> Empress Dragon
>  by Mystic Sunrise
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Crystal
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Crystal wasn't sure why Amber had brought her all the way out here to the very edge of Ponyville, and just the two of them as well. But it must have been important since she was smiling in a way that would make Pinkie Pie proud. "So why are out here again?" She asked.

Amber giggled. "I just wanted to show you something that we can all do. Plus it's easier to do out here." She rolled her eyes. "Less fuss."

Crystal just gave her a flat look. "And we couldn't do this with the others why?"

Amber's smirk was unapologetic as she threw a hoof around her shoulders. "Because it's more fun this way duh. Plus this was going to come up anyway so I'm saving us all a headache by teaching you myself."

Crystal giggled. It was nice to see Amber lighten up for once. "Okay, so what is it?"

Amber grinned. "Time to try out your Dragon Form. Remember what we talked about when we first got back to Ponyville?" Crystal nodded. "That's what we meant."

Crystal was still lost. "How does that even work? What do I do?"

"Just concentrate on that feeling of change. It'll do the rest." Amber explained, hugging her close before stepping back and giving her plenty of room.

Crystal was still lost, but she trusted her to know what she was talking about. She had been doing this for much longer than she had.

Closing her eyes, she concentrated on what Amber had told her. For a moment nothing happened, and she wondered if she was doing it wrong.

And then she felt it. She called out to something and now waited for a response. One that would get her going on this path.

***

Blaze couldn't remember being this excited in a long time, even if by dragon standards he was still young. Though it was hard to tell in this place.

He had been excited when some of his friends had been called and had left to join their own Exarch, but it had also left him sad and hoping his own would soon come.

The fact that he was only one of a few males among the countless that lived here only added to it. Not that the girls ever held it against him. Most of his friends were girls as it was.

Nut now he too had heard the call, the siren song he couldn't resist, or did he want to. It was something they all wanted and in time all would hear it.

Joining with their Exarch, giving into their soulmate's control. It was an intoxicating thought and Blaze couldn't wait to get started.

As he flew through the Gulf of space he briefly wondered what his would be like, but quickly dropped the thought. It did him no good to think about it.

Soon he saw her soul light ahead of him. He smiled as he sped up and soon her shape came into better focus.

He was surprised at her age. She didn't look much older than a filly. But that wasn't too surprising, for She was known for picking ones who were young for her Exarchs. No one really knew why, but it had always been that way it seemed.

But it did make him slow down as he latched onto her. It felt even better than he had thought as their soul bond rammed home.

Knowing she was smiling as well, Blaze grinned goofily as his form began to merge into her own.

***

Crystal felt her body shake as something latched onto her, even as she began to grow. It was an amazing feeling that she never wanted to stop. But soon it did. With a vengeance.

Crystal felt her head jolt back and forth as the changes ended and her mane fell into her eyes. "Ow." She grumbled.

"Watch that first step, it's a doozy!" Amber called out, snickering. But why did she sound so far away? "You can look now, Crystal. Your new friend wants to meet you."

Crystal finally opened her eyes, and let out a delighted squeak at what she saw. Her filly head was emerging right above a massive red dragon snout, her head coming out right between the eyes.

Which, even as she watched, opened and looked up at her, their color turning the same purple as her own. There was love in them, the kind shared between two lovers. Crystal felt the same for him as well.

With a start, she realized what that meant. She was sharing a body with a male dragon, and something more too. They were soulmates, two minds sharing one body, But Crystal felt she had full control over it.

He didn't fight her as she looked around and he followed with her. As they did, she felt something building in her throat. Crystal smiled wider as did her dragon. It was her breath weapon and not only that, but she felt it in her filly throat as well. Not as powerful as her mate's, but still potent.

Crystal watched as Amber flew up and landed on her snout. She felt it like it was her pony one. Weird, but maybe this was normal.

Amber smiled as she trotted up to where Crystal's filly head emerged from her mate, but not to close. "So how does it feel the first time? It's a rush isn't it?"

Crystal giggled. "I'll say. You mean we can all do this?"

Amber's smile grew. "Oh yeah. Guess the only difference is colors and breath weapons. I know mine's different." She said, tapping Crystal's snout.

She watched as the dragon's eyes narrowed. She knew she was taking a huge risk being this close to Crystal when she was in this form. Unless she attacked her directly though he wouldn't hurt her.

If for some stupid reason she did, then all bets were off. Amber remembered well when it had happened to her so long ago. It was something she had been trying to forget for just as long. She'd lost count of how many times she had cried herself to sleep remembering what she'd done.

Crystal must've seen something in her face because her expression became worried. "What's wrong?"

Amber shook her head. "Sorry, bad memories."

Crystal didn't push it. Something told her she didn't want to know as she settled her filly head back on her dragon's. "So what now then?"

Amber tapped her chin. "Flying I can help you with and walking is the same as being a pony." She smiled. "Let's try breath weapons."

Crystal snorted and was shocked when flame came out of her pony nostrils, but it didn't burn at all.

Amber chuckled. "Guess that answers that. Looks like you got fire."

Crystal tilted her head. "So what do you have?"

Amber shrugged. "Chlorine gas. Not as fun to watch, but it's saved my flank a few times. Pony or otherwise."

Crystal and her mate shared a look. "What does that mean?" She asked.

Amber's grin would've made Pinkie Pie proud. "Give it time and you'll be breathing fire as a pony too. You won't always need to be like this to do it."

Spreading her wings, she took off and floated off to the side.

***

Amber bit her lip. She was taking a big risk in showing Crystal this. Not to either of them of course for they could take far worse, nor for herself since it wouldn't affect her at all, but it was what it might do to Equestria's wildlife and flora.

Chlorine was dangerous as it was and she didn't know what effect it could have on it. New as she was to the new Equus, she still loved it.

In the back of her mind though, she felt Blister stir. Her own dragon was old by their standards, yet she still had the fun-loving personality she'd had when she had been younger. 

"Oh, let it out. You haven't in a while. Time to get back in the groove. Besides, it will only hurt anything if you want it too."

Amber giggled. She had a point, as usual, so she stopped worrying and let her gas sacks fill up. Like her dragon, she had special pouches in her mouth and throat where the Chlorine was produced.

When she was sure they were full, she breathed out just like normal. It was a rather pleasant feeling too, though she felt her parts of her throat seal off to make sure she didn't get it where she didn't want it.

After a moment she stopped and the glands fell dormant once more as she smiled. "See, nothing to it."

***

Crystal though wished she could plug her nose. The smell was unpleasant, to say the least. As it was she could only wrinkle it seeing as she didn't have hooves at the moment. Her dragon didn't like it either as he wrinkled his snout.

Add that to the list of things to ask about, but for now, she had another. "If we can all do this, can I see yours?" She asked, putting on her best pout face to add to the effect.

Amber snickered. Crystal giving her the puppy dog eyes while in her Dragon Form was just too cute for words. Now she knew how the others had felt when she did the same. "Alright, alright, I'll show you mine." She said as she floated over and wrapped a hoof around Crystal's head. "Fair is fair I guess."

Ruffling her mane, she took off and gave herself plenty of space and stretched for all it was worth. "Been awhile since I've done this. Time to get back in the groove." She said as she closed her eyes and began to glow.

Crystal watched as Amber's size grew larger and larger, soon even bigger than herself and took on a familiar shape. After a moment the glow ended and Amber's new form was revealed.

Opening her eyes, Amber shared a loving look with her dragon as together they stretched their wings for all they were worth. "Oh yeah. Feels good to do this again."

Aside from her color and height, Crystal could see that the two of them basically looked the same. Maybe. It was hard to tell since she couldn't see much of her body like this. "Now what?" She asked.

Amber threw a leg around her shoulders. "Let's try walking. Flying can come later. Just, do it as you do as a pony."

Crystal was lost. How did that even work? She was a dragon, not a pony at the moment. Kind of. It was confusing.

"Come on Crystal. I know you can do it."

The new voice surprised her until she realized that it was her dragon talking to her in her mind as he looked up at her. There was acceptance in that look. He wanted her to take them for a spin.

He sounded so young too. About her own age, maybe even younger. Or whatever that meant for dragons at least. But that could wait as she tried to take a step like normal. To her surprise, it worked and one foot took a step forward, followed soon by the rest.

Amber smiled as she watched Crystal take a lap around the clearing. She was doing this better than she had the first time that was for sure. Fewer face plants. "See. It wasn't that hard now was it?"

Crystal nodded. "Yeah. So now what?"

"Now you two are in trouble." Came a voice they both recognized and cringed at as Cosmos appeared between them in a flash of teleportation. With a sigh, she gave them both a pointed look. "Just couldn't wait till we could all do this together couldn't you?"

Amber was unapologetic. "Hey, it's not my fault Crystal was so interested in this now and not later."

Crystal looked sheepish as Cosmos gave her a look. Blaze just glared at her. She only sighed. "Fine. Just be glad you didn't do this in Ponyville, or something had happened to you."

Crystal felt there was something she wasn't being told about that but held it in for now. "So now what? Are we in trouble?"

Cosmos nodded. "Very, but since you four are too cute to be legal in any universe, I won't do anything." She grinned in a mischievous way as she looked at Amber. "Except the punishment for doing this without the rest of us."

Amber and Blister both paled in horror. "You wouldn't." She pleaded.

Cosmos clapped her hooves together. "Oh yes, I would. I'm going to share the story of how your first time like this went."

Amber wanted to hide behind her mane in shame while Crystal looked interested as she sat down and waited to hear this.

Cosmos got a faraway look in her eyes as she began "This started a few weeks after our first rebirth and Tirek's defeat at Midnight Castle."
> Celestial
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

To say half the girls were confused was an understatement. Emerald, Celestial, Orchid, and Water Lilly could only look at the two massive dragons with filly heads growing out of them in shock.

Diamond, Ivy, Ocean Breeze, and Moon Petal though looked slightly put out by it all. "You just couldn't wait to show them off could you?" Moon Petal asked.

Amber shrugged her whole body. "Nope. It's not like you guys weren't waiting for us to try this out either. I just beat everypony to the punch."

Cosmos rolled her eyes as she landed before the girls. "And I really couldn't argue with that." She said as she looked around. "Where's Twilight?"

Emerald smiled. "On her way. We didn't want to risk it and bring her with us our way. I don't even know if she can."

Cosmos nodded. "If she knows what's about to happen and prepares she can. But that can wait for now. She might be interested in this."

"All of it though?" Diamond asked. "This is quite a bit to take in for someone new. Look at how Megan, Danny, and Molly took it."

"How did they?" Celestial asked.

Ocean rolled her eyes. "Once they figured out it was us, they took it rather well. I'm glad Megan didn't still have the Rainbow of Light though when they did."

"The what?" Orchid asked.

"Think along the lines of the Elements of Harmony. Same idea, but only one person ever used it." Cosmos explained.

"So what happened to it?" Lilly asked.

She shrugged. "I took it back into myself. It was a part of my own power Megan used at Midnight Castle. She asked me the same thing once, and I told her the same."

"How did she take that?" Twilight asked as she came up to the group, out of breath and her mane going in every which direction possible.

Cosmos chuckled. "Rather well, all things considered." She looked Twilight up and down. "What happened to you?"

Twilight poked the ground with a hoof with an embarrassed look on her face. "Got in a fight with a tree and lost," she mumbled, but not quietly enough as everyone burst out laughing. Even Blaze and Blister couldn't help but laugh.

Cosmos got her own under control after a moment. "Well now that we're all here, we can get this party started right."

Twilight's brow rose. "What party? And why are we all... out... here?" She finally noticed the two dragons behind Cosmos. "... Meep." Was all she could stutter after that.

Cosmos rolled her eyes. "Don't worry they're friendly." She looked up at them. "Come on down here you two, I want everyone to hear this."

Twilight took several steps back as the two lowered their heads down to their level. Her brain came to a screeching halt as she saw Crystal and Amber's heads coming out of their foreheads, both of them smiling. "What?"

Ivy chuckled. "Don't worry, this is normal for us. I mean besides having different colors and breath weapons." She looked at Blaze with a smirk. "Or in Crystal's case a boy dragon."

"That'll make things fun." Moon Petal said with a devious smirk. Crystal just stuck her tongue out at all of them.

Cosmos smiled. "Now now you two. Time for a lesson." She gestured at Blaze and Blister. Yes, this is something we can all do. Like Ivy said though, we don't all look the same when we do this."

She gestured at her first Exarchs. "Five of you already know what it's like that very first time. But I'll explain it again. We do not take any dragon that exists on Equus when we do this. They all come from a special place."

She gave Amber a hard look, one Amber couldn't hold for long as she bowed her head. "There is a reason we don't do this very often." She tapped her own head. "If by some chance someone is able to get to your pony head while in this form and is able to draw blood, you will go berserk."

She shook her head. "It's called Blood Frenzy. You lose all sense of yourself and attack anything you can, killing anything that moves."

Diamond sniffed. "It's happened before. Only one thing stopped it."

Twilight was afraid to ask, but she couldn't help herself. "What was it?"

Cosmos bowed her head. "Me. Only one thing will snap you out of the Frenzy. I have to put myself in the line of fire, and it will only work then if there's a chance you can come back to yourself."

"And if not?" Celestial asked.

Cosmos sniffed, memories she had long suppressed coming back. "Then I will put the lives of everyone else before what I want or wish, and I will put you down. My power is the only thing that can kill an Exarch. Everything else is just an annoyance."

Ocean sniffed. "It's happened once before, where one of us went on a rampage." She looked at Amber, whose own eyes were filled with tears. "Amber stopped before it got that far, but the damage was done."

Amber nodded. "I went into exile for, I don't know how long, but I couldn't bear to be around anyone after that. I didn't want to face the girls. I didn't want to face my empress. I didn't deserve to be an Exarch after that, but they eventually found me and brought me home."

Cosmos nodded. "It worked out only because I made us all swear to never use that form again unless there was no other choice. Some of my advisors wanted something more severe as a punishment, but in the end, that was all. Plus two full centuries of nothing but community service for Amber."

Everyone shared a look. "And now we can all do this?" Orchid asked.

Cosmos nodded. "Yes. Aside from that one bad thing, it's actually really fun to do. And then there is a form we can all share together." She clapped her hooves excitedly. "I'm not sure how we'll all fit, but we will."

Crystal nodded. "I'm loving this. Come on guys, don't leave me hanging here."

That seemed to lighten the mood a bit. "So then, how do we do it?" Lilly asked.

Cosmos smiled broadly. "It's easy really. But let's do this one at a time." She looked between them. "So, who wants to go first?"

Celestial wasn't sure why she did it, but she didn't regret it. "I'll do it." She smiled.  "What do I do?"

Cosmos smirked as she stepped back and gestured for everyony else to as well. "Just concentrate on a feeling of change, and it will do the rest." She chuckled. "And watch out for the bump at the end."

Celestial wasn't sure what that meant, but she did as she was told and closed her eyes, focusing on a feeling of change. For a moment nothing happened, and she worried that she was doing this wrong.

And then she felt something big latch onto her, before beginning to merge its form with hers. Even with that, she felt her own body begin to grow rapidly. She faintly heard Twilight's shocked gasp before it ended.

Even with a warning, the lurch that sent her head rocking back and forth was a surprise. "Ow. That hurt." She mumbled as she heard someone new chuckle below her.

Cosmos snickered from the ground. "I told you to watch out for that bump at the end. You can look now Celestial. Your new friend wants to meet you."

Celestial nodded as she opened her eyes, and couldn't help but let out a happy squeal of her own as she got a look at her own dragon body, or as much as she could see from up here.

Like Crystal and Amber, her pony head emerged right above the eyes. Her own body was a silver color and off the bat, Celestial could tell hers was female.

It was a bit of a surprise when her dragon opened her own eyes and watch them shift to a green color like her own as she looked up at her. Or maybe this was normal.

What stood out for her though, as she looked around, as easily as when she was still a pony, was how much bigger she was compared to Crystal. Amber was still larger, but Celestial chalked that up to her age.

Celestial watched as Cosmos flew up to her eyes level and scratched her chin. "Okay, I have an idea what your breath weapon is. Silver usually means cold-based attacks, on top of your natural weapons."

"What about my horn?" Celestial asked as she looked up at it. Her unicorn horn hadn't changed shape, but she could now feel much more power behind it.

Cosmos nodded. "It still works as you know it too. That won't change. Just like how Amber is usually the better flyer of us being a Pegasus."

Twilight wished she had brought a notebook for all of this. This was far more than she thought she'd get when she had come out here, but something stood out as she pointed at Celestial. "You said cold. Celestial doesn't look like any silver dragon I've read about, except for color."

Cosmos smiled. "Their attacks are based on the ones you know. They're just adopted for an Equestrian style dragon now."

Twilight scratched her chin. "How does that even work?"

Cosmos shrugged. "I have no idea. It's just how it's always been for us." She looked at the remaining girls now. "To make this easier, we'll all assume our Dragon Form, and then I'll explain the rest of what this all means."

The girls shared a look. To four of them, this was normal and it would feel awesome to let their own out after so long without doing this at all.

But for the other four, this was a big step, so nopony said anything for a few moments. But in a silent way, it was said between the first four that the new girls would go first.

They couldn't wait to see what they looked like.





Celestial winced as Orchid and Lilly once again nearly tripped over their own four feet. It hurt to watch them like this. But what could do? She was still getting used to the new feeling of being like this. Not that it was unpleasant or anything. Far from it in fact.

It was still odd though, being in the driver's seat, so to speak, of a dragon. Even if she had been so grateful so far since the change. What had surprised her the most though was her age. Their body was young by dragon standards if Celestial remembered right.

Her dragon's mind though was another story. She was old. Old even by dragon standards. If Celestial was guessing right, she might be as old as Amber's. In mind if not the body.

"I have a name dear. Just don't call me she please."

Celestial blinked. That was new. Where did that come from? And why did it sound so close? Like it was in her head?

"Well, I am in your head. Kind of. Just like your in mine. I think. Oh, this gets confusing so fast."

Celestial blinked as she looked down. Her dragon was giving her a kind smile. It finally clicked whose voice that was.

"That's you?" She thought back. "How are we even doing this?"

Her dragon's smile grew. "We can all do this. None of us know or why we can. But we do. It's a good way to keep some things to ourselves."

Celestial thought about it. It made sense in a way. She looked at Crystal and Amber. "Do the others know about all this?"

"Amber I'm sure does. As well as Diamond, Ivy, Ocean Breeze, and Moon Petal. Crystal will if Blaze ever works up the courage to tell her," her dragon replied.

Celestial's brows came together. "How do you know his name?"

"Smell. We can talk via smell. It's something I believe all dragons can do. Much easier than talking sometimes."

Celestial processed this for a moment. Odd yes, but what did she know about dragons? "So what's your name then?"

Her dragon smiled as she looked up at her. "My name is Nimbus. At least that's what it is in Equestrian. It's a bit more complicated in Draconic."

It was a beautiful name Celestial admitted. And it fit her so well too. She wasn't sure why, but it just did for sure.

Nimbus blushed at the praise. She wasn't sure where her name came from. For as long as she could remember it had been hers. And it always would be. Her draconic name didn't really translate well into Equestrian. It was probably the same with Blaze and Blister.

Nimbus couldn't be sure for she didn't ask either of them. It wasn't her place too. If they did share it, then she'd accept it.
> Orchid and Water Lilly
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Celestial settled into her new form, Orchid and Lilly shared a look. Something seemed to pass between them at that moment, and they both nodded before moving closer together.

Cosmos seemed to have seen it as well for she gave them a knowing look. "Do you girls want to try next?"

Lilly nodded. "Sure. I mean, how hard can it be?"

Orchid smiled. "Besides, it does look like fun. And we do not want to be left out of it. Is it the same way you told Celestial?"

Cosmos nodded. "Just let the feeling flow through you, and the rest will happen on its own," she said, as she and everypony else took several steps back, just to be safe.

Closing their eyes, Orchid and Lilly concentrated. For a time, nothing seemed to happen, and they wondered if they were doing something wrong. And then, it happened. To them both at the same time.

Twilight watched in shock and awe as the changes began for both of them. "Um. Is that supposed to happen to them?"

Cosmos shook her head as she too watched as their forms began to change. In more ways than she had expected. "I do not know. I have never had two sisters become Exarchs together. So, this is new for me as well."

Twilight gave her a worried look. "Should we be worried though? Do Orchid and Lilly even know what's going on to them?"

Cosmos shook her head. "No. They will not feel the full change until it is fully done. I am not sure how they will take this though."

It was a feeling that Blaze, Blister, and Nimbus shared as well, as they shared a confused look among the three of them. Even to them, this was not something they had ever expected.

And as the changes progressed, the three of them felt Orchid's and Lilly's dragons arrive on the scene and latch onto their respective Exarch. The power around the two seemed to grow as they did so.

After a time, the glow around the two faded to reveal their new forms, and the shock for all went through the roof at what they all saw at that moment.

Orchid and Lilly opened their eyes. Orchid opened to see a Black Dragon snout before her. She let out a happy squeak as she felt her dragon look up at her. She felt the love that passed between them at that moment.

Lilly too opened her eyes. She saw a Copper Dragon snout before her, as well as the love that passed between her and her dragon as the two of them looked at each other. But when she and Orchid turned to look at each other, they were surprised at what they saw.

The two of them had been fused together, the necks of their dragons ending on a body that was evenly split between black and copper colors. Their dragons were as confused as they were it seemed, for the two of them also shared a confused look.

Despite the weirdness of the situation, none of them felt uncomfortable in their new bodies. In fact, it felt right all around. Maybe this was normal? Or what was even normal for them anymore? It was hard to tell.

***

For Onyx and Shimmer, this was weird on a level they had never expected. As far as they knew, this was the first time this had ever happened to any Exarch's dragon. Let alone two of them.

It was only weirder since they had not known each other before now. But that was not much of a surprise. Very rarely did it ever happen that one dragon would know another in any particular group.

Not only that but to Shimmer's surprise, Onyx was much younger than she was. She did not look it, but she just barely older than Blaze himself was. Her body though was that of an adult.

Well, her half of their body was an adult at least. And despite the oddness of what was going on, both Shimmer and Onyx were comfortable in their now shared body. They gave each other a smile, even as Cosmos flew up to Orchid's and Lilly's eye level.

***

Cosmos gave the two before her a thorough look. "Okay. This was not expected. Like, at all. But we can still work with it."

Lilly gave her a look. "You mean, this never happened before?"

Cosmos shook her head. "No. Then again, I have never had sisters be Exarchs together before either. Maybe that has something to do with it? I am not sure yet."

Orchid gave her a look as well. "So now what do we do?"

Cosmos smiled. "Well. I say the two of you need to figure out how to do literally everything together now. Walking is just like how you do so as a pony. Just, watch where you are going."

Lilly and Orchid shared a look. "How are we supposed to do that?" Lilly asked.

Cosmos shook her head as she gave them some distance. "You will have to figure that out on your own. We will not be able to help you as much as we might have been able to."

Orchid and Lilly could not help but gulp at the thought, but they decided to give it a try, nonetheless. Closing their eyes, the concentrated on just walking for the moment. For a moment, nothing happened.

But then, Orchid felt Lilly take a step. It felt like her own foot, but she had no control over it. A second later, she felt her feet move as well.

Lilly felt Orchid's feet move as well, even as she felt her own two move. At that moment, something passed between her and her sister, and within a few moments, all four of their legs were moving. Coordinating all four to walk together wasn't as easy as it looked to the others.

Twilight could see that all four of them were not having the best time of it. Even with as little as she knew of this situation, she could not see how something could go wrong before it went right. And in the end, she was right.

"OW!" Orchid yelped, as Onyx winced, as Lilly's feet stepped on their tail.

Lilly for her part winced as well, as did Shimmer. "Sorry! I didn't know it was there. How the hay did I feel that too?"

Orchid gave her a flat look. "Don't look at me."

Of course, at that moment, with neither of them paying attention to where their feet were going, their front legs tripped over each other, and Lilly and Orchid fell to the ground with a resounding thud.

"Ow," they both moaned from underneath their dragon heads. "That wasn't very graceful."

Cosmos sighed as she landed next to them. "This could take a while."
> Emerald
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Emerald finally couldn't take watching Orchid and Lilly make a mess of trying to just walk, let alone anything else in their new combined form, and turned to Cosmos. The question was driving her crazy. "Where did you even come up with the idea for this?"

Cosmos sighed as she watched the two of them trip once more. "I honestly could not say where the idea for this came from. It did not happen right off the bat though, not for that first group of Exarchs."

"So why then?" Emerald asked.

Cosmos shook her head. "I must have been in one of my crazier moods at the time. The first group I did this with? None of us had any idea of what we were doing. We eventually got the hang of it, but that was a trainwreck if there ever was one."

Emerald rolled her eyes. If it was anything like she was seeing now, she could very well believe it. But that led to another question, one that tied in with her the most. "And, what about me? You have said I am the first Chiroptera to be an Exarch. What does that mean for this?"

Cosmos smiled as she looked at her. "I do not know. It could be nothing for all we know. I hope so. Your dragon, no matter what color yours will be, will not hold it against you. She cannot, nor would she ever want to."

Now Emerald was even more confused. "What do you mean?"

Cosmos turned to look at Crystal and Blaze. She could see Crystal wince as she watched Lilly and Orchid. Blaze didn't look any happier than she did at the sight before them.

"Every dragon that bonds to an Exarch, no matter what kind of pony they may be, or their age, is utterly and completely loyal to that pony. Above and beyond any other loyalty they may have. They literally cannot even imagine, let alone think or try, betraying their Exarch, and they would rip apart any who tried to make them rebel against her."

She chuckled. "I have seen it happen several times over the eons. Someone gets it in their head that if they can't make you break your oath, then maybe your dragon will instead. It is the one and only time that your dragon will come out on its own and transform you into this form. By then, you know what's going on, and you are more than happy to let them rip that idiot apart."

Emerald tried not to imagine that, but that was easier said than done. It did answer one question, but not all of them. "Where do they even come from? They look like they come from Equus, but they don't seem like they do."

Cosmos shook her head. "No, they do not come from this world. Or any world for that matter. Before they join with their Exarch, they live and grow in a place that exists outside of time and space. Once they hear the call, they will journey to that world, and join with their Exarch."

Twilight, who had been listening to this conversation the whole time, finally had to ask. "Isn't all of this dangerous though? I can't see Ponyville taking this well at all, let alone the rest of Equestria."

Cosmos nodded. "That's why we do not show these off to just anypony. We do not need panic." Her gaze fell as she looked at Amber and Blister. "Amber's rampage showed me that would never work. I could not take away the knowledge of it, but I forbade us from ever using these forms again unless we had no other choice."

Twilight and Emerald shared a look. Neither wanted to ask more about that particular event. Something told them they did not want to know more, even if a part of Twilight was curious about it.

Emerald though seemed to be more sure of herself now. "I think I am as ready as I will ever be to try this. Not like we have anything else to do today. Plus, I do not want to be left out."

Cosmos giggled as she and Twilight stepped back. "That's the spirit. Just follow what I told Celestial, Orchid, and Lilly, and the rest will do itself."

Emerald smiled before closing her eyes and concentrating. For a moment, nothing happened, but having seen it now, she did not panic that she was doing something wrong and waited as long as she needed to.

After a moment, she felt something answer back. Even knowing what was coming, Emerald still felt her whole body rock as her dragon latched onto her. Letting go of her stress, she relaxed and let the process begin.

Cosmos and Twilight watched the transformation happen. This time, there seemed to be no surprises as Emerald grew bigger and bigger. After a moment, the transformation stopped with a lurch.

One that sent Emerald's head rocking back and forth. Knowing it was coming was one thing, but experiencing it was something else altogether. She could feel her new body all around her, and what felt like her breath weapon in her throat. But why was it so cold? Not painfully so. But it was cold, nonetheless.

Opening her eyes, Emerald let out a happy squee as she saw the snout out in front of her. If she was seeing, and feeling things right, her dragon was White. Looking down, as much as her position would let her anyway, she saw her dragon giving her a loving look. One she was happy to return.

She heard Cosmos let an audible sigh of relief. In the grand scheme of things, Emerald really could not blame her. From her current spot, she had an even better view of how much Orchid and Lilly were struggling to get their new form to work. Though it seemed they were beginning to get on the right track at least. Or maybe she was just seeing things.

Despite being as different as it was possible to be to the ponies around her, except maybe Twilight, Emerald did not feel any sort of reaction to it from her dragon, which was a load off of her shoulders, if she was being honest. No matter what Cosmos had said, she hadn't been able to fully get rid of the idea that her being a Chiroptera would change something about this.

With that laid to rest, Emerald turned to feel out her new body. Her wings fluttered slightly as she tested them. They felt no different from her own in her normal form. A few tentative steps and she was more than happy to see that nothing felt any different from her pony form.

Her next question was rather simple, or so she hoped. What was her dragon's name? She knew that she was female, and if Emerald was any judge, she felt the same age as her as well.

Her dragon giggled, a musical sound that put her at ease even more so. "My name is Rime. Or at least that is what it is in Equestrian. It does not really work in Draconic," Rime said, or at least she did in Emerald's mind.

That was something she would have to get used too. Emerald knew that they could all do this with their dragons but hearing it for herself was something else. "Does this get any less weird?" She thought back.

Rime nodded, sending Emerald's mane bouncing. "Give it enough time, and it will. This is still new to me as well, and I have known this was coming all of my life. But we have all the time in the world to get used to it. I do not mind."

And that was something Emerald couldn't argue against as she looked down at Rime, who smiled back up at her. She could get used to this, she thought. It was not so bad once she got used to it.

She wondered if Crystal and Celestial felt the same with their dragons?
> Cosmos
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Emerald seemed to be alright for the moment, Twilight turned to Cosmos, a rather devious look in her eyes. "Well?" She asked, trying hard not to smirk. But it wasn't working.

Cosmos blinked. "Well, what?"

Twilight gestured to the girls before them, her smirk growing wider. "Why not try yourself. You said you didn't know what would happen when you tried your own out. Why not join the club?"

Cosmos gave her a flat look, while Twilight just smiled. She had been different ever since they had returned from the Human World and their heart-felt talk with the human Crystal. But Cosmos would be lying if she said she was not curious at all at what would happen when tried out her own Dragon Form. It had been so long since she had done so. It wouldn't be hard of course.

But therein lay a problem. Her dragon had departed to join with her old form when she had first left this universe. And Cosmos had no idea of if she would return now that she had also returned. And if she did, what that would mean for her Exarchs? This was uncharted waters for all of them, and there was every chance something could go wrong, and that Equestria would pay the price. How they would pay the price if something went wrong now.

It had happened before. While she and that particular set of Exarchs had settled well into their own Dragon Forms and eventually their Empress Dragon Form, something had gone wrong during it. There had been no rampage, thankfully, but their minds had been altered by their time in those forms. Not for the better in any case, for all of them in the end. That had been one of her darker personas. More draconic than a pony in many ways. She wasn not sure how that had happened.

They all had been. One of the girls had even been made Dragon Lord in that universe. For the better, as it turned out, for when the time came for Cosmos to take over the ruling of that universe, it had no gone over well with some. Not with the Nobility as it turned out, like here.

But from a threat, Cosmos had never seen coming, nor had Equestria as it had turned out. But that was a universe she tried not to think about so much. It wasn't one she was particularly proud of, though from what she had heard when she visited her Exarchs in their afterlife, nopony had ever said anything against them when they had heard of it.

Cosmos didn't think the same would happen here, of course, she hoped, but the danger remained. Especially considering now that she had twice the usual number of Exarchs. That would make their Empress Dragon Form interesting, to say the least.

Twilight could see that Cosmos was thinking about something and held her tongue for the moment. But her question would not leave her alone, and so she kept up her look at the older mare.

Finally, Cosmos sighed and smiled. "Oh, alright. I am curious to see where this goes for me. I have not done this in so long, and I have no idea of what mine could even be like now. My old dragon left when I first did."

Everyone stepped back farther than usual now as Cosmos spread her wings. "Is that a bad thing?" Ivy asked.

Cosmos shook her head as she began to glow. "We are about to find out."

The group watched as she began to grow, taking on a draconic shape, just like the others. Nothing seemed to be any different from the girls already in this form, even if Cosmos seemed to be getting bigger than even Amber and Blister, who shared a surprising look between them.

After a moment the glow faded from Cosmos' new form, and every jaw dropped in shock at what they now saw had become of her. Not that she now looked like the others, or that her dragon was a Gold one or even its size. No, those they could make sense of. If only with great difficulty. It was what was in the dragon's chest that shocked them all. Even her first Exarchs were as shocked as the others. The Element of Magic now sat fused into the dragon's chest, perfectly aligned and sized for the dragon herself. It did not appear to be painful or discomforting to the dragoness in question it seemed, but the girls could be wrong.

Cosmos opened her eyes and looked around and felt her own surprise rise. Her dragon was new, something she had expected might happen in this case, and she could feel the Element of Magic fused into their chest. Unexpected, but she could get used to the feeling. Especially seeing as it did not hurt her dragon at all.

No, what really shocked her was herself in fact. Her head still sat where the others did in their own forms, but now? She no longer looked like the regal mare she had become since her rebirth. No. In fact, Cosmos now looked like she once had while she was still Twilight Sparkle. Something that she had never thought possible, let alone could happen. The Cosmic Crown had also vanished from her head, though she could still feel it.

Her dragon, Dazzle, looked up at her with a smile, one that Cosmos was happy to return. No matter what may have changed with her, she still felt the same love for her new dragon as she once had for her old one. She flexed her wings, testing to make sure she still knew how to do this, and began to take small steps around the now crowded clearing. Cosmos soon had herself walking like this was an everyday walk in the park for her.

She looked around at the other girls. While she was used to being bigger than them when in her normal form, it was something else when she was in her Dragon Form. But it was to be expected as well. It came with what she was.





For Dazzle, this was something else altogether. Something that she had never dreamed of. Even in her wildest dreams, she had never expected to be in this position, and she was honored beyond belief.

Growing up with her friends, nothing had ever marked her out as one that would one day be like this. It was the same for each and every dragon chosen for this honor. None had known they would be elevated above the rest.

Despite that though, Dazzle did not hold herself above those around her. She would not, nor could she. Even if she had wanted to, her own nature made sure she would remain humble and not hold it over the others.

The Element of Magic fused into her like it was, was also something she had not expected. Then again, no dragon who took up this role was ever the same twice if the rumors were true, and Dazzle had to give some credence to them, now that she was in the spot.

As her eyes fell over Blaze, Blister, Nimbus, Onyx, and Shimmer, and finally Rime, though, each and every one of them bowed their head in deference to her. Only Amber though knew what was coming and had braced herself for the sudden shift.

The girls all shared a confused look between them at the sudden movement that they had no control over. It was a one-time loss of control in this form though unless something happened that put their own lives at risk.





Cosmos watched as the girls' dragons all bowed to her own. It was something she had never grown used to seeing. She never lorded it over her Exarchs of course, but their dragons always bowed and deferred to her own every time they first met.

Dazzle, as her own dragon was called, was all that her first had once been, aside from their different colors of course. As the two of them shared a loving look, Cosmos was happy with how this had turned out in the end.

She closed her eyes and whispered in the wind. "Thank you, for everything Cinder. I will see you again. I hope you and Dazzle will become closer when that time comes."

From a great distance, Cosmos heard her first dragon respond, sending her one last pulse along their connection, reaffirming her love through their bond, one last time, before the connection went cold.

Cosmos let her tears fall at that, as the last personal connection she held to her first life was lost for all time. Even then though, she smiled, for she knew that the day would come when she would see Cinder again.

Until that day though, she would cherish and love Dazzle as much as she once had Cinder. To do otherwise was an insult to her memory, and Cosmos would never do that to Cinder. Nor to any dragon she might have joined with.





From a place beyond space and time, Cinder watched as Cosmos settled into her new Dragon Form with a smile. One tinged with sadness. She would be lying if she said she did not miss what the two of them had once had and shared.

But there was no doing them over again. Those days were long gone now, and nothing would or could bring them back. And if Cinder was being honest with herself, she was glad of that. Her time with Cosmos had been the best time of her life. Not even the before time, when she had just been another dragon waiting for the right time, could compare to the time she spent with Her.

It was a feeling all the dragons who had gone before her shared. Every color of dragon lived here, and Cinder had gotten to know most of them since she had arrived. All had similar stories to her own. It was something that bound them all together, in a bond that went beyond family or friends, but one that went deeper. One they could never really explain.
> Empress Dragon, Form 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cosmos smiled as she looked around at the rest of the group. She could just make out Twilight looking at her in even more awe than she normally did, and if her eyes weren't deceiving her, blushing brightly at something. It took her a moment to realize what exactly what it was Twilight was looking at like that. It was not this form, though that was a part of her look. But that wasn't the main reason, as Cosmos began to blush herself, and shifted sheepishly.

Twilight had a rather grand view of Dazzle's and by extension hers, rather private parts. It was enough to make her hide her whole head behind her wings in embarrassment, even as the others chuckled.

Amber rolled her eyes. "That might be the first time she's ever done that."

"Not helping Amber," came Cosmos' muffled voice, one that made the others laugh even more.

Twilight was able to get her blush under control, as Dazzle moved into a less compromising position, one that took a part of her that Twilight would have rather never seen out of sight. As much as she was curious about dragon biology.  But that could wait for later. She did however have several things to go on, just from her observation of everypony around her.

Aside from Blaze being the only male so far, all of the dragons shared much in common in their body structure. And even Blaze shared much in common with the others, only a few differences marking him out as male. The two that were the most different, were Onyx and Shimmer. While the obvious age difference between the two was apparent, and aside from the fact that they both shared the same body, split evenly between black and copper, something more made them stand out.

While the others were in a four-legged stance, Onyx and Shimmer were walking more like a human might. Or even as teenage dragons did, as Spike had told her. Twilight could see it might make sense for Onyx, but not for Shimmer. Maybe it had to do with the fact they were together like they were.

Twilight made a mental note to ask them about it later. And as she looked at the two more closely, she noticed something else, something that surprised her even more.

Shimmer and Onyx had breasts. Not very pronounced, but as she adjusted her position to get a better look, Twilight could see them clear as day. Almost human in a way, but at the same time, distinctly not human.

And of course, each dragon was a different color and having grown up hearing about them from her brother and his Dungeons & Dragons group, they were all leaning toward the Chromatic and Metallic dragon families. That none of them seemed set on destruction was a saving grace.

Not that she would ever say that out loud of course. One of them could just step on her by accident, and that would be that. Not a good way to die if she said so herself.

And from what she could see, and best guess at worst, the girls could not see where their feet were going unless they turned their entire set of heads downwards and looked at the ground.

Cosmos finally lowered her wings and cleared her throat, even as Dazzle giggled at her expense. "Now that we are on the right track, there is something that I have been wanting to share with you girls." She gave Amber an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Amber. But you and the others will have to wait just a little while longer."

Amber got the message as she steered Blister out of the way. The girls at her feet got the message as well and climbed up onto her back to watch what was to come. Ivy was kind enough to grab Twilight and pull her up with them. Twilight was unsteady as she tried to hang onto what little purchase she could find on the scales at her feet. It felt so weird being up like this, and especially on top of a dragon to boot. "What am I missing? What is going on?" She finally asked.

Ocean giggled. "This is something you have to see to believe. We could not explain it in a way that would do it justice. And we have the best view of it from up here."

Twilight looked up at Blister's head. She could just see part of Amber's mane from this angle. "Can Amber feel us up here like this?"

Diamond shrugged as she tapped the scales beneath their hooves. "I doubt it. Dragon scales are super tough. There is not much we could do to get through them. So, I doubt she is feeling anything from us."

Twilight nodded as she looked again at Cosmos, who was eyeing the rest of the girls with a knowing look, while they only looked confused. 

Emerald finally asked what they were all thinking. "Share what with us?"

Cosmos giggled as she spread her wings. "Just come as close as you can to my body, and it will do the rest. I will explain it once Step 1 is complete."

Emerald and the girls all shared a confused look, but something told them that whatever this was, it was something worth looking into. With a little wiggling, Emerald slipped underneath one gold wing, while Crystal slipped in under the other. Celestial, Orchid, and Lilly brought their bodies as close as they could to Cosmos' and leaned their necks against hers.

That seemed to do the trick. As Crystal and Emerald did the same, all of their bodies began to glow brightly, so much so that no one could see what was going on around them, but they could feel the changes happening to their bodies. Not even the rest of the group could see what was going on, but all but Twilight knew what was happening inside that light. For Twilight, all she could see was that the light grew brighter and brighter with each passing second before it began to contract, but something had changed.

Where there had once been six bodies, there now seemed to be only one. One with six heads. But that could not be right. Could it? As the light finally faded away, Twilight felt her mouth drop in shock at what was revealed.

Where there once stood six dragons, now only one remained. But it was nothing like the ones before it. Six heads, one each for Crystal, Emerald, Celestial, Orchid, Lilly, and Cosmos, now sat all together on one body. In their chest, the Element of Magic remained.

The girls' heads still came from their previous dragon forms, but now, the only parts that remained that were still their own, were their own head, their dragon's head, all of who's neck connected to the same body. 

The girls slowly opened their eyes, and their jaws promptly dropped in shock at what had happened to all of them. Only Cosmos and Dazzle seemed to be unsurprised at what had happened, though Dazzle herself was still surprised at what this form felt like.

Crystal was the first to ask what the girls were thinking. "What the hay happened to us? Why can't I feel anything below my neck?"

Cosmos chuckled. "This is what is called our Empress Dragon Form. It is something we can all share together, or we can do it in any number of combinations with just two of us." She smiled at Orchid and Water Lilly. "Or three if any of us wanted to do it with either of you."

That only explained so much to the girls, who shared confused looks. "So why can't I feel anything?" Celestial asked. "I can't feel a thing below Nimbus's neck. Is that normal?"

Cosmos nodded. "It is. Because we all share the same body now, we do not feel the same as we normally would. I am no different in that regard. I do not feel anything below Dazzle's neck."

That was some comfort for the others. But they still had a million questions, but one stuck out above the others for the moment. "How do we even move like this? If we can't feel anything?" Orchid asked.

Cosmos giggled. "That, my dear Orchid, is half the fun of being in this form. On top of being closer than we could ever be otherwise. It is not as simple as walking now. No. It is more than that."

Lilly gave her a flat look, one Onyx was happy to share with Dazzle. "So how do we make this work then?" Lilly asked.

Cosmos smiled at that. "Let us just worry about walking for now. Flying is a whole different story. As for how we do it." She closed her eyes, as did Dazzle. "Let your minds float freely. Let them join with each other. In this, we are one. We will never move if we cannot align ourselves."

The girls all shared a very confused look. What the hay did that mean? But something told them that Cosmos knew what she meant by this, so they did as she had, and closed their eyes, their dragons following suit, letting their minds float freely. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen, and then they felt it. Their minds began to connect with one another, still separate, still each their own, but now they could all feel what each other was feeling, was thinking. It was strange. Yet it felt right all at the same time.

At the center of it, was Cosmos. Her mind was something else altogether compared to the girls. Like their own yet alien and far beyond their own at the same time. Yet this was merely the smallest pinprick, the smallest light, of a far greater consciousness. Vast and unfathomable, something their minds could not even begin to wrap themselves around. 

Putting all that aside for the moment, the girls and Cosmos concentrated on a simple notion: Walking. All of their minds bent to that one thing. Slowly, ever so slowly, first one leg, then another, took a step forward. Then came their back legs. It seemed to be as easy as walking normally was for them individually, but different at the same time.

Eventually, though, the group began to come to grips with what it meant to be walking as a group, and their gait began to steady and even out. Crystal felt like a newborn foal all over again. A feeling the others shared as well. It got a giggle out of all of them at the thought.

From Blister's back, the rest of the group watched with an amused look, only Twilight watching with a sense of awe. She could see now why ponies would base their idea of Tiamat on this form. While the girls had six heads instead of five, the basics beyond that were the same. "How long can they stay like this?" She asked as the combined form did a lap of the clearing.

Moon Petal giggled. "As long as they want too. There is no time limit on this form thankfully. It saved our flanks a few times back in the day."

Ocean nodded. "If they want to separate back into their own forms, they all have to be willing to do so. It will not work otherwise. We did that a few times."

Blister nodded, as Amber turned around and brought her head down to their level. "I remember we sometimes even just stayed in that form for a while. Just for the hay of it. Ponies just got used to seeing us like that after a while."

Twilight nodded, as she watched them do another lap. But she also noticed something else, something that made her ears wilt. "Do they not see-"

Thud!

Before she could finish the thought though, Cosmos and the girls steered right into a down tree, not seeing it until it was too late. Flailing wildly, but with nothing to grab onto to stop themselves, the girls tripped over their own four feet and were sent crashing to the ground, the loud boom sending birds and animals for miles around running for cover.

"... Never mind," Twilight squeaked, trying not to flinch at the flailing limbs that were the girls, trying to get themselves in order, but not having much success. She looked at the girls around her. "How are we going to explain all of this to Ponyville? They have had to have heard that. Canterlot probably heard it."

That brought everypony up short, as their eyes shrank, having not even thought about that it seemed. Blister looked up at Amber, seemingly asking her the same question. The filly could only shrug her head.
> Amber
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amber wasn't sure why she had to be up so darn early. But it must've been important enough for Cosmos to get the whole group up for it. Or at least she hoped it was anyway. She was still growing into what it meant to be an Exarch, as were Diamond, Ivy, Ocean Breeze, and Moon Petal. They at least had the advantage of age.

Amber didn't. For crying out loud, she was eight! She was at the age when she hadn't really thought of what she had wanted to do with her life when she grew up before this. It was not like she hated it though. Far from it. She had meant it when she had said that big ol' meanie pants Tirek would have to go through her to get to Cosmos.

But at night she still wondered what Cosmos had seen in all of them when she had chosen them as her Exarchs and what it meant for them all and their future. In fact, they didn't even know what to call Cosmos now. Unicorn, Pegasus, and earth pony all rolled into one was about all they had figured out so far. Cosmos herself called her new form an alicorn, but that seemed odd as that was also what a unicorn's horn was called.

Megan was as confused as they were, and maybe even more so for she was still getting used to all that she had seen since Firefly had brought her to Equus. Which was a lot to take in for anyone new to be fair? During the struggle with Tirek, she had been so focused on helping her new friends that she really hadn't had time to think about the world she had been brought to and everything in it, but now that she had, a complication had arisen.

Cosmos had already explained her vision for Equus. One where all races were free and without fear, one where none would be shunned for being different.

Of course, Amber and the girls were on board from the start. Even if they hadn't been tied to her like they were they still would have for it sounded like an ideal worth fighting for. Several other ponies and other beings had also joined in.

But Megan wasn't fully sold on the idea. "It is a nice idea, Cosmos." She had said when she had heard of it and confronted her about it. "But what is stopping you from becoming no better than Tirek, or even worse?"

And that had caused quite a stir for no one could help but wonder the same. No one knew how much power she had. In fact, no one even knew what she could do at all. Not even her Exarchs knew.

"I have seen good people become monsters once they have power. I don't know if the same holds true for ponies or not, and I really don't want to know either."

Cosmos had only smiled enigmatically before replying. "I would like to think I am better than those stains on mankind Megan. I admit I am not perfect, and I have screwed up plenty of times."

Everyone had shared a look. They could all feel something was bothering her, but no one knew how to ask about it. "What happened?" Moon Petal had finally asked.

Cosmos closed her eyes as her tears fell. "I have done things I am not proud of. Things that I wish I could go back and do over again. But I can't."

Amber had been the first to rush over and give her a hug. The rest of the girls soon followed. Not even Megan could stop herself from joining in. Whatever else she thought of the idea, she could not stand seeing someone in pain.

Cosmos had just sniffed. "Thank you."





And now Amber was letting her mind wander. She really needed to work on that. "So why are we out here again?" She asked.

Cosmos only smiled. "It's time to show you girls some of what it means to be an Exarch. You already know some of it, but not everything."

"And we're starting off with Amber why?" Ocean asked, the filly in question glaring at her.

"Because I'm curious as to what might happen with someone so young," Cosmos replied. "This is the first time I've had someone so young be tied to me like this."

That made Amber feel ten feet tall. She liked being the first of something, whatever that meant. She also made a note to ask her about the rest later. "So what do I do?"

Cosmos smiled wider. "Just concentrate on a feeling of change. It will do the rest." She explained as she stepped back.

The girls shared a confused look. None of them had any idea what that meant, but Amber shrugged and closed her eyes, concentrating on that feeling of change.

For a moment nothing happened and she worried if she was doing it wrong. But then she felt her body begin to change and grow rather rapidly.

Diamond, Ivy, Ocean, and Moon Petal looked on in open mouth shock at what was happening. It didn't make sense, and yet it did at the same time.

Amber finally felt the changes stop with a lurch, one that sent her head rocking back and forth. "Ow." She grumbled as her mane fell into her eyes.

Cosmos snickered. "Watch that first step. It's a doozy!" But why did she sound so far away? "You can look now, Amber. Your new friend wants to meet you."

Amber blew the hair out of her eyes and looked around. She was high in the air, which was odd since her wings were still folded at her side. And then she noticed the green snout sticking out in front of her. Confused she looked down and felt her mouth drop in shock at what she saw.

A decent-sized green dragon was right below her. Her eyes were closed but even as she watched they opened and looked up at her. They were the same blue color as her own. There was love in them, the kind shared between two lovers, and to her surprise, Amber found that she felt the same way for her as well.

And then it hit her. Her filly head was emerging from the dragon's body. Feeling it out, she could feel that she had full control of it as well. That would take getting used to.

She watched as Cosmos flew up to where they were eye to eye. She was smiling, proud of what she was looking at. "So how does it feel the first time?" She asked.

Amber shook her head, or as much as she could. "This is so weird. But it feels so natural. You mean we can all do this?"

Cosmos chuckled. "Pretty much. We have different colors of dragon between us and different breath weapons but yes. we all share this." She clapped her hooves excitedly. "And there's a form we can all do together. But let's hold off on that for a while. It's way too early for it."

Amber snorted, and a green-colored gas came out of her filly and dragon's nostrils. She blinked in confusion and then in disgust at the smell. "That's new, and what's that smell?"

Cosmos was worried, for she knew what the smell was. "That was your breath weapon. You both can use it. That smell is gas and a very dangerous kind at that."

"How dangerous?" Diamond asked, trying not to gag at the smell.

She shook her head, memories from other worlds coming to her mind. "Enough of it can kill a lot of ponies and other creatures. Ask Megan. She can tell you how deadly it can be."

Amber shut her mouth in horror, for she could already feel it building up in her throat. "How do I stop it?" She asked. She wanted no part of that and what it could mean.

Cosmos shook her head. "You can't stop the build-up, but you can learn how to control it. That will come with time." She floated closer and her face softened. "Let's try something less dangerous for now."

Amber was lost. "Like what?" A statement her dragon seemed to share, however, that made sense.

Cosmos smirked. "Walking. You can't do much else if you can't walk. Just, do it like you normally do. Except now you're doing it for two, not one."

Amber shared a look with her dragon but nodded all the same. Closing her eyes, she tried taking a step like she always did when she was on the ground.

For a moment nothing happened, but then she felt a leg take a step forward, soon followed by the other three.

The girls had to quickly jump out of the way as the dragon began walking around the clearing. "Can she even see us up there?" Ivy asked, as Amber seemingly became more comfortable doing this.

"I don't think so. Not if she's seeing out of one head, not two." Ocean replied. "Hey Amber, watch you're going. You're gonna step on us down here!"

Amber smiled sheepishly. "Sorry! I can't see where I'm going up here." And she really couldn't. How was the supposed to work if she couldn't see past the end of her snout?

At that moment, not paying attention to where her feet were going, she suddenly tripped over her two front legs and did an immediate face plant into the ground below, one that shook everything in sight and sent many animals running for cover.

Amber groaned from somewhere beneath her dragon's head. "Ow. That wasn't very graceful."

Cosmos chuckled as she landed next to her. "We'll work on that too."





Cosmos chuckled as Amber blushed. "She spent so much time face-planting that I'm surprised the craters aren't still there."

Amber shot her a hurt look. "Oh like you were any better the first time."

Cosmos rolled her eyes. "Point. And then there was when we joined into our combined form." Both she and Amber shuddered. "That was a trainwreck the first time."

Crystal was lost. "How's that?"

Cosmos looked sheepish. "You try getting six minds in one body to work together at the same time, and coordinated too when we each controlled a different part of that body. We spent most of that time just trying to stand up."

Amber and her dragon giggled. "And the rest of that trying not to trip over our own four feet and face plant. Usually at the same time. Megan, Danny, and Molly found it hilarious though."

Cosmos shot her a hurt look. "Not helping Amber."

Crystal and Blaze couldn't help but giggle at the thought.

Cosmos could only sigh as she felt the rest of the girls arrive in their own unique way. "But enough of that for now. Time to get this show on the road."





As Amber worked to pick herself up from her faceplant, Blister couldn't help but wince at the look on Amber's face.

That fall hadn't hurt too much, but it was the pain of seeing her Exarch with a hurt look on her face that hurt her as much as the fall had hurt her. But what could she do? Her ability to do much was limited by the fact that Amber controlled their whole body.

Not that Blister was against any of it of course. She had been dreaming of this day her whole life. It had been a surprise to find she had been joined with a filly.

But that just made it more fun. As Cosmos had said, Amber was the first filly Exarch she had ever had. It made Blister giddy to be the one to share that honor. What worried her though was the off chance they gassed someone. She knew how to control her breath weapon and how not to use it by accident.

Amber on the other hoof... Cosmos and the rest of the girls could take it. Few others she knew of could though.

Blister was excited to teach her filly all that it meant to be like this. She only hoped that nothing would happen to change Amber's mind about this form.





Amber meanwhile could hear her dragon's thoughts as loud as her own. While it was an odd experience, she couldn't help but feel she was right.

If she couldn't learn how to control this form, then what was the point in having or using it? Everypony else would and she'd be left out. She didn't want that as she felt tears begin to gather. Her dragon looked up at her with concern before giving Cosmos a pleading look.

Cosmos got the message and flew over and wrapped a hoof around Amber's head. "Amber don't cry. It's alright."

Amber sniffed. "No, it's not. If I can't even walk, then what's the point of this?" Her head slumped. "I might as well not even use it."

Cosmos smiled as she lifted her head. "Amber, never say that. No one gets this right the first time. I can't how many times I've done the same."

Amber gave her a pleading look. "Then what am I supposed to do? I mean, I doubt we all get the same when you guys do this."

Cosmos shook her head. "You're right. We'll all be different in many ways from each other. We might not be able to fully help." She paused and smiled.

Amber was about to ask why, when a new voice spoke up from below the two of them. "You can always ask me."

She blinked. Where did that come from?

"Down here."

Cosmos chuckled as Amber's mouth dropped in shock as she looked down at her dragon, who was smiling widely up at her.

"You can talk?" Amber asked.

Her mate pouted. "Of course I can talk. It's something all dragons can do. We just don't unless we want to and only to a few at that."

Cosmos giggled. "I like her already."

Amber shot her a flat look. "Who's side are you on? How can she help me? I'm kind of in the driver's seat here remember?"

Cosmos smiled. "That's something the two of you must figure out on your own. I can't help you with it. None of us can."

Amber snorted. "Gee thanks."
> Diamond
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the girls struggled to get themselves back on their feet, a thought came to Twilight. "Was it this bad for all of you when you first did this?"

Diamond rolled her eyes. "Oh no. We were way worse than this." She nodded toward's Cosmos, who was having no better luck than the others in getting their shared body upright again. "I think we had it worse though."

Twilight was confused by this as she gestured at the struggling dragon. "How could you guys be worse than this?"

Ivy rolled her eyes. "Cosmos still was not fully into her new form at the time. We did not know it then, but it takes time for her powers to fully come into their own. Even less so in this form."

Ocean tapped her chin. "And since it was her first time with her full powers in this universe, she did not have all her memories of before coming here. At least the ones that would help her and us with this. I think she said something about it being a safety lock on herself."

Moon's ears fell. "She told us a story once. About another her and another group of Exarchs. Ones we have never met. Something went very wrong when they were in their Empress Dragon form for the first time."

Twilight gulped in fear. "What was it?"

Diamond shook her head. "We don't know. Whatever it was, it changed them. They completely lost themselves to that form. They still knew who they were and each other. But they totally and utterly refused to ever separate back into their normal forms ever again and ate anypony who suggested they do so."

Ivy nodded with a frown. "Imagine an Exarch. Now imagine one of us in our Dragon Forms all the time. Now imagine all six of us merged into one body, each of us with two breath weapons. Our dragons and ourselves."

Twilight could and did imagine that. Her eyes shrunk in horror at what that could mean. It was not a pretty picture. "What happened to them?"

Ocean sighed. "Equestria got a leader that combined the intellect of six ponies, one of them a goddess, and the strength and power of six dragons. One of whom is more than a match for the Dragon Lord. Equus got its leader. But not like she should have been."

Moon looked over at the girls, who were only now just slowly getting to their feet. "They were never despots or tyrants though. You think that Spike is bad when he's being a pain, though? Times that by six. Cosmos swore after that, that she would slow all of this down. So another group would not go through what they had."

Twilight's heart fell, as she looked back at the girls, who finally got to their feet. "I guess that makes sense. What about you girls then?"

Diamond chuckled. "Oh we were never that bad. We did not know any of this until much later of course. But I think we did pretty well. All things considered." She rolled her eyes as Twilight sat down, eager to hear the story from all of them. "It went something like this."





Diamond turned to look at Cosmos, as Amber struggled to get back to her feet. "Is it always like this?"

Cosmos nodded, brushing her blonde mane out of her eyes. "Yes. It is why I prefer to do this someplace out of the way. Much less chance that we hurt someone by accident. Or worse. We can take it. Others can't, and I will not risk that."

The girls shared a look. That did not sound fun at all. "So what do we do now? How do we know what we will look like?" Ivy asked.

Cosmos grinned, her tail (as blonde as her mane) wagging in excitement. "That's what makes this so fun! We don't know what kind of dragon we will get! It's boring if we knew ahead of time."

"Where do they come from though? She does not look like any dragon on Equus," Ocean asked, pointing at Amber's.

Cosmos nodded. "That is because she is not. None of our dragons come from Equus itself, but from someplace else. It is hard to explain it myself. Ask yours when you meet them."

Moon and Diamond shared a look, even as Amber began again to trot around the clearing, this time with much more confidence. "Are you always like this?" Moon asked.

Cosmos giggled. "Yes. Yes I am. So who wants to go next?"

Diamond rolled her eyes as she stretched. "I'll go. It does sound like fun. We can't let Amber have all the fun now can we?"

"I heard that!" Amber's voice shouted down to them with an annoyed snort.

Cosmos rolled her eyes, beckoning the others to give Diamond plenty of room, something they happily did. "Just follow what I told Amber, and the rest will fall into place."

Diamond wasn't so sure of that, but she had seen that the same had worked for Amber, so maybe it would work for her? Closing her eyes, she concentrated. For a moment, nothing happened, and then Diamond felt it. Someone had answered her call.

A moment later, her whole body rocked back and forth as her dragon latched onto her. She felt her whole body begin to grow in size and power. A moment later, her transformation ended with a jolt, sending her head rocking back and forth. "Ow," Diamond groaned.

Cosmos chuckled as she flew up to her eye level, her blue eyes taking in the sight before her. "Well. This is a nice surprise. I have not seen a Brass Dragon in a long time. For me or an Exarch."

Opening her eyes, Diamond saw at once that Cosmos had a point. Her dragon was brass in color. As her dragon's eyes opened, they changed to the same lavender color as Diamond's own. There was love in that look, one that the mare was happy to return, even if a lot of this did not make much sense. She had a question though. "How many kinds of dragons are there?"

Cosmos sighed, as she landed on her snout. "Ten. Dragons are divided into two familes." She nodded toward Amber. "Amber's dragon is part of the Chromatic Dragon family. Which includes Black, Blue, Green, Red, and White, dragons." She tapped Diamond's snout. "You though, Diamond, have joined with one of the Metallic Dragon family. They have Brass, Bronze, Copper, Gold, and Silver, dragons."

"Which ones have you been?" And how did I get a boy? Aren't they all girls?" Diamond asked, settling herself back as much as she could.

Cosmos tapped her chin. "Four. Two from each family. I do not have any control of what kind of dragon I will get, however. Nor for each of you. It is more fun that way I feel. And there is a very small chance that an Exarch or I will bond with a boy dragon. Most are indeed girls. But there is nothing preventing a boy joining with you."

Diamond snorted, a spurt of flame coming out of her nose. She blinked in surprise as she did, but it felt natural all the same.

Cosmos giggled. "And you breath fire. Be careful where you aim it though. We do not need anyone hurt. Unless they totally deserve it of course. Then you can roast them all you want. More so if they are really bad."

Diamond and her dragon rolled their eyes. They could not argue with that. "So do I just do what Amber is doing?" She asked.

Cosmos nodded as she lifted off her snout. "Just follow what I told her, and it will come to you. Your unicorn magic has also recieved a huge boost in power. So please be careful if you use magic anytime soon. You are still not used to it."

Diamond gulped, as her dragon gave her a worried look. She had not even thought about what this might do to her magic. But now that she thought about it, she could feel how much more powerful her magic had become. Her magic had never been strong before this. Oh sure, she had never been a slouch either. But she would hardly call herself the best magic user around.

Now though? Diamond had never thought this much magic was possible. It was almost too much to believe. But there it was.

For the moment though, she pushed those thoughts aside and concentrated on just walking. The rest could wait for later. Closing her eyes, Diamond willed herself to walk. After a moment, she felt her body begin to move. In a moment, she felt like she was still a pony and wa walking as she normally did.

She giggled as she opened her eyes and looked around. Her dragon's head turned with her. Strange. But like all of this, it still felt natural. Maybe she would get used to it in time?

Having seen the trouble Amber had in that first few moments, Diamond took her time and watched where she was going. She didn't hear any indignent squawks from the rest of the girls, and she didn't feel anything go squish underneath her feet, so she must have been doing something right.

Amber just gave her the stink eye. "Showoff," she grumbled. She was allowed to be a little jealous, wasn't she?

Diamond just stuck her tongue out at her, earning a round of giggles from the rest of the girls, as Cosmos landed beside them, unable to not giggle as well.
> Ivy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ivy stretched as she watched Diamond give a satisfied smirk to Amber. "Guess it is not really fair to let those two have all of the fun. And it does look like fun. So I will go next. Maybe I will get a cool look or something. Is that too much to ask?"

Cosmos giggled. "That is the spirit. Just remember that if you start walking around, we are still down here. I would rather not be stepped on if it is all the same to you." The others nodded, as they backed up once more.

Ivy closed her eyes and concentrated, following what Cosmos had told the others. For a moment, nothing happened. And then she felt it. Something answered her call. A moment later, she felt something latch onto her with a lurch, before her body began to change and grow.

Once she was sure she was no longer growing, Ivy opened her eyes and looked around. Her smile grew as she saw the dragon snout in front of her, this one a bronze color. Looking down, she giggled as her dragon's eyes opened and looked up at her with love.

Cosmos smiled as she flew up to her eye level. Her pink coat stood out next to her dragon's scales. Her crimson red cutie mark, the infinity symbol, stood out next to the pink rather nicely. "It seems we are leaning toward the Metallic side of the dragon family tree. I have not had that happen in a long time. Not that I do not mind that is."

Ivy and her dragon shared a surprised look. "This has happened to you before?" The dragon asked, sounding much older than she looked.

Cosmos nodded. "Yes. My very first time doing all of this? Everyone was joined with a member of the Chromatic family. Except for me. I was joined to a Silver Dragon. It was rather odd, to say the least. Not that I ever cared."

Ivy rolled her eyes. "So I guess you have had one that has gone the other way as well? Hopefully, it does not change anything for us. This is weird enough as it is. How can it get worse?"

Cosmos chuckled as she tapped Ivy's snout. "Hardly. One will stick out next to the others I feel. But it does not matter in the end." She pointed at Diamond. "Because one of us joined with a boy, heat season will be much worse than usual because he will be surrounded by females. His natural instincts will go crazy. Being joined to Diamond does not change his urge to mate. Not just with. But with all of us." She tapped Ivy's snout once more. "And your breath slow gas if you are wondering."

Ivy snorted in annoyance. "That's it? Nothing cool or something? Go figure."

Her dragon giggled in her mind. "Oh, I don't know. It does come in handy if you want to slow an enemy down. Perhaps not the most powerful weapon a dragon can have. But it is better than nothing. My name is Wave Crest in the pony tongue. Pronouncing my proper name is another story."

"And I am Seaspray," Diamond's added in her own mind, picking up on the question that was going around her head.

Cosmos nodded, seeming to guess what had been said. "How we will explain all of this to the ponies of Dream Valley, however, is another story. And it can get much weirder from here on. Trust me. No matter how many times I have done this, it never gets easier. Perhaps starting earlier in the timeline will change that. But something tells me that it will not."

That stopped the group for a moment. They had not thought of that. How would they explain all of this to the rest of the world? Right now, only Megan and her friends knew about them at all. But that would not last much longer.

The Moochick himself had said it best when they had first met the diminutive creature. "You cannot hide who you are forever, my lady. You would not be here otherwise. That is your reasoning, is it not? You come to universes that need help in some way and gather the five that will help you achieve that goal. I foresee great things for all of you. And terrible tragedy for one."

Amber still did not know why he had looked at her when he had said that. She was not that much of a hothead. Was she? Probably just rambling is all.





"So how did you explain all of this in the end?" Twilight asked as Ivy paused in her story.

Amber giggled as she turned and bent down to talk to them. "That's getting ahead of the story though. No spoilers. Safe to say, there was a lot of freaking out. And as usual, the Moochick was right. Nopony knew just how right he was going to be though in the end. Not even him."

Twilight tried not to think about what she had heard, and what Amber had done in her rage and bloodlust. She could not imagine what that could have been like.

"Are you telling stories without us?" Emerald asked, as she and the others finally joined them. Seeing their merged form up close was even weirder than seeing it from a distance for Twilight. But Cosmos was even more beautiful this way in her opinion.

Moon was unapologetic as she shrugged. "What can we say? Twilight wanted to know how it went for us that first time. Diamond and Ivy just told their stories. So that means it's my turn."

Cosmos giggled. "Oh yes. I remember this one quite well. And it was all making sense up to you as well. Then came Ocean and then me. Sense has long stopped applying to us."

Moon stuck her tongue out at her, while Twilight could only wonder what that was supposed to mean. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Moon smiled sheepishly as the newest members settled their body down for the stories ahead. "Well... Safe to say that it got much weirder from then on." She looked over at Crystal. "I am assuming you heard of what it means to be joined with a boy dragon?"

Crystal rolled her eyes as she looked at Blaze. "Yeah. But I don't feel any different."

Blaze was a different story though. His instinct to mate had gone to ludicrous levels after merging with the others. How could they not? He was surrounded by beautiful dragonesses. Anyone of which he would've happily been a mate of, and being the youngest by a substantial margin compared to the others, he didn't mind being the small spoon.

Only his complete and utter loyalty and devotion to Crystal stopped him from doing something about his feelings.

Diamond smirked. "Trust me, Crystal. It will get way different when you enter heat. Especially your first one after this. I remember mine like it was yesterday."

Twilight scratched her head, trying not to think about any of this. "How can this get any weirder? I am still having trouble believing any of this as it is." She pointed up at Cosmos. "And why did you look so different then?"

Cosmos shrugged, while her dragon rolled her eyes. "That was a different life, Twilight. Before my reawakening, I was an earth pony. No different from anypony else, no matter what some said." 

Everypony else shared an unconvinced look. They had trouble believing that. Cosmos, in any form, did not seem like just any other normal pony. Even those who had known her the longest still did not believe it.

Moon shrugged after a moment. "As for how it went for the rest of us? Including Cosmos up there? Well..."
> Moon Petal
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Moon Petal admitted to herself, as she watched Amber, Diamond, and Ivy take a few laps around the clearing, that she was jealous. No matter whether they could all do this or not. Was that such a bad thing?

Cosmos seemed to pick up on her thoughts for she smiled down at her. "Do you want to go next, Moon? We still have plenty of time."

Moon nodded, closing her eyes as Cosmos and Ocean gave her a wide berth. She was rather excited by what kind of dragon she might get as she concentrated. For a moment, nothing happened, and then she felt something call back to her, before latching onto her from behind with a lurch.

Cosmos blinked as storm clouds began to gather above them. Odd. The weather usually never acted like this. Even in this early era of the world, and not as it was during the time of Equestria.

Ocean saw it as well and frowned. "Is it supposed to do that?"

Cosmos shook her head as Moon began to glow and grow. "I'm not sure. But this is still somewhat new to me as well. Not every group I do this with will get a dragon."

Ocean wondered what that could mean, as Moon's transformation ended after a moment.

Looking down, Moon grinned as she saw that she was now joined to a blue dragoness, whose eye colors shifted to her own as the dragoness opened them and looked up at her with a smile. "So what breath weapon do I get?" She asked as Cosmos flew up to their eye level.

Cosmos chuckled as she tapped her snout. "You breathe lightning, Moon. By the standards of the Chromatic family, you are the second most powerful behind the Red dragons. Rather handy I feel."

"And what about me?" Amber asked as she joined them.

Cosmos shrugged. "You come in third. But that only applies to universes where none of this exists. So do not think that means anything to us now."

Moon snorted, a bolt of lightning bouncing harmlessly off Cosmos' armor. She gulped sheepishly. "Sorry!" she mumbled, while her dragon rolled her eyes.

Cosmos giggled as she brushed her armor. "Don't be. My armor can take far worse than anything all of you combined could throw at me. I forged it to protect me from the very worst the multiverse could throw at me. Things that would make an easy meal out of this world and everything in it, and still have room for more."

Moon gulped as her dragon frowned. She didn't like the sound of that. "Like what?" her dragon asked.

Cosmos shook her head. "You are better off never knowing that. Some things are best left unknown. Not every universe is created the same, nor does it hold the same creatures. It's better this way I feel."

Moon and her dragon shared a worried look. They did not like the sound of that, as Moon looked up at the now stormy skies. Where the hay did all of that come from?

"We have control over the weather now," her dragon giggled in her mind. "Not as much as Pegasi do though. At least not yet we do not. My name is Sky, so we can skip not knowing each other's names."

Moon smiled as Cosmos returned to the ground and began to converse with Ocean Breeze. She liked the sound of that. And it made things so much easier now.





"So the multiverse is real then," Twilight said quietly to herself.

Cosmos nodded. "Indeed. There are rules that prevent certain universes from ever being born however. Degenerate filth that I refuse to even give names to."

Everyone winced, and even Dazzle could not help herself, for they could all hear the venom in Cosmos' words, and could only wonder what had brought this about. "It can't all be bad, I hope?" Orchid asked.

Cosmos shook her head with a smile. "No. But it would take too long to explain it all now," she replied.

Twilight, though, felt she needed to get something out of her system. "And what about me?"

Cosmos blinked, before leaning Dazzle down so they could talk to each other. "What about you?"

Twilight shook her head as she climbed onto the dragon's snout and marched right up to Cosmos' head, doing her best to ignore the glare she was getting in return. 'Easy. Do I get a dragon of my own? I'm feeling severely left out of all of this."

Cosmos blinked, before shaking her head. "Sorry. Exarchs and I only. And I am not sure if the three of us can share Dazzle between us. I will not cut Crystal out of this."

Twilight's ears fell. She had been afraid of that. "What about the old you and Ocean then? The story doesn't feel finished yet."

Ocean nodded with a wide grin. "Well..."