap that should have never existed. You, are a disgrace to my bloodline . . . a disgrace to this kingdom, MY kingdom. A disgrace . . . to all SandWings. Look at yourself . . . you are nothing . . . a flaw . . . a horrid creature, and most of all . . . a shame to every dragon that has ever lived on this continent."
Sunny stared up at her, then at the ground, at herself. Her mother was right . . . she was a disgrace. She was nothing, a mess up. She did not have the tail barb because she was part NightWing. She was not as strong as her friends. She was a joke to her friends; small, and weak. Sunny looked at herself, at her claws . . . at the fault she was hatched to be. Sunny had always believed in the Prophecy. She had looked to it with hope, and guidance. Now . . . it had become her adversary. Her true enemy was the thing the world prayed for, and had hoped would come to save them. The true enemy . . . was the Wings of Fire.
"You know something?" Blister continued. "I have decided not to kill you. Instead . . . I will let you go . . . so the world can kill you itself. And as of now . . . I, am the world."
Blister built up fire in her mouth, an orange flame that was only one of the great powers of the Eye of Onyx. She leaned her head back, then blasted fire down at Sunny. The flames hurtled after her, to engulf and scorch her body. At this moment it did not matter . . . because mistakes like her deserved to die . . . .
Then the unexpected happened. The flames of the Eye of Onyx were diverted, and disintegrated by another flame. Blister scowled, and Sunny opened her eyes to see Thorn of the Outclaws land right in front of her.
"I've heard about you, Blister," Thorn growled. "Your life, your manipulations, it all adds up to one thing, and one thing only: . . . A tyrant and murderer who wants to watch everything burn."
"My life?" Blister hissed. "You do not know the half of it."
"But I do." Smolder landed next to Thorn. "Blister, you are my sister, we share the same emotions, the same life. What our mother did to us, made us who we are today. I felt myself becoming as evil as you and Burn. . . . But when I met Flower, I realized that there are more beautiful things in life . . . and shedding blood only makes us as cruel as our mother."
"Don't you dare speak her name," Blister growled. "She is dead, and so are you."
Just then, Qibli landed on Thorn's left. "You know, I've met dragons relatively evil . . . but you, I would say, are just as evil as Oasis ever was."
The SandWing Queen growled, then Starflight managed to land next to Sunny. His blindfold was gone, and said: "I can not see, my eyes were taken from me, taken by my enemies. But even though that is true . . . I will fight alongside my friends . . . and for the world that looks up to us."
Glory landed, Deathbringer by her side, and he said: "I know a queen that I can safely call a friend. A Dragonet of Destiny that taught me the goodness of this continent, while I saw it all as a breeding ground of war. All that changed inside of me because of my friend . . . something that you would never understand."
Glory stepped forward. "I never wanted to be a part of the Prophecy, but because of my friends, they have shown me that I am a true Dragonet of Destiny. I am able to bring dragons together from around Pyrrhia to accept each other as friends. . . . This war ends tonight, here and now."
Tsunami landed. "You know, I thought the Prophecy was all rubbish. Just a story that meant nothing, that we are only dragonets trying to live through the war." She turned to Sunny. " . . . But now I realize . . . I am something much more than that."
Lastly, Clay and Peril landed.
"I was a weapon of destruction," Peril said, "a weapon only used for an iron claw. That was only in the eyes of a dragon who lusts for power. . . . I am not a monster. I am not a bringer of chaos. I am a dragon . . . a real, true dragon . . . and I will put an end to all evil dragons that crave to rule the world."
Clay stood up, fighting against the pain in his leg. "You can not deny our wisdom, Blister. No matter what you do, no matter what you say, no matter how many times you try to tear us apart, we will come back stronger, braver, closer together as friends. . . . We all are! We are family! We are brothers and sisters! We are the Dragonets of Destiny!"
All ten dragons roared with all their might. Queen Blister roared back, increasing the pace of the tornado, casting fire into the air, swirling around in the sand. With one lash of their wings, they charged at one another, beginning the battle to end the twenty year war.
All the dragons clashed together, every Dragonet of Destiny attacking Blister at the same time. With one lash of her wings, she knocked the ten off of her. Tsunami grabbed the SandWing Queen by the horns, attempting to bring her to the ground, but Blister thrashed a wing at Tsunami's head, then again across her neck. Glory came, ramming into Blister's side, lashing at her face, then spitting venom. When the poison touched the queen's scales, it disintegrated, and Blister barely felt the strike. She smirked, and breathed fire, knocking Glory out of the sky. Tsunami cried her name, then was thrown to the sand by Blister. Deathbringer then came, breathing fire as hard as he could.
The flames seemed to do nothing. Blister shot fire back, overpowering Deathbringer, hurtling him right into Thorn, who was just about to join the fight. Peril lunged herself at the queen, thrashing as hard as she could.
Blister growled, swerving in her flight pattern, trying to shake the SkyWing off of her. The fire she had was not familiar with the Eye of Onyx, and it stung Blister like a thousand needles. Clay came to help his friend, lashing at the SandWing Queen when he had the chance. Starflight came in as well, but breathing his fire was the only thing he could do. Blister roared in frustration, grabbing Peril by the tail, and throwing her at Clay, knocking them both to the ground. She turned to Starflight, who could sense he could do nothing right at this moment.
Blister was about to attack, but Smolder hurtled himself at her, shouting: "Mother treated us with this exact same abuse. Stop this now, you are not our mother."
"What made you think I was?" Blister growled, clawing her brother off.
"Remember the beating, remember the lashings, our lives are horrible because of her. The Dragonets of Destiny have taught me how passionate a life is, and you shouldn't throw your's away with this fight."
"This battle is the final path to my triumph, and I will not have it end here by Dragonets."
The queen breathed her fire, so did Smolder, and the flames collided. Blister seemed victorious, but right then Qibli swooped down, swinging his tail at Blister's head, cutting her temple.
She was then thrown to the ground by Smolder. Blister growled, and stood up . . . spotting Sunny a few feet away from her.
"Mother!" Sunny cried. "Please, stop this. It doesn't have to be like this."
"Haven't I already told you I never wanted you?" Blister roared.
"That doesn't matter right now. You can stop this, I know you can."
"I won't let you stand in my way when I am so close to my victory."
With one breath of air, Queen Blister shot fire. The flames hurtled at Sunny. At the last second, Starflight shoved Sunny to the ground, out of the way of the charging flames, saving her life. But the fire hit him directly in the face, causing him to yelp in pain and fall backwards.
"Starflight!" Sunny cried.
"I . . . heard you screaming," Starflight said.
"Ah, another pathetic friend," Blister said. "Love . . . affection towards your friends. Another reason why I never wanted you: Family makes you weak."
"Our family never loved us," Smolder said. "Blister, Sunny is the perfect symbol of change. I changed, Deathbringer changed, and you can as well, only if you stop all of this."
"I will not tolerate your speech any longer."
"Blister . . . you and I share the same hate towards our mother. . . . But with all that is happening right now . . . you are more evil than she ever will be."
Queen Blister roared and threw herself at her brother, grabbing him by the throat and bringing him into the air.
Sunny helped Starflight stand back up, then Thorn landed beside them.
"You two alright?" Thorn asked.
"We're fine," Starflight replied.
"How is this happening?" Sunny asked, frantic.
"The Eye of Onyx holds many different kinds of power," Thorn answered. "It chooses whatever queen it thinks is worthy to hold the title of sovereign. It can either kill, or accept, but I never knew it could do something like this."
As Smolder tried to fight back against his sister, Tsunami, Glory, Deathbringer, Clay, and Peril came to his aid.
"How can it have this kind of power?" Starflight asked.
"The Eye was made by an Animus thousands of years ago," Thorn replied. "Whoever that was must have given the Eye some ability for whoever dragon wears it."
"But why this power?"
"I'm not sure."
Sunny contemplated this for a moment, then came up with a theory: "What if the power of the Eye is controlled by a dragon's emotions? The Eye can choose which SandWing should be queen, but their lust for power, or bravery to rule the kingdom forces the Eye to choose the queen. Blister is willing to do anything to take the throne, and the Eye is forced to give her these powers that it had to choose her? In some way, it's trying to help Blister, but it also changed her body."
"So we're going up against another powerful form of Animus Magic," Starflight said.
"And the only way to beat it is to remove the Eye from its wielder," Thorn said.
"Then let's go. We end this now!"
Peril thrashed her claws as hard as she could, smoke emanating from every strike. The queen growled and kicked her off, only to be attacked by Clay next, and bombarded by discs from Deathbringer. Clay brought his tail down across Blister's head, almost knocking her out of the sky. Glory came and spat her poison, Tsunami throwing her claws, and Smolder stabbing his sister in the side with his tail barb. Out of rage, Queen Blister roared, spun in a circle, lashing her wings and blasting fire at everyone around her.
They all were knocked out of the air, but before she knew it, Blister was lashed across the back of her neck, then again at her head. She spun around, throwing a claw. A miss, but saw that Peril had attacked her. She threw a claw, shooting a fireball in the queen's face, but that did little to stop her. Even still, Peril fought on, thrashing burning claws. Blister struck, throwing Peril aside. She turned, building more fire on her wings, driving her claw into the sandstorm, casting more fire inside the tornado.
She sensed someone coming up behind her, and Blister turned around while still flying to see Thorn coming after her, Qibli at her side, his spear drawn and aiming right at the SandWing Queen. Blister scowled and shot a fireball. Missed. She shot again, and continued to do so, but all strikes were diverted and dodged. Blister breathed a wave of fire at Thorn, who had to cover herself with her wings. While distracted, Blister turned to Qibli, and blasted a fireball. Qibli lashed his weapon, disintegrating the fire, diving at the queen. The spear drove straight into Blister's right wing. She roared in pain, clawing at his face, but Qibli ignored the impacts. Blister grabbed the spear, and pulled it out of her, kicking Qibli in the face. She flew off, dropping the weapon.
Not long after, Clay rammed into her, lashing at her back. Blister clawed him off, but then was assaulted by Smolder, breathing his fire, soon joined by Peril. The queen flapped her wings, throwing the flames back at them. Glory and Deathbringer attacked next, slashing their claws, but once again, they were thrown out of the sky when Blister threw her claws and breathed fire. Rage built up inside of her, and so did the fire. Tsunami landed on the queen's back, thrashing as hard as she possibly could, grabbing her by the horns and pulling her head back, diverting Blister out of the sky, and both dragons landed on the ground in a tumble.
Something then seemed to happen to the sandstorm. It became weak but also faster. The sands separated, and the fire kept it spinning. The storm was able to tear apart the Stronghold, throwing pieces of the arena around, and the ten dragons had to dodge the debris. Blister used this to her advantage.
She found that she was able to control the tornado because of the Eye, and with the flap of her wings, she lifted Tsunami into the air just as she was about to attack her. Tsunami was thrown around like a leaf in the wind as she tried to catch an air current and fly away, but the wind was too strong. The SeaWing was thrusted at Glory, and both dragons went down. Deathbringer and Smolder were lifted into the air next, ramming into Thorn and Qibli.
Fire raged, and it went after Clay and Starflight, but Peril jumped in front of them. She used her wings to deflect the oncoming flames. Even still, she was struggling to shield her friends. Blister realized this, and she flapped her wings hard, increasing the speed of the wind, adding more flames.
"MOTHER!"
Queen Blister snarled, then slowly turned her head to see Sunny.
" . . . You don't, have, to do this," Sunny screamed. "Leave my friends alone."
The queen scowled, then stopped attacking Peril. From exhaustion, she fell to the ground. Blister and Sunny stood a yard away from one another.
"This isn't about my friends," Sunny cried. "This has nothing to do with them. . . . Why do you do this Mother? Why do you kill just for all of this?"
"You see this trinket?" Blister screamed back. "This has been passed down throughout SandWing history since the dawn of the Scorching. It chose me. I am the next queen."
"You killed hundreds of dragons and murdered your own sisters to get that, just for supremacy. Why?"
"My mother never treated me the same way our father did. Why should I show sympathy for them? Why should I ever love you? Oasis hated us. She hated me, wanted me dead, clawed me until I was swimming in my own blood, burned me alive until I passed out, choked me until there were marks on my neck. My life was miserable, a living nightmare of pain, torture, and hatred. But this," Blister held up the Eye, feeling its power fly through her veins, " . . . this will change everything. All that I've stood for, all that I've lived for . . . all that I have fought for . . . and everyone I have killed . . . it will be my history, my Destiny . . . my Wings of Fire. Your power, your Destiny, your friends . . . will never be remembered."
Blister turned her head to Starflight and Clay, who were at Tsunami and Glory's side. With a wave of her claw, and the flap of her wings, the SandWing Queen roared at the top of her lungs, and threw wind and fire at them. Sunny screamed. With no hesitation, she took flight . . . putting herself in between her friends, and the flames.
The fire burned her wings. Sunny shrieked in utter agony, and through that pain . . . she saw her friends. Their eyes were filled with sorrow, and surprise that their friend would harm herself to save them. She saw the hurt in their eyes, the feelings they had towards her as not just a friend . . . but as family, and that was something which could never be torn apart, Sunny realized. She felt the bond they all had . . . and she had to keep it together to end all that was happening.
At last, the fire stopped, and Sunny dropped to her knees. Her friends surrounded her, making sure she was alright. Something else happened next. Blister felt more power flow through her, the fire becoming stronger with every passing moment, and without the aid of her wings . . . started to float. She looked at her claws, which grew longer; she looked at her wings, which grew bigger, and produced more fire; she felt her eyes change as well, and it felt as if they were on fire. She looked down at the Eye, and saw that it was glowing, its true power taking form, and the tornado became faster and more powerful than it had started.
. . . Sunny watched as her mother became stronger every second. . . . She looked at everything happening around her. . . . She looked at her wings, scorched and burned until there was no leather, making it impossible to fly. . . . She looked at her friends. The ones who cared about her . . . the ones who were always there for her . . . her family.
"There has to be something we can do," Glory said.
"We have to get the Eye off of her neck somehow," Starflight said.
"There has to be some sort of way," Clay said.
"Sunny, get your head out of fantasy land, we have to stop Blister somehow," Tsunami said.
Sunny turned to them, all eyes fixated on her. " . . . You know what we have to do."
"Yeah, we do," Glory said, "but how."
" . . . I know how, Glory. All I need to do is take the Eye off her neck, then all of this ends."
"That's what we're trying to do," Tsunami said, "but we don't know how we're supposed to- . . . what do you mean, 'you?'"
"I have to stop her."
"No, you don't have to stop her alone," Clay said, "we can do it together."
"When I found out I was a Dragonet of Destiny . . . I knew my life was meant to be something greater . . . and this is it."
"No, Sunny, this is not it," Starflight said. "This is not what the meaning of your life is."
"But it is, Starflight . . . I know I have to do this . . . for the world . . . and for you."
"NO!" Tsunami screamed. "I won't let you sacrifice yourself for us." She turned to Blister, and started running, but fell only after three steps because of the pain in her leg.
Sunny saw what she was going through, then saw that her friends were experiencing the same. They were tired, hurt, and could not go on like this anymore. . . . But she was not in pain . . . she knew what she had to do.
" . . . Tsunami . . . Glory . . . Clay . . . Starflight . . . I love you." Sunny smiled her last, tears beginning to fall down her face. " . . . You are my friends . . . my best friends . . . my brothers and sisters . . . my real family."
"Sunny," Starflight demanded, "don't do this."
She hugged Glory, hugged Tsunami, then Clay, and Starflight, then turned to the SandWing Queen. She looked back at her friends one final time. " . . . I love you all."
Sunny walked forward, the others trying to go after her, but the pain prevented them from going anywhere. She remembered the war, she remembered the fires, she remembered the fight . . . she remembered the power of Wings of Fire she had inside her soul. She opened her wings, her burned wings that made her stand triumphantly before all the dragons. Peril, Qibli, Deathbringer, Smolder, and Thorn took notice, and could not believe what they were seeing. They themselves tried to go after her, tried to shout her name, tried to compel her to not do this . . . but they too were in pain, and Sunny was already walking towards Blister.
She looked back one final time. At the dragons around her, at her friends . . . at her family. Tears streamed down her face, and they all went silent, staring at their friend. Sunny seemed to stare back at them for hours, then forced herself to turn, running, her family screaming her name.
Sunny roared, jumping at Blister, grabbing her shoulders. The queen scowled down at her, increasing the pace of the wind and flames with her anger. Sunny felt every single fire touch her scales, burning her alive, but forced herself to keep going. She looked up at her mother, at her adversary, knowing that this was the end of the war.
With all of the strength she had in her bones, Sunny grabbed the Eye of Onyx, and pulled. Blister grabbed her arm, preventing her from removing the Eye. Sunny pulled harder, trying to ignore the pain - it was so immense, so powerful, so great. She remembered the world . . . her family . . . she was a Dragonet of Destiny . . . she had the power of Wings of Fire.
She pulled, overcoming Blister's grasp, the fire becoming its greatest form, and the tornado blowing faster. The fire from Blister's body consumed her, and Sunny as well, but with the last bit of her strength, she ripped the Eye of Onyx from Queen Blister's neck, both dragons letting out one final roar . . . before becoming ash.
The Eye of Onyx hit the ground. The flames went out. The tornado ceased. The wind stopped. . . . Everything went silent . . . .
No dragon dare spoke. The last four Dragonets of Destiny stared at the Eye of Onyx that lay in the ashes of their enemy . . . and their friend. They stood up, walking towards the Eye, the other five staying where they were, not knowing what to do. The Eye was not glowing anymore, it only lay in the sand, in all its terror . . . in all its wickedness . . . .
Tsunami could not take all that had happened. She fell to her knees, claws shaking, then let out a scream. She screamed again, much louder this time, echoing throughout the Stronghold. That was when all the dragons returned to see what had happened. They saw the Dragonets in the arena, their eyes filled with anguish, and upon the death of their friend . . . the war was over. Except it did not mean anything to either of the Dragonets of Destiny. They lost someone . . . a sister.
" . . . Did any of you realize how beautiful Sunny's voice was?" Starflight asked, and they all turned to him. " . . . She always had such a sweet voice. She was always happy . . . probably the happiest of us all."
" . . . I realized that too," Clay said. "She was very cute as well. She was our sister."
"She wasn't broken," Glory said. "She was special . . . like all of us."
Tsunami stared at the ashes, tears streaming down her face. She stood up, wiping her eyes, saying: " . . . She kept us together. We didn't want to fulfill the Prophecy . . . none of us wanted to be the Dragonets of Destiny. . . . Sunny showed us that we needed to . . . for all of these dragons. She helped us stay a family . . . she helped us find our purpose. She helped us to save the world . . . to fight the queens . . . helped us travel across the entire continent. . . . Sunny was our true Wings of Fire."
Hearing the speech brought tears to every dragon in the stadium. They applauded for Tsunami's words, for the Dragonets of Destiny, who ended the War of SandWing Succession, who saved them from the three queens.
The Dragonets gazed among the crowd, then turned back to the Eye of Onyx. They stared at it for a moment. Tsunami bent down and picked it up. The four examined it. They turned, and walked. They passed by Qibli, who nodded at them. They walked by Smolder, who nodded as well. They walked by Peril, who smiled. They walked by Deathbringer, who bowed to them. Finally . . . they walked up to the queen of their choice.
"Thorn," Glory said, "you are proven to be a great leader, an inspiration to all of these dragons. You are loyal to your people, and you are loyal to your friends. . . . We know you have the power to accept this . . . you have your own power of Wings of Fire."
Clay stated with a booming voice: " . . . Thorn, leader of the Outclaws," he looked at his friends, who nodded in agreement, "we, the Dragonets of Destiny, choose you as the next SandWing Queen."
Thorn's eyes went wide. She stared at the four, then at the Eye. She carefully took it in her hand, examined it, then placed it over her neck. The Eye glowed, the crowd gasped, and the Dragonets watched as the object studied its wielder. The light died down. Thorn opened her eyes and stared at the Eye. . . . It had accepted her.
The crowd saw the new SandWing Queen. They cheered and clapped for the new leader, and for the Dragonets of Destiny . . . and for Sunny, who truly saved them all.
