> Rocinante and the Empire of Crystal
>  by Charliemane
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	A wrinkled sheet of parchment flipped up and over Princess Luna's hoof as a warm breeze billowed in from the open window. With a small sigh, the Princess flipped the stubborn page back and gave its corner a small mark with her stamp. 

Perhaps it was only because she had a fresh perspective after having been gone for so long, but Luna couldn't help but notice that while everything had changed in name and appearance, in fact nothing had truly changed at all. The nobility and the aristocracy now called themselves the “elite” or the “upper class” and instead of large fiefs and holdings managed by a baron or a duke, now there were companies and corporations held by Chairmares and CEO's.

Placing the paper aside and moving to the next page in the pile of records on her desk, Luna paused and rubbed her eyes.

Just as they had before, the nobles always accused each other of cheating one another out of business. Economics wasn't exactly something Princess Luna was too interested in, but part of her return to power included examining the numerous claims that reached the throne. 

Focusing had proven difficult as Luna found herself staring out into the wide open world beyond her window time and time again.

Suddenly sound of a messenger’s hooves racing across the stone hallway outside snapped Luna's attention back into the real world, but not for long. Important messages were commonplace in the castle and addressing them was a duty that was split between the Princesses according to their time on the throne. Luna smirked as she glanced over the requests of another landholder. While Celestia may have the privilege of dealing with the more exciting business of the day, she also had to suffer through dealing with the more exciting business of the day.

“Antoneigha of La Manecha...”

Luna's tired eyes found new life and interest as she read the name a second time.

“Antoneigha of La Manecha? What a pleasantly familiar name, though certainly it must be naught but coincidence.”

The sound of three guardsponies racing by her room didn't even faze her as she continued to examine the paper. Antoneigha, who was now the acting manager of a large number of carrot farms in La Manecha, was issuing a plea to the Royal Court for assistance in locating and returning her sick uncle home so that he might receive proper psychiatric care.

Luna swiftly pulled Antoneigha's papers into a stack of their own when a knock jolted the princess from her work. Swiftly looking up, Luna frowned at the sight of her sister before turning her full attention back to the request forms. It was almost humorous that she would be interrupted now, the moment she had actually found an interesting file.

“As you can see, I am rather busy sister, for real this time.”

“Luna.”

Princess Luna's busy and partially fake shuffling of papers was instantly silenced by Celestia's tone as she stood alone in the suddenly dark doorway.

“Luna... It has finally returned.”
> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“How are you not nervous about this?”

Sassaflash sighed as her cousin thought over her question like a foal, eying the luggage racks overhead as though the answer was hidden amongst them.

“Rather, dear cousin, I feel that I should ask how could I be anything but eager? Her Most Gracious Highness, Princess Luna of Canterlot has seen fit to bestow upon us a quest! Truly, such a quest that begins with an immediate summons unto the Royal Capital could only belong to the most noble and valiant of knights, and our gracious princess has seen fit to place this most prestigious and glorious task into our most capable hooves!”

Sassaflash rolled her eyes with a sigh as she sunk back a little bit in her train seat. Rocinante had never been easily intimidated, but ever since he declared himself a knight-errant, developed an insatiable thirst for glory and adventure that had dragged the two of them across Equestria, from the mountains of the capital to the plains of the buffalo frontier.

Yet as tiring as it had been, Sassaflash couldn't honestly say that she regretted any of it, or the pony that she had become because of it. When her cousin first visited her as a knight-errant, she was a simple weather pony whose greatest ambition was to be home before dark. But now, Sassaflash found herself running alongside her cousin, encountering villains that she would never have even dared to dream about, much less confront.

She had been embarrassed, terrified, and challenged, but through it all she had found that she played an important part in all of the adventures of her cousin. Even when she was imprisoned in the caves below Canterlot she found herself playing roles that she would never have even thought possible.

As the train now rolled into the station, Sassaflash couldn't help but wonder what waited for them at the castle.

“Do you think it will be anything like last time?”

Sassaflash shuddered at the sudden thought of squaring off against changelings again, but her cousin laughed as he bounced out of his seat, through the door, and into the steam on the platform.

“Ah, Dear Sassa! If only we might be so fortunate as to face off against the forces of evil with so much hanging in the balance once again! But never fear! For though the cowardly foe departed from the field the moment they laid eyes upon the champions of justice, virtue, and valor, no doubt now our new foe will be made of greater mettle and we shall meet them in a glorious battle that shall be retold throughout the ages!”

Sassaflash stopped for a moment while the thought sunk into her mind, but with her cousin still marching eagerly towards the castle, she realized that, just as always, there was no turning back now.





Luna held the ancient map of the Crystal Empire aloft with her magic as she paced the throne room.

“During my travels we ventured as far north as Gallopiggen. The Empire's border was just over the other side. If I leave tomorrow I can get there in-”

“That won't be necessary Luna.”

Luna frowned as she lowered the map and looked at Princess Celestia.

“Sister...”

“This will be the opportunity for Twilight that we've been waiting for.”

Luna held back her breath as she walked beside her sister, who was looking at the stained glass windows. Celestia's eyes were narrowed and focused, not on the glass before them, but on some imaginary point well beyond.

“Are you certain she is ready?”

Celestia smiled and her expression relaxed, but her eyes remained locked on their distant target.

“I wouldn't give her more than she could handle.”

“I would not interfere with her test, but this is something far too important to be left to chance.”

“She will not fail.”

Luna's eyes went from the window to her sister, but the fact that Celestia's eyes remained fixed revealed to her that, despite her outward confidence, Celestia was still weighing the situation in her mind.

“Are you sure you don't want me to go as well?”

“Yes, Princess Cadance and Shining Armor are already there.”

For the first time since the conversation began, Princess Celestia looked over to her sister.

“The others will be joining them soon.”

Luna's eyebrows furrowed slightly as she looked from her sister and back to the window in front of them. The war to oust King Sombra was long and arduous. They had waited over a thousand years for the Empire to return, the last thing Luna wanted now was to risk losing it again, or worse.

“The Empire's magic is powerful. It cannot fall again, my sister.”

Celestia could easily detect the concern in her sister's voice as she turned her eyes back to the window.

“She will succeed at her task. And when she does, we'll know that she is that much closer to being ready.”

As though on cue, Twilight Sparkle cleared her throat from the edge of the hallway. Both princesses turned toward the nervous unicorn. Celestia did little to hide the happiness on her face while Luna did little to hide her dissatisfaction with her sister's answer. But, while Luna was less than pleased with her sister's response, she wasn't surprised either. As she began to walk toward the door, Celestia looked back to her.

“Trust me, Little Sister.”

Luna said nothing as she walked past her sister and her star pupil. She could tell by the look in Twilight's eyes that the young unicorn was completely unprepared for the task she was about to receive. The all too familiar sound of books thumping and bouncing along the floor echoed down the hall as Luna exited, leaving the doors open so that her ear might catch Celestia's words.

Luna knew that she wouldn't have much time. She may not be able to go herself, but she knew somepony she could send who would keep an eye on things.

Opening the door to the sitting room just a short distance down the hall, Luna felt her spirits rise as she saw her friends. It had only been a few months, and yet it had felt as though years had past since they had parted ways after Princess Cadance's wedding.

Both Rocinante and Sassaflash immediately rose from their seats and bowed low to the ground.

“Princess Luna!”

“Most Noble Grace! It is both our joy and our honor to be in your magnanimous presence once again!”

In spite of her desire to keep a careful ear out for Celestia's words, Luna swiftly closed the door behind her. Though it was more because of her companions' rather loud volumes than for the sense of urgency that it generated, it seemed to work to both effects.

“I fear I do not have much time. The Crystal Empire has returned.”

Both knight and squire looked at each other, uncertain as to the meaning of this news. There were few, if any, ponies today who ever knew the Empire even existed. Even Rocinante's broad knowledge of the legends of yore held no account of the ancient empire to the north. But there was no time to explain it now, she could only hope that the knight-errant remembered what little she had told them about it during their travels near the area.

“Princess Celestia is sending Twilight Sparkle and her companions to the Empire immediately to assist in securing it from whatever evil may have been trapped within it. She is certain that her pupil and her friends will be enough to protect the Empire, I am not.”

Rocinante put a hoof to his chin as he contemplated the words, but his foal-like eyes never left his princess as she continued.

“In truth, I understand my sister's desire to place this burden upon young Twilight Sparkle, for her success could mean a great many things for us all. However, as much as I want and believe that Twilight Sparkle will succeed, I cannot in good conscience allow my sister to take an undue risk by placing all of our hopes on her protege. Sir Rocinante, Lady Sassaflash, I need you to travel to the Crystal Empire and ensure the security of the realm.”

Both ponies raised their heads and looked at their princess with wide eyes as her words began to sink in, but as always, Rocinante's eyes burned with an eager fire that almost seemed to brighten the room around him. Quickly pounding his hoof to his chest in salute, he bowed again, his voice almost trembling with excitement.

“Most Fair, Noble, and Gracious Highness! Fear not for the safety of the Empire! For I, Rocinante of La Manecha shall dedicate my utmost unto its defense! Again paired with the champions of Her Most Royal Highness, the forces of justice, virtue, and valor shall preserve the Empire for generations to come!”

Luna looked back to the door with a frown on her face. She was almost out of time to explain things and get her friends on their way before Celestia could discover what she was doing.

“Dear Knight, I fear I must place an extra burden upon you.”

“Never fear Noble Grace! For whatever requirements you may have need of, I shall do my utmost-”

“Forgive me, Sir Rocinante, but we are out of time. You must not let Twilight Sparkle know that you are assisting her or the Empire. It is absolutely imperative that neither she, nor my sister, are aware of your presence, let alone your mission.”

Quickly poking her head out the door, Luna could hear the sound of her sister's hooves approaching the hallway. Her time was up.

“I do wish I could tell you more, but there is no time.”

Using her magic, Princess Luna produced two train tickets and levitated them in front of Rocinante and his cousin.

“These will get you to the outer limits of the Empire. From there it should only be a short distance north before you get to the magical barrier that Princess Cadance and Shining Armor will have set up. This...”

Luna produced a small crystal pendant and draped it over the neck of her knight.

“...should get you inside without any trouble. Dress warmly and remember, Neither Princess Celestia nor Twilight Sparkle should know that you are there.”

Opening the door behind her, Luna swiftly exited and motioned for Rocinante and Sassaflash to go down a different hallway towards the gate. They said nothing, but only nodded with a vague understanding and swiftly ran down the hall. Luna couldn't help but be grateful that her friends were so willing to go with so little explanation, and sigh at the thought of how much she wanted to go with them. With a smile across her face, she whispered the last words she wished she had had time to say aloud.

“Good luck, both of you.”

“I have every confidence you will succeed.”

The sound of her sister's voice jolted Luna back into reality. Spinning on her hooves, Luna half ran to the throne room's entrance. Stopping just as her sister and Twilight emerged, Luna quickly wiped the smile from her face and looked down towards Twilight, perhaps more gravely than she intended. The young unicorn looked up at her and almost immediately shrank back to Celestia's side.

“But...what if I fail?”

Celestia's ever reassuring smile remained as firm as ever as she looked her pupil in the eye.

“You won't.”

“But! What if-”

Twilight's words were cut off as Celestia put a hoof on her shoulder.

“You won't. But Twilight, in the end in must be you and you alone who ultimately assists Princess Cadance and Shining Armor in doing what needs to be done to protect the Empire. Do you understand?”

As though filled with the confidence radiating out from Princess Celestia, Twilight firmed her stance and nodded. Even Luna felt herself becoming more confident in Twilight's victory as Princess Celestia sent her off and closed the door.

Luna looked up to her sister as they both turned back towards the throne. Her stride never faltered as they passed by the windows on either side of the room.

“You really do have a lot of confidence in her, Sister.”

“I do.”

Luna turned and looked back toward the doors. Twilight Sparkle was a very capable pony, but still Luna's doubts remained.

“I do hope your confidence in her is well placed.”

“And I hope your confidence in Sir Rocinante is as well.”

Luna's eyes widened as she spun around to face her sister, but Princess Celestia merely smiled as she continued walking to the doors beyond the throne.
> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	As they began their way towards the train station, Sassaflash examined the crystal pendant in her hooves as she floated alongside her cousin. It was a simple pendant, only a single tiny crystal, barely bigger than a quill tip, affixed by a small wooden bail to a leather cord that served as the necklace. The crystal was duller that the crystals she had found in the caves and certainly less reflective, but it somehow felt warm in her hooves. It was plain and simple, but it somehow seemed like the type of jewelry that Princess Luna would like.

“How do you suppose this works anyways?”

Rocinante paused for a moment to look down at the small crystal in his cousin's hooves.

“No doubt it serves as some form of identifier. Though I would have expected something more akin to Her Noble Grace's emblem.”

Rocinante's eyes went from the crystal to the silver moon emblem on his armor.

“But perchance it serves as a very specific emblem for our quest, one that speaks to our invaluable role within the Crystal Empire.”

Sassaflash's wings seemed to falter for a bit as she floated back down to the ground next to her cousin.

“This is a pretty big responsibility. Do you think we can handle it?” 

Rocinante smiled as he stopped and turned towards his cousin. His bright eyes twinkled for a moment as he began.

“I am prepared to do my best,
for I can handle any quest.
Our triumphs form a mighty list,
so of course we can handle this...”

Sassaflash was taken aback by the sudden verse, but Rocinante continued on before she could interrupt, leading the way back down the street.

“Nightmare Moon we overran with ease.
Villain Discord was brought to his knees!”

Again Sassaflash nearly stumbled over her own hooves at her cousin's lines.

“That's...not quite how I remember it happening, Cousin...”

Rocinante paused for only a moment, reflecting on his battle with Discord and its rather abrupt ending.

“Well...in the end he was bested, Dear Sassa.”

As swiftly as he had stopped, Rocinante shrugged off the the interruption and continued, smiling as he trotted along the city walls and waved his hoof towards the sky around the castle.

“We have stared down an army's might,
and the cowards ran off from the fight!
How can we fail, how can we lose,
when all we do...”

Sassaflash cocked an eyebrow, her voice betrayed her doubts while she almost subconsciously matched her cousin's tone.

“When all we do?”

“Is pure and just, our valorous heart,
follows virtue...”

“But will that do?”

“We have taken our share of bouts,
but we know without a doubt,
of course we are..”

“You sure we are?”

“Of course we are...”

“I guess we are...”

“Of course we are-”

Rocinante put his hoof on his cousin's shoulder and instantly Sassaflash felt herself smiling as she joined him.

“Prepared for this!”

Sassaflash grinned as they climbed their way up to the train station platform. They may look like two bumbling ponies well out of their league, but they had faced more villains and challenges than any other ponies in Equestria, except for the Elements of Harmony. Surely her cousin was right, no matter what lay before them, they would handle it like they always have.

“So how far is the Crystal Empire?”

Rocinante placed a hoof to his chin as he tried to recall what Princess Luna had told them about the Empire during their travels together. But before he could say anything, the knight-errant caught sight of Twilight Sparkle and Spike approaching the station.

“Alas dear Sassa! The Champion of the Sun is approaching with her noble squire! Let us take refuge within the train station!”

Swiftly the two shuffled into the train station's lobby, trotting just past the rest of Twilight's friends, who were rushing out to greet her. As the Elements of Harmony greeted each other warmly on the platform, Sassaflash couldn't help but notice how much she and her cousin stood out in the center of the train station. 

While it was true that she wasn't used to hiding, standing next to her cousin in his rusted and worn armor left Sassaflash with a feeling that they were failing miserably at any attempt at being stealthy. But all that mattered to Rocinante and their mission was that Twilight and her friends failed to notice them and as ponies began boarding the north-bound train, it appeared as though they had succeeded, at least for now.

As Twilight climbed into the first car, Sassaflash looked over her cousin and shook her head. There was no way they could slip by anypony without being noticed.

“Cousin, how are we going to get aboard without Twilight seeing us?”

Rocinante grinned as he puffed out his chest.

“My dear Sassa, fear not! For we shall remain unseen under the cover of plain sight! For what cause has young Twilight Sparkle to take note of our presence on this very locomotive? Indeed, as far as anypony could be concerned, we are but ordinary pilgrims on a simple, yet still epic, trek across Equestria for the sake of business and or pleasure.”

Sassaflash's mouth nearly hit the floor at her cousin's explanation, but before she could say anything in response, Rocinante was already trotting out to the platform and the first car within view. Racing swiftly to catch her cousin, Sassaflash galloped up to the platform, but it was too late. Rocinante tipped his helmet towards Twilight and her friends as he passed by their seats. 

For her part, Sassaflash could only attempt some form of damage control. Grinning as widely as she could manage, Sassaflash forced her way up alongside her cousin and continued pushing him past the empty seats and into the next car.

“I say, cousin! It sure is a fine day to be traveling on vacation to Gallopiggen and no further!”

Rocinante stopped at the door to the next car and looked back at his cousin with a confused look in his eyes.

“But, dear cousin, This train is going-”

Sassaflash laughed abruptly as she put a hoof to her head to wipe the sweat from her brow, and pushed harder on her cousin with the other while behind her, everypony, except the conductor, who had become accustomed to the traveling duo, gave them a quizzical glance. Finally, after what felt like an hour under a heat lamp to Sassaflash, Rocinante gave in and moved into the next car.

Once they were on the other side, Sassaflash slammed the door and took the nearest seat next to her cousin.

“That was close.”

“Sassa, This train doesn't run to Gallopiggen.”

Sassaflash sighed as she gave her cousin a tired look.

“I know, but remember? We can't let anypony know we are going to the Crystal Empire.”

Rocinante nodded, but a voice from behind them spoke up before he could respond.

“You're traveling to the Crystal Empire? What a coincidence, so am I.”
> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Sassaflash rubbed the fog from the window with her hoof, but it did little to help the view. The snow outside was falling so fast that she could only see a short distance away from the train. As she tapped the windowsill in a strange mixture of anxiety and boredom she noticed her cousin sleeping peacefully across the aisle from her. In times like this, she was often envious of her cousin's ability to believe everything would turn out alright while her own confidence dissipated as she thought more and more about the task ahead of them.

Almost everypony had gotten off at the last stop. All that remained of the once filled train was Twilight and her friends in the first car and herself, Rocinante, and a mysterious shopkeeper in the second. For now, the gray earth pony sat quietly in his seat behind them. 

He had introduced himself as Curio, and although he said they could call him Uncle Curio if they wished, Sassaflash was far too leery of the mercantile pony to act so informal around him. He evidently owned a store of some kind, but Sassaflash was far more interested in how some seemingly random pony knew so much about the Crystal Empire while her cousin, who she thought knew every ancient legend like the back of his own hoof, knew next to nothing. Sassaflash had desperately hoped he would get off sooner, but he had already stated he was going to the Crystal Empire.

Looking back towards Curio, Sassaflash couldn't wait to get off of the train. Whatever this pony's business was in the Crystal Empire, they would part ways at the platform and that would be that. No sooner than the thought had come to her mind, Sassaflash could feel the train slowing down and almost instantly her heart began to race. This was it, the Crystal Empire. Now their journey would really begin.

As the steam cloud billowed by their car, Rocinante shifted uncomfortably. Typically he preferred to bust through the steam in a bold and overly dramatic fashion, flourishing his lance with a boisterous laugh, but today, Sassaflash kept herself between him and the door. It wasn't that she felt he couldn't control himself, but just the simple appearance of the inward struggle inside her cousin was enough to make her do what she could to prevent them from revealing themselves.

“Umm...Pardon me, but what, exactly, are we waiting on?”

Sassaflash looked back over Rocinante's shoulder towards the confused earth pony behind them and back out to Twilight and her friends on the solitary platform outside. Shining Armor had appeared and after exchanging a few words, they set off in the direction that, Sassaflash presumed, was towards the Empire.

“Nothing! Nothing at all! We were just going, right cousin?”

Rocinante, the temptation to burst forth through steam clouds quickly subsiding as the clouds themselves faded away, nodded and straightened his helmet.

“Indeed, Dear Sassa. We should all hurry towards our destinations, for one does not require experience as a weather pony to tell that when night falls upon us, the cold shall as well.”

Throwing open the door, the three ponies were met with a frigid and forceful wind blast that nearly removed the knight-errant's helmet, but while Sassaflash and Curio looked to the outside with disdain and chattering teeth, Rocinante smiled, readjusted his helmet and stepped boldly into the unknown.

“Come, Sassa! We go forth now to our most glorious quest in the name of our illustrious lady, Princess Luna of Canterlot!”

There was something about her cousin's booming voice that overpowered the wind as he reared up on hind legs and pointed his lance in the direction that Twilight and her brother had trotted off. As though something had warmed Sassaflash's heart and boosted her spirits, she spread her wings and pushed off of the train car's floor taking flight into the fierce wind and almost immediately she was grounded by the same as the wind threw her down next to her cousin.

While most ponies would have burst out laughing at the pathetic display, Rocinante's laugh carried a different feel as he offered Sassaflash a hoof.

“Most excellent display of spirit, dear cousin! All of the Empire's most pure and innocent denizens may rest peacefully this day, for now the forces of justice, virtue, and valor have arrived and all of evil's dastardly presence henceforth shall be undone!”

“D-Did, did you say Princess Luna?”

Both knight and squire turned to the earth pony who was just now emerging from the train car onto the station. His eyes were wide, although Sassaflash wasn't certain if it was from the rather unorthodox sight in front of him or from the sudden and frigid bite of the cold.

Regardless of what had surprised him most, Curio was quick to catch up to the two unusual ponies as they continued their way across the snow and towards the Crystal Empire.

“I had no idea you were a Knight of Canterlot! Tell me, what brings you out here, so far away from the castle?”

Sassaflash looked to her cousin. She wasn't certain how much they should say to some pony they had just met, but Rocinante merely laughed as he pranced after Twilight's company.

“My dear Mister Curio! I am the Knight of the Restored Moon, the champion of her Most Noble Grace, Princess Luna of Canterlot, who has tasked us both to secure the lands of the Crystal Empire from the forces of evil and darkness and to provide to her Most Fair Highness and her beloved the martial support necessary to secure the Empire from whatever evil may threaten its newborn weakness!”

Curio nodded as he trotted alongside the unusual pair. In his eyes, they certainly didn't look the part of Knights of Canterlot and certainly not champions of any noble, let alone Princess Luna, but he couldn't imagine any other reason, except for madness, that would drive a pony out into the middle of nowhere like this.

“Ah, so that explains how you know about the Empire then!”

Sassaflash nodded, but eyed Curio very closely.

“Yes, what about you? How exactly did you come to know so much about the Crystal Empire?”

Curio smiled and took off his hat as he nodded in a slight bow that imitated the knight-errant beside him, but the chilling wind swiftly caused him to place the hat back on his head.

“Not every crystal pony was trapped within the Crystal Empire as it fell under the curse. My great-great-great... well, my ancestor, whom I am named after, fled the Empire during the confusion of King Sombra's fall. Finding a home and love in Canterlot, he settled there, but never forgot to pass on to the next generation who we were and where we came from. Naturally I was overjoyed when I heard that my ancestral home had returned!”

Curio smiled and nodded with satisfaction at his own story, hoping that the curious pegasus wouldn't question the validity of his tale or how many guards he had bribed to get his hooves on the Empire's information.

Sassaflash eyed Curio with an obvious suspicion, but before she could say anything, Rocinante suddenly stopped with a sudden and overly enthusiastic look in his eyes. Turning her head forward, Sassaflash could see a dark and clearly unnatural fog forming ahead of them with a deep, guttural roar. Her mouth dropped open as the dark cloud lurched forward, clearly fixated on the group of ponies ahead of them, but Rocinante, not even giving his opponent a second thought, grinned widely as he pulled his famed helmet of Marebrino lower upon his head, tilted his lance, and tore off after the very darkness that Twilight and her friends were running away from.

“Behold! Dear Sassa, Mister Curio! The very foe I seek! Halt! For I am I, Rocinante, the Pony of La Manecha! Stand before me villain and face the wrath of justice, virtue, and valor!”

As the knight-errant raced after his foe, Curio was left standing there, completely bewildered by the sight of this single earth pony charging after the very heart of darkness. Perhaps this so called “knight-errant” was indeed mad after all?

While Sassaflash may have been temporarily stunned by her cousin's sudden and decisive action, it failed to surprise her as much as it used to and soon she too was racing after the darkness and her cousin. She wasn't certain what they were going to do against this evil form, but she certainly knew she wasn't going to be left behind.

Just as it appeared that they wouldn't catch the racing evil or Twilight and her friends, the dark cloud halted, clearly mustering itself for action when suddenly a ray of magic whizzed through the cloud and into the sky behind it. Sassaflash recognized the purple ray as unicorn magic, probably from Twilight, but dark mist only dissipated and reformed below it, diving at its attacker and enveloping them.

Sassaflash was shocked by the sight. Had this evil really overtaken the champions of Princess Celestia? Was Twilight Sparkle truly defeated so easily? What chance did they have against such a  seemingly untouchable evil? But Rocinante, in contrast with his cousin and squire, was emboldened by his chance at glory and the thrill of battle as he raced ever closer to his unsuspecting opponent.

“Hear me now, incarnation of evil's intent! 
Though your motives are dark as can be!
Either halt now and humbly prepare to repent!
Or stand and prepare to face me!”

It was a brash and fearless verse that would have stunned anypony, but with the wind blowing fiercely around them, it was doubtful that anypony except Sassaflash had even heard it and she had long since grown accustomed to her cousin's more peculiar habits.

But Rocinante paid no heed to the fact that the darkness seemed to be ignoring them, for inside the cloud, at its very center, his eyes could barely make out the form of a pony, a unicorn surrounded by the swirling darkness. Though this pony was obscured by the shadows swirling around it, Rocinante could make out the ghostly form of a fluttering mantle around the pony's shoulders and dark crystals beginning to form on the tip of its horn. To the eager knight-errant, it was a simple and obvious deduction that this lone unicorn must be the incarnate heart of evil before him. With his target clear and and his battered lance set, Rocinante charged straight towards his visible opponent and placed everything he had into his strike.





Shining Armor poured every last ounce of his strength into the shield he had encased himself in, but King Sombra's magic was simply too powerful. As the dark cloud began to lift him from the ground, Shining Armor looked back in the direction of his little sister, who was now completely obscured by the enshrouding darkness. He didn't know what the evil unicorn king would do, but he knew he had to last as long as he could, he had to buy Twily as much time as he could, so that together she and his Cadance could stand together against this evil. His only regret was that he clearly wouldn't be able to stand with them.

As painful dark crystals began to sprout out of his horn, Shining Armor could feel his magic fading fast. A shadow of a pony slowly began to appear before him, wielding a dark, bent, and twisted lance. Clearly the true form of King Sombra was taking shape in front of him to strike the final blow.

Though his end was now charging towards him, Shining Armor gritted his teeth and put the last of his power into his magical shield. He may be unable to fight back, but he still wouldn't go down quite so easily. 

The dark lance hit his shield with the full force, not of a unicorn, but of an earth pony. It appeared that Sombra was even more powerful than Shining Armor had given him credit for, but it seemed that the blow had even taken even the unicorn king by surprise as it struck Shining Armor with so much force that it catapulted him from the evil king's grasp.

As though desperate to hold onto its captive, the lance reached through the now broken shield and took hold of Shining Armor's cloak, but it quickly ripped off and Shining Armor found himself free of Sombra's grasp as he landed on the ground a short distance away from his enemy.

To Shining Armor's surprise, King Sombra seemed both distracted and infuriated by this sudden setback. Although he couldn't see where Sombra was directing his rage, he could see that his opportunity to escape had come. Without looking back, Shining Armor raced towards the magical shield that protected both the Empire and the ponies he loved.





Rocinante could feel the impact through his lance and immediately knew that both his aim and his blow had struck true, and the tattered black cape billowing on the end of his crooked lance proved to the knight-errant that his foe was all but bested. As the darkness turned and faced him with now visible, glowing, and clearly infuriated eyes, Rocinante laughed triumphantly as he stepped back and pawed at the snow eagerly with one hoof and flourished his lance with the other.

Time seemed to stop as the two figures attempted to stare each other down. To Sassaflash, who was only a short distance away, it felt eerily similar to the knight-errant's stand against Discord. A champion of light against a champion of dark in a joust, deciding the fate of a nation. Perhaps it was because of those memories that Sassaflash couldn't help but worry. The duel with Discord had ended both swiftly and decisively against them and yet, perhaps because of Rocinante's earlier speech, or his earlier success, or how Luna now had placed so much trust in them, Sassaflash found herself confident in her cousin's victory, even as he charged into the swirling cloud that lunged back at him.

But her confidence was short lived. Rocinante's form instantly disappeared into the swirling mist and was gone for only a moment when Sassaflash's heart sank. Something was wrong, something was very wrong, and without another thought, the young pegasus charged into the swirling darkness herself.

The moment she entered the fog the strong wind currents inside battered Sassaflash as though she had flown straight into a cyclone. As she tumbled through the darkness, she cried out for her cousin, but she could neither see nor hear anything. Was this the end? Had they charged foal-heartedly into their own demise?

Just as the skies around her were at their darkest, Sassaflash caught sight of a single, faint light shining in the distance. She had no idea what this light was or where it came from, but it felt strangely warm and comforting in the midst of the chaos swarming around her. Desperately flapping her wings, Sassaflash slowly forced her way towards the light.

The crystal pendant that Princess Luna had given them, caught by an updraft, was trying to fly away, but was thankfully held close by the tiny pendant that Rocinante had kept around his neck.

“Crystals...”

Sassaflash jolted in fear at the sudden and unfamiliar voice. Was that the enemy? Was the crystal pendant what he wanted? Sassaflash held her breath as the crystal's light began to grow brighter in response to the ominous words. What was this thing that the Princess had given them? She began to cry out for Rocinante as she grew closer and closer to the light, but as his form slowly became visible, Sassaflash was stunned by the sight of her cousin that was so peculiar that, even after all she had seen at his side, took her by surprise.

There, with his lance firmly planted into the snow below him, was Rocinante, his fiery eyes glowing almost as much as the crystal around his neck as they darted around, searching for his foe. With one hoof, he held on tightly to his impromptu anchor. With the other, he held on to his precious helmet of Marebrino. As the winds attempted to lift the stubborn knight-errant from his anchorage, his hind legs kicked wildly into the air, desperately seeking a target with as much fury as his eyes.

Yet despite how precarious his situation was, Sassaflash could hear him laughing as he called out to the obscured enemy around them.

“I am I, Rocinante! The Pony of La Manecha!
Your Empire's freedom shall stay!
Through this darkness you may slide,
But know you cannot hide,
From Justice that seeks you this day!”

Sassaflash shook her head in disbelief. How could her cousin possibly believe he had any fighting advantage now, when things were both figuratively and literally as dark as they could be? But that was when Sassaflash asked herself just how, exactly, she was seeing her cousin, who was clearly a decent distance away when she could barely see her own hooves? Then she noticed the crystal pendant around her cousin's neck growing brighter and brighter. It's light was both brilliant and warm, and somehow appeared to be growing even brighter as Rocinante laughed in the face of their situation.

The sight of her cousin, still optimistic in their situation, somehow began to spill over into Sassaflash as well. She couldn't explain why, but her heart felt lighter and lighter and her fear melted away, almost as though it were being illuminated by the crystal in front of her. And as her heart felt lighter and stronger, the light from the crystal appeared to glow even brighter and brighter, as though her heart was reciprocating back into the crystal the joy and the courage it had given her. As the two ponies watched the light shine so brilliantly that they could see each other as plain as a cloudless, sunny day, the darkness roared, but suddenly began to dissipate. Soon, Sassaflash was able to control her flight again and her cousin half landed and half crashed into the snow beneath him. Rising quickly, Rocinante let out a triumphal laugh as his crystal suddenly burst with a final brilliant flash.

When Sassaflash could see again, the dark fog was completely gone and Rocinante stood with his chest puffed out as he soaked in his victory.

“Wh-What was that?! What happened?!”

Rocinante smirked as he placed his hooves around his lance.

“Justice prevailed. Though the fight was indeed both long and difficult, the forces of hope and valor ultimately overcame the forces of fear and hatred.”

Rocinante tugged on the lance, but it remained firmly placed as Curio ran up to them with wide eyes.

“Where?! Where did you get that!?”

Sassaflash looked back and forth between her cousin, who was still tugging on his lance, and the trembling earth pony. While Rocinante's reasoning about their victory may or may not have been correct, she hoped that Curio's reaction indicated that he knew a bit more than either of them about how “justice” prevailed.

Rocinante stopped pulling on his lance as he wiped his brow and looked back towards Curio.

“This lance of mine? It was acquired from-”

“No! No! That crystal! Where did you get that?!

Rocinante stopped, clearly irritated at the interruption, but he swiftly recovered as he placed his hoof to his chest.

“This dear crystal was a gift from Her Most-”

Rocinante's words were cut short as his hoof searched for the crystal, but found only the broken and burnt bail that used to hold it in place. 

“What is this?”

Curio sighed as he half-fell onto his haunches. The thought of how much that crystal would have sold for in his shop dragged on his heart as he shook his head.

“That WAS a crystal from the Crystal Empire, no doubt one from its pre-Sombra treasury. It had several valuable properties that make it worth a great deal to the most wealthy of unicorns. There are only a hoof-full of those remaining today.”

Sassaflash felt as though they had just broken an invaluable museum artifact and, according to Curio, they had.

“What happened? What did it do?”

Curio shrugged his shoulders.

“I only know a few things about them, but they can mirror a pony's heart. When they are filled with hope and love, they radiate that outwards in the form of a bright magical light. But if hatred and fear take hold of the pony's heart, then they emit the same black magic that King Sombra used to take over the Empire in the first place.”

“So why did it burst?”

Curio shrugged again as he stood up.

“Again, I only know a few things. That was a lot of darkness, and that is... or rather was, only a tiny crystal. Perhaps it was too much for it? Either way...”

A cold wind suddenly blew in between the three of them, reminding them of how open the snowfields were.

“Either way, we should get going. We will want to be in the Empire before it gets dark.”
> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	While Rocinante and Sassaflash were carefully examining the shield in front of them, Curio was carefully examining the two ponies in front of him. They certainly didn't act like any royal guards he was aware of, but as the shield flickered in front of them, Curio realized he didn't have too much time to think about it. A few bribes and backdoor contacts may have told him about the Empire's return, but he didn't need any special information to see that the Empire was in a very real danger of being retaken by King Sombra. If he wanted to grab any artifacts to sell, he was going to have to act fast.

But without any time to snoop around and look for anything sellable, the self-proclaimed knight-errant might be his best ticket to finding anything worth grabbing while they searched for something to defeat the ancient king. And even if they didn't find anything worth selling, the knight-errant had already proved to be a capable and solid distraction if things should get confrontational with either Sombra or the local authorities. 

With his best merchant's smile across his face, Curio quickly trotted after the two as they disappeared on the other side of the shield.

“Ah, good knight! Hold up!”

On the other side, Curio discovered that both Rocinante and Sassaflash had stopped, not because of his voice, but for the stunning change of scenery before them. Even Curio, who had heard of the Empire's lush fields, wasn't expecting such a dramatic change. In a single instant, They had left the arctic tundra behind and wandered into the lush temperate fields that wouldn't be out of place at all back in Equestria.

“A most peculiar and amazing sight indeed cousin. But such a glorious view should not be surprising, as the forces of justice, virtue, and valor are capable of the most fascinating and invigorating results, regardless of their circumstances.”

Sassaflash looked to her cousin with an incredulous glance.

“I'm pretty certain you were just as shocked by this as I was.”

Rocinante shrugged his shoulders as he stooped over to pick up the lance that he had dropped in surprise earlier.

“While there is little difference between being stunned and surprised, there is a difference, dear Sassa.”

Sassaflash sighed as Curio trotted up to the two ponies.

“You said you were here to protect the Empire, right? From that darkness outside?”

Rocinante nodded as Sassaflash led the way down into the city itself.

“From any and all forms of darkness and evil, Mister Curio.”





Sassaflash sighed again as they rounded the street corner and began walking towards the Crystal Palace. She had hoped that Curio would leave for his own business once they were inside the city, but for whatever reason, he stuck to them like glue and he only seemed more and more fascinated with their quest as Rocinante continued to say everything about their “secret” mission. The only thought that kept her unconcerned for their mission now was the fact that Curio wouldn't leave them alone long enough to tell anypony why they were here. As long as they kept a safe distance from Twilight and her friends, then their “secret” should stay safe.

Seeing the castle right in front of her, Sassaflash stopped and sat down. It was a beautiful castle, covered in magical crystal from the foundation to the tip of its grand spire, but there was no time to admire the scenery. The sight of the flickering shield while they were just outside the city's edge was a powerful reminder that evil was still waiting for its chance. Despite Rocinante's confidence in their impending victory, Sassaflash couldn't help but worry as she always did. Thinking again on the crystal pendant and its remains, Sassaflash looked back towards her cousin. Whatever had happened in that swirling darkness, they couldn't do it again.

Curio had said the crystal had been powered by Rocinante's hope and love, or perhaps his insane self-assurance and confidence. Sassaflash looked back to her cousin who appeared to be scanning the streets for trouble. Perhaps his foal-like devotion to the cause of right was a form of love? Perhaps his hopes for glory and honor fulfilled the requirements of the crystal?

Looking back to the crystal palace ahead of them, Sassaflash examined the light reflecting off of it. If only there was some larger crystal, capable of holding and using the hopes and love of the ponies around them to repel the darkness. But could such a thing even exist?

Heaving another sigh, Sassaflash looked back down to see her cousin marching steadily towards the palace.

“W-Wait! Rocinante! We can't just go marching into the palace like we own the place!”

Rocinante halted and turned his head back to looked at his cousin.

“Of course we have no claim of ownership, dear Sassa, but we must make our presence known to the lord and lady of the land. How else will they receive us?”

Sassaflash shook her head as she trotted up to her cousin.

“But that's the point! They're not supposed to even know we are here!”

“Her Most Noble Grace only insisted that we keep our presence hidden from Her Most Royal Highness and her champions. I can see no reason why we should not partake in the hospitality of the land. Indeed, they may possess the very knowledge we need to overcome the accursed foe once and for all!”

Placing a hoof to her chin in a manner that was eerily similar to her cousin, Sassaflash contemplated Rocinante's response before replying.

“That...makes sense. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor have been out here longer than we have. Perhaps they know some-”

Her words however, were cut short by the sight of Twilight and her friends coming up the road. Twilight held a book in a magical grip over her head as she pranced happily towards the palace. Reacting swiftly, Sassaflash pushed her cousin, and consequently Curio, into a side street, and hoped that she was fast enough and that they hadn't been seen.

“Well...we can't go to the palace now.”

Rocinante nodded as he turned his head out towards the shield and the snow outside the city.

“While this may increase the difficulty of our task, we must uphold our duty to Her Most Gracious Highness. Therefore, dear Sassa, we must go onwards, unto the palace. Fear not! For we shall be careful to blend in with the local servants and guards, so that we may go unnoticed by the Champions of the Sun.”

Looking over the knight-errant's armor and lance that was now infamous amongst the guards in Canterlot, Sassaflash could only frown.

“They may have worked on a train full of familiar ponies, but I don't think the guards will just let us in, let alone sneak about after Twilight.”

Rocinante put a hoof to his chin and began thinking of alternatives when suddenly Curio coughed into his own hoof.

“Perhaps we might try a museum? Or library? Surely they would have some knowledge of valuable artifacts...for our mission, that is.”

Curio smiled widely in response to Sassaflash's inquisitive glare, but Rocinante quickly nodded in agreement and set off towards the street where Twilight and company had come from.

“Indeed! A place of learning and culture would no doubt have numerous, nay countless, tomes of knowledge that could be useful in learning of our foe!”

As the shield flickered above them, the ponies stopped in their tracks and looked at one another briefly.

“Perhaps we should hurry.”

“Indeed.”
> Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	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!”
> Chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	When the trio of ponies opened the door from the library to the outside world they were met with the most curious sight. In the short time that they had been searching for a method to defeat the evil lurking outside the Empire's boundaries, the city had become decorated with festive pennants, banners, and all manner of pavilions. All three ponies were dumbstruck by the total transformation of the city and before any of them could say anything, a screeching sound echoed out from the Crystal Palace, resounding across the land.

It was a terrible sound, hurting Sassaflash's ears as the half metallic voice almost seemed to cry out “flugelhorn” to the world. But thankfully it was over almost as suddenly as it began and Twilight's voice could be heard following after it.

“Hear ye! Hear-”

Again the half musical, half vocal sound cried out, silencing Twilight as she paused and turned towards the source of the infernal racket. After a momentary pause, during which Sassaflash presumed Twilight was dealing with the source of the noise, Twilight resumed her announcement.

“Hear ye! Hear ye! Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor do cordially invite you to attend the Crystal Fair!”

Upon hearing that their Crystal Fair had returned, an uncountable number of ponies began to emerge out of the buildings lining the streets. Sassaflash had never really noticed how empty the city was before until now. Whereas the streets were once wide and empty, now they suddenly felt narrow and cramped as more and more ponies made there way outside.

Quickly taking flight, Sassaflash hovered above the crowds and examined the city. Twilight's friends were running around at full speed, attempting to cover each of the many stalls throughout the fair. They certainly appeared to be having fun and not at all concerned about the fading shield or the evil waiting outside.

Touching down next to her cousin, Sassaflash watched as the spirits of the crystal ponies around them were lifted even to the point that some of them began to glow. Unfortunately her own heart was too concerned by the ever present danger outside to enjoy the atmosphere around them.

“I don't understand. Why are they celebrating?”

Rocinante half pranced through the crowd, his curious eyes darting from booth to booth.

“It would appear, dear Sassa, that young Twilight Sparkle, Champion of the Sun, has achieved victory over the lurking darkness. A true pity that the task was completed before we were given our due chance at honor and glory, but it would be improper for a servant of justice, virtue, and valor to bemoan the success of a fellow agent of the same!”

Sassaflash felt comforted by the notion that their quest was completed, but she felt strangely empty inside, as though she, like her cousin, was disappointed at the idea of coming all this way for nothing. But it was an idea that did not stick with her for long. Just the simple fact that the shield was still visible was enough to keep a damper on Sassaflash's spirit and she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Next to her, Curio was busy studying the entrance to the palace and the impromptu fairgrounds around it.

“Well, either way, I would think that this is still a fortunate event for us, Sir Knight. The Palace has virtually no guards at the door now.”

Rocinante scoffed and turned from the palace towards all of the stands to their right.

“What use does that trinket serve us now? If the enemy is truly defeated, then it serves us no purpose and is best left lost, hidden away from all who might be rendered asunder by its foul temptations into darkness. Ah! It says here that there shall be jousting! What fun! Come Sassa! Mr. Curio! Let us see if we can take the prize!”

Curio frowned, but before he could respond the shield surrounding the city suddenly disappeared. The sky had never felt so foreign and hostile to Sassaflash as a dark laugh echoed across the stunned empire and the dark fog suddenly formed on the outskirts of the city. In the distance, Sassaflash could barely make out the towering form the fog took when they encountered it on their way to the Empire, but somehow it seemed even more menacing, even more evil than before.

But before it could finish mustering itself for an all out attack, the shield suddenly burst up from the ground. Desperate to prevent his opportunity from escaping, King Sombra rushed forward, but was simply too late. As the shield finished re-materializing and the howls of King Sombra faded away, the only thing that Sassaflash could hear was her own knees quivering and knocking beneath her. Shivering as she looked towards her cousin, Sassaflash could see everypony, including Curio, but excluding Rocinante, around them was clearly terrified.

“C-Cousin, D-Do you think, maybe Twilight hasn't beaten King Sombra yet?”

Rocinante's eyes were glaring intently at the dark fog now rendered invisible by the magical shield between them. He was clearly irritated at the notion of not being able to participate in the joust due to evil's return, but suddenly, as though he had just heard Sassaflash's words, he perked up and looked back towards his cousin.

“It would appear that we were too hasty to assume that our chance at honor and glory had faded. Our foe has foalishly reemerged and now awaits defeat by our hooves! Let us make haste, dear Sassa, and restore the festivity of the day!”

Sassaflash gritted her teeth and she sped in front of her cousin to cut him off.

“B-But, Rocinante! Shouldn't we get the amulet first? I mean, it's power in addition to our own would guarantee our victory!”

Rocinante shook his head, his eyes clearly filled with distaste at the very mention of the amulet.

“Dear Sassa, I fear your fixation on this amulet of darkness. It is a dark tool made for dark actions. We have no need nor interest in such a foul machination for it cannot assist, it can only corrupt.”

Sassaflash looked back towards their enemy outside and back to her cousin before shaking her head violently. She knew the only reason they had survived the last attack was because of the crystal Princess Luna had given them and that was no longer able to help them now.

“Cousin, It's just an amulet, a tool! Just because somepony evil used it, doesn't mean that it will corrupt everypony who uses it! It's just a means to an end!”

Sassaflash was surprised at her own stubbornness against her cousin, but she couldn't help but fear that marching out to meet the dark fog this time would be their undoing. Yet, despite her pleas, Rocinante continued marching forward.

“Dear Sassa, can you not see? It is not the tool that corrupts, but the possibilities and actions associated with such a tool that renders the heart asunder. Look at yourself now, listen to your words and the anger behind them. “Just a means to an end”? Nay, dear Sassa, that sort of reasoning is but only a few steps away from the justification evil often uses for its actions.”

“But we can't beat him!”

“That was said of our first opponent, was it not?”

Sassaflash stood there with her mouth agape. Rocinante clearly was not going to budge on this unless she could say something, anything to convince him to to turn around. While her first objection was that they had no way to defeat their opponent, she suddenly remembered Princess Luna's words and their mission. While it may not have been the real reason why she didn't want to face the enemy outside the shield, it was still a reason all the same.

“But, remember? Princess Luna said we were only supposed to help Twilight defend the Empire, we're not supposed to do it ourselves.”

Rocinante stopped suddenly and turned to face his cousin. The look in his eyes wasn't the usual brightness that she had come to expect from him and his face seemed to be almost darkened by their conversation. Pausing to sit on the sidewalk they had been marching along, Rocinante sighed.

“I...You are correct, dear Sassa. This is young Twilight Sparkle's task and we are to only make a stand in the event of her failure.”

Placing a hoof on his shoulder for moral support, Sassaflash couldn't help but feel slightly guilty. She hadn't lied, but she felt as though she had not been exactly truthful either. Forcing a smile, Sassaflash told herself that it didn't really matter and that the ends justified her means.

“Perhaps we should go and find the amulet, so we can protect it from King Sombra.”

Rocinante raised an eyebrow towards her and immediately Sassaflash wished she hadn't brought it up.

“Cousin, I fear this amulet and its implications have altered your way of thinking without you ever even catching sight of it. Tell me, why do you seek this wretched thing so?”

Sassaflash rubbed the back of her head for a moment, trying to dodge the question with an explanation for why they shouldn't ignore the amulet her cousin was so focused on avoiding.

“What if Twilight finds it first?”

“Hmm?”

“Think about it, we know, or at least think, that the Alicorn Amulet is an instrument of evil, but does Twilight? If she catches sight of it first and doesn't know what it is, she might use it accidentally, or possibly even allow King Sombra to get to it!”

The knight-errant's eyes widened as he stood up. Placing a hoof to his chin in contemplation, Rocinante was clearly battling with himself over what to do. Now was the time for Sassaflash to make her move.

“All we have to do is find it and keep it safe for just a little while, then we can dispose of it however we please.”

She held her breath as Rocinante seemed to chew on her words before suddenly he looked up at her with a weak and clearly forced smile.

“I see you are correct again, dear Sassa. Now then, let us go forth and form the valiant barrier between darkness and light surrounding this foul relic.”

Sassaflash began to hover with excitement as she followed after her cousin, but as they passed through the door into the palace, she couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of guilt. Looking back at the flickering shield, Sassaflash took a deep breath. She had to get to that amulet. As long as she had its power behind them, then not even King Sombra could touch them. The ends justified the means, didn't they?
> Chapter 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“But where would it even be?”

Sassaflash's joy at convincing Rocinante to pursue the amulet had quickly faded as she realized just how hard it would be to find it.

“If we knew more about why King Sombra didn't have it with him when he faced the Princesses, we could probably guess where it is.”

Curio looked around at the different hallways, what few guards were in the Crystal Empire were gone, no doubt trying to keep the populace from panicking. While it left the trio with plenty of options of where they should look, neither Curio, nor Sassaflash could even begin to imagine where the amulet might be hidden. Strolling along slowly behind them was Rocinante. His eyes slowly scanned the palace, but were strangely uninterested in the world around them.

“Evil often keeps its prize possessions nearby. The throne room or the royal bedroom would be the most likely of places where such a dark item would be kept.”

Curio instantly turned towards the stairs that led up towards the throne room, but Sassaflash floated back down to the ground and looked to her cousin. His spirit was so clearly dampened by their current task that she didn't need to ask what the problem was as they trudged up the stairs together. 

Inside her heart, there was a part of her that wanted to say they should forget it, that if Rocinante didn't have an amulet to face Nightmare Moon or Discord, then they wouldn't need an amulet to face King Sombra. But this bit of her was quickly drowned out by the rest of her mind. Despite the guilt of manipulating Rocinante into pursuing this, the idea that the Helmet of Marebrino saved them the trouble of actually facing Nightmare Moon and the recollection that the confrontation with Discord was quite decisive against them, left Sassaflash confident that their only recourse was to find, and if necessary use, the Alicorn Amulet. But even with this logic firmly making its case in her mind, she couldn't help but notice a slight pit in her stomach as she caught sight of her cousin looking around the halls.

Once they reached the top of the stairs, they found an eager Curio, scratching his head as he bowed slightly.

“Seeing as you are the ones sent here by Princess Luna, I figured you should go first, in case the Young Royals want to know why we are here.”

Sassaflash rolled her eyes as she walked past him and pushed open the heavy door to the throne room. To her surprise, no one was present and although this was her first time inside the throne room of the Crystal Palace, she found it remarkably strange that there would be a hole with a staircase spiraling downwards at it center.

“It would appear that the Champion of the Sun is already well on her way to obtaining the very relic that we seek.”

Sassaflash looked back from the hole to Rocinante, who was approaching her with his eyebrows raised in surprise.

“Do you think this is where it was kept?”

Rocinante put a hoof to his chin, but before he could answer, Curio raced past him and proceeded down the stairs.

“Of course! Where else would you hide all of the powerful and valuable artifacts of your kingdom, but beneath your very hooves?! Why, whoever might think to look here would no doubt be too terrified of King Sombra to even try to slip their way down here!”

Almost skipping down the stairs, Curio bounced happily into the dark, seemingly bottomless, abyss below.

“Come quickly Sir Knight! Who knows what treasures await us down here, waiting to be plucked from their ancient treasury like an overripe pear eagerly awaiting its chance to fill a hungry wallet- or stomach, definitely I meant stomach.”

Sassaflash look to Rocinante, who looked out the window to the fading shield surrounding the city. As it flickered and shimmered, Sassaflash couldn't help but get the feeling that their time was running out.

“Rocinante, we need to hurry! What if Twilight is almost to the amulet?”

Looking from the window to his cousin and then to the hole below, Rocinante straightened his helmet and began his descent.

“Though our quest was to be cloaked within the veil of secrecy, if the young Twilight Sparkle is indeed intent upon using this amulet, then we have a duty to inform her of its evil disposition. If she insists upon its use, then we are honor bound to assist in whatever manner possible.”

Sassaflash nodded as she folded her wings in slightly and began gliding downwards into the abyss. The flight, if she could call it that, was little more than a long, boring, continuous right turn downwards, but it left her mind open for contemplation as she glided. There was a growing tinge of guilt in the back of her mind as she thought about all that she had said to get Rocinante to pursue the amulet. Technically, nothing was a lie, but she couldn't help but feel as though she had been intentionally misleading in her words. True, they had a valid cause to protect the amulet from being reclaimed, but the entire motivation she had for bring her cousin on this “egg hunt” was simply to avoid the direct confrontation with King Sombra. Of course she couldn't tell her cousin that she was afraid. What would he say if he discovered that his squire of all these years was, in fact, still horrified at the very notion of combat?

Gently touching down on the floor at the base of the stairs, Sassaflash looked up at the imposing wooden door ahead of her. Looking around at the tiny room, Sassaflash could see no other entrance or exit. If Twilight Sparkle had indeed come this way, then she must have gone through this door.

Taking a deep breath and reaching for the door, Sassaflash was suddenly and completely stunned as the door simply slid along the wall away from her. Doubting her own eyes, Sassaflash stepped closer towards the door, only to have it slide further away. Gritting her teeth, Sassaflash spread her wings and raced after the rebellious doorway, but no matter how hard she flapped her wings, the door seemed to remain just barely out of reach until Curio arrived at the bottom of the stairs.

As though the door realized that Curio had suddenly blocked its path, it suddenly shot upwards in an attempt to avoid capture, but Sassaflash was already airborne and, being now slightly above it, was just barely able to grab hold of the door with her hoof and throw it open.

She had expected Twilight Sparkle and her friends to be on the other side, perhaps in a room surrounded with treasure, like what Curio had described, but instead it was a plain, empty stone room, unfeeling and cold, with no other passageways in or out. Across from her, sitting in the center of the room, sat Rocinante with his back to her.

Confused, Sassaflash took a step into the room.

“Cousin? What is this place? How did you get down here so fast?”

“Surprised?”

Sassaflash froze at the voice of her cousin. It was not the warm, eager, or friendly tone that she had come to expect from Rocinante, Knight of the Restored Moon, but was instead a cold, bitter, and hate-filled rasp that she had not heard from Rocinante of Ponyville since he first left for La Manecha years ago.

“Is- Is something wrong?”

Sassaflash suddenly felt her knees begin to shake as Rocinante turned his head and looked at her from over his shoulder. The warm fire in his eyes was replaced with a cold and calculating glare, measuring up his opponent in the same, ruthless way that any cutthroat business pony would size up a competitor.

“C-Cousin-”

“Sassaflash.”

Sassaflash nearly jumped, not at the mentioning of her name, but the disdain with which it was spoken. When was the last time she felt like this around him? When was the last time she had truly been afraid of him as she suddenly was now?

“R-Rocin-”

“I trusted you.”

“Wha-”

“What, did you think I would not see through your pathetic deception? You stand there and shake sheepishly in the face of any and every adversity! Have you not seen me fight through thick and thin to get to where I am now?! Have you not borne witness to my exploits from the very beginning? And yet still you doubt me?!”

“C-Cousin I-”

“Enough!”

Sassaflash leapt back, her knees knocking uncontrollably as her eyes began to water.

“Rocinante, I didn't mean to-”

“To what?! To lie? You do not have to spout falsehoods to be a deceiver, oh Sassaflash! Your cowardice has caused you to hide the truth, obscure my path, and even now, as evil threatens our very existence, you cling to this foalish notion that some lost ancient trinket will save you over my proven ability! You have insulted me, you have insulted yourself, and you have cast away any and all of your honor.”

Rocinante's voice suddenly grew quiet as he picked himself up and proceeded to walk past her towards the door. Stopping to whisper his final words, Rocinante didn't even look at her as he shook his head.

“Go home, Sassa, for I have no use for a squire so wretched as you.”

Sassaflash's jaw quivered as she watched him go. She wanted to say something, anything that would make amends with him, but there was nothing that could come out of her mouth as she sat there with her head hung low. She knew what she was doing had been wrong, why didn't she stop? Why did she let her fears control her and ruin everything?

“Sassa!”

A voice, small and distant, seemed to echo throughout the stone chamber, but it barely even registered in her guilt-wracked mind as it grew louder and louder until suddenly Rocinante was back, directly in front of her face.

“Dear Sassa! Speak to me! Let not the vile grasp of darkness claim your noble-”

Sassaflash yelped in surprise as she leapt back from the sudden appearance of her cousin. With her wings folded against her side, the startled pegasus fell the short distance between the door's altitude from where she had caught it, and the floor. Despite hitting the ground with a solid thump, Sassaflash barely even noticed her impact with the ground as her watering eyes locked onto Rocinante.

Letting go of his grasp on the doorknob, Rocinante landed on his hooves next to her, but before he could say anything, Sassaflash instinctively scooted away from him. Confused, Rocinante took another step in pursuit.

“Are you alright, Cousin?”

Her knees were shaking too much for her to actually stand. With tears now pouring out of her eyes and her jaw quivering incessantly, Sassaflash pleaded with Rocinante, whose own eyes were now filled with a rare emotion, concern.

“Rocinante, C-Cousin, I'm- I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! P-Please! Just don't-”

Sassaflash's words were interrupted as Rocinante swiftly closed the distance between them and embraced her carefully, holding her up as though she were a small foal who had fallen and hurt herself.

“Come now, dear Sassa, what is this? For what perceived grievance do you weep so?”

Stopping to look at her suddenly accepting cousin and the new room that they were in, Sassaflash slowly began to wonder what had truly happened. Her cousin's anger had completely disappeared and Curio was still attempting to recapture the door as though nothing at all had been said between the squire and the knight-errant.

“What, what happened? I- I thought that you had left me behind.”

Rocinante, his eyes as gentle and soft as they had ever been, shook his head slowly as he released her and let her stand on her own.

“You took hold of the mischievous portal with the utmost tenacity and courage, truly befitting of a knight-errant's squire, when suddenly the abominable mechanization appeared to have placed upon you a hex so dark and terrifying that you appeared to be ensnared, trapped in a dreamlike state, forced to watch some wretched form of nightmare.”

Sassaflash looked to the evasive door momentarily as it darted away and around Curio continuously.

“Cousin? Can- Can I speak with you for a moment?”

Rocinante tilted his head slightly in confusion, but ultimately followed her as she went a short distance up the stairs away from Curio.

“Is something wrong?”

Sassaflash at first shook her head, but stopped herself. Then, slowly nodding, she sat down on a step and faced Rocinante. Perhaps the portal was meant to terrify her from pursuing the amulet and perhaps it had succeeded, but the trap had also left Sassaflash with the feeling that she had been given another chance. Perhaps this trap had done more good than evil today.

“Cousin, Rocinante, I- I haven't exactly been truthful with you.”

Looking down in shame instinctively after confessing her crime, Sassaflash waited for Rocinante to say something, but he said nothing. He only looked at her with confused and troubled eyes.

“I- I want to apologize for misleading you. You see, I didn't ever actually lie, but, but, I didn't actually tell the truth, or at least all of it, to you.”

Rocinante's voice was as calm and steady as Princess Celestia's as he met her gaze.

“Why?”

Sassaflash stammered for a moment before she finally gathered her courage. She had come this far, there was no turning back now.

“I was afraid. I'm always afraid and I've always been afraid. Rocinante, I'm not a knight, I'm only a squire and really I'm not even brave enough to do that. I don't know what we're doing, I don't know how to stand against King Sombra. You only beat him last time because of Luna's crystal and still you are wanting to face him again. But I can't see how it is possible to fight him without some additional power, but you won't take the amulet, so I just said whatever I could to get you to avoid facing him and come look for the amulet. I still hoped you would use it even though I said we would only guard it and that it could help us beat King Sombra and even though what I said was true, I should have told you everything instead of picking words and manipulating you towards the amulet.”

Sassaflash paused to catch her breath from her ever racing words. She didn't pause for long, but it was long enough for Rocinante to interject.

“Sassa, what did you see in that doorway?”

Sassaflash felt her eyes begin to tear up again at the recollection of the nightmare, the nightmare that she now recognized as her worst fear.

“You- You had found out, or maybe you had always known, that I was misleading you. And you were angry. And you- and you didn't want me as your squire anymore.”

Wiping her eyes again, Sassaflash sniffed and rubbed her snout on her foreleg before looking back up at Rocinante. To her surprise, he was smiling as he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Dear Sassa, You tell me you are not brave. You tell me that you are not even brave enough to be my squire, and yet here we are. Cousin, I did not choose you to be my squire out of convenience. It was not because you were a familiar face or that I had been sent to you by my niece, but because I knew you were, in fact, quite brave.”

“But- But-”

“You followed me through the Everfree, you were prepared to face Nightmare Moon alongside me, you were at my side after the great, albeit disappointing, battle with Discord, and you stood ever ready at my side during our great victory at the Siege of Canterlot. Tell me, how can you call yourself anything but brave?”

“But I was terrified, horrified, petrified the whole time!”

“And you were there.”

“But-”

“Courage, dear Sassa, is not simply doing what needs to be done, but doing what needs to be done regardless of how frightening the foe may be. Never, not even once, did you flee the field, never, not even once, did you abandon your charge in even the darkest of hours. Even now, when confronted with the possibility of your nightmare becoming reality, you have held your ground and said what needed to be said.”

Sassaflash sat on her step, dumbfounded by the words that sprang from her cousin's mouth. But Rocinante simply and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, as though he were slightly embarrassed that these words were not entirely his own.

“Your predicament is, in fact, very similar to that of “Sir Gallophad and the Seven Night Mares”. After the seventh, I believe, was the discussion on courage and perseverance in the face of fear. I heartily recommend you read the noble book some time, perhaps in between this quest and the next one.”

Sassaflash's ears perked up.

“Does this mean that you'll still keep me as your squire?”

The knight-errant gave her an incredulous look.

“I could hardly stand to lose you. Dear Sassa, you are not only my kin, but you are also my friend. In truth, it is I who is honored to have you as my squire.”

“But, I lied to you.”

“You are sorry and have repented, have you not?”

Sassaflash quickly nodded.

“Then there is no ill between us.”

Rising from his seat, Rocinante passed by Sassaflash and began climbing up the stairs, but this time when he stopped, he looked directly into her eyes.

“Let us leave this wretched amulet behind. I believe it has done not but harm for us thus far.”

Sassaflash wiped the tears from her eyes as she smiled and the two began their long trek back up the stairs.





The thunderclaps rumbled so low that the entire palace seemed to shake as the knight-errant and his squire reemerged into the throne room from the stairs below.

“That...doesn't sound good.”

Rocinante smiled as he checked his lance and proceed out to the throne room and into the hallway leading back outside.

“It sounds as though the final confrontation is about to begin. Let us move with all due haste, dear Sassa, for the foe is a-hoof and we must be ready to strike in response!”

Sassaflash nodded and swiftly trotted after her cousin, but before they reached the door the growing image of King Sombra caught her eye. The fog had personified into an imposing form of a pony, riding a growing crystal spire towards the top of the palace. His eyes were eager and set upon some target out of sight from Sassaflash's position, but she didn't look for what the enemy was going for, she instead looked to her cousin.

“What should we do?”

Rocinante's countenance was one of eager anticipation, but suddenly his eyes widened and he pointed out to a purple figure falling towards King Sombra.

“Behold, dear Sassa! The Champions of the Sun sally forth to meet the foe in glorious battle! Such courage! Such determination! Oh! To be amongst their ranks and to take the noble stand against evil in glorious combat!”

Sassaflash tilted her head out the window and caught sight of Spike falling towards King Sombra. Whether his claws were extended in an attempt to reach for the glowing crystal between them, or baring their sharp edges to face the evil king, she did not know, but before she could comment on the situation, a pink flash raced between them, snatching away both the crystal and the dragon in the blink of an eye.

“What's going on?”

Sassaflash turned back to see Curio had evidently given up on the door and appeared behind them. In response to his question, Rocinante turned his eyes from Princess Cadance as she landed, and sighed, resting on his lance and pushing his helmet further up on his head.

“It would appear that our presence here was unnecessary, as the Champions of the Sun have emerged victorious.”

Though his voice sounded almost melancholy, his eyes still seemed to smile as they suddenly turned to Sassaflash and the distinct lack of knocking between her knees.

“However, I would still venture to say that our time here was well spent.”

With a smile, Sassaflash turned and followed her cousin to the door while Curio followed after them.

“But...what about the amulet?”

With a clear conscience and a smile across her face, Sassaflash turned back to their companion.

“Such things, Mister Curio, are best left lost.”

Curio opened his mouth to speak, but was stunned into silence as a bright light over took them, leaving all three ponies in the shining crystalline light of the newly restored Crystal Empire.
> Chapter 9
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	As the conductor opened the trains doors for the few poines standing on the platform, Sassaflash and Rocinante looked back to Curio. His pack was filled with library books and his smile was broad.

“It was fun traveling with you. Please give my regards to the Princesses.”

Rocinante nodded.

“Are you certain you wish to stay in this land, Mister Curio? For though evil may have been vanquished, there is certainly no shortage of difficulty in repairing the city and the Empire to their former glory.”

Curio smiled has he looked back to the palace and the hidden room below it.

“Oh, have no fear for me, Sir Knight. I have plenty of work to do myself and I look forward to the challenge, but I don't suspect I will be here long.

His smile was almost sinister as he turned back towards them. Sassaflash couldn't help but feel there was something out of place in the earth pony's voice, but she ultimately decided that even if he did try to get the Alicorn Amulet again, it was too well protected. Shrugging her shoulders, she waved and stepped into the passenger car. She didn't really want to travel with him more anyways.

As Rocinante took his seat next to her and the doors began to close, Sassaflash looked to her cousin.

“Well, this was an interesting quest, to say the least, even if we didn't really accomplish anything.”

Rocinante shook his head as the conductor eyed his lance suspiciously.

“While we did not engage the villain, the pretender-king Sombra, in decisive and honorable combat, I would say that you have managed to conquer your own internal foe. Truly, that is a feat that is no less worthy of praise, dear Sassa.”

Sassaflash smiled as her faced reddened and the train lurched forward.

“Well, thank you Rocinante.”

Her smile grew wider as she looked at her ticket. Now that the Empire was secured, they didn't need to follow after Twilight Sparkle anymore, so they decided to take a later train to report back to Canterlot and to Princess Luna.

“So, where do you want to go after we leave Canterlot?”

Rocinante rubbed his chin for a moment as his eyes burned with a passionate fire.

“Perhaps Her Most Noble Grace will have another task for us! No doubt our success here will further endear our services unto the Crown!”

Sassaflash snorted and rolled her eyes playfully at the notion of their “success”. Sensing his cousin's sarcasm, Rocinante grinned as he leaned back in his seat.

“Tell me, do you think yourself prepared to take on the next notable adventure passed down to us by the Gracious Crown?”

Sassaflash smiled as she leaned back in her own seat and recalled Rocinante's words when they first left for the Empire.

“I am prepared to do my best,
to make a stand for true justice.
Though I may still be afraid,
I will hold fast, 
I'll still be brave!”

The train began to rock slightly, almost on the beat for the two ponies who seemed to have lost all care for the passengers behind them and their looks of confusion, while Rocinante gave his squire a pseudo-inquisitive eye.

“And when we face a mighty foe?”

“You can bet I'll be ready to go!”

“For courage does not mean 'no fright'”

“It only means I have to do what's right!”

Ecstatic with Sassaflash's answers, Rocinante almost bounced in his seat as the two sang together.

“Win or lose before the foe,
Just hold true to what you know!”

With a confident smile, Rocinante nodded towards the now beaming Sassaflash.

“I knew you were-”

“I guess I was-”

“I knew you were-”

“Indeed I was-”

“I knew you were-”

“-prepared for this!”
> Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The storm outside was worse than Curio had seen in quite a while, but even the thunder and lighting outside could not draw his senses away from what mattered most to the earth pony—a customer had entered his shop.

The customer was cloaked in dark, almost eerie robes, but given the weather outside, Curio certainly couldn't find fault with their attire. The hooded pony was searching frantically for something which, to Curio, meant that surely an easy sale was on its way. Flicking on a light over the counter, Curio called out to the mysterious pony now tearing through his shop.

“May I...help you traveler?”

Moving to his usual seat behind the counter, Curio kept his eyes on the cloaked pony as their eyes followed him cautiously and waited for him to make the first move.

“Hmmm...Something drew you to my shop...Something powerful.”

The moment he had finished his words, the cloaked pony suddenly smiled widely and motioned eagerly to something behind him.

Following the soaking wet hoof, the Curio's eyes fell on the glass case and immediately a sense of pride came over him. Getting past the guards and the traps took more skill, determination, and a few more bribes, than he had ever spent on an artifact. With a prideful grin, Curio looked back to his customer.

“Ah! You have a keen eye! The Alicorn Amulet is one of the most mysterious and powerful of all the known magical charms.”

Immediately the pony began reaching for their coin purse, but Curio quickly cut off the obvious desire with a slightly concerned look on his face. This was not exactly something he intended to sell until he could convince the unicorns at the university that it was both real and worth his price.

“Ah- Um...I'm afraid this is far too dangerous.”

The cloaked pony smirked and tossed the full bag of bits on the counter. Curio's eyes looked to the bag and some of its spilled coins, at first in confusion, but then in glee.

“Would you like that gift wrapped?”

A broad smile came across Trixie's face as she eyed the amulet that was going to make everything in her world better.