The enormous library was as massive as it was empty. There were bookshelves as far as the eye could see, but strangely most books were cast in piles upon the ground. In fact, the entire library appeared as though it had been ransacked.
“What- What happened?”
Rocinante examined the hoof marks on an overturned ladder and shook his head.
“It would appear that the accursed foe has struck this place in a foul and underhoofed attempt to prevent and sabotage any efforts to obtain information with regards to the Empire itself.”
Sassaflash gritted her teeth as she spread her wings and took flight, hovering near the ceiling above her cousin.
“But how? The shield is still up. How could somepony have gotten through?”
Gripping his lance tightly, Rocinante stepped further into the building.
“That, dear Sassa, is why it is foalishness to trust in the security of walls and magic instead of righteousness and the lance. No doubt the forces of darkness have slipped their own cowardly agents beyond our defenses again. Take care, dear Sassa, Mr. Curio, for the villains may very well still reside within these very walls, but fear not! I, Rocinante of La Manecha, will root out this evil once and for all!”
As the knight-errant and his squire proceeded into the library, Curio couldn't help tearing into the closest pile of books. There had to be something of value in an ancient library. There just had to be.
Turning towards the sound of books flying behind them, Sassaflash gave Curio an accusing look as she slowly floated back down to the ground.
“What are you doing?”
Curio froze for a moment, uncertain how to respond, but thankfully, Rocinante intervened.
“Your initiative is admirable, Mr. Curio. Dear Sassa, time is fleeting. We must move swiftly if we are to discover anything which may be of use to us.”
Curio grinned from ear to ear and he nodded vigorously and turned back to the pile of books.
“Ah! Yes, of course, Sir Knight. I am only searching for things that may prove... valuable for our quest.”
Despite her strong desire to object, Sassaflash caught sight of the librarian and raced off towards her. Regardless of what she thought about Curio, she couldn't deny the truth of Rocinante's statement. Time was simply not a luxury that they had a lot of.
“Excuse me!”
The librarian, who seemed to be lost in thought, jumped in surprise.
“Oh! Heavens, we seem to be getting several visitors today.”
“What happened here? Are you alright?”
The elderly pony nodded and smiled.
“Of course. Just a a few visitors like yourselves came by earlier. They appeared to be searching frantically for a history book.”
Rocinante tipped his helmet to the elderly pony and motioned to the mess around them.
“Did you catch a glimpse of the vile villains? What did they look like?”
The librarian stared blankly at Rocinante for a moment before she replied.
“There were six of them, they seemed to be led by a purple unicorn. They said they were looking for something about how the Empire used to defend itself.”
Sassaflash's jaw dropped open.
“Wait, Twilight did this?”
Both the librarian and Rocinante, dumbfounded, turned to Sassaflash. However, Sassaflash was too busy with her own thoughts to explain. If Twilight, who loved books almost as much as if they were actual ponies, would leave them discarded on the floor in such a manner, then their situation must be far more dire that she had originally thought.
Looking from her cousin and back to the librarian, Sassaflash began to feel her knees shake.
“Did they find it? What they were looking for?”
The librarian rubbed her temples as she tried to recall what had happened correctly.
“I-I'm not sure. I didn't actually see them leave.”
“What can you tell us about the Empire? About how it fell?”
The librarian's eyes widened as she began backing away.
“I'm sorry. I really don't remember anything about that. I-”
Sassaflash tried to rein in her own panic, but it was a lost cause. If they couldn't learn anything they would be helpless against whatever evil poured in from the outside.
“Please, anything will help!”
“I-I'm sorry-”
“Come now, Sassa, you are frightening her.”
Both of the terrified ponies turned to face the lone figure who was still unfazed by what threatened all of them. Sassaflash couldn't help but wonder if her cousin truly realized how little time they really had, but for now, she could only hope Rocinante would somehow be able to calm them both down.
“Fear not! For though evil and darkness may lurk outside these very borders, know that the servants of justice, virtue, and valor stand, ever ready, to ward off the darkness and usher in the light. Indeed, both the champions of the sun and the moon have arrived upon this very city and with readiness, eagerness, and zeal as their watchwords, you may rest assured this day that the Empire's freedom shall remain steadfast against all who would threaten it!”
It was a stirring mini-speech, at least to Sassaflash, who had found herself strangely accustomed to her cousin's ever resilient spirit. But the librarian was the pony she hoped would be soothed by the confidence radiating from the knight-errant as he continued.
“Our cause is just, our motives pure, so do not fret over the waning darkness as it whimpers in fear of the light! Though we may seek knowledge from that time so long gone, rest assured that even if nothing should come of your memories, the hold of righteousness over this land shall not weaken and the glory of the new dawn shall still rise!”
The librarian looked at the knight-errant and his puffed out chest with wide eyes. The glasses nearly slid from her face as her eyes darted back and forth across the floor, desperately searching for an answer to Sassa's question. Her eyebrows furrowed deeper and deeper until at last she gave up with a crestfallen sigh.
“I'm sorry. I just... can't seem to remember anything.”
Sassaflash's shoulders dropped so hard that even she noticed them, but her cousin remained rock solid. With a courteous bow, Rocinante stepped back as though he had finished an audience with any of the princesses.
“Alas, but fear not! For my words remain true in the face of adversity. The city shall remain free and the future shall remain bright! Come now Sassa, we should search elsewhere.”
“That, that pile of books over there was where the others found their history book. You may find something similar there.”
As soon as the words registered in Sassaflash's mind, she felt her spirits rise and with a few quick flaps from her wings she was airborne, hovering in front of the elderly librarian.
“Thank you! Thank you so much!”
As she raced off towards the pile, Rocinante followed slowly afterwards, bowing again to the librarian as he passed.
“Indeed, we thank you for your aid. For though our victory is foretold, anything that may lighten the burden is most truly appreciated.”
Examining the pile of books, Sassaflash felt herself doubting that Twilight Sparkle really was here. It was a rare day that she saw the unicorn willing to leave any book that wasn't currently being read left off the shelves. Yet here were so many books left strewn about as though they would never be needed again. Sassaflash slowly put the book in her hooves back down as a thought reentered her mind.
“What if they won't ever be needed again?”
Shaking her head violently, Sassaflash threw the thought from her mind. Even if she didn't know how they were going to do it, she had to believe in her cousin. She had to believe there was some way out of this. Once her head stopped shaking, Sassaflash took a deep breath and re-opened her eyes. Before her was a door that she had not noticed before. It stood silently across the room nestled out of the way between two bookshelves. Sassa wasn't certain what drew her to the door, but her curiosity overcame her quickly as she examined the sign on the front.
“By order of His Most Imperial Majesty, King Sombra, These books are prohibited under penalty of law.”
Sassaflash felt a small light of hope well up inside of her. What books would King Sombra want to keep hidden away? Could this be the knowledge they were looking for?
The doorknob jiggled slightly in her hooves, but refused to budge. Stepping back and scowling, Sassaflash considered her options when suddenly Curio emerged behind her.
“What's this? Oh! Oh, that is interesting.”
Sassaflash snorted as she turned and began to walk away.
“It's no use, it's locked up tight. I'll ask the librarian, but somehow I doubt she'll-”
“No it isn't.”
Sassaflash stopped and spun on her hooves as she heard the dull creak of the door's rusted hinges. There, standing with an almost mischievous smile, was Curio.
“You just have to know how to...finesse stubborn doors.”
Sassaflash wasn't certain what she should do as she eyed the now open door. She was beyond certain that the door was locked, but with their opportunity sitting there before them and their time swiftly fleeing them, Sassaflash gritted her teeth and walked into the dark room.
Unlike every other part of the Empire that had been sealed away, this room was layered in dust and cobwebs. Every aspect of the empty, dried out, wooden shelves implied that this room was meant to be forgotten.
“What is this place?”
Curio looked around. His eyes told Sassaflash just how disappointed he was.
“This looks to be where the books King Sombra considered dangerous were kept.”
“But it's empty.”
Curio sighed as looked high and low, but found nothing.
“I would imagine that this room was only a temporary storage, before the books were destroyed, that is.”
Sassaflash sighed as she looked around and started towards the door.
“We don't have time for an empty room. Come on, maybe we'll find-”
Sassaflash froze as her eyes caught sight of a small amount of faded color wedged between a shelf leg and the wall. Sassaflash kicked up a small dust cloud as she raced to the faded color that seemed so brilliant in her eyes. A single book had either fallen off the shelf or was hidden purposefully from destruction. Either way, it had escaped its fate and now found itself in Sassaflash's hooves.
Despite all of the dust and the strong musty scent that came from the molded book, her eyes scoured it carefully as she pressed so close to it that it was heard to tell if she was looking at the book or smelling it. As her muzzle leapt from page to page, Sassaflash was suddenly startled by a grinning Curio.
“What did we find?”
Curio slowly reached over to take hold of the book when suddenly Sassaflash swatted his hoof away.
“Ow! What are you-”
He suddenly fell silent as his eyes fell onto the subject of Sassaflash's undivided attention. There was a single, simple picture of a unicorn raising the sun by itself on the page. Both ponies leaned in closer—the picture was definitely a unicorn, not an alicorn. Scouring the page quickly, Sassaflash's hoof came to rest on two words: “Alicorn Amulet”.
Looking up at Curio, Sassaflash's eyes widened slightly from excitement.
“Do you know what this is?”
Curio coughed into his hoof and backed away slightly.
“A relic of some kind.”
The pegasus's grin swiftly grew from ear to ear.
“Not just any relic. A relic that could help us defeat King Sombra and secure the Empire once and for all!”
Curio glanced back at the page, his eye fixated on the faded picture.
“I had heard from my sources, err, that is, my father and grandfather, that King Sombra was a unicorn, and a rather powerful one at that.”
Rocinante nodded as he emerged into the room.
“I do believe that is what her Noble Grace had told us about the evil that once held this land.”
Sassaflash jumped at the sudden appearance of her cousin, but swiftly recovered.
“A unicorn? How could a single unicorn hope to fight two alicorns?”
Curio smiled as he looked out to the shield and the darkness beyond.
“No doubt he must have had this very relic with him. This amulet surely must have amplified his power beyond that of a mere unicorn and placed him on an entirely new level, perhaps even on par with the Princesses themselves.”
Rocinante shook his head as he pawed at the ground.
“It would be the very height of foalishness to assume that any trinket from the darkness could hope to challenge the forces of the right.”
Curio smiled as he turned from the distant focus he had been looking at and back to the two ponies next to him.
“Did the Princess mention how much of a fight the unicorn king put up before they defeated him? No mere unicorn could do that without some form of aid and I think it is safe to assume that he wasn't backed by the “forces of the right”.”
Sassaflash felt her knees knock slightly as she looked back and forth between the two earth ponies.
“Then...wouldn't it be with King Sombra right now?”
Curio shook his head. His face was dark at first, but soon an idea came to his mind and the Crystal Palace appeared to almost twinkle in his eye as he turned to look at it through the library window.
“Obviously not. There is no way this fading magic could hold him if he had the power of an alicorn. So it must reside somewhere underneath this dome, no doubt within the Crystal Palace, otherwise he would have already recovered it.”
Sassaflash's eyes lit up and her wings excitedly began to lift her off the ground as a new thought entered her mind.
“So if we find it first...”
Curio nodded.
“Such an invaluable relic would no doubt be worth an astronomical amount of bits to Her Highness.”
“And we would be able to beat King Sombra easily!”
“I do not like this notion.”
Both Sassaflash and Curio stopped and looked at the knight-errant who, until now, had been uncharacteristically silent as he considered what they were suggesting.
“Such a device is best left lost.”
Sassaflash tilted her head slightly as she floated back down to the ground.
“But cousin! I know it may be hard to find, but this could give us all of the power we need to save and protect the Empire! We have to at least try to find it!”
Rocinante shook his head again and reached over to close the book on the floor.
“It is not the notion of discovering this...relic that concerns me, but a simple question that I fear you have not yet considered.”
“And that is?”
“Can you, dear Sassa, use evil's instrument without yourself becoming an instrument of evil?”
Sassaflash stood silent for a moment, but before she could respond, Curio intervened. This chance at finding such a valuable relic, even if the odds were against them, couldn't be passed up so easily.
“Just because it was used for evil once does not necessarily mean that the amulet itself is evil. After all, how many times has a lance been used for both good and evil?”
Curio smiled as he eye the knight-errant's battered lance, but Rocinante's expression remained firm.
“It is not the weapon itself that corrupts. It is...”
Rocinante's voice trailed off and Curio smiled.
“You can see that I'm right, can't you? After all, if King Sombra adored crystals so much, does that make the crystals adorning the palace evil?”
Defeated, Rocinante snorted and turned towards the door.
“Regardless, Mister Curio, I am a knight-errant who does not have need for such underhoofed trinkets such as this amulet. My power comes from my heart and my cause, I need no artificial source.”
Sassaflash, with the book now carefully held underneath her wing, trotted up to Rocinante.
“Cousin, I don't understand.”
Rocinante looked to Sassaflash with eyes that seemed both frustrated and confused.
“I cannot put it into words, dear Sassa, but I say to you truthfully that I feel, with every fiber of my being, that this amulet is something that should be avoided.”
Curio smiled as he led the way out of the room and back into the rest of the library. Regardless of how sharp the knight-errant might be, he had every logical advantage to get closer to the amulet.
“Then perhaps, dear knight, we could at least safeguard it against Sombra? After all, you have bested him in the field once before. Surely you can keep it safe from him again.”
Rocinante placed a hoof to his chin as his brows furrowed deeper.
“It would be most dangerous indeed to run such a dark course.”
Sassaflash looked out to the flickering shield again.
“We wouldn't have to hold on to it for long, just long enough for Twilight to finish her task.”
“I do not know, dear Sassa...”
Sassaflash smiled as she put a wing around her cousin. Though Rocinante may not want to use the amulet, she couldn't help but think about how much safer they would be if they kept it in their saddlebags. And if push came to shove, then it certainly wouldn't hurt to have one more magical relic on their side. Indeed, in her eyes, there wasn't any difference between the magical amulet used by King Sombra and the magical helm that sat on top of her cousin's head.
“The Crystal Empire needs our help,
this shield simply can't last much longer.
I know we can do it,
but we have to be much stronger.
We are going to get this right,
so dear cousin don't worry,
with King Sombra's ancient relic we'll find victory!”
Rocinante shook his head as he attempted to end the conversation and walk away.
“Though this may be so tempting-”
But Sassaflash fluttered in front of him, cutting off his attempt to leave the topic behind.
“But you're a knight of great virtue!”
“In the face of growing darkness-”
“You'll resist evil as you always do!
We are going to get this right,
so dear cousin don't worry,
with King Sombra's ancient relic we'll find victory!”
Curio, clearly pleased that Sassaflash was taking his side, or at least a side that was close enough to his, quickly joined in with the young pegasus.
“You can't imagine what it's worth...
If we can simply find it first.”
Rocinante snorted as he turned back to the smiling earth pony.
“Value simply does not matter,
when you make your own heart cursed!”
But despite his resistance, Sassaflash and Curio were both far too pleased with the idea of finding the amulet as they smiled and began their march towards the Crystal Palace.
“We are going to get this right,
so dear cousin don't worry!
With King Sombra's ancient relic we'll find victory!”