Crystal tried not to gulp, as Cinder lifted her head up off the ground, and stood at her full height. She was never one to be afraid of heights before, but this was different.

Blaze giggled as he looked at her. "Come on, Crystal. We won't let anything happen to you. No dragon would ever do that to their Knight."

Cinder nodded, bouncing the filly's mane all over the place, as she looked up at Crystal's head that sat merged into her forehead. "It's true. And I seriously doubt anything would be dumb enough to attack a dragon. Let alone two of them."

Crystal blew her mane out of her eyes as she looked down at her current mate. "Easy for you two to say. This is still all so new to me. I mean. Why me? I'm ten. Isn't that a little young for a Dragon Knight?"

Cinder and Blaze both rolled their eyes, as Blaze leaned in till he was snout to snout with Cinder. "Does anyone really know how any of this works? We sure as brimstone don't."

Cinder smiled at her brother as she looked up at Crystal. "And I doubt age has anything to do with it. Isn't there supposed to be another Knight that's about the same age as you?"

Crystal rolled her eyes, even as she began to relax. "Maybe. But nopony is supposed to have seen her in a long time. Some don't even think she ever existed. And you guys did cause quite a stir in the Crystal Empire when you arrived."

Blaze and Cinder giggled, and even Crystal joined in a moment later. It was true. The twins had caused quite the commotion when they had arrived before the Crystal Palace. One dragon was enough to cause a panic in most ponies.

But two of them? And conjoined twins at that? That was more than most could handle.

Crystal turned her head as much as she could, and Cinder turned with her, as she looked at her new body. Cinder and Blaze shared literally everything below where their necks joined the rest of their body. Their scales were a vibrant red color.

What stood out the most though, was the purple scales that ran along their stomach, along the bottom of their necks, and under their lower jaws. Even their wing membranes were purple, the same purple, in fact, as Crystal's eyes.

That was a question the filly couldn't hold in for much longer as she looked down at her mates. "So, who do you guys have purple scales and eyes now? You didn't have them when we first met."

Blaze and Cinder shared a look. That was a good question actually. Why did they have them? They hadn't been born with them, as they had been with so much else. Blaze finally shrugged. "Who knows? I like it actually. Makes me look regal and cool."

Cinder and Crystal both rolled their eyes. "Boys. What are you ever going to do with them?" Cinder asked, sharing a knowing look with Crystal, who only giggled.

Blaze shot them a withering look, snorting a burst of flame from his nostrils. A smile soon came to his face, however. "Keep that up, Cinder, and I'll tell Crystal all your worst secrets."

Cinder glared at him. "You wouldn't?"

Blaze only smiled innocently. "Try me. I know everything you've ever done, remember?"

Crystal giggled, as Cinder snorted a burst of flame herself, before smirking. "Well then. You won't mind if I tell her all your worst secrets then, would you? I know them all, remember?"

Blaze looked horrified at the thought. Crystal though was rather enjoying this, if she was being honest. "Are you two always like this?" She asked.

Cinder and Blaze shared a look, before breaking into hopeless giggles. "Oh no. We can get a lot worse," Blaze said after a moment. "We've been at this since the day we hatched. Comes with sharing everything with each other as we do."

Cinder nodded, as she and Blaze nuzzled each other. "As much as we drive each other insane sometimes, there's no one else I trust more. No matter how much we might fight, we still have each other's back," Cinder replied.

Blaze nodded. "Sometimes I wonder what it might have been like had we not been born like this. But I wouldn't change it for all the gems in Equestria or the Crystal Empire."

That brought up something that Crystal had almost forgotten in all of this. "What does all of this mean for me? I never thought I'd be a Dragon Knight. Let alone with two dragons. Now what?"

Blaze's smile softened. "That's up to you, Crystal. We're connected now, no matter what. Even when the three of us separate, our bond will still be there."

Cinder nodded. "The cold won't matter to us. The two of us won't need to stay in Crystal City to stay warm if that's what you are worried about. Though with how the Crystal Heart let us in, we probably could if we wanted to."

Crystal nodded, one less thing to worry about then. "What about me though? Everypony in the empire will know about me by now. I'll stick out like a sore hoof."

Blaze rolled his eyes. "Is that such a bad thing though? Princess Cadance didn't seem that kind of pony. When she could get herself to talk that is."

Cinder chuckled. "Your family and friends love you, Crystal. They will accept it. Other ponies will take more time probably. But I can't see you being disowned or thrown out of the Crystal Empire."

Despite her own worries, a part of Crystal couldn't argue with them. It was true. The Crystal Empire was very accepting of most things. Their integration into a modern Equestria, while not perfectly smooth, had gone over rather well. How well they'd get used to a Dragon Knight, though, was another question.

Crystal let her gaze slide downwards. She could still feel her Rider Mark, a stylized dragon in flight with a pony's head emerging from its forehead, on her right front hoof. At least it had stopped itching finally, so there was that at least. She looked around at where the three of them were. "Where are we anyway?" She asked.

"Just south of the Crystal Mountains," Blaze replied as he looked around. "It didn't feel right to go too far from the empire on our first trip. We could be back there in an hour or so."

Cinder looked up at the filly in question. "Do you want to go home yet? We can go back if you want to. We won't keep you out here if you don't want to be."

Crystal shook her head. "I'm not ready to go back yet. I'm still trying to figure all of this out, and I want to do that before I go home." She held herself proudly. "I'm a Dragon Knight now. That won't change, I know that, and I'm proud to be one. But it's so much to take in all at once. I need time to figure it all out."

Cinder and Blaze shared a smile as they sat down. "Take your time. We've got all day," Blaze said, leaning in close to make eye contact with Crystal, who only smiled, and settled herself back on Cinder's scales, and closed her eyes.

As she did, she let herself remember how all of this had come to pass. What a day it had been too.

The moment Crystal woke up that morning, she had a feeling that this was going to be a great day. She didn't know why, but the feeling was so strong she all but bounced out of bed and threw open the window of her bedroom.

The Crystal Empire was as sparkly as ever. Down below, ponies just starting out on their days went here and there on whatever business they might have. Even the Crystal Palace itself seemed more sparkly today.

And of course, there was the usual crowd of crystal ponies around the Spike, the Brave and Glorious, statue. Like there was every day. A sight that made Crystal roll her eyes, as it did every day.

"I mean, really. I'm as happy to be free of King Sombra as you are, and I'm happy for everything he and the others did. But do you really have nothing better to do than hero worship a baby dragon?" She asked aloud.

Crystal sighed as she turned away from the sight. It was a thought her parents shared as well, and once they had shared with Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor as well.

"We are of course grateful for Spike bringing back the Crystal Heart as he did. But you all deserve as much praise as he does. The empire would not have even survived as long as it did without all of your help, and you all deserve as much praise as he does," is how her dad had explained to the couple, who, far from being mad or upset, was understanding and more than happy to support.

"We're not going to make ponies think a certain way. Ponies can think however they wish. That is a tyranny I will never do," is how the Princess of Love had responded.

Crystal was more than happy to do so herself, as passed by her dresser, one that held icons of several of the Old Gods of Equus, as they were known. A forge bellows for The Forger, an anvil for The Maker, a blank mask for The Traveler, and a heart-shaped pendant for the Mother, to name just the ones Crystal had. But one piece held pride of place.

A Fuschia-colored six-pointed star. One that looked suspiciously like Princess Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark in fact. It represented the Prime Magic, from where all magic in existence flowed, and that could only be wielded by the Traveler Between Worlds herself.

Few still believed the old creation myths anymore, even in the Crystal Empire. But Crystal and her family still held to those beliefs, though few other ponies knew that they did. It wasn't like Crystal and her family went around and tried to convert ponies to the idea.

Turning her head away, Crystal made her to the bathroom. Today felt like it was going to be a good day. She just knew it. And let it never be said that Crystal Dawn faced the world looking like a maniac. One look in her mirror made her giggle at the amount of bedmane she had.

She couldn't go out looking like that now could she?

Shaking her head, Crystal soon had her mind on other things. Never once did she feeel the mark that appeared on her right front hoof.

Far away, two more jolted awake, as they felt a new call sent out to them. Cinder and Blaze shared a shocked look, before breaking into wide grins.

"Ah! And mom said we'd never amount to anything. Look who's laughing now, you old lizard!" Blaze said, stretching all of his part of their shared body, a move his sister soon joined in on.

"I hope she doesn't mind getting the both of us," Cinder said.

Blaze cooled down for a moment as he thought about it. "How would it even work with us? There are two of us, and only one of her. How does that work out?"

Cinder shook her head as they stood up and walked to the cave entrance. "I don't know. I don't think this has ever happened before." She grinned at her brother. "But that makes me feel even more special!"

Blaze chuckled as they spread their wings. "You got me there, sis."

Giggling like a couple of newborn hatchlings, Blaze and Cinder took flight. Adjusting their course, they headed for the Crystal Empire to the north.

The day was mostly normal for Crystal. Helping her parents in whatever ways she could was how most of her days went. Even the customers were the same day in and day out.

Occasionally, of course, there would be something to mix things up, and maybe somepony new would come in. Usually, someone coming north from Equestria. Crystal enjoyed talking to those ponies the most. She wanted to visit the lands to the south one day. She couldn't say why, but something about the lands outside the Crystal Empire had always fascinated her.

As she helped clean up after the latest customer though, Crystal couldn't help but think about what they had been talking about. Supposedly there was a dragon that had been sighted flying north, on a straight course for the Crystal Empire.

Crystal wasn't worried though. If there was a big ol' mean dragon it's the way here, the Crystal Heart would keep the overgrown lizard out. And if somehow it did get inside the empire, then Princess Cadance and Shining Armor would take care of it.

What was really driving her nuts though, as Crystal walked carefully back to the kitchen with the customer's dishes, was that her right front hoof would not stop itching, no matter how hard she scratched it. It was weirder than when she had first gone to look at it, there was no red mark that might have explained it.

But aside from that though, nothing was out of the ordinary. And Crystal was glad for it. With the announcement that the Crystal Empire had been awarded the Equestria Games made only a few days before, the whole city was still abuzz with excitement.

Crystal had been disappointed that she hadn't been able to meet the Mane 6 before they had left. It would've been so cool to meet the mares who helped save the whole empire from King Sombra. Maybe one day, she would though.

She could hope so anyway.

As she unloaded her load though, Crystal thought she felt a faint rumble come through the floor, but shook her head. She was just tired and was only feeling things.

Her dad smiled down at her as she let out a groan. "I think you've earned a break, honey. Why don't you go on upstairs? The Lunch Rush is over. I think we can handle it from here."

Crystal squeed before hugging her dad's leg. "You're the best dad!" Before she zoomed out of the Kitchen at a pace that even Rainbow Dash could be proud of.

White Diamond chuckled. "You're welcome, Crystal."

Crystal plopped down on her bed with a groan, again trying to stop the infernal itch on her front hoof. "Stupid thing," she grumbled. "Why did it have to be today?"

No answer was forthcoming. She grumbled again as she turned over to look at her ceiling. This just wasn't her day it seemed. Just her luck. But why did it feel like this was meant to be happening? That deep down, this was always meant to happen, and on this day. For whatever reason.

Crystal sighed, rubbing her hooves together, still with no luck. "At least I'm not sick or anything. So I guess there's that at least."

For a time, she just lay there, looking at her ceiling. With nothing else to do, Crystal wasn't sure what she would do for the rest of the day. Maybe something exciting would happen to break up the boredom. Wouldn't that be nice?

At some point though, she must have fallen asleep, for Crystal awoke to the sound of somepony tapping on her window. Frowning, she opened her eyes and looked to see what the racket was all about.

Her eyes widened in shock before she dashed over and threw the window open. "Princess Cadance! I'm so sorry. I didn't know it was you!" She squeaked in embarrassment.

The reigning Crystal Princess only smiled. "It's okay, Crystal. I'm not mad. I'm here to see you actually."

Crystal blinked. "Um. Why? I mean. I don't mind. But why didn't you use the front door like everypony else?"

Cadance's smile vanished. "Normally, I would. But this is something I felt I needed to say to you as quickly as possible. There are several individuals at the Palace that want to see you."

Crystal was lost. "But why? If they wanna see me, why not just come here? And who wants to see me anyway? I don't know anypony that wouldn't just come to the door and ask. My friends know that."

Cadance nodded. "I know. But they said they would never fit inside this part of the city without causing a lot of damage, and they're trying to avoid that." She shook her head. "It would be easier if you saw them for yourself. I don't think you'd believe me otherwise."

Now Crystal was really confused. "What about my parents? I can't just leave and not tell them about this."

Cadance smiled once more, before gesturing to the ground below. Looking down, Crystal saw that Prince Shining Armor was talking with her parents about something. From their looks, they seemed afraid of something. But also knowing that the couple wouldn't endanger their daughter on purpose.

Crystal looked back up and smiled sheepishly. "Oh. So, do I walk or?"

Cadance giggled as she extended a wing. "Hop on. I'll get you to the Palace faster than walking would."

Crystal eyed it doubtfully. "Don't you think I'm a little big for that kind of thing?"

Cadance rolled her eyes. "Crystal. I used to give piggyback rides to Twilight all of the time. She was bigger than you when she was your age as well. I think I remember how to do it and can handle it."

Crystal giggled at the mental image as she climbed onto the princess's back and held on for dear life. "Fine. But if I fall off, my parents can be really scary when they're angry."

They both giggled as Crystal waived to her parents below as Cadance took off for the Crystal Palace. She wondered why she was being asked to see somepony she probably didn't even know, and why they couldn't have just met at home?

But as Princess Cadance came around the back of the palace, Crystal's eyes widened in shock at who and what was revealed, even as the princess came to a soft landing before them.

A two-headed dragon lay curled up before them, their eyes quickly falling on Crystal. Their red scales stood out next to the crystal around them. One head was very definitely a girl, while the other seemed to be a boy. But how the hay did that make any sense?

Crystal though only had one thing to say at the moment. "... Meep!"

The pair chuckled. "You were right, princess. She is cute," the boy's head said, looking at Cadance, who only giggled in response.

Crystal's nose scrunched. "I am not cute! I'm ten. Totally too old to be cute. And why are you looking for me? How did you even get past the Crystal Heart?"

The girl's head rolled her eyes. "We mean no harm to the Crystal Empire. Nor to its ponies. I believe this, Crystal Heart realized that, and let us in. We had no trouble in doing so."

Crystal and Cadance shared a look. That explained that at least. And whatever else they felt at that moment, they didn't feel threatened by the drake. "But why me? And who are you two?" Crystal asked.

Twins giggled as they shared a look. "I'm Cinder. And this is my brother, Blaze," Cinder said, nodding at her brother. She saw the questions pop into the pony's minds at this. "Yes. We were born like this."

"And no. We don't why," Blaze finished. He leaned in till his snout was almost touching Crystal. "We came looking for you for a special reason. Has your hoof been itching lately?"

Crystal tapped her chin. "Yeah. Why?"

Before anyone could answer though, her front left hoof blazed with power, and the itch returned with a vengeance before fading away to nothing. In fact, Crystal felt better now than she had in a long time. But why. Turning her hoof over, her eyes widened in surprise at what she saw.

On her hoof, the outline of a dragon in flight was emblazoned. On the dragon's forehead, a mare's head sat.

Cadance's eyes widened in wonder and disbelief. "The Mark of the Knights. I never thought I would see it."

Crystal's mouth dropped in shock. "The Dragon Knights? I thought they were just a myth?"

Cadance looked again at Blaze and Cinder, both of the twins smirking slightly. "They exist, Crystal. You very rarely ever see them. Or if you do meet the mare in question, you would never know that she is a Knight."

Cinder nodded. "Ponies and dragons don't exactly get along very well. And outside the Mark, they don't stand out. Which is probably for the best."

Before Crystal could ask more though, she felt her flank tingle. Looking back, she watched with a growing grin as a new symbol appeared on her flank. A two-headed red dragon in flight. "My cutie mark. Yes!" She squeed, doing a happy dance in place.

Cadance giggled. She knew the feeling well. "I guess that makes it official then, Crystal. As of today, you are the newest Dragon Knight."

Crystal stopped and again looked at Cinder and Blaze. "But why me? I'm nothing special. I don't even know what I want to do with my life."

Blaze nodded. "We don't know either. Why us? What makes us special. But you're probably not the first one to ask that question."

Cinder nodded as well. "Nor, I doubt, will you be the last. The fact remains though that you called to us, Crystal. Will you take us?"

Crystal bit her lip, before looking at Princess Cadance. "Should I?"

Cadance smiled gently, as she lay a wing on the filly. "I can't tell you, Crystal. This is your choice alone. What does your heart say?"

Crystal looked back at the twins. Her heart was clear, but her head was saying something else. "And if I say no?"

The twins winced, sharing a pained look amongst each other. "Then you will never see us again, Crystal. We won't force this on you," Cinder replied.

Crystal could feel she meant it as well. In the end, though, her heart won out over what her head was saying, as was often the case, as she smiled and walked up to the two. "I'll do it. Just to see what it's like, and I'll make my choice."

Cinder and Blaze might have done a happy dance of their own right then and then. But the Crystal Empire might not have survived it. But their joy was evident to all, as the two of them came closer. until they were snout to snout, with Crystal in the middle. "Just touch us. And your Mark will do the rest," Blaze said excitedly.

Crystal nodded, hoping they knew what they were talking about. Reaching out, she touched one hoof to each of the twins. As she did so, her Mark blazed again with power, transforming Crystal herself into a ball of energy. Bouncing excitedly, she rushed forward and merged herself with Cinder.

As the ball of energy vanished, Cinder and Blaze felt the changes begin. Their eyes turned the same shade of purple as Crystal's own, as did the scales running down from the bottom of their jaws to the tip of their tail, as did their wing membranes.

For Cinder, she felt the skin on her forehead begin to reshape itself as it pushed itself out, before forming into a vaguely filly shaped mass. After a moment, the mass began to reform into a proper filly sized head, and soon Crystal herself was sitting there, her mane just above Cinder's eyes.

Crystal opened her eyes before turning her head around. To her surprise, Cinder's head turned with her. Weird. Or maybe this was normal? She'd have to ask that later, as she looked down at the dragons she now shared a body with. "Now what?" She asked.

Blaze giggled. "There's a forest now a few hours south of here. It's too crowded around here to do anything, and I really don't want to smash anything."

Cinder nodded, sending Crystal's mane bouncing all over the place, as she looked down at Princess Cadance. "If you don't mind that is?"

Cadance chuckled as she flew up to their eye level. "I don't think I could stop you even if I wanted to." She looked Crystal dead in the eyes. "Don't worry. I'll tell your parents what happened. Be careful, please?"

Crystal sighed, as Cinder and Blaze spread their wings. "Yes, mom. I don't think I need to worry about doing anything too dumb. Not if these two have anything to say about it."

Cinder and Blaze giggled, even as Cadance rolled her eyes and gave them plenty of room. With a great downdraft, the trio took to the air and was soon heading south.

And in the end, the trip out here had been worth it. For all of them. Crystal had loved the feeling of the air in her mane, the power her new body had given her. It was exhilarating. Was this how Pegasi felt? If it was, then she knew why they loved to be in the air so much.

At some points, Crystal had taken control of Cinder and Blaze's body. Neither fought her as she did and controlling their body was like a bigger version of her pony body. She could get used to this.

Blaze gave her a knowing look. "The sun will be setting soon. We can be back in the empire before it does though."

Crystal nodded. She really didn't want to be out after dark, even though in her Knight Form, she doubted there was anything she needed to worry about. "Thanks, guys. I wasn't sure before. But now I know."

Cinder looked up at her, her smile growing. "Then you accept us?"

Crystal nodded, as she relaxed and settled her head back on Cinder's scales. "I am a Dragon Knight now. And nothing will change that. I can get used to this. I rather like it."

Cinder and Blaze shared a smile before spreading their wings and turning their flight back to the north. Crystal was more than happy to let them be in the driver's seat, as she closed her eyes and relaxed. Whatever came next, she knew one thing for certain.

Everything was going to be just fine.

Author's Note

So I have to admit something with this story. This is based on a scraped idea for Crystal's chapter in Empress Dragon. Hence why the current cover art for that story shows her with two dragons.

I didn't want to get rid of her chapter there as it is, so I kept the cover art showing her with two dragons, even though in the story, Crystal only has one, in Blaze.

Now I get to dust off that idea and use it here. So here it is.