The Dragon Knight Princess
If Twilight had hooves at the moment, she was sure she would have worn a groove into the Ponyville street. As it was though, she kept tossing her head back and forth, earning a groan from Spike, who sat on the edge of her snout.
"Come on, Twilight. Do you really think Princess Celestia is going to be upset with you being a Dragon Knight?" He asked with an annoyed sigh.
Twilight shot him a glare. "Spike. This is serious! This isn't the same as me taking Starlight as my student. No alicorn has ever been a Knight before. How am I going to explain this to her? Where is Dazzle even going to stay?"
Dazzle, Twilight's dragon companion rolled her eyes as she looked at the girls around her. "Is she always like this?"
"Yes!" Came a unanimous reply, as Applejack, Rainbow, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy all rolled their eyes. Even Starlight Glimmer, who was still new to the group, couldn't help but roll her eyes at her teacher's meltdown.
Starlight though did have one question, and sharing a look with her friends, they were all thinking the same thing. "She does have a good point though, Dazzle. Where are you going to stay? The castle doesn't have a room big enough for you."
Dazzle sighed, as she lowered her head to their level. "I don't know. I would rather avoid the Everfree Forest if at all possible. Though it is no threat to me."
Fluttershy couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Though she was still somewhat afraid of the dragon, she just knew the dragoness was as friendly and kind as they came. "Um, well. There is that cave where that one dragon we got to move out a few years ago. I don't think anything's moved in since he left."
"Oh yeah," Rainbow replied, as she looked toward what was now known as Dragon Mountain. "Kinda forgot about him. Hey. Do you think his treasure is still up there? I could use some cash."
"Rainbow Dash!" Rarity interjected with a pointed look.
Rainbow shrugged. "What? You were gonna take his stuff too, remember? You almost sweet talked him out of here, until you couldn't help but say something about his hoard. If it's still there, finder's keepers."
Dazzle chuckled. "I will be sure to look into it. It doesn't seem that far." She looked up at Twilight. "Is it?"
Twilight shook her head. "No. A couple of hours flying for me. But since you fly faster than I do, it would be much shorter."
Dazzle nodded, bouncing Twilight's mane all over the place. Her expression soon softened though. "Are you so worried about what Princess Celestia may say? Even living in the Dragon Lands as I have, we know that she is not one to punish you for something like this."
Spike nodded. "If nothing else, she'll be surprised for sure. Doubt she ever saw this coming. And you know how proud of you she is, Twilight. This won't be any different."
All of her friends nodded, helping settle Twilight's nerves quite a bit as she tried to relax. "I know, Spike. I know how proud of me she is. But I never once expected this to happen to me."
"No Knight ever expects to be chosen, Twilight," Princess Celestia said, as she landed gently on Dazzle's snout. It was a rather novel experience for her to be the smaller of the two for once. Her smile, if it was even possible, was even more loving and proud than it usually was. "And I am proud to call you, Princess Twilight Sparkle, the newest Dragon Knight. I couldn't be prouder of you."
Twilight blushed, doing her best impression of Fluttershy as she tried to hide behind her mane. "Thank you, princess. But. What does this mean for me?"
Celestia shook her head. "That is up to you, Twilight. The moment the two of you sealed the pact, you were above whatever I say. The Knights answer to no one. Least of all me."
Twilight frowned. That was what she had been afraid of. She of course knew the stories of the Knights and had even met the former newest Knight, Crystal Dawn, the last time she had been in the Crystal Empire.
Applejack, meanwhile, still had another question. "And what about that?" She asked, pointing at something that was just visible on Dazzle's chest.
Celestia nodded. She could feel something, even like this. But she had to see it to be sure. Grabbing Spike in her magic, she jumped to the ground below. "May we see it? I will not believe it until I can see it for sure."
Twilight shared a look with Dazzle. Nodding, the two of them stood up, revealing what had been hidden. A sight that still shocked everyone that saw it and even Celestia was at a loss for words for what she beheld.
The Element of Magic. Fused into Dazzle's chest. From the side, they could all see that Magic wasn't just sitting on her scales. It was almost merged flush with them. Only a little protruded above the surrounding scales.
Celestia nodded, a long-ago memory resurfacing. "So it is true then. Magic has returned to the one to who it always belonged. I never believed it would be possible until now. But I cannot deny what my eyes see."
Everyone shared a confused look. "What the hay does that mean?" Starlight asked.
Celestia shook her head. "There was an old prophecy. That one day, a Dragon Knight would come that would unite with the Element of Magic. But until now, I never really believed it."
Spike scratched his head, as he and Twilight shared a confused look. "So how come we've never heard of it? I thought Twilight had read everything?"
Twilight nodded. "Even I've never heard of this one, Princess Celestia."
Celestia nodded. "You wouldn't have, my Faithful Student. Only one other knew about the prophecy aside from Luna and me. And that is why I have asked her to come to Ponyville. She can explain it better than I can."
"And who would that be?" Rarity asked.
Celestia smiled as she gained a faraway look. "The First Knight. The filly who first united with a dragon, and became the first Dragon Knight."
Now everyone was confused, and even Dazzle looked shocked. "But, nopony's seen her in centuries. Most don't even think she's still alive. If she even existed at all," Fluttershy replied.
Celestia giggled. "I can assure you, Fluttershy, that Amber is very real and very much still alive. She prefers to stay to herself these days. But that is not my story to tell."
That didn't help Twilight much though. "But, what can she help me with?"
Celestia's smile only grew. "Amber and her dragon, Blister, know more about being a Dragon Knight than anypony else ever could. And she has been one long enough that she will be able to help you to grow into your role."
"And what is her role?" Starlight asked.
Celestia shook her head. "That is for Twilight to decide." Her smile softened a moment. "But before, they arrive. Maybe you should tell me about how all of this happened, Twilight? I believe it could be quite the story."
Twilight grinned sheepishly, as Dazzle giggled and lowered herself back down. The alicorn settled her head back on the dragon's scales. "Well..."
***
"Are you sure you can't stay longer?" Sunset asked as the group stood beside the Wondercolt statue. "You just got here it feels like."
Twilight sighed as she rubbed her forehead. "I know, and I do want to stay longer. We don't do this often enough. But there's still so much going on that I need to take care of in Equestria."
Sci Twi, as Pinkie had begun to call the native Twilight Sparkle, looked down. "It's not me, is it?"
The princess shook her head, her smile softening. "Maybe a little. But there are too many other things going on right now. I never expected this to happen. But since the universe is still here, that's one less thing I need to worry about!"
The two shared a giggle at that, while the girls rolled their eyes. "Are you sure we can't go with you?" Pinkie asked, pulling out the sad puppy face to boot.
Twilight rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Not right now, Pinkie. I made plans with my Pinkie Pie for just that idea. But right now, it just isn't the right time. And I need to do one for having another me there as well."
Sci Twi perked up. "Really?"
Twilight nodded, her smile softening. "It wouldn't be fair to leave you out. Not now. I don't know what kind of pony you would be, so I need to plan for all of them. Just in case."
Her counterpart almost did a happy dance on the spot but managed to keep her composure, though the group could all see it. Twilight though, rubbed her right hand on her skirt, trying again to get rid of this Celestia damn itch.
Fluttershy looked concerned. "It's still not going away?"
Twilight shook her head, looking to see if anything had changed. Nothing. Not even a red mark on her hand. "No. I don't know what this is or why it started now. But it feels like it's getting worse."
"You're not sick or anything?" Applejack asked.
The princess shook her head. "I feel fine, Applejack. My hand just itches like no tomorrow."
Sunset looked thoughtful for a moment. There was one possibility for this. "Call me crazy, princess. But you could be gaining the Mark."
Twilight snorted, as the itch died down for a moment. "Sunset. The chances of me being a Dragon Knight are next to zero. This is not the Mark of the Riders coming in. This is just something new."
"What the heck are you two talking about? What are the Dragons Knights?" Rainbow asked. "Are they like those Riders in Eragon?"
Sunset shook her head. "Not quite, Rainbow. They're a super rare kind of mare that can command and control a specific dragon by merging with them. The first sign that a mare or filly is a Knight is constantly itching on one of their hooves. It's meant as a guiding beacon for their dragon to find them."
Twilight nodded. "There are only a few Knights in Equestria at the moment. I've actually met one, Crystal Dawn. But this is not it. Maybe it's just another thing with being an alicorn. And right now, I just need to go lay down, and this darn thing will have gone away."
The girls shared a worried look. "Are you sure, darling?" Rarity asked.
Twilight nodded as she put one foot through the portal. "I am Rarity. I really hate to run like this. But I can't take this anymore." She smiled at Sunset and Sci Twi. "You know how to contact me. Give me a buzz later, and I'll be better."
Everyone nodded, as Princess Twilight stepped through the portal and was gone. Sunset swore though that for a moment, Twilight's shadow wasn't a human.
It was a dragon.
***
No matter how many times she did it, Twilight still felt queasy as her body was twisted and stretched between worlds. The one good thing, as she saw a light ahead, was that she had grown used to the sudden stop and lurch at the other end. Closing her eyes, she braced herself.
A moment later, she came out the other end of the portal on her hind legs, before falling easily back into a four-leg stance. "I will never get used to that," Twilight grumbled.
Spike and Starlight were there to greet her. "Least you knew it was coming," Spike replied with a hopeful smile. "So?"
Twilight chuckled as she looked back at the mirror before removing the Journal. The mirror hummed off a few seconds later. "Everything is just fine, Spike. Sunset and the girls are fine. And I even met my counterpart."
Starlight took a closer look at the portal. She knew the basics of it from Spike, but this was still so new to her. "So. There's an entire world out on the other end, with different versions of everypony we know? Even me?"
Spike rolled his eyes. "Eeyup. It's just plain weird if you ask me."
Twilight giggled. "I used to think the same thing. To answer your question, Starlight. Yes. Though I haven't met your counterpart yet."
Starlight nodded. "So, who made it then?"
Twilight shrugged. "We don't know. I asked Princess Celestia about it once. She said not even she or Starswirl knew for sure who or what had made it. But it's been something I've been meaning to look into." Her smile grew. "I wouldn't mind your help, Starlight. I could use all the help at the moment."
Starlight almost did a happy dance on the spot, but just barely kept it to herself. Her enthusiasm waned, however, when she and Spike saw their friend begin to constantly itch her right front hoof with an irritated expression. "Um, Twilight. What's wrong?"
Twilight growled as the itch returned in full force. "This damn itch just leave me alone! No matter what I do! And it's getting worse too."
Spike was concerned now. "Do you need me to call a doctor?"
Twilight shook her head. "No, Spike. I feel fine. It's that this won't go away. No matter what I do!" She sighed, though, as the sensation died down for a moment. "I'm going to go lay down for a while. Unless it's an absolute emergency, don't wake me up," she added with an irritated groan, before igniting her horn and vanishing in a flash of teleportation.
Starlight stared at the empty space for a moment, before turning to Spike. "Is it always like this around here?"
Spike smirked. "More often than you think."
***
Deep in the Dragon Lands, Dazzle awoke from her long nap, a siren song she had never expected to hear filling her mind. Grinning like a maniac, she stood and stretched her wings for all they were worth. She had never felt so good. Maybe that nap was just the thing she had needed.
Coming to the cave mouth, she looked westwards. The sun was beginning to set now, and judging by the call, it would be at least a day's flight to Equestria if she was lucky. And she was seen as one of the luckier dragons around.
Dazzle giggled at the thought. She had never seen herself as luckier than any other dragoness. Oh sure, she had raised several clutches of eggs to adulthood, though her last mate was over a century dead now. But that didn't make her any different from most.
But this? This was something that only a very select few before her had ever heard. And Dazzle had never even considered the possibility that she would be chosen. But she would not shirk away from it now.
"Ready or not, here I come," she whispered before taking to the skies and beginning the long flight west to Equestria.
***
Deep in the Everfree Forest, the Tree of Harmony came to life. And most especially, the Element of Magic. This was a day it had long looked forward to. Long before it had ever come to Twilight Sparkle or Princess Celestia in fact.
Now it only waited. As a prophecy older than the Tree of Harmony itself began to unfold.
***
A good night's sleep was all the medicine the doctor ordered, Twilight thought, as she opened her eyes, feeling refreshed and more energized than she had in a long time. Celestia's sun streamed through the open windows of her room, speaking of a beautiful day ahead.
Twilight stood and stretched for all she was worth. Her grin only grew when she felt something. Or the lack of something. That infernal itch was gone! Thank Celestia.
She giggled as she hopped out of bed. "Now, I just today is going to be a good day. The sun is shining, the birds are singing. Ponies are screaming..."
Wait. Screaming? Cocking an ear, Twilight could the distinct sound of ponies panicking down below. It sounded like all of Ponyville was panicking.
There came a knock at her door before Spike rushed in. "Twilight. We have a problem!"
Twilight gave her assistant a look. "Spike, why is everypony panicking? Did Discord do something? Is Pinkie on a coffee rush?"
Spike shook his head. "Worse than those two combined. And you know Pinkie isn't allowed within a mile of any kind of coffee. Not after last time."
Both of them shivered at the memory. It wasn't something either of them wanted to remember. "Then what is it?" Twilight asked with an annoyed huff.
Before Spike could respond, Starlight ran into the room, looking shocked at something. "Spike! Is she-" Before her eyes fell on Twilight. "... Oh. Never mind."
Now Twilight was really annoyed. "All right. Will someone please tell me what the hay is going on around here?!"
Her friends shared a look before Starlight replied. "There's someone here to see you, Teach. We tried to tell her to wait. But she is taking up a lot of room in town."
Now Twilight was confused. "What do you mean, Starlight? Whose here to see me? I don't have anything scheduled for today. Today is supposed to be my day off in fact."
Spike shook his head. "You need to see her too believe it, Twilight. And I don't think this is one thing you can put off either."
Twilight sighed irritably. "Fine. Let's go see who this mysterious pony is then. It can't be that bad. Can it?"
***
It was days like this that Twilight wondered why she bothered asking questions sometimes. The universe seemed to have it out for her. At least Ponyville was still in one piece this time. Somehow.
Twilight tried to keep her composure as she stared at a rather large gold dragon that was in front of her. "So. Dazzle was it? You wanted to see me?"
Dazzle nodded. "Indeed. Though you have no need to worry. I mean no harm."
Starlight rolled her eyes. "Well, even if you did, We could just make you leave. By force, if we have to."
Dazzle chuckled. "I very much doubt that. Very little can move a dragon if they do want to."
Fluttershy nodded. "I think we just caught the last dragon at a really bad time. I didn't think I could actually get him to leave at all. I was just hoping he would."
Rainbow groaned. "Great. So we just barely got out of there with our lives?"
"Looks like it," Applejack added. "Why would Fluttershy lie to us?"
The Pegasus just shrugged. She had meant to tell her friends this sooner. But it had just never come up before now.
"So why do you wanna see Twilight anyway?! Do you wanna eat her or something?" Pinkie asked in her usual way, earning a glare from the alicorn in question.
Dazzle giggled. "No. But I do have an important question for her." Her gaze grew more intense as she looked back at Twilight. "Tell me, Twilight. Has any of your hooves been itching recently? Within the last day or so?"
Twilight nodded. But what did that have to do with all of this? Before she could ask this, however, her right front hoof blazed with awesome power, before fading away to nothing. Turning it over so all of her friends could see it, their mouths dropped in shock at what was revealed emblazoned there.
A dragon in flight.
"Oh come on! How come Twilight always gets the awesome stuff?!" Rainbow grumbled.
Twilight shook her head as if trying to deny what her eyes were showing her. "Oh. No, no. no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! I can't have the Mark! I can't be a Knight!"
"And why not, darling?" Rarity asked. "Crystal said she once said the same thing. And I suspect that every Knight has said it at one time or another."
Spike nodded, pinching his nose. "Come on, Twilight. You know nopony has any idea about how this works. If Princess Celestia doesn't understand any of it, no one ever will."
Twilight rubbed her snout irritably. "That's not the point, Spike. What does this mean for me? I won't leave Ponyville. If those self-entitled quacks in Canterlot couldn't make me, this won't either."
Rarity looked rather offended by Twilight's choice of words, but Starlight turned to Dazzle with a questioning look. "She does have a point. What does this mean for Twilight? You won't make her leave Ponyville, will you?"
Dazzle shook her head. "No. I refuse to lower myself to that level. If she does not wish it, then I will leave, and you will never see me again." She looked earnestly at Twilight. "But. Do you really wish to never know what it is like to be a Dragon Knight? If only just for a little while? I can show you what it is like. And then you can make your final decision."
Twilight bit her lip. She would be lying if she said she had never dreamed of this. As a filly, she had often dreamt of being a Dragon Rider. As she grew older, she had lost interest in the idea. Until finally, she had forgotten about it entirely. It had taken meeting Crystal Dawn to revive the long-buried dream. But she had never thought it would ever come to this.
Looking at her friends, Twilight saw their encouraging smiles. Spike was even giving her a thumb up. It was all she needed. With her friends behind her, Twilight knew that everything was going to be okay. She smiled as she walked up to Dazzle. "I'll do it. No promises on what I'll say about it though."
Dazzle giggled as she leaned her snout in. "That's all I can ask for, Twilight. Just touch the hoof with your Mark to me, and it will do the rest."
Nodding, Twilight set her right front hoof on the dragon's snout. Together, they felt the Mark of the Riders blaze with power anew. Dissolving into a ball of light, Twilight floated there for a moment, before rushing forward and merging herself into Dazzle's forehead excitedly.
For her part, Dazzle felt her eyes and wing membranes change color. Her sile growing, she looked up at her forehead, watching as a patch grew expanded into a vaguely pony-shaped head before Twilight Sparkle's head took shape and form.
Opening her eyes, Twilight looked around at her new body, before sharing a look with Dazzle. She grinned widely. She could get used to this, she thought.
Before anyone could say anything though, both Twilight's and Dazzle's eyes blazed with magic. In shock, her friends, Spike, and Starlight watched as the Element of Magic itself appeared before them. Growing in size, it floated over to Dazzle's chest, before merging itself into her.
Dazzle and Twilight grunted as Magic melded itself with their body. But there was no pain. Just a new sense of power. After a moment, the magic faded away. Twilight's gaze was woozy as she looked around once more. A feeling that Dazzle herself shared.
"Are you alright, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked.
Twilight nodded, shaking her head to try and clear away the cobwebs. She sighed as she settled herself back onto Dazzle's scales."Spike. Take a letter. Princess Celestia needs to know about all of this."
***
"... And we've been here trying to figure things out ever since," Starlight finished.
Celestia nodded. A story very much like other Dragon Knights. With differences of course. But she was nonetheless proud of her former student and fellow princess. "I wish I could offer you more, Twilight. But this is out of my league and experience."
Twilight sighed. That was what she had thought. "Do you think that she could help?"
Celestia shrugged. "Amber knows more of this than I ever will. If she cannot, then nopony can." Her smile grew as she looked up at the sky. "And here she is now."
Everyone shared a look, as a huge dragon-shaped shadow fell over all of them
Author's Note
Made it. Just in time for my birthday today, December 23. And as a Christmas story as well. Even though it has nothing to do with the holiday or Hearth's Warming Eve. Yes, I did just end it like that. No, I'm not sorry. We'll see how this plays out between Twilight and Amber in the sequel.
Edit: New cover art was done by Not Quite Equine as a Commission during January. Also a bit of a spoiler for when I do Emerald and Sleet. But that's all I'll say for now.
