The Truth About The NightWings

Stonemover Saves the Day

"Oh, hello, Stargaze," said Stonemover casually, as if it were perfectly normal to be here, instead of turning into stone in a secluded part of Jade Mountain. "Nice...to see you...again. Obviously, I'm here to fix things."

He snapped his claws. 

At first, nothing happened. 

Then, the entire audience of NightWings blinked and clutched their heads simultaneously, as if splitting headaches were among the "powers" my tribe had. I swear, these dragons should be part of a play one day. They would be excellent at gasping in unison at the right parts.

"Oh my moons," muttered one of the elders who had yelled at me before. "Battlewinner...Twilight...It's all coming back to me now..."

Worst of all was my mother. 

She blinked several times as if a whole new world had revealed itself right before her eyes. 

"By all the stars," she whispered. " I can't believe I'd forgotten. Twilight...my sister... And being royalty! What the heck happened to me?!"

Wisdom suddenly spotted Spellcaster, or rather, Twilight. Her face lit up. 

"Twilight!!" she cried, her arms outstretched. "It's been so long! I thought you were dead!" 

Spellcaster's "kill me now" face grew about a thousand times. 

"Cow dung," she cursed under her breath. 

"Um, guys?" I said, raising my voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "Can we get back to the matter at talon, please?"

"Oh, right." Wisdom replied. "Well, Stargaze, I guess you could have the throne. Unless you want it, Twilight?"

I stared at my mother like she had grown an extra head. Who are you and what have you done to my mom?

I looked at Stonemover suspiciously. Was it just my imagination, or did I see a flicker of a wink on the previously stone dragon? 

"What did you do to them?" I demanded, although I already had an inkling.

"Jumpstarted their memories, of course," the NightWing said complacently as if this was an everyday occurrence.

"But...how did you...unstone yourself?" Is unstone even a word?

"Oh, I enchanted a mirror a long time ago to show me what happens in different parts of Pyrrhia," Stonemover said calmly. I briefly wondered if he and Princess Twilight were related; their ability to sound casual in all circumstances was astounding. "I saw that you were in a bit of trouble just now, so I removed the spell on my scales and came here." He paused, and then added, "You're welcome."

I was too stunned to reply. 

"Oh, no thank you, my dear sister." Spellcaster's voice snapped me back to reality. It sounded as if she had forced the words 'my dear sister' from the depths of an abyss. "Stargaze can be queen." 

I blinked, still not getting this. No way, I thought. It can't be this easy.

...Can it?

I waited for someone to protest.

My prayer was answered...although really it wasn't a prayer, just a morbid expectation. 

"Hold on just a minute!" a young adult NightWing of about thirteen interjected. "She's only five! That's too young to rule!" 

Stonemover turned around to the direction of the voice and regarded the owner coolly. "Did you know," he said serenely, but with ice in his tone, "That Queen Pearl, one of the most beloved royal SeaWings of all time, started ruling at the same age as this young NightWing is?"

Having met his match, the young NightWing clamped his mouth shut. 

"That's what I thought." Stonemover smiled. "Now that that's settled, let's move on to more important matters...such as the crowning of our new queen. All Hail Queen Stargaze!"

Utter silence. 

And then...

"All Hail Queen Stargaze!" A few youngsters called out, still too young to understand fully what was going on. 

"All Hail Queen Stargaze!" my aunt and mother shouted cheerfully. (Well, my mom shouted cheerfully. I'm afraid the same can't be said for Twilight.)

Slowly, one by one, the entire group of NightWings had uttered the proclamation. 

I felt like jumping up and down in joy. 

I did it! I had become queen!

Gently, Queen Glory placed a crown of flowers on my head. Although technically she didn't have the authority to crown me, I didn't really care. 

"I proclaim you Queen Stargaze of the NightWings."