Castle Crashing Canterlotby NazkanChaptersCastle Crashing the VillageCastle Crashing the PalaceCastle Crashing the TowerCastle Crashing the GardenCastle Crashing the PartyCastle Crashing the BasementCastle Crashing the RoadCastle Crashing the VillageCarefully, Twilight poked her head out of the doorway to her basement. At any moment, she expected changelings to leap out from the shadows and corners of the room and capture her. Maybe they still could, she hadn't actually left the basement yet. In fact, it wouldn't be too hard to just...stay in the basement her whole life. That way she wouldn't have to deal with the threat of getting captured, or fighting Chrysalis or any of that other scary stuff she was expected to do. Yes, that sounded like a good idea, she could just backtrack into the basement again and let the knights handle everything, surely they knew what they were doing. Or...not. The sound of flowing magic dulled to a whimper, only to be replaced by an even stranger sound as Twilight adapted to the change in scenery. Sure, there was the noises she was expecting; screaming ponies, changeling magic, the gradual destruction of her town, but it was the other sounds that threw her off. It sounded like...someone destroying her library. Through grit teeth, Twilight tried to calm her nerves. How dare they! Her library contained some of the oldest texts found in Equestria, some dating all the way back to the original reign of Discord. It contained some of the most important relics and artifacts from the last two years in it. And if those changelings were just going to...going to ignore all that and destroy her library for no reason, that was where she drew the line! In her head, she ran over a couple of spells. Nothing complicated; a spell to defend herself, a spell to fight back and a spell just in case worst came to worst and she had to run. Then, she jumped out from the basement, sliding sideways across the wooden floor to save herself the time of turning to face the changelings. Her mind blanked for a moment as she realised that there wasn't a changeling in sight. The room was a mess, there was no denying that, but the damage was hardly worse than one of her regular study sessions. The entire bottom row of shelves were devoid of books and the table in the middle of her room had a huge lightning shaped crack through the middle of it. Paper and books lay sprawled across the ground; gathering in small piles in the corner but overall, everything was perfectly fine. Twilight stepped forward, raising her head as something caught her attention. The four knights. The four of them were standing directly in front of her door, weapons and magic and sausages drawn and ready. Carefully, Twilight took a step forward, not sure of what to do. The four didn't even notice her, instead choosing to focus entirely on the closed door. Maybe they were trying to open it with their minds? They'd clearly tried to open it before; the door was covered in scratch marks, but why just sit stock still and wait for it to open? "What's the problem? Did the changelings lock us in? Why can't you go out?" Twilight asked, not expecting a response. "As far as I can tell, they can't open doors." Twilight snapped her eyes over to the small dragon hovering in the air behind the blue knight. For someone who was currently floating two feet above the ground and at the ground zero for a changeling invasion, Spike was handling things amazingly well. A purple glow covered him for a second and attempted to pull him back to earth, but he simply waved Twilight's attempts at grounding him away. Sighing sadly, Twilight went back to trading glances between the door and the knights. "What do you mean they can't open doors? Spike, these are immortal warriors from the dawn of time. They've fought monsters we can't even begin to imagine simply because they were asked to, they've fought in more wars and battles than both of us combined; I refuse to believe that it's simply the fact that they don't know how that's stopping them from opening our front door." Spike shrugged. "Say what you want, they still can't open it. First they stabbed the door to try and break it down, but we both know how strong our front door is. Next, one of them took out a horn for some reason and blew it at the door, don't know what that was about, then they tried blowing our door open with some kind of explosion magic, still no game, and now they're just sitting here waiting for someone to open the door. Not one tried to...you know, open it." "Spike, our door is obviously jammed, or barricaded or something! Nothing gets this old without learning how doors work, now get down from there before you get hurt." "Open the door and I will, miss smarty pants." Twilight sighed. "Smarty pants was my doll and you know it. Besides, he's missing now, thank you for reminding me." Giving the knights one last glance, Twilight headed towards the door. It was pointless anyway; if they couldn't get the door open, that meant the changelings must have covered the door in so much goo nothing could get through. Running a hoof over the scratches on the door, Twilight sighed again. It was...impossible. Grabbing the doorknob, Twilight felt a sudden spell of light-headedness fall over her. Breathing out and back in hastily, Twilight hadn't even noticed she was holding her breath. Spike couldn't have been...right. It made no sense. Holding her breath again without realising it, Twilight leant back and pulled on the door suddenly. She was instantly thrown off balance as the door swung directly into her face. The world was dipped into darkness as her vision waned and faded by the blow to the head. Another moment passed as Twilight chased away the cartoon birds and coughed up the dust that had suddenly appeared in the room. Where had all this dust come from? Scanning through the room again, blinking every time the dust rubbed into her eyes, Twilight nearly smiled in glee when she noticed that the knights had already sprinted out the door. That was good, everything was going to be fine. Stepping out of the library, it was nearly surreal. Everything seemed to slow down as Twilight stepped forward. Everywhere she looked, she could see a changeling. They were on the roofs, along the roads, hovering in the air, absolutely everywhere. And every single one, whether they were occupied tearing down the village or just taunting the ponies they'd captured, had stopped to stare at the strange creatures stepping out of the library. A million pairs of eyes, all focused on a single target. The knights didn't even care. They strode onwards, an unseen purpose to their movements. A young changeling, barely an adult, rushed down to stop them. Perhaps he wanted to be the first to capture the new specimens, or maybe he was just cocky. Whatever the reason, his movement was the rope that pulled everyone back in to reality. Two of his friends followed after the changeling hastily, obviously sensing he was about to get in over his head. They landed directly in front of the knights; fangs bared and horns glowing. Murmurs and whisper raced along the rooftops as changelings landed and traded vantage points for the fight. The red knight furrowed his brow and with a wave of his hand, signalled for the others to follow his lead. Total silence ruled the field as the two sides faced each other. Try as she might, Twilight couldn't hear so much as a scream or a whisper. Whether it was an effect of the knights or simply the tension in the air, every living thing was currently focused on the fighters. Twilight blinked, shutting out the world for a second, and nearly missed the first strike. The red knight dashed forward like lightning, nothing but a red blur symbolizing that he was ever standing still. Dust and debris kicked into the changelings face as the knight reached him, delivering a quick whack with the handle of his sword before twisting around, backhanding his friends into the nearest building. The shockwave was nearly visible as they hit it; sliding down and resting at the base of the house. Another brief moment passed as the changelings gathered registered what happened. Twilight had to side-step suddenly as a box of popcorn fell directly where she was standing, the changeling holding it apparently too shocked to keep his grip. A shout, quiet at first but growing in intensity rushed through the crowd. It was so loud, and so strong, that the library itself shook under the noise, and Twilight was forced to cover her ears. And then, as the noise reached its loudest, every changeling rushed in to fight the knights. Dust flew into the air once again and shrouded the fighters as the red knight moved around with such speed and grace that it seemed he was everywhere at once. Twilight was enraptured, she'd never seen anything like this before. Such force and grace and precision, all wrapped into a single figure. She needed to see more, she had to get closer. She'd only taken three steps forward before noticing something strange. Scanning the street, Twilight was shocked to find her suspicions correct. There was only one knight fighting the changelings. The red knight was embedded in the heart of the battle, blocking everything the changelings threw at him and twisting out of the way of anything he couldn't block. The entire time, an expression of pure rage was painted on his face, all directed at the orange knight, who was standing a couple of steps off to the side and taking small bites out of his weapon of choice. Twilight swore she could see veins of anger pulsing off the side of the knights head as he stared at his friend. It never broke, not when the knight was jumping through the air or when he was falling back to earth. Glancing upwards at the top of the buildings, Twilight noted that the green knight seemed more preoccupied with stealing all the green goo he could find rather than fighting the enemy. And the blue knight was...oh Celestia, that was bad! Rushing forward, Twilight had intended to tackle the blue knight to the ground before suddenly remembering just who he was and stopped herself. Her hooves left two deep grooves in the earth as she slid to a stop, just a few steps away from the knight. A small hoof high fence separated the two and marked where the road ended as Twilight tried to round up her tongue. For now, she was just content to watch. The blue knight was gardening. Or at least, it looked like gardening. Somehow, he had gotten his hands on a small shovel used to dig holes for seeds and, instead of fighting in the raging battle in the middle of street, had decided to spend his time digging holes in Roseluck's garden. It was almost rhythmic to Twilight; stab, push, lean back, fall over, repeat. Finally, words returned to her as the knight fell over again, roses and dirt flinging into the air after him. "What are you doing? Go help your friend, he needs help fighting the changelings, don't you get that?" Groaning as he pushed himself back to his feet, the blue knight stared at Twilight, his eyebrows funnelled into a confused glance. Slowly, he pointed at the shovel and shook his head questionably. "Yes! I mean, no! I mean, don't dig up the garden, Roseluck wouldn't like that. Why aren't you doing anything!" The knight paused for a moment, just a quick minute, and pointed at the battle in the street. Twilight nodded expectantly. "Yes, yes, go help him. Fight, win, save Equestria, find the princesses." Despite perking up at the mention of the princess, the blue knight slowly placed his other gloved hand on the end of the shovel, eyes still firmly locked on Twilight. He didn't break their exchange for anything, even when he kicked down sideways to bury his shovel in the dirt again. Twilight was starting to know how the red knight was feeling. "Stop that right now! I don't care what you've done, my friends are in danger and you're going to help them whether you like it or not. If you don't, then I swear to Celestia I will turn all of you back into stone and get it done myself, so help me. So pull that shovel out of the ground, get into the street and kick those changeling's...butts..." Twilight's words faded into the wind as the knight pulled back on his shovel, the same way he always did, and fell onto his back again. Only this time, instead of dirt and roses flying into the air, a long stick wrapped in cloth and rope exploded out of the ground, flipping over itself and burying its end into the ground. Gawking wordlessly, Twilight could only observe yet again as the knight reached forward and ripped the cloth off, revealing a thick wooden staff. Throwing his own sword behind him carelessly and without a second thought, the blue knight picked the staff up and jumped out of the garden, flipping for pure show as he did. Then, without another gesture or word or whisper, he charged down the street. Right into the hands of the orange knight, who offered him a bag of popcorn he found to watch the show with. Well, you can't fault him for priorities. "There are some things I shouldn't think too hard on, Spike." Nodding, Spike reached forward. His hand faltered for a second, reaching through the empty air in search of its goal before finally, Spike received reward for his patience with a hand full of popcorn. "Like why Roseluck had a weapon buried in her garden?" Levitating a drink full of soda to her mouth, Twilight nodded. "And how you're floating, and how only one of the knights seems interested in fighting, or why this is just so very interesting." Looking up, Twilight squinted through the dust. At the moment, everything within the storm of dirt was just a silhouette, but Twilight knew that would clear up soon, and then she could enjoy the show again. It crossed her mind that this was basically what the villains did in her books; make ponies fight for her amusement, but this was different, obviously. One of them wasn't a pony. And the other twenty were changelings. The blue and orange knights sat at her side, enjoying the dinner and a show as much as she was. At first, it infuriated her to no end how the others refused to fight, but now...well, the red knight certainly wasn't doing badly. Sure, he slipped up every now and then and one of the changelings would get a punch in, but other than that he was doing exceptionally well. As long as Twilight ignored the vein of pure hate growing on his forehead and concentrated on her drink instead, she could start to see why the other knights were so adamant to not get involved. The red knight was capable of fighting the battle just fine. So long as he didn't die of a brain aneurysm first. Looking back up again, Twilight jumped backwards, the shock to her system causing her to spit her drink all over the red knight. The street was entirely devoid of changelings, with only their twitching bodies remaining. Blood rushed into Twilight's cheeks as she moved forward to help the knight. "I'm so sorry, you scared me. You just...I didn't expect you to move in front of me so quickly, I'm so sorry." If the red knight cared, he did an amazing job of hiding his true emotions. Walking right past Twilight and her stuttering mouth, the red knight stood in front of his troop, pausing for a brief moment. The two only had long enough to register how screwed they were before the knight picked the both of them up by the collar and tromped back past Twilight into the road. The knight stopped again, this time scanning through the roof tops for his remaining companion. When a full minute passed with no sign of him, the red knight turned around. He waved his hand once to make sure he had Twilight attention before beginning the strange sign language they used to communicate. It was simpler this time, all he did was point at his weapon and shrug. Twilight caught on immediately. "The town hall! That's where they were last time, in the town hall. It's the only place big enough to hold all of them. Come on, I'll show you!" Before she could get started though, an armoured gauntlet reached forward and stopped her. Looking back up, Twilight once again felt her checks darken when she realised he wasn't done yet. Strangely, all the red knight did was rub his stomach, occasionally switching it up and pointing at the empty place beneath his eyes to make sure Twilight got the point. She did. "You want...something to eat?" All three knights nodded. "Is now really the best time? My friends are still in danger, we should go help..." They weren't even listening. Celestia was right, these knights were odd. Sighing heavily, Twilight did a complete one eighty and trotted down the street. "Sugercube Corner is just down here, but when you're done, you will do what I say. Deal?" For once, a strange peace came over Twilight when she saw the knight nod in reply. Everything was going to be fine. Sugarcube corner was empty. There was not a single sweet left in the entire building. The cookies had been crumbled, the cupcakes pilfered and the muffins, devoured. Not a single scrap or whiff of food remained in the building. There are times that Twilight wished she remembered the spell that let her travel back in time. The door back out to the knights seemed so far away, yet she knew that she needed to pass through it and give them the bad news. She wouldn't lie and say it didn't scare her, it terrified her. Just one of these monsters had ripped every changeling in Ponyville to shreds, and now she needed to go out and face three of them and tell them that 'no, there isn't actually any food here, get back to saving my friends.' Sighing, Twilight moved forward. There was no way this could end well. Stepping into the light of the sun, Twilight did her best to get straight to the point. "There's...I'm sorry, but there's nothing here. The changelings must have taken everything when they got the chance, the entire place is empty." The red knight, long since relieved of the weight of his comrades, lowered the hand he had resting on his chin. He nodded gently to himself; let his eyes drift through the alleys and streets of the town. Twilight took a cautionary step back. She wasn't sure if the knight would actually attack her, but she needed to be careful. Suddenly, the knight snapped to attention, throwing his arm upwards and pointing at what he saw. Twilight looked up, but it was obvious that he wasn't pointing for her benefit. His expression was too stern for that; his arm too taut. Twilight could feel the sheer heat of his hate radiating off of him as he pointed. He wasn't pointing to show her something, he was pointing as a warning. As a way to say, 'Green knight, you will come down here with the food or I will come up there with my sword. Either way, one of us is eating something today.' It seemed as if actual bolts of energy crackled through the air as the two knights engaged in their staring contest. The red knight kept his glare even as he wandered closer. This wasn't a thing he was going to lose, he was stronger than that. Twilight could only watch in awe as the knight walked right up to the building the green knight was standing on; practically shoving his chin into the brick as he continued to stare upwards. The tension reached a peak as something fell from the roof, hard and fast. For a split-second, the red knight looked down to see what was thrown at him, glancing back up immediately once he realised his mistake. It was already too late. All trace of the green knight had vanished, almost as if he'd never been there. The red knight simply fell to his knees and shook his fists to the sky as dramatically as he could. It was many long minutes before he stood back up again, maintaining the same wordless silence as he always did. Twilight wiped a drop of sweat from the back of her neck. "Are...are you ready to...to help me now? I'd really...really appreciate it." The knight responded with nothing more than a sad nod. "Well, follow me then. Don't worry about the food, Pinkie Pie will cook you up so much food you'll never eat again once you rescue her." The light shooting out of the town hall was blinding. A sickly green light that wormed its way into Twilight's eyes and mouth and attempted to choke her out from the inside. While she knew how irrational it sounded, she could actually feel how heavy the light coming out of this building was. She swallowed slowly, half to calm her nerves and half to calm her throat before turning to the heroes she'd summoned. "This is it, this is where..." Twilight never got to finish her sentence, as each knight leapt forward and started beating on the door of the hall with their weapons. This was getting unbearable, it was like taking care of a group of sugar infused Pinkie Pies. Every time she got them focused on something, they leapt right into it with even waiting for her to explain why they were doing it in the first place. They just...didn't care about things like explanations or reasons. There were bad guys in the hall and they fight bad guys, that was the extent of their thinking. It was infuriating. Shards of wood launched out at Twilight as the door finally flew inwards, barely even a sliver left on the hinges. The knights traded stares before going in, each one holding their weapon of choice tightly. With nothing better to do and barely an idea of how she could help, Twilight followed after them. At first, she couldn't see a thing. Despite the glowing fungus lining the walls, it nearly seemed as if the room ate any source of light placed into it. Trotting forward into the darkness quickly, Twilight bumped into the back of one of the knights. A quick apology passed her lips as she wiggled her way to the front. She couldn't fight, but maybe...just maybe the changelings would be willing to negotiate. It was a slim chance, but Twilight had to give them the choice. The darkness faded from around her slowly, almost as if it sensed her intentions. The adrenaline that shot into Twilight as soon as she realised what she was looking at told her to run or fight or hide or do anything other than try to reason with the creatures responsible for it. Twilight raised her hoof and just...ran it over the surface of the cocoon. There wasn't anything she could do, not at the moment. It pained her, physically caused her pain to have to leave her friend like that; beating against the inside of their prison in a vain attempt to escape, begging her for help, but she had no choice. There just...wouldn't be enough time. She would do it later, she promised them that, but at the moment she needed to make sure it was safe. The lights in the room brightened even more and Twilight swore she could hear the warriors behind her gasp. Turning around, it wasn't hard to see why. Changelings of every size and shape and colour and gender lined the walls. Some sat patiently on the sidelines, waiting for the order to strike, while others were barely restrained by their peers until the time was right. And sitting in the middle of the room, upon a throne made out of pony filled cocoons, was the one responsible. King Sombra, who else would it be? "So Twilight, I see you've finally decided to take my offer. Come to beg for mercy then? I promise we can make this swift." Twilight coughed once, clearing her throat. "Sombra, your demands are completely unreasonable, and I've seen fit to rewrite them to better suit both of our advancements. If you would just listen for a second, I'm sure we can both come to an agreement." "I think my demands are completely reasonable. A pony for a kingdom, is it not? I release your friends and in return, you hand me the elements." "Sombra please, you don't need to do this! We can help you! You don't have to use force, or blackmail, or lies to get what you want. We helped Discord to understand this, we can do the same to you, but please, listen to me!" For a moment, it seemed like Sombra was actually contemplating what Twilight had said. An illusion that was broken as he started laughing directly into her face; a huge laugh that brought tears into his eyes. "You're wrong, Twilight. I don't use force because I have to. Despite what Celestia wants you to believe, I'm not a bad pony. I'm not cruel to my subjects, those that do as I say anyway, I'm not a greedy pony or a selfish one or a bad one in any sense. Do I have my flaws? Yes, but so do you. So does Celestia and Discord and Rarity and every other pony. I don't know who the friends you've brought are, but I'm willing to bet they have their flaws too. I use force because it's the fastest way to make ponies listen to me. And ponies need to listen to me, because I'm the only one who can see the truth. I'm the only one smart enough and powerful enough and wise enough to rule. That is why I use force, and blackmail and lie. Because then ponies listen to what I have to say." Twilight sighed, there was no changing him. "Then you leave me no choice. Has anypony ever read you the story of the four knights, Sombra? Has anypony ever cared enough to sit you down and simply...read you a bedtime story? I can see it in your face, you don't know how the story goes. And while I don't think of myself highly enough to read it to you, I can at least give you the cliff notes." Twilight stepped closer, eliciting a sharp hiss from the changelings in the room. "There are many things that make a hero. You think of it as a thing to be earned, by the steel of your sword or the strength of your armies, but that's not what a true hero is. That is a warrior, Sombra." Taking another step, Twilight was close enough to read the expression of the pony trapped in front of her at the base of the throne. Confusion. "You think of it as a thing to be learned, by the magic in your horn and the power of your books. But that is a magician, Sombra, not a hero." "Stop that. Stop that now!" Sombra shouted, but Twilight just kept walking closer. The changelings around the walls glanced at each other, not sure what to do. Twilight didn't realise it, but she was shouting at this point. "You think of a hero as something to be adored, by the kindness of your lovers and the adoration of your kingdom, but that only makes a star, not a hero." "You think..." Twilight continued, only to be cut off suddenly. A blinding pain was spreading across her cheek as she fell backwards from the throne. It was such a long fall, Twilight wasn't looking forward to landing, especially not in the position she'd gotten herself. A short look at Sombra told her that she'd been slapped, quite forcefully in fact, as the shadowy palm disintegrated into the air. Hitting the ground, she could hear Sombra shouting. "I don't think any of those things. You will not put words in my mouth, wench. I know what a hero is." The room darkened suddenly as Sombra concentrated. This wasn't just regular darkness though, it was too thick for that. Quickly, impossibly quick, the shadows twisted and curled around each other and became solid. A metallic sheen flashed across the now physical shadows that stretched around Twilight. She'd been...captured. Behind her, she could hear the knights beating on the pitch black bars, but she knew she needed to remain focused. Smiling though, Twilight wasn't about to stop. "If you know what a hero is then, you won't mind me finishing my story. You think of a hero as someone who is smarter than others, but that's not what a hero is. Do you want to know what makes a hero, a hero?" "You will be silent! I demand it!" "It's timing." Sombra was fully prepared to obliterate Twilight at that moment, at the very next word she said. Instead, he found himself laughing again, as the magic he'd pent up wafted into the shadows around him. "Timing? Timing? What does that even mean?" Twilight shrugged. "It means you should have realised that I said the four knights, yet you've only met three." The implication behind Twilight's words hung in the air, heavy and potent. A flash of...surprise maybe, flashed across Sombra's face, a half hearted 'Wha--" escaping his lips until something whizzed through the air and struck him on the horn. As Sombra fell backwards, the shadows and illusions surrounding the room wavered for a second; it was like a flash of light had suddenly illuminated the building. And in that brief moment, Twilight saw what she desperately wanted to be real. The green knight, arrow cocked in bow, was dropping down from the ceiling. Hiss' and jeers flowed through the room as Sombra forced himself back to his feet. The changelings were getting frenzied, a few buzzed around overhead angrily at the attack on their king. They just needed the order, one word to begin the charge. Instead Sombra raised his hoof, commanding their attention. "Stay where you are. I can do this myself. Lets see just how powerful these 'heroes' are." The darkness around Sombra began to waver, like the surface of a lake, as his eyes darkened to a menacing green. Lips pulled back into a threatening sneer and magic honed to a point, Sombra taunted his opponent, faking out and pulling back, edging him to come closer. The green knight was as emotionless as always. The only sign that he was actually paying attention to the fight was his deft movements and the fact that he would occasionally cock his head to the side. And then he moved, and Twilight had to double check to make sure he hadn't simply teleported. He appeared directly next to Sombra, weaving through the shadows and delivering a swift punt to his horn again. He moved again, leaving a blur where he was, and seemingly materialized on the other side of the room. His brow was knotted with determination as he took aim with his bow, firing with the same speed he'd used to move. Sombra's guard had only been dropped for two and a half seconds by the blow to his head, and that was already enough time for the knight to release his barrage. It was like a machine gun, firing so quickly and rapidly that the knight's arm disappeared from the sheer speed. They blocked out the sun in the numbers and no amount of shadow manipulation could place Sombra back into the shade. All he could do was throw his hoof in front of his face as the air around him was replaced with flying wood and steel. The constant 'twang' of the bow paused for a split second as the knight rushed forward again, his speed so great that he arrived at Sombra before his arrows did. Wasting not a single moment, he delivered a gut wrenching punch into Sombra's stomach, one that launched him into the air. An arrow stabbed into his back and pushed him forward, directly into the fist of the waiting knight. With another swing, the knight launched Sombra higher into the air, where another arrow forced its way into his back. Right back into the knight's attack. Finally, just a few feet from slamming their heads against the top of the building, the green knight switched it up and punched down. He and Sombra fell, one gasping for breath through the pain and blood and the other never faltering in his determined smirk, until they hit the ground. The foundations of the hall shook as the two forces collided, a physical shockwave blasting outward from the point of collision. With his job done, the green knight started to walk away slowly, dropping his bow as he did. Twilight's sighs turned to terrified screaming as she realised that Sombra was still alive. Weak knee'd and unsteady, but undoubtedly alive. The green knight hadn't noticed, Twilight had to warn him. Beating against the cage she'd been trapped in, firing her magic around randomly, nothing she did attracted the knights attention. Wearily, Sombra bent his head and took aim with his horn. This was his chance. And then a giant chest fell on his head. The knight didn't break stride as he turned around; ignoring the shocked, confused, angry and tired faces in the room. Twilight...Twilight simply shook her head. The magic holding her back remained in place, slowly degrading like a rotting bone into the air and preventing her from...she didn't know, congratulating the knight? Her exasperation reached a peak as the knight punched the lid of the chest open. An incredibly loud tune started to play, much, much too happy for what just happened, as bags of money and bits fell from the sky. The green knight, forgetting for a moment that danger he was still in, took this chance to frolic and dance in the rain of money, throwing fistfuls of it into the air carelessly. Still ignoring the changelings, the knight appeared at the top of Sombra's throne and with a single swift punch, cut the cocoon he was using as a back cleanly in half. Twilight stared on awed as the pony inside fell out, unharmed by the completely clean cut that went through the entire cocoon. Despite the fact that the pony's movements were tired and sluggish, it was amazing she was still conscious. She only got more amazed as she realised who it was. "Princess Luna?" Just as the words broke her lips, she found herself rudely shoved to the side by the red knight. Looking up from the ground, Twilight could only imagine what was going on. It was like a game of basketball. The red knight shot a glare at the green one, who passed it back to him. The red one glanced at the blue one, who traded it to the orange who stared back at the green. The green one looked down at the blue, and in response the blue one looked back at the red. A brief pass between the orange and red and finally, the 'ball' ended up in the red's court. With a group of slowly dissipating shadows stopping him from intercepting the green knight, all the red one could do was point. Focusing all his hate and general fury into a single finger, Twilight could almost hear what he was trying to say. "Green, if you kiss that princess, I swear I will murder you. Blue and orange will help me, they know what the rules are. No one liked you anyway, so move away from the princess." In response to this, the green knight gave him one final glance before leaning in, giving the sluggish Princess a kiss right on the lips. The shadows finally vanished as Luna came to. Her hooves waved out forward, slipping off the knight in her attempt to force him off. Sensing her distress, the green knight released her swiftly. Hitting the ground with a thud, Luna looked up just long enough to see the knight disappear again and throw an arm over the red knight's shoulder. To Twilight's surprise, instead of a violent beat down or a harsh pointing, the red knight simply sighed and started glancing around the room. Maybe they've done something like this before? A piercing shout grabbed the attention of everyone in the room. "Just who do you think you are? Kissing the princess without her permission! I should banish you from my land for that. You can not fathom the punishments I could inflict on you, my sister shall hear of this, just as soon as I rescue her from Canterlot. You can have my word. Your death will be neither swift nor painless. A thousand years of suffering and pain upon you, foolish green knight, for what you have done." Luna hovered down on graceful wings to face the knights, stopping halfway to greet the changelings. "I advise that you flee this place before I inflict the same punishments upon you, insects. Get out of my sight." Small swirls of dust were kicked up as the princess of the night landed. "Now, as for...you?" Luna looked around confused. There was no sign of the knights at all. Focusing on Twilight instead, Luna asked. "Um...where did they go?" "Don't you recognize them Luna?" "Yes yes, of course I do, where did they go?" Twilight pointed at the door. From across the hall, she could just make out three figures crawling through a hole they'd punched in the back door. "They just started sprinting as soon as you mentioned Canterlot. I think they intend to run there and save Celestia themselves." Luna just gawked at the two remaining knights. "But...but Canterlot is several hours away. Surely they don't intend to walk all the way?" Twilight could only shrug. "I need to make sure they don't hurt themselves. I hate to say it, but they seem entirely direction less. If they didn't have someone pointing the way to go they'd get lost in a straight hallway." she said, trotting hastily across the room to catch up with the knights. "Could you please help the ponies here while I'm gone? I promise, I'll save Celestia, but these ponies need your help more." Raising a hoof weakly at the last knight, Luna whispered, not sure he could hear her. "Wait...call me." And with that, Luna turned around; the giant goo coffins of the changelings opposing her. They must have gotten the entire population of Ponyville trapped. It would take ages to break them all out alone. Then again, she was no stranger to the ages. Lighting up her horn, Luna set to work. As the light of the sun eclipsed Twilight's body, she did a quick role call to double check where everyone was. Green knight was chasing one of Fluttershy's chickens through a tree, though whether he was holding back or not was a matter of debate, blue knight was attempting to flash freeze the same chicken, orange knight was digging more holes in the middle of the road and the red knight was simply ignoring all of them, his eyes set firm on the city ahead. Twilight sighed and prayed that Celestia give her the strength to put up with them until they were done. Just until the reached Canterlot, that's all the time she needed to hold out. Author's Note Yea, full agility will do that to a guy. And before anyone asks, no it wasn't the real Sombra. That guys dead as shit. Ain't nothing bringing him back. Castle Crashing the Palace"Alright, everypony huddle roun...huddle roun...I said, everypony huddle...orange knight, if you don't stop swinging that sausage around, I will take it from you, now get over here!" Stopping for a moment, Twilight breathed in deeply. Getting the red knight to sit down for a minute had been easy. Red knight was the most rational, Twilight liked red knight. She figured that green knight would be the hardest, but a swift slap to back of the head by his blue friend had brought his attention back to Twilight. It had been convincing the orange knight to step down from his ride for a second so she could talk that had been the problem. Finally though, through much prodding and bribery in the form of tofu sandwiches, she'd amazingly found herself able to hold the knights attention for a brief moment. And she intended to use every second. Floating a stick past her head, Twilight sketched a small diagram into the dirt. "Alright, everypony listen. I know you want to charge down there and start doing...whatever it is that you guys do; I'm still not quite sure myself what it is, but you do it well, that's all that matters. Here's the deal though, Canterlot isn't just some small town set up on an empty plain. There's a sheer cliff drop on one side, an impenetrable wall of mountainous stone on the other, a moat, two sets of walls, several miles of street buildings and just for good measure, another wall built in it surrounding the palace. Add onto the fact that the city is nearly overrun with changelings and Chrysalis herself is there and we're really not looking at an easy fight." Glancing up, Twilight bit her lip in anger. All the knights except the red one had wandered off, distracted by absolutely nothing. It did little to mitigate Twilight's anger to see that the red knight was scratching the bottom of his chin and nodding softly. Slowly, he grabbed the stick out of the air, tapping it on the ground twice around the moat. The green knight materialized on his shoulders; sudden interest returning in the plan. Snatching the stick, he drew a crude four legged figure next to the moat. It wasn't a pony, ponies didn't have tails that big, so Twilight was at a lose for what it was supposed to mean. The stick was snatched off of him by the blue knight, who immediately set to drawing four squares on the back of the figure. And then it hit Twilight. It was a manticore. Rubbing her head, Twilight still didn't understand though. How was a manticore supposed to do anything? And then the orange knight appeared, scratching his symbol over the entire map of Canterlot. Turning away and blushing, Twilight trotted forward a bit. Ahead of her lay the path to Canterlot; a twisty turney path that ran down the side of the mountain until finally levelling out at the entrance to the city. Glancing behind her, Twilight sighed heavily. A quick wave of her hoof later, and the knights were already rushing past her, finally sure of the way they needed to go. Just before she stepped forward to catch up to them though, a pink hoof pulled her back. Looking up into the eyes of her sister in law, Twilight smiled nervously. "Twilight, I just...want you to be careful out there. Canterlot's a dangerous place now, you could get seriously hurt." Twilight kept up her grin. "I need to go, Cadence. These knights are...odd to say the least. If they don't have somepony around to open doors and tell them where to go next, they just fall apart. Somepony needs to be there for them." "Then let me go. I'm stronger than you, I can take your place. You say all I need to do is point the way, I can do that." Shaking her head, Twilight began to turn back around. If she waited too long, then she'd never catch up to the knights in time. "I'm sorry Cadence, but like you said, it's too dangerous. What would you do if something went wrong? The Crystal Kingdom would be left without a princess again, Shining would never get over you and I'd never get over that fact that I let you go. You have a duty as a princess to protect the crystal ponies and they are safe, your obligations end here. I have a duty as the bearer of magic to make sure that Equestria remains safe, and I intend to do so. Now let me go." Lingering for a second longer than it should; the hoof slowly moved off Twilight's back, letting her continue on her way. She didn't want to look back as she wandered down the path; it would be too painful for the both of them. So instead, she kept her eyes forward, never straying from their purpose and goal. Twilight just hoped she was making the right choice. Twilight rubbed her eyes to make sure she was seeing this right. Nope...still there and still utterly ridiculous. The orange knight was laying in the curve of the manticore's tail, his eyes glancing around in pure joy. The rushing river sat in front of them, too powerful to swim across and too long to attempt flying over. Or so Twilight had assumed. Looking over the faces of the knights gathered though, and watching the manticore rear backwards in preparation, it seemed like that was exactly what the knights intended to do. "No. No. I refuse this time. No. This is too wacky! That's not some kind of advanced catapult or tri-bucket, that's a manticore. That's one of the most dangerous creatures in the Everfree forest, you can't just turn it into some kind of throwing device. The river's too wide, it'll never throw you far enough. For your own safety, you will get down from there now. We'll find another way." The orange knight shuffled a bit, keeping his head down as he moved. Twilight let out her pent up breath when she realised that they were finally listening to her. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all. Perhaps she could still get out of here with her sanity. Swinging his sausage hand down, the orange knight slapped the manticore across the back powerfully. Twilight could barely shout out as the monster reacted on instinct, stinging forward hastily. A few second later, the orange knight flew through the air, thrown clear off the stinger. He sailed through the air like a graceful swan, perfect and free from his imprisonment on the ground. The very sight was nearly enough to make Twilight cry in joy. Looking around, it became clear that the knights shared the same sentiment. It was a perfect throw, sending him far over the water. Then the knights chuckled as he landed face first in the sand on the other side. Twilight was still reeling from surprise as the next knight loaded himself into the manti-pult. "But...but that shouldn't work!" Another quick slap, and the green knight was sent soaring to the other side of the moat. He hadn't even landed before the blue knight jumped up to do the same. "Stop that this instant; it doesn't make any sense!" The manticore reared back again, and Twilight was given a small glimpse of her assistant; just hovering in the air next to the knight. All he could do was shrug before the knight kicked down violently, sending him across the river to meet his friends. Twilight felt something touch her back; relaxing when she realised it was just the red knight. Almost sadly, he pointed at the manticore. It was at this point that Twilight was at a loss of words to say. It was one thing to have to put up with the shenanigans the knights got involved in, but to actually get involved herself? That was going too far. She'd had enough of a conflict at Zecora's without adding all this onto the top of it. Looking up at the face of the red knight though, it was rather a necessary evil. The red knight didn't seem like the kind of person who would involve himself in their crazy games either, but he always did. He complained and raged the whole way, but he did go along with them. And why? Because for all their insanity and lack of attention, they worked. Almost miraculously, they're schemes and plans worked. Gritting her teeth, Twilight moved closer to the manticore. She just needed to...go with it. Close her eyes and pretend everything was alright. An arm wrapped around her side as the red knight hoisted her into the air. Stopping to make sure she wasn't hurt or uncomfortable, he leapt up onto the manticore. He was determined, that much was clear from his stern stare, as he kicked the manticore in the side. A slight delay caused Twilight to weed her eyes open slightly before the sudden movement punched the wind out of her chest. Just when she was sure she'd managed to catch another breath from the rushing wind that forced air into the back of her throat, she landed, once again forcing her lungs to empty themselves. The sand beneath her feet felt wonderful as she honestly considered kissing the ground. She didn't like flying; leave flying to Rainbow Dash. A soft pat on the head was all she got to bring her back to earth as the knight moved on, rushing towards the walls set up just a few feet away. Well, that took care of the moat, at least. From somewhere behind her, a manticore roared; one continuous and loud roar that faded into the mountains as the beast returned to his home, most likely to shower heavily. A voice greeted the group as they walked closer to the wall; not yet close enough to attempt to pass them. Twilight wasn't sure how the knights intended to do so, but...she just needed to run with it. Surely they had a plan; a working plan, she just needed to trust them. "Well, hello down there." A strange snicker-like clicking rang out for a second before the voice continued. "Welcome to...to shining Canterlot, jewel of the world." Pulling her head up and scanning alone the top of the wall, Twilight locked onto a pair of changelings leaning over the edge. Twilight simply increased her pace; just trust in the knights. "I'm afraid we're in a bit of a lock down at the moment. Nopony's allowed in. Try...try coming back later, I'm sure we'll be able to...find you a nice comfortable cocoon." The changeling fought back a loud laugh with his hoof. It wasn't until Twilight was so close that she could touch the wall that she bothered to turn around. Just ignore the changelings, she was going to fix everything. The knights fell into formation, almost from sheer memory, as they caught up to Twilight at the base of the wall. How she'd managed to get ahead of them was a mystery, but that wasn't important. A series of short whispers wafted over the parapets of the wall as the two changelings talked, before eventually the same one from before stuck his head out again. "Come on, bugger off. We're busy. The city is closed. It is impossible to enter. There is no clear way to get into the premises. Get out of here already." The knights stared at the changeling on the wall, unblinking. "What are you deaf? Get out! Shoo! Were your parents both a cross eyed pony and particularly handsome rock? Leave. Le-eave!" There was no movement from either side. Sighing, the changeling pulled his attention away from the knights, just for a second. He searched around for a moment, eventually focusing on Twilight again. "Hey pony, are these...things with you? Get 'em out of here. Are you ignoring me? Hey purple pony, look at me!" Twilight really wanted to do what the changeling said, she really did. Look at him, that was, not get rid of the knights. She didn't think she even had the power to do that. At the moment though, she couldn't tear her eyes away from the absolutely brilliant plan that the knights were swiftly executing. It started slowly, almost unnoticeably. The blue knight took a step forward, before kneeling down on one knee. The knight behind him carefully stepped onto his back. The both of them then straightened back up, with one standing on the others perfectly flat head. Next the red knight bent over and, with a pretty impressive jump, the blue knight landed on his head, wobbling a bit as the three of them found their balance. All eyes were on the knights as the green knight bowed his head sadly and stood in front of the others. With a practised rhythm, the red knight climbed onto his head. The tower of knights wobbled again as it moved forward; all four of them holding their hands out to keep what little balance they could muster to stay upright. Swapping glances between each other, the changelings on the wall shrugged, argued and just generally tried to understand what was going on. "Uh...shouldn't we...like, push them over or something? They're nearly as tall as the wall itself, one of them might, you know, climb up here." "What, why? They're harmless. Obviously. Look, clearly they're some kind of circus performers, that's why they're dressed in distinctive colours and can do this totally sweet stunt. Seriously, do you have any idea how hard it is to stack four changelings on top of each other? It's not easy." "And how would you know this?" "That's not important, me and...uh, Click Clack got some friends together and tried it out one day." "You would spend time with Click Clack over me?" "No no no no, see, you were out on the whole Canterlot invasion thing. You couldn't have been involved even if you wanted to, you were busy beating up royal guards and kidnapping princesses." "Well yea, but still man. You couldn't have waited until I got back? You know we were kicked out by Cadence nearly instantly." "Look, I screwed up, and I'm sorry, that's what's important here. I'm sorry I didn't wait for you to go changeling stacking, are you happy?" "Yea, yea, you're right, I'm over reacting here. Give me a hug, man, I'm sorry." "No, I'm sorry, get over here." "I love you, Clicks." "Wait, what'd you say?" Peering over the top of the wall, the orange knight felt a glimmer of hope deep within his soul. He couldn't hurt such good friends, not when he himself had friends that were exactly the same. It just wouldn't be right. It would hurt him too deeply if something were to happen to his friends, and he knew it was the same for these changelings. Pulling himself up so he wasn't resting on the blue knights head any more, the orange knight slinked forward, sausage at the ready. Without a word or a noise to mark his presence, the knight applied light pressure to the back of the changeling's heads, sending them sprawling along the wall from the force of the strike. Glancing around once to make sure he was truly alone, the knight turned to the wall. Leaning himself just a bit further than normal, he grabbed the hands reaching up from below, and pulled. Through a combination of the knights pushing off the wall and the orange knight anchoring them in place, all four knights plus dragon orb managed to scale the wall safely. Twilight could only nod acceptingly. Trotting back a few steps so she could get a better view, Twilight flagged down one of the knights. "Umm, you haven't forgotten about me, right? I'm still down here! Take me with you!" Looking over the faces of his companions to gauge their reactions, the red knight snapped his fingers. Pointing further along the wall, the knights stared dumb-founded for a moment. Twilight couldn't even imagine what they saw that had actually caused them to stop for even a moment. Something dropped in Twilight's chest as they disappeared from sight, not even giving her the grace of telling her what to do next. Not that it wouldn't become apparent. The earth shook as something large and heavy fell several feet from where Twilight was standing. Turning suddenly, it didn't take Twilight long to realise what it was. A thick, slimy frog tongue. Tracing it back to it's origin, Twilight gawked at the strange beast sitting on the walls; four knights riding proudly on its back. It's yellow, buggy eyes moved around more than the knights did and it's green skin looked fairly out of place in the refined city of Canterlot, but that paled in comparison to the fact that the creatures long tongue was the stretching all the way down to greet her. The knights waved for a second, breaking Twilight out of her surprise. Swallowing her pride and sanitation, Twilight took a tentative step onto the frogs tongue. The wind blasted past her at an impossible speed yet again as the frog snapped her closer; depositing her on the wall instead of simply devouring her. She couldn't stop the shiver that ran through her spine as she felt the wet muck that had stuck onto the bottom her feet. Breathing in deeply, Twilight turned to face the knights; just in time to see the frog jump forward and throw them from its back. She offered a hoof out to them; slightly forced smile on her face. "Come on, one down, two to go." Twilight wandered alone down the main street of Canterlot. To her sides lay the signs of a great siege on the city. Boarded up windows lined her view as far as she could see, translucent green goo hung off the sides of buildings and deep hoofmarks were gouged into the dirt. Despite all this though, Twilight remained calm. Keeping her breath calm and steady, Twilight moved forward. Her ears spun forward as something buzzed through the air in front of her, then another, and another. The wind punched her in the face as the changelings landed; confident sneers on each of their faces. "Well well well, what's all this then? A little unicorn, travelling on her lonesome? That's just not right. Come with us, and maybe we'll give you a nice cocoon. No promises though." Twilight chuckled to herself. "No, I don't need a cocoon. If you could just point me to the palace, please, that would be very kind of you. I just have some business there I need to take care of." "Haha, how about no? Now how about you just come along quietly before we do things our way, and nopony needs to get hurt. We run this place now, so just...do as we say." "Haha, how about you point me to the palace?" "Alright seriously, stop that. I will hurt you, pony. Look at my face, this is not the face of some bright pink square headed pansy who hands out hamsters in his free time and throws magical rainbows at people because friendship is equal to or below magic, this is the face of a super serious business guy. So stop playing around, and we'll just get through this together. Except you'll end up in a feeding pod and we'll be the ones feeding, but it's the same deal." Twilight giggled excitedly. "Alright, let's do this your way." Stomping her hoof three times, Twilight had to fight to hide back her smile. "Now!" Her words echoed through the streets of the city for a minute, before the knights made themselves known. It had taken red several long minutes of non stop signing, but somehow, Twilight had finally agreed to go along with the plan. The sun darkened in the sky as the red knight leapt forward, jumping off the roof of one of the buildings to Twilight's right. Wind and thunder crackled in the air as he landed, legs spread and a single hand resting on the ground. Pushing himself back up, the world was lit up by a flash of lightning as he drew his sword and pointed it menacingly at the changelings. The green knight was next, dashing up from behind the changelings impossibly fast. From his point of view though, everything else was just slow. He made sure to give the head changeling a light tap to the side of head as he passed by, like an owner would give a bad dog, before ducking under his slow moving hoof and taking a place at Twilight's left. An explosion of ice and wind signalled the arrival of the blue knight as he burst into existence, drops of water floating off him and freezing in the air as he focused himself. The temperature of the street lowered from the simple preparation of his spells, each on designed to cause maximum frost to his opponent. And then the orange knight appeared, falling from the sky. With a tremendous clap, he collided with the ground face first, the rest of his body stretching backwards to greet him. A minute of confusion for both sides passed, before the knight over extended himself and fell onto his back. Twilight sighed as the knights around her dropped their guards. Red lowered his sword weakly, green just stared at the ground sadly and blue cradled his head. "Come on orange, really? Three times in a row? We've rehearsed the thing for crying out loud, you shouldn't be screwing this up. Look, all you have to do is drop from the sky, fire shooting out of your back like a jet pack and land in front of me. Is that so hard?" Twilight said, stopping her hoof angrily. "Um...maybe we should just...go? I think maybe...I mean, we really aren't the...uh, fighting changelings." Twilight pointed at the changelings hastily. "I'd recommend that. If you wouldn't mind, could you not tell anypony else about this? We're still trying to get it right, orange is just a slow learner. Oh, and we do actually need to know the way to the palace, thank you." Pointing further down the road, Twilight simply nodded. "I thought so, thank you. Now, if you don't mind us, we'll just be on our way. Back to positions, everypony, let's try this again." Staring as the knights hurried back to their places in the shadows, Twilight continued onward alone; fully content in her own safety and...maybe hoping for another chance to surprise the changelings, just a little. It seemed her hopes would have to rest for now, because slowly but surely, something new was gracing her ears. The sound of...music? She noticed the wall long before she noticed the source of the sounds. The second wall; the one that always sat between the high class who lived in the spires and the lower class who lived on the mountain. And at the moment, she needed to figure out how to get past it. Twilight zoned away from the wall for a second, scanning her surroundings. A pair of heavy wooden gates sat in front of her; signs of age wearing on its lumber. Along the top, the occasional changeling would rear its head, only to scurry back behind the thick stone walls. And dragging her eyes down to the ground, Twilight noticed everything else. A single speaker; easily several times larger than herself, set up and facing the wall. A multitude of wires ran down its back and disappeared into the houses and shops lining the street. Looking to her left instead, Twilight noticed another stand; like the one the speaker was on, only this one sat empty and useless. Turning back to the way she'd came, Twilight nearly tripped over the random pile of instruments strewn across the floor as she walked closer. "What...what is all this?" Dust kicked into her face and a hand was thrust under her nose as the knights jumped down to assist her. Giving a slight cough, Twilight jumped back to her feet. To her surprise, the knights were huddled together; their hands moving too fast for Twilight to keep track of. If she didn't know any better, she'd swore it looked like a game Spike used to play, what did he call it? Rock Paper Scissors? Finally, the knights straightened themselves and pulled themselves back to their full heights. With a simple wave of his hands, the red knight ushered Twilight closer. Breathing deeply and bracing herself, Twilight trotted over to the knight. At first, Twilight wasn't sure of what the knight wanted. He'd simply pointed at a particular spot further along the wall. Even if she had known what he wanted, even she needed a second to understand what she was even looking at. It looked as if someone had beaten a changeling to a pulp with a speaker. Thick green muck splattered up against the wall, and the ground and the buildings and the speaker and absolutely everything. She could barely make head or tail of the scene. That did little to stop the knight from continually motioning to the battle site, occasionally shaking Twilight violently. And then it hit her. "You want...the speaker?" The knight nodded hastily; taking the time to also point at the empty stand next to the gate. "I...guess? Should I just put the speaker on the base then? How is this going to do anything though?" It didn't reassure Twilight that the knight simply shrugged at her before motioning back at the speaker again. With a tired and true heavy sigh on her lips, Twilight carefully lifted the speaker out of the muck. She made especially sure not to get any of the green goo on herself; it would be nearly impossible to get it out. Twilight chuckled as she remembered Rarity was already coated in the stuff; ah, she would never hear the end of it from her friend. Focusing back on her job, Twilight slammed the speaker down on the base. To Twilight's shock, some kind of pale blue magic rose from the base, snapping wires and cords into the speaker without any help from Twilight. Well, at least she didn't need to set it up; she didn't even know how. Twilight turned around suddenly, searching for the red knight before realising that he wasn't even near her any more. "I still don't see how this does...anything." Twilight really needed to stop talking when a great revelation was about to be relieved to her. Making a note to do so less often, Twilight took the brief second she still had left to cover her ears. And the knights, wearing the entire assortment of instruments on the ground, started to play a strangely familiar song. The ground shook from the sudden explosion of sound that launched out of the speakers. The music was so loud that Twilight had to close her eyes before the vibrations rocked them right out of her head. She couldn't hear the sounds of the changelings on top of the wall fly backwards from the beat or the door creak dangerously from the force suddenly being blasted into its side. The knights though, the knights weren't even fazed. Green beating the magic out of the drums he'd set up, Red strumming his guitar into oblivion, Blue classically playing on the viola, Spike on the most important instrument, the triangle, and Orange taking the lead, his head pressed against a microphone. Well, it's the thought that counts anyway. It wasn't enough though. Fighting her way through the pain, Twilight managed to steal a glance at the gate; powerful and unmoving. The music had stripped away a layer of wood, but it wasn't enough. They needed more power! They needed to be...louder. Twilight knew she was going to regret this. Using the last ounce of her sanity and magic, she fumbled around with the aura that was her magic until she found what she was looking for. A faint prayer of forgiveness to Celestia later, and Twilight turned the dial up to eleven; just as the knights finished their song and moved onto the next one. It started out slow, with a simple strum of music from the blue knight. Even that nearly silent chord was enough to shake the buildings of the street. And when the rest of the knights joined in, Twilight couldn't even hear herself laugh as she recognized the song. The gates never even stood a chance. With a crack that was barely audible over the deafening sound of the music, the gates exploded inwards; shards of wood flying off the lock. Through the gap of the wall, Twilight could see changelings fly through the air; each one trying its hardest to stay where it was despite the sudden and unexpected noise that had ripped their ears to shreds. And then everything went dark for a second. Twilight waved her hoof in front of her face, still not seeing anything. Waves of panic began to shot through her as she fumbled around in the dark, until everything went silent. All she could hear was the blood rushing through her head and a constant flat ringing. It took a moment, perhaps a bit longer than she had, but slowly, her vision returned to her. To her surprise, the knights were already moving on. Shedding their instruments and throwing their weapons back onto their backs, they walked deeper into the barren city. If anything had survived the onslaught, it certainly didn't make itself known as the knights inched down the street. Twilight waited another moment for her hearing to return. It did, but that damn ringing was still there too; just sitting in the background grinding behind her ears. Hopefully it wasn't permanent, she couldn't imagine having to live like this, it would drive her mad. Yawning to pop her ears out, Twilight hurried after the knights. Only one more gate stood between them and the princess now. Only one more wall until she could finally be free from these nonsensical and quite frankly insane creatures. Theatres and high end shops passed her as she rushed to catch her protectors. It wasn't that hard to find where they'd went; usually it was a straight line and marked with the twitching bodies of changelings. Or it was, until the bodies suddenly stopped and Twilight found herself truly alone. For the first time since entering the city, Twilight felt scared. For the first time, she didn't have the protection of the knights behind her. The sudden change was enough to make Twilight's head spin. Nothing seemed right, everything seemed too big or small. She tried to scream as something jumped out at her from one of the alleys between buildings. Only a small 'pip' managed to get out before something was shoved over her mouth, cutting off her shout suddenly. Next, her legs were swept out from under her and she crashed to the ground; dragging across the white stone path until she was in the alley. The magic she was gathering on her horn faded the instant she finally got a look at her attacker. Or rather, her friend. "Red knight! What's going on, why did we stop going forward? Why are you hiding in the alley? What's happening?" Rolling his eyes, the red knight softly grabbed the edges of Twilight's head; poking it out into the street. Removing one of his hands, the knight pointed further down the street. Twilight searched, and for a moment couldn't see what the problem was, until, at the edges of her vision, she saw it. At least four blocks ahead of them was the final gate. The path to the palace winded into oblivion on the other side of that brilliant wooden door. Pulling her eyes down though, Twilight figured that they would need to figure out how to get past the changelings first. Letting herself get pulled back into the alley, Twilight spun around to face the knights. "Alright, I assume there's a reason you're not just charging in there like a group of barbarians. What is it?" "The door only opens outwards. You and I know this. Unless somepony's on the other side to open it for us, it's impossible to get in. And I don't think there's going to be any more speakers set up, that seemed like a one time thing." The shock of having someone reply to her dried up quickly once she realised it was just boring old Spike speaking. Luckily, like a fly that simply refused to leave her alone, the shock returned when Spike finished speaking. "But don't worry. The five of us are going to use...stealthy ninja techniques." Twilight lowered the hoof from her head and placed it back on the ground. Dragging her head back up though, Twilight decided she hadn't done enough cradling just yet and put it back; occasionally shaking her head from side to side. "Spike, are the knights wearing...moustaches?" "Yep." "Moustaches they drew on themselves while I wasn't looking?" "Yep." "And this is their definition of stealth?" "Yep." Twilight sighed. "Fine. Pass me the marker; lets do this." Floating the open pen over to herself, Twilight was able to get a good look of the new and improved stealth knights. The red knight had crudely scribbled a bushy moustache into the middle of his head. Blue had added onto his design by stretching it down the side of his head and combining it with the beard he had also drawn on himself. Green had kept it simple; two curled lines that barely reached the green of his head and orange had given himself a unique design of his own, one that bore a shocking resemblance to the symbol on his chest. Twilight was in no mood for shenanigans and simply swiped under her nose hastily, not caring what it looked like. And with that done, the knights charged into the street, waving their weapons above their head and making a straight beeline for the gate. But stealthy, like a ninja. "Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it." "What do you mean 'it?'" "I mean, we go through all this effort and fighting and deceit and things just for a decent meal and sometimes I wonder if there isn't an easier way." "Well, there isn't." "But what if there is? Ponies aren't an angry race; we attacked them. They live in peace in little towns and things, maybe we can do the same. If we just...live with them, maybe we can get our love naturally without having to siphon it out of them like Disney morning villains." "Live with them? Clicks, that sounds like...heresy." "No no no no, nothing like that, if we just made peace at least, maybe we could research other, less violent, ways to feed ourselves." "That sounds extra heretical. Do I need to report someone to the higher ups?" "You wouldn't do that, we're mates. Now look alive, I see...oh great, Click Clicks doing that thing again." "Really? Oh mother." "Just...I dunno, play along." Twilight trotted closer to the changelings. She could feel the sweat running down her neck. There was no way this was going to work, it was impossible. It made no sense. Everything made no sense, her world was full of nonsense. The knights had graciously chosen to wait for her; evidently because they needed someone to bluff the guard. Swallowing nervously, Twilight tried to do exactly that. "Um, greetings senor! I am...um, Twilight...Clicks. Twilight Clicks. How are you this fine evening? Suppressed any ponies recently? Because I would know all about that, being a changeling myself; yep, suppressing and imprisoning all day every day." "Not really, I was thinking of visiting the opera later today. You could hear the music from here, I bet it's amazing. You ever been to one before?" Twilight could feel a bead of sweat forming on her neck. "Um, no. I can't say I have." The guard shrugged. "Meh, your loss. What do you want?" "The...the changeling queen needs our help back in the palace, since the six of us are clearly changelings and she knows who we are. And as changelings, which is what we are, we have no choice but to listen to her call and try to assist her as she asks us to." "And the queen needs you because...?" "Yes, we are changelings." Twilight froze for a second. "I mean, the queen needs our help because...because...she's really hungry?" The air around Twilight seemed to increase in weight as both of the guards stared at her. "The queen is...hungry?" The sweat on Twilight's neck was like a cold finger running down her back. "Ye...yes. Yes she is." Thinking quick, Twilight yanked the sausage out of orange knight's hand, hovering it in front of her. "She personally requested we bring this...thick, slimy sausage to the palace immediately. She has quite the craving for sausage at the moment." "Um...Click Clicks, I don't think she meant that kind of..." "Are you questioning me? Do you really want to risk angering Chrysalis because you were worried about specifics? That seems like a bad decision." The guard rubbed the bridge of his nose. "But why do all of you need to go? This is a level three invasion, you need a special permit just to look at Chrysalis at the moment. There's no way I can safely let all six of you through." "Are you implying that Chrysalis didn't ask for all six of us, specifically? Because once she hears of this--" "Once she hears of this, she can come down and pick the rest of you up herself. For now, only you and..." The guard scanned around for a second, before resting on the orange knight. "You and the changeling with the sausage can go through. Everyone else stays here." Twilight swallowed. "But...but we need all of us together." "Why?" Looking over the faces of the changelings again, Twilight quickly back peddled on her decision. "No, no, you're right. Only us two, makes sense. As changelings, we can understand the need for caution. Come on, Orange, lets go deliver our thick sausage to the queen." The orange knight took a hasty step to her side; the gates swinging open with a tired groan. Twilight couldn't help but glance back at the knights. She nearly had to fight the urge to laugh as she realised that red knight was the only thing stopping them from simply beating their way through the changelings now that the door was open. Maybe it was the fact that her head was spinning from the fact that the moustaches worked, or the fact that the red knight looked especially confident at the moment or perhaps it was one of many small things, but she knew at that moment that they weren't going to rush in and save her. She and orange were in this alone. Trotting forward along the path she'd walked a million times before, Twilight and her knight in orange painted armour walked towards the palace. Back at the gate, the changeling guard inched closer to the knights; smiling happily. "Has anyone ever told you that the four of you have excellent moustaches? How do you do it?" "This is it." Twilight said the words slowly; letting their meaning sink in. This is what it had all lead up to. From the darkness of her basement to the green glow of the town hall to the dusty path leading towards Canterlot to the mountain pass to Canterlot to the palace. Such a long journey, made longer by the fact that she was travelling with a group of attention deficient children, but looking back...Twilight wouldn't change a thing. It had been crazy, it really had. Between the sandwiches, the gardening and the general bad assery, it was impossible to say anything else. And now this was it. It all ended now. On through this open door was the reason she needed the knights at all. Chrysalis. The name itself was enough to run a shiver down Twilight's spine. Such a creature of evil and spite and deception, truly there was no mercy left for a such a creature. Summoning up her remaining her courage, Twilight reached forward to enter the palace, only to find that the orange knight had rushed in while she was thinking and she hadn't even noticed. Well, that was that then. Chasing the knight into the palace, Twilight noted how strangely empty it was. There was just...nothing as far as she could see. No goo, no glowing moss, no changelings, no ponies, no cocoons, just nothing. A completely empty palace. The sun shined through the stained glass windows as the two trotted down the hallway; casting a rainbow of colour on the ground in front of them. In the empty silence of the castle, Twilight started to hear something. Hey Celestia, Celestia, give me a hoof bump. Come on, just a little one. All you need to do is move your hoo...oh that's right, you can't! Haha, you can't, because I'm the winner now." Twilight subconsciously increased her pace until she was quickly outpacing her escort. In response to this, the knight squeezed his weapon tighter as another voice echoed down the hall. "I have faith that the elements will be able to stop you Chrysalis. Your victory is but a temporary phase; one you would do to enjoy before it passes." "The elements? Do you still believe the elements can stop me? Maybe they'll do it the same way they did at the wedding! Oh wait, they didn't stop me at the wedding, my mistake. Face it Celestia, there is nothing left alive that can defeat me." Stopping for but a brief moment at the end of the hallway, Twilight threw her weight against the door; flinging it open violently. "I object!" From where she was standing, Twilight couldn't see Celestia. The very same door she'd kicked open a few seconds ago was blocking her view and hiding her mentor. Chrysalis however, had the better sense to stand in the middle of the room. The rainbow light from the windows shined off her pitch black coat back onto the ceiling; that of it that wasn't caught in her swamp green mane or menacing green eyes. Focusing on Twilight almost immediately, Chrysalis turned. "What?" Twilight took an embarrassed step backwards. "I uh...object to your claim." Chrysalis' pupils shrunk to slits as she recognized her. "Well well, Princess, it appears we have a guest for our meeting. None other than your esteemed pupil herself." Twilight could hear something suddenly struggle out of her vision. "Twilight was it? I wasn't expecting you to rush up here to your Princess' aid. Leaving your friends to their fates; that's not a very kind thing to do. Fluttershy would be ashamed of you." Twilight grinned. "My friends are just fine, Chrysalis. They're never looked better. I'm not looking forward to cleaning all the goo off them, but that's just a thing I need to do now." "You're bluffing. I know for a fact that we captured them not a few hours ago." "Oh, don't get me wrong, it was a very long few hours. Feels like a few days on my end, what with all the walking I did to get here. But I didn't come here alone, Chrysalis, so I am going to give you one warning to leave Canterlot and never return before I force you to." Chuckling to herself, Chrysalis took a confident step forward. "I don't know how you got here, Twilight, but the elements won't work on me. They're trinkets; nothing more than shiny baubles compared to me. Nightmare wanted to lose, and Discord was a fool. I don't make mistakes, I don't lose to fancy gems set in gold. So how about you leave, and never return, and I might just make a note not to send changelings to hunt you afterwards." Twilight's grin only got bigger. "Elements? I never mentioned the elements, why would you think I brought the elements? My friends and the elements are safely back in Ponyville, silly." "Then who...?" "Something stronger than I ever imagined. A force since the beginning of time, something that has always protected the world, from you, and Discord, and Sombra and any other monster that thought they could prey on innocent ponies without consequence. Something that, for all my life as lain dormant at the foot of this palace, simply waiting for the day that somepony like you would come along and try to take whatever you want." Twilight paused for a second. "So I will say this once, Chrysalis. Leave. Leave and never come back. Take your changelings, take your weapons, take your goo, take everything that you've brought with you into Celestia's kingdom and go. Get out of my sight. Because if you don't, I will destroy you. No ifs, no buts, no maybes. I will destroy you, Chrysalis. And I will drive your changelings from this land myself and I will destroy them as I go. And I will destroy everything and everypony that even so much as thinks of reviving the hive, from now until the kingdom itself crumbles into dirt. And even then, I will use that dust to bury every trace of your existance from the land of Equestria, until your name is not even the name mothers tell to their foals to scare them into bed. And I will do this, because my friend is one who is strong, and smart, and powerful and above all, just barely restrained." Twilight stepped forward, until she was just a foot away from Chrysalis. "All it takes is a single word, and you're undone. So what's your decision?" "And what would this word be?" Was all Chrysalis asked. "Now!" Twilight's shout echoed down the hall behind her, stirring the ancient creature to action. Pulling his magma forged shield off his back and bringing his weapon to bare, the knight charged forward. His footsteps were like claps of thunder, resounding throughout the walls of the palace; a challenge to his opponent. Reaching the door, the knight leapt in, ready to fight. Only to trip at the last second, slide about six feet across the ground on his face and simply hang upside down on the ground for five seconds, before collapsing onto his stomach. Twilight pursed her lips. "Come on Orange, we practised this! I gave a cool speech and everything! No, no, this is not acceptable, you will go back up that hallway and do it properly. Then we will defeat Chrysalis, save Celestia and everything will be fine again, just like the plan said it would. Now move!" Twilight said, pointing back down the hallway. The knight started to move, until a terrified mumbling started to fill the room. "No no no no, not you. Anyone but you, please. I killed you, I saw it happen! You can't be here, I finally got rid you!" Chrysalis shouted, back-peddling down the room. "You...you don't even know what you've done, Twilight! What you've released into the world! You think I'm a monster? Look at yourself, you've singly handedly brought back the most dangerous monster in all of history. I can't even...you can't make me fight them. Not again." "Chrysalis, considering this blinking door is in the way, can you please tell me that my student didn't do what I think she did?" "Haha, Celestia, of course! Perfect!" Focusing for a brief second, Chrysalis winced as a bolt of green energy flew across the room, striking something out of Twilight's view. With a sinking feeling though, Twilight knew that there was only one thing she could have been aiming at. With a sudden scream that tore Twilight's heart out, the movement from behind the door stopped and Chrysalis continued. "Celestia, you will stop them for me. Maybe you can save me a few minutes, if you're lucky. And if they take turns beating on you. Good luck." And with that, she vanished; a flash of green and a ring of soot marking where she had once been standing. Hurriedly, Twilight rushed into the throne room. She didn't know what to do first. Celestia needed her help, but Chrysalis was escaping and if she got too far it would be too late to stop her but if she went after here than Celestia was in danger and she couldn't let that happen but she needed to, she had no choice. With a heavy thump, the door behind her swung closed; trapping her and the knight in the room. And revealing Celestia in the process. The princess' eyes flashed a dark green as she struggled against her bonds, trying desperately to rip her legs free from the goo encasing them to the ground. Twilight could hardly recognize her. Her normally white coat had sunken to a dull grey, her mane had darkened to a sick green; patchy and full of holes and her horn seemed blunted and twisted in the light. The wind kicked up around her as she spread her wings suddenly; feathers falling off her sickly frame. "Twilight...run!" Celestia growled the words out, barely able to voice them in the first place. Then she attacked. A single bolt of magic, travelling faster than Twilight could see. One moment she was standing up facing her mentor, the next she was lying on the ground; the orange knight standing over her. Black marks dotted his shield from where Celestia had kept firing, but he didn't seem to care. Steeling himself, the orange knight took a careful step forward. Impact after impact slammed into him, but neither side showed any signs of tiring. Beams of pure white and yellow flashed into existence and left just as fast as the two forces inched closer. And then the shield snapped in half. Twilight felt like the most useless pony in the world as Celestia's assault continued; tearing into the knight mercilessly. With nothing but a brief pause, Celestia fired one final volley, stronger than the others. The knight never stood a chance as the force sent him flying backwards onto Twilight. He landed heavily, not moving. Everything was moving too quickly for Twilight. She...she didn't understand. The knight wasn't moving, but that wasn't right. The knight couldn't die, he was a knight! He was supposed to be the hero, to save the day, to be the strongest. Twilight thought...she thought they were unbeatable. This wasn't right, this wasn't right at all. This wasn't supposed to happen, it couldn't be happening. Twilight looked up, away from the knight, straight down the length of Celestia's horn. Slowly, she got to her feet. "Well? What are you waiting for? Get it over with, shoot me already!" A flash of something went over Celestia's face. Regret? Hesitation? Mercy? Twilight didn't have clue; didn't even care. It was all over anyway. If Celestia could beat one of the knights while not even moving, what chance did the others have once she broke free? "Shoot me, Celestia! Equestria is done for anyway, so do it already!" Being the element of magic, Twilight considered herself an expert on the subject. All her life she had felt it; the ebb and flow of the magic around her, it was nearly a part of her at this point. So when she felt the magic in the room disappear; pulled towards Celestia's horn, she knew it wouldn't take too long. Maybe it would be painless, just a quick prick on the skin before total oblivion. It was certainly better than some of the alternatives. Just like she assumed she would, she felt the attack before she heard it. The air around her heated up for a whole second before Celestia released her magic with a crack. Twilight couldn't bear to watch it happen and closed her eyes tightly. A second loud crack caused her to open her eyes hastily again. She was...alive. As far as she could tell, the attack hadn't hurt her. A deep joy filled her heart, until he actually realised why she wasn't hurt. The red knight had come to her aid. Twilight didn't know how, but he had. And currently, he was the only thing standing between her and the mind controlled goddess. With one arm thrust forward to counter Celestia, he half turned towards Twilight. He was trying to say something, Twilight knew it, but she just couldn't figure it out. He'd point at the fallen knight, and back to his own face before pointing back down again at his friend and changing it by tapping his chest rhythmically. What did he want? "I...I think he's a little too far gone for CPR, Red." The red knight blocked another volley and simultaneously punched himself in the forehead. He simply pointed faster, trying to convey his meaning more clearly. "He's gone, Red. I can't...it won't do anything." A loud clang echoed through the room as the knight slammed his head against his own shield. Pausing for a moment, he turned back around, waving his arm downward to show how calm he was. Or how calm he wished he was. He tried again, this time simply pointing at Twilight and staring. At this point, she wasn't sure whether it was the heat of the room of the heat of his glare that made her uncomfortable. Leaning over the knight, Twilight wasn't sure what to do. She moved a hoof over his face, searching for a mouth or a hole or something. She needed something to do CPR with. "I can't there's...there's no mouth or anything." It was like the time Spike tried to take up the drums in the throne room; just a repeated symphony of clangs and noise as the knight beat himself over the head. With each self inflicted attack, it was almost as clear as if it were punctuated. "Just. Do. The. Damned. C. P. R. Twilight." Twilight panicked for a bit and placed her hooves on the knight's chest. What was she supposed to do, just push down? That's not how CPR worked! You needed air, and blood and other important details like that, you couldn't just beat on the patient like a bowl of salad. Words from before bubbled up from the past to greet her. Just trust the knights. They haven't lead you wrong yet. Breathing in deeply, Twilight did only what she could. She tried to mimic the same rhythm from before; a swift one, two, three, four. The more she worked though, the more she was sure it wasn't doing anything. The knight was showing no sign of change. Her heart skipped a beat as half a shield flew past her face; embedding itself in the tiled floor. She threw herself to the ground on reaction; directly on top of the orange knight. And then he got back up. Like so much she'd already experienced, it was surreal. For a second, the knight was under her; completely unmoving, and then he was standing over her; arm poised straight forward and sausage flying through the air. It had barely left his grasp before he rushed forward blindly, not caring about the danger around him. A sickening smell hit Twilight's nose. It smelled like burning flesh, or perhaps cooked meat. She hated it either way, it was a disgusting smell. Fighting through that though, Twilight looked up just in time to see yet another example of why the knights were considered the best. By some miracle of luck, the orange knight's, now fully cooked, sausage had somehow managed to spear itself perfectly down the length of Celestia's horn. Her magic wavered and built around the base of the meat, but with no release against the insulator of the sausage, she was essentially helpless. And the two knight walked towards her slowly; a swift fist bump being exchanged between them. Celestia struggled to no avail as Twilight could only watch on. She wasn't sure what the knight's were planning; perhaps they knew something Twilight didn't? Maybe they knew how to bring Celestia back to her regular state of mind. Any hope of that disappeared with a bang though, as the plug keeping Celestia helpless exploded in a flash of heavenly light. It happened before any person in the room could react; a single beam shot forward aimlessly, more of a by product to Celestia's freedom than an actual attack. All that mattered though was the fact that it hit the red knight. Time seemed to slow down as he flew backwards; propelled by the force of the bolt. He bounced along the floor, once, twice, and lay still. Twilight was too scared to go to his aid, what if Celestia fired at her again? Another loud crack signified that Celestia had attacked again, this time at the orange knight. And as the fire flew towards him; impossibly slow yet somehow faster than Twilight could respond to, something changed in the knight. No sword, no shield, no potions or bows or sandwiches, just a knight; in his most pure and original form. And somehow, something changed. His brow bent down; a look of extreme anger appearing on his face. The dirt and mud marring his body seemed to evaporate as the bolt came closer, shining him the light of the glass windows. His fingers; heavily encased in his thick gauntlets, clicked together, following a rhythm only he could her. Straightening himself and destroying his slouch, the knight raised his hand out in front of him. Celestia's magic hit him head on; straight into the palm of his hand. And he didn't falter, or fall. Applying his beat to the world, the knight moved back, pulling the magic along with him. It was a single line of magic trailing of his hand as he spun. The ground nearly knocked against his arm as he braced himself yet again. Nearing the end of his spin, the knight willed the magic bundled in his hand; twisting it to his own means. And by the pure force of focused will, by Celestia's grace, Twilight swore she saw it change. A great inferno, the likes of which had never before been seen within the palace. Flames whiter than the sun burst forth from the orange knight's hand; spraying forward in a V towards Celestia. The very air around her was replaced with fire in an instant; burning off her bonds and her magic and Chrysalis' magic and even somehow managing to singe her mane; intangible as it was. By the time it was over; with only a few licks of melted stone and burning tapestries remaining, the knight rushed forward. He crouched down at the last moment, catching Celestia mid-fall and lowering her to the ground slowly. And with all the experience of a Spanish dancer, he leaned in for the kiss. It wasn't long by any definition, nor would it be anything to write about, but it happened, and that's how it went. Pulling himself back, the orange knight stood back up; glancing around the room. Celestia decided she'd rather keep lying on the ground until the world stopped spinning. "Orange knight, we really can't keep meeting like this. Surely there is a better way of introducing yourself besides drowning me in hell-fire and stealing a kiss before I notice?" The orange knight ignored her as he walked to his friend. Brethren before Wenches and all that. Twilight, content that the two knights could take care of each other, rushed to her teacher aid. "Celestia! Are you alright? That...that looked painful. Are you sure you're not hurt, I could get Spike to bring some water or...or--" "I assure you, Twilight, I am quite fine. I've been meaning to take a bath for a while now; the knight was simply helping me with that. There is no cause for alarm." "But...but the fire, and the fighting and all the changelings and Chrysalis...Chrysalis! Chrysalis is still here, Celestia, you have to stop her before she summons the whole army against us!" Celestia groaned. "I'm afraid I won't be able to do that at the moment. I'm not as...fit as I used to be. But it should be no problem, turn around Twilight." With a confused smile, Twilight turned around. The knights were gathered behind her, all four of them. And with them, the same look of direction-less confusion they carried around like a burden. "They need a leader, Twilight. A knight is nothing unless he has a noble voice behind him telling him what to do. Without one, they become lost and easily misguided towards evil. Be that noble voice, Twilight. Lead them to Chrysalis and finish this. Drive her from my kingdom without regret, for your actions are noble and right and your voice is one of reason." Twilight spun around quickly. "But...but I don't even know where she went! She could be anywhere, there could be thousands of changelings waiting for us when we do find her! Where do I even begin?" Celestia chuckled. "Chrysalis no doubt fell back to protect the one thing that's important to her. At the top of the obligatory tower that every palace must have, somepony waits for you. You specifically, Twilight. The entrance is behind my throne, now go. Enter the tower, defeat Chrysalis, save the final princesses and be the hero." Twilight still had dozens of thoughts buzzing through her head. The final princess? Entrance behind the throne? Voice of reason? Waiting for her? Who was waiting for her, what did it all mean? Before she could question Celestia further though, a tap on her shoulder told her it was time to go. The knights were growing restless, Chrysalis was increasing in power and time was running out. Standing up and facing the secret door behind the throne, Twilight motioned for the knights to follow her. She didn't claim to understand what Celestia was talking about; that was beyond her. What she did know was that Chrysalis had hurt her friends. Her friends, and so many others. She felt a single tear form as she remembered the fate of the fluffy bunnies of Wuvy-Doovy Smoochy Land. Well no more. Now was the time to take a stand. Now was the time to end it all. Author's Note This chapter is worth it, if only because I can finally use the word 'manti-pult' in context. Well, surprisingly, I had to edit this chapter quite a lot. One to avoid favouritism and two to avoid it being completely unreadable, so...yea! Go me! Also, another coin toss in this chapter, between the Can Can and the Castle Crashers Theme. I think I made the right choice. Coming up next: Princess! Fighting! Magic! Friendship! And an irrational amount of words. Castle Crashing the TowerA layer of dust flew upwards into Twilight's face as she forced the door open. It creaked loudly as it swung; years since it was last opened. But that couldn't be right...Celestia had said someone was waiting for her. There was no other entrance to this tower, so unless the pony never left their perch, it was impossible for someone to be in there. A brief scan of the stairs inside did little to restore her confidence. Torches, long since burnt out to blackened stumps, were embedded into the wall with rusted metal holders. The dust and shadows from within seemed to mix and mingle into a deep mist that threatened to obscure Twilight's vision as she stepped inside. The light she summoned from her horn hardly made a dent in it. And something seemed off about the whole deal, like a thing unseen was lurking just out of vision. She could feel it, like a tingle beneath her skin. "Do we really need to go in there, Twi? May...maybe some of the guard is still around to help us." Spike asked as he conveniently floated to Twilight's side. "What would the guard do? We already have what I can only equate to an army coming with us, no need to endanger other ponies." "You really think it will be dangerous?" "This is Chrysalis we're talking about, give her enough love and she could take down Celestia. We just need to be careful, Spike. Careful and safe." Turning around and stopping halfway, Twilight cursed herself. Why did she keep turning around, the knights were always in front of her. Now that she'd opened the door, they'd probably already rushed forward and left her behind. Which is why she was surprised to see them out of the corner of her eyes, still standing behind her. With a confused gait, Twilight turned around, weakly motioning at the door. "Oh, you...uh, waited for me. I didn't expect that, sorry. Shall we go than? I'll lead the way." Stepping back and pulling her weight until she was facing the door, Twilight took a careful step inside. The stone beneath her hoof was cold, deathly cold and the dust seemed to make everything quieter the deeper she walked. It was disorientating to say the least. Her courage returned to her as she glimpsed the outline of the knights behind her, always willing to follow her to the ends of the earth. As she walked though, higher and higher into the sky, with nothing but the light of her horn and the occasional broken window to guide her, she couldn't help but wonder. What could possibly be waiting for her up here? What had Celestia meant when she said someone was waiting for her specifically? No one had lived up here for years, that much was obvious. No pony would let their house fall into such disarray, it was just unthinkable. So who then? A pegasus that could avoid the walk up the stairs? Or a unicorn that could simply teleport to the top? Or maybe the creature simply lived at the top and never came down. Twilight had no idea, who in the light of the moon could be waiting for her? A dim light shined down from the stairs in front of her and Twilight increased her pace. She needed to know who was up there. Twilight stopped in front of the wooden door blocking her way. Behind her, she could hear the knights thump to a stop too; unable to continue even if they wanted to. There was something about this door that Twilight couldn't pick out, like someone was constantly shooting magic out of it. She hadn't seen something like this since...Sombra's door in the crystal kingdom. It was nearly certainly a trap, she knew that much. A trap like that could cause untold agony and pain to whoever set it off; she needed to handle this carefully and humanely. "Spike, you go first." "What, why do I have to go first?" Twilight sighed. "Because Chrysalis has rigged the door with...something, and out of the six of us, you're the least likely to be hurt if hit by a sudden explosion of magic. Do you really want me to go in and risk injury when it's perfectly safe for you to go first?" "I...guess that makes sense?" No one said anything as Spike slowly gravitated towards the door, his feet never once touching the ground. His hands rested on the door silently until he finally gathered the courage needed to throw it open; bracing himself for any dangerous feedback or traps. Pain exploded across Twilight's eyes suddenly, and she reeled backwards as if she was slapped. She couldn't feel her magic around her, couldn't get it gathered together in her horn. It was still there, she could hear her magic twirling and twisting in front of her, but she couldn't control it. She panicked slightly, fighting for control, but it didn't work. She started to feel a pull on the end of her head, something was willing her forward, but she wouldn't have that. Taking a step forward and throwing all her brain power into seizing back control of her magic, Twilight nearly sighed in relief when it returned to her. Fighting through the fog of darkness obscuring her eyes, Twilight pushed forward. She'd be lying if she said the sudden magical attack on her hadn't scared her, but she didn't have time to focus on that. She needed to keep pushing forward until she found Chrysalis. "Um, Twilight...we might have a problem." Poking her head in the door after Spike, Twilight could only nod in agreement slowly. "Yes, we might have a problem." The scene inside the room was...difficult to describe, to say the least. It was an illusion, there was no doubt of that, but that didn't make it any less dangerous. Illusions weren't normally dangerous in the first place, but Chrysalis had a talent with illusions; who's to say she hadn't developed a way to make them slightly more real? A sudden hot wind blowing her face was enough to convince her that, real or not, she'd prefer not to get to injured if she could help it. Glancing in further and spinning her head round, Twilight noted that the door they were stepping out of had no back. It was just a door built into the air, like someone had anticipated exactly this would happen. In fact, there were no walls around her; or roof, or anything she'd expected to see. An angry dark sky glared down at her as she took another tentative step forward. In front of her was a 'bridge,' though she used the term loosely, of black, scorched rock. Walking to the end of the bridge to her right, Twilight's face paled as she stared down. A lava lake. They were in the middle of an active volcano. An actual, active, magma and smoke firing volcano. The sound of foot prints behind her prompted Twilight to turn around and notice the knight's walking out of the door. Twilight swallowed nervously. "Chrysalis must be trying to slow us down by placing these illusions in our way. If I'm correct, the illusion should disappear once we get to the door on the other side of this bridge. Just...don't step in anything dangerous. Just because this is an illusion doesn't mean we can't be hurt. I could go into a long rant about the specifics and magic behind everything here, but we don't have the time. Let's just get through this quickly." The knight's kicked dust up into her face as they rushed past her; the word to go being all they needed to begin. Twilight could only watch as they shrunk into the distance. Before she could catch up to them though, a voice ripped through her mind, echoing amongst the confines of her head. "The knights started out as a force of good, in the beginning. Silent in mouth and strong of body, the four of them defended the land from all that would seek it or its inhabitants harm. They were true in their goal and incorruptible in their power, a force of nature more than a group of simple creatures. But, you need to know the full story Twilight; not just what Celestia has told you. And there is much to learn, so hurry along now, I'll set out a table of tea for you at the top of the tower." Twilight shivered as the words faded into the air around her. "Who said that? How did you say that?" Twilight shouted; though there was no one there to answer her. The gears in her mind ground against each other in her head. She was a smart mare; the answer wasn't too hard to find. It was the magic on the door. It must have been a mind spell, or a memory spell or one of the many spells intended to send a message into her head. A pre-recorded message, which was slightly worrying, but a message none the less. A loud explosion and a following rain of lava snapped her attention back to reality. There was a time to think about all this later; right now she needed to catch up to the knights. If she let them get too far ahead, she'd never be able to catch them again. They'd leave her behind! Or at least, wait around the door for her to open it, it didn't really matter. Twilight just didn't want to be left alone in the middle of a volcano. There was time later to think about how Chrysalis didn't have time to cast such a complicated spell, or how the voice wasn't Chrysalis' at all. Twilight felt like crying. This had all gone horribly, horribly wrong. This was even worse than when the orange knight 'died.' She swore she wouldn't let that happen again, not after the first time. The wood of the door shoved into her back uncomfortably. The knights were gone; the three of them had rushed up the stairs. Not waiting a moment to mourn, or cry or rage, just a single goal and the lengths they went through to achieve it. They wanted to defeat Chrysalis, nothing, not death or injury would stop them. That didn't make Twilight feel any better though. She was supposed to be better than this. Every time she closed her eyes, the scene was played back at her, again and again until it bored into her mind. They were gone. Her assistant was gone. The volcano had started to erupt and illusion or not, the burning pain of the drips of lava raining from the sky were more than enough argument to escape quickly. The bridge crackled and broke under the pressure of the magma beneath it, launching the deadly liquid high into the air in huge geysers. It was all Twilight could do to avoid accidentally slamming into one and toasting herself to a crisp. Her heart beat through her chest as she caught up to the knights. They'd stopped, surprisingly, and for a moment Twilight thought it was because of her, but a quick glance ahead destroyed the belief. The bridge had collapsed in front of them. She could see the door on the other side of the break, but the literal lake of lava standing between them was impossible to pass. The ground shook beneath her and Twilight glanced around at the faces of the knights. They were concentrating on something, though Twilight couldn't guess what. She couldn't guess a lot of things about these knights, maybe it was intentional. The ground shook again, and the knights suddenly changed demeanour. All four of them crouched, bending their knees as far as they could in their light armour. Twilight didn't know what was happening, until green knight was kind enough to show her the answer. In a sudden burst of green, foul smelling gas, the green knight launched himself upwards and forwards, essentially jumping over the gap. A magic powered rocket knight, sailing across the divide. He hung in the air for a moment as he reached the apex of his jump before firing another ball of gas and landing on the other side safely; simply waving at his friends to follow him. Orange was the next to go over, as the rumbling of the earth intensified. The bridge couldn't hold much longer; already large chunks of it were breaking off and slamming into the lava, throwing huge buckets of magma into the air. But, with all the skill and grace of a leprechaun, the orange knight tip toed across the lava, seemingly unaffected by the intense heat. A swift high five signalled his safe crossing. A thick arm wrapped around Twilight's midsection. Looking up, Twilight was greeted by the determined eyes of the red knight. But there was something...different about them. A shadow that lingered across them for a minute longer than it should before disappearing in a sudden crack as the knight jumped, pulling Twilight up with him. The wind caught in the back of her throat as they flew, and it was over before she could even really experience it. Turning around, all that was left was for the blue knight to jump over and they could leave. But then...the bridge broke from beneath them. The blue knight reacted immediately; not wasting a second of his rapidly diminishing time. A huge spire of ice and magic welled beneath his feet, and he launched himself forward with all the haste he needed to escape. Or that was the plan anyway. Someone forgot exactly where they were. Merely a few seconds after the ice was summoned into existence, the heat and the lava began to melt it, devouring it tooth and claw until not even water was left, just a small cloud of steam that wafted into the stormy sky. The blue knight fumbled as his launch was cut short. Twilight wanted to look away, she didn't want to see this. Everything seemed so slow to her. She could see everything but she couldn't stop it. Nothing she did was fast enough to try to save them. Her magic was too far away, the knights were stuck on the land, she didn't have wings and she just felt so helpless. She just wanted to do something. Anything! The blue knight feebly shot downwards, hoping his magic was powerful enough to overcome the temperature in the air and for a minute, miraculously, it seemed to work. Two parallel jets of water fired from his hands at the last moment, hovering him just above the lava. Twilight's sigh of relief caught in her throat however, when something she never expected happened. Something exploded out of the lava, something big. A cyclops skeleton with the fire of life burning behind its empty eye socket. Before the blue knight could even acknowledge its existence; it had thrust a hand out, grabbing onto the knight's leg. And then gravity finally caught up to the cyclops and dragged it back into the mulch; the blue knight and Spike being pulled down with it. She wasn't sure how long she'd stood there, just staring aimlessly into the distance. The same sentence kept running through her head, again and again, 'just another moment, they'll be back soon.' She just needed to wait a moment longer, they couldn't actually have died. Not like this. Not so anti-climatically. Behind her, she could hear the knights chuckling to themselves. She couldn't even begin to fathom why. And then her eyes were open again. They took a moment to adjust to the darkness of the room she was in. The stairs still stood in front of her; a seemingly impossible challenge in her current state. It seemed so simple; all she had to do was stand back up and walk up the stone steps, one foot closer to her target. And to the answer of the questions raging in her mind. It wasn't until the red knight appeared, carrying with him a fresh wave of dust from higher up, that Twilight truly realised just how uncomfortable she was. The wood of the door had dug a groove into her back, her backside ached from the pressure of her body, the horn on her head felt burnt out of magic and her eyes couldn't cry any more tears. A hand reached out for her, and with it, the gentleness that could only be found in one of a distinguished class. The look behind the red knight's eyes, a strange mix of confidence and worry, spoke to Twilight more than any words she could have possibly heard. Gripping the hand tightly, Twilight pulled herself back up. Everything was going to be fine, in the end. She didn't have a clue how, or what the leader of the knights was planning, but somehow, she just knew. In the end, everything was going to be fine. Jumping up the steps two at a time, Twilight could only hope she wasn't trying to delude herself to what she was actually thinking. Another door stood in front of Twilight. She didn't even need to check to know that this door was booby trapped in the same way the last one was. Without Spike though...she was hesitant to open the door normally. It crossed her mind briefly that Chrysalis might be aware of the knight's weakness to doors, and such was the reason she was continually throwing them in their path. It was the only thing that made sense. Shaking the wayward thoughts from her head though, Twilight set to work. And by set to work, I mean she took six steps backwards until she was behind the knights and lightly tugged at the door with her magic; a purple glow working just as effectively as flesh and bone. The door swung open without a creak, and every knight there made a blind rush for the opening. Twilight tried to catch up to them, but another stabbing pain through her head tripped her up. She struggled for a moment, failing to put one hoof in front of the other as the world faded and shook around her. The same voice from before called out to her, but louder this time, as if she was steadily getting closer. So gather closer children, as I relay the story. They're like a fairytale, in many ways. The brave and heroic knight, sweeping down at the last minute to save the princess from the terrifying monster. They did exactly that for me once; it was a joyous day. The day the dark wizard came, I thought that I would never be free again. Thought I would be forced under his power for all of time. And then, they arrived. Slowly, the voice drained from Twilight's head. Overall, she didn't know what to make of the strange voice that would continually broadcast into her head. It couldn't be real, that was just a ridiculous thing to think. Clearly, this was all a trick of Chrysalis' to try and pull her away from the knights, to try and trick her into abandoning the one advantage she had in the upcoming fight. But...she still couldn't lay her fears to rest in good mind. Chrysalis couldn't have made these spells, she simply didn't have enough time. And the voice wasn't Chrysalis' at all. She ran through her mind trying to figure out who could possibly be behind this, coming up with blanks every time. Finally though, she came to a simple conclusion. Or several. One: this was a trick by Chrysalis. She was smart enough to know that, in a straight fight, she could easily beat Twilight. Therefore, she needed to make sure she was in a fight with Twilight. This assumption was only strengthened by the fact that she was now down to only three knights. Any more, and things started to get dangerous for her. Two: this was a spell set out by whoever was living at the top of the tower. The messages had mentioned the tower, and that's how they had introduced themselves, but why would the pony at the top of the tower want her to know this? What was the point? Three: No one was behind this. It took a fair bit of denial, but it was still a valid option. It was all pure coincidence that the spell on the doors was still here, and that she was the one to open them. Just pure coincidence. Trotting forward, Twilight tried not to let the words get to her. She was sure that, whatever was happening, would happen for the best. It would all be fine. The knights had already rushed into the door as Twilight walked closer. The light shining from within completely blinded her to what was awaiting her; slowing her down noticeably before she decided to just do it. Without a shout or whisper, Twilight lunged towards the door, throwing herself through it. Right into the open air. With a loud squeak, Twilight fell to the ground. She braced herself for injury, but that seemed pointless as the green knight swept into action. Moving with his same impossible speed, the knight appeared beneath Twilight, catching her gracefully in his arms. She nodded slightly as he placed her back on her hooves, backing away once he did. Twilight wondered why, wouldn't it make sense for him to be near her? Shrugging, Twilight scanned her surroundings. Another illusion, obviously. She was in a...shed, of some description. Or a mill. Though shed was a really basic term to describe where she was now. It was more of a constant hallway that dragged far into the distance. Huge bundles of hay, easily several feet taller than Twilight, lined the walls of the shed with nothing except for the occasional waterwheel separating them and preventing them from combining into the largest pile of hay in Equestria. Flicking a small piece of dried hay from her back, Twilight raised her hoof up to her eyes to block out the sun as she stared deeper into the shed. Despite her best efforts though, all she could see was a thin haze of black and the vague outlines of more hay stacks. Just how far did this place go? Was there a door at the end of it too, like the last one? There would have to be, how else would the get out? Turning around, Twilight finally noticed something which made her chest drop. The knights...were scared. After all they'd done together, Twilight didn't think she'd ever noticed a time when even one of the knights were scared. They were always so brash and direct; they didn't second guess themselves or question anything, they just went ahead and did what they wanted without a single thought. So if something about this illusion was making them scared... Twilight swallowed nervously, her ears flicking back as something broke the ambient sounds of the shed. The steadily increasing clopping of hooves. Glancing down the opposite end of the hall, the source made itself painfully apparent. It took Twilight longer than she'd like to admit to recognize what they were. If it weren't for the shorter tails, or the much larger ears, Twilight might have confused them for ponies, however, she was more learned than that. She'd read about deers before, though she'd never actually met one before. Until today, of course. With a flash of brown, the deer ran right past Twilight, close enough that Twilight could see the look on its face. And it was terrified. Twilight hated to feel excluded. She needed to be in the know, that was just something she needed. It was a thing built into her very core; to examine and know everything. And as the ground beneath her feet started to shake and tremble, she only wanted to know more. There was a feeling of dread rising in her stomach that she couldn't shake, and time seemed short. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see more deers charging down the hall. About four of them, maybe less. Behind her, the three knights dropped their looks of fear and prepared themselves. A faint cock of the knees, a subtle flex of the fingers; just as the deers rushed past them. Time seemed to slow down for Twilight as the knights moved. Green was first, travelling noticeably fast towards the nearest deer. Roughly, he grabbed the deer's long ears as it ran past, flinging himself up and onto the creatures back. Next to him, the orange knight pulled his deer closer to green and the two rushed past Twilight before she could get a word out. It wouldn't have mattered much anyway, since two seconds later she found herself lifted from the ground by the waist and deposited rudely in front of the red knight. Twilight bit her tongue towards this particular tactic of the knights. She wasn't sure whether deers were sentient or not, but it was still uncomfortable for her to ride on the back of what was essentially another pony. She kept her tongue bit though, not wanting to cause any unneeded drama. Looking around, Twilight had noticed the knights had stopped moving. Entirely. Not a hair or muscle moved as they sat still, simply...waiting. Waiting for what? The shaking ground increased in intensity as heavy metal tools slipped from their holders on the wall. And it wasn't until Twilight realised the truth that the fear in her stomach got meaning. It wasn't shaking, it was too rhythmic for that. It was...footsteps. Footsteps of something so huge that the entire forest shook as it took moved. And it was coming right for them. The entire half of the shed in front of Twilight exploded in a frenzy of splinters and metal as the creature smashed its foot through the roof. It retreated for a moment, and Twilight was too terrified to run, or think, or hide or do anything as the creature lowered its disgusting head into view. Or...eye into view. An eye that took up the entire hall from wall to wall in its size. Twilight's numb shocked brain fired into overdrive, even if it couldn't send messages to her body, and she mouthed the name of the creature in front of her. "Ursa Major." she said, because what were you expecting? Twilight was forced to flick her ears against her head as a loud scrapping invaded her space. With much difficulty, the Ursa Major pulled itself to face the knights. Its body was entirely hidden behind the size of the creatures head, but that alone was enough to make it intimidating. Its two large tusks pointed forward as the celestial bear roared, shaking the entire hall again. The knights, however, were ready this time. With a wordless cheer of their own, the knights urged their mounts to charge forward. In the opposite direction. The clatter of hooves echoed down the hall as the knights ran; fleeing into the darkness of the mill to escape the ursa major. The ursa, seeing its only prey escape its grasp, roared again. The building shook again as the ursa punched its arms into the mill and pulled. The roof and walls, too small to contain the beast, cracked open as the ursa charged down the mill. The fear building in Twilight's stomach started to rise with every bump and jump the deer beneath her pulled off. She wasn't sure what to do, or what she was supposed to do or anything. She was supposed to guide the knights, not panic for them. She needed to stay calm. "Green knight!" she shouted. Twilight's lunch nearly leapt out of her chest as the deer managed to jump over a humongous crack in the floor, but it settled as the green knight pulled up next to her; loyal even in danger. "Shoot it or something! You're the archer, pepper it! Slow it down, anything! Do something!" For a brief second, Twilight could swear she saw something odd flash through the green knights eyes. It might have been fear, but it was gone long before she was given the chance to truly decide. Replacing it was the same care free gaze that the green knight regularly employed; unwavering as he pulled back behind Twilight and the red knight and drew his weapon. The ursa roared again as the green knight moved closer. The deer beneath him jumped and weaved through the hall without his assistance, freeing both his hands and letting him begin his assault. The knight disappeared for a moment as Twilight weaved through a wall built into the middle of the hall. An angry roar shook through the mill again as the ursa realised something was attacking it. The transformation was nearly instant as Twilight realised that the only thing worse than being chased by an ursa major was being chased by an angry ursa major that was half blind. Veins of blood built up around the ursa's eyes as it pushed itself to run faster. The green knight was barely able to get out of the way in time as the beast loomed closer, slowly but surely inching its way towards the knights. A bright flash caught Twilight's attention, and she needed to take a few more seconds to realise everything that had changed. The mill had come to an end; a sheer drop of several hundred feet into an overflowing river. Nothing could survive a fall like that, regardless of how large it was. And at the rate they were going, with no time to turn and no way to stop without becoming ursa food? Not the best circumstances. Yet, there was still a glimmer of hope. Suspended in the air above the drop sat the exit. A plain wooden door built into nothing. Twilight knew what she needed to do. "Aim for the hole, aim for the hole." Orange knight shot her a look of 'just like old times,' before rushing into the front of the group. He was barely in the air for a second before the red knight jumped after him, Twilight tightly grasped under his arm. They hung in the air for a second, not high enough to reach the door. Twilight started to panic until the red knight kicked down, pushing himself higher and the deer beneath him lower. With the extra momentum, the pair sailed forward towards freedom. Until Twilight realised they still weren't high enough. At the rate they were going, they were going to just miss the door by a fraction, passing under it instead of through it. Her mind started to buzz with a million thoughts as time slowed down around her. Maybe she could cast a teleportation spell into the door? Or lift herself? Or dispel the illusion or something? The wind was knocked out of her as she suddenly stopped mid flight. Glancing around in a panic, Twilight quickly locked on the cause; an orange glove caught in the grip of a red one. And then the orange knight pulled, lifting Twilight and the red knight into the door with him. Twilight could kiss the ground she was so happy. She never thought it was possible to love the ground as much as she did right now. The sound of hoofsteps stopped for a moment, and Twilight spun to see the green knight making the same jump that she just made. With the only difference being that she didn't have an ursa major weighing her down. It was so close too; for a moment it looked like he could have actually made it. Then the ursa major brought its arm down on top of the knight. The door slammed shut in her face without warning, cutting Twilight's view of the knight instantly. Twilight jumped backwards in shock to avoid slamming her nose against the door, but recoiled nearly instantly. A purple haze surrounded the door; digging into its every crack and hole in search of a way to open the door again. The two remaining knights simply walked past her, fist pumping each other as the wandered up the stairs. Twilight couldn't find the energy to move. She'd...she'd lost another one. Four knights, from all the walks of life. The leader, an eye striking red, who fought tooth and claw against both his friends and his enemies, if only to get the two fighting for a fraction of a second. The magician, a serene blue, wise beyond his years and drawing his power from his spells. He never needed a weapon, or a tool of death, his mind alone was honed enough to cut his enemies. The archer, green like the forest, wild as one too, if I remember him right. Nothing can stop him, only slow him for long enough for him to acknowledge your existence. And the jester, orange as the flame. He wasn't sure how he got caught into things, or what to do when the shots were down, but he faced each one with a smile; even if he did fail from time to time. The four knights swept down at the last moment to save me, and for that...I betrayed them. "Shut up shut up shut up, I don't care who you are any more, just stop talking!" The two knights were at her side instantly; weapons drawn and muscles ready. Red was staring at her like she was crazy, though he would never say it. Maybe she was a little crazy, it certainly wasn't a healthy thing to be hearing voices in her head. With a half hearted wave of her hoof, Twilight urged the two knights on, suddenly remembering why they had stopped. Another wooden door, like all the ones before. Just how many of these doors were there? Breathing audibly, Twilight simple trotted forward. If she was going to go through another one, she may as well get it over with as quickly as she could. Carefully, Twilight pushed the door open. She wasn't surprised to see that it didn't lead to another room in the tower; she was expecting an illusion after all. Stepping forward onto the hard packed dirt, Twilight looked around. The sky was stained a dark red, like the first illusion, except now it was completely clear of clouds and other obstructions. The ground beneath her was brown and dead; only the sickly patch of grass poking out from the puddles and mud staining its surface. A strange smell hit Twilight's nose, a near-but-not-quite coppery smell that she couldn't put her finger on. It was on the tip of her tongue, she knew it, but it just wouldn't come forward. Then the sound of the illusion caught up to her, and she looked around again. She could hear fighting; somewhere in the distance, but she couldn't see it. Maybe it was all the smoke that had suddenly popped into existence, or the dust that had been thrown up into the air, but she couldn't see a thing; now that she thought about it. A gloved hand placed itself on her shoulder and Twilight was reminded of why she was here. To find Chrysalis and save her friends. Nothing more, nothing less. Her horn shined a brilliant purple as she focused and a great wind was summoned forth from behind her. Mane and tail flapping in the breeze; the dust and debris parted for a moment in front of her, revealing exactly what she was looking for. The exit; the tired and true door set into the air. Despite the circumstances, Twilight couldn't hide her confident smirk. She still had it. She had barely made it three steps towards the exit before a new sound graced her ears. The words to describe it were hard to come by. Animalistic, loud, mechanical, repetitive, loud, hypnotic, loud, angry, joyous, loud and loud. Why was it so loud? The next set of actions happened so fast that Twilight still isn't sure about what happened, to this day. From what she can remember, something came charging out from behind and over the exit; something huge, angry and dangerous. The ground shook as it rushed closer, and then Twilight was on the ground; looking up at the knights. Two seconds later, a mechanical goat the size of a building smashed into the two knights, sending them flying into the air. Red recovered in mid air, a small ring of lightning bursting around his feet as he jumped backwards back onto the ground. Orange wasn't so lucky and fell onto his face again. He hung there for what seemed like hours, before collapsing onto his stomach and lying still. Ears flicking back as the screeching suddenly filling the air signalled the turning of the goat. Pushing herself back to her feet, Twilight was able to get a proper look at the contraption. It really did resemble a house that someone had stuck wheels on to. Two huge tread wheels, but wheels none the less. It was mainly featureless, except for a large wooden goats head that was nailed to the front; and, judging by the light shining out from behind the head's eyes, also served as a large fireplace. And then it was charging at her again. Dirt and dust flew out from behind its treads as it pressed forward, intent on simply crushing its target. Glancing around, Twilight was distressed to find that both the knights were gone. Not a single hair or print of them remained. It was like they had simply vanished. The realization that she needed to face this challenge alone hit her heavily and quickly. Twilight wasn't a stranger to fighting. She was the bearer to one of the elements of harmony, so of course she had gotten into a fight or two in her time, what she never realised was that everyone reacted differently in a fight. Rainbow Dash ignored everything except for herself and her opponent, Rarity focused on precision over power, the knights followed the basic rule of 'win' and Twilight...well, Twilight thought. It was so easy to do, after all. The ram grew closer, and facts and figures sprinted through Twilight's mind at the same speed. A quick teleport at exactly 49 degrees to the right to dodge and she was well out of the machines range, followed by a quick wind spell set at a speed of 30 metres a second to whip the sand into a veritable screen and she was nearly invisible. Finish with either a magic bolt with a magical gravitude of 96, which needs to be followed up by a basic levitation of 24 and a transparency spell of medium strength to eliminate counter attacks from a radius of five feet in front of her, or cut out the laser and levitate at a strength of 56 to lift the ram off the ground and rotate it 30 degrees to successful cast the detachment spell (with a magical aptitude strength of 6) and remove the treads to render it helpless. All this happened in the span of about five seconds, and Twilight wouldn't have it any other way. The bolt of magic travelled through the air swiftly, slamming into the side of the battering ram. The force of the blast was enough to rock the machine just slightly, but enough for Twilight to grab it within her magic. She could only compare it to lifting an Ursa Minor, but she'd accomplished that easily, so this was no problem. With a final flick of the ground beneath it, the ram was lifted into the air, where Twilight was overjoyed to discover where the knights had gone. That is to say, she saw the two of them clinging to the back of the battering ram and tearing into it with all the force of an angry griffon. For a brief second, Twilight lost her concentration and the ram wavered in the air, before she found herself again and doubled her efforts. The ram itself though, wasn't looking so good. If anything could be said of the knights, it was ruthless efficiency. Several large holes were punched into the back, one of the treads was ripped off and Twilight could see the glow of the fire from deep within the machine. Then a splitting pain rocked through her head as the machine broke free from her magic. It waned and flowed like a bucket of water down her horn, before condensing into a solid form once it hit her skull and exploded. The blast was enough to stick her mane backwards and singe it black. Already she was running through more figures and simulations in her head, but it was obvious that there was nothing she could do. With a loud boom, the second gas canister strapped to the inside of the machine went off, propelling it forward even faster then before. Twin flames of fuel leaked out the back, pushing it forward as the ram disappeared into the storm. Twilight had to take a moment for the ache in her head to subside before she could continue. The black lines on the edge of her vision couldn't be a good sign, but she was sure that they would vanish in their own time. For now, she just needed rest. When she finally came to again, a few seconds later, the red knight was sitting next to her. He was more relaxed than he had any right to be, considering what had happened in the last few minutes, but Twilight would be lying if she claimed it wasn't reassuring. Coughing the dust out of her lungs, Twilight asked the first question to come to her mind. "Where's...where's the orange knight?" With a simple raise of his hand, the red knight pointed into the distance, at the slowly shrinking ram. If Twilight squinted her eyes hard enough, she could just make out a small, blocky figure sitting on its roof, two hands stretched into the air in a silent cheer. She chuckled to herself; never could resist a good joke. At least the jester was doing his job. Pushing herself back to her feet and wobbling as the magical backlash rocked her system, Twilight headed towards the door. She was close to finishing this, she could feel it. With a wordless push, the knight followed behind her slowly. He wanted to move faster but...he didn't want to leave Twilight. And he'd done this before, and he knew who was next. "Do you know who's waiting for me up here?" Twilight asked. She wasn't expecting an answer; at least, not a vocal one. But it was enough to push the question out of her mind so that she wasn't obsessing over it any more. She chuckled as she remembered that it was usually Spike's job to make sure that she didn't get too crazy over questions like this, before she was reminded of what had happened, and why Spike wasn't with her right now. The knight walked forward slowly, seemingly not hearing Twilight, until he turned and nodded once. Just a small thing, barely noticeable. "But...how do you know? Who is it?" She realised her mistake when the red knight simply glared at her, unable to answer. "Right, right, yes or no answers only then." Twilight though for a second, running through every possible question like a computer before arranging a list of importance. "Is it another alicorn? Like Celestia's mentor or something?" The knight shook his head. "Alright, not an alicorn. It couldn't possibly be...Chrysalis? Am I supposed to redeem her?" The knight shook his head again, as if chuckling. "So who is it then? Discord? Who?" Everything slowed down for a minute, and as Twilight gazed into the knight's eyes, a single word was summoned forth in her head. A word she couldn't contain just in her head, a word she needed to say out loud. "Princess." The knight nodded in agreement while Twilight's head was reeling with questions again. Before she could ask them though, the end of the stairs captured her attention first. Another door. The final door. She didn't know how she knew, but she just did. After this, she wouldn't have questions. This was her last challenge; her last obstacle. Then, she would be certain. She would have her answers. Without even waiting for the knight to move forward to protect her, Twilight pushed the door open; bracing herself for the magic impact at the same time. It came just as she suspected. "For the wizard, I gave him a place where his magic would fail. For the archer, I slowed him with a speed that wasn't his own. For the jester, I gave him the crowd; the world on a platter. And for the leader, I saved the cruellest of all for the leader. For the leader, I have him the tiniest glimpse of hope. I gave him a purple unicorn, who would in turn, betray him." Twilight stepped into the room without a word. She'd already come to expect anything other than simply another room in the tower, so it came as no surprise to her when the sunlight started to stream through the stained glass windows of Celestia's throne room, or when she found herself at the base of Celestia's own throne. The stranger's words were already draining from her mind, as she couldn't be bothered to remember them. They were just trying to trick her out; cause her to make a mistake. And she wouldn't let that happen. When compared to the other illusion rooms, this exit was by far the closest. Looming over her like the princess herself, the door was embedded into the back of Celestia's seat; only a single iron door knocker causing it to stand out. The red knight appeared next to her, eyes also locked on the door at the top of the steps. Or rather, whatever was beneath them. From all around the room, the shadows moved. Twisting and sliding like snakes, they slithered over the windows and snuffed the light, wrapped around Twilight's feet, gathered in her eyes and mouth, weighed her down and shimmered, just shimmered on the seat of the princess. And from the darkness, a figure rose. He resembled the knights in many ways; short build, toned body and other features, but differed from them greatly in the shape of his head. A near perfect triangle, with two sunken eyes that disappeared far into his skull, leaving only pin pricks of light against the darkness shining forth from his skull. Two spiked ears also protruded from the side of his head, neatly contrasting the single line of dark red painted down his front. On his chest, like all the knights, was a symbol. A crescent moon. Twilight felt herself pushed back by something she couldn't see, maybe it was the knight, as the creature on the throne pulled a pulsing, fire red sword out of the air. The blade was a single crystal, engraved with the face of a dragon and radiating magic at an alarming rate. And then he leapt forward, flying much further than Twilight thought was possible, directly at Twilight. Twilight stumbled backwards, losing her footing but it didn't matter as the red knight leapt into action. His steel sword sliced through the darkness as it parried the dark wizard. The two looked into each others eyes the way only life long rivals could, before each took a single step back. Their swords were raised at chest height, primed and pointed at each other; all it took now was for one of them to break the stalemate first and begin the fight. Twilight righted herself quickly, just in time to see the knight tell her to stay still. Just a split second wave of his hand to stay still, before focusing back on his opponent. Who had taken advantage of the slight delay to strike first. Shadows trailed off the end of his blade as he swung forward, slamming down on the knight. Red buckled back slightly, still managing to raise his sword and block the next attack. Twisting his sword arm sideways, he slipped down the length of the wizards blade and pulled in close. The two wrestled for a second, as the knight mashed his X button to overpower the wizard. Despite the display though, something else caught Twilight's eye. Something she couldn't look away from. There was something at the top of the stairs. Something... familiar. A pony with a purple coat and a streak of pink running down her mane. She was at the top of the stairs? Looking down at the two fighters, Twilight felt something deep inside her. Something was tugging at the back of her mind, wasn't she just at the bottom of the stairs? This wasn't right, she shouldn't... but she couldn't feel it over the huge wave of disgust that flowed through her. Look at the two of them down there, fighting like insects. One of them barely had the attention span to walk down a straight hallway, and the other wielded his magic like a club. Why hadn't she seen it before, how they bickered and squabbled with each other. She was the element of magic; the protector of harmony, and she couldn't do that while something so...so unharmonious was alive. She could see everything now, everything. It was all so obvious, why hadn't she seen it? The knights could never be allowed to reach the top of the tower. They just...couldn't. The creature up there; it was trying to protect them. To save them from their fate by swapping it with another, by running them through the motions. If the red knight was allowed to reach the top, everything would be lost. And she'd brought him here. Her, the protector of Equestria, had brought it's greatest threat right to where it needed to be. She'd brought the destruction of harmony directly to the heart of harmony, and was wondering why it was fighting back. How could she be so stupid? But...maybe it wasn't too late. Twilight aimed her horn. And took a deep breath as she looked up at the stairs. What just happened? Twilight spun around hastily, trying to find some explanation for what was going on. But...the room was empty. It was just her, standing alone in the middle of the palace throne room. Her first instinct was to panic. Had she just...killed the fighters? That didn't sound right coming out of her mouth, but it seemed so...real. Everything seemed real. Her train of thought, the magic building in her horn, the attack, it all seemed real, but it couldn't be. It just wasn't possible. She calmed herself quickly. It was just her mind playing tricks on her, everything was fine. Trotting over to where the knight was, Twilight searched for him intently; not leaving a single stone out of place. But there was no sign of him ever existing. No marks on the floor, no scraps of cloth or smears of paint. No sweat or blood or anything. Just Twilight and an empty room. And the beckoning door. With a nervous chuckle, Twilight ascended the stairs. Each step she took seemed heavier than the last; weighed her down far more than any pony or magic could. She was scared. Scared that maybe...she'd screwed up. Scared that maybe she was making a mistake. And with no more knights to protect her, who could blame her? Glancing down the stairs one final time, Twilight pushed the exit door open and walked in. "And what's there to say about what happened next? Twilight stood in front of the last door, turmoil in her heart but strength in her soul? Twilight pushed it open at long last? Twilight entered without hesitation or fear? Twilight prepared herself for what she would see, and yet was still shocked to her core? And at the end of the chapter, there was no kiss; for there were no knights, no princesses and no kisses to spare anyway. Yes, I suppose that is all there is to say." Author's Note Haha, I nearly implied that the knights were trying to kill Celestia. Man, that would have been embarrassing. The knights were chuckling because blue knight got totally owned, seriously, he didn't even get a fight. The rock that Discorded Rarity falls in love with is called Tom Dan. Tom Fulp and Dan Paladin are the creators of Castle Crashers. There's a joke I can use here, but I can't see it for the life of me. Meh, I'm sure it'll show up in the next chapter. Course, now that I told you guys, I need to make a joke so outrageous and out of the blue that, even if you knew the information which I had just told you, would still be funny. Shoot, I'm getting all dramatic, that's not good. I'll make up for it, I swear. And of course it's been over a month, just my luck. Haha, I made another cliffhanger. Truly I am a literary genius...what a shit ending. Stay tuned then, I guess. Most questions will be answered in the next chapter. Castle Crashing the GardenTwilight sat down at the opposite end of the table. Was it her table? It was in her house, so it must be her table; who's table would it be if it wasn't? Something nagged at the back of her mind; something she couldn't quite explain. It was probably nothing anyway. Sighing to herself contently, Twilight lifted the tea-pot into the air with her magic. It was funny, she couldn't remember setting out tea but she must have, because here she was, drinking it. The brown liquid poured into her cup steadily; faint whiffs of steam floating into the cold air. She needed to do something today, but Twilight couldn't remember what it was. Glancing around her library, Twilight tried to remember. Despite her books countless words of knowledge and scripture, none of them clambered forward to tell her what she was forgetting. And she was forgetting something, that's why she had the itch in the back of her mind. But why wouldn't it just come forward and be scratched? Leaning back, Twilight took a hasty sip of her drink. It tasted...missing. Like it wasn't quite there, but something didn't want her to know. The sound of magic filled the room as Twilight fired up her horn. If she couldn't remember what she had forgotten, clearly it wasn't important enough to remember, and she should get back to her studies. There was still so much she didn't know. Glancing at the books title, Twilight confirmed that it was the one she wanted. The words ~~'don't panic'~~ 'Greater magical theory' were printed on the front in golden writing. Celestia had really been giving her quite a lot of research recently; she nearly had to give up time with her friends to cram it all in. Luckily, it hadn't come to that. Between her new studies, taking care of Spike, ~~calming down~~ and countless other activities, it really was a wonder she still found time on top of it all to help Applejack on the farm, or to attend one of Pinkie's many parties. And all she had to do was cut out several hours of sleep! Problem solved. Pages flicked past each other hastily as Twilight found her place. Age spells. Nothing too complicated, of course, she'd never be able to pull them off. Simple spells; like reversing the mayor's greying hair or removing a bag or two from beneath her eyes. There was just one she was stuck on at the moment, then she could finally move on to bigger and better spells, like an apples to oranges spell. A knock at her door captured her attention quite quickly. Guests! That was it, she was expecting guests! That's what she was forgetting! Oh, how could she have forgotten in the first place? Placing her tea back down on the table, Twilight pushed herself to her feet. Blood rushed to her head for a moment, and she immediately found herself sitting down again. Good thing too, she still needed to put her book away before opening the door. Now, where did ~~'relax'~~ 'Greater Magical Theory' go again? Sliding the book into it's proper place, Twilight trotted over to the door. Despite the fact that she now remembered that she had guests, it was still odd that she couldn't remember who she was waiting for. Rarity? Fluttershy? Twilight didn't have a clue. Perhaps she should put on some gentle music for them? Was this going to be one of those long visits, or just a short one? She couldn't find words to describe how annoying it was that she couldn't remember. This made everything so much more difficult. Shrugging to herself slightly, Twilight lifted an old phonograph from out under the desk in the middle of the room. It's funny, she could have swore that there was crack in it ever since the changeling invasion, but that was all in the past for her now. A record, the name of which Twilight couldn't see, was lifted in the same way as the record player and placed firmly in its slot. The needle dropped into the grooves hastily, and the music started to play. Twilight did a small dance as she hopped to the door. She froze just a few steps from her destination. Rubbing her eyes to make sure she wasn't imagining things, Twilight still couldn't believe what she was seeing. Someone had vandalised her door; covered it in nonsense symbols and words. ~~Do~~n't op~~en t~~he doo~~r, Pri~~ncess. She~~'s~~ alre~~ady~~ here. Twilight scratched her head as she tried to make sense of it. "n't op he doo ncess. She alre here? That doesn't even make sense!" A sense of anger built in Twilight's chest. Oh, when she found out who did this to her door, she was going to skin them alive! Or, more realistically, just glue their hooves together or something. It was going to take her hours to clean all this off, even with Spike's help. Just what she needed too, even more work on her pile. Sighing in defeat though, Twilight had to place the task behind her for a moment, there was still someone at the door. Her hoof froze halfway to the door though. Something was wrong, it wasn't right. No. No, this wasn't how it was supposed to go at all. She wasn't supposed to be Twilight, that would freak out her guest. She needed something familiar, but not recent. Twilight grinned devilishly. Yes, that was how it was supposed to go, how could she forget? And then she faded away, drifting into white mist and appearing again on her seat at the table. The door swung open without a creak, and in walked the guest of honour. She walked with a purpose the princess hadn't seen in years; a subtle anger buried behind her eyes. She wanted answers, she wanted to know why. And there was only one person who could provide them. The princess sitting at the table. Twilight sat down at the opposite end of the table. It had been...interesting, when she'd pushed open the last door. An empty white plain awaited her, entirely featureless except for one thing. Set just a few steps from the threshold of the door, sat Twilight's library. And what could she do except knock? After all, the door was locked. Twilight already knew what she would see when the door eventually opened. An exact replica of her own library; just another illusion. The phonograph was new though, what band was that playing? Hoofey Lewis and the News? Twilight didn't like their earlier work, it was a little too 'new wave' for her taste. But that's detracting from the story. With the nearly unnoticeable music playing in her ear and a cup of fresh tea set in front of her, Twilight started the conversation. "I didn't expect you to actually set out tea for me, Celestia." The being across the table nodded slowly. Twilight didn't know why she called it Celestia. It wore Celestia's skin, and spoke with her voice, but it was just illusions on illusions. More cornerstones set out to trip her up; to distract her from what was important. "I've been waiting for you, Twilight." Twilight simply nodded. "Yes, you've mentioned that." She said, unable to think of any else to respond with. "I've watched you grow from a little filly. I've been here an awfully long time. Well, not here, but it's nearly the same. Not that it bothers me; I stopped tracking time by the rising of the sun long ago." "I don't care." Twilight said simply, with all the passion and bitter hate she could summon. Breathing in to steady her nerves, Celestia disappeared briefly as Twilight took another drink. "Aw, come on Twi, not even a little? I thought you were cooler than that." Rainbow Dash said, slamming her cup down on the table. It shook heavily, but didn't break. "You killed my friends. I don't take kindly to ponies who kill my friends." Rarity shifted in her seat, "I don't recall killing anyone, darling. Surely you're not projecting yourself onto me?" "I want to know why." Twilight said. She wasn't going to let this...thing get the best of her. It was trying to distract her; things were drifting out the corner of her eyes, grasping for her attention, but she couldn't look. If she looked, it was over. She needed to stay on track, keep her thoughts straight. If could wear any number of faces, but none would slow her until she found the truth. "Why did I what?" Twilight lowered her drink slowly, taking one last sip before depositing it on the table. "Don't play this game, Luna, tell me why you won't let the knights up here; why they needed to die to prevent them from coming here." Placing her hooves on the table, it was all Twilight could do to focus on the pony in front of her. The rips at the edges of her vision were growing stronger now and Twilight didn't even remember why she wasn't supposed to look at them; where they came from and how they tied into everything. Chrysalis, in a rare moment of courage, matched Twilight's gaze, staring deeply into her eyes. It was at that moment that Twilight realised what the problem was. She'd seen that look before, it was the same look a panicked animal had before Fluttershy could arrive to calm it down or the look Roseluck had whenever the town was in danger. It was...fear. "You're scared," was all Twilight said. Before her eyes, the thing changed its shape again. It was like a burst of static blurred the shape of the creature before a new disguise could be applied, not even proper magic. It seemed to be...searching for something, as if it couldn't decide who it needed to be. Until it stopped, and Twilight found herself staring into her own eyes. "You're scared and you don't want to admit it." Twilight said again, as her doppelgänger continued to stare into her eyes. "If you knew what I knew, Twilight, you'd be scared too." "And what do you know? You're making a lot of questions, I don't even know who you are, and you seem to be avoiding the answers for them." There was a short silence between the two, before the fake Twilight sighed weakly. "Ask anything." "What?" "Ever since she came here, I can't...remember properly. I don't know the answers; or who I am, or what I was supposed to do, or anything. But...but if you can ask me questions, maybe it will all come back." At this point, it was all Twilight could do to keep staring forward. The swirls at the edges of her vision had crept inward; looping around to the front of her head. All around her, she could see them. Each swirl and twist threatening to sweep down and take her memories with it. But she could stop them; she just needed to keep focused on herself. There wasn't even a library any more, just a vast expense of moving light. "Who are you?" Twilight asked. She didn't buy a single word her double was saying, but it was better than nothing. "I...It's not working. I don't know! I keep shifting through these shapes and ponies and princesses and knights and wizards but I never find it. Ask a different one!" "Who is she?" A smile of relief spread across Twilight's clone's face. "~~The black one. The one with the mane of galaxies and the knowledge of the void.~~The green one. The one with the holes in her hooves and the swamp in her mane and the ponies in her mind and out her ears and up her nose and through her skin." "Chrysalis." The light from around the two inched closer. "That's the one! Yes! Chrysalis." Twilight nodded knowingly. Of course Chrysalis was at fault here. It all came back to Chrysalis. "Where is she now? Do you remember?" The clone shifted, as if it couldn't hold its form, before replying. "She's...up. Up higher, we can go there, if you want but I wouldn't recommend it. She's too powerful for you to take on yourself." "I know that, do you think I don't? If I chase after her, she's going to destroy me. Completely and utterly." "So why go?" Twilight smirked. The lights closing in faltered for a second as she talked. "Because I know something she doesn't. I have something she doesn't. I have every little thing planned out; I just hope that I'm not wrong." "Wrong about what?" "About who you really are." With a crack, Twilight stood back up. Her legs felt like she'd been sitting on them for hours. Maybe she had, it was impossible to tell how long she'd been sitting there. There was much to do and so little time to do it. So best to start as soon as she could. "Your majesty, if you would, now would be a good time to drop the illusion. I think it would make us both feel better." "I hope you know what you're doing." Twilight's clone said. "I hope I know what I'm doing." Twilight responded. And just like that, it was all gone. Magic doesn't work like you would assume it does. It doesn't seep down the walls and dry out or disappear in a flash, it simply stops. Like an on/off switch. One moment Twilight was standing in an open plain speaking with herself over a glass of tea, the next she was standing alone in the top room of the tower. There wasn't much to say of it. No windows, no torches, no beds or tables or anything like that, magicians don't need such trivialities. What there was though, was a single slab of perfectly round stone, buried in the tiled floor; and a giant hole cut out of the ceiling. It pulsed and swirled with untapped magic, though Twilight already knew what it did. It went up. Without a thing needing to be said, Twilight stepped onto the platform. With a century old shake and a great up heaving of dust, it shot into the sky. And Twilight rode the air; not knowing if this would be the last thing she did. As she rose, Twilight was given a clear view of all of Equestria. At this height, Twilight figured she could gaze over the mountain Canterlot was built on if she wanted. It all seemed so...small. Beneath her, she could see that Canterlot was in the closest thing to civil war it could be. Ponies from all over the city, inspired by the return of their princess, were fighting for control of their home. It was slow though, barely a house at a time. Until Chrysalis was gone, the changelings wouldn't give up. Maybe they would even keep going after she was, Twilight could only dread. Her mentor had decided to join the charge below, shouting so loud Twilight could still hear her even from the great distance. How many years had she spent trying to wrest even a small amount of acknowledgement from such a small pony; so far beneath her? Too many, by her count. She could see the path that the knights and her had used to enter Canterlot, and two small ponies standing at the turn of the mountain. At least her brother was alright; someone needed to carry on the family legacy if she didn't come back. Of course, she shouldn't think like that, it was far too negative. But, the sight of a happy couple just...living in spite of all that was happening around her. Twilight could only gaze on, thoughts untold running through her mind. And beyond the mountain, visible through only a tiny sliver of or rock, sat Ponyville. The town hall was clearly in view, albeit still covered in green goo and Gak. She should have spent more time in that town, rather than locking herself away in her library all the time. There were so many ponies she would never get to met. The mail-mare, the musician, the candy maker, the carrot farmer; so many ponies who would only remember her as the crazy librarian who occasionally saved the world. And if her eyes weren't deceiving her again, she swore she could see five blobs of varying colours, fresh out of their cocoons. They couldn't see her, it would be impossible at this distance, but she could see them clear as day. At the moment, she wanted to do nothing more than race down there and help Fluttershy with her animals, or race against Rainbow Dash, or harvest apples with Applejack. But she couldn't. They didn't even know she wouldn't be coming back. With these thoughts running through her mind, Twilight was nearly at her destination. Her magic flared up briefly as she scanned through her inventory. A red potion that tasted slightly of cherry. Everything would have to go exactly how she pictured it, or everything was doomed. She could only swallow strongly as she arrived. A soft click rang through the air, like stone scraping on stone; alerting anyone waiting to Twilight's arrival. She couldn't see a thing though. Strong winds battered against her, like a tornado, and a bitter chill crept itself into her spine, but that was all ignorable if only she could see anything. A dark mist was covering...wherever she'd landed. Like flies and locusts whipped into a frenzy, the shadows ran and skittered around her vision; obscuring everything from her. It was nearly a miracle that she could still see her own hoof when placed in front of her eyes. A familiar sound captured Twilight's attention. The sound of a unicorn casting a spell. Of course, it wasn't a unicorn, Twilight already knew that as she turned around. It was a large crystal, easily three times Twilight's size. Lines of ancient runes adorned its body, cut deep in ancient history back when magic was a wild and untamed force. Pointed, but blunted at both ends and featuring six perfectly flat sides, it seemed like something otherworldly, as if it shouldn't have ever existed. It glowed and pulsed like a heartbeat before Twilight, its green light enveloping her completely. The heart of magic. She just wished she knew what it did. Fly and...that was about it. Also it was a princess, maybe? Twilight wasn't sure. Final Battle. Hell yis. Twilight couldn't even hide her grin as she realised she still had a chance to stop ~~the princess~~ Chrysalis. And speaking of the devil... The darkness shifted again, disappearing completely as Chrysalis descended from the top of the crystal; her fall slowing itself magically as she landed. Twilight could only describe her as...tired. Nothing at all like she'd looked back in the throne room. Thick bags of purple and green dragged her eyes down her head, her mane seemed sickly and rotten and her skin had lost its clean black sheen. Rings of decayed green had built up around the holes in her feet and were starting to 'grow' up her legs. Her horn was surrounded by a permanent mist of green, connecting her to the giant crystal behind her like a lifeline. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out, just pained squeaks. Stopping for a moment, Chrysalis moved a hoof to her throat, choking slightly on emptiness as she tried again. "My throat is dry. How long have I been up here?" Twilight glanced around her, kicking her hooves slightly to prepare herself before thinking of an answer. "Barely a few ~~minutes~~ months, by my estimate." "Impossible." Twilight took a step forward slowly, and Chrysalis reacted immediately, throwing herself into a fighting stance. "Don't come any closer." Freezing in place, Twilight placed her hoof back on the ground. "Chrysalis, I'm not going to waste time repeating myself. I asked you to take your changelings, and leave. Your changelings are still here, Chrysalis, so I assume I have to do this the hard way." "You can't stop me now, Twilight, if you wanted. Look around, you're alone. You're in my domain. Everything you see is in my command now and there's nothing you can do. I've taken your knights, your princesses, your friends, everything! I even took the childish drake from you, you're alone." Chrysalis stopped for a minute, pointing over the edge of the platform they were on. "Look out there, Twilight. Look over your kingdom. Right now, there are millions upon millions of ponies. Some don't even know you exist, some don't know I exist. Some could help you right now, if they wanted. They have the wings, the means to come up and fight me, but up here, they're mere dots. Not even worth a glance. Anything they do is confined to more tiny dots, dots among dots among dots; so many insignificant ponies. All of them so...weak." Snapping her attention to Twilight, Chrysalis continued, "Even you, Twilight, are a dot. Weak, easily swept aside, a single grain of dust among a beach of similar grains. You need a crutch to do anything. The elements, your friends, the knights; all the life changing things you've done have been from somepony else's power. Somepony stronger than you. The help of giants treading the desert, crushing grains beneath their feet," Chrysalis grinned, "but what will you do when those same giants are turned against you?" Twilight tried her best not to betray her curiosity. "What do you mean?" A loud laugh filled the arena, though not one full of life. A tired and dried out laugh that was more desperation than joy. "Did you not once consider why the knights were helping you? Why they have an obsession with princesses and kisses? Did you honestly believe they liked you? Or wanted to? Or could even think? They're soulless automatons, Twilight, and nothing more. They complete the desire of the one who controls them. And how do they decide that?" To Twilight's surprise, Chrysalis stepped closer. "It's the kiss. The kiss of a princess that does it. They kissed you, and you wanted to save your friends; so they did. Luna wanted to ensure that Cadence was still alive, they left Canterlot together if I recall; so they did. Cadence wanted to make sure Celestia was still of sane mind and so she was. And Celestia wanted them to protect you. YOU, of all ponies, and so...they took the places where you should have failed." "But...but I'm not a princess." Twilight stuttered, but Chrysalis simply continued. "The volcano, the Ursa Major, the barbarian ram, the wizard, the heart, each was designed for you to fail. And they sacrificed themselves so that you could finally come...here, to me. But Celestia forgot one very important fact." For a brief moment, Twilight felt a burst of fear shoot through her spine. She hadn't prepared for this, not at all. She couldn't have prepared for this, it was just unthinkable. With a great crunching of stone and nothing more, the green knight stepped out of the shadows behind Chrysalis. Small drops of water ran down his face, but other than that, he looked perfectly fine. Well, except the bow he had aimed directly at Twilight's face. The blue knight was next; looking like he'd just stepped out of the stone he was once imprisoned in. He simply stood with his arms crossed, waiting for the screen to scroll to the right so he could act. I'd like to say that the orange knight stepped forward next, but it's more accurate to say that he tripped forward and landed on his face, sliding for a few feet until he was in position. Still, it took him less than a moment to get back to his and ready for the order to attack. And then...nothing. ~~Hang on, wasn't there another?~~ "I was once a princess too, and my kiss is just as valid as hers. And right now, my one wish is for you to be destroyed and to never bother me again. How easily completed, yes?" Twilight didn't respond immediately. Time was important here; she needed to make sure she took full advantage of every second she could get. Small, nearly unnoticeable sounds, like the flexing of the green knights bow-string or the slight crackle of magic from the Heart, dominated the ring. Until, Twilight figured out what to say. "You're lying." "What?" Carefully, Twilight took a step forward. The knights tensed themselves, but remained still. "You heard me. I think you're a lying liar that lies. A lonely, loquacious liar that looks like lacklustre latex and lays lines of labyrinth length and loosely lucid trickery. And I'm not falling for it." Chrysalis stuttered for a moment. "What's...what's loquacious mean?" "Talkative, but no subject changing here. The point is, I don't think you control the knights at all. I've travelled with the knights, no one knows them better than me, and I have never once seen them sit still long enough for me to say something as alliterative as that. You control the knights, but you don't control the 'knights.'" Suddenly, a loud snap echoed through the air and Twilight's hoof froze in the air. Small wood chips, barely large enough to bother her, sprang into her face as the arrow exploded on the ground in front of her. For a brief second, the same fear that she had a minute ago sprang back into her spine. If she was wrong... Breathing in deeply, Twilight placed her hoof back on the ground. There was nothing to worry about, she was going to be fine. "As I was saying, before the interruption, I probably should explain a bit. You can't simply 'control' these things. I've spent an entire field trip with them trying to control them, and the most I can do is point at something and shout 'punch.' All you can do is just roll with whatever crazy plan they decide to concoct in an effort to continue moving towards the princess. Mind control wouldn't work, because all you're doing is taking away that crazy. Sure, you'd 'control' the knights, but they wouldn't be very effective now, would they? And there's something very...useful, for lack of a better word, about th-" Without any warning or announcement, Twilight sprinted forward mid-sentence. Time was the essence here, it was all she had going for her. Hooves rang against stone as Chrysalis back-peddled; eyes glancing at the knights next to her. Only for a brief moment though, the element of surprise is something quickly lost. With her pupils thinning into lizard-like slits and a forked tongue resting on her lips slightly, Chrysalis gave the order. "Kill her." The green knight disappeared from where he was standing and appeared directly in front of Twilight. And Twilight grinned. She'd hadn't just been sitting there gawking the whole time the knights had been fighting for her. When she fought someone, she thought everything out. She predicted what they would do, how they would act, everything that could help her in a fight. And at this point, she'd watched the knights long enough to know exactly how each one choose to start a fight. The green knight would go first, directly in front of her. A quick magical shield to defend herself and throw the knight off balance, before side-stepping him hastily. After that, the blue knight would attack next; while the green was recovering. Exactly three levitation spells to destroy the momentum of the icicles flying towards her and she'd be safe again, just in time to dodge around the orange knight before he could release any of his powerful magic. Just as she guessed they would. And then...well, since she'd never seen the knight's lose before, she was kind of helpless in knowing how they would act next. She only really got one chance. The hiss of flying arrows whizzed past her ears as she fired off another spell, a quick teleportation, to reach the end of her destination. She rested her hooves on the surface of the heart. As strange as it sounds, she could 'hear' it. The magic flowing down its side's like water, the low hum as it hovered in the air innocently, the loud, contrasting cracks of its connection with Chrysalis and finally, something odd. Something that was just out of place. "Stop, Twilight! You don't understand!" Snapping back to reality, Twilight wasted precious seconds turning around to face Chrysalis. "Here's a hint, Chrysalis. Mind control makes things extremely predictable. Even Discord realised that. Now, where was I?" Twilight placed her back hooves against the heart as she continued. "It was never about the princesses was it? It all came down to this, ~~the princess in the tower~~ the heart of magic. This is how you're mind controlling the knights, commanding the changelings, everything. But," Twilight added, "lets see what happens when we break that connection. Maybe we should..." Twilight imagined that if this were a movie, or even a poorly written book, the camera would zoom into her face at that moment. Of course, this was reality, not a story, and so no camera zoomed in on anything at all, "turn your giants against you." Her horn shimmered in the light for a brief second, before a wave of magic flowed down her body. It shined, blindingly bright, as it wavered across her frame; pooling in the ends of her legs and clashing with the green magic holding the crystal in place. The two forces clashed against each other; the surface of the crystal shaking from the magical pressure, until finally, it stopped. And the crystal fell from the sky. From behind Twilight, Chrysalis screamed. A horrified, disbelieving squeal of pain. Twilight turned; just in time to see the life-line connecting Chrysalis to the crystal thin, growing smaller and smaller as the crystal plummeted, until it snapped. It was like someone had exploded a bomb directly in Twilight's face. A sudden flash of light, a powerful push of wind and an all engulfing stream of heat was all she could remember as she flew backwards. Chips of rocks flew past her face in slow motion; suspended in the air like clouds in the sky simply by how focused Twilight was at that moment. The platform they were standing on was shattered with a large gash down the centre and without Chrysalis there to keep it floating; it too fell to earth. Normally, the average pony would be more scared being blown into the open air hundreds of feet above the ground. Twilight was not an average pony though. Streamlining her body like she'd seen Rainbow do many times before, Twilight sped up her fall. She just needed to get a bit...closer. If the crystal could fly once under Chrysalis' power, it could do the same again under hers. Her hooves clicked against its hard surface with a soft clink, though it could barely be heard over the rushing wind. Twilight only took the time to glance over the side once, truly realise why Fluttershy was scared of heights and tap her horn against the surface of the heart. Nothing happened. "Come on magic, don't do this to me now." She whispered to herself, trying again. All she got for her trouble was a short purring noise, though Twilight couldn't identify what animal, if any, it was from. The ground inched closer as Twilight tried again, and again. Another surge of adrenaline shot into her chest as she peeked over the edge again. "Come on crystly, Twilight doesn't want to die like this." She repeated, a hint of desperation seeping into her words. In a last ditch effort, Twilight focused all her remaining magic into a single point. It was as refined as she'd like, nor was it something that would make another magic user smile, but it would serve it's purpose. She was the element of magic, it had to. She only had one chance left, of course it had to. Her magic swirled around her horn like a whirlpool, searching for a release. It crashed and pulsed against her sides, giving her a warmth she'd never felt before. A rhythmic pattern developed deep inside her; wafted out of her mouth in her breaths and through her chest by the beat of her heart. In and out, in and out, with a sweet release waiting for her at the end. Finally, Twilight could take no more. Her legs spasmed from beneath her as she released all the energy she'd pent up. A sudden squeak forced its way out of her mouth; just as she touched her horn to the crystal. And nothing happened. "No no no no, don't do this to me, not now." It was too late to stop it now. The ground was rushing up at her, and she just didn't know how to stop it in time. She was just...moving too fast. She needed to slow down, or stop, or jump or something. If she hit the ground from this height, she would die. And she couldn't die, she was Twilight Sparkle. There had to be a way, she just couldn't-- There was no way of telling just how long she'd been out. With all the pegasi fighting the changelings in the city, there was no one to move the clouds out of the way of the sun. For all Twilight knew, she could have been out for anywhere between a few minutes to a few months. Maybe even years, time had seemed to lose whatever meaning it had at this point. She was...lucky to be alive. She remembered that. She couldn't feel one of her front legs, her horn sported a brand new crack along the base, something was stabbing her in the chest and dirt was pressed so deep into her coat that she knew that no amount of baths would be able to get it all out. But she was alive, remarkably. Looking around, it was easy to determine where she'd landed. Stone statues sat around her; dwarfing the injured pony in their size and grace. To her right, Twilight could see the edge of the hedge maze and a little path that ran along its edge. turning around, she managed to steal a glance of a large crater caused by the crystal; lit up by a faint white glow. For a minute, she thought that maybe she'd won. Her mouth was already open in congratulations to herself when a faint buzzing wormed its way into her ear. Almost immediately, she tracked the noise to its source and looked up. Chrysalis, with insect like wings beating a thousand times a second, dropped herself to the ground, unharmed. A confident sneer was caught in her mouth as she scanned over Twilight, practically soaking in her injuries. "Had a little trip, did we? Twilight tried to push herself to a more dignified posture, but a sudden needle shooting through her injured leg prevented her attempts from succeeding. "I feel like somepony launched me from Celestia's throne room across the country in a single powerful burst, but luckily that only happened to one of us." The brittle grass snapped and crackled under Chrysalis' hoof as she walked closer; everything about her screaming 'control.' And she was in control of the situation, anyone could see that. "Just what was your plan, Twilight? Did you think that I actually needed the heart to beat you? Or that your precious knights would stand a chance? You should have just stayed at home, Twilight, and let yourself be captured like the rest of your friends. What good are you even, without your elements of harmony?" A spark fell across Twilight's eyes as everything fell into place. "I get the feeling that you don't understand what exactly the elements are, Chrysalis, am I correct?" Chrysalis' façade dropped for a split second as Twilight continued. "The elements aren't just some tacky necklaces and a crown, they symbolize the bonds that keep Equestria together. They're the very essence of magic itself, given powerful and untapped form. They can work for anyone, any group of friends that embody the elements. Which brings me to my next point." The ground next to Twilight exploded with a loud bang. The stabbing pain returned to her leg as she instinctively threw it into the air to protect herself, only to lower it when she realised it was exactly who she was looking for. "The green knight, who risked himself to save us from Sombra and confessed to eating all the pastries in Sugercube Corner, represents the element of Honesty!" "Wat?" Chrysalis croaked out. Another explosion rocked Twilight as the next knight landed to her left. "The orange knight, who entertained the entire group with his antics and tamed the savage manticore, represents the element of Laughter!" "No, seriously, what?" The air gained a cold chill as the blue knight landed. The slight breeze caused by his descent caused small whirlwinds to spin around his feet, stirring up the grass beneath his feet. And with him, came Spike. Twilight bit her lip to stop herself from running out there and simply hugging Spike where he floated and telling him how much she missed him and how she was never going to let him go and how everything would be fine, but she didn't. She needed to finish this. "Blue knight, who helped Roseluck with her gardening and shared his food and drink with his friends represents the element of...Generosity." "No, stop Twilight. Stop this now." "Spike represents the element of Loyalty, for always sticking by my side on this adventure through thick and thin." Twilight stopped for a moment. She was one short. That wasn't right, she should have had six friends. ~~Wasn't there another?~~ She couldn't...remember. The questions were there but the answer were not. Why couldn't she... "And with the element of magic, it's all complete!" A brilliant light started to surround the ~~six~~ five creatures as Twilight closed her eyes. Chrysalis started to back-pedal, curses dying on her lips. She had been so close, so very close to victory. And now, just like that, she lost? No fair. Looking into the sun of a spell Twilight was casting, Chrysalis closed her eyes. She couldn't bring herself to watch. Twilight started to laugh as she lowered herself back to the ground. Chrysalis cracked her eyelid open a tiny amount. "What? Why...why didn't you..." "The elements...the elements don't work...they don't work like that, Chrysalis. You can't just...just pull random...pull random friends off the...the street. You need...need true harmony to make them work. These knights couldn't harmony if they wanted too. There's a reason only six ponies in over a thousand years can use them. Haha, I can't believe you fell for that." Despite her fatigue and the blow to her pride, Chrysalis pushed herself tall again, nearly towering over Twilight. "I fell for no such thing. A queen such as myself would never fall for such a lowly trick." "Kinda hard to believe that when you were cowering on the floor a couple of seconds ago." "Silence, Twilight. I've had enough of these monologues and talks, it's time we finished this." Twilight simply shrugged. "Alright, go ahead. But can I ask you a question before we start?" Despite the magic gathering in her horn, Chrysalis faltered for a moment. What harm was there in indulging the mare? She probably just wanted to know why, or how, or some other small detail that wouldn't matter once she was gone. What was the harm? "What?" "If changelings have conquered every inch of Canterlot, why are there none in the gardens?" Chrysalis opened her mouth to respond, before snapping it shut hastily. She scanned the garden; searching for her drones, but coming up empty. That was...odd. "Where are you going with this? No, no, I don't care, enough talking." "Chrysalis, it's time to wake up. For both of us." "What are you blabbering about?" Sighing, Twilight stepped forward. "Things don't make sense, Chrysalis, please tell me you noticed this?" "The knights are simply sitting still and waiting for orders, there are no mountains between Ponyville and Canterlot to look through, magic doesn't work like an on/off switch, a floating platform above Canterlot is a ridiculous notion, I haven't encountered the heart climbing the tower yet, you hadn't been up there a few months at all, Spike wasn't on the floating platform with us, there are no changelings in the garden and finally, the one big thing that finally made me realise all this, realise all the tiny little discrepancies of this illusion, was this..." Twilight perked her ears backwards. "There's no crystal behind me anymore. It left the moment it thought I was dead." Slowly, almost fearfully, Chrysalis dragged her eyes to the crater behind Twilight. True to her word, it was completely empty; only a single line of up-heaved dirt remained. She struggled to grab her tongue, struggled to put things together in a way that made sense. "What?" "This is an illusion, Chrysalis. One that you've gotten caught in. At this moment, I'm passed out on the fourth floor of the tower, probably drooling on the floor and embarrassing myself in front of...I can't remember who. Just more reasons this is an illusion. You, however, are passed out at the top of the tower, dreaming that you're fighting me in the garden. But now that I've told you this, you're waking up. Everything you've dreamed here is just going to...disappear." Looking around again, Chrysalis' features dropped as she realised she couldn't recognize where she was. Endless dunes of pure white and a cold wind was all she could see, as far as the horizon. It was encroaching in her vision, choking her down through the mist and smoke, all in a futile effort to wake her up. She had to. And then just like that, Twilight opened her eyes. The illusion was broken. The shadows crawling across the roof parted as Twilight adjusted to the darkness. A hasty breathe was sucked into her lungs as she fought for air from her sleep addled mind. She didn't even want to know how much time she'd wasted sleeping, that wasn't important any more. What was important was what she knew. She knew everything now; all the pieces were falling together into a perfect picture of the situation. Rolling onto her stomach and pushing herself back to her hooves, Twilight scanned through the room. She couldn't hide her grin as she zoned in on the red knight; sitting in front of the door and waiting for someone to open it so he could continue. That was good; it meant Twilight didn't have to waste time explaining what just happened to her. Trotting across the room, Twilight bit the bottom of her lip, before lifting the knight from where he stood and placing him on her back. He was heavier than he looked; it was like carrying a bag of iron on her back. This would be faster though, she knew that. She needed to reach the top quickly. "Red, better hang on, because we don't have much time left. I'll explain as I run, now let's go!" Twilight threw the door open with her magic so hard it left an imprint the wall next to it. She followed that up with a quick teleport, followed by another, and another, skipping entire sections of the stairs at once. "Chrysalis isn't the one messing with us here, she never made the illusions, not intentionally, and she has no control over them. She's just another alicorn that got in over her head." Twilight nearly fumbled as the red knight shifted his weight. "There is a pony at the top of this tower, another alicorn, another princess, but she absolutely hates you. To the core. Chrysalis must have known this, that's why she came up here. You saw how she freaked out when you first arrived...well, you didn't, but that's beside the point." "Chrysalis was intending to mind control the princess up here, and use her power to destroy you. But it didn't work, because the princess was stronger than her. Instead of her controlling the princess, the princess controlled her, then used her own illusion magic to convince her that everything was going to plan and to trap each of us on our own separate floors." With a final flash, Twilight appeared at another door. "But it didn't work, because this princess hasn't been outside in over one thousand years. She didn't know what Canterlot looked like, or how Equestria had changed. It was impossible for her to create a realistic illusion." Twilight placed her hoof on the door. "Red...I know we don't know each other that well; we only met a couple of hours ago, but I need you to understand one thing. Please, if you can understand anything I say, don't hurt Chrysalis. She's only partially to blame, and I can handle her punishment myself. Please, just aim for the black and purple alicorn and don't hold back. I've fought her before, and it took the elements to even dint her." And with that, Twilight kicked the door down. Light shone into the room that hadn't seen sunlight for centuries as Twilight rushed in. She couldn't see anything, just like before, but now it was frightening. Now she had a reason to fear the dark. Like a spotlight shining down from the ceiling, a ray of light chased away the shadows on the other side of the room. A mare was sitting there, bruised and injured, but alive. Her appearance seemed to get worse every time Twilight saw her. Shining her magic again, Twilight lifted the knight off her back. "Remember, Chrysalis is mine. The second the other princess shows up though, give her your all." Walking slowly, and with purpose, Twilight made her way across the room. It wasn't until she was just at the edge of the spotlight that the room was cast into darkness again, and a voice made itself clear. It was a smooth voice; one that as pleasant to the ear and carried a tone of both arrogance and class. "Well well, that was rather clever of you, Twilight. Figuring it all out like that. I nearly had you for a second though, we both know that's true. How does your leg feel? Ache a little?" Licking her lips, Twilight glanced randomly into the darkness. The mare speaking to her seemed to shift and waver at the edges of her vision, but never truly enter it. That wasn't good, the red knight couldn't do anything until she showed herself. "Nightmare Moon, I don't want to fight you. I'm here for Chrysalis alone. She's the only one who can call back the changelings, and I'm not leaving until she does so. Now bring her back to me, lock yourself in this room again, and leave me alone." The shadows shifted, "It's only Nightmare now. You and your pesky friends made sure of that. Do you have any idea how close I was to bringing about eternal night? Thiiiiiiiiiis close. Can you see how close my hooves are at this moment, because they are so damn close you don't even know. You couldn't slid a hair between these hooves, because they're so close there is no room for error on how close they to each other they are. But now that you're here, that doesn't matter. I've been waiting for this moment, Twilight." "And what moment would that be?" The voice seemed to be closer; whispering in Twilight's ears. "Join me, Twilight. Somepony as powerful as you doesn't need giants to carry them. You are a giant amongst giants; an unstoppable force of magical potential. You could be an alicorn yourself one day; Princess Twilight, doesn't it ring a bell? Doesn't it sound right when it rolls of the tongue? Power, friends, wealth, fame, recognition, anything you want. I can get it for you, you just need to let me help you." "And this would be the kind of help that blocks out the sun, right?" "A mere side effect of having your way. Don't rest on something like that. Think of what's in it for you. Never having to worry about a friendship report again, an endless library to study and research, hundreds, no, thousands of friends to truly discover the magic of friendship with and a free business suit." "Does the suit come with a tie?" "Of course it can, Twilight. Anything you want." Twilight cocked her head sideways. "Mm, that is a tempting offer. However, as much as I would love a business suit, I'm going to have to decline." A shadowy hoof formed beneath Twilight's chin, pulling her gaze upwards to two eyes hovering in the mist. "No, you're not, Twilight. Think about this, really think about this, because this is not an offer I give to everypony. You need me, Twilight; and I need you. We were made for each other. Luna was...Luna was just a stepping stone to what we could achieve together, just a tiny taste to what was coming." With a carefully weighed movement, Twilight pushed the hoof on her chin down. "You forget, Nightmare Moon, I have no interest in power. I don't...want to control ponies, or command their respect. All I need are my friends. They're always there to support me when I need it; I don't have any need for power." For a minute, silence wafted through the room like shadows, until Nightmare finally responded. "And what would you do if...something were to happen to your friends?" Another hoof materialized out of the darkness to stand beside its partner, but Twilight still couldn't see the pony they belonged to. "I don't understand. You can't threaten me like this, Nightmare, I know my friends are safe." "Who said anything about threatening? I'm merely stating facts. For example, you weren't powerful enough to protect your friends when the changelings swept into Ponyville. You weren't powerful enough to defeat Sombra when he challenged you, you weren't powerful enough to save even a single pony in that town. Instead, what did you do? You ran, and hide, and cried for your mother and called upon the only force powerful enough to save the day." Like a collection of snakes, the shadows twisted and formed in front of Twilight; growing pointed teeth and polished metal, framing the eyes in a frightening pony face. "It's all about power, Twilight, and together, we have it all. If you let me help you, you will never have to call for help to save your friends again. Look at the knight behind you, he knows...Look at him, Twilight! He knows he's the most powerful creature in this room. Perhaps all of Equestria. He doesn't need to worry about consequences, or the damage he causes or the ponies he hurts, because who is going to object to him? And you've been feeding this destructive attitude." With a final flash of retreating light, Nightmare revealed herself. Her mane was like the cool of a winters night; floating down her neck. A polished and dark purple helmet sat on her head, with only a hole cut for her horn to break the perfect shine. And she grinned, with a mouth that wouldn't be out of place on a vampire, and inched closer to Twilight. "And where does this attitude you've been aiding end? What happens to the knights once the fight is over? Do you not realise why Celestia imprisoned them in the first place? Once the fight is over, the knights are going to destroy everything, just like they did one thousand years ago. This is why we need to help each other, Twilight, for the good of us all. I will not let my kingdom fall to these brutes again!" All Twilight gave her was a dismissive wave. "Give me Chrysalis, Nightmare Moon." "What...bu...but you're just going to ignore everything I've said?" "Nightmare, since the very moment I woke these knights, everyone has been trying to tell me they're 'evil,' or they're 'weak' or they 'obey the princesses kiss.' At this point, I couldn't care less what their motives are. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. All I want to do at the moment, is make sure that my friends stay safe while I call off this invasion. And I can't do that without Chrysalis. Now, be a good pony for once, give me Chrysalis, lock yourself in this tower and never bother me again; or I'll show you just why red knight is the most powerful guy in the room. Alright?" Nightmare thought for a moment, before stomping her hoof. "No." "No?" "I've waited too long for a chance like this, I'm not just going to let it pass me by because you don't see things the same way I do," With a flick of her head, Nightmare stepped out of the shadows fully; her slender body like a silhouette in the moonlight, "If I can't have my wishes, this entire kingdom can burn for all I care. As long as I'm here Twilight, you will never find Chrysalis." Twilight shrugged. "I suppose you shouldn't have stepped out of the shadows then." The red knight moved so fast that the darkness around him swirled inward as he charged at the black alicorn. Nightmare didn't have time to react; didn't have time to block as the knight flew towards her. With a loud smack and a shockwave that was nearly visible in its strength, Nightmare was thrown backwards into the wall. Nightmare was no sucker though. By the time the red knight was back on his feet, she'd already disappeared again. Almost on instinct, Twilight moved closer to the red knight. The darkness around the two was suddenly more menacing now that they had the knowledge that Nightmare could come from any direction. This fact was only punctuated by a low, guttural laugh; the source of which seemed to come from all around the two. "This is a fight I will not lose, children." Twilight was thrown off balance as a wave of shadow thrust itself between her and the knight. She stumbled forward, just enough to regain her footing before turning around. She could just make out the outline of the red knight through the shadows, but he didn't look too good. There was no way he could predict Nightmare's attack. Every time he moved to block, Nightmare would reveal herself behind him; lingering only long enough to sneak between his defences and strike. Every time he tried to strike, on the few occasions Nightmare was slow on her retreat, his sword would slice through the shadowy mist where his opponent was a second ago, before a swift counter attack would throw him off again. The sounds of the fight filled the room as Twilight tried to inch closer, being blocked at the last moment every time. Even if she couldn't do much, red knight needed her help. Needed any help. He needed the other knights; this wasn't a fight he could win alone. Twilight wrestled with herself for an answer. There wasn't time to go back and try to find the other knights. There wasn't time to try and help the knight herself, there was just nothing she could do! What was she even doing here? If she'd taken the place of even one of the other knights this wouldn't be happening, Equestria would be safe! Helpless, that's all she could think. She was helpless to do anything. And then, for a brief moment, everything fit together. The lines and webs of chaos spread across the world straightened and twisted into words, into a plan, and Twilight was given a glimpse into the mind of a knight. And she knew just what to do. She had to be crazy awesome. "This is going to hurt." Twilight commented to herself, running through her memories. She knew it was in there somewhere; buried beneath months and weeks of research. It just didn't want to show itself, not yet. Magic was pre-emptively gathering on her horn, but without the right spell to release it, all the magic in the world would be useless. Words and figures surfaced in head, and she finally remembered the spell she needed. A flash of light lit up the room, and Twilight swore she could see everything rotate as gravity reversed itself. She landed on the underside of the roof with no problem; its steep angle instantly causing her to slide towards the centre. With a twist of her foot, stopped herself, just long enough to locate the red knight. She'd need his help for phase two. On the other side of the room, the knight hadn't even noticed the change in gravity. There were bigger things to be concerned about. He could hear his enemy inching around him, moving from every direction. He just needed a chance, or a break. This boss had far too much health for one knight. Until...a path blazed through the shadows and he found himself flying backwards. A purple cloud was surrounding him, the cause of his sudden movement, but he didn't know why. Twilight simply stared at him as she moved closer to the centre. A quick breath outwards blew her mane out of her eyes as she reached the cone centre of the roof. Twilight turned her head backwards, focusing on the shadows gathering behind her and the pair of eyes hidden within them. "What are you doing, Twilight?" they asked. Twilight didn't bother to answer. "Red, please trust me. That magic jump, from earlier, I've seen you do it before; you have to do that for me right now, at this exact spot. Trust me! I'll handle the rest. It's time to do the impossible; see the invisible." Landing his feet back on the ground, the knight raised his fist into the air, as if to say 'row row, fight the power,' before crouching his knees and gathering his magic. Just a single jump. Nightmare realised what was going on a second too late to prevent it. Lightning and power surged into the old wooden roof; ripping it apart as the duo shot straight into the air. Planks of wood and broken tiles floated into the sky as sunlight rushed into the room. The thick mist of shadows and darkness was instantly destroyed by the sun; banished to the dark corners of the room. There was no where left to hide for Nightmare now, not in the light of the sun. At the same time, Twilight gathered her magic again and righted the twisted gravity. "Hold on, Red." Twilight was given one small chance to shield her eyes before her and the knight crashed into the floor. Or rather, through the floor. Between the magic jump of the knight and the natural aid of gravity, the two had more than enough speed to simply smash their way through the ground. Just as Twilight planned. Dust coated her as she continued her fall; the obstacle barely slowing her at all. Another floor stood in her way, only to fall as body met stone. And another, and another, until Twilight realised that was four and firing her magic up again; this time to cushion the last landing. She hit the ground with a loud smack. Rivers of pain flowed up her legs from the collision; mingling with the bruises forming just about everywhere else on her body. It was only by a miracle that she hadn't bit her own tongue off yet. Rubble and dust rained down around her like hail but none were large enough to actually cause her any harm. Breathing heavily, Twilight sighed. She still wasn't done. "Twi...twilight?" Looking up, Twilight quickly locked onto her apprentice. Innumerable emotion rushed through her body; joy and fear and guilt and happiness, but Twilight had to force them all aside. She wasn't done yet. "Not now Spike, just sit still!" she shouted, charging at the blue knight standing next to Spike. The room lit up the second Twilight was close enough and the four found themselves on the next floor, except a giant hole was punched through the middle. It took Twilight less than a minute to find the green knight; rushing over and adding him to the posse. Another flash, another floor, another knight and Twilight was ready. At this point, she could nearly see the magic leaking off her horn. No unicorn had ever used this much magic so quickly, it was practicably unheard of. Objects split and wavered in her vision, but it wouldn't matter in a moment. She just needed to cast one last spell. Mustering up the last of her leaking magic, Twilight threw everything she had into carrying the knights up the last floor. With a pained groan, the laws of physics buggered off to another dimension as light flooded the room and the group appeared at the top of the tower. "Stop! Don't come any closer!" Despite the loud ringing bouncing through her head, Twilight was still able to hear Nightmare's panicked shouts. It took a bit more concentration than she'd like, but with effort, Twilight could pull her fading vision together long enough to survey the scene. Nightmare, with no shadows left to hide in, had propped herself against the wall. In front of her, held in place by sheer force of will, was Chrysalis; more a shield against attack than an actual pony. Both of the ponies looked worn down and broken, but that only served to make them all the more dangerous. "Take another step and Chrysalis is done. I'm not letting this chance go to waste!" Twilight couldn't care less. She was tired, magically drained and just plain bored. Luckily, the knights were ready to take over for her at this point. They didn't even respond to the threat; didn't slow down their advance even slightly. The red knight lead the charge, moving until he was within arms reach of the changeling. The two stared each other down; neither him or Nightmare willing to break the exchange. Until the red knight casually lifted his arm, swatted Chrysalis out of Nighmare's reach as if he was removing a troublesome fly and moved in for the fight. "Come on, Chrysalis, wake up...wake up, Chrysalis." With a soft touch, Twilight lightly poked the unconscious Chrysalis' face. She was still breathing, but barely. They were nearly done, Equestria was nearly safe, they just needed to wake Chrysalis up. Though as the minutes dragged on though, that goal seemed to slowly slip away in favour of just keeping Chrysalis alive. Despite Twilight's slowly weakening grip on the arcane arts, she still continued. There were many spells dedicated to making sure ponies recovered from wounds faster, or to make sure they weren't in too much pain, or for just about any step of the medical procedure, but for some reason, none of them were working. Time was running out; she could almost hear the hounds and changelings climbing up the sides of the tower. "I can't...I can't do it." She said, breaking away from her spells to steal a glance at the knights. "She won't wake up." "Unless..." Twilight shuffled through her bags, which she totally did have at that moment and which were always there from the beginning, yes. It wasn't hard to find; there was only two things in the bag in the first place, but Twilight still couldn't stop a sigh of relief when it levitated into her face. Rainbows painted the floor as light streamed through the clear container; half full of red liquid. This better not turn out to be a mistake. Pressing her lips together in concentration, Twilight lifted the vial above her head before smashing it down hastily, directly onto Chrysalis' head. The effect was nearly faster than instantaneous, except for the point where that was impossible and it just happened really, really fast instead. Chrysalis rocketed upwards; sleep running from her eyes. "I'm awake mum, don't worry. It's all...good?" Slowly, her gaze drifted from the purple unicorn in front of her, to the unconscious alicorn on the ground, to the four knights sitting atop a giant chest, trying to crack it open and end the level. "Did I...miss something?" Twilight pushed herself into Chrysalis' face. "No more games, Chrysalis. Call off the invasion." "Never!" Even if she wasn't sure about what was going on, Chrysalis wasn't a pony to simply give in to demands. Shrugging, Twilight pointed at one of the knights, at random. "Would you like to explain why not to them then?" Following her gaze, Chrysalis swallowed nervously as the knight's gazed back. Only the red knight was there to keep them in line, but it was clear he was loosing patience just as fast as the others were. "I still refuse. The changeling empire will--" Twilight nodded, and red knight dropped his arms; just long enough for the message to sink in before pulling his colleagues back again. "Alright, alright, you win. I'll...I'll do it." With a weary sigh, Chrysalis started to flap her wings; more of a fast fly like buzz than the strong wing strokes of a pegasus, and rose into the air. Flying even higher into the air, and eventually straight out of the hole punched into the roof. The room was filled with silence and tension, so thick it was nearly choking, until all of that came crashing down with a nearly ear deafening screech that shook the castle in its noise. Another silence, somehow heavier than the last, before a sound that brought joy to Twilight's heart filled the room. Buzzing. The sound of hundreds or thousands of changelings all flying into the air away from Canterlot, back to where they came from. She could nearly laugh from the sheer joy of the sound. By the time the buzzing stopped, Twilight didn't even realise that Chrysalis had left with it. All she could focus on was the fact that she had done it! She'd saved Equestria! Well, mostly by herself. A little by herself. She was at least there, she did a little! All her friends were safe, Equestria was safe, Canterlot was safe, there was no better way this could have gone. Feeling her legs give out, Twilight sat down. The sunlight on her skin was the greatest feeling she could have at this moment. And as the knights sat down next to her, one by one, only one thought was left on her mind. "I need to talk to Pinkie, because I could really use a party right now. What about you guys?" The knights only raised a single hand, thumb extended. Author's Note You were expecting some dramatic reveal? Or perhaps something that made sense? Or maybe an explanation? It's a real shame that I'm the only one here then. Alright, maybe it's just me, but I just spent about five minutes giggling at the big bold 'final battle.' This says something, but I don't know what. Shot, I nearly forgot that the red knight was lightning, not fire. I don't even know. How much of this chapter was actually necessary, and how much was just me attempting to create the biggest mind screw in history? Other rejected possibilities for the top of the tower: -Prince Blueblood -Starswirl the Bearded -That Crystal from the game -Queen Chrysalis -The purple princess -The red princess -The blue princess -The orange princess -Spike -Celestia's mum -Twilicorn -Steve? Well, that's it folks, stories over. Mostly. Now all we need is the epilogue and we're all done. I sincerely apologise for the change in tone these last two chapters. Castle Crashing the Party"So, what happens to them now?" "The knights? You needn't worry about such things right now, my student." "You're going to turn them to stone again, aren't you?" "...Yes." "Same as before? Same inscription and everything?" "Only if they choose not to change it. It is a few millennia old at this point and...a little less accurate than it once was." "Why?" "Well, I like to imagine that I've grown as a pony since it was written and that my morals are more socially acceptable." "You know what I mean." "...Because that's how it has to be. They're a fairytale; dashing and brave and entirely foalhardy, but that is why they also must be put back to sleep. What happens to the knight, the princess, the evil wizard, the wise king; when the book is closed? The story cannot continue forever, no matter how much we wish it too. Characters; all the life and vibrancy they possessed, must be forgotten at some point. The book must close, the story must end. The very nature of the knights makes this true." "But...surely there's something you can do!" "If there is, I haven't found it. But do not shed tears for them, Twilight, for a book once closed will someday be opened again.The knight will fight, the princess will swoon, the wizard will cast his evil magics and the king will impart deep wisdom at the end. As the story ends, so does another begin. Maybe you won't live long enough to read it; perhaps even I won't last that long, but I can assure you, it will happen again. And when it does, I feel deep sadness for whoever is playing the role of the dark wizard." "But Celestia--" "And you should not be thinking of these things at the moment. Come, I can hear the music from here. Your friends have thrown a great party for their saviours; you should be enjoying it with them instead of fretting over the inevitable with me. Now go. And remember; a fairytale is only a tale so long as it is told. So let this particular one ring through the annals of history." "So, it's come down to this. Did you not think I would find out? Did you think that you could keep a secret from the captain of the royal guard? I'll have you know I've been extensively trained in the ancient art of gorilla warfare, and have over three hundred confirmed acts of kindness and generosity. You have no idea of the storm I am about to release upon you. You're dead, kiddo." The orange knight shifted his feet to the side; attempting to resume a fighting stance before being forced to step the side again in an endless dance with his opponent. If he let him get too far to his left, he might slip into a small crack in his defence and the fight would be over. And so the two danced, the jester and the guard, circling each other endlessly. "I know you touched my woman, knight. You can't hide such secrets from me!" Off to the side, a pink bundle of flesh and feathers tried to wrest even a small amount of attention from the duelists. "No, don't do it Shining! I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me! I can explain." "Quiet Cadence, the men are talking," turning his attention back to the orange knight, Shining Armour continued, "So, knight, what do you have to say for yourself? Any last words to share?" The knight continued to circle, his eyes occasionally drifting away from the duel to the other amusements gathered around him. "Ah, clearly you know that the greatest insult to a fellow knight is silence! You're crafter than I thought; I shan't underestimate you now! But your mind tricks won't work on me, for I am the greatest swordsman...pony...swordpo...GUARD in the land!" "No, Shining, stop...no seriously, stop. Now that I think about it, the knight I kissed was a lot more...blue-ish than this one." Stopping his endless dance for a second, Shining ran through some calculations in his head, before settling on the most obvious answer and pointing his sword at the orange knight again. "Your colour changing magic is similarly useless against me, for I am just as powerful regardless of what colour I am. Unless it's pink, don't make me pink, nopony likes that colour." Cadence froze for a split second. "Hang on, I'M PI--" The tension of the movement overcame Shining as the knight lunged forward, only to pull back at the last second. A sneaky fake; he was trying to trip him up. "Keeping up the silence, ay? Truly you have mastered insults to a zen like level. Just as the brave honey badger can overcome his ability to give a horseapple, so too can you bypass the bodies natural instinct of fear. But do not worry, because it is simply natural to be scared when facing...THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD!" "Honey...I don't think he's listening to you. Look, look, he's eating a bagel as we speak! Just get it over with." Suddenly caught out on his mid battle snack, the orange knight returned to his position; crumbs dribbling down his face. How he ate was a mystery, but some things are better left unanswered. After all, if you stare into the abyss long enough, sometimes the abyss stares back. And then, like, eats a bagel or something, I don't know; I'm not a poet. Shining faltered for a brief second and broke eye contact from his opponent. "I'm gonna do it! Just you watch, I'm totally going to fight this guy. Just you watch me." "So do it." Shining faltered again. "I'm gonna...do it. Any second now. Everypony watch, here I go, I'm going to fight this knight and defend my woman's honour. He...he...here I go." "Just stab him already!" Biting the bottom of his lip, Shining brought his sword down on the knight, swiftly and cleanly. The shining steel splintered through the air towards its target, unavoidable in its ferocity. And then it stopped an inch above the knight's head and tapped him lightly. "Haha, it is done! Did everypony see that, I totally hit that knight." For a brief moment, silence reigned over the party. The band put down their instruments; cutting off the music, the whispers and shouts of the dancers evaporated into the air, the flapping of wings suddenly disappeared as pegasi lowered themselves to the ground; too ashamed to continue the effort needed to fly. And the orange knight stared at Shining disapprovingly before shaking his head sadly and walking away. With a swift movement, Cadence shifted into Shining's reach; trying to divert some of the embarrassment he was no doubt feeling at the moment. "It's all right, Shining, nopony looks down on you for not going through with it." "But...but I did go through with i--" "Shh, shh, honey, just be quiet right now. It'll all be fine." At that moment, the massive doors to the throne room were thrown open and through them wandered a very bedraggled and tired looking pony. Shining gave one glance at the pony in the door way, before dashing out of Cadence's grip. A loud 'gotta go now, bye' escaped his lips as he sprinted for the nearest exit. A green mist began to envelop him mid-step; shedding the disguise off of him as he ran. And the changeling fled out the window just as Shining settled next to his wife. "Wow, you would not believe the day I've been having. At least six ponies have kicked me in the shins for no reason and everypony says I'm already at the party. And don't get me started on the whole changeling attack. Thank Celestia you're safe and nothing questionable happened during the invasion; that would destroy what little optimism I still have. What did I miss?" Cadence flapped her gums for a brief second, a soft 'huh,' being audible over her breath. "Uh, nothing. Nothing at all." "Well, thank goodness for that. Now, I need to be off to congratulate our savours. That orange one over there seems like a good place to start." "I must say, Pinkie did a rather fabulous job with this party. I know it's her specialty, but to get all these ponies together on such short notice, it's amazing. Look, look over there, it's pony Johnny Depp! And over there, it's Badhorse! And over there..." Rarity let out a dreamy sigh, "it's Fancy Pants. Fluttershy, darling, I must ask that you hold my drink for me while I attempt to start a conversation. Snapping out of the trance she went into whenever one of her friends started talking, Fluttershy shook her head quickly. "Rarity, please don't. I don't want to sneak back in again, not after that incident with Blueblood. Can't we just sit here and...and appreciate the music?" "The music is terrible and being played from a six year old speaker by a washed out and rather filthy DJ 'artist.' I can do without. Now, watch as I show him my moves. Men like it when you show them your moves. I think I'll start with the 'falcon walk.'" "Please...please don't go...oh." Fluttershy pulled her head back in a crude imitation of a turtle as Rarity walked away. The loud music drilled into her ears just as much as the constant chatter did. No matter where she placed her ears; no matter where she spun her head, it was always just there; boring into her mind and body. It did no help to calm the pegasus that she'd just lost her only lifeline in a sea of ponies she didn't know how to talk to or interact with. Maybe...maybe no one would notice if she just snuck out the back door and went home. She didn't belong here; it was much too loud and there were too many ponies and she'd just rather be looking after her birds. Birds were nice, birds didn't care if you offended them. The clitter clatter of her hooves against the stone floor was practically noiseless when compared to the ruckus of the party going on around her. She just needed to get to the exit, then it would all be ov-- Jumping backwards, Fluttershy found her hooves moving of their own accord. The creature she'd bumped into, a strange white and red bear, glared at her angrily as she tried to cough out an apology. Tried to is the operative word here, since the second her jump caused her to crash into another creature that was standing behind her, Fluttershy dropped all thoughts of the bear and turned around to apologies to the new pony. And subsequently be struck speechless. Fluttershy wasn't a talkative pony; anyone she knows can vouch for that. Even at the best of times, her words struggle to right themselves in her mouth, or her fat lips get in the way, or her teeth grind against each other painfully, or countless other reasons why she didn't speak. Unless, of course, she found something incredibly interesting, like a baby dragon, or a fairytale given form. All of a sudden, Fluttershy just couldn't stop herself; the sudden waves of awe and warmth suddenly overcoming her fear of social situations. "Oh Celestia, you're one of the knights aren't you? I'm talking to one of the knights; oh, I feel...I feel just giddy thinking about it. And a little scared, but that doesn't matter because I'm talking to one! One of the knights! I haven't felt like this since I met Spike. Spike is a talking dragon, by the way, he's Twilight's pet. He can talk too, can you talk? It would be weird if you couldn't, that would be absolutely dreadful. But here I am, talking to a knigh--ah!" With a thud, Fluttershy fell to the ground as a rough hand pushed her to the left and the orange knight stepped forward. With such a determined stare and such an unwavering stride, it was almost as if Fluttershy could hear what he wanted in her own head. "Move, they have a chocolate fountain over there. One that is full of white chocolate!" Pushing herself back to her feet and shaking the ringing from her ears, Fluttershy tried again. Her wings were nearly fully extended from the adrenaline flowing through them, it was just so weird for her to be so in charge. It was nearly...lewd. She managed to catch the knight just as he shoved his entire sausage into the fountain. "Soooo," Fluttershy said, kicking her hoof, "that's an interesting emblem on your chest, I wonder what it's supposed to be. Is it supposed to be an image of your weapon? Or maybe the letter T? Is that your name? T? It must be, everypony has a name, you can't be the orange knight forever. Is that okay, T?" Stopping for a moment, the orange knight glanced behind himself. And while the records are unclear on what exactly happened, top fun-gineers suspect that the knight's heart grew three sizes that day. And who could blame it, Fluttershy had puppy dog eyes and everything. For a brief second, Fluttershy found herself with feet waving through the air until the knight finished pulling her closer. "That is okay? That's...that's great! Can I ask you a few questions, if you don't mind? It's only a couple, barely even a group, please?" With barely a sigh, the knight lifted another good off the table, a small orange, and compared it to the paint on his face before eating it whole. Another arm movement, another orange; with the difference that this one was offered to his new companion. A light blush came over Fluttershy's cheeks as she took it, stuttering out a quick thanks. The orange knight put on a face of joy and reached for another baked good for himself. Until something caught his attention. The great gates to the throne room were slowly opening, and a strange creature was walking through them, making her presence known. Orange wasted no time. His sausage was missing, for the moment, but the fish he pulled out of the hands of the strange bear would work just as well. A long gaze ran through the crowd. He needed to find his brothers, needed to stop them before things got out of hand. Things had suddenly escalated and he just hoped it hadn't already. In the silence of the library, the blue knight waited. Parties weren't a treat for a creature such as him; too many loud ponies and creatures and music and all the other things that always managed to pop out when a party started. Give him a good book over a party any day. Red was around here too somewhere; trying to badger him into actually attending the festivities, though Blue didn't know where exactly. Perhaps it was better that way. There was also a librarian around, but again, Blue wasn't sure where. She would sure be busy in the morning though, once Blue was done with the place. How could so much history have happened in such a short time? From the end of the aisle, the sound of hoof steps rang out. With a slow, almost bored movement, the blue knight pulled his head up to face the newcomer. "Princess Celestia said I might be able to find you here. I suppose you really like stories, huh?" The knight simply shrugged and returned to his studies. Twilight inched closer, unsure of what to say or do but still confident that nothing could go wrong. After all, the two of them had been through an adventure together and things like that always found ways to bring out the best in people. "I thought ponies like you would prefer the crowds to something like this. Though I suppose you're not really ponies. Do you mind if I read up on the four of you more once you're...well, do you mind if I read up on you?" The knight shrugged again. "Come on, you can at least look at me. What are you reading?" Twilight asked. Realizing that his attempts at ignoring the conversation were useless, the blue knight instantly changed his demeanor. His back straightened, his eyes narrowed and the permanent chill he'd set around himself began to thaw as Twilight inched closer. With all the care and grace that an old book deserved, the blue knight lifted it vertically so Twilight could read the cover. Twilight sat down with a tired groan. "I...I can't read that. What language is this written in? Where did you find this book, it isn't in the library. It must be incredibly old, full of untold power and secrets." The blue knight closed the his book slowly, not possessing the heart or the ability to tell Twilight it was simply a book on the best way to cook cucumbers. Something had to be said though, Twilight was waiting. Thinking quick, the blue knight raised his arm into the air, juggling icicles between his fingers. Twilight 'caught' on immediately. "Oh, is that what it's about? Shooting magic out of your...what are those, hands? Interesting..." The knight once again shrugged, so powerfully there was no doubt what he wanted to say. "Sure, why not?" "Let me try, hold that pose for a minute." Losing his concentration for a brief second at the revelation that Twilight wanted to mimic him, the knight never-the-less did what he was asked. The chill returned to the air as time dragged on; with Twilight failing to make even the smallest spark appear and the knight pointing out her mistakes each time. Tedious would be a good word for it, everyone important knew that magic such as the knights couldn't be copied. It had to come from within, and even then you would have to be some kind of magical genius to make it work. Twilight got it down in five minutes. "Alright, so, let's try this again. If I twist my hoof like...this, just a little, and pull my whole arm back about three inches, then it should..work!" Both the knight and Twilight leaped backwards at the sudden explosion of light that filled the library. Deep black spots now covered the ground and some of the walls; remnants of the heat and sudden ferocity of the magic. Despite the danger, Twilight couldn't hide her loud chuckle. She didn't know what she was expecting to happen. The blue knight joined her, imitating a deep laugh but never making a sound. That was, until a loud crash captured their attention. Twilight wasn't sure whether the shelf of books was falling slowly, or if that as just her imagination. It didn't matter in the end though, as a torrent of old and valuable books spilled onto the ground; flying in every direction. But it didn't end there. With another loud crash, the bookcase slammed into the bookcase in front of it, bringing it down too. And in turn, that bookcase did the same, crashing into the next. And so on, and so on, like a set of falling dominoes. The duo could only look in horror; unable to stop the books from spilling or the cases from falling. A final thump, the sound of a dying machine, echoed through the room. It took Twilight nearly a minute to snap out of her daze. All those books. All those priceless, thousand year old books. Carefully, like she was balancing a ball on her head, Twilight turned towards the knight. "If anypony asks, we had nothing to do with this. Now lets get out of...here." Twilight glanced around the room frantically. The blue knight was already gone; leaping over the shelves in a desperate effort to get to the door before the librarian came back and unleashed the can of whoopass™ she always kept on her belt. It wasn't like Twilight needed any more prompt to chase after him. Her ass had been whooped enough for one day. "Now isn't this much better, Blue? You've got music, friends, food. Much better than being shoved into a cramped old library with a bunch of dusty books." The blue knight remained silent. "Where are we heading, anyway?" Twilight asked. Glancing at her, the blue knight drew his weapon, a curved wooden staff, and pointed at it expectantly. Twilight gasped. "Are you threatening me? After all we've done? Not if I kill you first you won't!" A loud smack echoed over the din of the party as the knight slapped his head. Trying again, the blue knight tried to convey his point more clearly. Pointing at his weapon again, the blue knight carefully passed it between his hands, placing extra emphasis on grabbing it and switching his hands. Twilight blushed. "Is that really appropriate?" Another loud clap before the blue knight absentmindedly waved his hands down in a dismissive gesture. Sensing that the conversation was over, Twilight resigned herself to quietly watching. The timing was impeccable, as it turned out, as it seemed Blue found his target over the crowd of creatures gathered and homed in. Only to be cut off suddenly and thrown backwards by a great gust of wind that ripped the tapestries from the walls and bore into the stone floor of the palace. Ponies and strange creatures alike scurried away to avoid being thrown against the walls as the source of the wind made itself known; just over the sound of Twilight groaning to herself. "Step aside, ponies, the Great and Powerful Trixie has entered the building." Twilight spared a second to glance behind herself. From how things looked, the blue knight was confused at the new guest, but not violent. Nodding to herself, Twilight vowed to keep it that way. "Trixie! Just what do you think you're doing? You could have hurt somepony! Are you insane?" "Ah ha, Trixie knew she would find you here Twilight! Or should I say, life long rival?" "What in Equestria are you talking about?" With a soft thump, Trixie landed; dust blowing itself away from her legs as she did. "Exactly what is Trixie talking about, Twilight? Wouldn't you like to know?" "I would." Trixie froze for a second. "Would what?" Twilight inched closer. "Like to know. I would like to know what you're talking about." "That's the question, isn't it? What is Trixie talking about?" "Well?" "Trixie is sure the answer is as mystical and powerful as the one saying it." Twilight sighed, "You don't know what you're talking about, do you?" "You did confuse Trixie, just a little bit. I mean, you interrupted her and everything." "Do you want a minute to gather yourself?" Twilight asked, as confidence grew in the once scared crowd and the party resumed as expected. "Yes, yes Trixie would." A minute passed between the two. A minute of loud music, indecipherable voices, confused moaning, Rainbow Dash crashing through the ceiling and awkward hoof shuffling until Trixie finally broke the tension with her voice, bringing the whole moment back on track. "That's right! Trixie was here to defeat you and prove who's the best unicorn once and for all. And after that she was going to go to chocolate fountain, Trixie heard they have a white one here, and then Trixie was going to be the hero of Equestria who gets all the friends!" "Trixie, do we really need to do this now? I mean, I just defeated Chrysalis, Nightmare Moon, King Sombre and a Windigo; not to mention walking through what I can only describe as a bad 'Inception' reference. Can't you hold this off until tomorrow? Or never? Hell, why do you need to prove this anyway, aren't you confident enough in your own abilities to call yourself the greatest and most powerful unicorn around?" "Trixie has really low self esteem and is very prideful, prepare to be defeated!" Sighing deeply again, Twilight took a step back to give Trixie her room. God knows she needs it, what with being second best, but her attempts always amused Twilight, even when they didn't pan out. Especially when they didn't pan out. Twilight chuckled to herself as she remembered the time Trixie accidentally ripped a hole between dimensions and disappeared mysteriously for two weeks before returning with a new hat and a twenty sided dice, babbling about how she was now a level twenty-five wizard and how easy it was to break the game. What a fortnight that was. Snapping back to attention as she realised Trixie was already casting her spells, Twilight studied her carefully. "...and that's where I learned how to do...THIS!" Brilliant light filled the room, all originating from the horn on the unicorns head. All the colours of the rainbow, plus a few that are indescribable both in writing and words but would surely bring a pony weeping to their knees in awe shone over everyone gathered. The unicorn beneath the light show shuddered under the force needed to keep the illusion together, just long enough for her to grunt out a response. "What do you think...of that?" Twilight shrugged. "Very exciting," she said, breathing out a heavy cloud of smoke from a magic cigar and adjusting her magic top hat. "Very exciting." The light show suddenly exploded, doubling in size and grandeur. A couple of the ponies gathered at the party even started to notice it; breaking away from their conversations to gaze at the miniature Aurora Borealis going on above their heads. Magical mist and fog gathered through out the lights, forming and combining into great images of terrifying beasts and brave heroes; a theater of magic. Too exhausted to keep her eyes open, Trixie called out to Twilight. "How's...this...Twilight?" Twilight sighed heavily. Behind her, the blue knight stared at the sky enraptured. Stepping forward, Twilight dissipated her magic clothing into the air. Slowly, she took another step, and another, until she was within reaching distance of Trixie. This wouldn't take too long; she didn't expect a thing. "Hey Trixie...?" "What?" "Open your eyes." "Wh...Why?" "Trust me. You'll want to." With drops of sweat running down her head, Trixie forced her eyelids to raise themselves. For a second, her pupils struggled to process the light coming from her own forehead, but all that paled in comparison to the two huge purple orbs staring back at her. And with that, Twilight leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the nose. The effect was instantaneous. Trixie reeled back, throwing herself off balance. Without the balance needed to keep her concentration in check, the illusion filling a very small section of the room faded into the air and seeped into the roof, never to be seen again. The magical whiplash created cracked down Trixie's horn at the same time, throwing even more of her balance off and forcefully crossing her eyes. Finally, Trixie closed her eyes slowly and faded off into the void, her light snoring barely audible over the music. And back in the land of the awake, Twilight turned around and walked closer to the blue knight. "Now, what did you want to do again?" Suddenly, a loud bang echoed through the room. Twilight spun around hastily, expecting to see Trixie waking up; or perhaps something new, but the party remained as it always was. It only took another second for her ears to flick backwards and tell her the real direction of the noise. The large doors to the throne room. The blue knight noticed them first, his eyes narrowing and a cold wind whipping up behind him. He needed to find the other knights, they couldn't be trusted around someone like that. Only he could, he was the one with the most sense and skills to keep everyone safe. He just hoped it wasn't too late. "Dashie, Dashie, Dashie, Dashie, Rainbow, Dashie, Dashie, Dash. Dashie, Rainbow Dash, Dashie!" "What, Pinkie? What do you want?" "Nothing, I just like saying your name. Dashie." "Wonderful. Please stop." "But why?" Rainbow Dash sighed, her signature rainbow hair falling down over her eyes as she cocked her head down, before pulling up sharply to swing it back into place. She paused briefly, long enough to stare at her pink companion, before explaining. "Because when you actually want to talk to me, I'll be ignoring you because you wore my name out." In response, Pinkie's face lit up almost as much as the light bulb above it. Rainbow Dash found it easier not to question this sort of thing. "Oh, that's a good point. We wouldn't want something like that happening, it would be terrible. But what am I supposed to say now?" Rainbow Dash shuffled her wings, leaning out of the line she was standing in to try and see where it ended. To her intense depression, the end wasn't even in sight. "You could try being quiet, just a thought?" Pinkie simply launched a confused stare at Rainbow. "Why not try saying your own name then? You'll never need to get your own attention." "Oh, good idea, good idea..." Pinkie stopped for a moment; a hoof on her chin, "but what if somepony else wants my attention? What then? I won't be able to hear them over my own voice and then they'll think I don't like them and then they'll get all depressed and then I'll get all depressed because they're depressed, and that will make them sadder which will make me sadder until the only thing that can cheer us up is a spontaneous song and dance number, and those are terrible in a written story, which I assume will someday be written as it would really be an interesting story about the depression and eventual healing of one of Ponyville's greatest partiers!" Rainbow sighed and nodded her head. She couldn't handle this at the moment. The line wasn't moving, Pinkie wouldn't shut up, her feet were sore, her wings were cramped, the music was dull and repetitive and then there's THIS flankhole who thinks he can just push in front of her! "Hey, buddy. Back of the line! No cuts-eyz." The creature in front of Rainbow Dash turned around and a wave of comprehension washed over her. A stocky build outlined by a shadow of green, it could be no one else. The green knight simply stared at Rainbow, confusion on his face. "Back. Ba-ack. Go to the end of line, this is my spot and you're not getting it. Back of the line." The green knight poked his head out of the line, glancing down the length of the creatures gathered, before standing up straight again. He shrugged. A loud smack overpowered the music for a second as Rainbow smacked her forehead. "Are...are you even listening to me? Go back! End of the line. No cutting in. This is my spot, mine! Mine! Get out!" Again, the green knight only stared, taking a step backwards to remain in the same place as the line moved closer to its destination. Rainbow growled. "Do you even know who I am? You can't do this, not to Rainbow Dash. Not to the element of Loyalty! Not to fastest creature in Equestria! And especially not to me! Move!" At the word fastest, the green knight suddenly shot to attention. He leaned forward, almost as if laughing, and smacked his knee before glancing up and seeing that Rainbow was serious and straight up collapsing to the ground, convulsions of laughter going through his chest. Stepping forward with an angry sneer on her face, Rainbow felt something pull on her shoulder; holding her back from doing anything stupid. "Rainbow, let it go. Just...just let it go." Pinkie said. A pent up breathe escaped Dash's lips. "But he stole my spot! And laughed at me! I can't just let something like that go, think about how the ponies who look up to me would react! I need to do this." "Dashie...let it go. I set up this huge party, and you will not ruin it for everypony." Rainbow sat stock still for a minute, with the music blaring in her ears and the knight silently laughing at her, before stepping forward again sadly. "I need to do this Pinkie. I'm sorry." Stomping her hoof to grab the knight's attention, Rainbow leaned in close; close enough that her nose was nearly pushing against the knight's head. "What's so funny, big guy? I can stop a thunderstorm before the first lightning hits the ground, I can dodge a speeding carriage, I can fly from Canterlot to Ponyville in the time it would take you just to stand back up, does this sound funny to you? Do you think just anypony can do that? I'm the fastest thing from here to the moon, and you better believe it." Rainbow took a step back and righted herself. "I'd like to see you do better; hunk of fat like yourself probably couldn't even get himself off the floor. Now, get out of my spot!" It took a single blink, and then something was pushing against Dash's side and the knight was gone. Turning quickly, Dash nearly jumped when she saw the knight leaning against her casually. He was staring at the window, a determined look in his eyes. He glanced back at Rainbow slowly, the intent and meaning behind his actions perfectly clear for anyone with a competitive bone in their body. "I'm better than you, and I know it. Stop talking so big," it said. Dash was unfazed. "Oh, you think you're so great and fast aren't you, sprinting for two seconds. It doesn't prove anything." The knight moved himself with a sense of determination and confidence. His hand was pointing out the window, at the top of the mountain on which Canterlot sat. But it was more than a simple direction or call to attention. No, Rainbow could see it as what it really was. A challenge, a mission, a race. First to the top wins. Dash didn't even care what the prize for winning was, satisfying her pride was enough. Moving forward so that she was next to the knight, Dash gave him a solid nod. "First to the top and back, eh? I do have wings you know, I'll win this easily. You sure you don't want to chicken out and pick a spot that's a little more...land-y?" The knight shook his head and Dash shrugged. "Alright then, don't say I didn't warn you. On the count of three then." 3. A final glance passed between the two, in which Dash spread her wings powerfully and the knight did a little jog in place, before the counter went down. 2. Dash locked her eyes forward, onto the target. The snow capped mountain top far above her. In the back of her head, where her rational side usually sought refuge from the overpowering influence of her bad decisions, Dash wondered why the knight had chosen a place like that. Unless he could fly, this race would be over before he'd even left Canterlot. 1. At the last moment, something caught Dash's attention; pulling her away from the target for a second. The green knight was pulling out his bow. Go. And with that, Rainbow wasted not a second and launched herself at the window; the bitter cold wind biting into her instantly and the force of her movement pushing harshly against her wings. A low whistle was all Rainbow could hear as she sped through the air. The whistle of wind rushing behind her, pushing her back, slowing her down. If she tried hard enough, she could probably break that shell, that force holding her back. But she didn't; there was no need for a sonic rainboom at this point. Her target vanished from her sight for a brief second as she glanced behind her. A rainbow trail connected her to the castle far below, and her opponent was nowhere to be seen. Good, this would be easier than she thought. Slowing for a second to rest her wings, Dash was given a better view of the world beneath her. The thick trees pocket-marked by lakes and rivers, the deep chasms gouging the earth, the snow falling and gathering beneath her in large bundles, the green knight speeding closer, everything. Wait, what was that last one? For a second, the whistling stopped, overpowered by a deep 'thum' as something small and nimble flew past her. The wind didn't get another chance to invade her ears though, as the one time 'thum' happened again, and again, eventually filling the air around her wood and splinters. Dash was given a small look at one as it rushed past her face. "An...arrow?" That glimpse was the only thing she got before something large smashed into her side. For a second she thought that maybe the green knight had shot at her, until the stars vanished from her eyes and the breath ran back into her lungs and she realized what it really was. Somehow; and she couldn't imagine how, the green knight had tackled her mid-flight. Her wings sputtered uselessly for a second, struggling to keep her at the correct altitude with the sudden increase in weight. It wouldn't make much difference in a moment, as the green knight quickly reached his arm up and grabbed her wing tightly, pinning it against her body. "What are you doing? Let go of me, you crazy statue!" Her remaining wing doubled its speed in an attempt to keep Rainbow from falling, but it just couldn't keep up and she started to droop. Slowly at first, until her wing finally gave up on itself and stopped flapping altogether. And then Rainbow was falling, falling into a world of frozen ice and deep white snow. Her head popped up a second later; a hat of fresh snow shaped like a Christmas tree on her head. Her first course of action was to stretch her wings. Make sure nothing was broken or out of place. It didn't seem so; the snow had broken her fall, so nothing was bruised or injured. A pair of footprints lay on the snow in front of her, leading far into the distance where the top of the mountain was. If she squinted, Dash swore she could see the cloud of dust and snow that was creating them. And then everything clicked. "He's trying to slow me down! That ass; no offense," "None taken. It's an accurate stereotype," The donkey that appeared every time that joke is made said. "Well, two can play at that game," Dash said, focusing her view on the knight. He was far away, very far away. It wouldn't be easy to catch up to him, not with a setback like she had. But if she could pull it off... Dash licked her lips, tasting the cold ice building on them, and set off, moving so fast the ground was pulled up behind her. Snow and ice whizzed by beneath her as she sped up the side of the mountain. Her breath came out in white plumes as she panted; the sudden crash and burst of speed draining her of energy. She'd only get one shot at this, so she needed to make it count. Lowering her arm closer to the ground, Dash squinted her eyes. She adjusted herself slightly, barely noticeable to the naked eye but distinct enough to cause a difference. Not too low, else she would crash. The snow licked at her hoof as she ran it along the surface, before she punched down violently. Immediately, the snow raced up her arm and gathered at her neck in a crude 'C' shape. It wasn't enough though, she needed to go lower. With a grunt, Dash pushed herself down again, nearly skimming the cold ground with her stomach. This close to the ground, a smart pegasus would have landed to save themselves a painful crash. That was no issue to Rainbow though. It had served its purpose. A large gathering of snow began to build in her arms; rolling into itself as she flew along the ground. Painful pricks of ice stabbed into her arm, but luckily, the intense cold spreading into her body stopped her from feeling it. And with a powerful flap of her wings, Dash pushed herself back into the air, a giant snowball in her hooves. Now she just needed to deliver it. Dash scanned ahead of her; searching for her target. She hadn't realised just how far the two of them had come already; the peak of the mountain was just in view. That wasn't important at the moment though, she could focus on that later. What was of interest was the cloud of snow rushing up the mountain, tantalizing close. Dash needed to close the gap. Through the thin air and her aching wings, Dash took in a final deep breath and pushed herself harder. The weight of the snow in her hooves did its best to slow her down, but she wasn't having any of that. Her pride was at stake here and she would never lose with odds like that. Finally, pulling up alongside the knight, Dash grinned. Or at least, as close to a grin as her tired body could muster. "Hey brickhead, catch!" She shouted, turning sideways and kicking the snowball towards the green knight before speeding off again, pushing herself even more to gain every second of her advantage. The sun shined against Rainbow's back as she reached the tip of the mountain, her rainbow trail glittering in the light, before she turned immediately and at an angle that should be impossible, back towards Canterlot. And that was it. She'd won. All she had to do now was speed through the window back into the party and that knight would have so much egg on his face. God, she loved that feeling, coming first. There was nothing like it. She lived for it. She loved it. Loved it so much she could almost taste it lingering on her tongue; sweet as honey. Like a tangible swee-- Hang on, how did the green knight get in front of her? Focusing her eyes as a heavy weight built in her stomach, Dash tried to understand what was going on. The green knight was somehow standing on top of her snowball and riding it down the side of the mountain, directly towards the finish line. She grit her teeth together. "No! No, you can't do that! I'm not losing this race!" Dash was never the best at math, or even thinking in general, but if there was anything she did have a head for, it was racing. Figures ran through her head, simple equations to determine who was going to come in first. And she came to the only conclusion. If she wanted to win, she needed to go even faster. The cone of air around her hoof-tips was slowing down, slowing her down too much if she wanted to win. She needed to shed it, soon, else the race was as good as over. Swallowing nervously, Dash let out one final flap before pushing herself to the limit. First step, angle her body downwards. Gravity took its hold over her swiftly, pulling her down as fast as she could bear. Canterlot was coming up, she didn't have long now. Step two, point your hooves. The cone blocking her vision began to crack and waver at the tip as it pushed against her wedge but without more speed, she was still safe. The wind pulled down on her wings and threatened to clamp them to her body and simply holding them open was becoming a challenge. Canterlot was dangerously close now. Step three, push down. That's it. That's all she needed to do to break the sound barrier and create a sonic rainboom. With a loud clap, the sky lit up with every colour of the rainbow. Rose red tinged the sky, staining it like the dawn of a rising of sun, before being chased away by the orange light of the sun, which in turn ran from the yellow of an autumn leaf. Greens, blues and purples flooded the world, blinding Dash in their brilliance. It would usually be cause for alarm, if Dash hadn't just missed her mark and created the boom too late, propelling her into the side of Canterlot's roof. For a second, blind fear shot through her body as she was sent falling to the ground. Fear that was immediately vanquished when she landed on something cold, soft and fluffy. The green knight glared at her from the bottom of the snowball. Rainbow wanted to glare back, and she would, just as soon as she could catch her breath. And when the stars disappeared. In fact, this snow was rather comfortable, maybe she could take a nap while she was at it? That sounded like a good idea. Wish someone would turn the music down though, who could sleep with such noise? The last thing she saw as before the darkness covered her vision was the face of the green knight; a look of respect on his face. "Not bad," it said, "next time though, we're having a fair race. Now if you'll excuse me, there's a moon damned white chocolate fountain over there! Are you seeing this, holy Luna! I'm...I'm gonna...gonna get...gonna get me some of that." A loud creak filled the room, even if Dash couldn't hear it, and the expression on the knight changed nearly instantly. "Alright, new plan. This is bad, very bad. Gotta go find the other knights, race later. Bye." With weary eyes, Celestia looked over her subjects. Everywhere she looked, there were happy faces. Two ponies, Lyra and Bon-Bon if she remembered correctly, sat staring at each other lovingly, totally oblivious to the ponies around them. The sight warmed her heart. Octavia, a good friend of hers, seemed unhappy at the party, but Celestia knew that was just how she always looked. She was happy on the inside. Fluttershy seemed to have found a friendly face next to the orange knight, and the blue one was probably still in the library. She made a note to send Twilight to drag him out when she could. Green needed a close eye, but overall he seemed to be enjoying himself too. But where was the red knight, she realised with a gasp. In a sea of faces, of ponies and strange monsters and that one changeling that flew out the window, where was the red knight? Of course, she already knew the answer, but sometimes she wanted to pretend she didn't. But that is never healthy, especially for a creature that lived as long as she did. And so, with another tired sigh, Celestia stepped down from her podium and walked through the crowd. To anyone looking, it was clear where she was going. Out. Out through the large gates to the throne room and into the world beyond, for reasons only she knew. The doors offered little resistance as she swung them open with her magic. And like clockwork, she found exactly what she was looking for. To her left stood the red knight, still as stone. In his hand was his sword, primed and ready for danger; and strapped to his arm was his shield, battered though it was. Where else would a knight be, except on duty? To her right sat another one of the royal guard, either scared stiff-less of the knight or trained perfectly to hide his emotions. Turning to the guard, Celestia gave him a small nod, "You should be enjoying the party with the rest of the ponies. Our loyal guard deserves it more than anything. Leave us in privacy." "Yes ma'am," he said simply, before turning to leave. Before he could though, Celestia raised a hoof to stop him. "Leave your helmet. You can enjoy the festivities a lot better without it." Without complaint, the guard pulled the golden headpiece off; floating it to a small table set off to the side. Once he was gone, Celestia closed the doors behind him. The knight didn't respond. "You did good today, Red," Celestia said simply. The room seemed a little brighter as Celestia trotted across it. Red remained unresponsive, but she knew he just needed time. He had been gone a long time. No one wanted to make it even longer. In front of her sat the table that the guard had used; his empty helmet sitting on it innocently. Yellow light surrounded it for a second, glittering off the polished gold, as Celestia lifted it into the air. She stopped for a second to consider what she was doing, before dropping it onto her head. Her mane immediately ran down the back of her neck, no longer able to flow freely in the wind as she walked back towards the knight. "It's been a long time since I last wore one of these," She said, raising her front hooves, "Think I could still give em the ole 'one two?'" she asked, punching forward to punctuate her words. The red knight didn't even turn his head. Taking a cue from his silence, Celestia moved from her position and stood parallel to the knight, only separated by the distance of the door. "Probably not, if this whole invasion thing is an omen." Red still remained quiet. Celestia simply sighed. "Don't do this, Red. You did it last time and I refuse to have another tearful departure where we both end up hating each other. You've still got the plaque, for crying out loud. How many years has it been? Do you even know?" To Celestia's disappointment, the red knight remained still. "Do you think it doesn't kill me to sit on that throne every day, knowing you're down there when you shouldn't be? Being nothing more than just a statue among stones? Year after year, simply knowing about all the good you could do if I let you and your brothers out?" "You know why I can't do that. Just as much as you know why you need to return. I know it's hard for you, perhaps the hardest of all. You alone are the only one with even an inch of self control; of reason. Don't you think that if I could break you out, I would? Do you think I enjoy turning you to stone after every victory? After every moment of joy? And now there's even a party for you, and you're out here missing it! Is that what you want?" Celestia broke her thousand yard stare, her perfect pose, to walk closer to the knight. "It's okay to be scared, but don't let that fear stop you from doing the right thing. You need to return to stone. You're too dangerous; to everypony. I can't in good faith let you stay." The red knight turned for a moment, finally acknowledging Celestia. His face was bare, without any signs of emotions or inner turmoil. Just a bland emptiness. Celestia knew better than that though. No one knew the knights better than their princess. "Someday, Red, I promise I will fix this. I'll find you and your brothers your own place, or we'll work together to tame them, or something will happen, I promise you. One day, Red, I will look down from my palace and across all of Equestria, and know it safe, because you are free to guard it once again, without the fear that you will cause more harm than good." "But for now, you must sleep. Sleep, and be patient, and trust in me to fulfill my promise. And maybe, one day, you'll actually get to kiss a real princess." Celestia said, leaning down. Before the red knight could react, or really do anything at all, Celestia gave him a small peck on the forehead, before pulling herself back to her full height. "I'm going back in now. I saw Pinkie unpack a white chocolate fountain earlier and I want to get some before everypony else does. You're free to follow; or you can sit here wallowing in the inevitable like Twilight was. I suggest choosing the way that makes it more bearable, wouldn't you agree?" Celestia said, before pulling the door open and trotting in. A few awkward glances were shot her way as light reflected off her helmet, before they were all silenced. If the princess wants to wear a golden helmet, who were ponies to judge? A second later, the red knight turned as well, slipping between the doors before they closed and locked him out for good. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Applebloom?" The three fillies crept through the crowd like snakes through a jungle; ducking and weaving between the towering legs around them. Their brave leader Applebloom led the way, with a gigantic bow ribbon tied into her air. Behind her, the two other fillies followed quietly, only stopping to voice their concerns. "Ah can say, without hyperbole, that this is the goodest idea that ah have ever had." "Goodest isn't a word." The small white unicorn pointed out, nearly tripping into one of the ponies around her. "Sweetie has a point, goodest isn't a word, Bloom." Applebloom stopped leading for a moment. "Ah can understand Sweetie pointing that out, but when did you decide to become a dictionary, Scoots?" "I can be lots of other things, why shouldn't I?" Sweetie Belle pointed a hoof at Scoots. "Yea, why shouldn't she?" "Alright, alright, sorry ah asked. Lets just stick to the plan and keep searching for one of the knights." A swift nodded bounced between the three fillies, before they set off into the jungle again. It went well for a moment, if a short moment, before their confidence was shattered again. "Why are we looking for the knights again?" Scootaloo asked. "So we can get our cutie marks in heroism, maiden rescue and general do-goodery." "Oh," Scootaloo said, cocking her head to the side, "which one do I get?" "Maiden rescue." "Aww man, but I wanted do-goodery." "You will take rescue and you will like it, Scoots!" "Aww." "Which one do I get?" Sweetie asked. "Uh, do-goodery." "Lucky." "But I wanted maiden rescue." Scootaloo perked up instantly, "Sweetie, we can trade! Applebloom, can we trade?" "No. You're both getting your cutie marks and that's that." "Aw," Both of them replied. The crowd parted for a second; robbing the fillies of their cover as they tried to sneak closer to whatever it was they were looking for. For a second, none of them knew what to do; choosing instead to trade glances with each other. It wasn't until one of them finally came to their senses that they could continue. "Look, Applebloom, over there. It's one of the knights!" "What? Where?" "Over there, near the window." Scootaloo turned her head hastily, "Why is he just sitting by himself? That's not very knightly." "Who cares, Scoots? We found one! Come on, let's go get 'em before somepony else does." "Okay then..." Three pairs of hooves skittered across the room towards the knight. None of the foals wanted to look like they were getting closer to the knight, yet each one made a painfully transparent attempt at their stealth; bumping into ponies, thumping their feet, restlessly flapping their wings. The knight at the window, a deep red one, simply stared at them as they made their way through the crowd. A minute passed where he simply watched them, and another, until he creased his forehead sadly and decided to put them out of their misery. With a gentle wave of his hand, he motioned for the fillies to come closer. Sweetie was the first to approach, swallowing her fear and stepping forward. Scoots followed after, gaining courage from her friend, before Applebloom dashed past her, a look of determination and nervousness on her face. "Hello, Mr Knight? Are you busy at the moment? I mean, we...we could just go if we're bothering you or anything," she asked. The red knight shook his head. "Oh, oh, that's good then. We need help with something and you seem like the most knowledgeable pony...person...thing on the subject." At the word 'help,' the knight tensed himself, but otherwise remained still. Applebloom swallowed nervously, stealing a look at her companions, before continuing. "See, my name is Applebloom, and this here is Sweetie Belle," "Hello," "And over here is Scootaloo," "Hey." "And together, we're the cutie mark crusaders. We crusade for our cutie marks." "Well, we don't really crusade because of our cutie marks," Sweetie Belle corrected, "we crusade to try and find cutie marks." "Was that really necessary?" "I don't want him to be confused, Rarity said one of the knights wasn't very smart. What if it's this one?" The knight raised an eyebrow, but lowered it quickly when Applebloom spun to face him, waving her hooves. "Don't listen ta her...sir, ah'm sure your very intel...intelli...smart." The knight continued to stare at her, and she met his gaze with an unseen enthusiasm. "Anyway, we need your help. Can you teach us to be heroes?" The word 'hero' hung in the air, like a fly buzzing between ponies, before eventually landing and settling inside the red knight's mind. Slowly, a hand rose into the air, settling on the bottom of his chin. Teach them to be heroes? How did they expect him to do that? They were foals! They didn't even have cutie marks! They didn't even have weap...oh. A look of comprehension washed over the red knight's face as he understood. Slowly, the red knight drew his sword. The three fillies swallowed in unison, confused looks on their faces. Almost nonchalantly, the red knight started to swing his sword through the air, riposting and parrying against an invisible opponent. It wasn't a show of skill though; his posture was too relaxed for that. It was closer to...a demonstration. He motioned for Applebloom to come closer, and placed the sword on the ground. Her footsteps (don't you even start, I swear to God) couldn't be heard as she inched closer to the deadly blade. Behind her, her friends fought for a view of the weapon, only to be blocked by each other dashing in front of each other. The handle of the blade, a deep polished red, shined in the sun as Applebloom bent down to pick up. And with a pull of her head, she threw it into the air. At least, that's what she wanted to happen. Instead, she simply stood there stupidly, pulling against the swords weight in an attempt to lift it off the ground. "Um, sir? Red knight sir? I can't...I can't lift this. It's too heavy..." The red knight wasn't even listening, he'd already moved on to Sweetie Belle. He paused for a moment; looking her up and down. His hand flew down from his chin as he reached for the shield on his back. It shone in the light; spraying a giant sword onto the ceiling in the form of a ray of light. Slowly, to ensure that the filly was fully aware of what he was doing, he spun the shield around to show the straps on the back. He then motioned to his arm. The implication was clear. "But...I don't have arms. Where am I--" Sweetie stopped talking when she realized the knight was already focusing on Scootaloo. The shield sat on the ground in front of her, but she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do with it. Red stared down at the pegasus below him, and she stared up in return. Then, without fanfare or prose, he pulled out a piece of polished wood in the shape of a crescent moon and placed it in front of her. "What even is this? Firewood?" Scootaloo asked. The red knight shrugged his shoulders. Practically skipping backwards towards the window, the knight turned around dramatically to gaze upon his troop. Applebloom was pinned to the ground; unwilling to release the sword from her mouth but too proud to actually give up trying to lift it. Sweetie Belle had somehow managed to strap the shield to her face and was struggling to pull if off. Scootaloo was wearing the boomerang as a saddle, either unaware or uncaring on how it was actually supposed to be used. Red nodded softly. For a minute, it was like he was actually looking at the other knights. Suddenly, a loud groan echoed through the party; bringing the chatter and the music to a lull. The knight snapped his attention to the source; a pair of large doors slowly swinging open to reveal the two individuals entering the room. Through the blinding sunlight and the crowd, it took the knight several seconds to recognize them, with only a tired sigh upon his realization. That wasn't good. The crowd was already parting as the red knight inched closer. Half stumbling, half jogging into the open, the knight simply leaned back and waited; waited for the inevitable to happen. What a way to end the day. It was as if a cloud had descended upon the crowd. Not a single pony spoke; each one trapped in total awe and terror at what they were seeing. A pair of guards sat off to the side, equally confused at the spectacle as the crowd was. They felt that they should probably do something to prevent this, but then again, ever since Discord had been reformed, they'd been ordered to leave him mostly alone. After all, he was the most powerful thing in the castle; what good would a guard do against that? And so Discord slowly skipped through the crowd, a megaphone in his hand and a veiled creature behind him. "Step right up, ponies and...ponies. Where are my griffon bros? Can we get some griffons up in here?" Any attention he was hoping to garner was instantly torn from him as Celestia appeared from atop her throne. "Discord! What do you think you are doing?" "I am simply doing what needs to be done. After all, doesn't this party just bore you, Celestia? It needs pizzazz, jazz, razzamatazz and kazaam jam. It needs conflict, the spice of life. Simply put, madam, I am a jester bringing his play." "Discord, I am warning you. Leave. Now. And take that...whatever with you." Discord chuckled, and continued inching closer to the opening in the crowd, "You? Warning me? Do you forget who I am?" "Do you forget who else is at this party, and as we speak are rushing to put on their elements?" A sour look crossed Discord's face, "Spoil sport, that's what you are." "Discord..." "You know what? I'm gonna do it. This is happening. I didn't go through all this trouble for nothing." Before Celestia could act, Discord snapped his fingers and disappeared into a large flash of light, taking his companion with him. A second later, he appeared again, landing in the middle of the knights. Each one had seen him enter, each from a separate corner of the room and had come together here, in the middle of the throne room. One in each corner. Discord gave each one a long stare, before raising his megaphone. "Alright, everyone listen up. This is the moment you've all been waiting for. You've seen them chat, you've seen them fight, you've ever seen them hunt down illegal zebra immigrants living in the Everfree, and now, for one night only, you get to watch them fight," Discord stopped for a second to garner suspense, "each other!" Another flash of light filled the room, this time from Celestia, only for Discord to dodge harmlessly out of the attack's path and continue on his rant. "You knights know the rules. Last one standing gets the kiss. Well, that's the only rule, so I guess it would be more accurate to say, you knights know the rule, but even I can't rewrite the past. Anyway, let's not waste time; Celestia seems to be reaching seething point." Slowly, with almost a childlike glee, Discord skipped into the middle of the arena, "On the count of three, better get ready guys." On the count of three, the knights shared a glance at each other. It was like fighting Sombra all over again; with the look bouncing between the four of them, growing in intensity every bounce. A determined, challenging look that destroyed all doubts in the mind of the onlookers. These knights were going to fight. On the count of two, each of the knights jumped backwards and drew their weapons while Discord skipped into the crowd, leaving the princess sitting off to the side. A finger click echoed through the room, and suddenly colour-coded banners and foam fingers fell from the sky, wrapping themselves onto the hooves of the crowds below. A few ponies remarked that they'd got the wrong colour, but they were drowned out the sudden change of music that flooded the room. Celestia shot the DJ a disapproving look and sighed when she realized that she'd been replaced by Discord. On the count of one, the red knight twirled his sword in an arc; a simple action that served no other purpose than to look cool. On the count of zero...on the count of zero, blue knight ran into a corner and raised his shield to the outside world, the green knight started to bounce around the room followed by green smoke, the orange knight tried to chase him down unsuccessfully and the red knight ran into the fray with the kind of glee you can only find from beating on a good friend. You were expecting a serious fight? In Castle Crashers? It took Canterlot nearly two weeks to fully recover from the Changeling invasion. It took them four weeks to recover from the knights playful fight, not to mention the city wide famine that ensued, the dangerous green smog covering the lower district, the giant holes dug into every major road and the sudden appearance of a clown faced knight that summoned giant weasels and shot confetti as far as the eye could see. "What a day." The small progression of creatures wandered through the royal garden slowly, dodging the occasional crater that appeared in their path. A purple unicorn, a white princess and four blocky knights. Three of the knights wore sad looks upon their faces, while the winner of the fight still had cream from a thrown pie leaking down his head. Twilight's comment was short, and to the point, and broke the suffocating silence of the procession. "What a day, indeed," Celestia replied eventually. "I made some new friends, saved my old friends, took a cross country trek and remembered why I don't eat tofu." "Sounds tiring." "Oh, believe me Celestia, it was. I'm ready to just fall asleep for a week right now." "I feel like I could sleep for a month; I could probably do it too, the sun doesn't rise until I do," Celestia let out a quick chuckle; cutting it off abruptly, "What are we doing, Twilight?" "Why, we're having a nice chat, in the gardens, with the knights." "You know what I mean." Twilight swallowed nervously, "I think we're just trying to distract ourselves from what's going to happen." The statues in the garden stared down at the group with eyes that couldn't see as they entered a small clearing. Sitting in the middle of the opening was a large flat stone tablet, just barely large enough to fit two ponies on. It was concave, almost as if a magic bubble had once engulfed the thing and carried its contents to a far off place. The group stopped for a moment as Celestia turned to her student, "You don't have to be here for this. Head back to the party; I'll tell you when I'm done." "Are you kidding? I couldn't go back if I wanted; Discord is basically having a field day." "Shouldn't you go stop him then?" Twilight shrugged, "It's fine, Fluttershy said she'd talk to him." In response to this, Celestia cleared her throat. "I suppose...we should begin then." Turning around, Celestia faced each of the knights, taking her time to look over each one like a mother before a photo shoot. They would need to look their best; there was no going back for adjustments after the spell was cast. It seemed like an eternity; two creatures of intense power staring each other down, until Celestia broke her gaze and motioned at the altar. "Orange, you're first." With a slow, deliberate step, the orange knight stepped forward. His footsteps were heavy and barren, stopping only for a moment in front of Twilight. "We couldn't have done it without you," she wanted to say, "you stopped Celestia, after all. And the ram. And your determination is something of legends." Yet these words wouldn't come, and so the garden was filled with silence as the orange knight continued his walk. He stepped onto the platform, moved into position, struck a pose that was a mix between a midnight rest and a midnight snack and waited for the inevitable. "Blue, you're next." Clutching his ancient cook book tight, the blue knight followed his brother, in nearly the exact same footprints. He too stopped in front of Twilight, and still the words wouldn't come. "There's still so much you could learn. That you could teach," the words wanted to say, "your magic is unrivaled, a true wonder to behold. Surely if we worked together we could avoid this." The blue knight was already past her when she found the right noises, and continued his walk. He stepped onto the platform, moved into position, turned the page on his book and waited for the inevitable. "Green," was all Celestia said. Unlike the other two, the green knight decided to simply dash to his spot. He was already throwing an arm around the blue knight and pointing out all the silly words on the new page by the time Twilight realised what she wanted to say. All the opinions and thanks she wanted to give out. "Thank you Green, for eating all of Pinkie's cakes and showing Sombra what's what." Finally, with a heavy sigh, Celestia finished it. "Red. Your turn." For a second, it seemed like the red knight would simply walk forward to group with his brothers, until he crossed his arms and stood perfectly still, daring Celestia to do something about it. "Red. Go." It took a deep breath and several more seconds, but eventually the red knight stepped forward. Two small steps, before eventually stopping directly in front of Celestia. She opened her mouth to speak again, to order him to do what she was saying, until she realised that he had no intention of disobeying her. Instead, he wanted something...different. He wanted to give a gift. And then he moved on, and this time, this time Twilight was going to find the words she needed. Summoning up all her excess energy to that mighty brain of hers, Twilight forced her mouth to say the things her brain wanted her to say. "Red, please, just...wait a minute." Twilight struggled to get her tongue under control, until it hit her. Less was more. And so, Twilight turned to face the knight and simply said, "You did good today, Red." The red knight seemed to understand, or at least, Twilight liked to imagine that he did. They didn't have the widest range of facial emotions. And so the last knight stepped onto the altar, struck his heroic pose and waited for the inevitable. A bright flash, yellow like the sun, exploded over the garden as Twilight looked away. She couldn't bear to watch. Was this what it felt like to lose a friend? It felt like someone was pulling a string out of her chest, like she was losing something important to her very being. When she finally found the strength to turn around, all that remained of the knights was a stone statue. "So that's it then." Celestia shook her head slowly, "Not yet. Not yet." For a second, Twilight was confused. Had they forgotten something? Was there an obscure ritual or something she was supposed to say at this moment? Her fears, however, were quenched as Celestia walked past her. Hovering in the air above her was a small metal plate, with common equestria engraved upon the surface. Another plaque. It was placed onto the statue without fanfare or cheer; neatly covering up the old one. A small dot of magic finished the illusion by gluing it in place, and Celestia moved back to admire her work. Here rest the four knights. Wake them only when their strength is needed or when Discord stops being a dick. Whichever one comes first. "Huh. I expected something...deeper," Twilight commented. "From the knights?" "It could happen." "You'd have a better chance of becoming a princess." Twilight shrugged and attempted to change the subject, "Are we done now?" "Yes, Twilight. We are done." The two ponies turned around, leaving the knights behind as they trotted back through the garden. Twilight would be lying if she said that she wouldn't miss them. They were insane, unreasonable and utterly intolerable, but then again, so was Pinkie, so why couldn't things are gone differently? The impression they'd left would be one that remained with her for the rest of her life. And so the two ponies, the student and the mentor, the noble voice and the retired general, walked away, leaving only a statue eclipsing against the sun. "Oh god, we forget Spike! He got turned to stone too!" "Who?" "Never mind that, get a chisel. We need to get him out of there." Author's Note Prepare for a barrage of jokes. They're not all funny, but there are a lot of them. Damn, the CMC are hard to write. Like, I understand that the idea is to make each of their voices distinct enough to separate which one is speaking, but that's hard, man. Is it really three pairs of hooves if they have four legs? Wouldn't that make it six pairs? In the draft for this chapter, Applejack was supposed to appear and berate the red knight for giving the CMC weapons. This was ultimately cut because of the fact that Red would need his weapons for the finale, and the CMC walking away with them would directly stop that from happening. It's at this moment that I wish that Red had thrown his boomerang away in chapter two, so I could have it fly through the window when he needs it in this chapter and give it to Scootaloo. What a wasted opportunity. God damn it Drama, why you always gotta be cramping on Comedy's style? You got your own story, go right some more exposition or something and leave comedy to his terrible jokes. You know it's all he has left after his father Slapstick died. Castle Crashing the Basement"Twilight, are you sure this will work?" A flurry of book flew through the air as Twilight pulled a plethora of references and legends and spells out of the wall. The wet dirt beneath her feet was hardly ideal for her to cast spells in, but at the moment...she had to make due with what she had. A harsh red light shined through the only window in her basement, illuminating everything from the purple dragon to the similarly coloured unicorn to the collection of roots and plants stuck to the walls. Heavy bags sat under Twilight's eyes but she knew that she was nearly done. All that was left was to cross reference herself and she could fix all this. Just a moment more. "Spike, Celestia says that the four knights are one of the strongest forces in Equestria. They've stood against Discord on his own ground, tackled Chief Iron-Horn mid charge and even faced Chrysalis before, back at the dawn of the world. Granted, she did call them a bit...unusual, but how strange could they be? If they can't stop Chrysalis now...well, let's not waste too much time." Glancing over to a blackboard built into the wall, Twilight ran over her plan. The first step would obviously be the hardest. She'd teleported things before, even live ponies, but she'd always been there to make sure that nothing went wrong. Nor had she ever teleported something this large before. If something went wrong in the procedure, the statue could be damaged beyond repair, and all hope would be lost. Cracking the knights out would be easier, but only just. She'd only used the spell once before to break ponies out of their own stone skin, in an incident involving an angry cockatrice and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. This would be entirely different too; the knights weren't sealed by simple cockatrice magic, but a spell infinitely more powerful than Twilight herself. She'd need to put everything she had into cracking their stone shell off. Stepping forward, Twilight got herself into position. Each of her legs was spread out as far as it would go in an attempt to balance the weight she knew was coming. And with a determined grimace, Twilight began the spell. The room exploded in a flash of purple light, and Twilight swore to herself softly before returning to her work. She couldn't think about that, couldn't think about how a flash like that would bring every changeling in Ponyville right to her door. She needed to put all her work into summoning the statue. Dirt built up against her hooves as she was pushed into the ground by the magic gathering on her horn and, with a whimper, Twilight released it all in one fell swoop. It was like an out of body experience. Twilight could see herself beneath her, struggling to keep the spell steady, before she was whisked away. Suddenly, she was in the royal gardens. The worn stones beneath her feet formed a path, one that twisted and snaked through the garden, leading to the one thing Twilight was looking for. A single statue was resting at the end of the road. A statue wrapped in purple magic that was tugging at it from all directions, edging it forward to where it needed to be. It jumped and bounced from the power Twilight was pumping into it until finally, something gave. With a loud crack, the world was replaced by a painfully white explosion and Twilight found herself thrust backwards. The pain spreading across her back signalled that her out of body experience was over, but it soon dulled as she noticed what was now in the centre of the room, completely undamaged. "You did it, Twilight! It worked!" Spike shouted, rushing over to help Twilight back to her feet. "Thank...thank you Spike, but that was only half the job. We still need to wake them up." Wobbling on her feet, Twilight stepped forward again. Absent-mindedly, she ran a hoof along the base of the statue. Here it was, just like she remembered it. It had been...nearly two years since she'd last seen this statue. If someone had asked her what made this statue so much more important to her than any of the others, Twilight would be lost for words. There simply were no words to describe what she felt when around this statue. Safety, perhaps? Or a lick of random chaos? Twilight herself wasn't sure, maybe she could invent a word once the world was safe. But first, she needed to investigate the statue for damages before she woke them up. The red knight stood at attention, a long sword clenched tightly in his hand and a thick shield slung over his back. His arms were thick with the strength only war could give you and his very presence seemed to inspire Twilight to fight back. His armour was the deepest red, with the symbol of a sword engraved into the middle of it. Celestia had said that each of them had chosen the pose they were to have until they woke up again. And for the leader, there could be nothing else but a pose that would inspire others to lead. The green knight stood behind him, with an arm slung around the blue knight next to him. His posture was one that was extremely relaxed, his armour was marked and dented unlike the others, a single arrow was engraved into his chest and the bow to go with it was lazily strung along his fingers. Twilight liked to imagine he was smiling under that helmet, and for the archer, it only fit. The blue knight was sitting cross-legged behind his leader, a ball of, what Twilight assumed was ice, sitting in his open hand. She couldn't tell whether the knight was amused, annoyed or angry at the green ones intrusion into his space, since the knights head was buried deeply in an open book built into the base. An icicle was the symbol he'd chosen to adopt, and for his pose...what better pose for a wizard than one of endless study? And for the orange knight...Twilight giggled to herself. No matter what age she was, seeing a figure of legend and endless power menacingly brandishing a fresh sausage at his friends while simultaneously face palming never ceased to amuse her. Blushing as she suddenly remembered what his symbol was, Twilight stood back. And for the wisest of all four...who could guess why he chose the pose he did? Twilight breathed in deeply; tried to calm her nerves. She needed to finish her spell. Equestria wasn't safe until she saw the knights walking around. Taking up her familiar pose again, Twilight lowered her head. For a brief second, she couldn't feel her magic. Normally she would be frightened; she was the element of magic, she practically breathed the stuff; but she knew something like this would happen after such a powerful spell. She just needed to wait a moment for it to return. And just like she anticipated, like a river breaking through a dam, it rushed back stronger than ever, ready to obey her wit and call. Light tendrils of purple wafted through the room as Twilight got to work. Something smashed against the door to the basement, and the magic faltered as Twilight choked. "Spike! I...I need more time. Hold them off!" she shouted or whispered or said or something, she couldn't tell with the sound of magic rushing through her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her assistant rush up the stairs; a pile of heavy books in his hands. Twilight released her pent up breath as she set back to work. Spike would do his job, and she would do hers. Nothing was going to stop her, too much was running on her succeeding. Her friends, the kingdom, the Princess, every single pony out there who needed a saviour, or a hero or someone to call upon in their times of need. The magic began to worm its way into the statue, and Twilight concentrated harder. She wanted to help those ponies, more than anything, but she needed someone to help her. She needed someone who knew how to lead, or how to fight, or how to stand up to those against them. She needed... The door exploded open with a flash of green magic, and changelings started to flow into the room. Almost instantly, one of them went straight for Twilight. Everything seemed to slow down as the changeling flew closer. She wasn't done yet, it was too late. She could count each individual tooth of the changeling attacking her, but she didn't have time to finish the spell? That just wasn't fair. All she wanted to do was fix everything, and she screwed that up too. Why did she always have to screw everything up? She just wanted to help her friends, that's all she wanted. Impossibly slowly, the attack landed. All Twilight could do was utter a quick 'help' before being forced to the ground; the magic in her horn dissipating into the air. Gritting her teeth, Twilight started to fight back. It didn't matter that she couldn't possibly win, she wasn't just going to lay down and become food. She was going to take as many of them down with her before that happened. Pain spread through her neck as the changeling on top of her bit down, embedding its teeth into her coat. Blotches of black began to mark her vision and she couldn't find her magic again. Why did that always happen when she least expected it? Kicking out randomly, Twilight couldn't even see her attacker through the blurriness and black marks. She didn't want to admit defeat, she couldn't if she wanted too, but it was clear she wasn't a fighter. She needed her friends, she needed help. She couldn't even beat one changeling, much less an army, what was she thinking? She couldn't save Applejack, or Rarity, or Pinkie Pie or any of her friends. She couldn't help Celestia, or defend Equestria, she could barely even use her element. Why had she even tried? It was hopeless from the beginning. A dark red blur rushed past her, knocking the changeling off her and tearing a small chunk of her neck as it did. Pushing herself up hastily, Twilight had already taken the position she needed for magic, dropping it when she saw it was clearly not needed. The red knight was alive! Stone was still flaking off of him like a coat of paint, but he was alive! Glowing with an unseen power, he hovered across the room impossibly fast for someone of his size; the changeling in front of him being carried along for the ride on the end of his sword. He stopped for a brief moment, pulling his arm back into the air before slamming it down on top of the changeling. Dirt and spiders fell from the ceiling at the force of the collision and even more peppered the two when the changeling hit the ground. The distinct sound of bones snapping in half echoed through the room as the changeling rebounded back into the air. The knight didn't even give it a second of respite before continuing his barrage upon the animal. The two creatures travelled across the room again, until eventually, the knight decided he was done. With a wordless attack, he slammed the changeling back into the ground, much lighter than before. Another loud crack flew through the air as it landed, the wind obviously being punched out of it's lungs. It only got the chance to recover for a brief second before a seemingly endless wave of thunderbolts struck it, sending it into a convulsing fit before finally, finally the knight landed on the ground next to it. With simply a stare at the poor creature, the red knight reared his head back and slammed it down on the creature. A final sickening crack lingered in the air for perhaps a second longer than it should as the changeling finally chased the birds around its head. Twilight flapped her jaw for a few seconds; she wanted to say something, wanted to congratulate or thank or question the knight, but no matter what she though, it always ended up as an empty fog. Glancing around, Twilight noted that all the changelings had left the room. A brief respite, but they would be back as soon as they realised they outnumbered her three hundred to one. The red knight glanced around for a second, seemingly searching for something, before walking towards Twilight. She took a step backwards from sheer reaction, but the red knight was already up in her face. And slowly, as if he'd done this a thousand times, he gave Twilight a long passionate kiss on the lips. Blood rushed into Twilight's cheeks and her ears flicked back and forth as she realised what was happening. Twilight swore she could hear some kind of victory music. Almost tentatively, she tried to push the knight off but she just couldn't seem to get her hooves in the right position to push. This was...this was beyond embarrassing for her. It didn't matter who it was that was kissing her, that kind of horseplay wasn't a part of her house. A faint aura built up on her horn, and just as it did, the red knight leaned back, breaking their embrace. From behind her, the three other knights moved forward, passing by her hastily. That was when Twilight noticed a few important things about them. They didn't have helmets on. Instead, their foreheads stretched so high up Twilight automatically assumed they were wearing helmets. You couldn't blame her, nearly half their body was forehead. They also didn't have mouths. It was nearly kind of freaky, Twilight had never met a creature before that didn't have a mouth; how did they even eat? And finally, not a single one knew what to do next. Forcing herself to smile, Twilight knelt down. That's what you did to legends, right? Knell down in front of them? Rummaging through her brain for the right words, Twilight finally spoke. "Oh great...um, knights, I beseech you for your help. Chrysalis the changeling queen has kidnapped my friends and taken over all of Ponyville, we need your help!" Twilight peeked up to see if her words had any effect and could physically feel her heart drop when she realised that the knights weren't even paying attention. The green one was poking Spike expectantly, motioning for Spike to follow him into the battle as if he were some kind of pet, the blue one was...picking his nose, the red one was occasionally glancing up at the door and the orange knight was nowhere to be seen. Twilight wasn't about to give up though. "Please, we need your help. You've already proved you can do it, you're the only ones left. I don't know what happened to Celestia, or Canterlot, or the other princesses, but I think Chrysalis might have kidnapped them! We need your help, please! Equestria is in danger." At the word princess, every knight in the room seemed to freeze. They traded glances, slowly at first but increasing in intensity. A few of them wrung their hands together awkwardly. Twilight didn't understand, why were they so nervous? Something moved in the corner of her eyes again, and she focused on the red knight trying to capture her attention. He was rubbing the back of his head slowly while walking forward, a kind of fear in his step. With a single fluid motion, he made a series of gestures. He pointed at his weapon, then shrugged, waved it in the air a little as if duelling an invisible opponent, shrugged again, pointed at the door, pointed at his weapon and finally nodded his head and cocked it to the side. It took a moment to register, but when it did, Twilight snapped her mouth shut and nodded excitedly. "Yes! Yes, yes, the changelings are out there. Please, you need to fight them, there's no one left. I just...need you...too..." There wasn't even anyone left in the room. At the simple word of yes, each of the knights had charged out the door with the speed and fury of a train. It crossed Twilight's mind that she should stop and search for Spike, just to make sure the green knight hadn't actually grabbed Spike and pulled him into the melee with him, but that thought was put on standby for the moment. There were more important things than Spike at the moment, she needed to see if the knights could actually save Equestria. With a hesitant grin, Twilight trotted up the stairs leading to the exit. She took in a single deep breath of air; invigorating and full of life. She'd done it. Or at least, she hoped she'd done it. Only time could tell now whether or not the knights would live up to their legend. Author's Note Shut up! I wrote a 30K word Gakfic, I can write a what ever the hell K word Castle Crashers story. So shut it. Just read the story. And I just realised that I made the classic mistake of not describing what any of the knights look like. Shit. Castle Crashing the RoadTwilight was the kind of pony that preferred to be alone. She'd been that way all her life. It wasn't out of any concious choice, she just...didn't like to hang around strangers. It wasn't until she finally moved to Ponyville and met her friends that everything began to change. While she would still prefer a quiet session of study to the wild glamour of night life, she would never deny a chance to spend time with her friends. What would she do without Applejack's dependability? Or Rainbow's confidence? Or even Pinkie's sheer energy? That said, if someone had asked her if she wanted to have four separate Pinkies, each with their own personalty but never lacking in the same amount of energy and nonsense, she would have kindly reminded them of the incident with the mirror pool, before shoving them unceremoniously out of her house for making her remember the incident with the mirror pool. Waving her hoof forward to urge the knights on and direct them forward, Twilight revelled in the plain normalcy of what was happening. Just five creatures, slowly trudging forward towards the city in the distance. No distraction, no pulling horns out of hammer space, just simple walking. The knights, other than a few bruises and scratches given by their leader to keep them in line, showed no signs of tiring or stopping, only one goal on their minds. Twilight wished she could say the same. An ache had developed in the bottom of her legs, she never claimed she was the fittest pony, and had wormed its way into the rest of her body. Despite this though, she knew she just needed to keep walking. Place one hoof in front of the other until she either fell down or reached her destination. Between panting breaths, Twilight tried to argue with the creatures walking next to her. "You know...I can just...just teleport us to Canterlot. We don't need to walk all the way there." She received no response, not that she was expecting one anyway. The knights didn't even bother to look at her, just keep walking forwards. Resigning herself to her fate, Twilight spun her head forward again. Her heart skipped a beat when another voice rose against the sounds of the road, one that was extremely familiar. "Yes, we know you can teleport, because you've mentioned it six times already. I don't think they even care." Looking around, Twilight focused on the small lizard. "Are you still here, Spike?" Hovering himself away from the blue knight temporarily, Spike landed on Twilight's back. The sudden weight caused her to falter in her steps, but not enough to make her trip. "I couldn't leave you alone. Someone here has to be the smart one." "You think you're the smart one?" "Hey, I can do a lot of smart things. Like my times tables. Or the dishes." "Dishes aren't smart." Spike shrugged. "Dishes are too smart, don't you remember the time you..." Perking up suddenly, Spike glanced through the woods. Twilight followed his lead, more to figure out what he was trying to find. All she could see were shadows twisting through the trunks of old rotten trees and patches of scraggly grass and flowers. "Did you hear that?" Spike asked. Twilight stopped; her muscles crying out in relief. Her ears flicked back and forth, trying to locate the source of the noise. Despite her hardest, the trees seemed intent on scrabbling any incoming noise until it bounced out of the woods at every angle. She spared herself a quick glance behind her at the knights, just a second. Two of them were running around in circles swinging their weapons into the air, with the other two poking each other lightly while eating the orange knight's sausage. Twilight didn't know what she was expecting. A loud crack rang down the road, freezing everyone gathered for a split second. The red knight stepped forward, taking a place next to Twilight. With the back of his palm, he pushed her backwards until she was resting behind him. Twilight understood why as another crack ran out from the forest. Something was coming. The ground shook as the monster rushed forward; a dot on the horizon that slowly came closer. Four heavy paws beat along the cobble path, leaving indentions with the sheer weight behind them. Two wings, bat-like and powerful stretched taut out of the creatures back. Each of them rose into the sky as if to proclaim them the creatures domain. To complete the terrifying appearance was a large stinger instead of a tail, quite out of place on the beasts flank. With nothing more than a roar, it charged closer, intent to close the gap between him and it's prey. Twilight mouthed the word 'manticore,' before she was shoved back yet again, this time by the orange knight. Then the green knight. Then the blue. To Twilight's relief, the red knight gave her a gentle pat, before pushing her back for the fun of it and rushing forward. It was like something out of Twilight's books. The terrible manticore versus the noble knights. Or it would have, if any battle had taken place. Instead, the orange knight was the first to arrive on the scene. Roaring at him, the manticore issued his challenge to the heavens, as a warning to all who would oppose him. The orange knight didn't even let him finish; slapping him across the face with the half eaten sausage. The manticore was dazed for a moment; a moment the orange knight used to jump over his head and land squarely on his back. He dodged to the side hastily as the stinger came down on him, and delivered another soggy whack to the back of the monster's head. Whimpering, the manticore paused for a moment. It didn't want another sausaging, not again. It held itself absolutely rigid, not daring to do anything against the strange creature on it's back. And slowly, the knight took his hands off the back of the manticore, raising them into the air. Pinky and pointer in the air, the orange knight leaned back as if cheering. The other knights shook their fists angrily, but there was nothing they could do. They'd missed their chance; orange had claimed the first ride. And then, with a swift whack to the manticore with his legs, the orange knight rode into the sunset, never lowering his hands. It was amazing; awe inspiring, especially since it was the middle of the day. "Well, this isn't good." Twilight sighed and turned to her only vocal companion. "No Spike. No, it is not." The changelings were smarter than they thought. There, in the middle of the road and wedged between two snow capped mountains stood what one could only describe as a poorly thrown together fortress. Nearly all the trees in a three mile radius had been cut down and latched together in a vain and rushed attempt to barricade the road against anyone hoping to travel across. To make things even worse, the only place that wasn't covered in sharpened spears and rocks was the entrance, which was sealed and welded shut by a gigantic metal sheet. If there was one good thing about this though, it finally gave Twilight time to catch up to the orange knight. "Maybe be could just walk around it?" Spike offered. Everyone gathered froze for a moment, just to stare at Spike angrily. Even the blue knight stopped what he was doing to turn around and give Spike a hard glare. Twilight rubbed her head, the very thought tearing her brain apart. "Walk...around? Spike, I just...seriously Spike." "What?" "There's only way one into the mountains, and the changelings decided to build a blinking huge castle on it, that's 'what.'" Trotting closer to the entrance, the dints and holes in the door became apparent. Thick punches that had warped the metal inward, not enough to break it, but enough to stop it from being a straight sheet. The manticore wasn't looking so good either, with its tail bent backwards behind it. The knights immediately went to punching the door with all the magic, weapons and random assortment of items they'd conjured from nowhere they had. Which was lucky, because it gave Twilight enough time to hear another familiar voice calling out to her. "Twily!" Looking up at the top of the 'wall,' Twilight nearly chocked in surprise. "Shining Armour!" "Twily!" "Shining Armour!" "Twily!" "Shining Armour?" "Twily!" Shaking her head suddenly, Twilight got back on track. "Shining, what are you doing up there? I thought...is Celestia all right? Can you let us in?" Shaking his head, Shining pulled back a bit as an arrow flew past his head. "No can do, sis. Nopony comes in or out. Those are the rules, and I can't change them for you, or Celestia or anypony else. Celestia's fine, by the way, I made sure of that personally." "But you have to let us in! Changelings have taken over...changelings have...hang on. Are you just a changeling trying to trick me?" "You're too smart for us, Twily. You're too smart for us." Twilight felt something build up in her chest. It felt...hot. Hot and spreading. Stretching out from the bottom of her heart to every section of her body; from her ears to her hooves. Twilight knew what was happening. Shouting wildly into the air, Twilight tried to focus her magic on the changeling impersonating her brother. "Stop calling me Twily! You don't have that right. Only Shining has the right to call me that, and you're clearly not him; so change back before I come in there and make you!" Shining turned around and leaned against parapets, ignoring the creatures attacking the door beneath him. "Whatever you say, Twily, but I think I'm going to stay as I am. Besides, none of you are beefy enough to break down this door, and there's no other way to Canterlot. So good luck saving your princess, because she is royally screwed." And with a wave of his hoof, Shining jumped backwards and disappeared behind the wall. Twilight probably would have rested her head in her hoof if it wasn't for the fact that she couldn't feel her feet from the rage. Fire was licking at the top of her mane from her anger, she just wanted to rip and tear something. Preferably something big. At the very least, the changeling still retained Shining's love of bad puns. Coming down from her rage high, Twilight noticed that all the knights had stopped attacking the door. Just as she'd come to expect from them, they'd returned to the same aimless pose they always had when they didn't know what to do. Well, most of them did. With a click of his fingers, the red knight started to move again. He placed two fingers on the top of his head and kicked his feet, trying his hardest to imitate a...cow maybe? Or perhaps a minotaur. He followed it up with a swift chopping motion downwards before ending with a slow pat on his stomach. Twilight was confused, to say the least. "You want to...eat an entire minotaur? How can you be hungry at a time like this?" The knight shook his head and tried again; this time placing more emphasis on the chopping than anything else. That chopping, what did it mean? Maybe...chopping, chopping. It dawned on Twilight at last. "Bread, that's bread. You want a...cow sandwich?" Nodding happily, the knight pumped his fist in the air. "But...but cows are alive, you can't eat something that's alive. It's inhumane! Unless it's fish. Or eggs, but then we've gone further than I'm comfortable." The red knight's shoulders sagged as Twilight told him the news. Half heartedly, he pointed at the door and weakly flexed his muscles. It was clear what he was trying to say. "Without a cow sandwich, nobody is getting through there." And then an idea started to spread in Twilight's mind. A brilliant, genius idea that only someone as smart as Twilight could have thought up. "Um, Twilight...why are you looking at me like that?" Spike asked as Twilight moved closer. "I have an idea, Spike." Straightening her back and pushing herself into the air, Twilight faced the aimless knights. "I have an idea everypony. But you need to do exactly what I say. Where we're going, it's very dangerous so we need to be care..." Twilight stopped as her eyes rested on the orange knight, still riding on the back of the manticore. Slowly, almost like clockwork, her hoof collided softly with her face. It didn't matter where they were going, nothing was more terrifying than the knights themselves. "Alright then. Follow me." Zecora was a very peculiar pony; there was no way one could deny that. She lived alone in the most dangerous place in Equestria, mostly kept to herself, spoke only in sick rhymes and brewed potions and insane concoctions for a living. There was no way one could spin that in such a way to make her look even the least bit normal. But there was one thing important about Zecora that made her extra important today. Zecora had a large collection of knicks and knacks from around the world, even from beyond the land of Equestria. And in that collection, there was one thing in particular that Twilight hoped had remained untouched. Something she needed desperately. If they could ever get there, that was. To the relief of her feet and general well being, the orange knight had been kind enough to give her a ride on the manticore. And as long as she could ignore the angry glances of the other three knights, Twilight was sure to enjoy every minute of it. It was kind of like when she was younger and Shining used to give her rides on his back, only Shining didn't have the potential to go crazy and stab her in the back with his freaky scorpion tail. Most of the time. "Only a few more miles and we'll get there, don't worry. This is a good plan." Twilight said. She added the end part mostly for her own benefit. Since there was no real path to Zecora's shack, they had to forge their own. Red knight, always the one to be saddled with the hard work, was at the front of the pack, cutting his way through the thick foliage and vines to clear a road for themselves. It took Twilight a moment to find the green knight, but a small trick always managed to do the job. That trick was, he was rarely not around the blue knight, who choose to hang at the back of the group instead of pressing forward. It was unnerving to say the least. To know that, at any moment, a dangerous monster could leap out of the underbush and attack them was a very uncomfortable thing to know indeed. It was slightly mitigated by the fact that they had actually already met one of the dangerous creatures, and the knights had waited all of two seconds to turn it into an advanced teapot ride, but that didn't make the sudden threat any less real. Almost as if it could read her mind, the trees around the group began to shake. The red knight stopped for a second and stepped back; his eyes locked on something rushing through the leaves above them. Twilight tried to track the same object, but whatever it was had clearly moved too fast for her. The air around Twilight shimmered and she jumped back on instinct as something flew past her nose. It made a strange noise; like a frisbee would make if it had been cut in half. A second later, it didn't matter, as something fell out of the tree directly above them. A dark brown baboon with an oversized bone in its hand. Laying next to it was the device that had knocked it out of the tree. The red knight calmly raised his hand and simply willed the boomerang to return to him. In another shocking blow to Twilight's sanity, it did; flying through the air in an arc back to the knight's outstretched arm. Twisting upwards like a snake, the baboon got back on its feet; weapon and teeth bared, only to find that the knight had already thrown his boomerang again. It connected with a swift thunk and knocked the baboon back to the ground. Clearly not one to be deterred by a simple blow to the head, the primate got back to his feet. And right back into the path of the red knight's boomerang. Twilight could only watch as this practice was repeated again and again. It was incredible, really, how the baboon would always get back up to try and fight, only to fall back down as the red knight stared on. Out of the corner of her eye, Twilight watched the green knight sadly hand over a bag of money to the blue. Twilight frowned; why was she being left out of the draw? Finally, after what seemed like hours, the monkey decided that enough was enough and stopped moving. The green knight, in a rare display of optimistic energy, appeared next to the body and gave it a light poke. He took a moment to shake his fists at the sky, before appearing back at the blue knight; a bag of bits already in his hand. Not breaking stride, the red knight turned around and went back to hacking at the overgrowth; nearly falling through as the woods opened up for them. They had arrived. Urging the manticore forward, Twilight and the knights shuffled through the trees into Zecora's back garden. Despite brief glances through the window as they walked around the tree Zecora called a house, no one was sure what to expect when they went inside. Changelings had invaded Equestria, who was to say that they hadn't taking Zecora too? The knights suddenly turned on a serious face, for a reason that Twilight couldn't explain. Rolling over to the outside of the house and pressing himself against the wall, the red knight stood back up. His hands were clutched together, with his pointers sticking outward like some sort of barrel. Breaking his hand sign for a brief moment, he faced the other knights and pulled his fingers towards himself twice in rapid succession, and the rest of the knights rolled over to him in sequence. They too placed their hands together in the same way the red one did and waited for further orders. Twilight watched them blankly as they inched closer to the door; lowering her head again as she noticed Spike was also copying the hand movements of the knights. Ducking under the window, the knights waited just to the left of the door. Then they just kind of stood there, until Twilight realised what the problem was. Sighing, she calmly trotted over to the door and pushed it open for them. The four immediately commando rolled into the now open room, fingers at the ready. Together, they covered every inch of the room in their pointing; all suddenly locking onto the same target as something moved from the other side of the building. "What are you doing inside my house? You're lucky I didn't turn you into a mouse!" Shoving past the knights, Twilight gave a gracious smile at her friend; a sense of calm coming over her as she realised she was okay. "Zecora! I don't have time to explain, Celestia is in danger and we need your help!" The strange black and white pony across the room didn't turn around as she continued to mix the contents of her desk together. "And what, pray tell, would the problem be; that you would need to come to little old me?" Twilight swallowed and tried to ignore the knight currently sifting through all the potions gathered around him. This was the hardest part. "I need to know if you have any of...it left. We really need it." "What a strange request of me you ask, for making it's a difficult task." Twilight nodded. "I know, but...I believe, perhaps foalishly, that these knights know what they're talking about. Moving closer and staring into Zecora's eyes, Twilight tried to show how serious she was about this. "Zecora, I need you to make me some moon banished tofu!" It never ceased to amaze Twilight how time seemed to go by extra slowly when you had to make sure four easily distracted and borderline super-powered knights from destroying the house of the witch-doctor they were currently staying in. It certainly didn't help that they had spent a whole twenty minutes fighting over a single bottle filled with red liquid, only to realise it was filled with raspberry juice and subsequently drinking the entire thing in one go. But finally, finally, Zecora returned, a bag full of sandwiches slung over her back. Twilight took them graciously, smiling all the while. "Thank you so much Zecora, you have no idea how much you've helped me. How much you've helped everypony." "There is no need to thank me, Miss Twilight. I am merely doing what I think is right." "But if this works, you'll have helped so many! I just...can't thank you enough." Turning around, Twilight whistled loudly. The knights stopped what they doing, if only for a moment, so Twilight could speak. "Alright, I hope this works. Let's head back to the fort and just...hope, everypony." Trotting forward, Twilight was suddenly stopped when something grabbed her from behind. Turning around, Twilight nearly pulled back as Zecora leaned right into her face. With a nearly unnoticeable flick, Zecora slipped a small bottle to Twilight. "It's a dangerous world to be out there alone, this will stop all danger from being set in stone." Twilight glanced at the red liquid in the bottle. "Thanks?" "Just be wary of where your adventure takes you, lest it lead you right into a...stew." Zecora said, moving backwards and returning to her original position above a large cauldron. Twilight had to fight back the urge to comment how cheesy it was. The stew, of course. Shrugging, Twilight casually threw the bottle into her bag of sandwiches and trotted out the door. "Come on, knights. We have a fort full of changelings to crash." The five...sorry, forgot Spike counts, the six of them arrived back at the changeling fort without any incident; save for a particularly humorous moment when red knight got his head shoved into a bee hive, it was quite funny; you should have seen it. And then the bear came along; ah, good times. Anyway, walking towards the door again, Twilight wasn't sure what she was supposed to do next. Frankly, she didn't understand any of this. How were sandwiches supposed to help them break through a solid steel door? It didn't make sense. Breathing deeply, Twilight turned around and levitated one of the delicious lunches out of her saddlebags. "So, I just...hand it to you?" Surprisingly, the blue knight was the first one to grab it, shooting a short burst of ice magic out of his feet to glue his companions in their places. The vein on the red's face was beginning to surface again, and only got bigger as blue moved his lips closer to the food. And then, to the silent cries of his leader, the blue knight bit down on the sandwich. A sudden burst of light eclipsed the sun, forcing Twilight to cover her eyes and step back. What was going on? Did all tofu do this? Her ears flicked backwards as a pained, ear splitting scream echoed through the forest. And though she had her hoof placed in front of her eyes, Twilight was still able to grasp small glimpses of what was happening to the blue knight. In the middle of an explosion of light, he was changing. His arms, already tough as iron, ripped outward even more; popping out to obscene sizes. His chest burst out, rippling with obvious strength and power. Twilight swore she could see the outline of a mouth in the explosion, but disregarded it as her imagination. The knights didn't have mouths. His head and feet remained the same size though, but Twilight wasn't about to tell him that. The knight looked like he could snap her in half with a wayward glance. As the light faded into the air, the blue knight didn't bother to explain what had happened, or show if it had hurt or not; simply running up to the metal door and grabbing it tightly with his two beefy arms. The veins on his arms popped and beat as he pulled, throwing all of his new found strength into breaking the door out of position. And with a final shout, the door flew through the air backwards, nearly crushing Twilight as it landed. It was surprisingly dark on the other side of the blockade. Perhaps it was a side effect of changeling occupation, or maybe Twilight had just spent too long in the light. Granted, it wasn't dark enough that she couldn't see anything, but the difference was still notable. Once again, Twilight found herself shoved backwards as the three knights behind her de-thawed their feet and moved to take her place. A puff of smoke filled the road, and suddenly, the blue knight was small again, his muscles and strengths fading into the air. And rising to replace it was the sound of charging chitin and an almost maniacal laughter. Bursting out of the hole ripped in the wall, Shining Armour sprinted forward as fast as his legs could carry him. The knights prepared themselves for a fight, but found themselves lacking in one as soon as Shining changed course; heading straight into the woods. Stopping his laugh for a minute, Shining back-pedalled into the woods. "Haha, you know what? I don't care how you broke the door, you can have the blockade. It's not like you can stop it. We're all doomed anyway, me, you, red paint mcsquare head the fifth Czar of Scandinavia, everyone. So just...take your crummy fort." The knights dropped their guard as they watched the changeling disappear into the trees. His laughter rang and bounced around the woods; a grim warning to anyone who wanted to travel through the blockade. All of a sudden, the darkness of the fort looked a whole lot more menacing than before. Coughing nervously, Twilight placed an unsteady hoof in front of herself. "I suppose we better...go in." Turning around, Twilight felt like screaming again. Of course they were just waiting until she told them they could continue, why would they be doing anything different? Three pony sized creatures rushed past her, followed by a creature so big Twilight had to fight against the force of the wind rushing past her with it. Where in the blazes did orange knight find that manticore again? Twilight was sure they'd left it at Zecora's. Swallowing her fear, Twilight chased the knights into the shadows. The shadows felt constricting as Twilight passed the line between light and dark. Twilight had never walked the path to Canterlot before, she'd never had a reason too. Everytime she needed to travel back to the palace, Celestia would simply send a carriage down for her, or if that wasn't possible, she would take the train. The path was a total mystery to her. Which is why it came as shock to her that it was so cold! A cold wind blew down from the tops of the mountains on her sides; even the heat of the sun had no chance to stand against something like this. There was a small tunnel in front of her, with clear ice walls lining the sides and connecting with each other to form the roof. Shaking a little, Twilight continued onward. From tales and stories, Twilight knew that they only needed to travel a short distance along the side of the mountain before arriving directly at the front gate of Canterlot. And luckily for her, something embedded in the ice of the mountain had caught the knight's attention. Trotting closer, Twilight gave it a small glance. At first she wasn't sure what she was looking at. The strange creature resembled the knights, except where they had square heads, this creature had a bright yellow round one. With...was that an antenna sticking out the top? Sighing to herself, Twilight continued further down the path; turning back occasionally. The knights behind her followed behind, there was no doubt of that, but they seemed intent on staring at every possible thing embedded in the ice. What could possibly be more important than getting to Canterlot? Didn't they understand that Princess Celestia was in... Twilight froze when she finally stopped for a moment and concentrated on the ice, finally realising what the problem was. Why didn't she ever just pay attention instead of getting wrapped up in her own thoughts? It was staring her right in the face and she'd walked past it mindlessly. It was changelings. Dozens or maybe hundreds of changelings, frozen stiff in the walls of the tunnel. Some were asleep, others were frozen in sheer terror, but each one was utterly and irreversibly encased in the ice walls of the tunnels. What could possibly have done this to so many creatures? It would have to be something powerful; something that Equestria hadn't seen since its creation. A sudden cold wind blasted down the tunnel, so cold and powerful that hoof sized icicles blasted down the tunnel with it. It felt like one of the icicles speared Twilight in the heart as she stepped backwards. Or tried to, at least. Moving seemed hard for some reason. Almost subconsciously, Twilight started to breathe faster. Her chest beat forward, nearly unable to contain her heart as she felt the first licks of frost move up her legs. The wind was relentless though, always carrying its message of death and cold forward. The casing of ice developing on Twilight finished with her legs and moved on to her torso; not caring about her frenzied struggling. In the corners of her vision, she could see the same thing was happening to the knights. That wasn't right, this couldn't be happening. The knights were supposed to protect her, were supposed to save Equestria, they couldn't be frozen along with her. The suit of ice started to stretch up to her neck. This couldn't be real, she was dreaming. It was just too unlikely. She had four of the most powerful creatures on her side. Even if she didn't, she was Twilight Sparkle! She was the princess's student, she couldn't just lie down and turn into an ice sculpture. She was the element of magic, she was the most powerful unicorn in Equestria, she was... The ice finished ensnaring her, capturing her perfectly in the dim reflective light of the cavern. The air that rushed into Twilight's lungs was a god send. As soon as the casing of ice fell of her body, she immediately collapsed into a shivering pile, apparently too tired to keep standing. Had she just...no, it was impossible. She was still here, she was still alive. Glancing away from the chunks of ice on the ground, Twilight looked up at her saviour. The blue knight was scanning through the cavern hastily. The usually cheery expression on his face had been replaced by a serious stare that penetrated deep into the cavern, searching for something. He didn't dawdle, or wait, or hesitate as he rushed forward, only a brief wave of his hand telling Twilight she should follow. On unsteady legs, Twilight limped forward. She couldn't feel her tail, that would usually be concerning. A sun shining on her skin was amazingly the first thing she noticed as she excited the tunnel. It was a weird thing to notice; she'd barely been in the cave for...what, a few minutes, and yet she thought she'd never feel the sun on her skin again. They were standing on the edge of a cliff; the forest far below them. The view alone was enough to suck Twilight's remaining breath away. The knight moved next to her though, a thin mist of ice painted around his fingers. He was prepared to fight, he just needed his opponent. And almost as if it were reading a cue from a screenplay, the legendary windigo rose out from the woods below. The wind around the windigo condensed into clouds nearly as soon as it appeared, hiding its entire back half in the storm. Small tornadoes and twisters spun around its neck, kept in place by the unique mix of hot and cold radiating from the creature. It roared with a mouth that was full of icicles sharpened to a point and charged forward, intent on stopping anything that could survive its icy winds. The knight relaxed for a second and turned to Twilight. All he did was shrug as if he didn't understand what was going on and spun back to face the windigo. Taking three steps back, the knight bent down to tap his toes. Twilight considered asking him what he was doing, considering they would both be wiped off the face of the earth in less than a minutes time, until it became painfully obvious. He was stretching. And then he was off, charging forward to meet the windigo halfway. Time seemed to slow down as Twilight ran some calculations off the top of her head. It was a good thing she was so good at this sort of thing, because it caused her to realise a very important fact. "Wait! Stop stop stop, you won't make it! It's too far away for you! Wait!" To Twilight's shock, the knight only ran forward faster. Twisting his legs at the last second and pushing upwards powerfully, the knight launched himself over the edge. He seemed to hang in the air almost magically for a brief second, as the wind and the ice and the dust pushed past him as he flew forward. And eventually, straight down. He disappeared from sight as Twilight gasped; what was she supposed to do now? She couldn't fight a windigo, it was impossible. They were just...too strong. Just one of them had incapacitated three of the greatest knights in the land; she stood no chance against something like that. She needed the elements or her friends or something! Bending her head down, Twilight gathered her magic. Never go quietly, not when the odds are in your favour, not when there are no odds at all. She snapped back up and let her magic drain as a strange sound rose against the wind. Was that...Spike? "Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" A bright flash blinded Twilight as something exploded from beneath the windigo. The monster only got a brief glance before what Twilight could only describe as a rocket ice-powered rocket knight rocket punched directly into its none rocket-powered chest. The blue knight bounced back a few feet as the windigo screamed in shock and pain. The knight wasn't stupid though, he knew to never give an inch in a real fight. A small orb materialized in his hand as he took aim, rearing his entire hand back in preparation for his attack. It seemed as if anything these knights did was enough to amaze Twilight. The ability to create something from nothing was a very difficult power to learn. Even creating something as simple as an orange would take years of practice and study, not to mention all the unexplored areas of magic you would need to develop and study yourself. Creating something from nothing was a feat she had thought impossible. Until the blue had done exactly that, several dozen times a minute to attack the windigo. Countless arm sized shards of ice fired out of the knight's hand as the sheer force of the attack sent him flying backwards. And that was only the beginning of the attack. Twisting both his hands towards each other, the knight sent out a cloud of ice and pain towards the windigo. For a second, the horizon was blurred by a light blue haze as the attack stretched as far as Twilight could see. The windigo wasn't expecting something this sudden. Twilight wasn't suspecting something this sudden. It would be a safe bet to say that no one in all of Equestria was expecting that much sheer pain to fly at them out of nowhere. It kicked and screamed as it tried to change its course, but it was already far too late. With a rapid succesion of cracks and snaps, the windigo burst through the blue knight's magic, crashing into the side of the mountain and landing painfully. Dust kicked up around Twilight as the knight himself landed; not a second spared as he sprinted towards the downed creature. Twilight had to double check to make sure what she was seeing was real; her hoof already raising itself to her head. Grasped in the blue knights hand, instead of magic or a sword, was her assistant. "Look Twilight, I'm helping!" Leaping over the collapsed body of the windigo, the blue knight got to work. A wayward hoof kicked out at him from the beast, but it was as expected and already countered by a swift wave of his hand. Content he was safe, the blue knight grabbed Spike's tail roughly, and pulled. Green flames burst out of the dragon's mouth, bathing the windigo in fire. At first it struggled, kicked back and tried to stop it, but it was obvious it was pointless. The clouds surrounding it faded into the air as they heated and drops of clear water stained the ground. And as the windigo melted, so did all the damage it had caused. From deep within the tunnel to the fort, three creatures and a manticore raged against the ice holding them in place; hacking at their frozen feet in an attempt to break them out. Changelings of every size glanced around confused; a couple having the right sense to escape into the air before something else happened. Next to Twilight, back at the edge of the cliff, a huge chunk of ice fell from the mountain, revealing another shocking surprise. Twilight wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't been there to see it herself. "Princess Cadence!" She shouted, waving at her foal sitter excitedly. The pink alicorn rubbed her head for a moment, seemingly not hearing Twilight's shouts. "Twi...Twilight?" "Princess Cadence!" "Twilight?" "We're not doing this again, what are you doing here?" Shooting a glance behind her, Cadence walked forward. "I...I don't know. I was following Shiny, when all of a sudden this monster appeared and I...I can't remember anything after that." "That's...that's amazing Cadence. I can't believe you're all...oh for Luna's sake Blue!" For some reason, Twilight hadn't noticed the blue knight slowly inching over to Cadence. Far from the symbol of power and danger he was when he was fighting the windigo, he now wrung his hands together awkwardly and locked his eyes on the ground. Cadence noticed him around the same time Twilight did. "Oh, who are you? One of Twilight's friends?" A drop of sweat ran down the knights forehead. Luckily, Twilight was there to help him out. To be his 'wingman' one might say. "Haven't you met the knights before, Cadence? This is the creature that defeated the windigo and saved you. He can't...um, talk. Or open doors, but that's not important." Cadence stared at the strange creature for a moment longer. She was no stranger to shy creatures before, hell, being the princess of love, she'd helped quite a few shy lovers get over their anxiety. This one would be no different. Glancing between his awkward shuffle and his nervous hands, it was obvious what she needed to do. Smiling devilishy, Cadence moved closer. "Well then, a windigo is a dangerous creature. Mayhaps my hero needs a little...reward." The blue knight took a tentative step backwards as Cadence rushed towards him. With a single flick of her wings, the blue knight was pulled closer to Cadence; wrapped in a warm embrace. Leaning in close, Cadence whispered in his ear, 'just don't tell Shining about this,' and went in for the kiss. Twilight couldn't watch this. It just felt wrong to watch her sister in law make out with someone who wasn't her brother. It was just weird, she didn't like it. Looking around, Twilight felt a twang of guilt as she noticed the red knight shaking his fists to the sky again while green and orange laughed at him. What was it with these knights and princesses? Content that everything would be safe now, Twilight trotted a few steps ahead of the pack; leaving Cadence and the knights behind. She just needed to see Canterlot, needed to know what she was up against. Had the changelings damaged it? Had the guard held their own? She needed to know, just a small glimpse. And there, glimmering in the sun, she realised just how big of a task she'd cut out for herself. Canterlot was nearly completely reformed. The river running around it from the mountains was stained a dark green and makeshift walls reinforced by magic had been carefully constructed around the perimeter. The castle, usually a shining gem of the world, fared no better than the rest of the city. Banners and the occasional fire marked the pillars and spires of the palace; truly, the entire place looked nothing like she remembered it. Jumping as the green knight suddenly appeared next to her, he too looked over the city. And instead of a sense of fear, or anger or anything a reasonable person would have, he simply poked Twilight in the side and pointed. And anyone with half a brain could tell what he was saying. "Hey Twilight...Twilight, Twilight, see that city? Twilight, see the; Twilight do you see that city? Because, Twilight, because I'm going to, Twilight I'm going to crash that city. It'll be godlike." It took a moment, a single glorious moment where everything was perfect, until Twilight sighed and hung her head down heavily. She was starting to see why Celestia imprisoned the knights in the first place. Author's Note Have you ever noticed that nearly all crossovers have Twilight teleport the characters into the MLP world? What's up with that? Why not have a story where Pinkie teleports them instead? Or even just leave it questionable. How did the cast of Scooby doo get into the MLP world? Why must you poke holes in the story? Read it and enjoy. Addendum: Unless it's Doctor Who, in which case it's always the Doctor's fault. Always. Also, I am not looking forward to reading through the accounts of everyone who've favourited this, it's going to take all day. And yes, I am terrible at Zecora's rhymes, thanks for noticing. Oh god dammit, this chapter was supposed to be shorter than the last one, not longer!
Castle Crashing the VillageCarefully, Twilight poked her head out of the doorway to her basement. At any moment, she expected changelings to leap out from the shadows and corners of the room and capture her. Maybe they still could, she hadn't actually left the basement yet. In fact, it wouldn't be too hard to just...stay in the basement her whole life. That way she wouldn't have to deal with the threat of getting captured, or fighting Chrysalis or any of that other scary stuff she was expected to do. Yes, that sounded like a good idea, she could just backtrack into the basement again and let the knights handle everything, surely they knew what they were doing. Or...not. The sound of flowing magic dulled to a whimper, only to be replaced by an even stranger sound as Twilight adapted to the change in scenery. Sure, there was the noises she was expecting; screaming ponies, changeling magic, the gradual destruction of her town, but it was the other sounds that threw her off. It sounded like...someone destroying her library. Through grit teeth, Twilight tried to calm her nerves. How dare they! Her library contained some of the oldest texts found in Equestria, some dating all the way back to the original reign of Discord. It contained some of the most important relics and artifacts from the last two years in it. And if those changelings were just going to...going to ignore all that and destroy her library for no reason, that was where she drew the line! In her head, she ran over a couple of spells. Nothing complicated; a spell to defend herself, a spell to fight back and a spell just in case worst came to worst and she had to run. Then, she jumped out from the basement, sliding sideways across the wooden floor to save herself the time of turning to face the changelings. Her mind blanked for a moment as she realised that there wasn't a changeling in sight. The room was a mess, there was no denying that, but the damage was hardly worse than one of her regular study sessions. The entire bottom row of shelves were devoid of books and the table in the middle of her room had a huge lightning shaped crack through the middle of it. Paper and books lay sprawled across the ground; gathering in small piles in the corner but overall, everything was perfectly fine. Twilight stepped forward, raising her head as something caught her attention. The four knights. The four of them were standing directly in front of her door, weapons and magic and sausages drawn and ready. Carefully, Twilight took a step forward, not sure of what to do. The four didn't even notice her, instead choosing to focus entirely on the closed door. Maybe they were trying to open it with their minds? They'd clearly tried to open it before; the door was covered in scratch marks, but why just sit stock still and wait for it to open? "What's the problem? Did the changelings lock us in? Why can't you go out?" Twilight asked, not expecting a response. "As far as I can tell, they can't open doors." Twilight snapped her eyes over to the small dragon hovering in the air behind the blue knight. For someone who was currently floating two feet above the ground and at the ground zero for a changeling invasion, Spike was handling things amazingly well. A purple glow covered him for a second and attempted to pull him back to earth, but he simply waved Twilight's attempts at grounding him away. Sighing sadly, Twilight went back to trading glances between the door and the knights. "What do you mean they can't open doors? Spike, these are immortal warriors from the dawn of time. They've fought monsters we can't even begin to imagine simply because they were asked to, they've fought in more wars and battles than both of us combined; I refuse to believe that it's simply the fact that they don't know how that's stopping them from opening our front door." Spike shrugged. "Say what you want, they still can't open it. First they stabbed the door to try and break it down, but we both know how strong our front door is. Next, one of them took out a horn for some reason and blew it at the door, don't know what that was about, then they tried blowing our door open with some kind of explosion magic, still no game, and now they're just sitting here waiting for someone to open the door. Not one tried to...you know, open it." "Spike, our door is obviously jammed, or barricaded or something! Nothing gets this old without learning how doors work, now get down from there before you get hurt." "Open the door and I will, miss smarty pants." Twilight sighed. "Smarty pants was my doll and you know it. Besides, he's missing now, thank you for reminding me." Giving the knights one last glance, Twilight headed towards the door. It was pointless anyway; if they couldn't get the door open, that meant the changelings must have covered the door in so much goo nothing could get through. Running a hoof over the scratches on the door, Twilight sighed again. It was...impossible. Grabbing the doorknob, Twilight felt a sudden spell of light-headedness fall over her. Breathing out and back in hastily, Twilight hadn't even noticed she was holding her breath. Spike couldn't have been...right. It made no sense. Holding her breath again without realising it, Twilight leant back and pulled on the door suddenly. She was instantly thrown off balance as the door swung directly into her face. The world was dipped into darkness as her vision waned and faded by the blow to the head. Another moment passed as Twilight chased away the cartoon birds and coughed up the dust that had suddenly appeared in the room. Where had all this dust come from? Scanning through the room again, blinking every time the dust rubbed into her eyes, Twilight nearly smiled in glee when she noticed that the knights had already sprinted out the door. That was good, everything was going to be fine. Stepping out of the library, it was nearly surreal. Everything seemed to slow down as Twilight stepped forward. Everywhere she looked, she could see a changeling. They were on the roofs, along the roads, hovering in the air, absolutely everywhere. And every single one, whether they were occupied tearing down the village or just taunting the ponies they'd captured, had stopped to stare at the strange creatures stepping out of the library. A million pairs of eyes, all focused on a single target. The knights didn't even care. They strode onwards, an unseen purpose to their movements. A young changeling, barely an adult, rushed down to stop them. Perhaps he wanted to be the first to capture the new specimens, or maybe he was just cocky. Whatever the reason, his movement was the rope that pulled everyone back in to reality. Two of his friends followed after the changeling hastily, obviously sensing he was about to get in over his head. They landed directly in front of the knights; fangs bared and horns glowing. Murmurs and whisper raced along the rooftops as changelings landed and traded vantage points for the fight. The red knight furrowed his brow and with a wave of his hand, signalled for the others to follow his lead. Total silence ruled the field as the two sides faced each other. Try as she might, Twilight couldn't hear so much as a scream or a whisper. Whether it was an effect of the knights or simply the tension in the air, every living thing was currently focused on the fighters. Twilight blinked, shutting out the world for a second, and nearly missed the first strike. The red knight dashed forward like lightning, nothing but a red blur symbolizing that he was ever standing still. Dust and debris kicked into the changelings face as the knight reached him, delivering a quick whack with the handle of his sword before twisting around, backhanding his friends into the nearest building. The shockwave was nearly visible as they hit it; sliding down and resting at the base of the house. Another brief moment passed as the changelings gathered registered what happened. Twilight had to side-step suddenly as a box of popcorn fell directly where she was standing, the changeling holding it apparently too shocked to keep his grip. A shout, quiet at first but growing in intensity rushed through the crowd. It was so loud, and so strong, that the library itself shook under the noise, and Twilight was forced to cover her ears. And then, as the noise reached its loudest, every changeling rushed in to fight the knights. Dust flew into the air once again and shrouded the fighters as the red knight moved around with such speed and grace that it seemed he was everywhere at once. Twilight was enraptured, she'd never seen anything like this before. Such force and grace and precision, all wrapped into a single figure. She needed to see more, she had to get closer. She'd only taken three steps forward before noticing something strange. Scanning the street, Twilight was shocked to find her suspicions correct. There was only one knight fighting the changelings. The red knight was embedded in the heart of the battle, blocking everything the changelings threw at him and twisting out of the way of anything he couldn't block. The entire time, an expression of pure rage was painted on his face, all directed at the orange knight, who was standing a couple of steps off to the side and taking small bites out of his weapon of choice. Twilight swore she could see veins of anger pulsing off the side of the knights head as he stared at his friend. It never broke, not when the knight was jumping through the air or when he was falling back to earth. Glancing upwards at the top of the buildings, Twilight noted that the green knight seemed more preoccupied with stealing all the green goo he could find rather than fighting the enemy. And the blue knight was...oh Celestia, that was bad! Rushing forward, Twilight had intended to tackle the blue knight to the ground before suddenly remembering just who he was and stopped herself. Her hooves left two deep grooves in the earth as she slid to a stop, just a few steps away from the knight. A small hoof high fence separated the two and marked where the road ended as Twilight tried to round up her tongue. For now, she was just content to watch. The blue knight was gardening. Or at least, it looked like gardening. Somehow, he had gotten his hands on a small shovel used to dig holes for seeds and, instead of fighting in the raging battle in the middle of street, had decided to spend his time digging holes in Roseluck's garden. It was almost rhythmic to Twilight; stab, push, lean back, fall over, repeat. Finally, words returned to her as the knight fell over again, roses and dirt flinging into the air after him. "What are you doing? Go help your friend, he needs help fighting the changelings, don't you get that?" Groaning as he pushed himself back to his feet, the blue knight stared at Twilight, his eyebrows funnelled into a confused glance. Slowly, he pointed at the shovel and shook his head questionably. "Yes! I mean, no! I mean, don't dig up the garden, Roseluck wouldn't like that. Why aren't you doing anything!" The knight paused for a moment, just a quick minute, and pointed at the battle in the street. Twilight nodded expectantly. "Yes, yes, go help him. Fight, win, save Equestria, find the princesses." Despite perking up at the mention of the princess, the blue knight slowly placed his other gloved hand on the end of the shovel, eyes still firmly locked on Twilight. He didn't break their exchange for anything, even when he kicked down sideways to bury his shovel in the dirt again. Twilight was starting to know how the red knight was feeling. "Stop that right now! I don't care what you've done, my friends are in danger and you're going to help them whether you like it or not. If you don't, then I swear to Celestia I will turn all of you back into stone and get it done myself, so help me. So pull that shovel out of the ground, get into the street and kick those changeling's...butts..." Twilight's words faded into the wind as the knight pulled back on his shovel, the same way he always did, and fell onto his back again. Only this time, instead of dirt and roses flying into the air, a long stick wrapped in cloth and rope exploded out of the ground, flipping over itself and burying its end into the ground. Gawking wordlessly, Twilight could only observe yet again as the knight reached forward and ripped the cloth off, revealing a thick wooden staff. Throwing his own sword behind him carelessly and without a second thought, the blue knight picked the staff up and jumped out of the garden, flipping for pure show as he did. Then, without another gesture or word or whisper, he charged down the street. Right into the hands of the orange knight, who offered him a bag of popcorn he found to watch the show with. Well, you can't fault him for priorities. "There are some things I shouldn't think too hard on, Spike." Nodding, Spike reached forward. His hand faltered for a second, reaching through the empty air in search of its goal before finally, Spike received reward for his patience with a hand full of popcorn. "Like why Roseluck had a weapon buried in her garden?" Levitating a drink full of soda to her mouth, Twilight nodded. "And how you're floating, and how only one of the knights seems interested in fighting, or why this is just so very interesting." Looking up, Twilight squinted through the dust. At the moment, everything within the storm of dirt was just a silhouette, but Twilight knew that would clear up soon, and then she could enjoy the show again. It crossed her mind that this was basically what the villains did in her books; make ponies fight for her amusement, but this was different, obviously. One of them wasn't a pony. And the other twenty were changelings. The blue and orange knights sat at her side, enjoying the dinner and a show as much as she was. At first, it infuriated her to no end how the others refused to fight, but now...well, the red knight certainly wasn't doing badly. Sure, he slipped up every now and then and one of the changelings would get a punch in, but other than that he was doing exceptionally well. As long as Twilight ignored the vein of pure hate growing on his forehead and concentrated on her drink instead, she could start to see why the other knights were so adamant to not get involved. The red knight was capable of fighting the battle just fine. So long as he didn't die of a brain aneurysm first. Looking back up again, Twilight jumped backwards, the shock to her system causing her to spit her drink all over the red knight. The street was entirely devoid of changelings, with only their twitching bodies remaining. Blood rushed into Twilight's cheeks as she moved forward to help the knight. "I'm so sorry, you scared me. You just...I didn't expect you to move in front of me so quickly, I'm so sorry." If the red knight cared, he did an amazing job of hiding his true emotions. Walking right past Twilight and her stuttering mouth, the red knight stood in front of his troop, pausing for a brief moment. The two only had long enough to register how screwed they were before the knight picked the both of them up by the collar and tromped back past Twilight into the road. The knight stopped again, this time scanning through the roof tops for his remaining companion. When a full minute passed with no sign of him, the red knight turned around. He waved his hand once to make sure he had Twilight attention before beginning the strange sign language they used to communicate. It was simpler this time, all he did was point at his weapon and shrug. Twilight caught on immediately. "The town hall! That's where they were last time, in the town hall. It's the only place big enough to hold all of them. Come on, I'll show you!" Before she could get started though, an armoured gauntlet reached forward and stopped her. Looking back up, Twilight once again felt her checks darken when she realised he wasn't done yet. Strangely, all the red knight did was rub his stomach, occasionally switching it up and pointing at the empty place beneath his eyes to make sure Twilight got the point. She did. "You want...something to eat?" All three knights nodded. "Is now really the best time? My friends are still in danger, we should go help..." They weren't even listening. Celestia was right, these knights were odd. Sighing heavily, Twilight did a complete one eighty and trotted down the street. "Sugercube Corner is just down here, but when you're done, you will do what I say. Deal?" For once, a strange peace came over Twilight when she saw the knight nod in reply. Everything was going to be fine. Sugarcube corner was empty. There was not a single sweet left in the entire building. The cookies had been crumbled, the cupcakes pilfered and the muffins, devoured. Not a single scrap or whiff of food remained in the building. There are times that Twilight wished she remembered the spell that let her travel back in time. The door back out to the knights seemed so far away, yet she knew that she needed to pass through it and give them the bad news. She wouldn't lie and say it didn't scare her, it terrified her. Just one of these monsters had ripped every changeling in Ponyville to shreds, and now she needed to go out and face three of them and tell them that 'no, there isn't actually any food here, get back to saving my friends.' Sighing, Twilight moved forward. There was no way this could end well. Stepping into the light of the sun, Twilight did her best to get straight to the point. "There's...I'm sorry, but there's nothing here. The changelings must have taken everything when they got the chance, the entire place is empty." The red knight, long since relieved of the weight of his comrades, lowered the hand he had resting on his chin. He nodded gently to himself; let his eyes drift through the alleys and streets of the town. Twilight took a cautionary step back. She wasn't sure if the knight would actually attack her, but she needed to be careful. Suddenly, the knight snapped to attention, throwing his arm upwards and pointing at what he saw. Twilight looked up, but it was obvious that he wasn't pointing for her benefit. His expression was too stern for that; his arm too taut. Twilight could feel the sheer heat of his hate radiating off of him as he pointed. He wasn't pointing to show her something, he was pointing as a warning. As a way to say, 'Green knight, you will come down here with the food or I will come up there with my sword. Either way, one of us is eating something today.' It seemed as if actual bolts of energy crackled through the air as the two knights engaged in their staring contest. The red knight kept his glare even as he wandered closer. This wasn't a thing he was going to lose, he was stronger than that. Twilight could only watch in awe as the knight walked right up to the building the green knight was standing on; practically shoving his chin into the brick as he continued to stare upwards. The tension reached a peak as something fell from the roof, hard and fast. For a split-second, the red knight looked down to see what was thrown at him, glancing back up immediately once he realised his mistake. It was already too late. All trace of the green knight had vanished, almost as if he'd never been there. The red knight simply fell to his knees and shook his fists to the sky as dramatically as he could. It was many long minutes before he stood back up again, maintaining the same wordless silence as he always did. Twilight wiped a drop of sweat from the back of her neck. "Are...are you ready to...to help me now? I'd really...really appreciate it." The knight responded with nothing more than a sad nod. "Well, follow me then. Don't worry about the food, Pinkie Pie will cook you up so much food you'll never eat again once you rescue her." The light shooting out of the town hall was blinding. A sickly green light that wormed its way into Twilight's eyes and mouth and attempted to choke her out from the inside. While she knew how irrational it sounded, she could actually feel how heavy the light coming out of this building was. She swallowed slowly, half to calm her nerves and half to calm her throat before turning to the heroes she'd summoned. "This is it, this is where..." Twilight never got to finish her sentence, as each knight leapt forward and started beating on the door of the hall with their weapons. This was getting unbearable, it was like taking care of a group of sugar infused Pinkie Pies. Every time she got them focused on something, they leapt right into it with even waiting for her to explain why they were doing it in the first place. They just...didn't care about things like explanations or reasons. There were bad guys in the hall and they fight bad guys, that was the extent of their thinking. It was infuriating. Shards of wood launched out at Twilight as the door finally flew inwards, barely even a sliver left on the hinges. The knights traded stares before going in, each one holding their weapon of choice tightly. With nothing better to do and barely an idea of how she could help, Twilight followed after them. At first, she couldn't see a thing. Despite the glowing fungus lining the walls, it nearly seemed as if the room ate any source of light placed into it. Trotting forward into the darkness quickly, Twilight bumped into the back of one of the knights. A quick apology passed her lips as she wiggled her way to the front. She couldn't fight, but maybe...just maybe the changelings would be willing to negotiate. It was a slim chance, but Twilight had to give them the choice. The darkness faded from around her slowly, almost as if it sensed her intentions. The adrenaline that shot into Twilight as soon as she realised what she was looking at told her to run or fight or hide or do anything other than try to reason with the creatures responsible for it. Twilight raised her hoof and just...ran it over the surface of the cocoon. There wasn't anything she could do, not at the moment. It pained her, physically caused her pain to have to leave her friend like that; beating against the inside of their prison in a vain attempt to escape, begging her for help, but she had no choice. There just...wouldn't be enough time. She would do it later, she promised them that, but at the moment she needed to make sure it was safe. The lights in the room brightened even more and Twilight swore she could hear the warriors behind her gasp. Turning around, it wasn't hard to see why. Changelings of every size and shape and colour and gender lined the walls. Some sat patiently on the sidelines, waiting for the order to strike, while others were barely restrained by their peers until the time was right. And sitting in the middle of the room, upon a throne made out of pony filled cocoons, was the one responsible. King Sombra, who else would it be? "So Twilight, I see you've finally decided to take my offer. Come to beg for mercy then? I promise we can make this swift." Twilight coughed once, clearing her throat. "Sombra, your demands are completely unreasonable, and I've seen fit to rewrite them to better suit both of our advancements. If you would just listen for a second, I'm sure we can both come to an agreement." "I think my demands are completely reasonable. A pony for a kingdom, is it not? I release your friends and in return, you hand me the elements." "Sombra please, you don't need to do this! We can help you! You don't have to use force, or blackmail, or lies to get what you want. We helped Discord to understand this, we can do the same to you, but please, listen to me!" For a moment, it seemed like Sombra was actually contemplating what Twilight had said. An illusion that was broken as he started laughing directly into her face; a huge laugh that brought tears into his eyes. "You're wrong, Twilight. I don't use force because I have to. Despite what Celestia wants you to believe, I'm not a bad pony. I'm not cruel to my subjects, those that do as I say anyway, I'm not a greedy pony or a selfish one or a bad one in any sense. Do I have my flaws? Yes, but so do you. So does Celestia and Discord and Rarity and every other pony. I don't know who the friends you've brought are, but I'm willing to bet they have their flaws too. I use force because it's the fastest way to make ponies listen to me. And ponies need to listen to me, because I'm the only one who can see the truth. I'm the only one smart enough and powerful enough and wise enough to rule. That is why I use force, and blackmail and lie. Because then ponies listen to what I have to say." Twilight sighed, there was no changing him. "Then you leave me no choice. Has anypony ever read you the story of the four knights, Sombra? Has anypony ever cared enough to sit you down and simply...read you a bedtime story? I can see it in your face, you don't know how the story goes. And while I don't think of myself highly enough to read it to you, I can at least give you the cliff notes." Twilight stepped closer, eliciting a sharp hiss from the changelings in the room. "There are many things that make a hero. You think of it as a thing to be earned, by the steel of your sword or the strength of your armies, but that's not what a true hero is. That is a warrior, Sombra." Taking another step, Twilight was close enough to read the expression of the pony trapped in front of her at the base of the throne. Confusion. "You think of it as a thing to be learned, by the magic in your horn and the power of your books. But that is a magician, Sombra, not a hero." "Stop that. Stop that now!" Sombra shouted, but Twilight just kept walking closer. The changelings around the walls glanced at each other, not sure what to do. Twilight didn't realise it, but she was shouting at this point. "You think of a hero as something to be adored, by the kindness of your lovers and the adoration of your kingdom, but that only makes a star, not a hero." "You think..." Twilight continued, only to be cut off suddenly. A blinding pain was spreading across her cheek as she fell backwards from the throne. It was such a long fall, Twilight wasn't looking forward to landing, especially not in the position she'd gotten herself. A short look at Sombra told her that she'd been slapped, quite forcefully in fact, as the shadowy palm disintegrated into the air. Hitting the ground, she could hear Sombra shouting. "I don't think any of those things. You will not put words in my mouth, wench. I know what a hero is." The room darkened suddenly as Sombra concentrated. This wasn't just regular darkness though, it was too thick for that. Quickly, impossibly quick, the shadows twisted and curled around each other and became solid. A metallic sheen flashed across the now physical shadows that stretched around Twilight. She'd been...captured. Behind her, she could hear the knights beating on the pitch black bars, but she knew she needed to remain focused. Smiling though, Twilight wasn't about to stop. "If you know what a hero is then, you won't mind me finishing my story. You think of a hero as someone who is smarter than others, but that's not what a hero is. Do you want to know what makes a hero, a hero?" "You will be silent! I demand it!" "It's timing." Sombra was fully prepared to obliterate Twilight at that moment, at the very next word she said. Instead, he found himself laughing again, as the magic he'd pent up wafted into the shadows around him. "Timing? Timing? What does that even mean?" Twilight shrugged. "It means you should have realised that I said the four knights, yet you've only met three." The implication behind Twilight's words hung in the air, heavy and potent. A flash of...surprise maybe, flashed across Sombra's face, a half hearted 'Wha--" escaping his lips until something whizzed through the air and struck him on the horn. As Sombra fell backwards, the shadows and illusions surrounding the room wavered for a second; it was like a flash of light had suddenly illuminated the building. And in that brief moment, Twilight saw what she desperately wanted to be real. The green knight, arrow cocked in bow, was dropping down from the ceiling. Hiss' and jeers flowed through the room as Sombra forced himself back to his feet. The changelings were getting frenzied, a few buzzed around overhead angrily at the attack on their king. They just needed the order, one word to begin the charge. Instead Sombra raised his hoof, commanding their attention. "Stay where you are. I can do this myself. Lets see just how powerful these 'heroes' are." The darkness around Sombra began to waver, like the surface of a lake, as his eyes darkened to a menacing green. Lips pulled back into a threatening sneer and magic honed to a point, Sombra taunted his opponent, faking out and pulling back, edging him to come closer. The green knight was as emotionless as always. The only sign that he was actually paying attention to the fight was his deft movements and the fact that he would occasionally cock his head to the side. And then he moved, and Twilight had to double check to make sure he hadn't simply teleported. He appeared directly next to Sombra, weaving through the shadows and delivering a swift punt to his horn again. He moved again, leaving a blur where he was, and seemingly materialized on the other side of the room. His brow was knotted with determination as he took aim with his bow, firing with the same speed he'd used to move. Sombra's guard had only been dropped for two and a half seconds by the blow to his head, and that was already enough time for the knight to release his barrage. It was like a machine gun, firing so quickly and rapidly that the knight's arm disappeared from the sheer speed. They blocked out the sun in the numbers and no amount of shadow manipulation could place Sombra back into the shade. All he could do was throw his hoof in front of his face as the air around him was replaced with flying wood and steel. The constant 'twang' of the bow paused for a split second as the knight rushed forward again, his speed so great that he arrived at Sombra before his arrows did. Wasting not a single moment, he delivered a gut wrenching punch into Sombra's stomach, one that launched him into the air. An arrow stabbed into his back and pushed him forward, directly into the fist of the waiting knight. With another swing, the knight launched Sombra higher into the air, where another arrow forced its way into his back. Right back into the knight's attack. Finally, just a few feet from slamming their heads against the top of the building, the green knight switched it up and punched down. He and Sombra fell, one gasping for breath through the pain and blood and the other never faltering in his determined smirk, until they hit the ground. The foundations of the hall shook as the two forces collided, a physical shockwave blasting outward from the point of collision. With his job done, the green knight started to walk away slowly, dropping his bow as he did. Twilight's sighs turned to terrified screaming as she realised that Sombra was still alive. Weak knee'd and unsteady, but undoubtedly alive. The green knight hadn't noticed, Twilight had to warn him. Beating against the cage she'd been trapped in, firing her magic around randomly, nothing she did attracted the knights attention. Wearily, Sombra bent his head and took aim with his horn. This was his chance. And then a giant chest fell on his head. The knight didn't break stride as he turned around; ignoring the shocked, confused, angry and tired faces in the room. Twilight...Twilight simply shook her head. The magic holding her back remained in place, slowly degrading like a rotting bone into the air and preventing her from...she didn't know, congratulating the knight? Her exasperation reached a peak as the knight punched the lid of the chest open. An incredibly loud tune started to play, much, much too happy for what just happened, as bags of money and bits fell from the sky. The green knight, forgetting for a moment that danger he was still in, took this chance to frolic and dance in the rain of money, throwing fistfuls of it into the air carelessly. Still ignoring the changelings, the knight appeared at the top of Sombra's throne and with a single swift punch, cut the cocoon he was using as a back cleanly in half. Twilight stared on awed as the pony inside fell out, unharmed by the completely clean cut that went through the entire cocoon. Despite the fact that the pony's movements were tired and sluggish, it was amazing she was still conscious. She only got more amazed as she realised who it was. "Princess Luna?" Just as the words broke her lips, she found herself rudely shoved to the side by the red knight. Looking up from the ground, Twilight could only imagine what was going on. It was like a game of basketball. The red knight shot a glare at the green one, who passed it back to him. The red one glanced at the blue one, who traded it to the orange who stared back at the green. The green one looked down at the blue, and in response the blue one looked back at the red. A brief pass between the orange and red and finally, the 'ball' ended up in the red's court. With a group of slowly dissipating shadows stopping him from intercepting the green knight, all the red one could do was point. Focusing all his hate and general fury into a single finger, Twilight could almost hear what he was trying to say. "Green, if you kiss that princess, I swear I will murder you. Blue and orange will help me, they know what the rules are. No one liked you anyway, so move away from the princess." In response to this, the green knight gave him one final glance before leaning in, giving the sluggish Princess a kiss right on the lips. The shadows finally vanished as Luna came to. Her hooves waved out forward, slipping off the knight in her attempt to force him off. Sensing her distress, the green knight released her swiftly. Hitting the ground with a thud, Luna looked up just long enough to see the knight disappear again and throw an arm over the red knight's shoulder. To Twilight's surprise, instead of a violent beat down or a harsh pointing, the red knight simply sighed and started glancing around the room. Maybe they've done something like this before? A piercing shout grabbed the attention of everyone in the room. "Just who do you think you are? Kissing the princess without her permission! I should banish you from my land for that. You can not fathom the punishments I could inflict on you, my sister shall hear of this, just as soon as I rescue her from Canterlot. You can have my word. Your death will be neither swift nor painless. A thousand years of suffering and pain upon you, foolish green knight, for what you have done." Luna hovered down on graceful wings to face the knights, stopping halfway to greet the changelings. "I advise that you flee this place before I inflict the same punishments upon you, insects. Get out of my sight." Small swirls of dust were kicked up as the princess of the night landed. "Now, as for...you?" Luna looked around confused. There was no sign of the knights at all. Focusing on Twilight instead, Luna asked. "Um...where did they go?" "Don't you recognize them Luna?" "Yes yes, of course I do, where did they go?" Twilight pointed at the door. From across the hall, she could just make out three figures crawling through a hole they'd punched in the back door. "They just started sprinting as soon as you mentioned Canterlot. I think they intend to run there and save Celestia themselves." Luna just gawked at the two remaining knights. "But...but Canterlot is several hours away. Surely they don't intend to walk all the way?" Twilight could only shrug. "I need to make sure they don't hurt themselves. I hate to say it, but they seem entirely direction less. If they didn't have someone pointing the way to go they'd get lost in a straight hallway." she said, trotting hastily across the room to catch up with the knights. "Could you please help the ponies here while I'm gone? I promise, I'll save Celestia, but these ponies need your help more." Raising a hoof weakly at the last knight, Luna whispered, not sure he could hear her. "Wait...call me." And with that, Luna turned around; the giant goo coffins of the changelings opposing her. They must have gotten the entire population of Ponyville trapped. It would take ages to break them all out alone. Then again, she was no stranger to the ages. Lighting up her horn, Luna set to work. As the light of the sun eclipsed Twilight's body, she did a quick role call to double check where everyone was. Green knight was chasing one of Fluttershy's chickens through a tree, though whether he was holding back or not was a matter of debate, blue knight was attempting to flash freeze the same chicken, orange knight was digging more holes in the middle of the road and the red knight was simply ignoring all of them, his eyes set firm on the city ahead. Twilight sighed and prayed that Celestia give her the strength to put up with them until they were done. Just until the reached Canterlot, that's all the time she needed to hold out. Author's Note Yea, full agility will do that to a guy. And before anyone asks, no it wasn't the real Sombra. That guys dead as shit. Ain't nothing bringing him back.
Castle Crashing the Palace"Alright, everypony huddle roun...huddle roun...I said, everypony huddle...orange knight, if you don't stop swinging that sausage around, I will take it from you, now get over here!" Stopping for a moment, Twilight breathed in deeply. Getting the red knight to sit down for a minute had been easy. Red knight was the most rational, Twilight liked red knight. She figured that green knight would be the hardest, but a swift slap to back of the head by his blue friend had brought his attention back to Twilight. It had been convincing the orange knight to step down from his ride for a second so she could talk that had been the problem. Finally though, through much prodding and bribery in the form of tofu sandwiches, she'd amazingly found herself able to hold the knights attention for a brief moment. And she intended to use every second. Floating a stick past her head, Twilight sketched a small diagram into the dirt. "Alright, everypony listen. I know you want to charge down there and start doing...whatever it is that you guys do; I'm still not quite sure myself what it is, but you do it well, that's all that matters. Here's the deal though, Canterlot isn't just some small town set up on an empty plain. There's a sheer cliff drop on one side, an impenetrable wall of mountainous stone on the other, a moat, two sets of walls, several miles of street buildings and just for good measure, another wall built in it surrounding the palace. Add onto the fact that the city is nearly overrun with changelings and Chrysalis herself is there and we're really not looking at an easy fight." Glancing up, Twilight bit her lip in anger. All the knights except the red one had wandered off, distracted by absolutely nothing. It did little to mitigate Twilight's anger to see that the red knight was scratching the bottom of his chin and nodding softly. Slowly, he grabbed the stick out of the air, tapping it on the ground twice around the moat. The green knight materialized on his shoulders; sudden interest returning in the plan. Snatching the stick, he drew a crude four legged figure next to the moat. It wasn't a pony, ponies didn't have tails that big, so Twilight was at a lose for what it was supposed to mean. The stick was snatched off of him by the blue knight, who immediately set to drawing four squares on the back of the figure. And then it hit Twilight. It was a manticore. Rubbing her head, Twilight still didn't understand though. How was a manticore supposed to do anything? And then the orange knight appeared, scratching his symbol over the entire map of Canterlot. Turning away and blushing, Twilight trotted forward a bit. Ahead of her lay the path to Canterlot; a twisty turney path that ran down the side of the mountain until finally levelling out at the entrance to the city. Glancing behind her, Twilight sighed heavily. A quick wave of her hoof later, and the knights were already rushing past her, finally sure of the way they needed to go. Just before she stepped forward to catch up to them though, a pink hoof pulled her back. Looking up into the eyes of her sister in law, Twilight smiled nervously. "Twilight, I just...want you to be careful out there. Canterlot's a dangerous place now, you could get seriously hurt." Twilight kept up her grin. "I need to go, Cadence. These knights are...odd to say the least. If they don't have somepony around to open doors and tell them where to go next, they just fall apart. Somepony needs to be there for them." "Then let me go. I'm stronger than you, I can take your place. You say all I need to do is point the way, I can do that." Shaking her head, Twilight began to turn back around. If she waited too long, then she'd never catch up to the knights in time. "I'm sorry Cadence, but like you said, it's too dangerous. What would you do if something went wrong? The Crystal Kingdom would be left without a princess again, Shining would never get over you and I'd never get over that fact that I let you go. You have a duty as a princess to protect the crystal ponies and they are safe, your obligations end here. I have a duty as the bearer of magic to make sure that Equestria remains safe, and I intend to do so. Now let me go." Lingering for a second longer than it should; the hoof slowly moved off Twilight's back, letting her continue on her way. She didn't want to look back as she wandered down the path; it would be too painful for the both of them. So instead, she kept her eyes forward, never straying from their purpose and goal. Twilight just hoped she was making the right choice. Twilight rubbed her eyes to make sure she was seeing this right. Nope...still there and still utterly ridiculous. The orange knight was laying in the curve of the manticore's tail, his eyes glancing around in pure joy. The rushing river sat in front of them, too powerful to swim across and too long to attempt flying over. Or so Twilight had assumed. Looking over the faces of the knights gathered though, and watching the manticore rear backwards in preparation, it seemed like that was exactly what the knights intended to do. "No. No. I refuse this time. No. This is too wacky! That's not some kind of advanced catapult or tri-bucket, that's a manticore. That's one of the most dangerous creatures in the Everfree forest, you can't just turn it into some kind of throwing device. The river's too wide, it'll never throw you far enough. For your own safety, you will get down from there now. We'll find another way." The orange knight shuffled a bit, keeping his head down as he moved. Twilight let out her pent up breath when she realised that they were finally listening to her. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all. Perhaps she could still get out of here with her sanity. Swinging his sausage hand down, the orange knight slapped the manticore across the back powerfully. Twilight could barely shout out as the monster reacted on instinct, stinging forward hastily. A few second later, the orange knight flew through the air, thrown clear off the stinger. He sailed through the air like a graceful swan, perfect and free from his imprisonment on the ground. The very sight was nearly enough to make Twilight cry in joy. Looking around, it became clear that the knights shared the same sentiment. It was a perfect throw, sending him far over the water. Then the knights chuckled as he landed face first in the sand on the other side. Twilight was still reeling from surprise as the next knight loaded himself into the manti-pult. "But...but that shouldn't work!" Another quick slap, and the green knight was sent soaring to the other side of the moat. He hadn't even landed before the blue knight jumped up to do the same. "Stop that this instant; it doesn't make any sense!" The manticore reared back again, and Twilight was given a small glimpse of her assistant; just hovering in the air next to the knight. All he could do was shrug before the knight kicked down violently, sending him across the river to meet his friends. Twilight felt something touch her back; relaxing when she realised it was just the red knight. Almost sadly, he pointed at the manticore. It was at this point that Twilight was at a loss of words to say. It was one thing to have to put up with the shenanigans the knights got involved in, but to actually get involved herself? That was going too far. She'd had enough of a conflict at Zecora's without adding all this onto the top of it. Looking up at the face of the red knight though, it was rather a necessary evil. The red knight didn't seem like the kind of person who would involve himself in their crazy games either, but he always did. He complained and raged the whole way, but he did go along with them. And why? Because for all their insanity and lack of attention, they worked. Almost miraculously, they're schemes and plans worked. Gritting her teeth, Twilight moved closer to the manticore. She just needed to...go with it. Close her eyes and pretend everything was alright. An arm wrapped around her side as the red knight hoisted her into the air. Stopping to make sure she wasn't hurt or uncomfortable, he leapt up onto the manticore. He was determined, that much was clear from his stern stare, as he kicked the manticore in the side. A slight delay caused Twilight to weed her eyes open slightly before the sudden movement punched the wind out of her chest. Just when she was sure she'd managed to catch another breath from the rushing wind that forced air into the back of her throat, she landed, once again forcing her lungs to empty themselves. The sand beneath her feet felt wonderful as she honestly considered kissing the ground. She didn't like flying; leave flying to Rainbow Dash. A soft pat on the head was all she got to bring her back to earth as the knight moved on, rushing towards the walls set up just a few feet away. Well, that took care of the moat, at least. From somewhere behind her, a manticore roared; one continuous and loud roar that faded into the mountains as the beast returned to his home, most likely to shower heavily. A voice greeted the group as they walked closer to the wall; not yet close enough to attempt to pass them. Twilight wasn't sure how the knights intended to do so, but...she just needed to run with it. Surely they had a plan; a working plan, she just needed to trust them. "Well, hello down there." A strange snicker-like clicking rang out for a second before the voice continued. "Welcome to...to shining Canterlot, jewel of the world." Pulling her head up and scanning alone the top of the wall, Twilight locked onto a pair of changelings leaning over the edge. Twilight simply increased her pace; just trust in the knights. "I'm afraid we're in a bit of a lock down at the moment. Nopony's allowed in. Try...try coming back later, I'm sure we'll be able to...find you a nice comfortable cocoon." The changeling fought back a loud laugh with his hoof. It wasn't until Twilight was so close that she could touch the wall that she bothered to turn around. Just ignore the changelings, she was going to fix everything. The knights fell into formation, almost from sheer memory, as they caught up to Twilight at the base of the wall. How she'd managed to get ahead of them was a mystery, but that wasn't important. A series of short whispers wafted over the parapets of the wall as the two changelings talked, before eventually the same one from before stuck his head out again. "Come on, bugger off. We're busy. The city is closed. It is impossible to enter. There is no clear way to get into the premises. Get out of here already." The knights stared at the changeling on the wall, unblinking. "What are you deaf? Get out! Shoo! Were your parents both a cross eyed pony and particularly handsome rock? Leave. Le-eave!" There was no movement from either side. Sighing, the changeling pulled his attention away from the knights, just for a second. He searched around for a moment, eventually focusing on Twilight again. "Hey pony, are these...things with you? Get 'em out of here. Are you ignoring me? Hey purple pony, look at me!" Twilight really wanted to do what the changeling said, she really did. Look at him, that was, not get rid of the knights. She didn't think she even had the power to do that. At the moment though, she couldn't tear her eyes away from the absolutely brilliant plan that the knights were swiftly executing. It started slowly, almost unnoticeably. The blue knight took a step forward, before kneeling down on one knee. The knight behind him carefully stepped onto his back. The both of them then straightened back up, with one standing on the others perfectly flat head. Next the red knight bent over and, with a pretty impressive jump, the blue knight landed on his head, wobbling a bit as the three of them found their balance. All eyes were on the knights as the green knight bowed his head sadly and stood in front of the others. With a practised rhythm, the red knight climbed onto his head. The tower of knights wobbled again as it moved forward; all four of them holding their hands out to keep what little balance they could muster to stay upright. Swapping glances between each other, the changelings on the wall shrugged, argued and just generally tried to understand what was going on. "Uh...shouldn't we...like, push them over or something? They're nearly as tall as the wall itself, one of them might, you know, climb up here." "What, why? They're harmless. Obviously. Look, clearly they're some kind of circus performers, that's why they're dressed in distinctive colours and can do this totally sweet stunt. Seriously, do you have any idea how hard it is to stack four changelings on top of each other? It's not easy." "And how would you know this?" "That's not important, me and...uh, Click Clack got some friends together and tried it out one day." "You would spend time with Click Clack over me?" "No no no no, see, you were out on the whole Canterlot invasion thing. You couldn't have been involved even if you wanted to, you were busy beating up royal guards and kidnapping princesses." "Well yea, but still man. You couldn't have waited until I got back? You know we were kicked out by Cadence nearly instantly." "Look, I screwed up, and I'm sorry, that's what's important here. I'm sorry I didn't wait for you to go changeling stacking, are you happy?" "Yea, yea, you're right, I'm over reacting here. Give me a hug, man, I'm sorry." "No, I'm sorry, get over here." "I love you, Clicks." "Wait, what'd you say?" Peering over the top of the wall, the orange knight felt a glimmer of hope deep within his soul. He couldn't hurt such good friends, not when he himself had friends that were exactly the same. It just wouldn't be right. It would hurt him too deeply if something were to happen to his friends, and he knew it was the same for these changelings. Pulling himself up so he wasn't resting on the blue knights head any more, the orange knight slinked forward, sausage at the ready. Without a word or a noise to mark his presence, the knight applied light pressure to the back of the changeling's heads, sending them sprawling along the wall from the force of the strike. Glancing around once to make sure he was truly alone, the knight turned to the wall. Leaning himself just a bit further than normal, he grabbed the hands reaching up from below, and pulled. Through a combination of the knights pushing off the wall and the orange knight anchoring them in place, all four knights plus dragon orb managed to scale the wall safely. Twilight could only nod acceptingly. Trotting back a few steps so she could get a better view, Twilight flagged down one of the knights. "Umm, you haven't forgotten about me, right? I'm still down here! Take me with you!" Looking over the faces of his companions to gauge their reactions, the red knight snapped his fingers. Pointing further along the wall, the knights stared dumb-founded for a moment. Twilight couldn't even imagine what they saw that had actually caused them to stop for even a moment. Something dropped in Twilight's chest as they disappeared from sight, not even giving her the grace of telling her what to do next. Not that it wouldn't become apparent. The earth shook as something large and heavy fell several feet from where Twilight was standing. Turning suddenly, it didn't take Twilight long to realise what it was. A thick, slimy frog tongue. Tracing it back to it's origin, Twilight gawked at the strange beast sitting on the walls; four knights riding proudly on its back. It's yellow, buggy eyes moved around more than the knights did and it's green skin looked fairly out of place in the refined city of Canterlot, but that paled in comparison to the fact that the creatures long tongue was the stretching all the way down to greet her. The knights waved for a second, breaking Twilight out of her surprise. Swallowing her pride and sanitation, Twilight took a tentative step onto the frogs tongue. The wind blasted past her at an impossible speed yet again as the frog snapped her closer; depositing her on the wall instead of simply devouring her. She couldn't stop the shiver that ran through her spine as she felt the wet muck that had stuck onto the bottom her feet. Breathing in deeply, Twilight turned to face the knights; just in time to see the frog jump forward and throw them from its back. She offered a hoof out to them; slightly forced smile on her face. "Come on, one down, two to go." Twilight wandered alone down the main street of Canterlot. To her sides lay the signs of a great siege on the city. Boarded up windows lined her view as far as she could see, translucent green goo hung off the sides of buildings and deep hoofmarks were gouged into the dirt. Despite all this though, Twilight remained calm. Keeping her breath calm and steady, Twilight moved forward. Her ears spun forward as something buzzed through the air in front of her, then another, and another. The wind punched her in the face as the changelings landed; confident sneers on each of their faces. "Well well well, what's all this then? A little unicorn, travelling on her lonesome? That's just not right. Come with us, and maybe we'll give you a nice cocoon. No promises though." Twilight chuckled to herself. "No, I don't need a cocoon. If you could just point me to the palace, please, that would be very kind of you. I just have some business there I need to take care of." "Haha, how about no? Now how about you just come along quietly before we do things our way, and nopony needs to get hurt. We run this place now, so just...do as we say." "Haha, how about you point me to the palace?" "Alright seriously, stop that. I will hurt you, pony. Look at my face, this is not the face of some bright pink square headed pansy who hands out hamsters in his free time and throws magical rainbows at people because friendship is equal to or below magic, this is the face of a super serious business guy. So stop playing around, and we'll just get through this together. Except you'll end up in a feeding pod and we'll be the ones feeding, but it's the same deal." Twilight giggled excitedly. "Alright, let's do this your way." Stomping her hoof three times, Twilight had to fight to hide back her smile. "Now!" Her words echoed through the streets of the city for a minute, before the knights made themselves known. It had taken red several long minutes of non stop signing, but somehow, Twilight had finally agreed to go along with the plan. The sun darkened in the sky as the red knight leapt forward, jumping off the roof of one of the buildings to Twilight's right. Wind and thunder crackled in the air as he landed, legs spread and a single hand resting on the ground. Pushing himself back up, the world was lit up by a flash of lightning as he drew his sword and pointed it menacingly at the changelings. The green knight was next, dashing up from behind the changelings impossibly fast. From his point of view though, everything else was just slow. He made sure to give the head changeling a light tap to the side of head as he passed by, like an owner would give a bad dog, before ducking under his slow moving hoof and taking a place at Twilight's left. An explosion of ice and wind signalled the arrival of the blue knight as he burst into existence, drops of water floating off him and freezing in the air as he focused himself. The temperature of the street lowered from the simple preparation of his spells, each on designed to cause maximum frost to his opponent. And then the orange knight appeared, falling from the sky. With a tremendous clap, he collided with the ground face first, the rest of his body stretching backwards to greet him. A minute of confusion for both sides passed, before the knight over extended himself and fell onto his back. Twilight sighed as the knights around her dropped their guards. Red lowered his sword weakly, green just stared at the ground sadly and blue cradled his head. "Come on orange, really? Three times in a row? We've rehearsed the thing for crying out loud, you shouldn't be screwing this up. Look, all you have to do is drop from the sky, fire shooting out of your back like a jet pack and land in front of me. Is that so hard?" Twilight said, stopping her hoof angrily. "Um...maybe we should just...go? I think maybe...I mean, we really aren't the...uh, fighting changelings." Twilight pointed at the changelings hastily. "I'd recommend that. If you wouldn't mind, could you not tell anypony else about this? We're still trying to get it right, orange is just a slow learner. Oh, and we do actually need to know the way to the palace, thank you." Pointing further down the road, Twilight simply nodded. "I thought so, thank you. Now, if you don't mind us, we'll just be on our way. Back to positions, everypony, let's try this again." Staring as the knights hurried back to their places in the shadows, Twilight continued onward alone; fully content in her own safety and...maybe hoping for another chance to surprise the changelings, just a little. It seemed her hopes would have to rest for now, because slowly but surely, something new was gracing her ears. The sound of...music? She noticed the wall long before she noticed the source of the sounds. The second wall; the one that always sat between the high class who lived in the spires and the lower class who lived on the mountain. And at the moment, she needed to figure out how to get past it. Twilight zoned away from the wall for a second, scanning her surroundings. A pair of heavy wooden gates sat in front of her; signs of age wearing on its lumber. Along the top, the occasional changeling would rear its head, only to scurry back behind the thick stone walls. And dragging her eyes down to the ground, Twilight noticed everything else. A single speaker; easily several times larger than herself, set up and facing the wall. A multitude of wires ran down its back and disappeared into the houses and shops lining the street. Looking to her left instead, Twilight noticed another stand; like the one the speaker was on, only this one sat empty and useless. Turning back to the way she'd came, Twilight nearly tripped over the random pile of instruments strewn across the floor as she walked closer. "What...what is all this?" Dust kicked into her face and a hand was thrust under her nose as the knights jumped down to assist her. Giving a slight cough, Twilight jumped back to her feet. To her surprise, the knights were huddled together; their hands moving too fast for Twilight to keep track of. If she didn't know any better, she'd swore it looked like a game Spike used to play, what did he call it? Rock Paper Scissors? Finally, the knights straightened themselves and pulled themselves back to their full heights. With a simple wave of his hands, the red knight ushered Twilight closer. Breathing deeply and bracing herself, Twilight trotted over to the knight. At first, Twilight wasn't sure of what the knight wanted. He'd simply pointed at a particular spot further along the wall. Even if she had known what he wanted, even she needed a second to understand what she was even looking at. It looked as if someone had beaten a changeling to a pulp with a speaker. Thick green muck splattered up against the wall, and the ground and the buildings and the speaker and absolutely everything. She could barely make head or tail of the scene. That did little to stop the knight from continually motioning to the battle site, occasionally shaking Twilight violently. And then it hit her. "You want...the speaker?" The knight nodded hastily; taking the time to also point at the empty stand next to the gate. "I...guess? Should I just put the speaker on the base then? How is this going to do anything though?" It didn't reassure Twilight that the knight simply shrugged at her before motioning back at the speaker again. With a tired and true heavy sigh on her lips, Twilight carefully lifted the speaker out of the muck. She made especially sure not to get any of the green goo on herself; it would be nearly impossible to get it out. Twilight chuckled as she remembered Rarity was already coated in the stuff; ah, she would never hear the end of it from her friend. Focusing back on her job, Twilight slammed the speaker down on the base. To Twilight's shock, some kind of pale blue magic rose from the base, snapping wires and cords into the speaker without any help from Twilight. Well, at least she didn't need to set it up; she didn't even know how. Twilight turned around suddenly, searching for the red knight before realising that he wasn't even near her any more. "I still don't see how this does...anything." Twilight really needed to stop talking when a great revelation was about to be relieved to her. Making a note to do so less often, Twilight took the brief second she still had left to cover her ears. And the knights, wearing the entire assortment of instruments on the ground, started to play a strangely familiar song. The ground shook from the sudden explosion of sound that launched out of the speakers. The music was so loud that Twilight had to close her eyes before the vibrations rocked them right out of her head. She couldn't hear the sounds of the changelings on top of the wall fly backwards from the beat or the door creak dangerously from the force suddenly being blasted into its side. The knights though, the knights weren't even fazed. Green beating the magic out of the drums he'd set up, Red strumming his guitar into oblivion, Blue classically playing on the viola, Spike on the most important instrument, the triangle, and Orange taking the lead, his head pressed against a microphone. Well, it's the thought that counts anyway. It wasn't enough though. Fighting her way through the pain, Twilight managed to steal a glance at the gate; powerful and unmoving. The music had stripped away a layer of wood, but it wasn't enough. They needed more power! They needed to be...louder. Twilight knew she was going to regret this. Using the last ounce of her sanity and magic, she fumbled around with the aura that was her magic until she found what she was looking for. A faint prayer of forgiveness to Celestia later, and Twilight turned the dial up to eleven; just as the knights finished their song and moved onto the next one. It started out slow, with a simple strum of music from the blue knight. Even that nearly silent chord was enough to shake the buildings of the street. And when the rest of the knights joined in, Twilight couldn't even hear herself laugh as she recognized the song. The gates never even stood a chance. With a crack that was barely audible over the deafening sound of the music, the gates exploded inwards; shards of wood flying off the lock. Through the gap of the wall, Twilight could see changelings fly through the air; each one trying its hardest to stay where it was despite the sudden and unexpected noise that had ripped their ears to shreds. And then everything went dark for a second. Twilight waved her hoof in front of her face, still not seeing anything. Waves of panic began to shot through her as she fumbled around in the dark, until everything went silent. All she could hear was the blood rushing through her head and a constant flat ringing. It took a moment, perhaps a bit longer than she had, but slowly, her vision returned to her. To her surprise, the knights were already moving on. Shedding their instruments and throwing their weapons back onto their backs, they walked deeper into the barren city. If anything had survived the onslaught, it certainly didn't make itself known as the knights inched down the street. Twilight waited another moment for her hearing to return. It did, but that damn ringing was still there too; just sitting in the background grinding behind her ears. Hopefully it wasn't permanent, she couldn't imagine having to live like this, it would drive her mad. Yawning to pop her ears out, Twilight hurried after the knights. Only one more gate stood between them and the princess now. Only one more wall until she could finally be free from these nonsensical and quite frankly insane creatures. Theatres and high end shops passed her as she rushed to catch her protectors. It wasn't that hard to find where they'd went; usually it was a straight line and marked with the twitching bodies of changelings. Or it was, until the bodies suddenly stopped and Twilight found herself truly alone. For the first time since entering the city, Twilight felt scared. For the first time, she didn't have the protection of the knights behind her. The sudden change was enough to make Twilight's head spin. Nothing seemed right, everything seemed too big or small. She tried to scream as something jumped out at her from one of the alleys between buildings. Only a small 'pip' managed to get out before something was shoved over her mouth, cutting off her shout suddenly. Next, her legs were swept out from under her and she crashed to the ground; dragging across the white stone path until she was in the alley. The magic she was gathering on her horn faded the instant she finally got a look at her attacker. Or rather, her friend. "Red knight! What's going on, why did we stop going forward? Why are you hiding in the alley? What's happening?" Rolling his eyes, the red knight softly grabbed the edges of Twilight's head; poking it out into the street. Removing one of his hands, the knight pointed further down the street. Twilight searched, and for a moment couldn't see what the problem was, until, at the edges of her vision, she saw it. At least four blocks ahead of them was the final gate. The path to the palace winded into oblivion on the other side of that brilliant wooden door. Pulling her eyes down though, Twilight figured that they would need to figure out how to get past the changelings first. Letting herself get pulled back into the alley, Twilight spun around to face the knights. "Alright, I assume there's a reason you're not just charging in there like a group of barbarians. What is it?" "The door only opens outwards. You and I know this. Unless somepony's on the other side to open it for us, it's impossible to get in. And I don't think there's going to be any more speakers set up, that seemed like a one time thing." The shock of having someone reply to her dried up quickly once she realised it was just boring old Spike speaking. Luckily, like a fly that simply refused to leave her alone, the shock returned when Spike finished speaking. "But don't worry. The five of us are going to use...stealthy ninja techniques." Twilight lowered the hoof from her head and placed it back on the ground. Dragging her head back up though, Twilight decided she hadn't done enough cradling just yet and put it back; occasionally shaking her head from side to side. "Spike, are the knights wearing...moustaches?" "Yep." "Moustaches they drew on themselves while I wasn't looking?" "Yep." "And this is their definition of stealth?" "Yep." Twilight sighed. "Fine. Pass me the marker; lets do this." Floating the open pen over to herself, Twilight was able to get a good look of the new and improved stealth knights. The red knight had crudely scribbled a bushy moustache into the middle of his head. Blue had added onto his design by stretching it down the side of his head and combining it with the beard he had also drawn on himself. Green had kept it simple; two curled lines that barely reached the green of his head and orange had given himself a unique design of his own, one that bore a shocking resemblance to the symbol on his chest. Twilight was in no mood for shenanigans and simply swiped under her nose hastily, not caring what it looked like. And with that done, the knights charged into the street, waving their weapons above their head and making a straight beeline for the gate. But stealthy, like a ninja. "Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it." "What do you mean 'it?'" "I mean, we go through all this effort and fighting and deceit and things just for a decent meal and sometimes I wonder if there isn't an easier way." "Well, there isn't." "But what if there is? Ponies aren't an angry race; we attacked them. They live in peace in little towns and things, maybe we can do the same. If we just...live with them, maybe we can get our love naturally without having to siphon it out of them like Disney morning villains." "Live with them? Clicks, that sounds like...heresy." "No no no no, nothing like that, if we just made peace at least, maybe we could research other, less violent, ways to feed ourselves." "That sounds extra heretical. Do I need to report someone to the higher ups?" "You wouldn't do that, we're mates. Now look alive, I see...oh great, Click Clicks doing that thing again." "Really? Oh mother." "Just...I dunno, play along." Twilight trotted closer to the changelings. She could feel the sweat running down her neck. There was no way this was going to work, it was impossible. It made no sense. Everything made no sense, her world was full of nonsense. The knights had graciously chosen to wait for her; evidently because they needed someone to bluff the guard. Swallowing nervously, Twilight tried to do exactly that. "Um, greetings senor! I am...um, Twilight...Clicks. Twilight Clicks. How are you this fine evening? Suppressed any ponies recently? Because I would know all about that, being a changeling myself; yep, suppressing and imprisoning all day every day." "Not really, I was thinking of visiting the opera later today. You could hear the music from here, I bet it's amazing. You ever been to one before?" Twilight could feel a bead of sweat forming on her neck. "Um, no. I can't say I have." The guard shrugged. "Meh, your loss. What do you want?" "The...the changeling queen needs our help back in the palace, since the six of us are clearly changelings and she knows who we are. And as changelings, which is what we are, we have no choice but to listen to her call and try to assist her as she asks us to." "And the queen needs you because...?" "Yes, we are changelings." Twilight froze for a second. "I mean, the queen needs our help because...because...she's really hungry?" The air around Twilight seemed to increase in weight as both of the guards stared at her. "The queen is...hungry?" The sweat on Twilight's neck was like a cold finger running down her back. "Ye...yes. Yes she is." Thinking quick, Twilight yanked the sausage out of orange knight's hand, hovering it in front of her. "She personally requested we bring this...thick, slimy sausage to the palace immediately. She has quite the craving for sausage at the moment." "Um...Click Clicks, I don't think she meant that kind of..." "Are you questioning me? Do you really want to risk angering Chrysalis because you were worried about specifics? That seems like a bad decision." The guard rubbed the bridge of his nose. "But why do all of you need to go? This is a level three invasion, you need a special permit just to look at Chrysalis at the moment. There's no way I can safely let all six of you through." "Are you implying that Chrysalis didn't ask for all six of us, specifically? Because once she hears of this--" "Once she hears of this, she can come down and pick the rest of you up herself. For now, only you and..." The guard scanned around for a second, before resting on the orange knight. "You and the changeling with the sausage can go through. Everyone else stays here." Twilight swallowed. "But...but we need all of us together." "Why?" Looking over the faces of the changelings again, Twilight quickly back peddled on her decision. "No, no, you're right. Only us two, makes sense. As changelings, we can understand the need for caution. Come on, Orange, lets go deliver our thick sausage to the queen." The orange knight took a hasty step to her side; the gates swinging open with a tired groan. Twilight couldn't help but glance back at the knights. She nearly had to fight the urge to laugh as she realised that red knight was the only thing stopping them from simply beating their way through the changelings now that the door was open. Maybe it was the fact that her head was spinning from the fact that the moustaches worked, or the fact that the red knight looked especially confident at the moment or perhaps it was one of many small things, but she knew at that moment that they weren't going to rush in and save her. She and orange were in this alone. Trotting forward along the path she'd walked a million times before, Twilight and her knight in orange painted armour walked towards the palace. Back at the gate, the changeling guard inched closer to the knights; smiling happily. "Has anyone ever told you that the four of you have excellent moustaches? How do you do it?" "This is it." Twilight said the words slowly; letting their meaning sink in. This is what it had all lead up to. From the darkness of her basement to the green glow of the town hall to the dusty path leading towards Canterlot to the mountain pass to Canterlot to the palace. Such a long journey, made longer by the fact that she was travelling with a group of attention deficient children, but looking back...Twilight wouldn't change a thing. It had been crazy, it really had. Between the sandwiches, the gardening and the general bad assery, it was impossible to say anything else. And now this was it. It all ended now. On through this open door was the reason she needed the knights at all. Chrysalis. The name itself was enough to run a shiver down Twilight's spine. Such a creature of evil and spite and deception, truly there was no mercy left for a such a creature. Summoning up her remaining her courage, Twilight reached forward to enter the palace, only to find that the orange knight had rushed in while she was thinking and she hadn't even noticed. Well, that was that then. Chasing the knight into the palace, Twilight noted how strangely empty it was. There was just...nothing as far as she could see. No goo, no glowing moss, no changelings, no ponies, no cocoons, just nothing. A completely empty palace. The sun shined through the stained glass windows as the two trotted down the hallway; casting a rainbow of colour on the ground in front of them. In the empty silence of the castle, Twilight started to hear something. Hey Celestia, Celestia, give me a hoof bump. Come on, just a little one. All you need to do is move your hoo...oh that's right, you can't! Haha, you can't, because I'm the winner now." Twilight subconsciously increased her pace until she was quickly outpacing her escort. In response to this, the knight squeezed his weapon tighter as another voice echoed down the hall. "I have faith that the elements will be able to stop you Chrysalis. Your victory is but a temporary phase; one you would do to enjoy before it passes." "The elements? Do you still believe the elements can stop me? Maybe they'll do it the same way they did at the wedding! Oh wait, they didn't stop me at the wedding, my mistake. Face it Celestia, there is nothing left alive that can defeat me." Stopping for but a brief moment at the end of the hallway, Twilight threw her weight against the door; flinging it open violently. "I object!" From where she was standing, Twilight couldn't see Celestia. The very same door she'd kicked open a few seconds ago was blocking her view and hiding her mentor. Chrysalis however, had the better sense to stand in the middle of the room. The rainbow light from the windows shined off her pitch black coat back onto the ceiling; that of it that wasn't caught in her swamp green mane or menacing green eyes. Focusing on Twilight almost immediately, Chrysalis turned. "What?" Twilight took an embarrassed step backwards. "I uh...object to your claim." Chrysalis' pupils shrunk to slits as she recognized her. "Well well, Princess, it appears we have a guest for our meeting. None other than your esteemed pupil herself." Twilight could hear something suddenly struggle out of her vision. "Twilight was it? I wasn't expecting you to rush up here to your Princess' aid. Leaving your friends to their fates; that's not a very kind thing to do. Fluttershy would be ashamed of you." Twilight grinned. "My friends are just fine, Chrysalis. They're never looked better. I'm not looking forward to cleaning all the goo off them, but that's just a thing I need to do now." "You're bluffing. I know for a fact that we captured them not a few hours ago." "Oh, don't get me wrong, it was a very long few hours. Feels like a few days on my end, what with all the walking I did to get here. But I didn't come here alone, Chrysalis, so I am going to give you one warning to leave Canterlot and never return before I force you to." Chuckling to herself, Chrysalis took a confident step forward. "I don't know how you got here, Twilight, but the elements won't work on me. They're trinkets; nothing more than shiny baubles compared to me. Nightmare wanted to lose, and Discord was a fool. I don't make mistakes, I don't lose to fancy gems set in gold. So how about you leave, and never return, and I might just make a note not to send changelings to hunt you afterwards." Twilight's grin only got bigger. "Elements? I never mentioned the elements, why would you think I brought the elements? My friends and the elements are safely back in Ponyville, silly." "Then who...?" "Something stronger than I ever imagined. A force since the beginning of time, something that has always protected the world, from you, and Discord, and Sombra and any other monster that thought they could prey on innocent ponies without consequence. Something that, for all my life as lain dormant at the foot of this palace, simply waiting for the day that somepony like you would come along and try to take whatever you want." Twilight paused for a second. "So I will say this once, Chrysalis. Leave. Leave and never come back. Take your changelings, take your weapons, take your goo, take everything that you've brought with you into Celestia's kingdom and go. Get out of my sight. Because if you don't, I will destroy you. No ifs, no buts, no maybes. I will destroy you, Chrysalis. And I will drive your changelings from this land myself and I will destroy them as I go. And I will destroy everything and everypony that even so much as thinks of reviving the hive, from now until the kingdom itself crumbles into dirt. And even then, I will use that dust to bury every trace of your existance from the land of Equestria, until your name is not even the name mothers tell to their foals to scare them into bed. And I will do this, because my friend is one who is strong, and smart, and powerful and above all, just barely restrained." Twilight stepped forward, until she was just a foot away from Chrysalis. "All it takes is a single word, and you're undone. So what's your decision?" "And what would this word be?" Was all Chrysalis asked. "Now!" Twilight's shout echoed down the hall behind her, stirring the ancient creature to action. Pulling his magma forged shield off his back and bringing his weapon to bare, the knight charged forward. His footsteps were like claps of thunder, resounding throughout the walls of the palace; a challenge to his opponent. Reaching the door, the knight leapt in, ready to fight. Only to trip at the last second, slide about six feet across the ground on his face and simply hang upside down on the ground for five seconds, before collapsing onto his stomach. Twilight pursed her lips. "Come on Orange, we practised this! I gave a cool speech and everything! No, no, this is not acceptable, you will go back up that hallway and do it properly. Then we will defeat Chrysalis, save Celestia and everything will be fine again, just like the plan said it would. Now move!" Twilight said, pointing back down the hallway. The knight started to move, until a terrified mumbling started to fill the room. "No no no no, not you. Anyone but you, please. I killed you, I saw it happen! You can't be here, I finally got rid you!" Chrysalis shouted, back-peddling down the room. "You...you don't even know what you've done, Twilight! What you've released into the world! You think I'm a monster? Look at yourself, you've singly handedly brought back the most dangerous monster in all of history. I can't even...you can't make me fight them. Not again." "Chrysalis, considering this blinking door is in the way, can you please tell me that my student didn't do what I think she did?" "Haha, Celestia, of course! Perfect!" Focusing for a brief second, Chrysalis winced as a bolt of green energy flew across the room, striking something out of Twilight's view. With a sinking feeling though, Twilight knew that there was only one thing she could have been aiming at. With a sudden scream that tore Twilight's heart out, the movement from behind the door stopped and Chrysalis continued. "Celestia, you will stop them for me. Maybe you can save me a few minutes, if you're lucky. And if they take turns beating on you. Good luck." And with that, she vanished; a flash of green and a ring of soot marking where she had once been standing. Hurriedly, Twilight rushed into the throne room. She didn't know what to do first. Celestia needed her help, but Chrysalis was escaping and if she got too far it would be too late to stop her but if she went after here than Celestia was in danger and she couldn't let that happen but she needed to, she had no choice. With a heavy thump, the door behind her swung closed; trapping her and the knight in the room. And revealing Celestia in the process. The princess' eyes flashed a dark green as she struggled against her bonds, trying desperately to rip her legs free from the goo encasing them to the ground. Twilight could hardly recognize her. Her normally white coat had sunken to a dull grey, her mane had darkened to a sick green; patchy and full of holes and her horn seemed blunted and twisted in the light. The wind kicked up around her as she spread her wings suddenly; feathers falling off her sickly frame. "Twilight...run!" Celestia growled the words out, barely able to voice them in the first place. Then she attacked. A single bolt of magic, travelling faster than Twilight could see. One moment she was standing up facing her mentor, the next she was lying on the ground; the orange knight standing over her. Black marks dotted his shield from where Celestia had kept firing, but he didn't seem to care. Steeling himself, the orange knight took a careful step forward. Impact after impact slammed into him, but neither side showed any signs of tiring. Beams of pure white and yellow flashed into existence and left just as fast as the two forces inched closer. And then the shield snapped in half. Twilight felt like the most useless pony in the world as Celestia's assault continued; tearing into the knight mercilessly. With nothing but a brief pause, Celestia fired one final volley, stronger than the others. The knight never stood a chance as the force sent him flying backwards onto Twilight. He landed heavily, not moving. Everything was moving too quickly for Twilight. She...she didn't understand. The knight wasn't moving, but that wasn't right. The knight couldn't die, he was a knight! He was supposed to be the hero, to save the day, to be the strongest. Twilight thought...she thought they were unbeatable. This wasn't right, this wasn't right at all. This wasn't supposed to happen, it couldn't be happening. Twilight looked up, away from the knight, straight down the length of Celestia's horn. Slowly, she got to her feet. "Well? What are you waiting for? Get it over with, shoot me already!" A flash of something went over Celestia's face. Regret? Hesitation? Mercy? Twilight didn't have clue; didn't even care. It was all over anyway. If Celestia could beat one of the knights while not even moving, what chance did the others have once she broke free? "Shoot me, Celestia! Equestria is done for anyway, so do it already!" Being the element of magic, Twilight considered herself an expert on the subject. All her life she had felt it; the ebb and flow of the magic around her, it was nearly a part of her at this point. So when she felt the magic in the room disappear; pulled towards Celestia's horn, she knew it wouldn't take too long. Maybe it would be painless, just a quick prick on the skin before total oblivion. It was certainly better than some of the alternatives. Just like she assumed she would, she felt the attack before she heard it. The air around her heated up for a whole second before Celestia released her magic with a crack. Twilight couldn't bear to watch it happen and closed her eyes tightly. A second loud crack caused her to open her eyes hastily again. She was...alive. As far as she could tell, the attack hadn't hurt her. A deep joy filled her heart, until he actually realised why she wasn't hurt. The red knight had come to her aid. Twilight didn't know how, but he had. And currently, he was the only thing standing between her and the mind controlled goddess. With one arm thrust forward to counter Celestia, he half turned towards Twilight. He was trying to say something, Twilight knew it, but she just couldn't figure it out. He'd point at the fallen knight, and back to his own face before pointing back down again at his friend and changing it by tapping his chest rhythmically. What did he want? "I...I think he's a little too far gone for CPR, Red." The red knight blocked another volley and simultaneously punched himself in the forehead. He simply pointed faster, trying to convey his meaning more clearly. "He's gone, Red. I can't...it won't do anything." A loud clang echoed through the room as the knight slammed his head against his own shield. Pausing for a moment, he turned back around, waving his arm downward to show how calm he was. Or how calm he wished he was. He tried again, this time simply pointing at Twilight and staring. At this point, she wasn't sure whether it was the heat of the room of the heat of his glare that made her uncomfortable. Leaning over the knight, Twilight wasn't sure what to do. She moved a hoof over his face, searching for a mouth or a hole or something. She needed something to do CPR with. "I can't there's...there's no mouth or anything." It was like the time Spike tried to take up the drums in the throne room; just a repeated symphony of clangs and noise as the knight beat himself over the head. With each self inflicted attack, it was almost as clear as if it were punctuated. "Just. Do. The. Damned. C. P. R. Twilight." Twilight panicked for a bit and placed her hooves on the knight's chest. What was she supposed to do, just push down? That's not how CPR worked! You needed air, and blood and other important details like that, you couldn't just beat on the patient like a bowl of salad. Words from before bubbled up from the past to greet her. Just trust the knights. They haven't lead you wrong yet. Breathing in deeply, Twilight did only what she could. She tried to mimic the same rhythm from before; a swift one, two, three, four. The more she worked though, the more she was sure it wasn't doing anything. The knight was showing no sign of change. Her heart skipped a beat as half a shield flew past her face; embedding itself in the tiled floor. She threw herself to the ground on reaction; directly on top of the orange knight. And then he got back up. Like so much she'd already experienced, it was surreal. For a second, the knight was under her; completely unmoving, and then he was standing over her; arm poised straight forward and sausage flying through the air. It had barely left his grasp before he rushed forward blindly, not caring about the danger around him. A sickening smell hit Twilight's nose. It smelled like burning flesh, or perhaps cooked meat. She hated it either way, it was a disgusting smell. Fighting through that though, Twilight looked up just in time to see yet another example of why the knights were considered the best. By some miracle of luck, the orange knight's, now fully cooked, sausage had somehow managed to spear itself perfectly down the length of Celestia's horn. Her magic wavered and built around the base of the meat, but with no release against the insulator of the sausage, she was essentially helpless. And the two knight walked towards her slowly; a swift fist bump being exchanged between them. Celestia struggled to no avail as Twilight could only watch on. She wasn't sure what the knight's were planning; perhaps they knew something Twilight didn't? Maybe they knew how to bring Celestia back to her regular state of mind. Any hope of that disappeared with a bang though, as the plug keeping Celestia helpless exploded in a flash of heavenly light. It happened before any person in the room could react; a single beam shot forward aimlessly, more of a by product to Celestia's freedom than an actual attack. All that mattered though was the fact that it hit the red knight. Time seemed to slow down as he flew backwards; propelled by the force of the bolt. He bounced along the floor, once, twice, and lay still. Twilight was too scared to go to his aid, what if Celestia fired at her again? Another loud crack signified that Celestia had attacked again, this time at the orange knight. And as the fire flew towards him; impossibly slow yet somehow faster than Twilight could respond to, something changed in the knight. No sword, no shield, no potions or bows or sandwiches, just a knight; in his most pure and original form. And somehow, something changed. His brow bent down; a look of extreme anger appearing on his face. The dirt and mud marring his body seemed to evaporate as the bolt came closer, shining him the light of the glass windows. His fingers; heavily encased in his thick gauntlets, clicked together, following a rhythm only he could her. Straightening himself and destroying his slouch, the knight raised his hand out in front of him. Celestia's magic hit him head on; straight into the palm of his hand. And he didn't falter, or fall. Applying his beat to the world, the knight moved back, pulling the magic along with him. It was a single line of magic trailing of his hand as he spun. The ground nearly knocked against his arm as he braced himself yet again. Nearing the end of his spin, the knight willed the magic bundled in his hand; twisting it to his own means. And by the pure force of focused will, by Celestia's grace, Twilight swore she saw it change. A great inferno, the likes of which had never before been seen within the palace. Flames whiter than the sun burst forth from the orange knight's hand; spraying forward in a V towards Celestia. The very air around her was replaced with fire in an instant; burning off her bonds and her magic and Chrysalis' magic and even somehow managing to singe her mane; intangible as it was. By the time it was over; with only a few licks of melted stone and burning tapestries remaining, the knight rushed forward. He crouched down at the last moment, catching Celestia mid-fall and lowering her to the ground slowly. And with all the experience of a Spanish dancer, he leaned in for the kiss. It wasn't long by any definition, nor would it be anything to write about, but it happened, and that's how it went. Pulling himself back, the orange knight stood back up; glancing around the room. Celestia decided she'd rather keep lying on the ground until the world stopped spinning. "Orange knight, we really can't keep meeting like this. Surely there is a better way of introducing yourself besides drowning me in hell-fire and stealing a kiss before I notice?" The orange knight ignored her as he walked to his friend. Brethren before Wenches and all that. Twilight, content that the two knights could take care of each other, rushed to her teacher aid. "Celestia! Are you alright? That...that looked painful. Are you sure you're not hurt, I could get Spike to bring some water or...or--" "I assure you, Twilight, I am quite fine. I've been meaning to take a bath for a while now; the knight was simply helping me with that. There is no cause for alarm." "But...but the fire, and the fighting and all the changelings and Chrysalis...Chrysalis! Chrysalis is still here, Celestia, you have to stop her before she summons the whole army against us!" Celestia groaned. "I'm afraid I won't be able to do that at the moment. I'm not as...fit as I used to be. But it should be no problem, turn around Twilight." With a confused smile, Twilight turned around. The knights were gathered behind her, all four of them. And with them, the same look of direction-less confusion they carried around like a burden. "They need a leader, Twilight. A knight is nothing unless he has a noble voice behind him telling him what to do. Without one, they become lost and easily misguided towards evil. Be that noble voice, Twilight. Lead them to Chrysalis and finish this. Drive her from my kingdom without regret, for your actions are noble and right and your voice is one of reason." Twilight spun around quickly. "But...but I don't even know where she went! She could be anywhere, there could be thousands of changelings waiting for us when we do find her! Where do I even begin?" Celestia chuckled. "Chrysalis no doubt fell back to protect the one thing that's important to her. At the top of the obligatory tower that every palace must have, somepony waits for you. You specifically, Twilight. The entrance is behind my throne, now go. Enter the tower, defeat Chrysalis, save the final princesses and be the hero." Twilight still had dozens of thoughts buzzing through her head. The final princess? Entrance behind the throne? Voice of reason? Waiting for her? Who was waiting for her, what did it all mean? Before she could question Celestia further though, a tap on her shoulder told her it was time to go. The knights were growing restless, Chrysalis was increasing in power and time was running out. Standing up and facing the secret door behind the throne, Twilight motioned for the knights to follow her. She didn't claim to understand what Celestia was talking about; that was beyond her. What she did know was that Chrysalis had hurt her friends. Her friends, and so many others. She felt a single tear form as she remembered the fate of the fluffy bunnies of Wuvy-Doovy Smoochy Land. Well no more. Now was the time to take a stand. Now was the time to end it all. Author's Note This chapter is worth it, if only because I can finally use the word 'manti-pult' in context. Well, surprisingly, I had to edit this chapter quite a lot. One to avoid favouritism and two to avoid it being completely unreadable, so...yea! Go me! Also, another coin toss in this chapter, between the Can Can and the Castle Crashers Theme. I think I made the right choice. Coming up next: Princess! Fighting! Magic! Friendship! And an irrational amount of words.
Castle Crashing the TowerA layer of dust flew upwards into Twilight's face as she forced the door open. It creaked loudly as it swung; years since it was last opened. But that couldn't be right...Celestia had said someone was waiting for her. There was no other entrance to this tower, so unless the pony never left their perch, it was impossible for someone to be in there. A brief scan of the stairs inside did little to restore her confidence. Torches, long since burnt out to blackened stumps, were embedded into the wall with rusted metal holders. The dust and shadows from within seemed to mix and mingle into a deep mist that threatened to obscure Twilight's vision as she stepped inside. The light she summoned from her horn hardly made a dent in it. And something seemed off about the whole deal, like a thing unseen was lurking just out of vision. She could feel it, like a tingle beneath her skin. "Do we really need to go in there, Twi? May...maybe some of the guard is still around to help us." Spike asked as he conveniently floated to Twilight's side. "What would the guard do? We already have what I can only equate to an army coming with us, no need to endanger other ponies." "You really think it will be dangerous?" "This is Chrysalis we're talking about, give her enough love and she could take down Celestia. We just need to be careful, Spike. Careful and safe." Turning around and stopping halfway, Twilight cursed herself. Why did she keep turning around, the knights were always in front of her. Now that she'd opened the door, they'd probably already rushed forward and left her behind. Which is why she was surprised to see them out of the corner of her eyes, still standing behind her. With a confused gait, Twilight turned around, weakly motioning at the door. "Oh, you...uh, waited for me. I didn't expect that, sorry. Shall we go than? I'll lead the way." Stepping back and pulling her weight until she was facing the door, Twilight took a careful step inside. The stone beneath her hoof was cold, deathly cold and the dust seemed to make everything quieter the deeper she walked. It was disorientating to say the least. Her courage returned to her as she glimpsed the outline of the knights behind her, always willing to follow her to the ends of the earth. As she walked though, higher and higher into the sky, with nothing but the light of her horn and the occasional broken window to guide her, she couldn't help but wonder. What could possibly be waiting for her up here? What had Celestia meant when she said someone was waiting for her specifically? No one had lived up here for years, that much was obvious. No pony would let their house fall into such disarray, it was just unthinkable. So who then? A pegasus that could avoid the walk up the stairs? Or a unicorn that could simply teleport to the top? Or maybe the creature simply lived at the top and never came down. Twilight had no idea, who in the light of the moon could be waiting for her? A dim light shined down from the stairs in front of her and Twilight increased her pace. She needed to know who was up there. Twilight stopped in front of the wooden door blocking her way. Behind her, she could hear the knights thump to a stop too; unable to continue even if they wanted to. There was something about this door that Twilight couldn't pick out, like someone was constantly shooting magic out of it. She hadn't seen something like this since...Sombra's door in the crystal kingdom. It was nearly certainly a trap, she knew that much. A trap like that could cause untold agony and pain to whoever set it off; she needed to handle this carefully and humanely. "Spike, you go first." "What, why do I have to go first?" Twilight sighed. "Because Chrysalis has rigged the door with...something, and out of the six of us, you're the least likely to be hurt if hit by a sudden explosion of magic. Do you really want me to go in and risk injury when it's perfectly safe for you to go first?" "I...guess that makes sense?" No one said anything as Spike slowly gravitated towards the door, his feet never once touching the ground. His hands rested on the door silently until he finally gathered the courage needed to throw it open; bracing himself for any dangerous feedback or traps. Pain exploded across Twilight's eyes suddenly, and she reeled backwards as if she was slapped. She couldn't feel her magic around her, couldn't get it gathered together in her horn. It was still there, she could hear her magic twirling and twisting in front of her, but she couldn't control it. She panicked slightly, fighting for control, but it didn't work. She started to feel a pull on the end of her head, something was willing her forward, but she wouldn't have that. Taking a step forward and throwing all her brain power into seizing back control of her magic, Twilight nearly sighed in relief when it returned to her. Fighting through the fog of darkness obscuring her eyes, Twilight pushed forward. She'd be lying if she said the sudden magical attack on her hadn't scared her, but she didn't have time to focus on that. She needed to keep pushing forward until she found Chrysalis. "Um, Twilight...we might have a problem." Poking her head in the door after Spike, Twilight could only nod in agreement slowly. "Yes, we might have a problem." The scene inside the room was...difficult to describe, to say the least. It was an illusion, there was no doubt of that, but that didn't make it any less dangerous. Illusions weren't normally dangerous in the first place, but Chrysalis had a talent with illusions; who's to say she hadn't developed a way to make them slightly more real? A sudden hot wind blowing her face was enough to convince her that, real or not, she'd prefer not to get to injured if she could help it. Glancing in further and spinning her head round, Twilight noted that the door they were stepping out of had no back. It was just a door built into the air, like someone had anticipated exactly this would happen. In fact, there were no walls around her; or roof, or anything she'd expected to see. An angry dark sky glared down at her as she took another tentative step forward. In front of her was a 'bridge,' though she used the term loosely, of black, scorched rock. Walking to the end of the bridge to her right, Twilight's face paled as she stared down. A lava lake. They were in the middle of an active volcano. An actual, active, magma and smoke firing volcano. The sound of foot prints behind her prompted Twilight to turn around and notice the knight's walking out of the door. Twilight swallowed nervously. "Chrysalis must be trying to slow us down by placing these illusions in our way. If I'm correct, the illusion should disappear once we get to the door on the other side of this bridge. Just...don't step in anything dangerous. Just because this is an illusion doesn't mean we can't be hurt. I could go into a long rant about the specifics and magic behind everything here, but we don't have the time. Let's just get through this quickly." The knight's kicked dust up into her face as they rushed past her; the word to go being all they needed to begin. Twilight could only watch as they shrunk into the distance. Before she could catch up to them though, a voice ripped through her mind, echoing amongst the confines of her head. "The knights started out as a force of good, in the beginning. Silent in mouth and strong of body, the four of them defended the land from all that would seek it or its inhabitants harm. They were true in their goal and incorruptible in their power, a force of nature more than a group of simple creatures. But, you need to know the full story Twilight; not just what Celestia has told you. And there is much to learn, so hurry along now, I'll set out a table of tea for you at the top of the tower." Twilight shivered as the words faded into the air around her. "Who said that? How did you say that?" Twilight shouted; though there was no one there to answer her. The gears in her mind ground against each other in her head. She was a smart mare; the answer wasn't too hard to find. It was the magic on the door. It must have been a mind spell, or a memory spell or one of the many spells intended to send a message into her head. A pre-recorded message, which was slightly worrying, but a message none the less. A loud explosion and a following rain of lava snapped her attention back to reality. There was a time to think about all this later; right now she needed to catch up to the knights. If she let them get too far ahead, she'd never be able to catch them again. They'd leave her behind! Or at least, wait around the door for her to open it, it didn't really matter. Twilight just didn't want to be left alone in the middle of a volcano. There was time later to think about how Chrysalis didn't have time to cast such a complicated spell, or how the voice wasn't Chrysalis' at all. Twilight felt like crying. This had all gone horribly, horribly wrong. This was even worse than when the orange knight 'died.' She swore she wouldn't let that happen again, not after the first time. The wood of the door shoved into her back uncomfortably. The knights were gone; the three of them had rushed up the stairs. Not waiting a moment to mourn, or cry or rage, just a single goal and the lengths they went through to achieve it. They wanted to defeat Chrysalis, nothing, not death or injury would stop them. That didn't make Twilight feel any better though. She was supposed to be better than this. Every time she closed her eyes, the scene was played back at her, again and again until it bored into her mind. They were gone. Her assistant was gone. The volcano had started to erupt and illusion or not, the burning pain of the drips of lava raining from the sky were more than enough argument to escape quickly. The bridge crackled and broke under the pressure of the magma beneath it, launching the deadly liquid high into the air in huge geysers. It was all Twilight could do to avoid accidentally slamming into one and toasting herself to a crisp. Her heart beat through her chest as she caught up to the knights. They'd stopped, surprisingly, and for a moment Twilight thought it was because of her, but a quick glance ahead destroyed the belief. The bridge had collapsed in front of them. She could see the door on the other side of the break, but the literal lake of lava standing between them was impossible to pass. The ground shook beneath her and Twilight glanced around at the faces of the knights. They were concentrating on something, though Twilight couldn't guess what. She couldn't guess a lot of things about these knights, maybe it was intentional. The ground shook again, and the knights suddenly changed demeanour. All four of them crouched, bending their knees as far as they could in their light armour. Twilight didn't know what was happening, until green knight was kind enough to show her the answer. In a sudden burst of green, foul smelling gas, the green knight launched himself upwards and forwards, essentially jumping over the gap. A magic powered rocket knight, sailing across the divide. He hung in the air for a moment as he reached the apex of his jump before firing another ball of gas and landing on the other side safely; simply waving at his friends to follow him. Orange was the next to go over, as the rumbling of the earth intensified. The bridge couldn't hold much longer; already large chunks of it were breaking off and slamming into the lava, throwing huge buckets of magma into the air. But, with all the skill and grace of a leprechaun, the orange knight tip toed across the lava, seemingly unaffected by the intense heat. A swift high five signalled his safe crossing. A thick arm wrapped around Twilight's midsection. Looking up, Twilight was greeted by the determined eyes of the red knight. But there was something...different about them. A shadow that lingered across them for a minute longer than it should before disappearing in a sudden crack as the knight jumped, pulling Twilight up with him. The wind caught in the back of her throat as they flew, and it was over before she could even really experience it. Turning around, all that was left was for the blue knight to jump over and they could leave. But then...the bridge broke from beneath them. The blue knight reacted immediately; not wasting a second of his rapidly diminishing time. A huge spire of ice and magic welled beneath his feet, and he launched himself forward with all the haste he needed to escape. Or that was the plan anyway. Someone forgot exactly where they were. Merely a few seconds after the ice was summoned into existence, the heat and the lava began to melt it, devouring it tooth and claw until not even water was left, just a small cloud of steam that wafted into the stormy sky. The blue knight fumbled as his launch was cut short. Twilight wanted to look away, she didn't want to see this. Everything seemed so slow to her. She could see everything but she couldn't stop it. Nothing she did was fast enough to try to save them. Her magic was too far away, the knights were stuck on the land, she didn't have wings and she just felt so helpless. She just wanted to do something. Anything! The blue knight feebly shot downwards, hoping his magic was powerful enough to overcome the temperature in the air and for a minute, miraculously, it seemed to work. Two parallel jets of water fired from his hands at the last moment, hovering him just above the lava. Twilight's sigh of relief caught in her throat however, when something she never expected happened. Something exploded out of the lava, something big. A cyclops skeleton with the fire of life burning behind its empty eye socket. Before the blue knight could even acknowledge its existence; it had thrust a hand out, grabbing onto the knight's leg. And then gravity finally caught up to the cyclops and dragged it back into the mulch; the blue knight and Spike being pulled down with it. She wasn't sure how long she'd stood there, just staring aimlessly into the distance. The same sentence kept running through her head, again and again, 'just another moment, they'll be back soon.' She just needed to wait a moment longer, they couldn't actually have died. Not like this. Not so anti-climatically. Behind her, she could hear the knights chuckling to themselves. She couldn't even begin to fathom why. And then her eyes were open again. They took a moment to adjust to the darkness of the room she was in. The stairs still stood in front of her; a seemingly impossible challenge in her current state. It seemed so simple; all she had to do was stand back up and walk up the stone steps, one foot closer to her target. And to the answer of the questions raging in her mind. It wasn't until the red knight appeared, carrying with him a fresh wave of dust from higher up, that Twilight truly realised just how uncomfortable she was. The wood of the door had dug a groove into her back, her backside ached from the pressure of her body, the horn on her head felt burnt out of magic and her eyes couldn't cry any more tears. A hand reached out for her, and with it, the gentleness that could only be found in one of a distinguished class. The look behind the red knight's eyes, a strange mix of confidence and worry, spoke to Twilight more than any words she could have possibly heard. Gripping the hand tightly, Twilight pulled herself back up. Everything was going to be fine, in the end. She didn't have a clue how, or what the leader of the knights was planning, but somehow, she just knew. In the end, everything was going to be fine. Jumping up the steps two at a time, Twilight could only hope she wasn't trying to delude herself to what she was actually thinking. Another door stood in front of Twilight. She didn't even need to check to know that this door was booby trapped in the same way the last one was. Without Spike though...she was hesitant to open the door normally. It crossed her mind briefly that Chrysalis might be aware of the knight's weakness to doors, and such was the reason she was continually throwing them in their path. It was the only thing that made sense. Shaking the wayward thoughts from her head though, Twilight set to work. And by set to work, I mean she took six steps backwards until she was behind the knights and lightly tugged at the door with her magic; a purple glow working just as effectively as flesh and bone. The door swung open without a creak, and every knight there made a blind rush for the opening. Twilight tried to catch up to them, but another stabbing pain through her head tripped her up. She struggled for a moment, failing to put one hoof in front of the other as the world faded and shook around her. The same voice from before called out to her, but louder this time, as if she was steadily getting closer. So gather closer children, as I relay the story. They're like a fairytale, in many ways. The brave and heroic knight, sweeping down at the last minute to save the princess from the terrifying monster. They did exactly that for me once; it was a joyous day. The day the dark wizard came, I thought that I would never be free again. Thought I would be forced under his power for all of time. And then, they arrived. Slowly, the voice drained from Twilight's head. Overall, she didn't know what to make of the strange voice that would continually broadcast into her head. It couldn't be real, that was just a ridiculous thing to think. Clearly, this was all a trick of Chrysalis' to try and pull her away from the knights, to try and trick her into abandoning the one advantage she had in the upcoming fight. But...she still couldn't lay her fears to rest in good mind. Chrysalis couldn't have made these spells, she simply didn't have enough time. And the voice wasn't Chrysalis' at all. She ran through her mind trying to figure out who could possibly be behind this, coming up with blanks every time. Finally though, she came to a simple conclusion. Or several. One: this was a trick by Chrysalis. She was smart enough to know that, in a straight fight, she could easily beat Twilight. Therefore, she needed to make sure she was in a fight with Twilight. This assumption was only strengthened by the fact that she was now down to only three knights. Any more, and things started to get dangerous for her. Two: this was a spell set out by whoever was living at the top of the tower. The messages had mentioned the tower, and that's how they had introduced themselves, but why would the pony at the top of the tower want her to know this? What was the point? Three: No one was behind this. It took a fair bit of denial, but it was still a valid option. It was all pure coincidence that the spell on the doors was still here, and that she was the one to open them. Just pure coincidence. Trotting forward, Twilight tried not to let the words get to her. She was sure that, whatever was happening, would happen for the best. It would all be fine. The knights had already rushed into the door as Twilight walked closer. The light shining from within completely blinded her to what was awaiting her; slowing her down noticeably before she decided to just do it. Without a shout or whisper, Twilight lunged towards the door, throwing herself through it. Right into the open air. With a loud squeak, Twilight fell to the ground. She braced herself for injury, but that seemed pointless as the green knight swept into action. Moving with his same impossible speed, the knight appeared beneath Twilight, catching her gracefully in his arms. She nodded slightly as he placed her back on her hooves, backing away once he did. Twilight wondered why, wouldn't it make sense for him to be near her? Shrugging, Twilight scanned her surroundings. Another illusion, obviously. She was in a...shed, of some description. Or a mill. Though shed was a really basic term to describe where she was now. It was more of a constant hallway that dragged far into the distance. Huge bundles of hay, easily several feet taller than Twilight, lined the walls of the shed with nothing except for the occasional waterwheel separating them and preventing them from combining into the largest pile of hay in Equestria. Flicking a small piece of dried hay from her back, Twilight raised her hoof up to her eyes to block out the sun as she stared deeper into the shed. Despite her best efforts though, all she could see was a thin haze of black and the vague outlines of more hay stacks. Just how far did this place go? Was there a door at the end of it too, like the last one? There would have to be, how else would the get out? Turning around, Twilight finally noticed something which made her chest drop. The knights...were scared. After all they'd done together, Twilight didn't think she'd ever noticed a time when even one of the knights were scared. They were always so brash and direct; they didn't second guess themselves or question anything, they just went ahead and did what they wanted without a single thought. So if something about this illusion was making them scared... Twilight swallowed nervously, her ears flicking back as something broke the ambient sounds of the shed. The steadily increasing clopping of hooves. Glancing down the opposite end of the hall, the source made itself painfully apparent. It took Twilight longer than she'd like to admit to recognize what they were. If it weren't for the shorter tails, or the much larger ears, Twilight might have confused them for ponies, however, she was more learned than that. She'd read about deers before, though she'd never actually met one before. Until today, of course. With a flash of brown, the deer ran right past Twilight, close enough that Twilight could see the look on its face. And it was terrified. Twilight hated to feel excluded. She needed to be in the know, that was just something she needed. It was a thing built into her very core; to examine and know everything. And as the ground beneath her feet started to shake and tremble, she only wanted to know more. There was a feeling of dread rising in her stomach that she couldn't shake, and time seemed short. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see more deers charging down the hall. About four of them, maybe less. Behind her, the three knights dropped their looks of fear and prepared themselves. A faint cock of the knees, a subtle flex of the fingers; just as the deers rushed past them. Time seemed to slow down for Twilight as the knights moved. Green was first, travelling noticeably fast towards the nearest deer. Roughly, he grabbed the deer's long ears as it ran past, flinging himself up and onto the creatures back. Next to him, the orange knight pulled his deer closer to green and the two rushed past Twilight before she could get a word out. It wouldn't have mattered much anyway, since two seconds later she found herself lifted from the ground by the waist and deposited rudely in front of the red knight. Twilight bit her tongue towards this particular tactic of the knights. She wasn't sure whether deers were sentient or not, but it was still uncomfortable for her to ride on the back of what was essentially another pony. She kept her tongue bit though, not wanting to cause any unneeded drama. Looking around, Twilight had noticed the knights had stopped moving. Entirely. Not a hair or muscle moved as they sat still, simply...waiting. Waiting for what? The shaking ground increased in intensity as heavy metal tools slipped from their holders on the wall. And it wasn't until Twilight realised the truth that the fear in her stomach got meaning. It wasn't shaking, it was too rhythmic for that. It was...footsteps. Footsteps of something so huge that the entire forest shook as it took moved. And it was coming right for them. The entire half of the shed in front of Twilight exploded in a frenzy of splinters and metal as the creature smashed its foot through the roof. It retreated for a moment, and Twilight was too terrified to run, or think, or hide or do anything as the creature lowered its disgusting head into view. Or...eye into view. An eye that took up the entire hall from wall to wall in its size. Twilight's numb shocked brain fired into overdrive, even if it couldn't send messages to her body, and she mouthed the name of the creature in front of her. "Ursa Major." she said, because what were you expecting? Twilight was forced to flick her ears against her head as a loud scrapping invaded her space. With much difficulty, the Ursa Major pulled itself to face the knights. Its body was entirely hidden behind the size of the creatures head, but that alone was enough to make it intimidating. Its two large tusks pointed forward as the celestial bear roared, shaking the entire hall again. The knights, however, were ready this time. With a wordless cheer of their own, the knights urged their mounts to charge forward. In the opposite direction. The clatter of hooves echoed down the hall as the knights ran; fleeing into the darkness of the mill to escape the ursa major. The ursa, seeing its only prey escape its grasp, roared again. The building shook again as the ursa punched its arms into the mill and pulled. The roof and walls, too small to contain the beast, cracked open as the ursa charged down the mill. The fear building in Twilight's stomach started to rise with every bump and jump the deer beneath her pulled off. She wasn't sure what to do, or what she was supposed to do or anything. She was supposed to guide the knights, not panic for them. She needed to stay calm. "Green knight!" she shouted. Twilight's lunch nearly leapt out of her chest as the deer managed to jump over a humongous crack in the floor, but it settled as the green knight pulled up next to her; loyal even in danger. "Shoot it or something! You're the archer, pepper it! Slow it down, anything! Do something!" For a brief second, Twilight could swear she saw something odd flash through the green knights eyes. It might have been fear, but it was gone long before she was given the chance to truly decide. Replacing it was the same care free gaze that the green knight regularly employed; unwavering as he pulled back behind Twilight and the red knight and drew his weapon. The ursa roared again as the green knight moved closer. The deer beneath him jumped and weaved through the hall without his assistance, freeing both his hands and letting him begin his assault. The knight disappeared for a moment as Twilight weaved through a wall built into the middle of the hall. An angry roar shook through the mill again as the ursa realised something was attacking it. The transformation was nearly instant as Twilight realised that the only thing worse than being chased by an ursa major was being chased by an angry ursa major that was half blind. Veins of blood built up around the ursa's eyes as it pushed itself to run faster. The green knight was barely able to get out of the way in time as the beast loomed closer, slowly but surely inching its way towards the knights. A bright flash caught Twilight's attention, and she needed to take a few more seconds to realise everything that had changed. The mill had come to an end; a sheer drop of several hundred feet into an overflowing river. Nothing could survive a fall like that, regardless of how large it was. And at the rate they were going, with no time to turn and no way to stop without becoming ursa food? Not the best circumstances. Yet, there was still a glimmer of hope. Suspended in the air above the drop sat the exit. A plain wooden door built into nothing. Twilight knew what she needed to do. "Aim for the hole, aim for the hole." Orange knight shot her a look of 'just like old times,' before rushing into the front of the group. He was barely in the air for a second before the red knight jumped after him, Twilight tightly grasped under his arm. They hung in the air for a second, not high enough to reach the door. Twilight started to panic until the red knight kicked down, pushing himself higher and the deer beneath him lower. With the extra momentum, the pair sailed forward towards freedom. Until Twilight realised they still weren't high enough. At the rate they were going, they were going to just miss the door by a fraction, passing under it instead of through it. Her mind started to buzz with a million thoughts as time slowed down around her. Maybe she could cast a teleportation spell into the door? Or lift herself? Or dispel the illusion or something? The wind was knocked out of her as she suddenly stopped mid flight. Glancing around in a panic, Twilight quickly locked on the cause; an orange glove caught in the grip of a red one. And then the orange knight pulled, lifting Twilight and the red knight into the door with him. Twilight could kiss the ground she was so happy. She never thought it was possible to love the ground as much as she did right now. The sound of hoofsteps stopped for a moment, and Twilight spun to see the green knight making the same jump that she just made. With the only difference being that she didn't have an ursa major weighing her down. It was so close too; for a moment it looked like he could have actually made it. Then the ursa major brought its arm down on top of the knight. The door slammed shut in her face without warning, cutting Twilight's view of the knight instantly. Twilight jumped backwards in shock to avoid slamming her nose against the door, but recoiled nearly instantly. A purple haze surrounded the door; digging into its every crack and hole in search of a way to open the door again. The two remaining knights simply walked past her, fist pumping each other as the wandered up the stairs. Twilight couldn't find the energy to move. She'd...she'd lost another one. Four knights, from all the walks of life. The leader, an eye striking red, who fought tooth and claw against both his friends and his enemies, if only to get the two fighting for a fraction of a second. The magician, a serene blue, wise beyond his years and drawing his power from his spells. He never needed a weapon, or a tool of death, his mind alone was honed enough to cut his enemies. The archer, green like the forest, wild as one too, if I remember him right. Nothing can stop him, only slow him for long enough for him to acknowledge your existence. And the jester, orange as the flame. He wasn't sure how he got caught into things, or what to do when the shots were down, but he faced each one with a smile; even if he did fail from time to time. The four knights swept down at the last moment to save me, and for that...I betrayed them. "Shut up shut up shut up, I don't care who you are any more, just stop talking!" The two knights were at her side instantly; weapons drawn and muscles ready. Red was staring at her like she was crazy, though he would never say it. Maybe she was a little crazy, it certainly wasn't a healthy thing to be hearing voices in her head. With a half hearted wave of her hoof, Twilight urged the two knights on, suddenly remembering why they had stopped. Another wooden door, like all the ones before. Just how many of these doors were there? Breathing audibly, Twilight simple trotted forward. If she was going to go through another one, she may as well get it over with as quickly as she could. Carefully, Twilight pushed the door open. She wasn't surprised to see that it didn't lead to another room in the tower; she was expecting an illusion after all. Stepping forward onto the hard packed dirt, Twilight looked around. The sky was stained a dark red, like the first illusion, except now it was completely clear of clouds and other obstructions. The ground beneath her was brown and dead; only the sickly patch of grass poking out from the puddles and mud staining its surface. A strange smell hit Twilight's nose, a near-but-not-quite coppery smell that she couldn't put her finger on. It was on the tip of her tongue, she knew it, but it just wouldn't come forward. Then the sound of the illusion caught up to her, and she looked around again. She could hear fighting; somewhere in the distance, but she couldn't see it. Maybe it was all the smoke that had suddenly popped into existence, or the dust that had been thrown up into the air, but she couldn't see a thing; now that she thought about it. A gloved hand placed itself on her shoulder and Twilight was reminded of why she was here. To find Chrysalis and save her friends. Nothing more, nothing less. Her horn shined a brilliant purple as she focused and a great wind was summoned forth from behind her. Mane and tail flapping in the breeze; the dust and debris parted for a moment in front of her, revealing exactly what she was looking for. The exit; the tired and true door set into the air. Despite the circumstances, Twilight couldn't hide her confident smirk. She still had it. She had barely made it three steps towards the exit before a new sound graced her ears. The words to describe it were hard to come by. Animalistic, loud, mechanical, repetitive, loud, hypnotic, loud, angry, joyous, loud and loud. Why was it so loud? The next set of actions happened so fast that Twilight still isn't sure about what happened, to this day. From what she can remember, something came charging out from behind and over the exit; something huge, angry and dangerous. The ground shook as it rushed closer, and then Twilight was on the ground; looking up at the knights. Two seconds later, a mechanical goat the size of a building smashed into the two knights, sending them flying into the air. Red recovered in mid air, a small ring of lightning bursting around his feet as he jumped backwards back onto the ground. Orange wasn't so lucky and fell onto his face again. He hung there for what seemed like hours, before collapsing onto his stomach and lying still. Ears flicking back as the screeching suddenly filling the air signalled the turning of the goat. Pushing herself back to her feet, Twilight was able to get a proper look at the contraption. It really did resemble a house that someone had stuck wheels on to. Two huge tread wheels, but wheels none the less. It was mainly featureless, except for a large wooden goats head that was nailed to the front; and, judging by the light shining out from behind the head's eyes, also served as a large fireplace. And then it was charging at her again. Dirt and dust flew out from behind its treads as it pressed forward, intent on simply crushing its target. Glancing around, Twilight was distressed to find that both the knights were gone. Not a single hair or print of them remained. It was like they had simply vanished. The realization that she needed to face this challenge alone hit her heavily and quickly. Twilight wasn't a stranger to fighting. She was the bearer to one of the elements of harmony, so of course she had gotten into a fight or two in her time, what she never realised was that everyone reacted differently in a fight. Rainbow Dash ignored everything except for herself and her opponent, Rarity focused on precision over power, the knights followed the basic rule of 'win' and Twilight...well, Twilight thought. It was so easy to do, after all. The ram grew closer, and facts and figures sprinted through Twilight's mind at the same speed. A quick teleport at exactly 49 degrees to the right to dodge and she was well out of the machines range, followed by a quick wind spell set at a speed of 30 metres a second to whip the sand into a veritable screen and she was nearly invisible. Finish with either a magic bolt with a magical gravitude of 96, which needs to be followed up by a basic levitation of 24 and a transparency spell of medium strength to eliminate counter attacks from a radius of five feet in front of her, or cut out the laser and levitate at a strength of 56 to lift the ram off the ground and rotate it 30 degrees to successful cast the detachment spell (with a magical aptitude strength of 6) and remove the treads to render it helpless. All this happened in the span of about five seconds, and Twilight wouldn't have it any other way. The bolt of magic travelled through the air swiftly, slamming into the side of the battering ram. The force of the blast was enough to rock the machine just slightly, but enough for Twilight to grab it within her magic. She could only compare it to lifting an Ursa Minor, but she'd accomplished that easily, so this was no problem. With a final flick of the ground beneath it, the ram was lifted into the air, where Twilight was overjoyed to discover where the knights had gone. That is to say, she saw the two of them clinging to the back of the battering ram and tearing into it with all the force of an angry griffon. For a brief second, Twilight lost her concentration and the ram wavered in the air, before she found herself again and doubled her efforts. The ram itself though, wasn't looking so good. If anything could be said of the knights, it was ruthless efficiency. Several large holes were punched into the back, one of the treads was ripped off and Twilight could see the glow of the fire from deep within the machine. Then a splitting pain rocked through her head as the machine broke free from her magic. It waned and flowed like a bucket of water down her horn, before condensing into a solid form once it hit her skull and exploded. The blast was enough to stick her mane backwards and singe it black. Already she was running through more figures and simulations in her head, but it was obvious that there was nothing she could do. With a loud boom, the second gas canister strapped to the inside of the machine went off, propelling it forward even faster then before. Twin flames of fuel leaked out the back, pushing it forward as the ram disappeared into the storm. Twilight had to take a moment for the ache in her head to subside before she could continue. The black lines on the edge of her vision couldn't be a good sign, but she was sure that they would vanish in their own time. For now, she just needed rest. When she finally came to again, a few seconds later, the red knight was sitting next to her. He was more relaxed than he had any right to be, considering what had happened in the last few minutes, but Twilight would be lying if she claimed it wasn't reassuring. Coughing the dust out of her lungs, Twilight asked the first question to come to her mind. "Where's...where's the orange knight?" With a simple raise of his hand, the red knight pointed into the distance, at the slowly shrinking ram. If Twilight squinted her eyes hard enough, she could just make out a small, blocky figure sitting on its roof, two hands stretched into the air in a silent cheer. She chuckled to herself; never could resist a good joke. At least the jester was doing his job. Pushing herself back to her feet and wobbling as the magical backlash rocked her system, Twilight headed towards the door. She was close to finishing this, she could feel it. With a wordless push, the knight followed behind her slowly. He wanted to move faster but...he didn't want to leave Twilight. And he'd done this before, and he knew who was next. "Do you know who's waiting for me up here?" Twilight asked. She wasn't expecting an answer; at least, not a vocal one. But it was enough to push the question out of her mind so that she wasn't obsessing over it any more. She chuckled as she remembered that it was usually Spike's job to make sure that she didn't get too crazy over questions like this, before she was reminded of what had happened, and why Spike wasn't with her right now. The knight walked forward slowly, seemingly not hearing Twilight, until he turned and nodded once. Just a small thing, barely noticeable. "But...how do you know? Who is it?" She realised her mistake when the red knight simply glared at her, unable to answer. "Right, right, yes or no answers only then." Twilight though for a second, running through every possible question like a computer before arranging a list of importance. "Is it another alicorn? Like Celestia's mentor or something?" The knight shook his head. "Alright, not an alicorn. It couldn't possibly be...Chrysalis? Am I supposed to redeem her?" The knight shook his head again, as if chuckling. "So who is it then? Discord? Who?" Everything slowed down for a minute, and as Twilight gazed into the knight's eyes, a single word was summoned forth in her head. A word she couldn't contain just in her head, a word she needed to say out loud. "Princess." The knight nodded in agreement while Twilight's head was reeling with questions again. Before she could ask them though, the end of the stairs captured her attention first. Another door. The final door. She didn't know how she knew, but she just did. After this, she wouldn't have questions. This was her last challenge; her last obstacle. Then, she would be certain. She would have her answers. Without even waiting for the knight to move forward to protect her, Twilight pushed the door open; bracing herself for the magic impact at the same time. It came just as she suspected. "For the wizard, I gave him a place where his magic would fail. For the archer, I slowed him with a speed that wasn't his own. For the jester, I gave him the crowd; the world on a platter. And for the leader, I saved the cruellest of all for the leader. For the leader, I have him the tiniest glimpse of hope. I gave him a purple unicorn, who would in turn, betray him." Twilight stepped into the room without a word. She'd already come to expect anything other than simply another room in the tower, so it came as no surprise to her when the sunlight started to stream through the stained glass windows of Celestia's throne room, or when she found herself at the base of Celestia's own throne. The stranger's words were already draining from her mind, as she couldn't be bothered to remember them. They were just trying to trick her out; cause her to make a mistake. And she wouldn't let that happen. When compared to the other illusion rooms, this exit was by far the closest. Looming over her like the princess herself, the door was embedded into the back of Celestia's seat; only a single iron door knocker causing it to stand out. The red knight appeared next to her, eyes also locked on the door at the top of the steps. Or rather, whatever was beneath them. From all around the room, the shadows moved. Twisting and sliding like snakes, they slithered over the windows and snuffed the light, wrapped around Twilight's feet, gathered in her eyes and mouth, weighed her down and shimmered, just shimmered on the seat of the princess. And from the darkness, a figure rose. He resembled the knights in many ways; short build, toned body and other features, but differed from them greatly in the shape of his head. A near perfect triangle, with two sunken eyes that disappeared far into his skull, leaving only pin pricks of light against the darkness shining forth from his skull. Two spiked ears also protruded from the side of his head, neatly contrasting the single line of dark red painted down his front. On his chest, like all the knights, was a symbol. A crescent moon. Twilight felt herself pushed back by something she couldn't see, maybe it was the knight, as the creature on the throne pulled a pulsing, fire red sword out of the air. The blade was a single crystal, engraved with the face of a dragon and radiating magic at an alarming rate. And then he leapt forward, flying much further than Twilight thought was possible, directly at Twilight. Twilight stumbled backwards, losing her footing but it didn't matter as the red knight leapt into action. His steel sword sliced through the darkness as it parried the dark wizard. The two looked into each others eyes the way only life long rivals could, before each took a single step back. Their swords were raised at chest height, primed and pointed at each other; all it took now was for one of them to break the stalemate first and begin the fight. Twilight righted herself quickly, just in time to see the knight tell her to stay still. Just a split second wave of his hand to stay still, before focusing back on his opponent. Who had taken advantage of the slight delay to strike first. Shadows trailed off the end of his blade as he swung forward, slamming down on the knight. Red buckled back slightly, still managing to raise his sword and block the next attack. Twisting his sword arm sideways, he slipped down the length of the wizards blade and pulled in close. The two wrestled for a second, as the knight mashed his X button to overpower the wizard. Despite the display though, something else caught Twilight's eye. Something she couldn't look away from. There was something at the top of the stairs. Something... familiar. A pony with a purple coat and a streak of pink running down her mane. She was at the top of the stairs? Looking down at the two fighters, Twilight felt something deep inside her. Something was tugging at the back of her mind, wasn't she just at the bottom of the stairs? This wasn't right, she shouldn't... but she couldn't feel it over the huge wave of disgust that flowed through her. Look at the two of them down there, fighting like insects. One of them barely had the attention span to walk down a straight hallway, and the other wielded his magic like a club. Why hadn't she seen it before, how they bickered and squabbled with each other. She was the element of magic; the protector of harmony, and she couldn't do that while something so...so unharmonious was alive. She could see everything now, everything. It was all so obvious, why hadn't she seen it? The knights could never be allowed to reach the top of the tower. They just...couldn't. The creature up there; it was trying to protect them. To save them from their fate by swapping it with another, by running them through the motions. If the red knight was allowed to reach the top, everything would be lost. And she'd brought him here. Her, the protector of Equestria, had brought it's greatest threat right to where it needed to be. She'd brought the destruction of harmony directly to the heart of harmony, and was wondering why it was fighting back. How could she be so stupid? But...maybe it wasn't too late. Twilight aimed her horn. And took a deep breath as she looked up at the stairs. What just happened? Twilight spun around hastily, trying to find some explanation for what was going on. But...the room was empty. It was just her, standing alone in the middle of the palace throne room. Her first instinct was to panic. Had she just...killed the fighters? That didn't sound right coming out of her mouth, but it seemed so...real. Everything seemed real. Her train of thought, the magic building in her horn, the attack, it all seemed real, but it couldn't be. It just wasn't possible. She calmed herself quickly. It was just her mind playing tricks on her, everything was fine. Trotting over to where the knight was, Twilight searched for him intently; not leaving a single stone out of place. But there was no sign of him ever existing. No marks on the floor, no scraps of cloth or smears of paint. No sweat or blood or anything. Just Twilight and an empty room. And the beckoning door. With a nervous chuckle, Twilight ascended the stairs. Each step she took seemed heavier than the last; weighed her down far more than any pony or magic could. She was scared. Scared that maybe...she'd screwed up. Scared that maybe she was making a mistake. And with no more knights to protect her, who could blame her? Glancing down the stairs one final time, Twilight pushed the exit door open and walked in. "And what's there to say about what happened next? Twilight stood in front of the last door, turmoil in her heart but strength in her soul? Twilight pushed it open at long last? Twilight entered without hesitation or fear? Twilight prepared herself for what she would see, and yet was still shocked to her core? And at the end of the chapter, there was no kiss; for there were no knights, no princesses and no kisses to spare anyway. Yes, I suppose that is all there is to say." Author's Note Haha, I nearly implied that the knights were trying to kill Celestia. Man, that would have been embarrassing. The knights were chuckling because blue knight got totally owned, seriously, he didn't even get a fight. The rock that Discorded Rarity falls in love with is called Tom Dan. Tom Fulp and Dan Paladin are the creators of Castle Crashers. There's a joke I can use here, but I can't see it for the life of me. Meh, I'm sure it'll show up in the next chapter. Course, now that I told you guys, I need to make a joke so outrageous and out of the blue that, even if you knew the information which I had just told you, would still be funny. Shoot, I'm getting all dramatic, that's not good. I'll make up for it, I swear. And of course it's been over a month, just my luck. Haha, I made another cliffhanger. Truly I am a literary genius...what a shit ending. Stay tuned then, I guess. Most questions will be answered in the next chapter.
Castle Crashing the GardenTwilight sat down at the opposite end of the table. Was it her table? It was in her house, so it must be her table; who's table would it be if it wasn't? Something nagged at the back of her mind; something she couldn't quite explain. It was probably nothing anyway. Sighing to herself contently, Twilight lifted the tea-pot into the air with her magic. It was funny, she couldn't remember setting out tea but she must have, because here she was, drinking it. The brown liquid poured into her cup steadily; faint whiffs of steam floating into the cold air. She needed to do something today, but Twilight couldn't remember what it was. Glancing around her library, Twilight tried to remember. Despite her books countless words of knowledge and scripture, none of them clambered forward to tell her what she was forgetting. And she was forgetting something, that's why she had the itch in the back of her mind. But why wouldn't it just come forward and be scratched? Leaning back, Twilight took a hasty sip of her drink. It tasted...missing. Like it wasn't quite there, but something didn't want her to know. The sound of magic filled the room as Twilight fired up her horn. If she couldn't remember what she had forgotten, clearly it wasn't important enough to remember, and she should get back to her studies. There was still so much she didn't know. Glancing at the books title, Twilight confirmed that it was the one she wanted. The words ~~'don't panic'~~ 'Greater magical theory' were printed on the front in golden writing. Celestia had really been giving her quite a lot of research recently; she nearly had to give up time with her friends to cram it all in. Luckily, it hadn't come to that. Between her new studies, taking care of Spike, ~~calming down~~ and countless other activities, it really was a wonder she still found time on top of it all to help Applejack on the farm, or to attend one of Pinkie's many parties. And all she had to do was cut out several hours of sleep! Problem solved. Pages flicked past each other hastily as Twilight found her place. Age spells. Nothing too complicated, of course, she'd never be able to pull them off. Simple spells; like reversing the mayor's greying hair or removing a bag or two from beneath her eyes. There was just one she was stuck on at the moment, then she could finally move on to bigger and better spells, like an apples to oranges spell. A knock at her door captured her attention quite quickly. Guests! That was it, she was expecting guests! That's what she was forgetting! Oh, how could she have forgotten in the first place? Placing her tea back down on the table, Twilight pushed herself to her feet. Blood rushed to her head for a moment, and she immediately found herself sitting down again. Good thing too, she still needed to put her book away before opening the door. Now, where did ~~'relax'~~ 'Greater Magical Theory' go again? Sliding the book into it's proper place, Twilight trotted over to the door. Despite the fact that she now remembered that she had guests, it was still odd that she couldn't remember who she was waiting for. Rarity? Fluttershy? Twilight didn't have a clue. Perhaps she should put on some gentle music for them? Was this going to be one of those long visits, or just a short one? She couldn't find words to describe how annoying it was that she couldn't remember. This made everything so much more difficult. Shrugging to herself slightly, Twilight lifted an old phonograph from out under the desk in the middle of the room. It's funny, she could have swore that there was crack in it ever since the changeling invasion, but that was all in the past for her now. A record, the name of which Twilight couldn't see, was lifted in the same way as the record player and placed firmly in its slot. The needle dropped into the grooves hastily, and the music started to play. Twilight did a small dance as she hopped to the door. She froze just a few steps from her destination. Rubbing her eyes to make sure she wasn't imagining things, Twilight still couldn't believe what she was seeing. Someone had vandalised her door; covered it in nonsense symbols and words. ~~Do~~n't op~~en t~~he doo~~r, Pri~~ncess. She~~'s~~ alre~~ady~~ here. Twilight scratched her head as she tried to make sense of it. "n't op he doo ncess. She alre here? That doesn't even make sense!" A sense of anger built in Twilight's chest. Oh, when she found out who did this to her door, she was going to skin them alive! Or, more realistically, just glue their hooves together or something. It was going to take her hours to clean all this off, even with Spike's help. Just what she needed too, even more work on her pile. Sighing in defeat though, Twilight had to place the task behind her for a moment, there was still someone at the door. Her hoof froze halfway to the door though. Something was wrong, it wasn't right. No. No, this wasn't how it was supposed to go at all. She wasn't supposed to be Twilight, that would freak out her guest. She needed something familiar, but not recent. Twilight grinned devilishly. Yes, that was how it was supposed to go, how could she forget? And then she faded away, drifting into white mist and appearing again on her seat at the table. The door swung open without a creak, and in walked the guest of honour. She walked with a purpose the princess hadn't seen in years; a subtle anger buried behind her eyes. She wanted answers, she wanted to know why. And there was only one person who could provide them. The princess sitting at the table. Twilight sat down at the opposite end of the table. It had been...interesting, when she'd pushed open the last door. An empty white plain awaited her, entirely featureless except for one thing. Set just a few steps from the threshold of the door, sat Twilight's library. And what could she do except knock? After all, the door was locked. Twilight already knew what she would see when the door eventually opened. An exact replica of her own library; just another illusion. The phonograph was new though, what band was that playing? Hoofey Lewis and the News? Twilight didn't like their earlier work, it was a little too 'new wave' for her taste. But that's detracting from the story. With the nearly unnoticeable music playing in her ear and a cup of fresh tea set in front of her, Twilight started the conversation. "I didn't expect you to actually set out tea for me, Celestia." The being across the table nodded slowly. Twilight didn't know why she called it Celestia. It wore Celestia's skin, and spoke with her voice, but it was just illusions on illusions. More cornerstones set out to trip her up; to distract her from what was important. "I've been waiting for you, Twilight." Twilight simply nodded. "Yes, you've mentioned that." She said, unable to think of any else to respond with. "I've watched you grow from a little filly. I've been here an awfully long time. Well, not here, but it's nearly the same. Not that it bothers me; I stopped tracking time by the rising of the sun long ago." "I don't care." Twilight said simply, with all the passion and bitter hate she could summon. Breathing in to steady her nerves, Celestia disappeared briefly as Twilight took another drink. "Aw, come on Twi, not even a little? I thought you were cooler than that." Rainbow Dash said, slamming her cup down on the table. It shook heavily, but didn't break. "You killed my friends. I don't take kindly to ponies who kill my friends." Rarity shifted in her seat, "I don't recall killing anyone, darling. Surely you're not projecting yourself onto me?" "I want to know why." Twilight said. She wasn't going to let this...thing get the best of her. It was trying to distract her; things were drifting out the corner of her eyes, grasping for her attention, but she couldn't look. If she looked, it was over. She needed to stay on track, keep her thoughts straight. If could wear any number of faces, but none would slow her until she found the truth. "Why did I what?" Twilight lowered her drink slowly, taking one last sip before depositing it on the table. "Don't play this game, Luna, tell me why you won't let the knights up here; why they needed to die to prevent them from coming here." Placing her hooves on the table, it was all Twilight could do to focus on the pony in front of her. The rips at the edges of her vision were growing stronger now and Twilight didn't even remember why she wasn't supposed to look at them; where they came from and how they tied into everything. Chrysalis, in a rare moment of courage, matched Twilight's gaze, staring deeply into her eyes. It was at that moment that Twilight realised what the problem was. She'd seen that look before, it was the same look a panicked animal had before Fluttershy could arrive to calm it down or the look Roseluck had whenever the town was in danger. It was...fear. "You're scared," was all Twilight said. Before her eyes, the thing changed its shape again. It was like a burst of static blurred the shape of the creature before a new disguise could be applied, not even proper magic. It seemed to be...searching for something, as if it couldn't decide who it needed to be. Until it stopped, and Twilight found herself staring into her own eyes. "You're scared and you don't want to admit it." Twilight said again, as her doppelgänger continued to stare into her eyes. "If you knew what I knew, Twilight, you'd be scared too." "And what do you know? You're making a lot of questions, I don't even know who you are, and you seem to be avoiding the answers for them." There was a short silence between the two, before the fake Twilight sighed weakly. "Ask anything." "What?" "Ever since she came here, I can't...remember properly. I don't know the answers; or who I am, or what I was supposed to do, or anything. But...but if you can ask me questions, maybe it will all come back." At this point, it was all Twilight could do to keep staring forward. The swirls at the edges of her vision had crept inward; looping around to the front of her head. All around her, she could see them. Each swirl and twist threatening to sweep down and take her memories with it. But she could stop them; she just needed to keep focused on herself. There wasn't even a library any more, just a vast expense of moving light. "Who are you?" Twilight asked. She didn't buy a single word her double was saying, but it was better than nothing. "I...It's not working. I don't know! I keep shifting through these shapes and ponies and princesses and knights and wizards but I never find it. Ask a different one!" "Who is she?" A smile of relief spread across Twilight's clone's face. "~~The black one. The one with the mane of galaxies and the knowledge of the void.~~The green one. The one with the holes in her hooves and the swamp in her mane and the ponies in her mind and out her ears and up her nose and through her skin." "Chrysalis." The light from around the two inched closer. "That's the one! Yes! Chrysalis." Twilight nodded knowingly. Of course Chrysalis was at fault here. It all came back to Chrysalis. "Where is she now? Do you remember?" The clone shifted, as if it couldn't hold its form, before replying. "She's...up. Up higher, we can go there, if you want but I wouldn't recommend it. She's too powerful for you to take on yourself." "I know that, do you think I don't? If I chase after her, she's going to destroy me. Completely and utterly." "So why go?" Twilight smirked. The lights closing in faltered for a second as she talked. "Because I know something she doesn't. I have something she doesn't. I have every little thing planned out; I just hope that I'm not wrong." "Wrong about what?" "About who you really are." With a crack, Twilight stood back up. Her legs felt like she'd been sitting on them for hours. Maybe she had, it was impossible to tell how long she'd been sitting there. There was much to do and so little time to do it. So best to start as soon as she could. "Your majesty, if you would, now would be a good time to drop the illusion. I think it would make us both feel better." "I hope you know what you're doing." Twilight's clone said. "I hope I know what I'm doing." Twilight responded. And just like that, it was all gone. Magic doesn't work like you would assume it does. It doesn't seep down the walls and dry out or disappear in a flash, it simply stops. Like an on/off switch. One moment Twilight was standing in an open plain speaking with herself over a glass of tea, the next she was standing alone in the top room of the tower. There wasn't much to say of it. No windows, no torches, no beds or tables or anything like that, magicians don't need such trivialities. What there was though, was a single slab of perfectly round stone, buried in the tiled floor; and a giant hole cut out of the ceiling. It pulsed and swirled with untapped magic, though Twilight already knew what it did. It went up. Without a thing needing to be said, Twilight stepped onto the platform. With a century old shake and a great up heaving of dust, it shot into the sky. And Twilight rode the air; not knowing if this would be the last thing she did. As she rose, Twilight was given a clear view of all of Equestria. At this height, Twilight figured she could gaze over the mountain Canterlot was built on if she wanted. It all seemed so...small. Beneath her, she could see that Canterlot was in the closest thing to civil war it could be. Ponies from all over the city, inspired by the return of their princess, were fighting for control of their home. It was slow though, barely a house at a time. Until Chrysalis was gone, the changelings wouldn't give up. Maybe they would even keep going after she was, Twilight could only dread. Her mentor had decided to join the charge below, shouting so loud Twilight could still hear her even from the great distance. How many years had she spent trying to wrest even a small amount of acknowledgement from such a small pony; so far beneath her? Too many, by her count. She could see the path that the knights and her had used to enter Canterlot, and two small ponies standing at the turn of the mountain. At least her brother was alright; someone needed to carry on the family legacy if she didn't come back. Of course, she shouldn't think like that, it was far too negative. But, the sight of a happy couple just...living in spite of all that was happening around her. Twilight could only gaze on, thoughts untold running through her mind. And beyond the mountain, visible through only a tiny sliver of or rock, sat Ponyville. The town hall was clearly in view, albeit still covered in green goo and Gak. She should have spent more time in that town, rather than locking herself away in her library all the time. There were so many ponies she would never get to met. The mail-mare, the musician, the candy maker, the carrot farmer; so many ponies who would only remember her as the crazy librarian who occasionally saved the world. And if her eyes weren't deceiving her again, she swore she could see five blobs of varying colours, fresh out of their cocoons. They couldn't see her, it would be impossible at this distance, but she could see them clear as day. At the moment, she wanted to do nothing more than race down there and help Fluttershy with her animals, or race against Rainbow Dash, or harvest apples with Applejack. But she couldn't. They didn't even know she wouldn't be coming back. With these thoughts running through her mind, Twilight was nearly at her destination. Her magic flared up briefly as she scanned through her inventory. A red potion that tasted slightly of cherry. Everything would have to go exactly how she pictured it, or everything was doomed. She could only swallow strongly as she arrived. A soft click rang through the air, like stone scraping on stone; alerting anyone waiting to Twilight's arrival. She couldn't see a thing though. Strong winds battered against her, like a tornado, and a bitter chill crept itself into her spine, but that was all ignorable if only she could see anything. A dark mist was covering...wherever she'd landed. Like flies and locusts whipped into a frenzy, the shadows ran and skittered around her vision; obscuring everything from her. It was nearly a miracle that she could still see her own hoof when placed in front of her eyes. A familiar sound captured Twilight's attention. The sound of a unicorn casting a spell. Of course, it wasn't a unicorn, Twilight already knew that as she turned around. It was a large crystal, easily three times Twilight's size. Lines of ancient runes adorned its body, cut deep in ancient history back when magic was a wild and untamed force. Pointed, but blunted at both ends and featuring six perfectly flat sides, it seemed like something otherworldly, as if it shouldn't have ever existed. It glowed and pulsed like a heartbeat before Twilight, its green light enveloping her completely. The heart of magic. She just wished she knew what it did. Fly and...that was about it. Also it was a princess, maybe? Twilight wasn't sure. Final Battle. Hell yis. Twilight couldn't even hide her grin as she realised she still had a chance to stop ~~the princess~~ Chrysalis. And speaking of the devil... The darkness shifted again, disappearing completely as Chrysalis descended from the top of the crystal; her fall slowing itself magically as she landed. Twilight could only describe her as...tired. Nothing at all like she'd looked back in the throne room. Thick bags of purple and green dragged her eyes down her head, her mane seemed sickly and rotten and her skin had lost its clean black sheen. Rings of decayed green had built up around the holes in her feet and were starting to 'grow' up her legs. Her horn was surrounded by a permanent mist of green, connecting her to the giant crystal behind her like a lifeline. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out, just pained squeaks. Stopping for a moment, Chrysalis moved a hoof to her throat, choking slightly on emptiness as she tried again. "My throat is dry. How long have I been up here?" Twilight glanced around her, kicking her hooves slightly to prepare herself before thinking of an answer. "Barely a few ~~minutes~~ months, by my estimate." "Impossible." Twilight took a step forward slowly, and Chrysalis reacted immediately, throwing herself into a fighting stance. "Don't come any closer." Freezing in place, Twilight placed her hoof back on the ground. "Chrysalis, I'm not going to waste time repeating myself. I asked you to take your changelings, and leave. Your changelings are still here, Chrysalis, so I assume I have to do this the hard way." "You can't stop me now, Twilight, if you wanted. Look around, you're alone. You're in my domain. Everything you see is in my command now and there's nothing you can do. I've taken your knights, your princesses, your friends, everything! I even took the childish drake from you, you're alone." Chrysalis stopped for a minute, pointing over the edge of the platform they were on. "Look out there, Twilight. Look over your kingdom. Right now, there are millions upon millions of ponies. Some don't even know you exist, some don't know I exist. Some could help you right now, if they wanted. They have the wings, the means to come up and fight me, but up here, they're mere dots. Not even worth a glance. Anything they do is confined to more tiny dots, dots among dots among dots; so many insignificant ponies. All of them so...weak." Snapping her attention to Twilight, Chrysalis continued, "Even you, Twilight, are a dot. Weak, easily swept aside, a single grain of dust among a beach of similar grains. You need a crutch to do anything. The elements, your friends, the knights; all the life changing things you've done have been from somepony else's power. Somepony stronger than you. The help of giants treading the desert, crushing grains beneath their feet," Chrysalis grinned, "but what will you do when those same giants are turned against you?" Twilight tried her best not to betray her curiosity. "What do you mean?" A loud laugh filled the arena, though not one full of life. A tired and dried out laugh that was more desperation than joy. "Did you not once consider why the knights were helping you? Why they have an obsession with princesses and kisses? Did you honestly believe they liked you? Or wanted to? Or could even think? They're soulless automatons, Twilight, and nothing more. They complete the desire of the one who controls them. And how do they decide that?" To Twilight's surprise, Chrysalis stepped closer. "It's the kiss. The kiss of a princess that does it. They kissed you, and you wanted to save your friends; so they did. Luna wanted to ensure that Cadence was still alive, they left Canterlot together if I recall; so they did. Cadence wanted to make sure Celestia was still of sane mind and so she was. And Celestia wanted them to protect you. YOU, of all ponies, and so...they took the places where you should have failed." "But...but I'm not a princess." Twilight stuttered, but Chrysalis simply continued. "The volcano, the Ursa Major, the barbarian ram, the wizard, the heart, each was designed for you to fail. And they sacrificed themselves so that you could finally come...here, to me. But Celestia forgot one very important fact." For a brief moment, Twilight felt a burst of fear shoot through her spine. She hadn't prepared for this, not at all. She couldn't have prepared for this, it was just unthinkable. With a great crunching of stone and nothing more, the green knight stepped out of the shadows behind Chrysalis. Small drops of water ran down his face, but other than that, he looked perfectly fine. Well, except the bow he had aimed directly at Twilight's face. The blue knight was next; looking like he'd just stepped out of the stone he was once imprisoned in. He simply stood with his arms crossed, waiting for the screen to scroll to the right so he could act. I'd like to say that the orange knight stepped forward next, but it's more accurate to say that he tripped forward and landed on his face, sliding for a few feet until he was in position. Still, it took him less than a moment to get back to his and ready for the order to attack. And then...nothing. ~~Hang on, wasn't there another?~~ "I was once a princess too, and my kiss is just as valid as hers. And right now, my one wish is for you to be destroyed and to never bother me again. How easily completed, yes?" Twilight didn't respond immediately. Time was important here; she needed to make sure she took full advantage of every second she could get. Small, nearly unnoticeable sounds, like the flexing of the green knights bow-string or the slight crackle of magic from the Heart, dominated the ring. Until, Twilight figured out what to say. "You're lying." "What?" Carefully, Twilight took a step forward. The knights tensed themselves, but remained still. "You heard me. I think you're a lying liar that lies. A lonely, loquacious liar that looks like lacklustre latex and lays lines of labyrinth length and loosely lucid trickery. And I'm not falling for it." Chrysalis stuttered for a moment. "What's...what's loquacious mean?" "Talkative, but no subject changing here. The point is, I don't think you control the knights at all. I've travelled with the knights, no one knows them better than me, and I have never once seen them sit still long enough for me to say something as alliterative as that. You control the knights, but you don't control the 'knights.'" Suddenly, a loud snap echoed through the air and Twilight's hoof froze in the air. Small wood chips, barely large enough to bother her, sprang into her face as the arrow exploded on the ground in front of her. For a brief second, the same fear that she had a minute ago sprang back into her spine. If she was wrong... Breathing in deeply, Twilight placed her hoof back on the ground. There was nothing to worry about, she was going to be fine. "As I was saying, before the interruption, I probably should explain a bit. You can't simply 'control' these things. I've spent an entire field trip with them trying to control them, and the most I can do is point at something and shout 'punch.' All you can do is just roll with whatever crazy plan they decide to concoct in an effort to continue moving towards the princess. Mind control wouldn't work, because all you're doing is taking away that crazy. Sure, you'd 'control' the knights, but they wouldn't be very effective now, would they? And there's something very...useful, for lack of a better word, about th-" Without any warning or announcement, Twilight sprinted forward mid-sentence. Time was the essence here, it was all she had going for her. Hooves rang against stone as Chrysalis back-peddled; eyes glancing at the knights next to her. Only for a brief moment though, the element of surprise is something quickly lost. With her pupils thinning into lizard-like slits and a forked tongue resting on her lips slightly, Chrysalis gave the order. "Kill her." The green knight disappeared from where he was standing and appeared directly in front of Twilight. And Twilight grinned. She'd hadn't just been sitting there gawking the whole time the knights had been fighting for her. When she fought someone, she thought everything out. She predicted what they would do, how they would act, everything that could help her in a fight. And at this point, she'd watched the knights long enough to know exactly how each one choose to start a fight. The green knight would go first, directly in front of her. A quick magical shield to defend herself and throw the knight off balance, before side-stepping him hastily. After that, the blue knight would attack next; while the green was recovering. Exactly three levitation spells to destroy the momentum of the icicles flying towards her and she'd be safe again, just in time to dodge around the orange knight before he could release any of his powerful magic. Just as she guessed they would. And then...well, since she'd never seen the knight's lose before, she was kind of helpless in knowing how they would act next. She only really got one chance. The hiss of flying arrows whizzed past her ears as she fired off another spell, a quick teleportation, to reach the end of her destination. She rested her hooves on the surface of the heart. As strange as it sounds, she could 'hear' it. The magic flowing down its side's like water, the low hum as it hovered in the air innocently, the loud, contrasting cracks of its connection with Chrysalis and finally, something odd. Something that was just out of place. "Stop, Twilight! You don't understand!" Snapping back to reality, Twilight wasted precious seconds turning around to face Chrysalis. "Here's a hint, Chrysalis. Mind control makes things extremely predictable. Even Discord realised that. Now, where was I?" Twilight placed her back hooves against the heart as she continued. "It was never about the princesses was it? It all came down to this, ~~the princess in the tower~~ the heart of magic. This is how you're mind controlling the knights, commanding the changelings, everything. But," Twilight added, "lets see what happens when we break that connection. Maybe we should..." Twilight imagined that if this were a movie, or even a poorly written book, the camera would zoom into her face at that moment. Of course, this was reality, not a story, and so no camera zoomed in on anything at all, "turn your giants against you." Her horn shimmered in the light for a brief second, before a wave of magic flowed down her body. It shined, blindingly bright, as it wavered across her frame; pooling in the ends of her legs and clashing with the green magic holding the crystal in place. The two forces clashed against each other; the surface of the crystal shaking from the magical pressure, until finally, it stopped. And the crystal fell from the sky. From behind Twilight, Chrysalis screamed. A horrified, disbelieving squeal of pain. Twilight turned; just in time to see the life-line connecting Chrysalis to the crystal thin, growing smaller and smaller as the crystal plummeted, until it snapped. It was like someone had exploded a bomb directly in Twilight's face. A sudden flash of light, a powerful push of wind and an all engulfing stream of heat was all she could remember as she flew backwards. Chips of rocks flew past her face in slow motion; suspended in the air like clouds in the sky simply by how focused Twilight was at that moment. The platform they were standing on was shattered with a large gash down the centre and without Chrysalis there to keep it floating; it too fell to earth. Normally, the average pony would be more scared being blown into the open air hundreds of feet above the ground. Twilight was not an average pony though. Streamlining her body like she'd seen Rainbow do many times before, Twilight sped up her fall. She just needed to get a bit...closer. If the crystal could fly once under Chrysalis' power, it could do the same again under hers. Her hooves clicked against its hard surface with a soft clink, though it could barely be heard over the rushing wind. Twilight only took the time to glance over the side once, truly realise why Fluttershy was scared of heights and tap her horn against the surface of the heart. Nothing happened. "Come on magic, don't do this to me now." She whispered to herself, trying again. All she got for her trouble was a short purring noise, though Twilight couldn't identify what animal, if any, it was from. The ground inched closer as Twilight tried again, and again. Another surge of adrenaline shot into her chest as she peeked over the edge again. "Come on crystly, Twilight doesn't want to die like this." She repeated, a hint of desperation seeping into her words. In a last ditch effort, Twilight focused all her remaining magic into a single point. It was as refined as she'd like, nor was it something that would make another magic user smile, but it would serve it's purpose. She was the element of magic, it had to. She only had one chance left, of course it had to. Her magic swirled around her horn like a whirlpool, searching for a release. It crashed and pulsed against her sides, giving her a warmth she'd never felt before. A rhythmic pattern developed deep inside her; wafted out of her mouth in her breaths and through her chest by the beat of her heart. In and out, in and out, with a sweet release waiting for her at the end. Finally, Twilight could take no more. Her legs spasmed from beneath her as she released all the energy she'd pent up. A sudden squeak forced its way out of her mouth; just as she touched her horn to the crystal. And nothing happened. "No no no no, don't do this to me, not now." It was too late to stop it now. The ground was rushing up at her, and she just didn't know how to stop it in time. She was just...moving too fast. She needed to slow down, or stop, or jump or something. If she hit the ground from this height, she would die. And she couldn't die, she was Twilight Sparkle. There had to be a way, she just couldn't-- There was no way of telling just how long she'd been out. With all the pegasi fighting the changelings in the city, there was no one to move the clouds out of the way of the sun. For all Twilight knew, she could have been out for anywhere between a few minutes to a few months. Maybe even years, time had seemed to lose whatever meaning it had at this point. She was...lucky to be alive. She remembered that. She couldn't feel one of her front legs, her horn sported a brand new crack along the base, something was stabbing her in the chest and dirt was pressed so deep into her coat that she knew that no amount of baths would be able to get it all out. But she was alive, remarkably. Looking around, it was easy to determine where she'd landed. Stone statues sat around her; dwarfing the injured pony in their size and grace. To her right, Twilight could see the edge of the hedge maze and a little path that ran along its edge. turning around, she managed to steal a glance of a large crater caused by the crystal; lit up by a faint white glow. For a minute, she thought that maybe she'd won. Her mouth was already open in congratulations to herself when a faint buzzing wormed its way into her ear. Almost immediately, she tracked the noise to its source and looked up. Chrysalis, with insect like wings beating a thousand times a second, dropped herself to the ground, unharmed. A confident sneer was caught in her mouth as she scanned over Twilight, practically soaking in her injuries. "Had a little trip, did we? Twilight tried to push herself to a more dignified posture, but a sudden needle shooting through her injured leg prevented her attempts from succeeding. "I feel like somepony launched me from Celestia's throne room across the country in a single powerful burst, but luckily that only happened to one of us." The brittle grass snapped and crackled under Chrysalis' hoof as she walked closer; everything about her screaming 'control.' And she was in control of the situation, anyone could see that. "Just what was your plan, Twilight? Did you think that I actually needed the heart to beat you? Or that your precious knights would stand a chance? You should have just stayed at home, Twilight, and let yourself be captured like the rest of your friends. What good are you even, without your elements of harmony?" A spark fell across Twilight's eyes as everything fell into place. "I get the feeling that you don't understand what exactly the elements are, Chrysalis, am I correct?" Chrysalis' façade dropped for a split second as Twilight continued. "The elements aren't just some tacky necklaces and a crown, they symbolize the bonds that keep Equestria together. They're the very essence of magic itself, given powerful and untapped form. They can work for anyone, any group of friends that embody the elements. Which brings me to my next point." The ground next to Twilight exploded with a loud bang. The stabbing pain returned to her leg as she instinctively threw it into the air to protect herself, only to lower it when she realised it was exactly who she was looking for. "The green knight, who risked himself to save us from Sombra and confessed to eating all the pastries in Sugercube Corner, represents the element of Honesty!" "Wat?" Chrysalis croaked out. Another explosion rocked Twilight as the next knight landed to her left. "The orange knight, who entertained the entire group with his antics and tamed the savage manticore, represents the element of Laughter!" "No, seriously, what?" The air gained a cold chill as the blue knight landed. The slight breeze caused by his descent caused small whirlwinds to spin around his feet, stirring up the grass beneath his feet. And with him, came Spike. Twilight bit her lip to stop herself from running out there and simply hugging Spike where he floated and telling him how much she missed him and how she was never going to let him go and how everything would be fine, but she didn't. She needed to finish this. "Blue knight, who helped Roseluck with her gardening and shared his food and drink with his friends represents the element of...Generosity." "No, stop Twilight. Stop this now." "Spike represents the element of Loyalty, for always sticking by my side on this adventure through thick and thin." Twilight stopped for a moment. She was one short. That wasn't right, she should have had six friends. ~~Wasn't there another?~~ She couldn't...remember. The questions were there but the answer were not. Why couldn't she... "And with the element of magic, it's all complete!" A brilliant light started to surround the ~~six~~ five creatures as Twilight closed her eyes. Chrysalis started to back-pedal, curses dying on her lips. She had been so close, so very close to victory. And now, just like that, she lost? No fair. Looking into the sun of a spell Twilight was casting, Chrysalis closed her eyes. She couldn't bring herself to watch. Twilight started to laugh as she lowered herself back to the ground. Chrysalis cracked her eyelid open a tiny amount. "What? Why...why didn't you..." "The elements...the elements don't work...they don't work like that, Chrysalis. You can't just...just pull random...pull random friends off the...the street. You need...need true harmony to make them work. These knights couldn't harmony if they wanted too. There's a reason only six ponies in over a thousand years can use them. Haha, I can't believe you fell for that." Despite her fatigue and the blow to her pride, Chrysalis pushed herself tall again, nearly towering over Twilight. "I fell for no such thing. A queen such as myself would never fall for such a lowly trick." "Kinda hard to believe that when you were cowering on the floor a couple of seconds ago." "Silence, Twilight. I've had enough of these monologues and talks, it's time we finished this." Twilight simply shrugged. "Alright, go ahead. But can I ask you a question before we start?" Despite the magic gathering in her horn, Chrysalis faltered for a moment. What harm was there in indulging the mare? She probably just wanted to know why, or how, or some other small detail that wouldn't matter once she was gone. What was the harm? "What?" "If changelings have conquered every inch of Canterlot, why are there none in the gardens?" Chrysalis opened her mouth to respond, before snapping it shut hastily. She scanned the garden; searching for her drones, but coming up empty. That was...odd. "Where are you going with this? No, no, I don't care, enough talking." "Chrysalis, it's time to wake up. For both of us." "What are you blabbering about?" Sighing, Twilight stepped forward. "Things don't make sense, Chrysalis, please tell me you noticed this?" "The knights are simply sitting still and waiting for orders, there are no mountains between Ponyville and Canterlot to look through, magic doesn't work like an on/off switch, a floating platform above Canterlot is a ridiculous notion, I haven't encountered the heart climbing the tower yet, you hadn't been up there a few months at all, Spike wasn't on the floating platform with us, there are no changelings in the garden and finally, the one big thing that finally made me realise all this, realise all the tiny little discrepancies of this illusion, was this..." Twilight perked her ears backwards. "There's no crystal behind me anymore. It left the moment it thought I was dead." Slowly, almost fearfully, Chrysalis dragged her eyes to the crater behind Twilight. True to her word, it was completely empty; only a single line of up-heaved dirt remained. She struggled to grab her tongue, struggled to put things together in a way that made sense. "What?" "This is an illusion, Chrysalis. One that you've gotten caught in. At this moment, I'm passed out on the fourth floor of the tower, probably drooling on the floor and embarrassing myself in front of...I can't remember who. Just more reasons this is an illusion. You, however, are passed out at the top of the tower, dreaming that you're fighting me in the garden. But now that I've told you this, you're waking up. Everything you've dreamed here is just going to...disappear." Looking around again, Chrysalis' features dropped as she realised she couldn't recognize where she was. Endless dunes of pure white and a cold wind was all she could see, as far as the horizon. It was encroaching in her vision, choking her down through the mist and smoke, all in a futile effort to wake her up. She had to. And then just like that, Twilight opened her eyes. The illusion was broken. The shadows crawling across the roof parted as Twilight adjusted to the darkness. A hasty breathe was sucked into her lungs as she fought for air from her sleep addled mind. She didn't even want to know how much time she'd wasted sleeping, that wasn't important any more. What was important was what she knew. She knew everything now; all the pieces were falling together into a perfect picture of the situation. Rolling onto her stomach and pushing herself back to her hooves, Twilight scanned through the room. She couldn't hide her grin as she zoned in on the red knight; sitting in front of the door and waiting for someone to open it so he could continue. That was good; it meant Twilight didn't have to waste time explaining what just happened to her. Trotting across the room, Twilight bit the bottom of her lip, before lifting the knight from where he stood and placing him on her back. He was heavier than he looked; it was like carrying a bag of iron on her back. This would be faster though, she knew that. She needed to reach the top quickly. "Red, better hang on, because we don't have much time left. I'll explain as I run, now let's go!" Twilight threw the door open with her magic so hard it left an imprint the wall next to it. She followed that up with a quick teleport, followed by another, and another, skipping entire sections of the stairs at once. "Chrysalis isn't the one messing with us here, she never made the illusions, not intentionally, and she has no control over them. She's just another alicorn that got in over her head." Twilight nearly fumbled as the red knight shifted his weight. "There is a pony at the top of this tower, another alicorn, another princess, but she absolutely hates you. To the core. Chrysalis must have known this, that's why she came up here. You saw how she freaked out when you first arrived...well, you didn't, but that's beside the point." "Chrysalis was intending to mind control the princess up here, and use her power to destroy you. But it didn't work, because the princess was stronger than her. Instead of her controlling the princess, the princess controlled her, then used her own illusion magic to convince her that everything was going to plan and to trap each of us on our own separate floors." With a final flash, Twilight appeared at another door. "But it didn't work, because this princess hasn't been outside in over one thousand years. She didn't know what Canterlot looked like, or how Equestria had changed. It was impossible for her to create a realistic illusion." Twilight placed her hoof on the door. "Red...I know we don't know each other that well; we only met a couple of hours ago, but I need you to understand one thing. Please, if you can understand anything I say, don't hurt Chrysalis. She's only partially to blame, and I can handle her punishment myself. Please, just aim for the black and purple alicorn and don't hold back. I've fought her before, and it took the elements to even dint her." And with that, Twilight kicked the door down. Light shone into the room that hadn't seen sunlight for centuries as Twilight rushed in. She couldn't see anything, just like before, but now it was frightening. Now she had a reason to fear the dark. Like a spotlight shining down from the ceiling, a ray of light chased away the shadows on the other side of the room. A mare was sitting there, bruised and injured, but alive. Her appearance seemed to get worse every time Twilight saw her. Shining her magic again, Twilight lifted the knight off her back. "Remember, Chrysalis is mine. The second the other princess shows up though, give her your all." Walking slowly, and with purpose, Twilight made her way across the room. It wasn't until she was just at the edge of the spotlight that the room was cast into darkness again, and a voice made itself clear. It was a smooth voice; one that as pleasant to the ear and carried a tone of both arrogance and class. "Well well, that was rather clever of you, Twilight. Figuring it all out like that. I nearly had you for a second though, we both know that's true. How does your leg feel? Ache a little?" Licking her lips, Twilight glanced randomly into the darkness. The mare speaking to her seemed to shift and waver at the edges of her vision, but never truly enter it. That wasn't good, the red knight couldn't do anything until she showed herself. "Nightmare Moon, I don't want to fight you. I'm here for Chrysalis alone. She's the only one who can call back the changelings, and I'm not leaving until she does so. Now bring her back to me, lock yourself in this room again, and leave me alone." The shadows shifted, "It's only Nightmare now. You and your pesky friends made sure of that. Do you have any idea how close I was to bringing about eternal night? Thiiiiiiiiiis close. Can you see how close my hooves are at this moment, because they are so damn close you don't even know. You couldn't slid a hair between these hooves, because they're so close there is no room for error on how close they to each other they are. But now that you're here, that doesn't matter. I've been waiting for this moment, Twilight." "And what moment would that be?" The voice seemed to be closer; whispering in Twilight's ears. "Join me, Twilight. Somepony as powerful as you doesn't need giants to carry them. You are a giant amongst giants; an unstoppable force of magical potential. You could be an alicorn yourself one day; Princess Twilight, doesn't it ring a bell? Doesn't it sound right when it rolls of the tongue? Power, friends, wealth, fame, recognition, anything you want. I can get it for you, you just need to let me help you." "And this would be the kind of help that blocks out the sun, right?" "A mere side effect of having your way. Don't rest on something like that. Think of what's in it for you. Never having to worry about a friendship report again, an endless library to study and research, hundreds, no, thousands of friends to truly discover the magic of friendship with and a free business suit." "Does the suit come with a tie?" "Of course it can, Twilight. Anything you want." Twilight cocked her head sideways. "Mm, that is a tempting offer. However, as much as I would love a business suit, I'm going to have to decline." A shadowy hoof formed beneath Twilight's chin, pulling her gaze upwards to two eyes hovering in the mist. "No, you're not, Twilight. Think about this, really think about this, because this is not an offer I give to everypony. You need me, Twilight; and I need you. We were made for each other. Luna was...Luna was just a stepping stone to what we could achieve together, just a tiny taste to what was coming." With a carefully weighed movement, Twilight pushed the hoof on her chin down. "You forget, Nightmare Moon, I have no interest in power. I don't...want to control ponies, or command their respect. All I need are my friends. They're always there to support me when I need it; I don't have any need for power." For a minute, silence wafted through the room like shadows, until Nightmare finally responded. "And what would you do if...something were to happen to your friends?" Another hoof materialized out of the darkness to stand beside its partner, but Twilight still couldn't see the pony they belonged to. "I don't understand. You can't threaten me like this, Nightmare, I know my friends are safe." "Who said anything about threatening? I'm merely stating facts. For example, you weren't powerful enough to protect your friends when the changelings swept into Ponyville. You weren't powerful enough to defeat Sombra when he challenged you, you weren't powerful enough to save even a single pony in that town. Instead, what did you do? You ran, and hide, and cried for your mother and called upon the only force powerful enough to save the day." Like a collection of snakes, the shadows twisted and formed in front of Twilight; growing pointed teeth and polished metal, framing the eyes in a frightening pony face. "It's all about power, Twilight, and together, we have it all. If you let me help you, you will never have to call for help to save your friends again. Look at the knight behind you, he knows...Look at him, Twilight! He knows he's the most powerful creature in this room. Perhaps all of Equestria. He doesn't need to worry about consequences, or the damage he causes or the ponies he hurts, because who is going to object to him? And you've been feeding this destructive attitude." With a final flash of retreating light, Nightmare revealed herself. Her mane was like the cool of a winters night; floating down her neck. A polished and dark purple helmet sat on her head, with only a hole cut for her horn to break the perfect shine. And she grinned, with a mouth that wouldn't be out of place on a vampire, and inched closer to Twilight. "And where does this attitude you've been aiding end? What happens to the knights once the fight is over? Do you not realise why Celestia imprisoned them in the first place? Once the fight is over, the knights are going to destroy everything, just like they did one thousand years ago. This is why we need to help each other, Twilight, for the good of us all. I will not let my kingdom fall to these brutes again!" All Twilight gave her was a dismissive wave. "Give me Chrysalis, Nightmare Moon." "What...bu...but you're just going to ignore everything I've said?" "Nightmare, since the very moment I woke these knights, everyone has been trying to tell me they're 'evil,' or they're 'weak' or they 'obey the princesses kiss.' At this point, I couldn't care less what their motives are. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. All I want to do at the moment, is make sure that my friends stay safe while I call off this invasion. And I can't do that without Chrysalis. Now, be a good pony for once, give me Chrysalis, lock yourself in this tower and never bother me again; or I'll show you just why red knight is the most powerful guy in the room. Alright?" Nightmare thought for a moment, before stomping her hoof. "No." "No?" "I've waited too long for a chance like this, I'm not just going to let it pass me by because you don't see things the same way I do," With a flick of her head, Nightmare stepped out of the shadows fully; her slender body like a silhouette in the moonlight, "If I can't have my wishes, this entire kingdom can burn for all I care. As long as I'm here Twilight, you will never find Chrysalis." Twilight shrugged. "I suppose you shouldn't have stepped out of the shadows then." The red knight moved so fast that the darkness around him swirled inward as he charged at the black alicorn. Nightmare didn't have time to react; didn't have time to block as the knight flew towards her. With a loud smack and a shockwave that was nearly visible in its strength, Nightmare was thrown backwards into the wall. Nightmare was no sucker though. By the time the red knight was back on his feet, she'd already disappeared again. Almost on instinct, Twilight moved closer to the red knight. The darkness around the two was suddenly more menacing now that they had the knowledge that Nightmare could come from any direction. This fact was only punctuated by a low, guttural laugh; the source of which seemed to come from all around the two. "This is a fight I will not lose, children." Twilight was thrown off balance as a wave of shadow thrust itself between her and the knight. She stumbled forward, just enough to regain her footing before turning around. She could just make out the outline of the red knight through the shadows, but he didn't look too good. There was no way he could predict Nightmare's attack. Every time he moved to block, Nightmare would reveal herself behind him; lingering only long enough to sneak between his defences and strike. Every time he tried to strike, on the few occasions Nightmare was slow on her retreat, his sword would slice through the shadowy mist where his opponent was a second ago, before a swift counter attack would throw him off again. The sounds of the fight filled the room as Twilight tried to inch closer, being blocked at the last moment every time. Even if she couldn't do much, red knight needed her help. Needed any help. He needed the other knights; this wasn't a fight he could win alone. Twilight wrestled with herself for an answer. There wasn't time to go back and try to find the other knights. There wasn't time to try and help the knight herself, there was just nothing she could do! What was she even doing here? If she'd taken the place of even one of the other knights this wouldn't be happening, Equestria would be safe! Helpless, that's all she could think. She was helpless to do anything. And then, for a brief moment, everything fit together. The lines and webs of chaos spread across the world straightened and twisted into words, into a plan, and Twilight was given a glimpse into the mind of a knight. And she knew just what to do. She had to be crazy awesome. "This is going to hurt." Twilight commented to herself, running through her memories. She knew it was in there somewhere; buried beneath months and weeks of research. It just didn't want to show itself, not yet. Magic was pre-emptively gathering on her horn, but without the right spell to release it, all the magic in the world would be useless. Words and figures surfaced in head, and she finally remembered the spell she needed. A flash of light lit up the room, and Twilight swore she could see everything rotate as gravity reversed itself. She landed on the underside of the roof with no problem; its steep angle instantly causing her to slide towards the centre. With a twist of her foot, stopped herself, just long enough to locate the red knight. She'd need his help for phase two. On the other side of the room, the knight hadn't even noticed the change in gravity. There were bigger things to be concerned about. He could hear his enemy inching around him, moving from every direction. He just needed a chance, or a break. This boss had far too much health for one knight. Until...a path blazed through the shadows and he found himself flying backwards. A purple cloud was surrounding him, the cause of his sudden movement, but he didn't know why. Twilight simply stared at him as she moved closer to the centre. A quick breath outwards blew her mane out of her eyes as she reached the cone centre of the roof. Twilight turned her head backwards, focusing on the shadows gathering behind her and the pair of eyes hidden within them. "What are you doing, Twilight?" they asked. Twilight didn't bother to answer. "Red, please trust me. That magic jump, from earlier, I've seen you do it before; you have to do that for me right now, at this exact spot. Trust me! I'll handle the rest. It's time to do the impossible; see the invisible." Landing his feet back on the ground, the knight raised his fist into the air, as if to say 'row row, fight the power,' before crouching his knees and gathering his magic. Just a single jump. Nightmare realised what was going on a second too late to prevent it. Lightning and power surged into the old wooden roof; ripping it apart as the duo shot straight into the air. Planks of wood and broken tiles floated into the sky as sunlight rushed into the room. The thick mist of shadows and darkness was instantly destroyed by the sun; banished to the dark corners of the room. There was no where left to hide for Nightmare now, not in the light of the sun. At the same time, Twilight gathered her magic again and righted the twisted gravity. "Hold on, Red." Twilight was given one small chance to shield her eyes before her and the knight crashed into the floor. Or rather, through the floor. Between the magic jump of the knight and the natural aid of gravity, the two had more than enough speed to simply smash their way through the ground. Just as Twilight planned. Dust coated her as she continued her fall; the obstacle barely slowing her at all. Another floor stood in her way, only to fall as body met stone. And another, and another, until Twilight realised that was four and firing her magic up again; this time to cushion the last landing. She hit the ground with a loud smack. Rivers of pain flowed up her legs from the collision; mingling with the bruises forming just about everywhere else on her body. It was only by a miracle that she hadn't bit her own tongue off yet. Rubble and dust rained down around her like hail but none were large enough to actually cause her any harm. Breathing heavily, Twilight sighed. She still wasn't done. "Twi...twilight?" Looking up, Twilight quickly locked onto her apprentice. Innumerable emotion rushed through her body; joy and fear and guilt and happiness, but Twilight had to force them all aside. She wasn't done yet. "Not now Spike, just sit still!" she shouted, charging at the blue knight standing next to Spike. The room lit up the second Twilight was close enough and the four found themselves on the next floor, except a giant hole was punched through the middle. It took Twilight less than a minute to find the green knight; rushing over and adding him to the posse. Another flash, another floor, another knight and Twilight was ready. At this point, she could nearly see the magic leaking off her horn. No unicorn had ever used this much magic so quickly, it was practicably unheard of. Objects split and wavered in her vision, but it wouldn't matter in a moment. She just needed to cast one last spell. Mustering up the last of her leaking magic, Twilight threw everything she had into carrying the knights up the last floor. With a pained groan, the laws of physics buggered off to another dimension as light flooded the room and the group appeared at the top of the tower. "Stop! Don't come any closer!" Despite the loud ringing bouncing through her head, Twilight was still able to hear Nightmare's panicked shouts. It took a bit more concentration than she'd like, but with effort, Twilight could pull her fading vision together long enough to survey the scene. Nightmare, with no shadows left to hide in, had propped herself against the wall. In front of her, held in place by sheer force of will, was Chrysalis; more a shield against attack than an actual pony. Both of the ponies looked worn down and broken, but that only served to make them all the more dangerous. "Take another step and Chrysalis is done. I'm not letting this chance go to waste!" Twilight couldn't care less. She was tired, magically drained and just plain bored. Luckily, the knights were ready to take over for her at this point. They didn't even respond to the threat; didn't slow down their advance even slightly. The red knight lead the charge, moving until he was within arms reach of the changeling. The two stared each other down; neither him or Nightmare willing to break the exchange. Until the red knight casually lifted his arm, swatted Chrysalis out of Nighmare's reach as if he was removing a troublesome fly and moved in for the fight. "Come on, Chrysalis, wake up...wake up, Chrysalis." With a soft touch, Twilight lightly poked the unconscious Chrysalis' face. She was still breathing, but barely. They were nearly done, Equestria was nearly safe, they just needed to wake Chrysalis up. Though as the minutes dragged on though, that goal seemed to slowly slip away in favour of just keeping Chrysalis alive. Despite Twilight's slowly weakening grip on the arcane arts, she still continued. There were many spells dedicated to making sure ponies recovered from wounds faster, or to make sure they weren't in too much pain, or for just about any step of the medical procedure, but for some reason, none of them were working. Time was running out; she could almost hear the hounds and changelings climbing up the sides of the tower. "I can't...I can't do it." She said, breaking away from her spells to steal a glance at the knights. "She won't wake up." "Unless..." Twilight shuffled through her bags, which she totally did have at that moment and which were always there from the beginning, yes. It wasn't hard to find; there was only two things in the bag in the first place, but Twilight still couldn't stop a sigh of relief when it levitated into her face. Rainbows painted the floor as light streamed through the clear container; half full of red liquid. This better not turn out to be a mistake. Pressing her lips together in concentration, Twilight lifted the vial above her head before smashing it down hastily, directly onto Chrysalis' head. The effect was nearly faster than instantaneous, except for the point where that was impossible and it just happened really, really fast instead. Chrysalis rocketed upwards; sleep running from her eyes. "I'm awake mum, don't worry. It's all...good?" Slowly, her gaze drifted from the purple unicorn in front of her, to the unconscious alicorn on the ground, to the four knights sitting atop a giant chest, trying to crack it open and end the level. "Did I...miss something?" Twilight pushed herself into Chrysalis' face. "No more games, Chrysalis. Call off the invasion." "Never!" Even if she wasn't sure about what was going on, Chrysalis wasn't a pony to simply give in to demands. Shrugging, Twilight pointed at one of the knights, at random. "Would you like to explain why not to them then?" Following her gaze, Chrysalis swallowed nervously as the knight's gazed back. Only the red knight was there to keep them in line, but it was clear he was loosing patience just as fast as the others were. "I still refuse. The changeling empire will--" Twilight nodded, and red knight dropped his arms; just long enough for the message to sink in before pulling his colleagues back again. "Alright, alright, you win. I'll...I'll do it." With a weary sigh, Chrysalis started to flap her wings; more of a fast fly like buzz than the strong wing strokes of a pegasus, and rose into the air. Flying even higher into the air, and eventually straight out of the hole punched into the roof. The room was filled with silence and tension, so thick it was nearly choking, until all of that came crashing down with a nearly ear deafening screech that shook the castle in its noise. Another silence, somehow heavier than the last, before a sound that brought joy to Twilight's heart filled the room. Buzzing. The sound of hundreds or thousands of changelings all flying into the air away from Canterlot, back to where they came from. She could nearly laugh from the sheer joy of the sound. By the time the buzzing stopped, Twilight didn't even realise that Chrysalis had left with it. All she could focus on was the fact that she had done it! She'd saved Equestria! Well, mostly by herself. A little by herself. She was at least there, she did a little! All her friends were safe, Equestria was safe, Canterlot was safe, there was no better way this could have gone. Feeling her legs give out, Twilight sat down. The sunlight on her skin was the greatest feeling she could have at this moment. And as the knights sat down next to her, one by one, only one thought was left on her mind. "I need to talk to Pinkie, because I could really use a party right now. What about you guys?" The knights only raised a single hand, thumb extended. Author's Note You were expecting some dramatic reveal? Or perhaps something that made sense? Or maybe an explanation? It's a real shame that I'm the only one here then. Alright, maybe it's just me, but I just spent about five minutes giggling at the big bold 'final battle.' This says something, but I don't know what. Shot, I nearly forgot that the red knight was lightning, not fire. I don't even know. How much of this chapter was actually necessary, and how much was just me attempting to create the biggest mind screw in history? Other rejected possibilities for the top of the tower: -Prince Blueblood -Starswirl the Bearded -That Crystal from the game -Queen Chrysalis -The purple princess -The red princess -The blue princess -The orange princess -Spike -Celestia's mum -Twilicorn -Steve? Well, that's it folks, stories over. Mostly. Now all we need is the epilogue and we're all done. I sincerely apologise for the change in tone these last two chapters.
Castle Crashing the Party"So, what happens to them now?" "The knights? You needn't worry about such things right now, my student." "You're going to turn them to stone again, aren't you?" "...Yes." "Same as before? Same inscription and everything?" "Only if they choose not to change it. It is a few millennia old at this point and...a little less accurate than it once was." "Why?" "Well, I like to imagine that I've grown as a pony since it was written and that my morals are more socially acceptable." "You know what I mean." "...Because that's how it has to be. They're a fairytale; dashing and brave and entirely foalhardy, but that is why they also must be put back to sleep. What happens to the knight, the princess, the evil wizard, the wise king; when the book is closed? The story cannot continue forever, no matter how much we wish it too. Characters; all the life and vibrancy they possessed, must be forgotten at some point. The book must close, the story must end. The very nature of the knights makes this true." "But...surely there's something you can do!" "If there is, I haven't found it. But do not shed tears for them, Twilight, for a book once closed will someday be opened again.The knight will fight, the princess will swoon, the wizard will cast his evil magics and the king will impart deep wisdom at the end. As the story ends, so does another begin. Maybe you won't live long enough to read it; perhaps even I won't last that long, but I can assure you, it will happen again. And when it does, I feel deep sadness for whoever is playing the role of the dark wizard." "But Celestia--" "And you should not be thinking of these things at the moment. Come, I can hear the music from here. Your friends have thrown a great party for their saviours; you should be enjoying it with them instead of fretting over the inevitable with me. Now go. And remember; a fairytale is only a tale so long as it is told. So let this particular one ring through the annals of history." "So, it's come down to this. Did you not think I would find out? Did you think that you could keep a secret from the captain of the royal guard? I'll have you know I've been extensively trained in the ancient art of gorilla warfare, and have over three hundred confirmed acts of kindness and generosity. You have no idea of the storm I am about to release upon you. You're dead, kiddo." The orange knight shifted his feet to the side; attempting to resume a fighting stance before being forced to step the side again in an endless dance with his opponent. If he let him get too far to his left, he might slip into a small crack in his defence and the fight would be over. And so the two danced, the jester and the guard, circling each other endlessly. "I know you touched my woman, knight. You can't hide such secrets from me!" Off to the side, a pink bundle of flesh and feathers tried to wrest even a small amount of attention from the duelists. "No, don't do it Shining! I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me! I can explain." "Quiet Cadence, the men are talking," turning his attention back to the orange knight, Shining Armour continued, "So, knight, what do you have to say for yourself? Any last words to share?" The knight continued to circle, his eyes occasionally drifting away from the duel to the other amusements gathered around him. "Ah, clearly you know that the greatest insult to a fellow knight is silence! You're crafter than I thought; I shan't underestimate you now! But your mind tricks won't work on me, for I am the greatest swordsman...pony...swordpo...GUARD in the land!" "No, Shining, stop...no seriously, stop. Now that I think about it, the knight I kissed was a lot more...blue-ish than this one." Stopping his endless dance for a second, Shining ran through some calculations in his head, before settling on the most obvious answer and pointing his sword at the orange knight again. "Your colour changing magic is similarly useless against me, for I am just as powerful regardless of what colour I am. Unless it's pink, don't make me pink, nopony likes that colour." Cadence froze for a split second. "Hang on, I'M PI--" The tension of the movement overcame Shining as the knight lunged forward, only to pull back at the last second. A sneaky fake; he was trying to trip him up. "Keeping up the silence, ay? Truly you have mastered insults to a zen like level. Just as the brave honey badger can overcome his ability to give a horseapple, so too can you bypass the bodies natural instinct of fear. But do not worry, because it is simply natural to be scared when facing...THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD!" "Honey...I don't think he's listening to you. Look, look, he's eating a bagel as we speak! Just get it over with." Suddenly caught out on his mid battle snack, the orange knight returned to his position; crumbs dribbling down his face. How he ate was a mystery, but some things are better left unanswered. After all, if you stare into the abyss long enough, sometimes the abyss stares back. And then, like, eats a bagel or something, I don't know; I'm not a poet. Shining faltered for a brief second and broke eye contact from his opponent. "I'm gonna do it! Just you watch, I'm totally going to fight this guy. Just you watch me." "So do it." Shining faltered again. "I'm gonna...do it. Any second now. Everypony watch, here I go, I'm going to fight this knight and defend my woman's honour. He...he...here I go." "Just stab him already!" Biting the bottom of his lip, Shining brought his sword down on the knight, swiftly and cleanly. The shining steel splintered through the air towards its target, unavoidable in its ferocity. And then it stopped an inch above the knight's head and tapped him lightly. "Haha, it is done! Did everypony see that, I totally hit that knight." For a brief moment, silence reigned over the party. The band put down their instruments; cutting off the music, the whispers and shouts of the dancers evaporated into the air, the flapping of wings suddenly disappeared as pegasi lowered themselves to the ground; too ashamed to continue the effort needed to fly. And the orange knight stared at Shining disapprovingly before shaking his head sadly and walking away. With a swift movement, Cadence shifted into Shining's reach; trying to divert some of the embarrassment he was no doubt feeling at the moment. "It's all right, Shining, nopony looks down on you for not going through with it." "But...but I did go through with i--" "Shh, shh, honey, just be quiet right now. It'll all be fine." At that moment, the massive doors to the throne room were thrown open and through them wandered a very bedraggled and tired looking pony. Shining gave one glance at the pony in the door way, before dashing out of Cadence's grip. A loud 'gotta go now, bye' escaped his lips as he sprinted for the nearest exit. A green mist began to envelop him mid-step; shedding the disguise off of him as he ran. And the changeling fled out the window just as Shining settled next to his wife. "Wow, you would not believe the day I've been having. At least six ponies have kicked me in the shins for no reason and everypony says I'm already at the party. And don't get me started on the whole changeling attack. Thank Celestia you're safe and nothing questionable happened during the invasion; that would destroy what little optimism I still have. What did I miss?" Cadence flapped her gums for a brief second, a soft 'huh,' being audible over her breath. "Uh, nothing. Nothing at all." "Well, thank goodness for that. Now, I need to be off to congratulate our savours. That orange one over there seems like a good place to start." "I must say, Pinkie did a rather fabulous job with this party. I know it's her specialty, but to get all these ponies together on such short notice, it's amazing. Look, look over there, it's pony Johnny Depp! And over there, it's Badhorse! And over there..." Rarity let out a dreamy sigh, "it's Fancy Pants. Fluttershy, darling, I must ask that you hold my drink for me while I attempt to start a conversation. Snapping out of the trance she went into whenever one of her friends started talking, Fluttershy shook her head quickly. "Rarity, please don't. I don't want to sneak back in again, not after that incident with Blueblood. Can't we just sit here and...and appreciate the music?" "The music is terrible and being played from a six year old speaker by a washed out and rather filthy DJ 'artist.' I can do without. Now, watch as I show him my moves. Men like it when you show them your moves. I think I'll start with the 'falcon walk.'" "Please...please don't go...oh." Fluttershy pulled her head back in a crude imitation of a turtle as Rarity walked away. The loud music drilled into her ears just as much as the constant chatter did. No matter where she placed her ears; no matter where she spun her head, it was always just there; boring into her mind and body. It did no help to calm the pegasus that she'd just lost her only lifeline in a sea of ponies she didn't know how to talk to or interact with. Maybe...maybe no one would notice if she just snuck out the back door and went home. She didn't belong here; it was much too loud and there were too many ponies and she'd just rather be looking after her birds. Birds were nice, birds didn't care if you offended them. The clitter clatter of her hooves against the stone floor was practically noiseless when compared to the ruckus of the party going on around her. She just needed to get to the exit, then it would all be ov-- Jumping backwards, Fluttershy found her hooves moving of their own accord. The creature she'd bumped into, a strange white and red bear, glared at her angrily as she tried to cough out an apology. Tried to is the operative word here, since the second her jump caused her to crash into another creature that was standing behind her, Fluttershy dropped all thoughts of the bear and turned around to apologies to the new pony. And subsequently be struck speechless. Fluttershy wasn't a talkative pony; anyone she knows can vouch for that. Even at the best of times, her words struggle to right themselves in her mouth, or her fat lips get in the way, or her teeth grind against each other painfully, or countless other reasons why she didn't speak. Unless, of course, she found something incredibly interesting, like a baby dragon, or a fairytale given form. All of a sudden, Fluttershy just couldn't stop herself; the sudden waves of awe and warmth suddenly overcoming her fear of social situations. "Oh Celestia, you're one of the knights aren't you? I'm talking to one of the knights; oh, I feel...I feel just giddy thinking about it. And a little scared, but that doesn't matter because I'm talking to one! One of the knights! I haven't felt like this since I met Spike. Spike is a talking dragon, by the way, he's Twilight's pet. He can talk too, can you talk? It would be weird if you couldn't, that would be absolutely dreadful. But here I am, talking to a knigh--ah!" With a thud, Fluttershy fell to the ground as a rough hand pushed her to the left and the orange knight stepped forward. With such a determined stare and such an unwavering stride, it was almost as if Fluttershy could hear what he wanted in her own head. "Move, they have a chocolate fountain over there. One that is full of white chocolate!" Pushing herself back to her feet and shaking the ringing from her ears, Fluttershy tried again. Her wings were nearly fully extended from the adrenaline flowing through them, it was just so weird for her to be so in charge. It was nearly...lewd. She managed to catch the knight just as he shoved his entire sausage into the fountain. "Soooo," Fluttershy said, kicking her hoof, "that's an interesting emblem on your chest, I wonder what it's supposed to be. Is it supposed to be an image of your weapon? Or maybe the letter T? Is that your name? T? It must be, everypony has a name, you can't be the orange knight forever. Is that okay, T?" Stopping for a moment, the orange knight glanced behind himself. And while the records are unclear on what exactly happened, top fun-gineers suspect that the knight's heart grew three sizes that day. And who could blame it, Fluttershy had puppy dog eyes and everything. For a brief second, Fluttershy found herself with feet waving through the air until the knight finished pulling her closer. "That is okay? That's...that's great! Can I ask you a few questions, if you don't mind? It's only a couple, barely even a group, please?" With barely a sigh, the knight lifted another good off the table, a small orange, and compared it to the paint on his face before eating it whole. Another arm movement, another orange; with the difference that this one was offered to his new companion. A light blush came over Fluttershy's cheeks as she took it, stuttering out a quick thanks. The orange knight put on a face of joy and reached for another baked good for himself. Until something caught his attention. The great gates to the throne room were slowly opening, and a strange creature was walking through them, making her presence known. Orange wasted no time. His sausage was missing, for the moment, but the fish he pulled out of the hands of the strange bear would work just as well. A long gaze ran through the crowd. He needed to find his brothers, needed to stop them before things got out of hand. Things had suddenly escalated and he just hoped it hadn't already. In the silence of the library, the blue knight waited. Parties weren't a treat for a creature such as him; too many loud ponies and creatures and music and all the other things that always managed to pop out when a party started. Give him a good book over a party any day. Red was around here too somewhere; trying to badger him into actually attending the festivities, though Blue didn't know where exactly. Perhaps it was better that way. There was also a librarian around, but again, Blue wasn't sure where. She would sure be busy in the morning though, once Blue was done with the place. How could so much history have happened in such a short time? From the end of the aisle, the sound of hoof steps rang out. With a slow, almost bored movement, the blue knight pulled his head up to face the newcomer. "Princess Celestia said I might be able to find you here. I suppose you really like stories, huh?" The knight simply shrugged and returned to his studies. Twilight inched closer, unsure of what to say or do but still confident that nothing could go wrong. After all, the two of them had been through an adventure together and things like that always found ways to bring out the best in people. "I thought ponies like you would prefer the crowds to something like this. Though I suppose you're not really ponies. Do you mind if I read up on the four of you more once you're...well, do you mind if I read up on you?" The knight shrugged again. "Come on, you can at least look at me. What are you reading?" Twilight asked. Realizing that his attempts at ignoring the conversation were useless, the blue knight instantly changed his demeanor. His back straightened, his eyes narrowed and the permanent chill he'd set around himself began to thaw as Twilight inched closer. With all the care and grace that an old book deserved, the blue knight lifted it vertically so Twilight could read the cover. Twilight sat down with a tired groan. "I...I can't read that. What language is this written in? Where did you find this book, it isn't in the library. It must be incredibly old, full of untold power and secrets." The blue knight closed the his book slowly, not possessing the heart or the ability to tell Twilight it was simply a book on the best way to cook cucumbers. Something had to be said though, Twilight was waiting. Thinking quick, the blue knight raised his arm into the air, juggling icicles between his fingers. Twilight 'caught' on immediately. "Oh, is that what it's about? Shooting magic out of your...what are those, hands? Interesting..." The knight once again shrugged, so powerfully there was no doubt what he wanted to say. "Sure, why not?" "Let me try, hold that pose for a minute." Losing his concentration for a brief second at the revelation that Twilight wanted to mimic him, the knight never-the-less did what he was asked. The chill returned to the air as time dragged on; with Twilight failing to make even the smallest spark appear and the knight pointing out her mistakes each time. Tedious would be a good word for it, everyone important knew that magic such as the knights couldn't be copied. It had to come from within, and even then you would have to be some kind of magical genius to make it work. Twilight got it down in five minutes. "Alright, so, let's try this again. If I twist my hoof like...this, just a little, and pull my whole arm back about three inches, then it should..work!" Both the knight and Twilight leaped backwards at the sudden explosion of light that filled the library. Deep black spots now covered the ground and some of the walls; remnants of the heat and sudden ferocity of the magic. Despite the danger, Twilight couldn't hide her loud chuckle. She didn't know what she was expecting to happen. The blue knight joined her, imitating a deep laugh but never making a sound. That was, until a loud crash captured their attention. Twilight wasn't sure whether the shelf of books was falling slowly, or if that as just her imagination. It didn't matter in the end though, as a torrent of old and valuable books spilled onto the ground; flying in every direction. But it didn't end there. With another loud crash, the bookcase slammed into the bookcase in front of it, bringing it down too. And in turn, that bookcase did the same, crashing into the next. And so on, and so on, like a set of falling dominoes. The duo could only look in horror; unable to stop the books from spilling or the cases from falling. A final thump, the sound of a dying machine, echoed through the room. It took Twilight nearly a minute to snap out of her daze. All those books. All those priceless, thousand year old books. Carefully, like she was balancing a ball on her head, Twilight turned towards the knight. "If anypony asks, we had nothing to do with this. Now lets get out of...here." Twilight glanced around the room frantically. The blue knight was already gone; leaping over the shelves in a desperate effort to get to the door before the librarian came back and unleashed the can of whoopass™ she always kept on her belt. It wasn't like Twilight needed any more prompt to chase after him. Her ass had been whooped enough for one day. "Now isn't this much better, Blue? You've got music, friends, food. Much better than being shoved into a cramped old library with a bunch of dusty books." The blue knight remained silent. "Where are we heading, anyway?" Twilight asked. Glancing at her, the blue knight drew his weapon, a curved wooden staff, and pointed at it expectantly. Twilight gasped. "Are you threatening me? After all we've done? Not if I kill you first you won't!" A loud smack echoed over the din of the party as the knight slapped his head. Trying again, the blue knight tried to convey his point more clearly. Pointing at his weapon again, the blue knight carefully passed it between his hands, placing extra emphasis on grabbing it and switching his hands. Twilight blushed. "Is that really appropriate?" Another loud clap before the blue knight absentmindedly waved his hands down in a dismissive gesture. Sensing that the conversation was over, Twilight resigned herself to quietly watching. The timing was impeccable, as it turned out, as it seemed Blue found his target over the crowd of creatures gathered and homed in. Only to be cut off suddenly and thrown backwards by a great gust of wind that ripped the tapestries from the walls and bore into the stone floor of the palace. Ponies and strange creatures alike scurried away to avoid being thrown against the walls as the source of the wind made itself known; just over the sound of Twilight groaning to herself. "Step aside, ponies, the Great and Powerful Trixie has entered the building." Twilight spared a second to glance behind herself. From how things looked, the blue knight was confused at the new guest, but not violent. Nodding to herself, Twilight vowed to keep it that way. "Trixie! Just what do you think you're doing? You could have hurt somepony! Are you insane?" "Ah ha, Trixie knew she would find you here Twilight! Or should I say, life long rival?" "What in Equestria are you talking about?" With a soft thump, Trixie landed; dust blowing itself away from her legs as she did. "Exactly what is Trixie talking about, Twilight? Wouldn't you like to know?" "I would." Trixie froze for a second. "Would what?" Twilight inched closer. "Like to know. I would like to know what you're talking about." "That's the question, isn't it? What is Trixie talking about?" "Well?" "Trixie is sure the answer is as mystical and powerful as the one saying it." Twilight sighed, "You don't know what you're talking about, do you?" "You did confuse Trixie, just a little bit. I mean, you interrupted her and everything." "Do you want a minute to gather yourself?" Twilight asked, as confidence grew in the once scared crowd and the party resumed as expected. "Yes, yes Trixie would." A minute passed between the two. A minute of loud music, indecipherable voices, confused moaning, Rainbow Dash crashing through the ceiling and awkward hoof shuffling until Trixie finally broke the tension with her voice, bringing the whole moment back on track. "That's right! Trixie was here to defeat you and prove who's the best unicorn once and for all. And after that she was going to go to chocolate fountain, Trixie heard they have a white one here, and then Trixie was going to be the hero of Equestria who gets all the friends!" "Trixie, do we really need to do this now? I mean, I just defeated Chrysalis, Nightmare Moon, King Sombre and a Windigo; not to mention walking through what I can only describe as a bad 'Inception' reference. Can't you hold this off until tomorrow? Or never? Hell, why do you need to prove this anyway, aren't you confident enough in your own abilities to call yourself the greatest and most powerful unicorn around?" "Trixie has really low self esteem and is very prideful, prepare to be defeated!" Sighing deeply again, Twilight took a step back to give Trixie her room. God knows she needs it, what with being second best, but her attempts always amused Twilight, even when they didn't pan out. Especially when they didn't pan out. Twilight chuckled to herself as she remembered the time Trixie accidentally ripped a hole between dimensions and disappeared mysteriously for two weeks before returning with a new hat and a twenty sided dice, babbling about how she was now a level twenty-five wizard and how easy it was to break the game. What a fortnight that was. Snapping back to attention as she realised Trixie was already casting her spells, Twilight studied her carefully. "...and that's where I learned how to do...THIS!" Brilliant light filled the room, all originating from the horn on the unicorns head. All the colours of the rainbow, plus a few that are indescribable both in writing and words but would surely bring a pony weeping to their knees in awe shone over everyone gathered. The unicorn beneath the light show shuddered under the force needed to keep the illusion together, just long enough for her to grunt out a response. "What do you think...of that?" Twilight shrugged. "Very exciting," she said, breathing out a heavy cloud of smoke from a magic cigar and adjusting her magic top hat. "Very exciting." The light show suddenly exploded, doubling in size and grandeur. A couple of the ponies gathered at the party even started to notice it; breaking away from their conversations to gaze at the miniature Aurora Borealis going on above their heads. Magical mist and fog gathered through out the lights, forming and combining into great images of terrifying beasts and brave heroes; a theater of magic. Too exhausted to keep her eyes open, Trixie called out to Twilight. "How's...this...Twilight?" Twilight sighed heavily. Behind her, the blue knight stared at the sky enraptured. Stepping forward, Twilight dissipated her magic clothing into the air. Slowly, she took another step, and another, until she was within reaching distance of Trixie. This wouldn't take too long; she didn't expect a thing. "Hey Trixie...?" "What?" "Open your eyes." "Wh...Why?" "Trust me. You'll want to." With drops of sweat running down her head, Trixie forced her eyelids to raise themselves. For a second, her pupils struggled to process the light coming from her own forehead, but all that paled in comparison to the two huge purple orbs staring back at her. And with that, Twilight leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the nose. The effect was instantaneous. Trixie reeled back, throwing herself off balance. Without the balance needed to keep her concentration in check, the illusion filling a very small section of the room faded into the air and seeped into the roof, never to be seen again. The magical whiplash created cracked down Trixie's horn at the same time, throwing even more of her balance off and forcefully crossing her eyes. Finally, Trixie closed her eyes slowly and faded off into the void, her light snoring barely audible over the music. And back in the land of the awake, Twilight turned around and walked closer to the blue knight. "Now, what did you want to do again?" Suddenly, a loud bang echoed through the room. Twilight spun around hastily, expecting to see Trixie waking up; or perhaps something new, but the party remained as it always was. It only took another second for her ears to flick backwards and tell her the real direction of the noise. The large doors to the throne room. The blue knight noticed them first, his eyes narrowing and a cold wind whipping up behind him. He needed to find the other knights, they couldn't be trusted around someone like that. Only he could, he was the one with the most sense and skills to keep everyone safe. He just hoped it wasn't too late. "Dashie, Dashie, Dashie, Dashie, Rainbow, Dashie, Dashie, Dash. Dashie, Rainbow Dash, Dashie!" "What, Pinkie? What do you want?" "Nothing, I just like saying your name. Dashie." "Wonderful. Please stop." "But why?" Rainbow Dash sighed, her signature rainbow hair falling down over her eyes as she cocked her head down, before pulling up sharply to swing it back into place. She paused briefly, long enough to stare at her pink companion, before explaining. "Because when you actually want to talk to me, I'll be ignoring you because you wore my name out." In response, Pinkie's face lit up almost as much as the light bulb above it. Rainbow Dash found it easier not to question this sort of thing. "Oh, that's a good point. We wouldn't want something like that happening, it would be terrible. But what am I supposed to say now?" Rainbow Dash shuffled her wings, leaning out of the line she was standing in to try and see where it ended. To her intense depression, the end wasn't even in sight. "You could try being quiet, just a thought?" Pinkie simply launched a confused stare at Rainbow. "Why not try saying your own name then? You'll never need to get your own attention." "Oh, good idea, good idea..." Pinkie stopped for a moment; a hoof on her chin, "but what if somepony else wants my attention? What then? I won't be able to hear them over my own voice and then they'll think I don't like them and then they'll get all depressed and then I'll get all depressed because they're depressed, and that will make them sadder which will make me sadder until the only thing that can cheer us up is a spontaneous song and dance number, and those are terrible in a written story, which I assume will someday be written as it would really be an interesting story about the depression and eventual healing of one of Ponyville's greatest partiers!" Rainbow sighed and nodded her head. She couldn't handle this at the moment. The line wasn't moving, Pinkie wouldn't shut up, her feet were sore, her wings were cramped, the music was dull and repetitive and then there's THIS flankhole who thinks he can just push in front of her! "Hey, buddy. Back of the line! No cuts-eyz." The creature in front of Rainbow Dash turned around and a wave of comprehension washed over her. A stocky build outlined by a shadow of green, it could be no one else. The green knight simply stared at Rainbow, confusion on his face. "Back. Ba-ack. Go to the end of line, this is my spot and you're not getting it. Back of the line." The green knight poked his head out of the line, glancing down the length of the creatures gathered, before standing up straight again. He shrugged. A loud smack overpowered the music for a second as Rainbow smacked her forehead. "Are...are you even listening to me? Go back! End of the line. No cutting in. This is my spot, mine! Mine! Get out!" Again, the green knight only stared, taking a step backwards to remain in the same place as the line moved closer to its destination. Rainbow growled. "Do you even know who I am? You can't do this, not to Rainbow Dash. Not to the element of Loyalty! Not to fastest creature in Equestria! And especially not to me! Move!" At the word fastest, the green knight suddenly shot to attention. He leaned forward, almost as if laughing, and smacked his knee before glancing up and seeing that Rainbow was serious and straight up collapsing to the ground, convulsions of laughter going through his chest. Stepping forward with an angry sneer on her face, Rainbow felt something pull on her shoulder; holding her back from doing anything stupid. "Rainbow, let it go. Just...just let it go." Pinkie said. A pent up breathe escaped Dash's lips. "But he stole my spot! And laughed at me! I can't just let something like that go, think about how the ponies who look up to me would react! I need to do this." "Dashie...let it go. I set up this huge party, and you will not ruin it for everypony." Rainbow sat stock still for a minute, with the music blaring in her ears and the knight silently laughing at her, before stepping forward again sadly. "I need to do this Pinkie. I'm sorry." Stomping her hoof to grab the knight's attention, Rainbow leaned in close; close enough that her nose was nearly pushing against the knight's head. "What's so funny, big guy? I can stop a thunderstorm before the first lightning hits the ground, I can dodge a speeding carriage, I can fly from Canterlot to Ponyville in the time it would take you just to stand back up, does this sound funny to you? Do you think just anypony can do that? I'm the fastest thing from here to the moon, and you better believe it." Rainbow took a step back and righted herself. "I'd like to see you do better; hunk of fat like yourself probably couldn't even get himself off the floor. Now, get out of my spot!" It took a single blink, and then something was pushing against Dash's side and the knight was gone. Turning quickly, Dash nearly jumped when she saw the knight leaning against her casually. He was staring at the window, a determined look in his eyes. He glanced back at Rainbow slowly, the intent and meaning behind his actions perfectly clear for anyone with a competitive bone in their body. "I'm better than you, and I know it. Stop talking so big," it said. Dash was unfazed. "Oh, you think you're so great and fast aren't you, sprinting for two seconds. It doesn't prove anything." The knight moved himself with a sense of determination and confidence. His hand was pointing out the window, at the top of the mountain on which Canterlot sat. But it was more than a simple direction or call to attention. No, Rainbow could see it as what it really was. A challenge, a mission, a race. First to the top wins. Dash didn't even care what the prize for winning was, satisfying her pride was enough. Moving forward so that she was next to the knight, Dash gave him a solid nod. "First to the top and back, eh? I do have wings you know, I'll win this easily. You sure you don't want to chicken out and pick a spot that's a little more...land-y?" The knight shook his head and Dash shrugged. "Alright then, don't say I didn't warn you. On the count of three then." 3. A final glance passed between the two, in which Dash spread her wings powerfully and the knight did a little jog in place, before the counter went down. 2. Dash locked her eyes forward, onto the target. The snow capped mountain top far above her. In the back of her head, where her rational side usually sought refuge from the overpowering influence of her bad decisions, Dash wondered why the knight had chosen a place like that. Unless he could fly, this race would be over before he'd even left Canterlot. 1. At the last moment, something caught Dash's attention; pulling her away from the target for a second. The green knight was pulling out his bow. Go. And with that, Rainbow wasted not a second and launched herself at the window; the bitter cold wind biting into her instantly and the force of her movement pushing harshly against her wings. A low whistle was all Rainbow could hear as she sped through the air. The whistle of wind rushing behind her, pushing her back, slowing her down. If she tried hard enough, she could probably break that shell, that force holding her back. But she didn't; there was no need for a sonic rainboom at this point. Her target vanished from her sight for a brief second as she glanced behind her. A rainbow trail connected her to the castle far below, and her opponent was nowhere to be seen. Good, this would be easier than she thought. Slowing for a second to rest her wings, Dash was given a better view of the world beneath her. The thick trees pocket-marked by lakes and rivers, the deep chasms gouging the earth, the snow falling and gathering beneath her in large bundles, the green knight speeding closer, everything. Wait, what was that last one? For a second, the whistling stopped, overpowered by a deep 'thum' as something small and nimble flew past her. The wind didn't get another chance to invade her ears though, as the one time 'thum' happened again, and again, eventually filling the air around her wood and splinters. Dash was given a small look at one as it rushed past her face. "An...arrow?" That glimpse was the only thing she got before something large smashed into her side. For a second she thought that maybe the green knight had shot at her, until the stars vanished from her eyes and the breath ran back into her lungs and she realized what it really was. Somehow; and she couldn't imagine how, the green knight had tackled her mid-flight. Her wings sputtered uselessly for a second, struggling to keep her at the correct altitude with the sudden increase in weight. It wouldn't make much difference in a moment, as the green knight quickly reached his arm up and grabbed her wing tightly, pinning it against her body. "What are you doing? Let go of me, you crazy statue!" Her remaining wing doubled its speed in an attempt to keep Rainbow from falling, but it just couldn't keep up and she started to droop. Slowly at first, until her wing finally gave up on itself and stopped flapping altogether. And then Rainbow was falling, falling into a world of frozen ice and deep white snow. Her head popped up a second later; a hat of fresh snow shaped like a Christmas tree on her head. Her first course of action was to stretch her wings. Make sure nothing was broken or out of place. It didn't seem so; the snow had broken her fall, so nothing was bruised or injured. A pair of footprints lay on the snow in front of her, leading far into the distance where the top of the mountain was. If she squinted, Dash swore she could see the cloud of dust and snow that was creating them. And then everything clicked. "He's trying to slow me down! That ass; no offense," "None taken. It's an accurate stereotype," The donkey that appeared every time that joke is made said. "Well, two can play at that game," Dash said, focusing her view on the knight. He was far away, very far away. It wouldn't be easy to catch up to him, not with a setback like she had. But if she could pull it off... Dash licked her lips, tasting the cold ice building on them, and set off, moving so fast the ground was pulled up behind her. Snow and ice whizzed by beneath her as she sped up the side of the mountain. Her breath came out in white plumes as she panted; the sudden crash and burst of speed draining her of energy. She'd only get one shot at this, so she needed to make it count. Lowering her arm closer to the ground, Dash squinted her eyes. She adjusted herself slightly, barely noticeable to the naked eye but distinct enough to cause a difference. Not too low, else she would crash. The snow licked at her hoof as she ran it along the surface, before she punched down violently. Immediately, the snow raced up her arm and gathered at her neck in a crude 'C' shape. It wasn't enough though, she needed to go lower. With a grunt, Dash pushed herself down again, nearly skimming the cold ground with her stomach. This close to the ground, a smart pegasus would have landed to save themselves a painful crash. That was no issue to Rainbow though. It had served its purpose. A large gathering of snow began to build in her arms; rolling into itself as she flew along the ground. Painful pricks of ice stabbed into her arm, but luckily, the intense cold spreading into her body stopped her from feeling it. And with a powerful flap of her wings, Dash pushed herself back into the air, a giant snowball in her hooves. Now she just needed to deliver it. Dash scanned ahead of her; searching for her target. She hadn't realised just how far the two of them had come already; the peak of the mountain was just in view. That wasn't important at the moment though, she could focus on that later. What was of interest was the cloud of snow rushing up the mountain, tantalizing close. Dash needed to close the gap. Through the thin air and her aching wings, Dash took in a final deep breath and pushed herself harder. The weight of the snow in her hooves did its best to slow her down, but she wasn't having any of that. Her pride was at stake here and she would never lose with odds like that. Finally, pulling up alongside the knight, Dash grinned. Or at least, as close to a grin as her tired body could muster. "Hey brickhead, catch!" She shouted, turning sideways and kicking the snowball towards the green knight before speeding off again, pushing herself even more to gain every second of her advantage. The sun shined against Rainbow's back as she reached the tip of the mountain, her rainbow trail glittering in the light, before she turned immediately and at an angle that should be impossible, back towards Canterlot. And that was it. She'd won. All she had to do now was speed through the window back into the party and that knight would have so much egg on his face. God, she loved that feeling, coming first. There was nothing like it. She lived for it. She loved it. Loved it so much she could almost taste it lingering on her tongue; sweet as honey. Like a tangible swee-- Hang on, how did the green knight get in front of her? Focusing her eyes as a heavy weight built in her stomach, Dash tried to understand what was going on. The green knight was somehow standing on top of her snowball and riding it down the side of the mountain, directly towards the finish line. She grit her teeth together. "No! No, you can't do that! I'm not losing this race!" Dash was never the best at math, or even thinking in general, but if there was anything she did have a head for, it was racing. Figures ran through her head, simple equations to determine who was going to come in first. And she came to the only conclusion. If she wanted to win, she needed to go even faster. The cone of air around her hoof-tips was slowing down, slowing her down too much if she wanted to win. She needed to shed it, soon, else the race was as good as over. Swallowing nervously, Dash let out one final flap before pushing herself to the limit. First step, angle her body downwards. Gravity took its hold over her swiftly, pulling her down as fast as she could bear. Canterlot was coming up, she didn't have long now. Step two, point your hooves. The cone blocking her vision began to crack and waver at the tip as it pushed against her wedge but without more speed, she was still safe. The wind pulled down on her wings and threatened to clamp them to her body and simply holding them open was becoming a challenge. Canterlot was dangerously close now. Step three, push down. That's it. That's all she needed to do to break the sound barrier and create a sonic rainboom. With a loud clap, the sky lit up with every colour of the rainbow. Rose red tinged the sky, staining it like the dawn of a rising of sun, before being chased away by the orange light of the sun, which in turn ran from the yellow of an autumn leaf. Greens, blues and purples flooded the world, blinding Dash in their brilliance. It would usually be cause for alarm, if Dash hadn't just missed her mark and created the boom too late, propelling her into the side of Canterlot's roof. For a second, blind fear shot through her body as she was sent falling to the ground. Fear that was immediately vanquished when she landed on something cold, soft and fluffy. The green knight glared at her from the bottom of the snowball. Rainbow wanted to glare back, and she would, just as soon as she could catch her breath. And when the stars disappeared. In fact, this snow was rather comfortable, maybe she could take a nap while she was at it? That sounded like a good idea. Wish someone would turn the music down though, who could sleep with such noise? The last thing she saw as before the darkness covered her vision was the face of the green knight; a look of respect on his face. "Not bad," it said, "next time though, we're having a fair race. Now if you'll excuse me, there's a moon damned white chocolate fountain over there! Are you seeing this, holy Luna! I'm...I'm gonna...gonna get...gonna get me some of that." A loud creak filled the room, even if Dash couldn't hear it, and the expression on the knight changed nearly instantly. "Alright, new plan. This is bad, very bad. Gotta go find the other knights, race later. Bye." With weary eyes, Celestia looked over her subjects. Everywhere she looked, there were happy faces. Two ponies, Lyra and Bon-Bon if she remembered correctly, sat staring at each other lovingly, totally oblivious to the ponies around them. The sight warmed her heart. Octavia, a good friend of hers, seemed unhappy at the party, but Celestia knew that was just how she always looked. She was happy on the inside. Fluttershy seemed to have found a friendly face next to the orange knight, and the blue one was probably still in the library. She made a note to send Twilight to drag him out when she could. Green needed a close eye, but overall he seemed to be enjoying himself too. But where was the red knight, she realised with a gasp. In a sea of faces, of ponies and strange monsters and that one changeling that flew out the window, where was the red knight? Of course, she already knew the answer, but sometimes she wanted to pretend she didn't. But that is never healthy, especially for a creature that lived as long as she did. And so, with another tired sigh, Celestia stepped down from her podium and walked through the crowd. To anyone looking, it was clear where she was going. Out. Out through the large gates to the throne room and into the world beyond, for reasons only she knew. The doors offered little resistance as she swung them open with her magic. And like clockwork, she found exactly what she was looking for. To her left stood the red knight, still as stone. In his hand was his sword, primed and ready for danger; and strapped to his arm was his shield, battered though it was. Where else would a knight be, except on duty? To her right sat another one of the royal guard, either scared stiff-less of the knight or trained perfectly to hide his emotions. Turning to the guard, Celestia gave him a small nod, "You should be enjoying the party with the rest of the ponies. Our loyal guard deserves it more than anything. Leave us in privacy." "Yes ma'am," he said simply, before turning to leave. Before he could though, Celestia raised a hoof to stop him. "Leave your helmet. You can enjoy the festivities a lot better without it." Without complaint, the guard pulled the golden headpiece off; floating it to a small table set off to the side. Once he was gone, Celestia closed the doors behind him. The knight didn't respond. "You did good today, Red," Celestia said simply. The room seemed a little brighter as Celestia trotted across it. Red remained unresponsive, but she knew he just needed time. He had been gone a long time. No one wanted to make it even longer. In front of her sat the table that the guard had used; his empty helmet sitting on it innocently. Yellow light surrounded it for a second, glittering off the polished gold, as Celestia lifted it into the air. She stopped for a second to consider what she was doing, before dropping it onto her head. Her mane immediately ran down the back of her neck, no longer able to flow freely in the wind as she walked back towards the knight. "It's been a long time since I last wore one of these," She said, raising her front hooves, "Think I could still give em the ole 'one two?'" she asked, punching forward to punctuate her words. The red knight didn't even turn his head. Taking a cue from his silence, Celestia moved from her position and stood parallel to the knight, only separated by the distance of the door. "Probably not, if this whole invasion thing is an omen." Red still remained quiet. Celestia simply sighed. "Don't do this, Red. You did it last time and I refuse to have another tearful departure where we both end up hating each other. You've still got the plaque, for crying out loud. How many years has it been? Do you even know?" To Celestia's disappointment, the red knight remained still. "Do you think it doesn't kill me to sit on that throne every day, knowing you're down there when you shouldn't be? Being nothing more than just a statue among stones? Year after year, simply knowing about all the good you could do if I let you and your brothers out?" "You know why I can't do that. Just as much as you know why you need to return. I know it's hard for you, perhaps the hardest of all. You alone are the only one with even an inch of self control; of reason. Don't you think that if I could break you out, I would? Do you think I enjoy turning you to stone after every victory? After every moment of joy? And now there's even a party for you, and you're out here missing it! Is that what you want?" Celestia broke her thousand yard stare, her perfect pose, to walk closer to the knight. "It's okay to be scared, but don't let that fear stop you from doing the right thing. You need to return to stone. You're too dangerous; to everypony. I can't in good faith let you stay." The red knight turned for a moment, finally acknowledging Celestia. His face was bare, without any signs of emotions or inner turmoil. Just a bland emptiness. Celestia knew better than that though. No one knew the knights better than their princess. "Someday, Red, I promise I will fix this. I'll find you and your brothers your own place, or we'll work together to tame them, or something will happen, I promise you. One day, Red, I will look down from my palace and across all of Equestria, and know it safe, because you are free to guard it once again, without the fear that you will cause more harm than good." "But for now, you must sleep. Sleep, and be patient, and trust in me to fulfill my promise. And maybe, one day, you'll actually get to kiss a real princess." Celestia said, leaning down. Before the red knight could react, or really do anything at all, Celestia gave him a small peck on the forehead, before pulling herself back to her full height. "I'm going back in now. I saw Pinkie unpack a white chocolate fountain earlier and I want to get some before everypony else does. You're free to follow; or you can sit here wallowing in the inevitable like Twilight was. I suggest choosing the way that makes it more bearable, wouldn't you agree?" Celestia said, before pulling the door open and trotting in. A few awkward glances were shot her way as light reflected off her helmet, before they were all silenced. If the princess wants to wear a golden helmet, who were ponies to judge? A second later, the red knight turned as well, slipping between the doors before they closed and locked him out for good. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Applebloom?" The three fillies crept through the crowd like snakes through a jungle; ducking and weaving between the towering legs around them. Their brave leader Applebloom led the way, with a gigantic bow ribbon tied into her air. Behind her, the two other fillies followed quietly, only stopping to voice their concerns. "Ah can say, without hyperbole, that this is the goodest idea that ah have ever had." "Goodest isn't a word." The small white unicorn pointed out, nearly tripping into one of the ponies around her. "Sweetie has a point, goodest isn't a word, Bloom." Applebloom stopped leading for a moment. "Ah can understand Sweetie pointing that out, but when did you decide to become a dictionary, Scoots?" "I can be lots of other things, why shouldn't I?" Sweetie Belle pointed a hoof at Scoots. "Yea, why shouldn't she?" "Alright, alright, sorry ah asked. Lets just stick to the plan and keep searching for one of the knights." A swift nodded bounced between the three fillies, before they set off into the jungle again. It went well for a moment, if a short moment, before their confidence was shattered again. "Why are we looking for the knights again?" Scootaloo asked. "So we can get our cutie marks in heroism, maiden rescue and general do-goodery." "Oh," Scootaloo said, cocking her head to the side, "which one do I get?" "Maiden rescue." "Aww man, but I wanted do-goodery." "You will take rescue and you will like it, Scoots!" "Aww." "Which one do I get?" Sweetie asked. "Uh, do-goodery." "Lucky." "But I wanted maiden rescue." Scootaloo perked up instantly, "Sweetie, we can trade! Applebloom, can we trade?" "No. You're both getting your cutie marks and that's that." "Aw," Both of them replied. The crowd parted for a second; robbing the fillies of their cover as they tried to sneak closer to whatever it was they were looking for. For a second, none of them knew what to do; choosing instead to trade glances with each other. It wasn't until one of them finally came to their senses that they could continue. "Look, Applebloom, over there. It's one of the knights!" "What? Where?" "Over there, near the window." Scootaloo turned her head hastily, "Why is he just sitting by himself? That's not very knightly." "Who cares, Scoots? We found one! Come on, let's go get 'em before somepony else does." "Okay then..." Three pairs of hooves skittered across the room towards the knight. None of the foals wanted to look like they were getting closer to the knight, yet each one made a painfully transparent attempt at their stealth; bumping into ponies, thumping their feet, restlessly flapping their wings. The knight at the window, a deep red one, simply stared at them as they made their way through the crowd. A minute passed where he simply watched them, and another, until he creased his forehead sadly and decided to put them out of their misery. With a gentle wave of his hand, he motioned for the fillies to come closer. Sweetie was the first to approach, swallowing her fear and stepping forward. Scoots followed after, gaining courage from her friend, before Applebloom dashed past her, a look of determination and nervousness on her face. "Hello, Mr Knight? Are you busy at the moment? I mean, we...we could just go if we're bothering you or anything," she asked. The red knight shook his head. "Oh, oh, that's good then. We need help with something and you seem like the most knowledgeable pony...person...thing on the subject." At the word 'help,' the knight tensed himself, but otherwise remained still. Applebloom swallowed nervously, stealing a look at her companions, before continuing. "See, my name is Applebloom, and this here is Sweetie Belle," "Hello," "And over here is Scootaloo," "Hey." "And together, we're the cutie mark crusaders. We crusade for our cutie marks." "Well, we don't really crusade because of our cutie marks," Sweetie Belle corrected, "we crusade to try and find cutie marks." "Was that really necessary?" "I don't want him to be confused, Rarity said one of the knights wasn't very smart. What if it's this one?" The knight raised an eyebrow, but lowered it quickly when Applebloom spun to face him, waving her hooves. "Don't listen ta her...sir, ah'm sure your very intel...intelli...smart." The knight continued to stare at her, and she met his gaze with an unseen enthusiasm. "Anyway, we need your help. Can you teach us to be heroes?" The word 'hero' hung in the air, like a fly buzzing between ponies, before eventually landing and settling inside the red knight's mind. Slowly, a hand rose into the air, settling on the bottom of his chin. Teach them to be heroes? How did they expect him to do that? They were foals! They didn't even have cutie marks! They didn't even have weap...oh. A look of comprehension washed over the red knight's face as he understood. Slowly, the red knight drew his sword. The three fillies swallowed in unison, confused looks on their faces. Almost nonchalantly, the red knight started to swing his sword through the air, riposting and parrying against an invisible opponent. It wasn't a show of skill though; his posture was too relaxed for that. It was closer to...a demonstration. He motioned for Applebloom to come closer, and placed the sword on the ground. Her footsteps (don't you even start, I swear to God) couldn't be heard as she inched closer to the deadly blade. Behind her, her friends fought for a view of the weapon, only to be blocked by each other dashing in front of each other. The handle of the blade, a deep polished red, shined in the sun as Applebloom bent down to pick up. And with a pull of her head, she threw it into the air. At least, that's what she wanted to happen. Instead, she simply stood there stupidly, pulling against the swords weight in an attempt to lift it off the ground. "Um, sir? Red knight sir? I can't...I can't lift this. It's too heavy..." The red knight wasn't even listening, he'd already moved on to Sweetie Belle. He paused for a moment; looking her up and down. His hand flew down from his chin as he reached for the shield on his back. It shone in the light; spraying a giant sword onto the ceiling in the form of a ray of light. Slowly, to ensure that the filly was fully aware of what he was doing, he spun the shield around to show the straps on the back. He then motioned to his arm. The implication was clear. "But...I don't have arms. Where am I--" Sweetie stopped talking when she realized the knight was already focusing on Scootaloo. The shield sat on the ground in front of her, but she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do with it. Red stared down at the pegasus below him, and she stared up in return. Then, without fanfare or prose, he pulled out a piece of polished wood in the shape of a crescent moon and placed it in front of her. "What even is this? Firewood?" Scootaloo asked. The red knight shrugged his shoulders. Practically skipping backwards towards the window, the knight turned around dramatically to gaze upon his troop. Applebloom was pinned to the ground; unwilling to release the sword from her mouth but too proud to actually give up trying to lift it. Sweetie Belle had somehow managed to strap the shield to her face and was struggling to pull if off. Scootaloo was wearing the boomerang as a saddle, either unaware or uncaring on how it was actually supposed to be used. Red nodded softly. For a minute, it was like he was actually looking at the other knights. Suddenly, a loud groan echoed through the party; bringing the chatter and the music to a lull. The knight snapped his attention to the source; a pair of large doors slowly swinging open to reveal the two individuals entering the room. Through the blinding sunlight and the crowd, it took the knight several seconds to recognize them, with only a tired sigh upon his realization. That wasn't good. The crowd was already parting as the red knight inched closer. Half stumbling, half jogging into the open, the knight simply leaned back and waited; waited for the inevitable to happen. What a way to end the day. It was as if a cloud had descended upon the crowd. Not a single pony spoke; each one trapped in total awe and terror at what they were seeing. A pair of guards sat off to the side, equally confused at the spectacle as the crowd was. They felt that they should probably do something to prevent this, but then again, ever since Discord had been reformed, they'd been ordered to leave him mostly alone. After all, he was the most powerful thing in the castle; what good would a guard do against that? And so Discord slowly skipped through the crowd, a megaphone in his hand and a veiled creature behind him. "Step right up, ponies and...ponies. Where are my griffon bros? Can we get some griffons up in here?" Any attention he was hoping to garner was instantly torn from him as Celestia appeared from atop her throne. "Discord! What do you think you are doing?" "I am simply doing what needs to be done. After all, doesn't this party just bore you, Celestia? It needs pizzazz, jazz, razzamatazz and kazaam jam. It needs conflict, the spice of life. Simply put, madam, I am a jester bringing his play." "Discord, I am warning you. Leave. Now. And take that...whatever with you." Discord chuckled, and continued inching closer to the opening in the crowd, "You? Warning me? Do you forget who I am?" "Do you forget who else is at this party, and as we speak are rushing to put on their elements?" A sour look crossed Discord's face, "Spoil sport, that's what you are." "Discord..." "You know what? I'm gonna do it. This is happening. I didn't go through all this trouble for nothing." Before Celestia could act, Discord snapped his fingers and disappeared into a large flash of light, taking his companion with him. A second later, he appeared again, landing in the middle of the knights. Each one had seen him enter, each from a separate corner of the room and had come together here, in the middle of the throne room. One in each corner. Discord gave each one a long stare, before raising his megaphone. "Alright, everyone listen up. This is the moment you've all been waiting for. You've seen them chat, you've seen them fight, you've ever seen them hunt down illegal zebra immigrants living in the Everfree, and now, for one night only, you get to watch them fight," Discord stopped for a second to garner suspense, "each other!" Another flash of light filled the room, this time from Celestia, only for Discord to dodge harmlessly out of the attack's path and continue on his rant. "You knights know the rules. Last one standing gets the kiss. Well, that's the only rule, so I guess it would be more accurate to say, you knights know the rule, but even I can't rewrite the past. Anyway, let's not waste time; Celestia seems to be reaching seething point." Slowly, with almost a childlike glee, Discord skipped into the middle of the arena, "On the count of three, better get ready guys." On the count of three, the knights shared a glance at each other. It was like fighting Sombra all over again; with the look bouncing between the four of them, growing in intensity every bounce. A determined, challenging look that destroyed all doubts in the mind of the onlookers. These knights were going to fight. On the count of two, each of the knights jumped backwards and drew their weapons while Discord skipped into the crowd, leaving the princess sitting off to the side. A finger click echoed through the room, and suddenly colour-coded banners and foam fingers fell from the sky, wrapping themselves onto the hooves of the crowds below. A few ponies remarked that they'd got the wrong colour, but they were drowned out the sudden change of music that flooded the room. Celestia shot the DJ a disapproving look and sighed when she realized that she'd been replaced by Discord. On the count of one, the red knight twirled his sword in an arc; a simple action that served no other purpose than to look cool. On the count of zero...on the count of zero, blue knight ran into a corner and raised his shield to the outside world, the green knight started to bounce around the room followed by green smoke, the orange knight tried to chase him down unsuccessfully and the red knight ran into the fray with the kind of glee you can only find from beating on a good friend. You were expecting a serious fight? In Castle Crashers? It took Canterlot nearly two weeks to fully recover from the Changeling invasion. It took them four weeks to recover from the knights playful fight, not to mention the city wide famine that ensued, the dangerous green smog covering the lower district, the giant holes dug into every major road and the sudden appearance of a clown faced knight that summoned giant weasels and shot confetti as far as the eye could see. "What a day." The small progression of creatures wandered through the royal garden slowly, dodging the occasional crater that appeared in their path. A purple unicorn, a white princess and four blocky knights. Three of the knights wore sad looks upon their faces, while the winner of the fight still had cream from a thrown pie leaking down his head. Twilight's comment was short, and to the point, and broke the suffocating silence of the procession. "What a day, indeed," Celestia replied eventually. "I made some new friends, saved my old friends, took a cross country trek and remembered why I don't eat tofu." "Sounds tiring." "Oh, believe me Celestia, it was. I'm ready to just fall asleep for a week right now." "I feel like I could sleep for a month; I could probably do it too, the sun doesn't rise until I do," Celestia let out a quick chuckle; cutting it off abruptly, "What are we doing, Twilight?" "Why, we're having a nice chat, in the gardens, with the knights." "You know what I mean." Twilight swallowed nervously, "I think we're just trying to distract ourselves from what's going to happen." The statues in the garden stared down at the group with eyes that couldn't see as they entered a small clearing. Sitting in the middle of the opening was a large flat stone tablet, just barely large enough to fit two ponies on. It was concave, almost as if a magic bubble had once engulfed the thing and carried its contents to a far off place. The group stopped for a moment as Celestia turned to her student, "You don't have to be here for this. Head back to the party; I'll tell you when I'm done." "Are you kidding? I couldn't go back if I wanted; Discord is basically having a field day." "Shouldn't you go stop him then?" Twilight shrugged, "It's fine, Fluttershy said she'd talk to him." In response to this, Celestia cleared her throat. "I suppose...we should begin then." Turning around, Celestia faced each of the knights, taking her time to look over each one like a mother before a photo shoot. They would need to look their best; there was no going back for adjustments after the spell was cast. It seemed like an eternity; two creatures of intense power staring each other down, until Celestia broke her gaze and motioned at the altar. "Orange, you're first." With a slow, deliberate step, the orange knight stepped forward. His footsteps were heavy and barren, stopping only for a moment in front of Twilight. "We couldn't have done it without you," she wanted to say, "you stopped Celestia, after all. And the ram. And your determination is something of legends." Yet these words wouldn't come, and so the garden was filled with silence as the orange knight continued his walk. He stepped onto the platform, moved into position, struck a pose that was a mix between a midnight rest and a midnight snack and waited for the inevitable. "Blue, you're next." Clutching his ancient cook book tight, the blue knight followed his brother, in nearly the exact same footprints. He too stopped in front of Twilight, and still the words wouldn't come. "There's still so much you could learn. That you could teach," the words wanted to say, "your magic is unrivaled, a true wonder to behold. Surely if we worked together we could avoid this." The blue knight was already past her when she found the right noises, and continued his walk. He stepped onto the platform, moved into position, turned the page on his book and waited for the inevitable. "Green," was all Celestia said. Unlike the other two, the green knight decided to simply dash to his spot. He was already throwing an arm around the blue knight and pointing out all the silly words on the new page by the time Twilight realised what she wanted to say. All the opinions and thanks she wanted to give out. "Thank you Green, for eating all of Pinkie's cakes and showing Sombra what's what." Finally, with a heavy sigh, Celestia finished it. "Red. Your turn." For a second, it seemed like the red knight would simply walk forward to group with his brothers, until he crossed his arms and stood perfectly still, daring Celestia to do something about it. "Red. Go." It took a deep breath and several more seconds, but eventually the red knight stepped forward. Two small steps, before eventually stopping directly in front of Celestia. She opened her mouth to speak again, to order him to do what she was saying, until she realised that he had no intention of disobeying her. Instead, he wanted something...different. He wanted to give a gift. And then he moved on, and this time, this time Twilight was going to find the words she needed. Summoning up all her excess energy to that mighty brain of hers, Twilight forced her mouth to say the things her brain wanted her to say. "Red, please, just...wait a minute." Twilight struggled to get her tongue under control, until it hit her. Less was more. And so, Twilight turned to face the knight and simply said, "You did good today, Red." The red knight seemed to understand, or at least, Twilight liked to imagine that he did. They didn't have the widest range of facial emotions. And so the last knight stepped onto the altar, struck his heroic pose and waited for the inevitable. A bright flash, yellow like the sun, exploded over the garden as Twilight looked away. She couldn't bear to watch. Was this what it felt like to lose a friend? It felt like someone was pulling a string out of her chest, like she was losing something important to her very being. When she finally found the strength to turn around, all that remained of the knights was a stone statue. "So that's it then." Celestia shook her head slowly, "Not yet. Not yet." For a second, Twilight was confused. Had they forgotten something? Was there an obscure ritual or something she was supposed to say at this moment? Her fears, however, were quenched as Celestia walked past her. Hovering in the air above her was a small metal plate, with common equestria engraved upon the surface. Another plaque. It was placed onto the statue without fanfare or cheer; neatly covering up the old one. A small dot of magic finished the illusion by gluing it in place, and Celestia moved back to admire her work. Here rest the four knights. Wake them only when their strength is needed or when Discord stops being a dick. Whichever one comes first. "Huh. I expected something...deeper," Twilight commented. "From the knights?" "It could happen." "You'd have a better chance of becoming a princess." Twilight shrugged and attempted to change the subject, "Are we done now?" "Yes, Twilight. We are done." The two ponies turned around, leaving the knights behind as they trotted back through the garden. Twilight would be lying if she said that she wouldn't miss them. They were insane, unreasonable and utterly intolerable, but then again, so was Pinkie, so why couldn't things are gone differently? The impression they'd left would be one that remained with her for the rest of her life. And so the two ponies, the student and the mentor, the noble voice and the retired general, walked away, leaving only a statue eclipsing against the sun. "Oh god, we forget Spike! He got turned to stone too!" "Who?" "Never mind that, get a chisel. We need to get him out of there." Author's Note Prepare for a barrage of jokes. They're not all funny, but there are a lot of them. Damn, the CMC are hard to write. Like, I understand that the idea is to make each of their voices distinct enough to separate which one is speaking, but that's hard, man. Is it really three pairs of hooves if they have four legs? Wouldn't that make it six pairs? In the draft for this chapter, Applejack was supposed to appear and berate the red knight for giving the CMC weapons. This was ultimately cut because of the fact that Red would need his weapons for the finale, and the CMC walking away with them would directly stop that from happening. It's at this moment that I wish that Red had thrown his boomerang away in chapter two, so I could have it fly through the window when he needs it in this chapter and give it to Scootaloo. What a wasted opportunity. God damn it Drama, why you always gotta be cramping on Comedy's style? You got your own story, go right some more exposition or something and leave comedy to his terrible jokes. You know it's all he has left after his father Slapstick died.
Castle Crashing the Basement"Twilight, are you sure this will work?" A flurry of book flew through the air as Twilight pulled a plethora of references and legends and spells out of the wall. The wet dirt beneath her feet was hardly ideal for her to cast spells in, but at the moment...she had to make due with what she had. A harsh red light shined through the only window in her basement, illuminating everything from the purple dragon to the similarly coloured unicorn to the collection of roots and plants stuck to the walls. Heavy bags sat under Twilight's eyes but she knew that she was nearly done. All that was left was to cross reference herself and she could fix all this. Just a moment more. "Spike, Celestia says that the four knights are one of the strongest forces in Equestria. They've stood against Discord on his own ground, tackled Chief Iron-Horn mid charge and even faced Chrysalis before, back at the dawn of the world. Granted, she did call them a bit...unusual, but how strange could they be? If they can't stop Chrysalis now...well, let's not waste too much time." Glancing over to a blackboard built into the wall, Twilight ran over her plan. The first step would obviously be the hardest. She'd teleported things before, even live ponies, but she'd always been there to make sure that nothing went wrong. Nor had she ever teleported something this large before. If something went wrong in the procedure, the statue could be damaged beyond repair, and all hope would be lost. Cracking the knights out would be easier, but only just. She'd only used the spell once before to break ponies out of their own stone skin, in an incident involving an angry cockatrice and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. This would be entirely different too; the knights weren't sealed by simple cockatrice magic, but a spell infinitely more powerful than Twilight herself. She'd need to put everything she had into cracking their stone shell off. Stepping forward, Twilight got herself into position. Each of her legs was spread out as far as it would go in an attempt to balance the weight she knew was coming. And with a determined grimace, Twilight began the spell. The room exploded in a flash of purple light, and Twilight swore to herself softly before returning to her work. She couldn't think about that, couldn't think about how a flash like that would bring every changeling in Ponyville right to her door. She needed to put all her work into summoning the statue. Dirt built up against her hooves as she was pushed into the ground by the magic gathering on her horn and, with a whimper, Twilight released it all in one fell swoop. It was like an out of body experience. Twilight could see herself beneath her, struggling to keep the spell steady, before she was whisked away. Suddenly, she was in the royal gardens. The worn stones beneath her feet formed a path, one that twisted and snaked through the garden, leading to the one thing Twilight was looking for. A single statue was resting at the end of the road. A statue wrapped in purple magic that was tugging at it from all directions, edging it forward to where it needed to be. It jumped and bounced from the power Twilight was pumping into it until finally, something gave. With a loud crack, the world was replaced by a painfully white explosion and Twilight found herself thrust backwards. The pain spreading across her back signalled that her out of body experience was over, but it soon dulled as she noticed what was now in the centre of the room, completely undamaged. "You did it, Twilight! It worked!" Spike shouted, rushing over to help Twilight back to her feet. "Thank...thank you Spike, but that was only half the job. We still need to wake them up." Wobbling on her feet, Twilight stepped forward again. Absent-mindedly, she ran a hoof along the base of the statue. Here it was, just like she remembered it. It had been...nearly two years since she'd last seen this statue. If someone had asked her what made this statue so much more important to her than any of the others, Twilight would be lost for words. There simply were no words to describe what she felt when around this statue. Safety, perhaps? Or a lick of random chaos? Twilight herself wasn't sure, maybe she could invent a word once the world was safe. But first, she needed to investigate the statue for damages before she woke them up. The red knight stood at attention, a long sword clenched tightly in his hand and a thick shield slung over his back. His arms were thick with the strength only war could give you and his very presence seemed to inspire Twilight to fight back. His armour was the deepest red, with the symbol of a sword engraved into the middle of it. Celestia had said that each of them had chosen the pose they were to have until they woke up again. And for the leader, there could be nothing else but a pose that would inspire others to lead. The green knight stood behind him, with an arm slung around the blue knight next to him. His posture was one that was extremely relaxed, his armour was marked and dented unlike the others, a single arrow was engraved into his chest and the bow to go with it was lazily strung along his fingers. Twilight liked to imagine he was smiling under that helmet, and for the archer, it only fit. The blue knight was sitting cross-legged behind his leader, a ball of, what Twilight assumed was ice, sitting in his open hand. She couldn't tell whether the knight was amused, annoyed or angry at the green ones intrusion into his space, since the knights head was buried deeply in an open book built into the base. An icicle was the symbol he'd chosen to adopt, and for his pose...what better pose for a wizard than one of endless study? And for the orange knight...Twilight giggled to herself. No matter what age she was, seeing a figure of legend and endless power menacingly brandishing a fresh sausage at his friends while simultaneously face palming never ceased to amuse her. Blushing as she suddenly remembered what his symbol was, Twilight stood back. And for the wisest of all four...who could guess why he chose the pose he did? Twilight breathed in deeply; tried to calm her nerves. She needed to finish her spell. Equestria wasn't safe until she saw the knights walking around. Taking up her familiar pose again, Twilight lowered her head. For a brief second, she couldn't feel her magic. Normally she would be frightened; she was the element of magic, she practically breathed the stuff; but she knew something like this would happen after such a powerful spell. She just needed to wait a moment for it to return. And just like she anticipated, like a river breaking through a dam, it rushed back stronger than ever, ready to obey her wit and call. Light tendrils of purple wafted through the room as Twilight got to work. Something smashed against the door to the basement, and the magic faltered as Twilight choked. "Spike! I...I need more time. Hold them off!" she shouted or whispered or said or something, she couldn't tell with the sound of magic rushing through her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her assistant rush up the stairs; a pile of heavy books in his hands. Twilight released her pent up breath as she set back to work. Spike would do his job, and she would do hers. Nothing was going to stop her, too much was running on her succeeding. Her friends, the kingdom, the Princess, every single pony out there who needed a saviour, or a hero or someone to call upon in their times of need. The magic began to worm its way into the statue, and Twilight concentrated harder. She wanted to help those ponies, more than anything, but she needed someone to help her. She needed someone who knew how to lead, or how to fight, or how to stand up to those against them. She needed... The door exploded open with a flash of green magic, and changelings started to flow into the room. Almost instantly, one of them went straight for Twilight. Everything seemed to slow down as the changeling flew closer. She wasn't done yet, it was too late. She could count each individual tooth of the changeling attacking her, but she didn't have time to finish the spell? That just wasn't fair. All she wanted to do was fix everything, and she screwed that up too. Why did she always have to screw everything up? She just wanted to help her friends, that's all she wanted. Impossibly slowly, the attack landed. All Twilight could do was utter a quick 'help' before being forced to the ground; the magic in her horn dissipating into the air. Gritting her teeth, Twilight started to fight back. It didn't matter that she couldn't possibly win, she wasn't just going to lay down and become food. She was going to take as many of them down with her before that happened. Pain spread through her neck as the changeling on top of her bit down, embedding its teeth into her coat. Blotches of black began to mark her vision and she couldn't find her magic again. Why did that always happen when she least expected it? Kicking out randomly, Twilight couldn't even see her attacker through the blurriness and black marks. She didn't want to admit defeat, she couldn't if she wanted too, but it was clear she wasn't a fighter. She needed her friends, she needed help. She couldn't even beat one changeling, much less an army, what was she thinking? She couldn't save Applejack, or Rarity, or Pinkie Pie or any of her friends. She couldn't help Celestia, or defend Equestria, she could barely even use her element. Why had she even tried? It was hopeless from the beginning. A dark red blur rushed past her, knocking the changeling off her and tearing a small chunk of her neck as it did. Pushing herself up hastily, Twilight had already taken the position she needed for magic, dropping it when she saw it was clearly not needed. The red knight was alive! Stone was still flaking off of him like a coat of paint, but he was alive! Glowing with an unseen power, he hovered across the room impossibly fast for someone of his size; the changeling in front of him being carried along for the ride on the end of his sword. He stopped for a brief moment, pulling his arm back into the air before slamming it down on top of the changeling. Dirt and spiders fell from the ceiling at the force of the collision and even more peppered the two when the changeling hit the ground. The distinct sound of bones snapping in half echoed through the room as the changeling rebounded back into the air. The knight didn't even give it a second of respite before continuing his barrage upon the animal. The two creatures travelled across the room again, until eventually, the knight decided he was done. With a wordless attack, he slammed the changeling back into the ground, much lighter than before. Another loud crack flew through the air as it landed, the wind obviously being punched out of it's lungs. It only got the chance to recover for a brief second before a seemingly endless wave of thunderbolts struck it, sending it into a convulsing fit before finally, finally the knight landed on the ground next to it. With simply a stare at the poor creature, the red knight reared his head back and slammed it down on the creature. A final sickening crack lingered in the air for perhaps a second longer than it should as the changeling finally chased the birds around its head. Twilight flapped her jaw for a few seconds; she wanted to say something, wanted to congratulate or thank or question the knight, but no matter what she though, it always ended up as an empty fog. Glancing around, Twilight noted that all the changelings had left the room. A brief respite, but they would be back as soon as they realised they outnumbered her three hundred to one. The red knight glanced around for a second, seemingly searching for something, before walking towards Twilight. She took a step backwards from sheer reaction, but the red knight was already up in her face. And slowly, as if he'd done this a thousand times, he gave Twilight a long passionate kiss on the lips. Blood rushed into Twilight's cheeks and her ears flicked back and forth as she realised what was happening. Twilight swore she could hear some kind of victory music. Almost tentatively, she tried to push the knight off but she just couldn't seem to get her hooves in the right position to push. This was...this was beyond embarrassing for her. It didn't matter who it was that was kissing her, that kind of horseplay wasn't a part of her house. A faint aura built up on her horn, and just as it did, the red knight leaned back, breaking their embrace. From behind her, the three other knights moved forward, passing by her hastily. That was when Twilight noticed a few important things about them. They didn't have helmets on. Instead, their foreheads stretched so high up Twilight automatically assumed they were wearing helmets. You couldn't blame her, nearly half their body was forehead. They also didn't have mouths. It was nearly kind of freaky, Twilight had never met a creature before that didn't have a mouth; how did they even eat? And finally, not a single one knew what to do next. Forcing herself to smile, Twilight knelt down. That's what you did to legends, right? Knell down in front of them? Rummaging through her brain for the right words, Twilight finally spoke. "Oh great...um, knights, I beseech you for your help. Chrysalis the changeling queen has kidnapped my friends and taken over all of Ponyville, we need your help!" Twilight peeked up to see if her words had any effect and could physically feel her heart drop when she realised that the knights weren't even paying attention. The green one was poking Spike expectantly, motioning for Spike to follow him into the battle as if he were some kind of pet, the blue one was...picking his nose, the red one was occasionally glancing up at the door and the orange knight was nowhere to be seen. Twilight wasn't about to give up though. "Please, we need your help. You've already proved you can do it, you're the only ones left. I don't know what happened to Celestia, or Canterlot, or the other princesses, but I think Chrysalis might have kidnapped them! We need your help, please! Equestria is in danger." At the word princess, every knight in the room seemed to freeze. They traded glances, slowly at first but increasing in intensity. A few of them wrung their hands together awkwardly. Twilight didn't understand, why were they so nervous? Something moved in the corner of her eyes again, and she focused on the red knight trying to capture her attention. He was rubbing the back of his head slowly while walking forward, a kind of fear in his step. With a single fluid motion, he made a series of gestures. He pointed at his weapon, then shrugged, waved it in the air a little as if duelling an invisible opponent, shrugged again, pointed at the door, pointed at his weapon and finally nodded his head and cocked it to the side. It took a moment to register, but when it did, Twilight snapped her mouth shut and nodded excitedly. "Yes! Yes, yes, the changelings are out there. Please, you need to fight them, there's no one left. I just...need you...too..." There wasn't even anyone left in the room. At the simple word of yes, each of the knights had charged out the door with the speed and fury of a train. It crossed Twilight's mind that she should stop and search for Spike, just to make sure the green knight hadn't actually grabbed Spike and pulled him into the melee with him, but that thought was put on standby for the moment. There were more important things than Spike at the moment, she needed to see if the knights could actually save Equestria. With a hesitant grin, Twilight trotted up the stairs leading to the exit. She took in a single deep breath of air; invigorating and full of life. She'd done it. Or at least, she hoped she'd done it. Only time could tell now whether or not the knights would live up to their legend. Author's Note Shut up! I wrote a 30K word Gakfic, I can write a what ever the hell K word Castle Crashers story. So shut it. Just read the story. And I just realised that I made the classic mistake of not describing what any of the knights look like. Shit.
Castle Crashing the RoadTwilight was the kind of pony that preferred to be alone. She'd been that way all her life. It wasn't out of any concious choice, she just...didn't like to hang around strangers. It wasn't until she finally moved to Ponyville and met her friends that everything began to change. While she would still prefer a quiet session of study to the wild glamour of night life, she would never deny a chance to spend time with her friends. What would she do without Applejack's dependability? Or Rainbow's confidence? Or even Pinkie's sheer energy? That said, if someone had asked her if she wanted to have four separate Pinkies, each with their own personalty but never lacking in the same amount of energy and nonsense, she would have kindly reminded them of the incident with the mirror pool, before shoving them unceremoniously out of her house for making her remember the incident with the mirror pool. Waving her hoof forward to urge the knights on and direct them forward, Twilight revelled in the plain normalcy of what was happening. Just five creatures, slowly trudging forward towards the city in the distance. No distraction, no pulling horns out of hammer space, just simple walking. The knights, other than a few bruises and scratches given by their leader to keep them in line, showed no signs of tiring or stopping, only one goal on their minds. Twilight wished she could say the same. An ache had developed in the bottom of her legs, she never claimed she was the fittest pony, and had wormed its way into the rest of her body. Despite this though, she knew she just needed to keep walking. Place one hoof in front of the other until she either fell down or reached her destination. Between panting breaths, Twilight tried to argue with the creatures walking next to her. "You know...I can just...just teleport us to Canterlot. We don't need to walk all the way there." She received no response, not that she was expecting one anyway. The knights didn't even bother to look at her, just keep walking forwards. Resigning herself to her fate, Twilight spun her head forward again. Her heart skipped a beat when another voice rose against the sounds of the road, one that was extremely familiar. "Yes, we know you can teleport, because you've mentioned it six times already. I don't think they even care." Looking around, Twilight focused on the small lizard. "Are you still here, Spike?" Hovering himself away from the blue knight temporarily, Spike landed on Twilight's back. The sudden weight caused her to falter in her steps, but not enough to make her trip. "I couldn't leave you alone. Someone here has to be the smart one." "You think you're the smart one?" "Hey, I can do a lot of smart things. Like my times tables. Or the dishes." "Dishes aren't smart." Spike shrugged. "Dishes are too smart, don't you remember the time you..." Perking up suddenly, Spike glanced through the woods. Twilight followed his lead, more to figure out what he was trying to find. All she could see were shadows twisting through the trunks of old rotten trees and patches of scraggly grass and flowers. "Did you hear that?" Spike asked. Twilight stopped; her muscles crying out in relief. Her ears flicked back and forth, trying to locate the source of the noise. Despite her hardest, the trees seemed intent on scrabbling any incoming noise until it bounced out of the woods at every angle. She spared herself a quick glance behind her at the knights, just a second. Two of them were running around in circles swinging their weapons into the air, with the other two poking each other lightly while eating the orange knight's sausage. Twilight didn't know what she was expecting. A loud crack rang down the road, freezing everyone gathered for a split second. The red knight stepped forward, taking a place next to Twilight. With the back of his palm, he pushed her backwards until she was resting behind him. Twilight understood why as another crack ran out from the forest. Something was coming. The ground shook as the monster rushed forward; a dot on the horizon that slowly came closer. Four heavy paws beat along the cobble path, leaving indentions with the sheer weight behind them. Two wings, bat-like and powerful stretched taut out of the creatures back. Each of them rose into the sky as if to proclaim them the creatures domain. To complete the terrifying appearance was a large stinger instead of a tail, quite out of place on the beasts flank. With nothing more than a roar, it charged closer, intent to close the gap between him and it's prey. Twilight mouthed the word 'manticore,' before she was shoved back yet again, this time by the orange knight. Then the green knight. Then the blue. To Twilight's relief, the red knight gave her a gentle pat, before pushing her back for the fun of it and rushing forward. It was like something out of Twilight's books. The terrible manticore versus the noble knights. Or it would have, if any battle had taken place. Instead, the orange knight was the first to arrive on the scene. Roaring at him, the manticore issued his challenge to the heavens, as a warning to all who would oppose him. The orange knight didn't even let him finish; slapping him across the face with the half eaten sausage. The manticore was dazed for a moment; a moment the orange knight used to jump over his head and land squarely on his back. He dodged to the side hastily as the stinger came down on him, and delivered another soggy whack to the back of the monster's head. Whimpering, the manticore paused for a moment. It didn't want another sausaging, not again. It held itself absolutely rigid, not daring to do anything against the strange creature on it's back. And slowly, the knight took his hands off the back of the manticore, raising them into the air. Pinky and pointer in the air, the orange knight leaned back as if cheering. The other knights shook their fists angrily, but there was nothing they could do. They'd missed their chance; orange had claimed the first ride. And then, with a swift whack to the manticore with his legs, the orange knight rode into the sunset, never lowering his hands. It was amazing; awe inspiring, especially since it was the middle of the day. "Well, this isn't good." Twilight sighed and turned to her only vocal companion. "No Spike. No, it is not." The changelings were smarter than they thought. There, in the middle of the road and wedged between two snow capped mountains stood what one could only describe as a poorly thrown together fortress. Nearly all the trees in a three mile radius had been cut down and latched together in a vain and rushed attempt to barricade the road against anyone hoping to travel across. To make things even worse, the only place that wasn't covered in sharpened spears and rocks was the entrance, which was sealed and welded shut by a gigantic metal sheet. If there was one good thing about this though, it finally gave Twilight time to catch up to the orange knight. "Maybe be could just walk around it?" Spike offered. Everyone gathered froze for a moment, just to stare at Spike angrily. Even the blue knight stopped what he was doing to turn around and give Spike a hard glare. Twilight rubbed her head, the very thought tearing her brain apart. "Walk...around? Spike, I just...seriously Spike." "What?" "There's only way one into the mountains, and the changelings decided to build a blinking huge castle on it, that's 'what.'" Trotting closer to the entrance, the dints and holes in the door became apparent. Thick punches that had warped the metal inward, not enough to break it, but enough to stop it from being a straight sheet. The manticore wasn't looking so good either, with its tail bent backwards behind it. The knights immediately went to punching the door with all the magic, weapons and random assortment of items they'd conjured from nowhere they had. Which was lucky, because it gave Twilight enough time to hear another familiar voice calling out to her. "Twily!" Looking up at the top of the 'wall,' Twilight nearly chocked in surprise. "Shining Armour!" "Twily!" "Shining Armour!" "Twily!" "Shining Armour?" "Twily!" Shaking her head suddenly, Twilight got back on track. "Shining, what are you doing up there? I thought...is Celestia all right? Can you let us in?" Shaking his head, Shining pulled back a bit as an arrow flew past his head. "No can do, sis. Nopony comes in or out. Those are the rules, and I can't change them for you, or Celestia or anypony else. Celestia's fine, by the way, I made sure of that personally." "But you have to let us in! Changelings have taken over...changelings have...hang on. Are you just a changeling trying to trick me?" "You're too smart for us, Twily. You're too smart for us." Twilight felt something build up in her chest. It felt...hot. Hot and spreading. Stretching out from the bottom of her heart to every section of her body; from her ears to her hooves. Twilight knew what was happening. Shouting wildly into the air, Twilight tried to focus her magic on the changeling impersonating her brother. "Stop calling me Twily! You don't have that right. Only Shining has the right to call me that, and you're clearly not him; so change back before I come in there and make you!" Shining turned around and leaned against parapets, ignoring the creatures attacking the door beneath him. "Whatever you say, Twily, but I think I'm going to stay as I am. Besides, none of you are beefy enough to break down this door, and there's no other way to Canterlot. So good luck saving your princess, because she is royally screwed." And with a wave of his hoof, Shining jumped backwards and disappeared behind the wall. Twilight probably would have rested her head in her hoof if it wasn't for the fact that she couldn't feel her feet from the rage. Fire was licking at the top of her mane from her anger, she just wanted to rip and tear something. Preferably something big. At the very least, the changeling still retained Shining's love of bad puns. Coming down from her rage high, Twilight noticed that all the knights had stopped attacking the door. Just as she'd come to expect from them, they'd returned to the same aimless pose they always had when they didn't know what to do. Well, most of them did. With a click of his fingers, the red knight started to move again. He placed two fingers on the top of his head and kicked his feet, trying his hardest to imitate a...cow maybe? Or perhaps a minotaur. He followed it up with a swift chopping motion downwards before ending with a slow pat on his stomach. Twilight was confused, to say the least. "You want to...eat an entire minotaur? How can you be hungry at a time like this?" The knight shook his head and tried again; this time placing more emphasis on the chopping than anything else. That chopping, what did it mean? Maybe...chopping, chopping. It dawned on Twilight at last. "Bread, that's bread. You want a...cow sandwich?" Nodding happily, the knight pumped his fist in the air. "But...but cows are alive, you can't eat something that's alive. It's inhumane! Unless it's fish. Or eggs, but then we've gone further than I'm comfortable." The red knight's shoulders sagged as Twilight told him the news. Half heartedly, he pointed at the door and weakly flexed his muscles. It was clear what he was trying to say. "Without a cow sandwich, nobody is getting through there." And then an idea started to spread in Twilight's mind. A brilliant, genius idea that only someone as smart as Twilight could have thought up. "Um, Twilight...why are you looking at me like that?" Spike asked as Twilight moved closer. "I have an idea, Spike." Straightening her back and pushing herself into the air, Twilight faced the aimless knights. "I have an idea everypony. But you need to do exactly what I say. Where we're going, it's very dangerous so we need to be care..." Twilight stopped as her eyes rested on the orange knight, still riding on the back of the manticore. Slowly, almost like clockwork, her hoof collided softly with her face. It didn't matter where they were going, nothing was more terrifying than the knights themselves. "Alright then. Follow me." Zecora was a very peculiar pony; there was no way one could deny that. She lived alone in the most dangerous place in Equestria, mostly kept to herself, spoke only in sick rhymes and brewed potions and insane concoctions for a living. There was no way one could spin that in such a way to make her look even the least bit normal. But there was one thing important about Zecora that made her extra important today. Zecora had a large collection of knicks and knacks from around the world, even from beyond the land of Equestria. And in that collection, there was one thing in particular that Twilight hoped had remained untouched. Something she needed desperately. If they could ever get there, that was. To the relief of her feet and general well being, the orange knight had been kind enough to give her a ride on the manticore. And as long as she could ignore the angry glances of the other three knights, Twilight was sure to enjoy every minute of it. It was kind of like when she was younger and Shining used to give her rides on his back, only Shining didn't have the potential to go crazy and stab her in the back with his freaky scorpion tail. Most of the time. "Only a few more miles and we'll get there, don't worry. This is a good plan." Twilight said. She added the end part mostly for her own benefit. Since there was no real path to Zecora's shack, they had to forge their own. Red knight, always the one to be saddled with the hard work, was at the front of the pack, cutting his way through the thick foliage and vines to clear a road for themselves. It took Twilight a moment to find the green knight, but a small trick always managed to do the job. That trick was, he was rarely not around the blue knight, who choose to hang at the back of the group instead of pressing forward. It was unnerving to say the least. To know that, at any moment, a dangerous monster could leap out of the underbush and attack them was a very uncomfortable thing to know indeed. It was slightly mitigated by the fact that they had actually already met one of the dangerous creatures, and the knights had waited all of two seconds to turn it into an advanced teapot ride, but that didn't make the sudden threat any less real. Almost as if it could read her mind, the trees around the group began to shake. The red knight stopped for a second and stepped back; his eyes locked on something rushing through the leaves above them. Twilight tried to track the same object, but whatever it was had clearly moved too fast for her. The air around Twilight shimmered and she jumped back on instinct as something flew past her nose. It made a strange noise; like a frisbee would make if it had been cut in half. A second later, it didn't matter, as something fell out of the tree directly above them. A dark brown baboon with an oversized bone in its hand. Laying next to it was the device that had knocked it out of the tree. The red knight calmly raised his hand and simply willed the boomerang to return to him. In another shocking blow to Twilight's sanity, it did; flying through the air in an arc back to the knight's outstretched arm. Twisting upwards like a snake, the baboon got back on its feet; weapon and teeth bared, only to find that the knight had already thrown his boomerang again. It connected with a swift thunk and knocked the baboon back to the ground. Clearly not one to be deterred by a simple blow to the head, the primate got back to his feet. And right back into the path of the red knight's boomerang. Twilight could only watch as this practice was repeated again and again. It was incredible, really, how the baboon would always get back up to try and fight, only to fall back down as the red knight stared on. Out of the corner of her eye, Twilight watched the green knight sadly hand over a bag of money to the blue. Twilight frowned; why was she being left out of the draw? Finally, after what seemed like hours, the monkey decided that enough was enough and stopped moving. The green knight, in a rare display of optimistic energy, appeared next to the body and gave it a light poke. He took a moment to shake his fists at the sky, before appearing back at the blue knight; a bag of bits already in his hand. Not breaking stride, the red knight turned around and went back to hacking at the overgrowth; nearly falling through as the woods opened up for them. They had arrived. Urging the manticore forward, Twilight and the knights shuffled through the trees into Zecora's back garden. Despite brief glances through the window as they walked around the tree Zecora called a house, no one was sure what to expect when they went inside. Changelings had invaded Equestria, who was to say that they hadn't taking Zecora too? The knights suddenly turned on a serious face, for a reason that Twilight couldn't explain. Rolling over to the outside of the house and pressing himself against the wall, the red knight stood back up. His hands were clutched together, with his pointers sticking outward like some sort of barrel. Breaking his hand sign for a brief moment, he faced the other knights and pulled his fingers towards himself twice in rapid succession, and the rest of the knights rolled over to him in sequence. They too placed their hands together in the same way the red one did and waited for further orders. Twilight watched them blankly as they inched closer to the door; lowering her head again as she noticed Spike was also copying the hand movements of the knights. Ducking under the window, the knights waited just to the left of the door. Then they just kind of stood there, until Twilight realised what the problem was. Sighing, she calmly trotted over to the door and pushed it open for them. The four immediately commando rolled into the now open room, fingers at the ready. Together, they covered every inch of the room in their pointing; all suddenly locking onto the same target as something moved from the other side of the building. "What are you doing inside my house? You're lucky I didn't turn you into a mouse!" Shoving past the knights, Twilight gave a gracious smile at her friend; a sense of calm coming over her as she realised she was okay. "Zecora! I don't have time to explain, Celestia is in danger and we need your help!" The strange black and white pony across the room didn't turn around as she continued to mix the contents of her desk together. "And what, pray tell, would the problem be; that you would need to come to little old me?" Twilight swallowed and tried to ignore the knight currently sifting through all the potions gathered around him. This was the hardest part. "I need to know if you have any of...it left. We really need it." "What a strange request of me you ask, for making it's a difficult task." Twilight nodded. "I know, but...I believe, perhaps foalishly, that these knights know what they're talking about. Moving closer and staring into Zecora's eyes, Twilight tried to show how serious she was about this. "Zecora, I need you to make me some moon banished tofu!" It never ceased to amaze Twilight how time seemed to go by extra slowly when you had to make sure four easily distracted and borderline super-powered knights from destroying the house of the witch-doctor they were currently staying in. It certainly didn't help that they had spent a whole twenty minutes fighting over a single bottle filled with red liquid, only to realise it was filled with raspberry juice and subsequently drinking the entire thing in one go. But finally, finally, Zecora returned, a bag full of sandwiches slung over her back. Twilight took them graciously, smiling all the while. "Thank you so much Zecora, you have no idea how much you've helped me. How much you've helped everypony." "There is no need to thank me, Miss Twilight. I am merely doing what I think is right." "But if this works, you'll have helped so many! I just...can't thank you enough." Turning around, Twilight whistled loudly. The knights stopped what they doing, if only for a moment, so Twilight could speak. "Alright, I hope this works. Let's head back to the fort and just...hope, everypony." Trotting forward, Twilight was suddenly stopped when something grabbed her from behind. Turning around, Twilight nearly pulled back as Zecora leaned right into her face. With a nearly unnoticeable flick, Zecora slipped a small bottle to Twilight. "It's a dangerous world to be out there alone, this will stop all danger from being set in stone." Twilight glanced at the red liquid in the bottle. "Thanks?" "Just be wary of where your adventure takes you, lest it lead you right into a...stew." Zecora said, moving backwards and returning to her original position above a large cauldron. Twilight had to fight back the urge to comment how cheesy it was. The stew, of course. Shrugging, Twilight casually threw the bottle into her bag of sandwiches and trotted out the door. "Come on, knights. We have a fort full of changelings to crash." The five...sorry, forgot Spike counts, the six of them arrived back at the changeling fort without any incident; save for a particularly humorous moment when red knight got his head shoved into a bee hive, it was quite funny; you should have seen it. And then the bear came along; ah, good times. Anyway, walking towards the door again, Twilight wasn't sure what she was supposed to do next. Frankly, she didn't understand any of this. How were sandwiches supposed to help them break through a solid steel door? It didn't make sense. Breathing deeply, Twilight turned around and levitated one of the delicious lunches out of her saddlebags. "So, I just...hand it to you?" Surprisingly, the blue knight was the first one to grab it, shooting a short burst of ice magic out of his feet to glue his companions in their places. The vein on the red's face was beginning to surface again, and only got bigger as blue moved his lips closer to the food. And then, to the silent cries of his leader, the blue knight bit down on the sandwich. A sudden burst of light eclipsed the sun, forcing Twilight to cover her eyes and step back. What was going on? Did all tofu do this? Her ears flicked backwards as a pained, ear splitting scream echoed through the forest. And though she had her hoof placed in front of her eyes, Twilight was still able to grasp small glimpses of what was happening to the blue knight. In the middle of an explosion of light, he was changing. His arms, already tough as iron, ripped outward even more; popping out to obscene sizes. His chest burst out, rippling with obvious strength and power. Twilight swore she could see the outline of a mouth in the explosion, but disregarded it as her imagination. The knights didn't have mouths. His head and feet remained the same size though, but Twilight wasn't about to tell him that. The knight looked like he could snap her in half with a wayward glance. As the light faded into the air, the blue knight didn't bother to explain what had happened, or show if it had hurt or not; simply running up to the metal door and grabbing it tightly with his two beefy arms. The veins on his arms popped and beat as he pulled, throwing all of his new found strength into breaking the door out of position. And with a final shout, the door flew through the air backwards, nearly crushing Twilight as it landed. It was surprisingly dark on the other side of the blockade. Perhaps it was a side effect of changeling occupation, or maybe Twilight had just spent too long in the light. Granted, it wasn't dark enough that she couldn't see anything, but the difference was still notable. Once again, Twilight found herself shoved backwards as the three knights behind her de-thawed their feet and moved to take her place. A puff of smoke filled the road, and suddenly, the blue knight was small again, his muscles and strengths fading into the air. And rising to replace it was the sound of charging chitin and an almost maniacal laughter. Bursting out of the hole ripped in the wall, Shining Armour sprinted forward as fast as his legs could carry him. The knights prepared themselves for a fight, but found themselves lacking in one as soon as Shining changed course; heading straight into the woods. Stopping his laugh for a minute, Shining back-pedalled into the woods. "Haha, you know what? I don't care how you broke the door, you can have the blockade. It's not like you can stop it. We're all doomed anyway, me, you, red paint mcsquare head the fifth Czar of Scandinavia, everyone. So just...take your crummy fort." The knights dropped their guard as they watched the changeling disappear into the trees. His laughter rang and bounced around the woods; a grim warning to anyone who wanted to travel through the blockade. All of a sudden, the darkness of the fort looked a whole lot more menacing than before. Coughing nervously, Twilight placed an unsteady hoof in front of herself. "I suppose we better...go in." Turning around, Twilight felt like screaming again. Of course they were just waiting until she told them they could continue, why would they be doing anything different? Three pony sized creatures rushed past her, followed by a creature so big Twilight had to fight against the force of the wind rushing past her with it. Where in the blazes did orange knight find that manticore again? Twilight was sure they'd left it at Zecora's. Swallowing her fear, Twilight chased the knights into the shadows. The shadows felt constricting as Twilight passed the line between light and dark. Twilight had never walked the path to Canterlot before, she'd never had a reason too. Everytime she needed to travel back to the palace, Celestia would simply send a carriage down for her, or if that wasn't possible, she would take the train. The path was a total mystery to her. Which is why it came as shock to her that it was so cold! A cold wind blew down from the tops of the mountains on her sides; even the heat of the sun had no chance to stand against something like this. There was a small tunnel in front of her, with clear ice walls lining the sides and connecting with each other to form the roof. Shaking a little, Twilight continued onward. From tales and stories, Twilight knew that they only needed to travel a short distance along the side of the mountain before arriving directly at the front gate of Canterlot. And luckily for her, something embedded in the ice of the mountain had caught the knight's attention. Trotting closer, Twilight gave it a small glance. At first she wasn't sure what she was looking at. The strange creature resembled the knights, except where they had square heads, this creature had a bright yellow round one. With...was that an antenna sticking out the top? Sighing to herself, Twilight continued further down the path; turning back occasionally. The knights behind her followed behind, there was no doubt of that, but they seemed intent on staring at every possible thing embedded in the ice. What could possibly be more important than getting to Canterlot? Didn't they understand that Princess Celestia was in... Twilight froze when she finally stopped for a moment and concentrated on the ice, finally realising what the problem was. Why didn't she ever just pay attention instead of getting wrapped up in her own thoughts? It was staring her right in the face and she'd walked past it mindlessly. It was changelings. Dozens or maybe hundreds of changelings, frozen stiff in the walls of the tunnel. Some were asleep, others were frozen in sheer terror, but each one was utterly and irreversibly encased in the ice walls of the tunnels. What could possibly have done this to so many creatures? It would have to be something powerful; something that Equestria hadn't seen since its creation. A sudden cold wind blasted down the tunnel, so cold and powerful that hoof sized icicles blasted down the tunnel with it. It felt like one of the icicles speared Twilight in the heart as she stepped backwards. Or tried to, at least. Moving seemed hard for some reason. Almost subconsciously, Twilight started to breathe faster. Her chest beat forward, nearly unable to contain her heart as she felt the first licks of frost move up her legs. The wind was relentless though, always carrying its message of death and cold forward. The casing of ice developing on Twilight finished with her legs and moved on to her torso; not caring about her frenzied struggling. In the corners of her vision, she could see the same thing was happening to the knights. That wasn't right, this couldn't be happening. The knights were supposed to protect her, were supposed to save Equestria, they couldn't be frozen along with her. The suit of ice started to stretch up to her neck. This couldn't be real, she was dreaming. It was just too unlikely. She had four of the most powerful creatures on her side. Even if she didn't, she was Twilight Sparkle! She was the princess's student, she couldn't just lie down and turn into an ice sculpture. She was the element of magic, she was the most powerful unicorn in Equestria, she was... The ice finished ensnaring her, capturing her perfectly in the dim reflective light of the cavern. The air that rushed into Twilight's lungs was a god send. As soon as the casing of ice fell of her body, she immediately collapsed into a shivering pile, apparently too tired to keep standing. Had she just...no, it was impossible. She was still here, she was still alive. Glancing away from the chunks of ice on the ground, Twilight looked up at her saviour. The blue knight was scanning through the cavern hastily. The usually cheery expression on his face had been replaced by a serious stare that penetrated deep into the cavern, searching for something. He didn't dawdle, or wait, or hesitate as he rushed forward, only a brief wave of his hand telling Twilight she should follow. On unsteady legs, Twilight limped forward. She couldn't feel her tail, that would usually be concerning. A sun shining on her skin was amazingly the first thing she noticed as she excited the tunnel. It was a weird thing to notice; she'd barely been in the cave for...what, a few minutes, and yet she thought she'd never feel the sun on her skin again. They were standing on the edge of a cliff; the forest far below them. The view alone was enough to suck Twilight's remaining breath away. The knight moved next to her though, a thin mist of ice painted around his fingers. He was prepared to fight, he just needed his opponent. And almost as if it were reading a cue from a screenplay, the legendary windigo rose out from the woods below. The wind around the windigo condensed into clouds nearly as soon as it appeared, hiding its entire back half in the storm. Small tornadoes and twisters spun around its neck, kept in place by the unique mix of hot and cold radiating from the creature. It roared with a mouth that was full of icicles sharpened to a point and charged forward, intent on stopping anything that could survive its icy winds. The knight relaxed for a second and turned to Twilight. All he did was shrug as if he didn't understand what was going on and spun back to face the windigo. Taking three steps back, the knight bent down to tap his toes. Twilight considered asking him what he was doing, considering they would both be wiped off the face of the earth in less than a minutes time, until it became painfully obvious. He was stretching. And then he was off, charging forward to meet the windigo halfway. Time seemed to slow down as Twilight ran some calculations off the top of her head. It was a good thing she was so good at this sort of thing, because it caused her to realise a very important fact. "Wait! Stop stop stop, you won't make it! It's too far away for you! Wait!" To Twilight's shock, the knight only ran forward faster. Twisting his legs at the last second and pushing upwards powerfully, the knight launched himself over the edge. He seemed to hang in the air almost magically for a brief second, as the wind and the ice and the dust pushed past him as he flew forward. And eventually, straight down. He disappeared from sight as Twilight gasped; what was she supposed to do now? She couldn't fight a windigo, it was impossible. They were just...too strong. Just one of them had incapacitated three of the greatest knights in the land; she stood no chance against something like that. She needed the elements or her friends or something! Bending her head down, Twilight gathered her magic. Never go quietly, not when the odds are in your favour, not when there are no odds at all. She snapped back up and let her magic drain as a strange sound rose against the wind. Was that...Spike? "Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" A bright flash blinded Twilight as something exploded from beneath the windigo. The monster only got a brief glance before what Twilight could only describe as a rocket ice-powered rocket knight rocket punched directly into its none rocket-powered chest. The blue knight bounced back a few feet as the windigo screamed in shock and pain. The knight wasn't stupid though, he knew to never give an inch in a real fight. A small orb materialized in his hand as he took aim, rearing his entire hand back in preparation for his attack. It seemed as if anything these knights did was enough to amaze Twilight. The ability to create something from nothing was a very difficult power to learn. Even creating something as simple as an orange would take years of practice and study, not to mention all the unexplored areas of magic you would need to develop and study yourself. Creating something from nothing was a feat she had thought impossible. Until the blue had done exactly that, several dozen times a minute to attack the windigo. Countless arm sized shards of ice fired out of the knight's hand as the sheer force of the attack sent him flying backwards. And that was only the beginning of the attack. Twisting both his hands towards each other, the knight sent out a cloud of ice and pain towards the windigo. For a second, the horizon was blurred by a light blue haze as the attack stretched as far as Twilight could see. The windigo wasn't expecting something this sudden. Twilight wasn't suspecting something this sudden. It would be a safe bet to say that no one in all of Equestria was expecting that much sheer pain to fly at them out of nowhere. It kicked and screamed as it tried to change its course, but it was already far too late. With a rapid succesion of cracks and snaps, the windigo burst through the blue knight's magic, crashing into the side of the mountain and landing painfully. Dust kicked up around Twilight as the knight himself landed; not a second spared as he sprinted towards the downed creature. Twilight had to double check to make sure what she was seeing was real; her hoof already raising itself to her head. Grasped in the blue knights hand, instead of magic or a sword, was her assistant. "Look Twilight, I'm helping!" Leaping over the collapsed body of the windigo, the blue knight got to work. A wayward hoof kicked out at him from the beast, but it was as expected and already countered by a swift wave of his hand. Content he was safe, the blue knight grabbed Spike's tail roughly, and pulled. Green flames burst out of the dragon's mouth, bathing the windigo in fire. At first it struggled, kicked back and tried to stop it, but it was obvious it was pointless. The clouds surrounding it faded into the air as they heated and drops of clear water stained the ground. And as the windigo melted, so did all the damage it had caused. From deep within the tunnel to the fort, three creatures and a manticore raged against the ice holding them in place; hacking at their frozen feet in an attempt to break them out. Changelings of every size glanced around confused; a couple having the right sense to escape into the air before something else happened. Next to Twilight, back at the edge of the cliff, a huge chunk of ice fell from the mountain, revealing another shocking surprise. Twilight wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't been there to see it herself. "Princess Cadence!" She shouted, waving at her foal sitter excitedly. The pink alicorn rubbed her head for a moment, seemingly not hearing Twilight's shouts. "Twi...Twilight?" "Princess Cadence!" "Twilight?" "We're not doing this again, what are you doing here?" Shooting a glance behind her, Cadence walked forward. "I...I don't know. I was following Shiny, when all of a sudden this monster appeared and I...I can't remember anything after that." "That's...that's amazing Cadence. I can't believe you're all...oh for Luna's sake Blue!" For some reason, Twilight hadn't noticed the blue knight slowly inching over to Cadence. Far from the symbol of power and danger he was when he was fighting the windigo, he now wrung his hands together awkwardly and locked his eyes on the ground. Cadence noticed him around the same time Twilight did. "Oh, who are you? One of Twilight's friends?" A drop of sweat ran down the knights forehead. Luckily, Twilight was there to help him out. To be his 'wingman' one might say. "Haven't you met the knights before, Cadence? This is the creature that defeated the windigo and saved you. He can't...um, talk. Or open doors, but that's not important." Cadence stared at the strange creature for a moment longer. She was no stranger to shy creatures before, hell, being the princess of love, she'd helped quite a few shy lovers get over their anxiety. This one would be no different. Glancing between his awkward shuffle and his nervous hands, it was obvious what she needed to do. Smiling devilishy, Cadence moved closer. "Well then, a windigo is a dangerous creature. Mayhaps my hero needs a little...reward." The blue knight took a tentative step backwards as Cadence rushed towards him. With a single flick of her wings, the blue knight was pulled closer to Cadence; wrapped in a warm embrace. Leaning in close, Cadence whispered in his ear, 'just don't tell Shining about this,' and went in for the kiss. Twilight couldn't watch this. It just felt wrong to watch her sister in law make out with someone who wasn't her brother. It was just weird, she didn't like it. Looking around, Twilight felt a twang of guilt as she noticed the red knight shaking his fists to the sky again while green and orange laughed at him. What was it with these knights and princesses? Content that everything would be safe now, Twilight trotted a few steps ahead of the pack; leaving Cadence and the knights behind. She just needed to see Canterlot, needed to know what she was up against. Had the changelings damaged it? Had the guard held their own? She needed to know, just a small glimpse. And there, glimmering in the sun, she realised just how big of a task she'd cut out for herself. Canterlot was nearly completely reformed. The river running around it from the mountains was stained a dark green and makeshift walls reinforced by magic had been carefully constructed around the perimeter. The castle, usually a shining gem of the world, fared no better than the rest of the city. Banners and the occasional fire marked the pillars and spires of the palace; truly, the entire place looked nothing like she remembered it. Jumping as the green knight suddenly appeared next to her, he too looked over the city. And instead of a sense of fear, or anger or anything a reasonable person would have, he simply poked Twilight in the side and pointed. And anyone with half a brain could tell what he was saying. "Hey Twilight...Twilight, Twilight, see that city? Twilight, see the; Twilight do you see that city? Because, Twilight, because I'm going to, Twilight I'm going to crash that city. It'll be godlike." It took a moment, a single glorious moment where everything was perfect, until Twilight sighed and hung her head down heavily. She was starting to see why Celestia imprisoned the knights in the first place. Author's Note Have you ever noticed that nearly all crossovers have Twilight teleport the characters into the MLP world? What's up with that? Why not have a story where Pinkie teleports them instead? Or even just leave it questionable. How did the cast of Scooby doo get into the MLP world? Why must you poke holes in the story? Read it and enjoy. Addendum: Unless it's Doctor Who, in which case it's always the Doctor's fault. Always. Also, I am not looking forward to reading through the accounts of everyone who've favourited this, it's going to take all day. And yes, I am terrible at Zecora's rhymes, thanks for noticing. Oh god dammit, this chapter was supposed to be shorter than the last one, not longer!
