//------------------------------// // Enter The Knight of the Restored Moon // Story: Rocinante and the Return of Chivalry // by Charliemane //------------------------------// The bell above the door rang sweetly as Sweetie Belle led the way out of the weather and back into Carousel Boutique. Although Sassaflash had long since recovered from her impact, Rarity still hadn't come back from Sweet Apple Acres. Despite how much she wanted to leave Sweetie Belle inside during the outlandish and unpredictable weather, Sassaflash had to pick up Rocinante at the train station, so she had little choice but to take Sweetie Belle with her. Of course Sweetie Belle had been more than interested in meeting Sassaflash's knight-errant cousin and Rocinante was eager to make the acquaintance of a crusader, even if he did misunderstand what Sweetie Belle and her friends did at first. At the train station he was quick to sympathize with the crusaders' eagerness to find their cutie marks and had the skies not been pouring chocolate milk on them, they would have had a fun time journeying back to the Boutique. As it had turned out, chocolate milk rain may have been fun to catch out of the sky, but it soon left them sticky and uncomfortable once they had been soaked for a while. Sassaflash had hoped to borrow Rarity's shower while they were trapped in the Boutique, however the tap water was instead tap lemonade, leaving them all no choice but to remain covered in a light layer of sticky chocolate. With no end to the rain in sight, Sassaflash turned to her cousin as he was looking out of the window into Ponyville. “I've never seen weather like this. What do you think could be causing it?” Rocinante rolled his eyes towards the clouds as though he were searching for the answer above them. Then, giving up, Rocinante shrugged his shoulders and looked back at his squire. “To be honest, dear cousin, I had rather hoped that your profession would lend itself unto a greater knowledge regarding this most unruly weather...” Rocinante's voice trailed off as they were both taken off guard, not only by the sudden clearing of the weather, but also by the fact that several buildings outside were now levitating in the air. “Clearly my dear Sassa, this has gotten out of hoof and is no longer a matter solely for the weather ponies of the land. No, there can no longer be any shred of a doubt that there is a great evil at work here and now. Once again, the fair ponies of Equestria look upon us to rectify this disorderly matter in the name of justice, virtue, and valor!” As Rocinante rose from the couch and straightened the battered Helmet of Marebrino upon his head, Sassaflash shifted uncomfortably, looked outside and then back to an increasingly concerned Sweetie Belle. “Wait, cousin we can't just leave Sweetie Belle behind. I promised Rarity that I would watch over her while she went to Sweet Apple Acres to help Applejack...” Sassaflash's voice trailed as she thought about how long she and Sweetie Belle had been waiting. It had been more than a few hours since Rarity had left them in each others' care. Had something gone wrong? As the concerns finally began to raise up in her mind, Sassaflash began to worry, but Sweetie Belle nervously spoke up before she could voice any of her doubts. “Umm... I know we were supposed to wait for Rarity to come back, but... It's been a really really long time for Rarity to be gone... Maybe we could go by Applejack's...” Rocinante swiftly trotted over to her and patted her head as the thunder cracked and the clouds drizzled a bit more milk onto the ground. “Of course dear filly! For what manner of knight would abandon the cries of so innocent a foal?” While Sweetie Belle seemed eager to go, Sassaflash turned a bit pale at the idea of bringing a filly along with them. Rocinante's adventures were, more often than not, dangerous. However she was also beginning to worry about Rarity. It was unlike her to just leave her sister behind for so long with no explanation and they certainly couldn't just leave Sweetie Belle behind while they looked for her. “Hold on... I'm going to leave a note here in case she comes back while we're gone. I would hate for her to worry if she came back and we weren't here.” “Clever plan my dear Sassa. Now let us journey forth! Adventure awaits!” Tacking the note to the inside of the door, the trio headed out into the now chaotic Ponyville. They had not gone far when suddenly the bright afternoon sun leapt below the horizon and was replaced by the moon. Sassaflash and Sweetie Belle stopped to examine what had happened while Rocinante continued to press on. “These are strange happenings indeed. No doubt this must be the fiendish machinations of some terrible magic wielding unicorn bent on the destruction of all order and harmony! But fear not my friends! For I, Rocinante will-” Rocinante's words were cut off as he suddenly slipped and planted his face firmly into the road beneath him. Sweetie Belle attempted to use her unicorn magic to create a light, but just as the orb of pink light began to appear on her horn, the moon disappeared and the now broad daylight revealed everything as Sassaflash slipped and slid by Sweetie Belle and into her rising cousin. As they struggled to get back up on their hooves, Sassaflash shook her head in a vain effort to get the smell of lye out of her nose. “Soap? W-What happened to the road?” Rocinante spat out the soapy taste from his mouth and attempted again to slowly rise. “What manner of madness is this? Does the accursed foe dare to make a mockery out of the forces of justice?! Come Sassa! My dear Sweetie Belle! We must make haste to rectify this at once!” Once his hooves seemed to be firmly planted, Rocinante set out for Sweet Apple Acres and immediately the sun disappeared into night. Both Sweetie Belle and Sassaflash could hear the sound of Rocinante thumping and splashing in the darkness before finally the light returned, revealing the knight-errant, covered in soap suds, lying on his back and looking toward the sky. “Let us make haste... with all due caution.”