One of the royal guards approached Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, the two sisters standing in front of the entrance to the tower where the Elements of Harmony had been kept since the defeat of Nightmare Moon. The doors of the tower looked different to the unicorn, but he pushed it to the back of his mind; he had to give the princesses his report. The two turned around to look at him as he got closer and he stopped a short distance away, bowing to them as he said, “Your Highnesses.”
Princess Celestia nodded and asked, “Yes?”
The guard stood up tall and said, “Flash Sentry and the rest of the guards have secured the castle. Prince Blueblood is being kept in his room by a small unit, and no signs of intrusion have been detected. The cooks in the kitchen did say that some of the foods they were making, particularly several cakes, have gone missing, but none of the other castle staff had anything to report.”
Celestia was silent for a moment before replying, “Thank you. You and the other guards may return to your posts now. We are expecting Twilight Sparkle and her friends on the next train to Canterlot. Please let the guards at the gates know that they should let them in, and tell the guards from the precinct that they should continue to keep the citizens inside their houses until this crisis is resolved.” The guard bowed and saluted, turning and heading back towards the castle to report back and pass on the princess’ orders.
Once the guard was gone, Celestia and Luna turned back to the tower, looking up at the tower doors. The rest of the castle may have not shown any signs of abnormalities, but the doors were not supposed to look the way they did. They were red and they each had a hole on them that looked big enough for an alicorn’s horn. Above the holes were outlined carvings; above the left hole, the carvings were shaped like a balloon, a diamond, and a butterfly, and over the right hole, they looked like an apple, a six-pronged star, and a lightning bolt. And in the middle, on both of the doors and surrounded by the other carvings, was a ring.
Luna spoke up after a moment, “Sister, these doors may be just like the doors inside the tower. We should try using our magic inside of those holes; that will likely make them open.”
Celestia did not respond right away, instead thinking about the doors. They had already tried to push them open with their hooves and magic when they’d arrived earlier, but they wouldn’t budge. She agreed with Luna’s theory, but something had to have altered the doors to be like this. Would they be ready for whatever lay on the other side?
Finally, she spoke, “I don’t think we should do that without Twilight and her friends here, Luna. We don’t know what’s in there.”
Luna looked over at the white alicorn and said, “Surely that creature is in there! No doubt it has made this tower its nest!”
Celestia replied, “Yes, but we may need the power of the Elements of Harmony and potentially the Chaos Emeralds to calm it. You saw how Sonic’s friends barely repelled it earlier; it could be too much for us alone.”
Luna asked, “So what do you suggest we do? Simply wait until their train arrives?” She got her answer when Celestia turned away from the doors and sat down. Luna sighed as she turned and sat down next to her, “Why must we always sit around when the fate of Equestria is at stake?”
Celestia simply replied, “We’ve always waited, whether it’s for bad news like when we were warned about Sombra, or for good news such as Twilight and her friends protecting Equestria. I know it’s hard, Luna, but it’s something we had to accept when we became princesses.”
Luna sighed again, “That’s what bothers me sometimes. We can act, but we always seem to have other concerns to worry about as well.” She looked at Celestia, “How do you manage it so well? How are you able to be so patient all the time?”
Celestia turned her head slightly to look over at the younger alicorn, speaking softly, “I had to wait a thousand years to see you again, Luna, hoping every day that, when the time came, we could put the past behind us. For me, no other wait could ever be more agonizing than that.”
Luna couldn’t find any words to properly respond to that, so she decided to drop it. Looking in the direction of the train station, she said, “They’ll be here soon. They may be slowed down by the vortexes like we were, but that won’t stop them, right?”
Celestia nodded, “They know how to resolve problems, and they all work together quite well. They might be delayed, but they’ll get here.”
________________________________________
Tails sighed as he stuck his head out from under the Friendship Express’ engine. “Even though we’re in the middle of all this white space, it sure is warm under there,” he said, waving his right hand at his face to fan himself. The repairs were taking a little longer than expected. The fox had to admit, he was a little rusty when it came to steam engines. He glanced towards the cars behind the engine, wondering what the others were doing. “I’m a little surprised nobody’s come to check in with me considering how long this is taking. Maybe they’re trying to avoid making it take longer…” he muttered.
He soon carefully flipped himself over onto his rump and looked up at the engine. “Back home, a train like this might be considered an antique. I wonder if it would be rare enough that someone might consider putting it in a museum,” he thought to himself aloud in an effort to clear his head. After a few seconds, he nodded to himself, “Right, back to work!” He then pushed himself back under the engine to get the last pieces in place. His friends were counting on him to do this, and he wasn’t going to keep them waiting.
________________________________________
“Wow… This is amazing,” Twilight murmured as she looked around. The magic carpet Shahra had created for the group had flown them out of the Skeleton Dome and over the sea back to the desert. It wasn’t long after that that the carpet had entered the same tunnel of pages that they had fallen through when Haman had pulled them into the world of the Arabian Nights. Now that they were flying up through it and had time to appreciate their surroundings, they could see that the pages not only displayed the words to the various stories in the Arabian Nights, but also various images of the tome’s legendary tales.
“I can see why the Arabian Nights has its own world inside of it. There are so many words to give it shape and life,” Cadance commented.
Sonic nodded, “Yeah. I wonder where Aladdin’s story is.”
Applejack said, “Ah think we’ll get to find out soon, Sonic. It looks like we’re comin’ up on our exit.” Sure enough, the group could see a white light in the distance up ahead that was getting bigger as they got closer to it. Everyone was thinking the same thing as Applejack: once they reached it, they would be back where they started their literary adventure. It wasn’t long before the light was big enough to engulf the magic carpet, an opening forming in the center of it to let it through.
Once they had passed through, however, rather than being back in the sleeper car like they expected, the group instead found themselves in a new space that was filled with red-orange clouds and a yellow horizon.
Everyone looked around in confusion. “What is this place? It looks like a great place for flying!” Rainbow said.
Sonic raised an eyebrow, “I sure don’t remember this…”
Shining looked over at him, “You didn’t pass through a place like this when you left last time?” Sonic shook his head.
Cadance looked up at the yellow sky, noticing there didn’t seem to be any source of light present. “What a strange place this is,” she noted.
Rarity, who was looking down at the clouds below with Fluttershy, added, “I agree, princess. And yet it’s hauntingly beautiful in a way.”
Pinkie simply stared out into space until she noticed something pass by close to her. It appeared to be a wisp of light giving off a rainbow of colors. “Ooh, lookie! Fireflies!” she exclaimed.
Soon, everyone noticed several more around the carpet, seemingly floating around without any particular purpose, not even reacting much to their presence. “Are they fireflies? I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like them,” Twilight murmured as she looked up at one.
Spike stood up and walked around the carpet a bit, looking to see if there was anything else in this odd location. After a few seconds, he turned his head and glanced to the left at Sonic. The blue hedgehog was looking around like everypony else, though he seemed a bit apprehensive about this area. Spike then noticed that something seemed off past him and turned to look fully. He was right; something was forming against the sky and clouds! “Uh, Sonic?” he started.
Sonic turned his head to look at the baby dragon, as did everypony else, and asked, “Yeah?” Spike started pointing, which to Sonic looked like he was pointing at him. He raised an eyebrow, “What?” He received an answer a moment later when he heard a deep laugh coming from behind him, a laugh that sounded vaguely familiar to him.
Everyone turned to look and saw a large, imposing, nearly opaque figure a short distance away, looming over the group. It was clad in mostly black armor with large shoulder plates and the top of its helmet looked like a three spike crown. There was nothing below its shoulders, but there were two glowing yellow eyes underneath its helmet’s covering. The group didn’t get a good time to take in its appearance before it suddenly vanished, a circular opening appearing where it had been a moment ago. The opening immediately began to pull at the group, everybody being quickly pulled off of the carpet and into the opening with either a shout or a scream! The opening closed once everyone was through, the magic carpet disappearing into the sea of clouds.
The opening appeared over a path in the middle of a mist-filled forest, everyone being thrown out of it onto the path before it disappeared again. A series of grunts and groans filled the air as everyone landed on the grass. The impact was relatively minor, especially compared to the fall from the sky earlier, and they quickly recovered. As they all sat up, Rainbow groaned, “Ugh, again, I’m really getting sick of these kinds of surprises today!”
Fluttershy spoke up, “Well, I don’t think this one was so bad, Rainbow. It seems like we landed on something better this time.”
Rarity huffed, “That’s hardly the word I’d use for it, Fluttershy.” She glared down at the grass she was sitting on, “Water, grass, dirt… my worst enemies, and we’re surrounded by them!”
Applejack groaned, “You’re worryin’ about stains now of all times, Rarity? This is the second time today you’ve made a big deal about landin’ on grass!”
Shining glanced around, “Speaking of which, where did that hole drop us?”
Everyone stood up and started looking around. “I think it’s a forest. There are a lot of trees here. It’s a little hard to see, though,” Rainbow said.
Cadance looked at Sonic and asked, “Do you remember this at all, Sonic?”
The blue hedgehog looked down the path, into the mist surrounding everything. The area did seem familiar to him. “I think…” he started before breaking into a run a moment later, heading into the mist.
“H-Hey! Sonic, wait!” Twilight exclaimed as she began running after him, the others doing the same. Spike and the ponies ran, following the path for a short time until they came across Sonic crouching on one knee at the edge of some water. As they slowed down and got closer, they could see a little more of the water, and it looked like it went out quite far. “There’s a lake here?” Twilight asked as she stepped up next to Sonic.
Sonic, while still looking down at the water, nodded, “Yeah. I had a feeling about where we were.” He stood up, “This is Misty Lake. We’re pretty much on the outskirts of the Grand Kingdom.”
Applejack looked at him, “Grand Kingdom? Where in the Arabian Nights is that?”
Before Sonic could reply, they all heard Pinkie exclaim, “TRIPLE SALCHOW!” They all turned to see her running towards them, the pink pony making a large leap in front of the group and doing several spins in the air before landing in the lake a short distance from the shore and spraying water droplets around. She surfaced a few seconds later while some of the others were brushing the water off, her curly pink mane now straight due to the water in it. “Come on in! The water’s great!” she called.
Sonic finished brushing off a few drops before placing his right hand on his hip and saying, “Yeah, uh… I’ll just take your word for it, Pinkie.” The party pony didn’t seem to mind this, seeing as she shifted onto her back and began doing the backstroke aimlessly, still wearing a smile on her face.
“Pinkie, don’t go out so far we can’t see you, dear!” Rarity called. Pinkie didn’t respond, though she did adjust her direction slightly at that.
After a moment, Shining turned to Sonic and asked, “So where is this ‘Grand Kingdom’ in relation to the rest of the Arabian Nights, Sonic?”
The hedgehog replied, “Nah, we’re not in the world of the Arabian Nights anymore. Somehow, we jumped to the next book in the series.”
Twilight asked, “You’ve had more than one literary adventure?” Before Sonic could answer, a loud roar sounded, followed by the sound of loud stomping. Everyone looked back the way they came, Twilight asking, “What’s that?”
Rainbow grinned, “It sounds big!”
Spike said, “It sounds like a dragon!”
Fluttershy murmured, “It sounds like it’s getting closer…”
Cadance turned to look at the lake, but she couldn’t see Pinkie Pie anymore. “Pinkie, it’s time to come in!” she called as loud as she could, but there was no response.
The stomping began to get louder. “I think we’d better get out of here!” Shining suggested hastily.
“What about Pinkie Pie?” Rainbow asked.
Sonic began to push the pegasus forward as he said, “We’re not gonna be helping her if we attract trouble! Come on, this way!” He took the lead, the others running with him as he led them along the shore of the lake. They soon came across the remains of an old structure, a castle from the look of it, and they all ducked inside. They all pressed up against the wall to their left, listening and waiting.
Soon, the stomping stopped, as did the shaking. After a few seconds, Sonic peered around the corner along with Shining Armor and Spike, the former peering from over his head while the latter peered from the side. What they saw was a massive four-legged creature covered in cyan scales with huge wings and a stump of a horn on its forehead drinking water from the lake with its large tongue. “Whoa… That’s a… That is a dragon, right?” Shining breathed.
Sonic nodded, “Yeah. That’s the Mist Dragon. I remember encountering him.”
Spike looked up at the hedgehog, “The Mist Dragon? That’s what you call him?”
Sonic glanced down at him, “That’s the only name I was ever given, Spike.”
The baby dragon looked back at the cyan dragon and said, “Well, he looks pretty cool. Is he friendly?”
Sonic looked back at the Mist Dragon, specifically at what was left of its horn, and raised an eyebrow as he remembered how he met the dragon. Something told him the dragon probably remembered as well, and he figured now wasn’t the time to find out. “Uh, I don’t know. He seemed pretty territorial, though, since he wouldn’t let me by when I ran into him. Kind of like the Earth Dragon,” he shrugged.
“There’s more than one dragon?” Fluttershy meekly asked.
Sonic turned around and replied, “Well, yeah. Not around here, though. I’m sure there’s more in this world. I only met two when I was here, and neither one was really happy to see me. I mean, I don’t know that much about dragons, but that’s the feeling I got.”
Twilight said, “Hm. Some of the larger dragons we’ve met back in Equestria were… I guess you could say they were territorial as well.”
Rarity added, “They’re very protective of their valuables as well. I wonder if the dragons here are the same way.” Suddenly, they all heard the Mist Dragon let out a low roar, followed by the sound of flapping wings and several small bursts of wind going past their hiding place. A couple of seconds later, they all looked up through what remained of the ceiling to see the dragon flying past their hiding spot.
“Hoo, glad we didn’t have ta deal with that that thing. Coulda been mighty ugly if it had found us,” Applejack sighed after the dragon disappeared from view.
Shining Armor peered outside again and said, “I still don’t see Pinkie Pie, though. I think that dragon would’ve reacted if it had seen her, but where is she?”
Cadance looked at Sonic and asked, “Do you think she could be somewhere else in the lake, Sonic?”
The blue hedgehog replied, “Maybe. It’s not really a big lake, but it does stretch for quite a bit. I’ve even seen people living around here.”
Twilight looked at him, “There probably aren’t a lot out right now because of the Mist Dragon’s appearance, right?” Sonic simply shrugged his shoulders in reply.
Rainbow spoke, “Well, that dragon flew off further ahead. Let’s see if we can find Pinkie and get out of here before it shows up again and I’ve gotta teach it a lesson!”
Rarity rolled her eyes, “Yes, because that worked so great with the one that was sleeping, didn’t it, Rainbow Dash?”
The cyan pegasus looked ready to refute the fashionista’s analysis, but Shining Armor spoke up, “Look, I really don’t think we have time to be dealing with fully-grown dragons right now. We should find Pinkie and make sure she’s okay; once we’ve found her, we can figure out how to get out of this area and what our next move is, okay?” Sonic and the others agreed with this and they moved through the remains of the castle structure, soon coming out on the other side.
A short while later, the group was still looking for Pinkie, even after searching another piece of the old castle remains and crossing several pieces of land that stuck out of the lake’s water. The lake’s shores had been relatively empty so far; evidently the inhabitants had taken shelter when they heard the Mist Dragon after all. The group came to a stop on a stone bridge and Twilight put a hoof to her mouth, calling, “Pinkie!”
Applejack joined in, “Pinkie Pie, can ya hear us?!”
Spike asked, “Where could she be? We have to have come pretty far by now…”
Sonic pointed forward as he finished crossing to the other side, “That arch over there… That’s where I ran into the Mist Dragon.”
Spike and the ponies joined him on the lakeshore, just a short distance away from the bridge. “Really? I-Is there anywhere else we can look for Pinkie?” Fluttershy asked.
Sonic crossed his arms, “Not really. We’ve just about covered the whole enchilada.” He looked over at Twilight and noticed she seemed really nervous about something. “What’s eating you?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Twilight realized that the question was directed at her and straightened up, trying to look as if nothing was bothering her. “Uh, nothing, nothing,” she replied, though she couldn’t stop her thoughts turning to that word.
Rainbow groaned, “Ugh! This is just like Pinkie! You want to get away from her, she knows exactly where you’re going! You want to find her… well, she usually shows up right in front of you. But sometimes she doesn’t!”
Cadance looked around worryingly, “How could we have not seen her yet? Out here, she should be easy to see…”
Shining said, “If she really came out this far, she must’ve been really moving. Or maybe she…” He was cut off when they all heard the sound of someone spitting something out coming from behind them, accompanied by the sound of dripping water.
Everyone turned around to see Pinkie’s head, neck, and front legs sticking out of the water next to the shore, somehow wearing a snorkel and an eye mask. She noticed everyone looking at her and smiled happily, “Hi!”
Rainbow flew over to her, nearly getting up in her face as she demanded, “Where were you?! What were you doing?!”
Pinkie simply smiled, “Looking for treasure, silly! I figured there HAS to be a lot of interesting things around here, and there are! Like look at this!” She reached her hooves into the water and pulled them back out with a sword between them, causing Rainbow to yelp and quickly move back to avoid being, at the very least, poked by it. It appeared to be a double-edged broadsword with a brown grip and guard, but the blade itself was cracked and rusty. “I found this by a tree on some stones near here! Can you believe some silly billy left it there?!” she exclaimed.
Sonic pointed at the sword as he said, “Technically, that’s mine, Pinkie. That’s Clarent, the sword I was given for my training, and I left it at that spot you mentioned because that’s where I moved up to a regular sword.”
Pinkie paddled with her back legs over to the shore, Rainbow following behind her. She shifted the sword to her right hoof as she stepped out and held it out to Sonic as she spoke, “You should remember to take your things with you, Sonic! And you should take better care of them; the pointy side looks like it could break easily!”
Sonic took the sword in his right hand and looked down at it as he held it pointing to the side, his left hand under the blade. “It was actually like this when I got it, Pinkie,” he said.
Twilight asked, “Probably a good thing you only used it for training then, right?” Sonic shrugged and nodded in reply.
Shining looked at Sonic and asked, “You didn’t know how to use a sword before?”
Sonic looked up at him as he said, “I didn’t know how to use one PROPERLY. I don’t usually use weapons like this.” He then turned and pointed with Clarent towards the arch as he said, “Anyway, that’s where we have to go.”
Pinkie’s mane and tail suddenly puffed back up to their usual curly state, surprising everyone and sending her mask and snorkel flying. “Ooh, where are we going?!” she asked.
Sonic looked at her as he said, “I managed to figure out where we are exactly while we were looking for you, so now I know which way to go. I know how to get out of the forest that way, and from there it shouldn’t be too far to civilization.”
Rainbow asked, “Aren’t we already close to a town or something here?”
Sonic replied, “I think so, but the city outside of this forest is where we should go first.”
Rarity asked, “There’s a city out there?”
Sonic nodded, “Yep. Capital of the Grand Kingdom, to be exact. It’s going to be a bit of a hike, but it shouldn’t take long for us to get there.”
Cadance said, “Well, as usual, you seem to know your way around, Sonic, so… lead on!” Sonic nodded and started walking towards the brick arch, Spike and the ponies following close behind. After passing through the arch, they soon passed by the spot where Pinkie had found the old sword, the other Equestrians noting that something about the area seemed special, but Sonic kept moving. He led them over a few broken bridges and raised grassy spots before they reached another shoreline, where they soon headed into the trees around the lake.
As they walked, they began to notice that the mist was getting thinner and thinner until it was gone completely. Not long afterwards, they came to the end of the trees, where they found themselves on a vast plain. Sonic led the group to the northeast, sticking to the grassy area in the hopes that it would make the walking less demanding.
As they were climbing a particularly high hill, Rarity whined, “How much longer now, Sonic?”
Sonic, who was close to cresting the hill, sighed, “I told you, Rarity, it won’t be much longer now. We’re just about…” As he reached the top of the hill, he came to a stop as he looked off into the distance, the others stopping and looking up at him. A moment later, he said, “Ah-ha! Come on!” He broke into a run down the hill, the others reaching the top of the hill after a second later and seeing what looked like a large castle off in the distance before running to catch up with him.
Sonic soon came to a stop on top of a rise and changed his grip on his sword, standing it up while holding it, the others soon catching up with him and standing to his right. At this point, they were close enough to see the structure clearly. Now they could see that the castle was actually built on the peak of a mountain, with various buildings underneath it winding up to the castle itself. “Is that it?” Shining asked.
Sonic nodded, “Yep, that’s it, all right. The city of Camelot.”
Twilight looked at him, “CAM-elot?”
Sonic nodded again, “Mm-hmm. Like I said, it’s the capital of the Grand Kingdom, and lots of well-off people make their home here. Kind of like Canterlot, huh?”
Pinkie smiled, “Hey, yeah!”
Fluttershy said, “It’s amazing.”
Applejack shrugged, “Doesn’t look that big from here. Ah’m sure that’ll change once we get up there.”
Twilight said, “From here, it kind of looks like the castle is on top of a giant tree!”
Rarity sighed, “A castle on a tree, darling? It is nice to imagine, but that seems unlikely…”
Rainbow glanced at Sonic as she asked, “So, why do we need to come here, Sonic? Someone you know that can help us live here too?” When he didn’t answer right away, Rainbow turned her head to get a better look and noticed the contemplative look on his face. “Sonic?” she said a little louder, prompting the others to look at him too.
Sonic looked up at Camelot Castle as he ran through the possibilities in his head. “Well, maybe… No, because one of them would’ve been there in that case… But then who…?” he muttered to himself.
“Uh, Equestria to Sonic? Hello?!” Rainbow exclaimed as she hovered in front of him, waving a hoof in front of his face.
After a moment, Sonic shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, “Guess it can’t be helped.”
Applejack asked, “What can’t be helped?”
As he looked up again, Sonic replied, “You’ll find out soon enough.” He took Clarent in a normal grip and looked at the others as he said, “I’m gonna run on ahead and find out what’s going on. When you all get to the city, come to the castle. I’ll be there.” Without another word, he suddenly took off, running around Rainbow and heading straight for the city.
“Wha- Sonic!” Twilight called, but he was already out of earshot.
Shining shook his head, “What’s he up to…?”
Cadance spoke, “He must need to clear things up with the Grand Kingdom’s ruler, like how he did with King Shahryar.”
Applejack said, “Well, this time, he actually wants us to meet him there. Let’s not keep him waitin’.” With that, Spike jumped up onto Twilight’s back as she and the other ponies ran after Sonic, heading for the spot where his blur started going up the mountain.
Once they were on the trail up the mountain, the ponies were able to go up it at a steady rate. It wasn’t long before they reached drawbridge and gate that marked the entrance to Camelot. Upon passing through the gate, everyone stopped and looked around in wonder. Unlike the smooth, bright buildings and streets in Canterlot, the brickwork that made up Camelot seemed darker and more visible, and the buildings themselves seemed to be built closer together, resulting in narrower streets. Still, even though they had just entered the city, it felt a little bit like home to the Equestrians.
After Spike hopped off of Twilight’s back, the group began to move again. As they wandered the city’s streets looking for the path leading up to the castle, they passed by the various inhabitants. Many of them were green elf-like creatures wearing green cloaks, though there were some regular humans here and there as well, and they were all either walking along or huddled in small groups along the sides of the streets or, in the market area, close to the stalls.
“Look at all these people. It really is just like Canterlot,” Shining said softly.
Cadance nodded, “Yeah. I wonder why hardly anyone is looking at us, though. I guess I thought we’d attract some attention, being new here and all.”
Fluttershy murmured, “I-I’m glad they’re not looking at us…”
Pinkie bounced merrily, “That’s because they’re excited about something! Check out those smiles; something must be happening today!”
Applejack glanced at a pair of elves walking past and noted that the pair did have happy smiles on their faces like Pinkie had said. “Wonder if that’s why Sonic ran on ahead. We’d better get up to that castle quick!” she suggested.
“How do we get there, though?” Rainbow asked. She spread her wings and flapped them a bit, hovering above the group as they came to a stop and she said, “Everything in this city is so close together and made so weird, I think I could fly up and still not know how to get there on hoof!”
Rarity sighed, “I must confess, this city is a bit confusing. I guess we couldn’t expect its layout to be exactly the same as Canterlot’s.”
Fluttershy suggested, “Maybe someone here could give us directions to the castle?”
Twilight nodded, “Good idea, Fluttershy! …Uh, who should we ask?” Suddenly, she felt tugging on her left foreleg and looked down to see Spike looking up at her urgently. “What is it, Spike?” she asked. He turned and pointed to her left; she and the other ponies looked to see he was pointing at what appeared to be a shop nestled between two buildings near a set of stairs. They quickly saw what had gotten the baby dragon so excited. There was a sign shaped like a shield on a wooden post outside of the shop, and on the sign was what appeared to be a wizard’s staff with two fox tails on both sides. “Oh…” Twilight breathed as she realized what Spike was thinking.
The baby dragon nodded, “Yeah. Do you think…?”
Shining spoke, “Well, Ali Baba knew him. If it is him, then maybe they know each other in this world too. If nothing else, we can at least stop in to ask for directions.” With that, the group started walking towards the shop.
Twilight, Spike, Shining, Cadance, Rainbow, and Applejack were the first ones to step into the small shop, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rarity peering in to make sure there was enough room before they walked in too. They looked around; there was a front counter directly in front of them that had barrels behind and next to it, some with swords sticking out of the top. The wall behind the counter had a rack that was filled with various tools and the sign from outside was hanging in front of it. In the back to the left they could see a forge and a fire going, but there didn’t appear to be anyone besides them.
Twilight called, “Uh, hello?”
A familiar voice responded from back near the forge, “Welcome! I’ll be just a moment!”
Rainbow smiled, “Yeah, that’s Tails’ voice, all right.”
The group waited patiently, and a second later, a familiar two-tailed fox cub came out a hidden backroom near the forge. He wore a pair of yellow goggles with a brown strap and blue lenses around his forehead, a blue sleeveless shirt over a long-sleeved white shirt, a tan apron with a two fox tail design near the bottom, a sky blue mitt over his left glove, and red and white shoes with a grayish ring around the top. He had a small mallet in a holder on his right hip, and he was looking down at the brown scabbard in his hands, which contained a sword that had a gold, silver, bronze, and ruby hilt.
As he turned and walked towards the front counter, he spoke, “Sorry about the wait. I was getting this blade out of the back. I was tasked with taking care of it. It’s the most amazing thing to ever come into my shop!” As he finished speaking, he came to a stop near the front counter and finally looked up. His happy expression quickly changed to one of bewilderment as he saw who had stepped into his shop. An awkward moment of silence followed before he shifted the sword to his left hand and pointed at the ponies and baby dragon with his right hand and a sheepish smile, “Okay, maybe SECOND most amazing thing to ever come into my shop.”
Rarity stammered, “I… suppose that’s to be taken as a compliment.”
The Tails lookalike straightened up, “Oh, absolutely!” He placed the sword he was holding on the counter, though he kept his left hand clutched around the scabbard as he continued, “I’ve had lots of customers come into my shop, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen a Unicorn, a Pegasus… and a baby dragon.” He added the last as he noticed Spike standing next to Twilight. He then looked at Cadance and asked, “And… are you both, miss? And royalty?”
Cadance nodded, “Yes, I am. I’m an alicorn princess.”
The fox asked, “Alicorn? But I thought… well, never mind what I thought. I’m sure you would know better than I, Princess…?”
Cadance answered, “Cadance. I am Princess Cadance.” She noticed the cub looked like he was about to bow and quickly said, “Oh, but you don’t have to… It’s fine, really! I… When I’m out like this, I don’t expect anyone to bow. I’m even fine with not being called princess.”
The fox replied, “I understand… Cadance?”
Cadance nodded, “Yes. And you are…?”
The boy smiled, “You can just call me Smithy.”
Applejack asked, “‘Smithy’?”
The fox nodded, “Yep. As you can see, it’s my craft.” He gestured to his shop with his right hand as he explained, “I’m a blacksmith, or, more accurately, a metalsmith. Whether it’s combining different materials together into something new, reforging a blade, or making one of my own creations, I take things and make them into something better!” He then asked, “So, is there anything I can help you all with?”
Shining spoke, “You sound and look like you’re a real expert in what you do, Smithy. It’s a shame we don’t have time or anything for you to show off your skills. We were actually wondering if you knew how to get to Camelot Castle?”
Smithy’s eyes brightened, “You’re going up to the castle? Hey, that’s great!” He took the blade he was holding in both hands again, “I was actually about to go up to the castle to deliver this sword! We could all go together!”
Fluttershy smiled, “That sounds wonderful, Smithy.”
Pinkie chimed in, “Yes, indeedy!”
Smithy nodded, “All right! Let me just lock up here, and we’ll go.” Spike and the ponies turned and walked out of the shop, turning to look once they were all out to see Smithy pull the door to his shop closed, pulling a set of keys out of his apron and using one to lock the door. He then put the keys back in his apron and gestured for the group to follow him up the nearby set of stairs.
As they walked, Smithy got to know everyone’s names and a little bit about each of them. As they left the stone streets of the city and walked along the dirt path leading up to the castle, Rainbow asked him, “So you come up to the castle often, Smithy? Is that why you knew about that shortcut you showed us?”
The fox nodded, “Yeah, on occasion. I do take orders for swords from the castle guards, especially from the Knights of the Round Table.”
Spike asked, “‘The Knights of the Round Table’?”
Smithy nodded, “Yeah. You’ve never heard of them?”
Twilight spoke up, “Uh, we’re, uh… We’re not from around here. We come from Equestria, which is PRETTY far away from the Grand Kingdom.”
Smithy replied, “I see. Well, the Knights of the Round Table are the greatest swordsmen in all the land. They personally work with the king, they’re incredibly loyal, and they have the most amazing swords!”
Applejack chuckled, “Heh, is that because you made their swords?”
Smithy replied, “Well, I’ve made quite a few blades for them, but only at their request. The swords they already had are nearly as amazing as this one. I know a good blade when I see one.”
Shining spoke, “I don’t doubt that. You must be well-known in the Grand Kingdom.”
Smithy blushed, “Well, I have heard people say I’m the best in all the land. I’m not entirely sure about that.”
Fluttershy said, “Well, I’m sure you’re very good at what you do. You wouldn’t be making swords for the king’s guard if you weren’t.”
Smithy smiled, “Thanks.” There was a moment of silence before he asked, “Say, I never asked, why are you all going to Camelot Castle?”
Twilight answered, “A friend of ours asked us to meet him there.”
Smithy looked at her, “A friend? I thought you said you weren’t from around here.”
Twilight replied, “We’re not. We just met him recently in Equestria. Maybe you know him?”
Smithy asked, “What does he look like?”
Twilight answered slowly, “Well, he’s blue, spiky, he runs really fast…”
Smithy’s eyes lit up again, “Oh yeah, I know who you’re talking about! Everyone in Camelot is excited to hear he’s back! You know him personally?”
Cadance replied, “Yes. You must know him quite well too.”
Smithy gestured to the sword in his hands, “I first met him when he came into my shop to have his blade sharpened. He would then stop in from time to time to bring me materials to forge new blades with.” He looked down at the sword, “I know what I was told, but I figure he’s going to want his sword back. That’s why, when I heard the townspeople talking, I decided I should deliver it myself.”
Pinkie piped up, “That’s really sweet of you, ‘Smithster’! And look, the castle’s right in front of us!” Indeed, the slope they were on began to level out up ahead, at the end of which was surely the entryway in the castle’s walls to the courtyard.
Reaching the end of the path, they found that the entryway was guarded by two human soldiers, both clad in gray armor and holding spears. As the group approached, the guards moved close together and crossed their spears, essentially blocking the entrance. “Halt!” they both said, and the group complied. The two guards looked at Smithy and the one on the left spoke, “Smithy, why have you come here? And what is this… entourage you have brought with you?”
The fox stepped forward slightly and held up the sword in his hands as he said, “I have come to return the king’s sword.” He then lowered his hands and gestured to Spike and the ponies, “And they have told me they are friends with the king and he requested that they meet him here.”
The two guards began whispering to each other while the Equestrians stared at Smithy’s back in confusion. Was he talking about Sonic? Before any of them could say anything, the two guards stepped aside and the one on the left this time said, “His Highness is in the courtyard. You may go about your business, Smithy.” The fox bowed and walked past them into the entrance.
After he passed them, the guards looked back at the group and the right one said, “And as for the rest of you.” Some of the ponies expected them to say they couldn’t enter or demand proof, but the guards simply bowed. “Welcome to Camelot Castle, esteemed delegates of Equestria. We hope you enjoy your stay.” Despite their confusion continuing to grow, the ponies and Spike awkwardly followed after Smithy.
Upon reaching the castle’s inner walls, the group was surprised by the courtyard. The stone path they were on led directly to the front doors of the castle, the grass on both sides of the path appearing to go all the way to the back of the castle. Small fields of flowers, small hedges, and other plants dotted the grass at various spots, adding color and variety to the sea of green.
Looking off to the left, they saw Smithy approaching Sonic, who was holding Clarent and standing near two knights that looked like Knuckles and Blaze. Much like their counterparts in the Arabian Nights, the knights had the basic physical appearance of Sonic’s friends, however, as they were knights, they were both clad in armor. Knuckles’ counterpart’s armor and helmet were a crimson color and he had two small swords sheathed at his hips while Blaze’s counterpart wore gray armor (save for the dark pink caps of her shoes) and had a rapier sheathed at her left hip.
As the Equestrians approached the small gathering, the two knights quickly took notice of them. The Knuckles lookalike drew his swords and held them up, quickly leaping in front of Sonic to Blaze’s counterpart’s right as he demanded, “Who goes there?!” The group quickly came to a stop at this.
Blaze’s lookalike, meanwhile, seemed more shocked at the sight of the group than anything. “Smithy, what…?” she started, seemingly unable to find the words to finish her question.
Before anything else could be said, Sonic stepped forward and spoke, “Sir Gawain, Sir Percival, relax. These are the new friends I was telling you and Lancelot about.”
Blaze’s counterpart, Percival, looked back at the group, seeming much calmer now. “These are the Equestrian delegates?” she asked, to which Sonic nodded in reply.
“Aw, there I go again,” Gawain groaned as he lowered his swords, quickly sheathing them. He then looked at the group and said, “I apologize if I scared any of you. It was not my intention; I was only thinking that harm might be coming to our king.”
Shining spoke, “Uh, that’s all right, uh, Sir Gawain. No harm done.”
Sonic stepped between Gawain and Percival and looked at Smithy, the fox kneeling as he stepped forward. “Smithy, what are you doing here? Did you help my friends?” he asked as he pressed Clarent’s tip against the ground.
Smithy looked up and answered, “Yes I did, Your Highness. I have also come to return your sword.” He then held out the scabbard as he stood up, presenting it to the blue hedgehog.
Sonic leaned Clarent against his side as he took the scabbard in both hands from the fox; stepping back slightly, he used his right hand to grasp the hilt, starting to pull the sword out. He quickly recognized the gold ornamentation that stretched down to the blade, especially when the part on the middle of the hilt slid down to reveal a face. “Hey, old friend,” Sonic whispered, the face on the sword smiling slightly as it looked up at him. He then pulled the rest of the longsword out and, after adjusting his right arm slightly, handed the scabbard back to Smithy, saying, “Thanks for making this delivery, Smithy. I was wondering where he was.”
The fox took the scabbard in his right hand and bowed slightly as he said, “I have kept him safe as I was ordered to, my king.” Standing up straight, he eyed the blade at Sonic’s right side and said, “That blade may be cracked and rusted, but I can tell it is of good quality. I can repair it for you if you want.”
Sonic looked down at the Clarent at that, “Oh, right.” He took it in his left hand and held it up, looking it over for a moment before looking back at Smithy and saying, “I don’t know. I’ll pay you, obviously, but are you sure? I mean, I’m sure you’re busy and all.”
The fox replied, “It’ll be no trouble. As for pay, there’s no need; this is only slightly more work than the sharpening job you first came to my shop for. I will gladly do it free of charge.”
Sonic looked at him for a moment, considering his words before saying, “Well, all right, then. I’ll take you up on your offer.” He spun the Clarent around into a reverse grip and pointed its tip towards the scabbard, Smithy holding it up with both hands for him. The blade slid in easily, nearly fitting into the scabbard perfectly.
Tucking the scabbard under his left arm, the Smithy bowed again, placing his right hand on his stomach as he said, “I will bring it back once I have completed the repairs, my king.” He then stood up straight and turned, walking back towards the entryway.
As the fox walked away, Spike and the ponies turned back to Sonic, their confusion clearly evident in their expressions. “Okay, what the HAY was THAT?!” Applejack blurted out.
“Why is he acting like you’re a king?! Hay, why does it seem like everyone in this world is calling you a king?!” Rainbow added.
Both Percival and Gawain were confused by these outbursts. “What is this all about?” Gawain asked.
Percival looked at Sonic, “Do they… not know?”
Sonic glanced back over his shoulder, “Uh, I guess it’s a detail that never really came up before, so…” He shrugged and looked back at the group, rubbing the side of his head with his left hand as he started, “I don’t really know how to explain this, guys. Kind of an interesting story, though. You see, the last time I came to this world…”
Pinkie suddenly piped up, “You were summoned by a wizard because the king of the Grand Kingdom at the time had become a tyrant and she needed your help to stop him, so you trained to become a knight and gathered followers while searching for a way to defeat the king, but as it turned out, that king was a fake and the wizard was planning to use his magic source of power for her own reasons, so you teamed up with the Knights of the Round Table to stop her and then you found out that YOU were actually the real king all along, but you couldn’t stay forever, so now that you’re back, that means you’re the king again, but it also means there’s trouble in the kingdom again!” She finished with a big intake of breath, followed by a squee and a big toothy smile.
All of her friends stared at her with open mouths and varying levels of bewilderment and concern. Sonic, Percival, and Gawain stared at her too, but their mouths had fallen open in shock, shock that clearly showed on their faces. And though nobody would have seen it, the face on Sonic’s sword bore a similar shocked expression.
Rainbow rubbed the back of her head with her left hoof. “…Yeah, I’m gonna guess that’s NOT what he was going to say, Pinkie,” she said.
“Nay,” a new male voice spoke up, everyone turning to look at Sonic, who was looking down at the sword in his right hand. With a quick flick of his wrist, he flipped it over, holding it in a reverse grip so the face in the hilt faced the group. Its eyes settled on Pinkie after a moment and its mouth moved, “The pink maiden is quite correct.”
Rarity, unsurprisingly, freaked out a bit at this. “That sword can TALK?!?” she screeched.
While Spike and everypony looked on in surprise, Sonic nodded, “Right, introductions.” He released his grip on his sword’s hilt and it dropped for a second before stopping before its tip hit the grass, the sword hovering as it glanced up at Sonic. The blue hedgehog looked over at his new friends and said, “Guys, this is Caliburn, the sacred sword that decides who is ruler, and you’re acquainted with Sir Percival and Sir Gawain.” He then looked between Caliburn and the knights, “These are my new friends from Equestria: Twilight Sparkle, her assistant Spike, her brother and sister-in-law Shining Armor and Princess Cadance, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and of course, Pinkie Pie.” He gestured to each one as he said their names.
Gawain and Percival bent forward slightly, the former saying, “An honor.”
Caliburn, who was tipped forward in as much a bow as a sword could manage, added, “Indeed.”
As they all straightened up, Percival looked at Pinkie and asked, “Pray tell, Lady Pie, if Sir Sonic did not mention before that he is the true King Arthur, how did you know all that?”
Pinkie shrugged, “Just a hunch!”
Applejack spoke up, “Wait a minute! ‘Sir Sonic’? ‘King Arthur’? Ah’m still confused here!” Spike and the other ponies’ expressions, save for Pinkie Pie’s, indicated that she wasn’t the only one.
“Do none of you know the tale of King Arthur?” Gawain asked.
Twilight thought for a moment before answering, “I’m not sure there are any stories in Equestria that specifically mention that name. I’ve read a lot of tales, so there may be a similar story in our world, but if so, I never thought of it as anything more than a fantasy.”
Percival spoke, “Well, ‘tis quite real in this world, Lady Sparkle, as Caliburn and your pink friend can certainly attest to.”
Fluttershy looked at Sonic, “Everything Pinkie said was…?” Sonic nodded as she trailed off.
Shining said, “I’m not sure I caught everything she said…”
Gawain spoke, “Well, we can do better than tell you. We can show you as well.” Both he and Percival turned and started walking towards the castle entrance, Sonic following the two with Caliburn floating at his side and Spike and the ponies following behind them.
As they entered the castle, Sonic, Spike, and the ponies came to a stop behind Gawain and Percival and looked around the foyer in wonder. They had stepped onto a soft red carpet that led to a wide set of stone stairs, where the carpet split and went to the right and left, no doubt leading to other parts of the castle The rest of the floor was not covered, revealing a tile pattern consisting of alternating blue and purple. The stairs themselves were all carpeted similarly, and at the top, there was a smaller set of stairs on both the right and left sides beneath a large stained glass window. The picture in the glass seemed to be of the Grand Kingdom, as Camelot Castle and the outlying areas appeared to be shown.
Shining noticed Sonic seemed as amazed as the rest of them. “You seem surprised by this place, Sonic,” he noted.
The blue hedgehog looked back at the stallion and said, “Well, I am, Shining. I’ve never been in this castle before.”
He turned to look at Caliburn as the sword spoke, “True. You returned home when this castle was still being raised up. As for the old castle, you only saw the dungeons when you were freeing the prisoners there and the Knight’s Passage when it was being destroyed.”
Twilight noted, “What I’m really amazed about is how much this looks like Canterlot Castle.”
Percival looked back at her, “CANTER-lot?”
The lavender unicorn nodded, “It’s the capital of Equestria, and it’s on a mountainside, almost like your Camelot.”
Percival replied, “Really? Fascinating…”
Gawain nodded, “Yeah. Maybe you’ll notice other similarities as we go.” He started walking forward, everyone walking after him. He led them up the stairs and then up the stairs to the right, leading them down a hall.
As they walked, Rarity looked at a vase on a table and a statue of a fully-armored soldier along the side of the hall before noting, “For appearing so… unassuming on the outside, Camelot Castle certainly is vibrant on the inside.”
Percival nodded, “It is pleasing to know you think that, Lady Rarity. When arrangements were made to rebuild the castle, we wished to preserve the memory of the old castle as much as we could. Even under a rule of fear, the old Camelot Castle was home to many, including us Knights of the Round Table.”
As the group approached a large set of red stone double doors guarded on the sides by two human soldiers with spears, Gawain spoke, “Even so, we wanted to keep the memory of not only recent events, but also our kingdom’s history alive as we made plans. Certain things were changed or added as the new castle became a reality.” The two knights came to a stop in front of the doors and turned to look at the group. “And what we chose to add here, in the throne room, is what we want to show you all,” Gawain said. He turned to the guards and nodded to them, both of the guards moving to push the doors open.
Once the doors were open all the way, the group peered inside. The red carpet in the middle of the room ran all the way up to the far end of the room, where a tall throne sat upon a dais for the ruler to sit upon while receiving an audience, three tapestries that were blue, yellow, and red in color hanging from the ceiling above it. There were a number of windows and decorations on both sides of the room, and behind the dais were two openings leading outside, no doubt to a balcony. As they all walked in and came to a stop close to the doors, Spike looked off to the left and something about the closest window caught his eye. “Hey, is that…?” he started.
Caliburn turned to look at him and, after a moment, said, “Very good, young Spike. You appear to possess a keen eye.”
Spike replied, “Uh, thanks.” He thought to himself, “Wow, it’s really weird having a weapon talk to you. Talking weapons… Wait, is that really the strangest thing I’ve seen today?”
Percival spoke, “As your young squire has observed, these stained glass windows you see are what we wanted to show you.” The Equestrians were reminded of the throne room in Canterlot Castle at this. As they started walking again, Percival explained, “These were all made to record moments in our kingdom’s history. The former King Arthur’s rise, the knighting and exploits of the Knights of the Round Table, the king receiving the sacred sword Excalibur…” As they walked, Cadance noticed that Shining Armor had stopped and was looking up at one window nervously. She quickly saw why; it showed a familiar black and red hedgehog, identified at the bottom as Sir Lancelot.
Shining snapped out of his nervousness when Gawain announced, “But as grand as all those tales are, this is where Sir Sonic’s tale begins.” Shining quickly walked to join the others, receiving a loving nuzzle from Cadance as they caught up. They looked up at a window on the left. It seemed to depict a juxtaposition, as near the top was the upper body of a knight clad in gold armor while near the bottom, upside-down as if it was a reflection, was the same knight but with his armor more black than gold. And in between the two was a long scabbard with ornate designs on it.
“What is this showing?” Cadance asked.
Percival spoke, “When our king was given Excalibur, it was a gift that was meant to make him great, but looking back now, it ultimately revealed how false he was.”
Gawain explained, “Excalibur had a blade capable of cutting through anything, and its scabbard granted whoever held it the power of immortality.”
Shining asked, “Immortality? It allowed him to live forever?”
Sonic answered, “Maybe. I got more of the ‘you can’t hurt me’ kind of immortality from it, but it might’ve been possible for him to live a really long life.”
Gawain went on, “One day, Excalibur was lost, and the king became corrupted by the power of the scabbard. This depicts his transformation from a kind and wise ruler to a tyrant who spread fear across his kingdom, even allying with the Knights of the Underworld to spread his rule as far as possible.”
Cadance sighed, “How awful and sad that he became corrupted by such a power.”
Rainbow looked ahead to a window showing the three knights bowing to the black knight and asked, “And you guys still followed him, even though he had changed?”
Gawain replied, “We are knights. It is not part of our duty to question our king or his decisions. That’s what kept us together at the time, anyway.”
Percival spoke, “Amidst it all, Merlina, granddaughter of the wizard Merlin, who had prepared King Arthur’s tale, tried to take the scabbard for herself, but between the king, the Knights of the Underworld, and us Knights of the Round Table, she could not take it by herself.” As they started walking again, she went on, “Thus she summoned Sir Sonic to our world to aid her.”
Sonic looked up at the window showing Merlina receiving him as he came down in a beam of light and thought to himself, “Yeah, that’s totally NOT how that happened. Though I’m sure somebody told the weaver to show it that way.”
Gawain took over, “As he traveled the kingdom and became stronger, he confronted each of us in battle. He bested us all, but chose to spare us, taking only our swords. As it turned out, the swords that I, Sir Percival, and Sir Lancelot held were the key to stopping the scabbard’s magic. With them, he was able to strike the king down, but like us, he didn’t know that he was a fake or what Merlina planned to use the scabbard for.”
Fluttershy looked up at the window showing Sonic holding the scabbard out to Merlina in front of the three knights before looking at the hedgehog and asking, “What did she want it for?”
Sonic answered after a moment, “She wanted to make a never-ending kingdom.”
The room was silent for a moment before Twilight asked, “…Was that a… bad thing? A kingdom like that?”
Sonic turned to look at her, “A kingdom that involved destroying the one that already existed in order to be realized? A kingdom that would result in the death of nearly everyone in the old kingdom? A kingdom that covered the entire planet? Yeah, I’d say it was a bad thing.” His tone softened as he continued, “Don’t get me wrong; Merlina’s heart was in the right place, but she got so wrapped up in the fate she saw for this kingdom, over a vision of the future, that it all got twisted. She had good intentions, but at the time, she was only thinking of herself.”
Caliburn added, “What she became when she was in possession of the scabbard reflected how much she had let it set her path for her. She wished to sacrifice countless others to escape her own sorrow, to create a world that never changed so it suited her needs. Does that sound like a world you would wish to be a part of?”
Twilight stared wide-eyed for a moment answering, “No. I see your point.” Despite the differences present, she couldn’t help her thoughts turning to the Future Twilight incident as she glanced downwards.
She looked up when Gawain said, “It sure didn’t look good at the time.” He gestured to the next window, “This depicts the Dark Hollow as it destroyed old Camelot Castle and began spreading its roots across the kingdom.”
Applejack asked, “What’d y’all do?”
Percival answered, “We were rallied by Sir Sonic and Lady Nimue to try to stop it.”
Twilight asked, “Nimue?”
Percival nodded, “She’s also known as the Lady of the Lake. She’s the one who gave King Arthur Excalibur and its scabbard. We tried to contain the Dark Hollow, but the scabbard’s power was too great. Sonic returned to the castle to stop Merlina, and through his determination to not give up and our swords, Caliburn was revealed to be Excalibur. They were able to stop Merlina, and afterwards, Caliburn told us that he determined who our ruler is.”
Rarity looked at the walls ahead and asked, “Where are the windows for these events? Are they still being made?”
Gawain replied, “No, there are no windows for them. Look over there” He pointed above the throne and everyone noticed three tapestries hanging from the ceiling. Percival and Gawain moved to stand in front at Sonic’s right side, the latter saying, “We decided to keep these separate because we felt that they best represent our kingdom’s ideals.”
Percival pointed to the yellow tapestry on the left, which showed the knights holding up their swords together, and said, “That one represents our shared devotion to the king, the kingdom, and its people.” She pointed to the red one on the right, which showed a golden armor-clad Sonic pointing Excalibur at the Dark Queen, “This depicts Sir Sonic’s will to never give up, even in the face of impossible odds and above the code of chivalry, an example that we all aspire to.”
Gawain pointed at the center blue tapestry, which was held slightly above the other two, and spoke, “This one is the most special, though.” The tapestry showed a carnation in Sonic’s right hand, seemingly handing the flower over to a pair of human hands. “Despite all she had done, Sir Sonic forgave Merlina and offered her kindness and words of wisdom. It’s special because such forgiveness was lost in our kingdom when the old king changed,” he explained.
Percival spoke, “Believing in others and embracing that belief by forgiving failure… We were not changed, but in keeping with our duty, we had forgotten that, and Sir Sonic reminded us.”
Gawain looked over at Sonic with a small smile, “He showed us that, yes, there is more to being a knight than just serving a king.” Sonic blinked at this and then returned the smile.
Percival smiled at him as well, but then blinked as she remembered something. “Sir Sonic, there actually is something else that was added. You might want to see it,” she said before she and Gawain moved towards the opening to the right. Sonic, Caliburn, Spike, and the ponies followed behind them, curious. Stepping outside, they found themselves on a balcony overlooking the back of the courtyard. They joined Percival and Gawain near the center of the balcony, and as they looked over the courtyard, they saw it.
In the center of the courtyard, in the middle of a spot cleared out for it, was a large stone statue of Sonic mostly clad in his suit of armor. The only thing he wasn’t wearing was his helmet, which was tucked under his left arm. His face was one of determination, and he was pointing Excalibur towards the castle as if he were giving an army orders or challenging his enemy to come face him.
“That’s a… nice touch?” Shining shrugged, not sure what else to say.
“We swear, we did not commission for that to be made. Even Lancelot said no,” Percival said to Sonic.
Gawain nodded, “We tried to convince the sculptor not to do it. We told him that he didn’t have to, that it was unnecessary and you wouldn’t like it, but he wouldn’t back off.”
Cadance said, “Well, I think it ties the courtyard together nicely.” She thought to herself, “I really should have the Crystal Ponies make a statue for Spike.”
Sonic leaned on the balcony railing, “Yeah, it’s… great. Glad the sculptor used stone instead of gold or something.” He glanced at Caliburn, “You look good, though.”
The sacred sword replied, “Well, of course I do. Excalibur’s magnificence is unmatched, even in stone.” Sonic rolled his eyes at that.
He then felt something hitting him against his leg and looked down to see it was Spike’s elbow. When he noticed he was being looked at, the baby dragon said, “You’re looking pretty good yourself, you know!”
Rainbow flew around to Sonic’s left side and said, “I’ll say! That armor looks pretty good on you, Big Blue!”
Sonic shrugged, “If you say so.” He grabbed Caliburn’s hilt with his right hand and started walking back inside.
“Sonic, what’s wrong?” Fluttershy asked.
Sonic stopped short of the opening and sighed. He looked back at the others, “Look, I get it. I’m a king in this world, and maybe that’s awesome. Can we talk about something else now, something a little more important?”
As he turned to continue walking, Rarity suddenly appeared right in front of him. She stood up and pressed her hooves against his chest as she got up in his face, a big smile on her face. “More important? Darling, you’re a KING now! What could possibly be more important than that?”
Pinkie popped up next to her, “Yeah, you’re King Sonic now! You know what that means?” Before Sonic could answer, she exclaimed, “It means we’re gonna have a BIG party!” She began to bounce inside as she went on, “It’ll be great! We’ll celebrate your return to the throne, we’ll get everyone in Camelot involved, we’ll invite Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, we’ll – hrk!” She was cut off suddenly by something wrapping around her neck in midair, causing her eyes to shoot open and pop out a bit.
Sonic pressed the fingers on his left hand against his cheek as he muttered, “Oh boy… Talk about lousy timing…” As everyone else peered inside, they saw that Pinkie had been grabbed by a silver metal gauntlet, which was connected to a mostly black arm. They didn’t have to look any further to see that it was Shadow’s counterpart, Sir Lancelot.