A Mare and Her Dragons: Crystal

Crystal awoke with a snort, groaning as her eyes adjusted to her darkened room. The sun was going down in the west, and the moon was beginning to rise in the east. From down below, she could hear the sounds of the market closing for the night.

But what really held her attention was her hoof, her Knight Mark ablaze with power. Not unlike when she had first joined with Cinder and Blaze three years before. Only now, there was no infernal itch to go with it. Thankfully.

Now, however, there was an urge to travel. One that Crystal found hard to resist, and a growing part of her did not want to as the seconds passed.

Sighing, the filly stood and stretched, feeling more relaxed and rejuvenated than she had in some time. "Really? We could not have done all of this, this afternoon? Mom and dad will not be happy."

Her Mark did not respond, but this feeling was not going away. It was getting stronger in fact. And Crystal knew that as much as her parents loved her, they knew there was not anything they could do to stop her when she put her mind to it.

Crystal loved her parents, she really did. But she no longer felt any true inclination to listen to every little thing they tried to tell her. She answered to nopony now. Not even Princess Cadance or Prince Shining Armor. Not that she ever flaunted her status. That was not right of her. For crying out loud, she still took her friends flying with her. No matter what the twins thought of it.

Giggling, Crystal trotted down the stairs and found her parents in the kitchen. They seemed to have guessed that something was up, for both of them were smiling, and mom had made some of her best pancakes for her.

Crystal smiled as she sat down and began to dig in. "Did I miss something?"

Her mother shook her head. "Oh no, dear. But something told me that you were about to do something important, and you know you can never do that without this."

"And your Knight Mark is glowing. It never does that unless there's a reason," her dad added with a knowing smile. "Maybe it has something to do with the return of the First Knight?"

Crystal rolled her eyes. "Ponyville is a long way away, dad."

"Not for a dragon it is not. Or twins," her mother replied. "And why wouldn't Amber come to visit? She is your fellow Knight, is she not? You are almost the same age as her as well when you consider what King Sombra did to the empire."

Crystal nodded, conceding the point. "Okay, fine. So maybe we are. And I would be lying if I said I didn't want to meet her. Probably would be safer too if I went to Ponyville. The Crystal Heart lets Cinder and Blaze in, but it might not affect her dragon. It is hard enough keeping those two from chowing down on the empire as it is."

Her dad shook his head in exasperation. "Those two are a bad influence on you, honey. Remember how many times we have had to pry you off crystal?"

Crystal only smiled sheepishly. "So, can I go? I can take care of myself, and I have always wanted to see Ponyville. Maybe I can also meet Princess Twilight's dragon while I'm there!"

Her parents took a moment to think it over before her mother smiled. "Of course, dear. Just try not to do anything dangerous?"

Crystal rolled her eyes. "Mom. I've got two dragons to back me up, and I'll be in Ponyville. What's the worst that can happen?"

Her dad sighed. "Those two are a bad influence on you, honey. I swear that you are more like Blaze every time you come back from the Tundra. Cinder is not much better. I had hoped she could keep her brother in check. I guess I was wrong."

Crystal giggled as she closed her eyes and concentrated. "Hey, guys. I know it's late, but I am on a mission."

"So it isn't just us," Cinder replied after a few seconds. "I've got this infernal itch in my claws, and so does Blaze."

Crystal blinked. "Really? Did you hear about Amber's return?"

"Heard about it? We can feel Blister all the way up here," Blaze grumbled. "So, I guess we're going to Ponyville?"

"Yeah. Meet me outside the city. We do not need a repeat of last time," Crystal grumbled back, earning an eye roll from the twins.

"That stadium was ugly anyway. Why ponies thought it looked good is beyond me. Dragons would trounce every other race in the Equestria Games anyway," Cinder said with a smirk.

Crystal rolled her eyes as she opened them. "I hate doing this. But... It feels like if I ignore this, I will regret this for the rest of my life."

Her parents didn't respond for a moment, and Crystal began to worry that this was not going to happen. No matter what she felt at the moment, she would not go against what her parents said. She still had that part of her unchanged from before becoming a Knight.

Finally, her dad smiled. "Of course, you can dear. If there is one thing I know, it is that Princess Twilight would not let anything happen to you. What fool would go against a Knight? Let alone three of them?"

That got a chuckle out of the group as her mother hugged her. "But if anything does happen to you, dear. Then I don't care if she is a princess. She will pay for not looking after my daughter. Same goes for those overgrown geckos you have. Dragons or not."

Crsytal rolled her eyes as she returned the hug. "You're the best, mom!"

Her parents only chuckled as her dad joined in on the hug.

Blaze and Cinder were waiting for her by the time Crystal made it outside the city limits. From how they growled and butted heads, whatever itch they had was driving them nuts. A feeling Crystal felt as well as she came up to them.

Blaze gave a look as she touched his snout. "Can we get going already? This damn itch just won't go away."

Cinder nodded. "It feels like it's getting worse actually."

Crystal nodded as she closed her eyes and merged herself with Blaze. "I know. I feel it too. This had better be important to drag us all the way down to Ponyville. Especially this late at night. Mom and dad were not happy about it. I know they were not. They did not need to say it. But I could see it."

The twins didn't say anything as they spread their wings and gained altitude. Once they were above the cloud layer, they turned south and took off at a great rush of speed. Faster than Crystal thought they could fly in fact. But it was for the better as she leaned back and let them take the reigns.

"Will you three slow down already! I can't talk to you like this!"

The annoying voice woke Crystal from her slumber. Looking around, she could not see who had said that. Neither of the twins had, as they gave her confused looks. Crystal slowed them down, all the same, wondering what this was all about.

From behind the trio, a Silver dragon finally caught up with them. One look at the unicorn head growing from the dragon's forehead told them who she was. "So, you are Celestial Rose?" Crystal asked.

Celestial nodded. "That is me." She bowed her head. "And it is an honor to finally meet you, Crystal."

Crystal rolled her eyes. "Please do not do that. I get it enough in the Crystal Empire." Her brows rose after a moment. "Where are you going? Las Pegasus is in the other direction."

Celestial and Nimbus nodded. "We know. But we are not going that way. There is something we need to do in Ponyville," Nimbus replied.

Cinder gave her a surprised look. "You too? An itch that won't stop no matter what you do? Like something is calling us down south?"

Nimbus nodded. "The same. It might be worse for you two since you are twins, and I am not."

Celestial and Crystal giggled. "I saw you three an hour ago. I have been trying to catch up ever since," Celestial said. "I do not know why. But I do not want to go alone to Ponyville."

Crystal nodded, her smile growing. "Well, The more the merrier." She smirked. "Try to keep up though. I am not going slow just for you."

Blaze gave Nimbus a knowing smirk. "Last one there is a rotten egg!"

Nimbus smirked as well. "Oh, you are on, brimstone breath! Eat my dust you two." With that, she and Celestial sped off, leaving Crystal, Blaze and Cinder to play catchup.