Castle Crashing the Village
Carefully, 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.
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wonderful story, keep going!
Cooool
I loved the Castle Crashers game, I'll be sure to read this when I get off work
Giant chest falling from nowhere -> I see what you did there
I'm up-voting this now regardless of whether or not I actually like it
That's how glad I am that a Castle Crashers x over exists 
hahahaha keep goin
God that was hilarious, although i think they should have started to beat each other to near death over who gets the princess
.
Oh my god. I love this game.
I'm definitely reading later.
*Sombra
Meanwhile Spike is just orbiting around Blue Knight, the picture of that in my head is just too funny.
Its Sombra, but that is unimportant.
What matters most is that this story is awesome.
Will the awe-inspiring Pink Knight make an appearance?
Oh the level of LOLs here is absolutely insane. Having played as the Blue Knight to level 99 myself, I had to read this. Gotta say, I am loving it. keep this up. Love how they communicate, and how they are so random and chaotic. I swear they act like things Discord would have come up with. Heros that drive everypony crazy in the process
too good, moar please
I always play as the Green knight, so at least I like him
I also love how you brought the whole 'chest falls out of the sky' crap. It was perfect 
I can honestly say that, having never played Castle Crashers before, I have never wanted to play it more than I do now.
Best part is that they couldn't care less what the ponies think.
Sweet jesus people, are you trying to give me a heart attack?
Until today, my notifications had never been higher than fifty, and suddenly I log in and there are 120 different people that want to tell me they like my story?
Sweet mackerel.
2021767
As for you, I'd recommend it. It's not very long and and you need a friend for the best experience, but overall it's just a very well designed game.
Fucking.................GENIUS!!!!!
2020682Ditto!
Love Castle Crashers!
I'll keep an eye on this, but if it's going to bee all fight scenes, I can see it getting old quick...but maybe you can pull it off.
Ahh! Caste Crashers! I haven't played that game in a long time. I think I'll go play it again just for old times sake!
Chickens.....
Green Knight Is best Knight!
i-i-i just... wow, just wow this was/is AMAZING! keep up that good work yo!
Holy sweet Celestia! I had never heard of this game before now, and now I must find it and play it. I barely kept my laughter contained, and the chest out of nowhere? Pretty much every video game. I would assume it is even more common in this one. So, yeah. LOL! TO! THE! MAX!!!!!! Also, keep writing... or else....
2022268
I dunno, I personally prefer the Beekeeper.
I like to give him the riot stick and pretend he's an undercover cop.
SHOULD I BUY CASTLE CRASHERS ON STEAM?!!
What I mean is WILL THIS GAME MAKE MY DICK ROCK HARD?!!
Poor lonely Luna...
2022432 YES, YES IT WILL. IT WILL/MAY MAKE YOU JIZZ RAINBOWS AS WELL, DEPENDING ON WHAT GENERATION OF GAMING YOU GREW UP WITH.
2022432
Yes it will, Egoraptor.
Yes.
It.
Will.
Its now 100-1.
Lets see.
This is cool
OH, SWEET MERCIFUL CHRIST ON A SALTINE CRACKER DOING THE CHA-CHA SLIDE WITH MR. T IN THE BACKGROUND DOING THE THRILLER DANCE YES!
I literally cant take this smile off my face. I really need to sleep but I want to read this. Conflicting emotions.
I listened to this while reading this over and over again
I love this story keep up the good work.
YES! YES, I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR A FIC LIKE THIS FOREVER!
This...
... is the most fucking marvelous shit that I've ever had the fortune to read in my whole goddamn existence.
And people say crossovers are cliche.
Fantastic job, my good man. You have truly captured the spirit of Castle Crashers. I shall like, favorite, and await the next update with much anticipation.
Cause this... this...
... is a fucking masterpiece.
Does anyone else have. Faint feeling that The Pink Knight might show up?
You never go full agility!
2023281
i474.photobucket.com/albums/rr102/incubus_skj/Waynes-World-Get-A-Load-Of-This-Guy-Cam.jpg
Motherfucker! I was going to write a Castle Crashers story!
Oh well, i'll read yours and see how good it is...
ALL OF MY YES.
...I've never even PLAYED Castle Crashers...but sweet GOD. That was funny as hell!
Oh castle crashers, I remember my first play through. I picked the green knight and did full agility..... Wait.....
But seriously this amuses me greatly! Please continue.
Castle Crashers + MLP = Must Read. I will do so at some point. However, I'm going to thank you ahead of time for being amazing. Thank you.
Alright Luna, let me give you 3 reasons as to why that's physically impossible.
1.) Phones haven't been invented.
2.) Green Knight wouldn't settle for just one princess, he'd have a harem.
3.) Even if he could call you, you literally could not have any form of conversation. He has no mouth, and he's mute.
Any questions?
Red Knight for the win.
Didn't event read the story yet but im favoriting just because of this line.
"Wake us when something fun happens or Celestia stops being a bitch, whichever comes first."
You get my favorite and a thumbs up for that sentence. Bravo Good Sir.
It only gets better as i read it. However, my only nag is that the knights were supposed to fight each other for the Princess's Kiss.
Still, awesomeness incarnate, and I look forward to the next chapters. 
Also, have some staches for good measure. 
2023925
Should be they've, actually, because of 'they have.' I'll get right on that.
Thanks for picking that up.