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."
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Oh god...
SPIKE!
Loved the story by the way, hope to see more from you
-Kiryu
lol poor aj
hoofsteps
umadbro.jpg
A wonderful and amusing ending to a wonderful and amusing story.
That. Was. Kick-ass.
Well done!
2765798
I think he mad, bro.
...But, slapstick isnt dead...i saw him hooking up with a weird anime chick in vegas.
Good story if wackier than what I am use to reading -though I expected this since well Castle Crashers XD-
Also three sets of hooves would work as most would know that a set of hooves is 4...I think, I never really figured out how to properly word that myself either...-shrug-
It happened. She became a princess.
great story sequel or CMC castle crashers maybe?
Ah yes, a grand finale indeed. I was waiting on the four way fight the entire story, and was not disappointed... but who was the winner and who did they kiss?
Ah, who gives a damn.
Great story.
>>>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.>>>
YOU HAVE FAILED US!!! 10 billion downvotes 4 U!!!
And I'm sending the knights to visit your house.
Anyway funny story! Though... what was the thing with Discord? I missed something...
Amazing...absolutely amazing.
denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw4572-65405263a91f120e3b6ecc287024e90f.jpg
Awesome. You done excellent! I totally forgot about spike.
Its over... time to party!
mediamatrix.henshinjustice.com/images/smilies/knightdance44yt7.gif download.gamespotcdn.net/d4/user_images/800/knightdance2_2.gif mediamatrix.henshinjustice.com/images/smilies/knightdance34sq2.gif
Love castle crashers. Orange knight's my man. He was the mage in my group of friends. I was also the most powerful... when I wasn't messing with them XD
2768063
Oh crap, I forgot about spike too!
Wonderful. Being a fan of Castle Crashers (I still can't find a full group to play the Steam port with though), I fully appreciate this well-thought out story.
If I haven't already, I feel you deserve a watch.
SOME ONE MAKE THIS INTO A GAME NAOW! (castle crashers 2!)
2770483 The creators of Castle Crashers (behemoth) made another game in a similar style. Although I wish they at least made a second one.
2768555 what about blue?
2777079 blue doesn't have a dance. From what I found, he just points and laughs... and it wasnt appropriate for my comment.
And somehow, despite the massive amounts of silliness that ran through the course of this story, the ending still managed to be rather saddening.
Spike? Spike who? Dragon, purple and green scales? Never heard of him.
2768655 This is what happens when a character doesn't get much dialogue and when there is a shit load of action everywhere!
God, she loved that feeling, coming first
...
*wink wink*
That IS what she said.
can't believe no one noticed that
2768555
mediamatrix.henshinjustice.com/images/smilies/knightdance14tl8.gif mediamatrix.henshinjustice.com/images/smilies/knightdance34sq2.gif
mediamatrix.henshinjustice.com/images/smilies/knightdance44yt7.gif mediamatrix.henshinjustice.com/images/smilies/knightdance2.gif
2780323 I know, I saw them all, its just the blue knight wasnt dancing. He just points and laughs. I wanted my comment to have them dancing, and I didnt see this as that big of a deal...
2781096
just wanted blue to laugh at green's weird dancing style
Who was Discord's cloaked companion? Was it another princess that the knights started fighting over? Otherwise, it seemed confusing that they would be fighting for a kiss from Celestia, which they already had...
2785531
1. That I did, I apologize for missing that error.
2. Lava gets a pass when the entire section is a reference to the volcano level in Castle Crashers, the game the story is written around. Besides, convection shemction.
3. Also a reference from Castle Crashers, where the one of the bosses is a skeleton cyclops, that drowned in lava.
2789605
2. Fair enough.
Copy pasta done right!
images.wikia.com/vampirediaries/images/1/11/If_you_know_what_I_mean_.png
What you did there. I see it.
2766201
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/63/KickAss2.jpg
2770483 Castle Crashing MLP.
You honestly expect me to believe that after this story? I get that Blue didn't mess around... as much as the other two, but he wouldn't be very bothered by the party. Not for those reasons anyways.
And you tempted my mind. Damn, mentioning a plague of all things at the end of the story. Are you leading up to a prequel? How does that make sense?
2853301
I think you misread. I certainly didn't mention anything about a plague. Perhaps you mean plaque, which is an ornamental tablet that is usually fixed to a wall to commemorate a person's achievements.
2869285
My bad, though I honestly thought Celestia mentioned trying to cure a plague of theirs and couldn't yet.
I had fun reading this story.
wow just like the runaway guys
3000444
I bought the 360 version a few months ago. It's fun.
We still need the blacksmith and the pink knight.
Get to it.
3034303
But Khorne, my dear god of war,
they're already there.Great story, ending is a little melancholy for me
, but fantabulous story!!
Do you plan on a sequel?
This was absolutely bucking hilarious, and I would love to see more on this fic...Besides....I freakin' love Castle Crashers...And this is the only crossover I've seen...
I fucking love this game! I personally like the Red Knight, but I love all the power guys. I will add this to my Nook and read it, then when I finish, I will of course give a better review.
You win about 100 bonus points for writing this. This game is really awesome and you should feel great for writing a story based on Best Game (I like it, I have others that are Best Game so no wars please)
Awesome story, loved it (:
Sequel with blacksmith and pink knight please?
pretty damn good
In response to the description of the story: Best. Engravement. Ever.