Eclipse reached the portal, dove through it, and felt the familiar sickening drop. She tumbled onto the big crystal in the Crystal Hollow.

     Her forehead was almost completely faded now.

     "Congratulations!" Galaxy exclaimed, standing above Eclipse. She had a hint of tears in her eyes.       
     Eclipse smiled. StarFlower bounded over to her, helped her to her paws, and nuzzled her shoulder, full of pride and love.

     "We were watching your progress the whole time," Galaxy informed her. There were definitely tears welling up in her eyes now. "I... I forgot how great my parents were. It's... really been a while..."

     Eclipse gave her a pitiful look. She knew how hard it must be, since Raven and Spark had died before the Spirit Realm was created. Now Galaxy was forced to watch happy families join again in the Spirit Realm when her own family was long gone.

     "I'm so proud of you, my baby!" StarFlower exclaimed, throwing her wings around Eclipse.

Eclipse started sobbing, and StarFlower stroked her daughter's head with her paw.

     Chestnut, SparrowHeart, and DaisyFrost came running over to her, and crashed into her mother's back. Eclipse laughed as the Drolgonets flopped into a pile, and her mother lifted them into her wings.

     The Drolgonets licked Eclipse's face, and Eclipse nuzzled each of them on their heads. Her ears were starting to fade.

     "You actually forgave me..." came a familiar, quiet voice.

     Eclipse stepped away from her mother and the Drolgonets, not looking toward the Drolgon that the voice came from.

     "Yes, Reed. I forgave you," she whispered with a hint of a growl in her voice just loud enough for him to hear, still not looking at him.

     "But... you wouldn't have been able to come back here if you just said you forgave me, and you actually didn't. So..." Reed stepped toward her.

     "Look, I'm willing to sacrifice my ego and grudges when it means being with someone I love!" Eclipse exclaimed, whirling around to face Reed.

     He gave her a look that said "you... do you mean you love me still?" Without him actually speaking.

     Eclipse sighed, lashing her tail. "No, you idiot! I love Sapphire, 'cause she actually loves me too!"

     Reed snorted. "I didn't mean that I think you like me still! You can't just assume that."

     Eclipse raised her eyebrows at him. He totally meant that he thought she liked him still.

     Her ears were a third faded now, though, and she had to get back to Sapphire fast.

     "Oh, Eclipse, I almost forgot- there's someone you have to meet," Galaxy said. Then she turned around, and called someone.

     A Drolgonet came bounding out from behind her, Galaxy touched her nose to his, showing his not-faded self, and there was something about him that seemed familiar. He faded back to a spirit, but Eclipse went over his features in her head. His eyes were a familiar dark forest green, but his fur was a reddish-orange-gray. His fur looked kind-of like Solar's...

     "Eclipse, this is Cardinal," Galaxy introduced him.           "But that's just his new name- his old name was Storm."

     Eclipse staggered back, almost crashing into her mother, who looked very uncomfortable. It must be very weird to see your old mate as a Drolgonet with a different name.

     "D-dad?" Eclipse whispered.

     Cardinal looked at her, tilting his head, clearly confused.

     "He doesn't have any recollection of who he used to be. Cardinal's soul is full of all the good that was in Storm's soul. Honestly, there wasn't much... he was a pretty twisted Drolgon... but it was only because he thought he had to be that way and he ended up believing it and becoming that way," Galaxy said.

Eclipse's ears were two thirds of the way faded.

     "Oh," Galaxy added. "And we can't entirely get rid of the Mark, much to our disappointment- but when you get back to the present, you'll see that it looks much less horrifying. It'll look like Opal's. I think it actually will make you look pretty cool- after all, it's your own unique thing in the living world."

     "Well, it's been good to see you, Eclipse, but I think you'd better go save your friends," HailClaw said to her, with a wink and a smile.

     Eclipse smiled back, gave Opal and Snowfall a hug with her wings, nodded to Galaxy, looked at Reed for a moment before turning away, and hugged her mother as tight as she could with her wings, giving her a lick on her cheek. Her mother held her in her wings, murmured "I love you" in her ear, and let go of her.

     "I'll come with you to the lightning," StarFlower quickly told her. Then they took off, winging away toward the lightning bolts as fast as they could.

The fading was creeping up Eclipse's ear tips. It was getting closer and closer to enveloping her ears, so she flapped her wings harder. She was getting closer and closer, and she was almost there.

     Her mother touched her wing to Eclipse's back and hovered, watching Eclipse flap fiercely toward the lightning. Then, just as she was hurling herself into the lightning, the last hairs on her ears faded.

     Her whole world faded to black. She started panicking, thinking she hadn't made it. That maybe blacking out was part of fading completely.

     "No!" She screamed into nothingness. "No, this is all wrong! I can't fade now! I finished my quest, I proved myself worthy, and now I have to get back to the battle! I-" her voice faltered with despair as tears welled up in her eyes. "I have to get back to Sapphire!"

     But it was no use. She seemed to be stuck in darkness, absolutely nothing around her. It was just her. And she couldn't move her body. Except she heard something- it sounded like something thumping, over and over. It was quiet, but getting louder. Then it got so loud, she though it would make her go deaf. It was booming all around her, thundering in her ears.

     Then she heard muffled voices.

     Then there were yelps, and howling, and roaring. She got so confused and disoriented, and it felt like everything was rushing to her head.

     She squeezed her eyes shut, and gritted her teeth.

Then her eyes flew open, and she saw Sapphire's extremely shocked face above hers.

     She sat up immediately, and threw herself into Sapphire's wings. She had been lying on her side, and QuietFlower had been examining her neck wound. But it had healed very quickly as soon as she'd come back to life.

     Eclipse started crying uncontrollably, filled with the most happiness she'd ever felt.