Though the day had started with plenty of clouds in the air, the sky was cleared in seconds as Rainbow Dash tore through the air with a fierce determination. Down on the ground below Sassaflash, a young pegasus from Ponyville, watched Rainbow Dash's aerobatics from the train station.
Her cousin, Rocinante, was coming into town all the way from La Manecha to attend the Summer Sun Celebration this year. Rocinante was a bit of a “farmer baron” in La Manecha, having acquired several carrot farms in the area. However his success had evidently come with a price. The letter preceding him had said that the stress from his work had left its mark on him and that the doctor had recommended a vacation to clear his mind.
Sassaflash was more than a little nervous about meeting her cousin for the first time in years. As far as she had known, his cutie mark had never appeared, even after had established himself in La Manecha. The end result of all of the taunting he had received during his younger years was a pony who relied solely on himself and cared little for the feelings of anypony else. Sassaflash knew Rocinante as an ambitious, almost harsh, pony who wasted neither time nor words. Given his reputation, Sassaflash wasn't too sure what she could do to help, but Ponyville was definitely a change from busy fields of La Manecha and being able to help out a wealthy cousin would certainly have its benefits.
As she sat on one of the wooden benches, waiting for the train bringing her cousin to arrive, Sassaflash noticed Pinkie Pie trotting excitedly off towards the library with a wagon full of party supplies in tow. Sassaflash had barely raised her hoof before Pinkie Pie was excitedly exclaiming next to her.
“Oh my gosh! There's a new pony in Ponyville! And she looked so sad and lonely I bet she doesn't have any friends so we're throwing a party for her at her new place and all of Ponyville's invited! Are you excited? I'm so excited I've never been so excited except for that one time when I ran into her and I was like-”
Despite living in the same town as Pinkie for years, Sassaflash still had trouble keeping up with her as her words raced by and as soon as she had appeared, she disappeared, back to what Sassaflash assumed was the party's preparations. While she wasn't certain she understood all of the details, the timing was perfect for Rocinante's arrival. Pinkie Pie was known for throwing the best parties and Sassaflash couldn't think of a better way to help her cousin with his stress than a nice party.
No sooner had the thought entered her mind then she heard the train whistle down the tracks. Sassaflash smiled nervously as she tossed her blonde mane to the side and readied herself for her cousin's arrival.
But she couldn't have prepared herself for this.
Sassaflash looked to the open car door. The steam from the engine had not even begun to clear when she saw him, a pony standing tall and proud, his coat was white and his mane was a dirty gray, he was rather lanky, somewhat boney, and hollow faced, but his eyes burned with a brilliant fire that shone through the steam with such a light that Sassaflash couldn't believe the figure standing in front of her.
“My dear Sassaflash, it has been far too long!”
The voice that resounded across the station was bright, full of confidence, and sounded nothing like the coarse, ambitious Rocinante she once knew. As he emerged from the steam clouds, Sassaflash could see that he wore the strangest attire. His unusually bright smile did little to hid the ugly, battered, and rusted armor he wore on his chest with pride. Its emblem was crooked, it was missing various pieces, and was riddled with holes that shown where it had failed to protect its previous owners. A medieval looking leather cap sat upon his head and his rusted horseshoes, which clearly came with the armor, clanked as he walked across the platform.
“Cousin! How have you been?”
Sassaflash stood there, her mouth agape, as the strange earth pony approached her. Her words were completely gone as she stood there in silence.
“This knight-errant is, of course, most grateful that you have offered your manor during the course of this year's Summer Sun Celebration! I can assure you that this shall not be a memory soon forgotten!”
“A knight-what?”
“A knight-errant! A valiant pony who traverses the world, righting all wrongs he encounters in the name of justice, virtue, and valor!”
Sassaflash thought back to the letter that had said the stress from running several carrot farms had begun to effect her cousin, but Rocinante appeared nothing short of mad. This was most certainly not the same pony that had left for La Manecha years ago. Clearly she needed to get him home quickly and preferably before anypony saw him. With a nervous laugh, Sassaflash moved to take his baggage and began pushing him down the platform.
“I... see. Well I would love to hear more about it, but we can't be standing around at the train station all day-”
Sassaflash's words and actions were stopped short when she noticed the cutie mark on his flank, a knight's helmet. Taking note of his cousin's attention, Rocinante smiled and as he examined his own mark.
“Brilliant is it not? It came upon me whilst I was reading a book given to me by one of my loyal vassals. It was the most amazing collection of legends and tales of noble ponies who knew honor, glory, and above all, the code of chivalry! I tell you my dear Sassaflash, I have neither seen nor heard of anything like this before nor since! It has moved my very heart and before I had read even halfway through tale of Sir Gallophad and the seven night-mares, I looked down to find my mark and I knew instantly that this, THIS is my destiny!”
The conversation continued through Ponyville and after they reached Sassaflash's house. In her own opinion, while he seemed more than a little bit odd, Sassaflash couldn't see anything in Rocinante that was inherently dangerous. If a pony could look beyond the armor, Rocinante sounded quite reasonable despite his strange dialect. His social skills had definitely improved to the point where Sassaflash almost began to wonder if this stress had in fact been good for her cousin.
“But if you are a knight-arraunt, who is managing the farms?”
“Knight-errant, my dear Sassa. But to answer your question, I was indeed hesitant to depart, this much is true, but my noble niece insisted that I depart for Ponyville at once. If I should return to the land after attending the Summer Sun Celebration to find all is in good order with her care, well then, perhaps I will be able to cleanse the world of wrongs with a clear conscience, knowing my vassals are properly cared for.”
Sassaflash, thought on the words for a moment. If Rocinante was to return to La Manecha after the celebration, then hosting him with his madness shouldn't be too much trouble. It would only amount to a weekend, perhaps a difficult weekend, but a weekend at most. Evidently Rocinante's family was convinced that a little time away would fix him, but Sassaflash wasn't sure that a weekend would be enough.
Though she had meant to attend the welcome party for the new unicorn in town, Sassaflash was certain her armor wearing cousin would make too much of a splash to be appropriate. Instead the two spent the day talking over various things, mostly what had caused the change in Rocinante. As the last hour past by, Sassaflash turned to the window.
“Ah the Summer Sun Celebration! We need to get going if we're going to make it in time!”
Rocinante quickly rose, but Sassaflash shook her head.
“You can't go like that. Knight or not, your armor needs to stay behind.”
Rocinante looked absolutely shocked at the idea.
“Surely you jest cousin! In this base and debauched world, where evil lurks around every corner, you wish for me to travel defenseless? How might I counter villainy so unarmed?”
Sassaflash shook her head as she motioned outside.
“We're in the middle of Ponyville! Princess Celestia will be here with her entire entourage! Do you really think we'll run into any thing here? I doubt the guards would even let us near the building if you show up armed like that.”
Rocinante scratched the ground as he thought for a moment.
“It would not be proper I suppose, to greet the Princess so armed. A lady of her elegance and poise must be met with as much grace and civility as possible.”
Rocinante nodded in agreement with himself before he began removing his breastplate. For her part, Sassaflash was surprised that it had been that easy to get him out of it. Perhaps the weekend wouldn't be so difficult after all.
She had planned for more of a fight out of her cousin, but with his unexpected cooperation, they arrived at the town hall with well over an hour to spare. Rarity had clearly outdone herself with the decorations. The place looked the part of a palace with all of the banners and carefully placed ribbons placed in a carefully choreographed display of color.
The hall filled quickly as everypony made their way towards the town hall for the raising of the sun. Before long, every balcony was packed and eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Princess. Crammed in between two unicorns and her cousin, Sassaflash heaved a sigh.
“We won't be able to see anything like this.”
“My dear Sassa, take heart, for you have wings do you not? Take flight and join the others in the air.”
Sassaflash looked at the other pegasus ponies in the air. Clearly flying was allowed, but she was reluctant to leave her cousin unattended. Sensing, her hesitation, Rocinante smiled and motioned again to the sky.
“My dear Sassa, your concern over my enjoyment of the festivities is admirable, but the raising of the sun will take place upon this clear and starry sky, high above all who might obscure my view. Concern yourself not over me and take flight, for all should freely enjoy this evening.”
With another sigh and then a smile, Sassaflash took flight. Her cousin's view was the last thing on her mind that made her hesitant to leave him behind, but she figured it would be safe enough. Rocinante might have a few marbles loose in his head, but he wasn't likely to get himself into trouble.
Her flight had been well timed. Not long after she cleared everyone and took a corner of room with the other pegasus ponies, Fluttershy's choir began to sing and the trumpets began to play. The curtains were pulled back, revealing an empty stage.
At first, Sassaflash was unconcerned. It was an embarrassing faux pas, perhaps, but nothing to worry over. But that the mistake wasn't corrected. Princess Celestia wasn't coming out. Just as she began to wonder what was going on, a black alicorn materialized our of the night air on the stage. Now Sassaflash knew there was trouble.
The alicorn smiled as she examined the crowd with a sinister smile. Despite the distance between them, the alicorn's words rang in Sassaflash's ears as the she spoke of distant crowns and legends, but no one seemed to know who she was, until the new unicorn called her by name, Nightmare Moon.
Sassaflash couldn't believe that the Mare in the Moon was actually real, but there she was, laughing at them and proclaiming how now that she had returned, the night would last forever. On the mayor's command, the guards rushed her, but were cast aside like mere toys with a laugh. Alicorns were powerful opponents and out of fear Sassaflash quickly landed in the crowd to avoid standing out before the powerful mare. But it proved to be a needless move, within moments of proclaiming her return to power, Nightmare Moon vanished into a violet mist that disappeared into the night. Rainbow Dash attempted to pursue, but quickly lost her in the night's sky.
The idea of an eternal night was clearly disturbing everypony in the town hall. Mayor Mare attempted to keep everypony calm, but she wasn't having much success. While everypony turned to each other in confusion and panic, Sassaflash immediately looked around to see if her cousin was alright. He was supposed to be getting away from stress, but the Summer Sun Celebration had instantly turned into the most stressful moment Sassaflash could remember in her life.
Searching through the crowd on hoof proved near impossible. Each pony was crowding together with their relatives and friends, trying to find safety in numbers. Getting nowhere, Sassaflash decided that flight was safe enough, but once in the air, she could see no sign of her cousin. She was just about to join the other ponies in panicking when suddenly Rocinante's words rang in her mind.
“How might I counter villainy so unarmed?”
The idea hit Sassaflash like a runaway cart and sank her heart into the bottom of her stomach.
“He... He wouldn't...”
Thanks to her ability to fly, Sassaflash was able to race over the crowd, out the door, and to her home. Just inside the door, waiting for her, was Rocinante. He had his armor on and a terrible looking and crooked lance equipped to his side.
“There you are my dear Sassa! Come! We haven't a moment to lose!”
Sassaflash barely had a moment to object before Rocinante handed her a loaded set of saddle bags and began walking out the door.
“Huh? What? I-”
“To think that I allowed you to talk me into leaving my armor, my lance behind! Evil was waiting for just such a moment! To think that we all but handed over our princess to such a villain!”
Sassaflash quickly threw the saddlebags on her back and galloped after her cousin, not knowing where they were going.
“I don't understand. What is all this? Where are we going?”
Without even stopping, Rocinante trotted ahead.
“We are going to face evil my dear Sassaflash. We shall engage villainy in honorable combat, tear it asunder, and rescue the beloved princess of our lands, Princess Celestia!”
Sassaflash nearly dropped her bags in surprise. The idea that they, that Rocinante, intended to face an alicorn head-on, was nothing short of madness.
“We?! We what?!”
Misinterpreting her source of surprise Rocinante, still trotting at a swift speed, chuckled as he motioned towards the saddlebags.
“Of course WE my dear Sassa! For what is a knight without his dutiful squire? Fear not for your safety, for as my squire you are a noncombatant, but your service is invaluable to the success of justice! When ponies write of my glorious quest, they shall not forget your valiant service. We shall go down into legend together!”
Sassaflash's head was spinning with too many questions to even notice her being roped into Rocinante's madness. It was all she could do just to make sense out of his words.
“But, but we don't, we can't fight an alicorn! That's Nightmare Moon! Don't you know the stories about what she does on nightmare night?”
“My dear Sassa, I am more than aware of the legends and tales. The night-mare, Nightmare Moon, is indeed a fearsome foe, but are you not also aware of the legend of Sir Gallophad and the seven night-mares? Truly, we face a daunting opponent, but we fight in the same name of justice, virtue, and chivalry. If Sir Gallophad could defeat seven night-mares, surely we can defeat one!”
There was so much wrong with Rocinante's logic that Sassaflash wasn't even sure where to begin. But as they neared the end of the road, even bigger questions took precedence.
“I don't... wait... where are we even going?”
“We are traveling to the one place in all of Equestria were such evil would be so bold as to make it's foul lair, the Everfree Forest! Where else would such a dark villain hide?”
Sassaflash looked in horror at the dark, foreboding trees ahead of them, but Rocinante's stride never faltered. Sassaflash could only manage stall him for a moment, but even then what could she do? Going into the Everfree Forest was insane, but she couldn't let Rocinante go in alone. She might could go and get help, somepony who could stop him, but by the time she found anypony and brought them back here, Rocinante would no doubt be so deep into the forest that finding him would be impossible.
Rocinante called back to his faltering squire, and Sassaflash, seeing no alternative, reluctantly followed after him.
The Everfree Forest was even darker and more foreboding on the inside than on the outside. A humid, mildew smell filled Sassaflash's nose as the two continued down the path. The duo could barely see their own hooves in the darkness of the forest before they finally came to a clearing at the end of the path.
Rocinante stared down the sheer drop from atop the cliff where the path ended and for a brief moment, Sassaflash rejoiced. There was no way for Rocinante to scale this cliff. They would have no choice but to turn back.
“Well, we tried cousin, but we can't go any further.”
Rocinante turned back to his cousin with a look of dissatisfaction on his face, but the look in his eyes was not of disappointment in their results, it was of disappointment in her.
“My dear, dear Sassaflash, I know that you have not been trained as I in the ways of knighthood and chivalry, for this is why I have asked that you be my squire and not my fellow knight, in this dark time. For now I must ask you: If we should falter, who will rise to take our place? If we should fail, who will end the villain Nightmare Moon's eternal nightmare night?
Our dearest Princess and her beloved kingdom now stand upon the cusp of a disaster that could very well bring about their total destruction. Are we not the only ones to have journeyed forth from Ponyville, nay Equestria herself, to seek an end to the tyranny poised to overtake the entire world?
I understand your concerns, my dear Sassa. For the road we traverse is not a simple one and our journey will face untold hardship and difficulty, but it is well that we should traverse it. It is our duty, nay it is our very privilege! For if we do not, who else among us will? Who will be so bold as to stand against Nightmare Moon herself and cast her down from the false throne which she has so unjustly constructed?
I am I, Rocinante, The Pony of La Manecha! All evil shall cower for my name! As I march to adventure, for glory and honor, I fear no dark shadows nor shame!”
It was a speech that left Sassaflash simply speechless and actually ashamed of her willingness to turn back. If Rocinante was right, if they really were the only ones who would oppose Nightmare Moon, surrender now would mean the abandonment of their way of life, their kingdom, and their Princess.
Perhaps they couldn't beat Nightmare Moon, but how could they look at themselves if they didn't at least try? How miserable would they be, living in those dark shadows and shame? Sassaflash couldn't believe the thoughts coming into her mind, but at the same time, she couldn't believe that they were wrong either.
“I... I would...”
Rocinante looked at her with expectant eyes as Sassaflash continued to mull this over in her mind. Rocinante was certainly mad, so wouldn't that make her mad for agreeing with him? Yet on the other hoof, to sit by and do nothing while Nightmare Moon conquered the land would be worse than failing to stop her, wouldn't it?
“I... I'd rather face evil than be complacent.”
Rocinante's eyes flashed with an even brighter fire as he leapt for joy at her decision.
“That's my cousin! My squire! Come now my dear Sassa! Though we may face a great foe, onward to glory we go!”
“But how? This cliff is a pretty steep drop and I'm not strong enough to carry you and your armor all the way down there.”
“Where there is but only a will, there too shall there be a way, my dear Sassa. For this is but one of many challenges that evil has placed upon our path, but fear not! We shall overcome them all for the sake of our Princess!”
Carefully looking over the ledge, Rocinante spotted a tiny path curving down cliff below them.
“My dear Sassa, behold! A path awaits us if we can only find its humble beginning.”
Sassaflash looked down at the tiny trail. It would be barely big enough for Rocinante to fit on, but it did wind down to forest below. Taking flight, Sassaflash flew down and landed on the path below them, and followed it back up through a few thick bushes to where Rocinante was waiting.
“Magnificent display Sassa! Let us delay no longer, for evil is moving as we speak!”
Perhaps it was the genuine sincerity with which he had praised her, or perhaps it was a lingering feeling from his speech about their duty, but Sassaflash found herself actually proud of her contribution to their quest as they carefully proceeded down the path. But despite Rocinante's desperate urge for speed, he could not risk moving too fast. Even Sassaflash, with her wings, couldn't risk going ahead of him for fear of needing to catch him should he fall.
They had not gone far along the narrow path when Rocinante looked back up at the ledge now above them and back down towards the continuing path below them.
“A life lesson in the flesh I suppose.”
“What?”
“In the life of a knight-errant, nay of all noble creatures upon the path of righteousness, one will find that the path through life is narrow, perilous, even alarming at times, but we dutiful few must focus and continue down its narrow ways for the sake of justice, virtue, and valor.”
If Sassaflash hadn't known any better, she might have thought that there was a hint of fear in Rocinante's voice as his eyes occasionally glanced down the steep slope towards the ravine below, but whither or not he was afraid of the fall, Rocinante continued regardless. As the two began their way down the path again, Sassaflash heard something that sounded like a voice above them.
“Rainbow quit it!”
Sassaflash stopped her cousin as he was slowly making his way down the path.
“Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
Both ponies strained their ears to hear the voice that was clearly on the ledge that they had just descended from.
“Cause everypony who's ever come in... has never. come. OUT!”
The moment the words were spoken, the cliff above them erupted into an avalanche of earth. Rocinante and Sassaflash had no time to react as avalanche threw them off the path. They could slide for a short distance but before long the slope ended in a sheer drop into the ravine. With no time to lose, Sassaflash grabbed hold of Rocinante and flapped her wings as hard as she could, but Rocinante, his armor, his lance, and their gear were far too much. Sassaflash could keep them from plummeting straight down, their momentum threw them right at the opposite cliff. Impact seemed imminent, but Rocinante, perhaps a bit paler than usual, gritted his teeth and bucked the cliff the moment it was within reach to avoid a direct collision between them and the cliff ahead of them.
While Rocinante may have prevented them from slamming into the rock wall, they were still falling at an alarming rate when Sassaflash aimed for the trees to break their fall. For the first time since they met at the station, Sassaflash was glad Rocinante had his armor, and that he was below her. As they crashed through the branches, the trees did little damage to either of them thanks to Rocinante's armor absorbing all of the blows.
At last they crashed into the ground. It was a hard landing, but it was a landing they could walk away from. Shaking the leaves and twigs out of her mane, Sassaflash looked back towards the cliff, barely making out a few ponies in the darkness, atop the cliff at the edge of the ravine.
“What was that?”
“Scoundrels, my dear Sassa. Terrible fiends, no doubt in the service of the dastardly villain Nightmare Moon, who intend to keep us from reaching the goal of our most noble quest!”
“What do we do?”
“Were we not in a hurry, I would show them the error of their ways as a knight-errant does best. However, as our situation currently stands, we cannot scale the cliff to confront them. Therefore let us continue towards Nightmare Moon. They will have great difficulty catching us off guard like that again.”
Sassaflash nodded, less in agreement and more in compliance, and the two sped along the path deeper into the forest. It seemed unlikely that there would be anypony who would serve Nightmare Moon so quickly after her arrival, but the avalanche was clearly directed at them and the words the mysterious pony said were distinctly threatening.
The new path weaved in and out through the trees of the forest as they raced towards their destination. Sassaflash wasn't sure where this road lead or if it even lead anywhere, but Rocinante pressed forward at full speed, until the next obstacle revealed itself.
A manticore stood in the middle of the road. It wasn't looking particularly threatening, but in Rocinante's eyes, it was blocking the path.
“Stand back, my dear Sassa. For now you shall bare witness to the power of a determined knight-errant.”
Stepping up to the beast, Rocinante tilted his lance and called out to the creature before him.
“Here me now, miserable servant to a foul and false queen! I am I, Rocinante! Repent now of your wickedness and you shall be shown leniency!”
The manticore stared at the two in confusion, which Rocinante took to be a stand for Nightmare Moon.
“Very well! Face the wrath of virtue and valor!”
Immediately Rocinante charged down the path straight for his opponent. It was a long charge, and as such the manticore had plenty of time to leap out of the way of the initial attack, but Rocinante was unfazed by his failure, and spun around for another attack. Again the manticore leapt out of the way, but Rocinante, anticipating this move, swung his lance hard to the side, striking the manticore in the side of the head. The manticore's eyes rolled around a bit before refocusing on its target, Rocinante, as he charged again.
This time the manticore swiped Rocinante hard, mid-stride, sending the knight-errant tumbling into a tree on the side of the path. Sassaflash started for her cousin, but saw him rise, much like his opponent, with his eyes rolling, but also with a new found determination.
“Fear not my dear Sassa, for each time a knight falls he shall rise again and again and evil shall be undone!”
Rocinante would have to rise more times that fight than Sassaflash could keep track of. With her cousin's condition steadily getting worse, Sassaflash began to wonder whether or not he would survive this fight, when suddenly a pale violet mist flew by her and into a thicket behind Rocinante.
Sassaflash did a double take. Was it the same mist that Nightmare Moon used to escape the town hall? What could it be doing here? What could she be planning? Though Rocinante had been insistent she was a noncombatant, Sassaflash knew she could stand by and let Nightmare Moon interfere.
“Rocinante! Nightmare Moon! She's here!”
Immediately Rocinante spun his head toward his cousin.
“What? Where?”
Seeing the opening, the manticore swiped Rocinante, sending him flying right into the thicket. Sassaflash held her breath as she started running towards them, but there was no way she could make it in time. Even Sassaflash could see that this bush was evil, surely it was Nightmare Moon aiming for her cousin! But Rocinante's armor again proved its worth as the countless thorns slid and scratched against the metal breastplate. The manticore however, wasn't so fortunate. As it brought it's paw down to strike again, Rocinante rolled to the side and the manticore's paw went straight into the thicket, clearly getting at least one, if not many thorns in its paw.
Howling in pain, the manticore leapt back to examine its wound. Now Rocinante, seeing his opening, brought his lance down on top of the manticore's head, pushing it further back. By now, the manticore had had enough. Dodging Rocinante's next blow, the manticore leapt off into the forest and up the path from where Rocinante and Sassaflash had come.
Sassaflash immediately ran to her cousin's side as he panted heavily. He was clearly tired but still eagerly looking for the figure of Nightmare Moon.
“Where... where is the accursed foe... my dear... Sassa...”
Sassaflash turned to point towards the bush, but to her surprise, it was no longer there.
“That's... well... that's where she was... I saw her! I saw the purple mist she uses to move about! She was enchanting that bush!”
Sassaflash couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth. She was starting to sound more and more like her cousin as this journey went on, but she was certain what she saw wasn't natural. Rocinante examined the ground where the thorn bush used to be. He clearly remembered the bush breaking his fall, so it stood to reason that the only thing that could move it would be their enemy, Nightmare Moon.
“Well, it appears that our cowardly foe knows full well of our attempts to render her unto justice. We must be careful my dear Sassa. For our foes will only grow more numerous and powerful as the wretched foe will no doubt use all of the dark and vile resources that she possesses to prevent our confrontation.”
The idea that Nightmare Moon not only knew of their coming, but actually considered them a threat, encouraged Rocinante and horrified Sassaflash. Though they may have survived this far, surely an alicorn such as Nightmare Moon had more power than this, but what could Sassaflash do now? She couldn't turn around after coming this far.
As Rocinante regained his breath and trotted ahead, Sassaflash again weighed her options. Despite her initial thoughts on Rocinante's sanity, they had gone farther into the Everfree Forest than most ponies could even dream about and the further they proceeded along this quest, the more Rocinante's words made sense. Was she going mad as well? And if they had already made enemies of Nightmare Moon, could they escape if they even wanted to? What was she, a mere squire to do?
“I guess... I will... I'll follow after this knight-errant. There's no turning back now.”
Just as Rocinante began to turn to see what was holding her back, Sassaflash galloped up behind him and the two continued on their way.
As they advanced through the forest, it seemed as though things were getting darker and darker with each step. The winding path became harder and harder to follow and soon Sassaflash was relying solely on Rocinante for guidance through the forest.
They were so close as they walked through the woods, that when Rocinante suddenly stopped, Sassaflash couldn't help but run into him. Looking to her cousin in confusion, Sassaflash saw that Rocinante was staring at something straight ahead of them with a grim expression.
“Stay near to my side, dear Sassa, for a great battle, the likes of which shall no doubt be passed unto the ages through legend, is about to begin on this dark eve.”
Sassaflash strained her eyes ahead of her, when suddenly she noticed the sharp fangs and reaching claws of the horrifying monster ahead of them. Sassaflash yelped as she leapt backward, but as she turned to run for her life she could see several more behind them. Retreating back into Rocinante, Sassaflash looked at the countless beasts now surrounding them.
Having been noticed, the monsters stopped their advance, clearly waiting for Rocinante to make the first move. Sassaflash's knees knocked into each other continuously as she tried to count the seemingly endless horde.
“R-Rocinante... they're.. they're everywhere...”
“Indeed. It would appear that the coward Nightmare Moon intends to put an unseemly end to our glorious quest here and now. What numbers. What cowardice. What... foolishness.”
“W-What do do we do?”
“Stay close to my side. As my dutiful squire, you should be spared the fury of mortal combat, but our foe, clearly lacking in any sense of honor or dignity, may attempt to rend you asunder. Fear not, I shall protect you and they will regret their actions this day.”
Sassaflash wasn't sure what to say. There was definitely no way out of this, there were far too many.
“But Rocinante, how can you win this? There's so many.”
Rocinante smiled as he tilted his lance towards the closest monster, openly choosing his target.
“My dear Sassaflash, you shall see as we progress through this ignoble horde, the words of wisdom imparted to me by our dear grandfather. The preparations for this very battle have been in the making for years with the careful lyrics grandfather imparted to me in my foal-hood. You see, my dear Sassa...”
Rocinante's knees picked up a slight bounce, as though a song were playing in his head, but before Sassaflash could ask what he was doing he began, of all things, a song.
“When I was but a little colt,
and the bullies gathered around.
The name calling and cruel pranks,
would always make me frown.
I'd try to fight against them,
and chase them all away,
when grandpa said that just wasn't how,
to fight and win the day.
He said “Laddie, you cannot fight them all,
learn to pick your fights.
You'll see that they're much weaker,
when all their friends are not in sight.””
Sassaflash couldn't believe her ears, but Rocinante, using the distraction to create on opening, suddenly leapt forward, charging the closest monster. The creature, clearly surprised at this sudden attack, didn't have any time to react as Rocinante speared it with his lance. Taking no time to note the condition of his overrun enemy, Rocinante moved from beast to beast with each passing line.
“So fight them one on one,
take them as they come.
The cowards clump together,
simply divide and conquer.
If numbers are their answer,
then pit them against each other.”
Sassaflash could barely keep up with him as he raced from foe to foe. She wasn't sure what to believe anymore, that her cousin was actually insane enough to try this, or that he was actually winning. Either way, her hopes had no where to rest but on his lance as he squared off against each monster in rapid succession. Finally he leapt to a small clearing and readied his lance for yet another attack.
“And tell all of those wretched curs that if they believe that they can take justice with numbers then they have a far larger fight on their hooves than they have realized and that the very notion of such tomfoolery simply makes a knight-errant such as I want to... well.. laugh!”
Rocinante forced a weak laugh as he aimed his lance at another monster. Though he was winning now, Rocinante only had the spirit of a knight. In body he was still very much a pony who sat on his flank, managing accounts all day. Sassaflash could see her cousin was weakening, even though the enemy hadn't even put a scratch on him. Maybe, just maybe they could win this if only there weren't so many.
No sooner had the words entered her mind, when suddenly the moon broke through the canopy of leaves above them to reveal their enemies in the gentle moonlight.
They were trees, trees with gouges and cuts from a lance, but trees. Sassaflash's jaw dropped as she looked at the “fiends” before them. Even Rocinante stopped as though expecting the trees to move. The two stood in a deafening silence before finally Sassaflash came out from behind him, placing a hoof on one of the wounded trees.
“Trees... Rocinante... they're just... trees? All this time they were only trees?”
Lowering his lance, Rocinante looked around at all of his former opponents. They were indeed all trees, but Rocinante, tired as he was, seemed more irritated than relieved as he examined a defeated opponent with his hoof.
“No... No my dear Sassa. Do not let the situation confuse you. These were clearly our most dangerous and vile foes yet, but the vile Nightmare Moon, seeing the battle turn against her and that virtue and valor were on the cusp of success and glory, transformed them into trees so as to rob me of my noble victory.”
Sassaflash looked at the trees again as Rocinante huffed and puffed. His ability to hide how tired he was beginning to slip away. Had Sassaflash considered Rocinante's pre-knighthood profession, it would have made sense that he would be exhausted, but instead, Sassaflash was busy trying to wrap her head around what had just happened. Normally the idea that an alicorn transformed a horde of monsters into trees would have been so absurd that she would have laughed at the joke it would have most certainly been.
But now, after all they had been through tonight, Sassaflash couldn't help but wonder if maybe Rocinante was right. The trees certainly had a terrifying atmosphere about them. And the more she thought about it, the more she wanted to believe he was right. If Nightmare Moon did in fact, attack them with a horde of terrible monsters, see that she was losing, and then transform them to cover up her failure, then maybe Rocinante could defeat her after all. Maybe they could win this and save Princess Celestia. Maybe they would be heroes after all.
While earlier today Sassaflash would have called such thinking pure madness, she now desperately wanted to believe they could do it. They had to be able to do it, and so she believed it. A hopeful smile came across her face as she trotted off after her recovering cousin.
“We can do this. We can actually DO this.”
Sassaflash barely had the time to settle into her new opinion about their quest when suddenly the violet mist from before rushed by her and down the path.
“Rocinante! Look!”
“It has caught my eye, dear Sassa! Make haste! There is no time to be lost!”
In spite of their exhaustion, both Rocinante and Sassaflash raced after the cloud of smoke, but it was simply too fast for them. Ducking in and out of the trees, Sassaflash could tell they were losing the smoke in the night again.
“We're losing her! What do we do?”
“We must take flight!”
“What? I can't carry you!”
“The branches of the trees! Fly ahead and pull one back! I shall use its strength to propel me forward as an arrow from a mighty bow!”
Sassaflash did as she was told and raced ahead. As a pegasus pony, she was naturally faster than her cousin and when she spread her wings and took flight, she could almost catch the violet cloud.
The situation was enough to make her wonder. As she got closer and closer to the mist ahead of them on the path it seemed as though Nightmare Moon wasn't trying to lose them, but lead them on. Twice she almost caught the mist, but it would pull ahead just enough to stay out of her grasp.
Realizing that Rocinante was getting left farther and farther behind, Sassaflash suddenly pulled a hard u-turn to her right, diving on a thick tree branch with all of her might. The branch bent sharply, but Sassaflash wasn't strong enough to hold it for long, thankfully Rocinante arrived just in time.
Sassaflash could hear the resounding ping as the branch slipped from her grip and slammed into the back of Rocinante's armor, catapulting the knight-errant into the air after his opponent. Lance tilted in mid flight, Rocinante flew after the purple cloud, just barely behind it.
With this sudden burst of speed failing to catch the mist, Sassaflash knew now that the villain, Nightmare Moon, was leading them on, but they were far enough ahead of her that there was no way to warn Rocinante of the treachery they were being lead into. Just as Rocinante began to lose altitude, a large sea serpent rose out of the river they were flying over.
He was a massive creature, but well groomed. His scales shone brilliantly in the moonlight as he stretched and adjusted his carefully prepared mustache, clearly unaware of the two combatants hurtling straight towards him.
In the moments before contact, Sassaflash could hear the loud cry of Rocinante as his lance changed targets mid-flight.
“Foul Serpent of Evil! You shall not bar my path and obstruct-”
Sassaflash lost Rocinante's words immediately as the purple mist, Rocinante, and his lance all tore their way clean through the serpent's mustache. Hair went everywhere in what Sassaflash could only describe as an explosion from where she flew and without even token resistance, the great sea serpent recoiled backwards, felt his face, and howled in what sounded like the most agonizing pain Sassaflash had ever heard. Falling into the now tumultuous river, the serpent lashed around in confusion as Sassaflash flew overhead after her cousin, who had by now landed somewhere in the woods on the other side.
As she landed and looked back, Sassaflash could see the river was now completely uncrossable and why Nightmare Moon had been leading them. With the river as it was, no pony could reach them to help and they were trapped on this side of the river with Nightmare Moon. Sassaflash shuddered as she realized that not only could the final confrontation be moments away, but that Nightmare Moon had cut off all retreat.
Slowly continuing down the path, Sassaflash found Rocinante suspended in the branches of a tree.
“Excellent timing, my dear squire. Your performance throughout our latest battle against the forces of evil was magnificent and invaluable. Regrettably, the coward Nightmare Moon has fled the field onward. We must make haste if we are to regain the initiative and keep her on the run.”
As Sassaflash helped Rocinante out of the tree, she pointed back to the river.
“I think Nightmare Moon might be leading us on. I mean, she stayed just out of reach no matter how fast we were going and now there's no way back across the river.”
Rocinante looked back towards the river. They couldn't see it from where they were standing, but the rushing waters were still quite audible.
“You may be correct, my dear Sassa, however it matters little. It is our solemn duty is to meet Nightmare Moon in battle and to vanquish her. All of her assaults and attempts at ambush have failed, the dastardly villain is no doubt becoming increasingly desperate, but I sense that the final confrontation is no doubt at hand. We shall no doubt be celebrating our glorious victory in Ponyville tonight.”
Sassaflash could only nod as they resumed their march down the path to their fate. If Rocinante was prepared to continue, what else could be said? She wasn't sure when it had happened, but she knew she was now just as committed to their quest, and subsequently their success, as Rocinante himself.
They had only gone a short distance down the path when they came to an old, rickety, rope bridge. Across the ravine were ruins from an ancient time that Sassaflash didn't recognize. Undaunted by the fact that the ravine's bottom could not be seen, Rocinante gave the bridge a quick look, an then slowly began his careful crossing.
“Surely this must lead to the villain’s lair. Tread lightly, my dear Sassa.”
Sassaflash preferred not to travel across the bridge at all as it swayed and popped under Rocinante's weight. Spreading her wings, Sassaflash flew over the ravine and waited for Rocinante on the other side. But the moment she landed, she found herself enshrouded in a thick fog.
“Sassa...”
Sassaflash looked around worriedly. Somepony had called her name, but it clearly wasn't Rocinante. She couldn't even see her cousin still on the bridge as the fog got thicker and thicker and immediately she knew she shouldn't have flown ahead.
“Sassa...”
The ghostly voice made Sassaflash's knees knock as she stepped back. Would Nightmare Moon honor her noncombatant status?
“Sassa?”
“Parasol?”
Sassaflash stared in confusion as Parasol, one of her pegasus friends from Ponyville, emerged from the fog.
“Thank goodness, here you are. Sassa, what are you doing here? It's too dangerous in the Everfree Forest, let's get out of here!”
“Parasol? What? How did you get here?”
“I've been looking all over for you! Everyone was so scared when Nightmare Moon showed up like that and then you disappeared. We've all been looking for you!”
“But what about Nightmare Moon? How's Ponyville?”
“Everyone's fine! Let's get out of here, this place is creepy.”
“Alright, I'll grab Rocinante.”
“Don't bother. You know he won't leave here. He's determined to hunt down Nightmare Moon.”
“I can't just leave him.”
“Why? He dragged you out here, put you in all kinds of danger, all for his delusions of grandeur. You should just forget about him.”
“He's my cousin.”
“Sassa, let's go back where it's safe. Besides, he's gotten this far on his own, he'll be able to make his way through here by himself.”
Sassaflash slowly nodded as she spread her wings. Rocinante may not have forced her to come with him, he didn't leave her much choice and there had certainly be far too much danger in this “quest” for her.
But the word, “quest” hung in her mind as she lifted off. Mulling on the word, Sassaflash quickly set back down on the ground where she had taken off.
“Sassa? What are you doing? Let's go!”
The “quest” was an interesting thought. They had been through a lot. During the avalanche, if she hadn't been there, Rocinante would have fallen down the ravine. Later, if Rocinante hadn't been there, the manticore certainly would have made short work of her, but without her calling out that Nightmare Moon was intervening, who knows how badly the fight would have gone? Rocinante had guarded and guided her through the forest of monsters and afterward she catapulted him after Nightmare Moon across the river. They had been through a lot together and that was the only way they could have done it.
Sassaflash shook her head, embarrassed that she had even allowed her wings to spread. She and Rocinante were a team, a squire and a knight. Rocinante himself had said her service was invaluable. He needed her help and she needed his. There was no way she could leave her cousin behind in the middle of this horrible forest, in the middle of their most noble quest.
“Parasol, go on ahead. Rocinante and I, we have unfinished business to take care of.”
Parasol looked confused as she landed in front of her.
“What?”
“We're in the middle of...”
The word “quest” sounded embarrassing, like something a foal would say in the midst of a game. But Sassaflash wouldn't hide it. She was going to stick with her knight-errant cousin and she was going to be proud of it.
“We're in the middle of a quest!”
“Q-Quest? What are you, a filly?”
Sassaflash thought for a moment, recalling Rocinante's determined self image. She hadn't thought about it too much during their adventure, but perhaps she could identify herself in the same way. Motioning back to the bridge, Sassaflash smiled as she looked straight into Parasol's eyes.
“I am Sassaflash, yes I am Sassa! I will follow after this knight-errant. Thought the whole world may think us mad, I'd rather face evil than be complacent!”
Seeing that Sassaflash was determined to see this through to the end, Parasol gritted her teeth and took off into the air. She said nothing as she left and disappeared into a purple mist once she was well within the fog.
Once “Parasol” had left, the fog swiftly disappeared, revealing Rocinante as he let go of the last rope holding the bridge up on their end, causing the bridge to swing down and slam into the opposite cliff.
“And with that, we see that the cowardly Nightmare Moon is not the only one who can remove the choice of retreat! What use have we for an escape route? For surely this night, the wicked Nightmare Moon will be crying unto the heavens for some method of escape and regretting her foolish endeavor to remove all avenues of such!”
Sassaflash smiled as she trotted over to Rocinante, who looked to his cousin with pride.
“Ah! There you are my dear Sassa. It is most fortunate that this terrible fog has dissipated. Who knows what evil designs the nefarious Nightmare Moon had lying in wait around her fortress of evil.”
Sassaflash nodded, knowing that she had probably encountered one already.
“We should proceed with caution cousin. Nightmare Moon surely knows we're here.”
Rocinante laughed as he led the way past the massive wooden doors into the ruins.
“Right you are cousin! Let her come and meet us in battle! For it will be the first and last honorable action the heinous false queen will have ever partaken in!”
Their spirits were certainly high as they entered what as once a great and grand lobby of this ancient castle. A magnificent statue stood before them. Five small stone orbs, held up by their pedestals, orbited the once grand and now moss covered sculpture as the two walked past it.
“What do you suppose that's a sculpture of?”
“My dear Sassa, if there is one mystery that shall never be solved upon this world of ours, it is the mystery of the meaning and purpose behind the modern art.”
Sassaflash snorted in agreement as they continued through another set of doors. Looking around carefully, the two walked outside and across the courtyard into another tower. The castle was dark and cold, but at least it was empty. Sassaflash had been worried that it would have been filled with Nightmare Moon's minions, but so far there was nothing but quiet, empty, stone rooms.
“Where do you think she is?”
Rocinante looked around.
“No doubt in the grandest room atop of the largest tower. Villainy is consistently vain and arrogant in that manner.”
“What is this place?”
“Clearly this was once a great and beautiful castle before succumbing to evil. Who knows what we may find among these ruins...”
Rocinante's voice trailed off as his eyes fell on a single target. Sassaflash looked to him, and then to his target, and back to him. A pony statue lay fallen off of its pedestal, mostly intact, but not particularly noteworthy in Sassaflash's eyes. Rocinante however, was fascinated by the statue in front of him.
“Oh how the mighty have fallen! The image of the greatest of warriors in ancient times now lays cast about our hooves. How dark must be the curse upon this castle so that such heroes would be forgotten so?”
Rocinante carefully took the statue into his hooves and began lifting it back to its pedestal, but it was simply too heavy. Even with Sassaflash's help, they couldn't lift the heavy stone statue back to its base. Finally giving in to the statue's weight, they set it back down on the floor. Panting from exhaustion, Sassaflash looked back to the statue.
“So, who is this pony?”
Rocinante sighed as he glanced into the statue's stone gaze.
“This was the great Marebrino. A valiant pony who served ancient Equestria at the time of its founding, defending the realm from countless brigands who sought the young nation's treasure. One of the greatest hearts known to all of pony-kind, the great Marebrino was as kind and generous as she was beautiful. Perhaps when we return to Ponyville, I may tell you of her magnificent exploits.”
As though the statue had heard his praise, its fore-hoof crumbled and the statue rolled forward slightly, bowing perhaps in gratitude to their efforts to restore it to its pedestal and to some of its former glory. As the statue moved forward, a resounding metal ring echoed behind the head of the statue, as though something had been dropped on the stone floor.
To Sassaflash's eyes, it appeared as though a piece of the crumbling statue had merely knocked aside a battered brass basin that had been lying next to it on the floor, but Rocinante seemed to recognize the basin as well as he did the statue.
“My dear Sassa... surely this cannot be!”
“What? What is it?”
“A blessing from the past my dear Sassa! Behold! This is the helmet of Marebrino! This was the helmet that deflected the blows of the feared griffon Holtzen!”
Sassaflash examined the basin in Rocinante's hooves. It didn't look like anything special, it really didn't look like a helmet at all, but having come this far, Sassaflash trusted in Rocinante's assessment as he placed the helmet onto of his head. It loosely fit, spun around easily, and looked rather silly, but a brass bowl was better than the simple leather cap he wore.
“This is the helmet that Marebrino used when she did all those things? How is this better than any other helmet? It looks so... simple.”
“Simplicity, my dear Sassa, is often times a virtue instead of a defect. But your eyes are keen, from afar, this helmet looks no better, nay worse, than the helms that most knights wore at the time. But this helmet was enchanted by none other than Star Swirl the Bearded. The enchantment placed upon this very helm grants its wearer one wish. The knight Marebrino wished for the power to protect the infant Equestria and so the helmet gave her strength to last against countless foes in the wars to defend the fledgeling nation.”
Sassaflash looked at the helmet in disbelief.
“But it doesn't even fit like a helmet...”
“Like many things within this castle, the helmet's condition can be mended easy enough once evil is vanquished and we return triumphantly to Ponyville.”
As Rocinante nodded in agreement with his own words, the helmet to fell from his head back onto the ground. Sassaflash picked it up and looked it over again.
“It grants its wearer any wish? So if I were to wear it and wish Nightmare Moon undone-”
Sassaflash's words were immediately cut off by the effect. She had placed the helmet over her head as more of a loose demonstration than any attempt to wear it, but the moment she spoke the words a bright light shone out of the tower across the courtyard from them and the castle grounds began to shake, knocking both Rocinante and Sassaflash to the ground.
Sassaflash looked incredulously at the helmet. She had actually placed faith in Rocinante's explanation of its magic, that was in fact why she didn't put it on when she asked the question, but the helmet apparently reacted to her wish regardless. She looked to Rocinante in confusion when another light poured in from the window, the light of the sun. Sassaflash could see Princess Celestia as she flew into the tower across the courtyard.
“That's Princess Celestia! It... It did it! Nightmare Moon is beaten!”
Sassaflash looked to her cousin, who almost seemed disappointed at the result as he sighed.
“Indeed, the mighty helmet of Marebrino has won the day and our glorious victory now belongs to it instead of us.”
Sassaflash looked confused as Rocinante continued.
“It was going to be a most glorious battle, but alas. There will be other chances for glory and honor in the future.”
At first Sassaflash couldn't believe Rocinante was displeased with the outcome of the accident, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. They had fought their way through countless dangers, defeated countless opponents, and now that the end was near, the enemy was beaten before they could even find her. To have come so far just to have their enemy beaten for them left their final victory feeling unfinished, almost as if they had cheated.
“Rocinante... I'm so so sorry. I didn't mean to use the wish, I really didn't.”
Rocinante smiled as he took the helmet from her and placed it upon his head.
“I understand, my dear Sassa. I am not displeased at your actions, for they were done in simple and innocent curiosity, not an attempt to seize glory. Indeed I am more disappointed for you, my dear Sassa. You had only a single wish and you used it on a foregone conclusion. Unfortunate, but Nightmare Moon is bested and Princess Celestia is freed. Our quest has reached its end and I have gained an invaluable piece of armor. Let us return to Ponyville with our heads held high.”
Sassaflash smiled as she nodded and the two began their way out of the castle. Upon their return to Ponyville a great celebration was held in honor of Nightmare Moon's defeat and Celestia's return. Apparently they were not the only ones to proceed into the Everfree Forest that night. The new unicorn in town, Twilight Sparkle, and her friends had also journeyed into the forest to defeat Nightmare Moon. Evidently they had even managed to reach the tower that Nightmare Moon had used as her keep before the helmet of Marebrino had worked its magic. It was only natural that everypony had thought they were the victors that night.
But neither Sassaflash, nor Rocinante were bitter about the outcome. As Rocinante had said, they knew their accomplishments and they had their reward. A knight-errant did not need to stoop to pointing hooves and making a mess out of a good ending just to inflate his ego.
The rest of the weekend passed all too quickly for Sassaflash and soon it was time for her cousin to return to La Manecha. This time, as she walked with him to the train station, Sassaflash wasn't trying to hide her cousin's battered armor. Instead she was proudly letting all of Equestria see it. They were a team, a knight-errant and his squire, and Sassaflash was proud of her cousin.
As the train prepared to leave, Rocinante turned to say his final farewells to Sassaflash.
“And so this is the end of this chapter of the story, my dear Sassa. I trust that this year's Summer Sun Celebration was memorable?”
Sassaflash smiled as she embraced her cousin.
“Very memorable. Let me know next time you're in Ponyville, cousin. I'll be glad to host you any day.”
“I am most pleased to hear that cousin. I hope that I find my lands in good order so that I may return to sortie again with my squire. Surely adventure awaits!”
“What would our next quest be?”
“Who knows? For there is always evil lurking around the corner and justice always needing to be rendered. This was but one of many chapters in a great epic chronicling our glorious adventures!”
Sassaflash waved as the train pulled out of sight and on the way back to her home she couldn't help but wonder where the next adventure might take them.
Author's Note
This fanfic is a simple short story about a couple of ponies and their attempt to defeat Nightmare Moon in the first and second episode of MLP, traveling just ahead of the Mane 6.
It's rather obvious that the character of Rocinante was inspired by the title character of the famous book, "The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha" by Miguel de Cervantes. And Sassaflash, though an actual background pony, is almost an OC as she fills the role of Sancho Panza for this story.
I tried to stick as close as I could to the original concept of Don Quixote in the regard that this story isn't just about a crazy character who tilts at windmills, but is in fact a story about a character who honestly seeks to make the world a better place through living the actual concepts of honor and chivalry.
Without further delay and with a humble heart I now present:
Rocinante, Pony of La Manecha
