Sonic and the Black Knight, Volume Two
The black and red hedgehog lowered his left arm a bit so he could look Pinkie squarely in the eye, keeping his hand steady so he wasn’t squeezing. “May I ask who you are and what you think you’re doing in here?” he asked in a calm voice, though the tone behind it indicated he was expecting an answer.
Pinkie shook her head and then smiled at Lancelot, acting normal despite her surprise a moment ago. “Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie, and I love parties! I’m also good friends with your king, just like my other friends! He told you about us, didn’t he? The guards out front seemed to know!” she spoke.
Lancelot’s eyes shifted to look at Gawain and Percival, the two stepping inside as the former said, “Take it easy, Sir Lancelot. She’s one of the Equestrian delegates. You don’t want to spark an international conflict over this.”
Lancelot looked back at Pinkie as she twisted her head around to look at the echidna, “Conflict? Don’t be silly, Gawain! Equestria’s peaceful now!” She turned back to Lancelot, “And that’s why I want to start preparing a big celebration to welcome the return of your king! Everyone in Camelot’s already excited about him being back; we can go even further and invite everyone in the Grand Kingdom! And of course the rest of our princesses will be there to show how welcoming we are, and there will be – wah!” She was once again cut off by Lancelot, this time due to him suddenly releasing his grip on her, causing her to fall to the floor rump first.
As she looked up at him curiously, the black and red hedgehog placed his right hand on the hilt of the sword sheathed at his side and said, “You’re fortunate I was not on edge when I came in here, otherwise, you might have been on the receiving end of my Chaos Punishment.” He then leaned down, getting close to her face as he continued, “And I suggest you learn to keep that mouth of yours under control. The dungeons have not seen much use since the castle was rebuilt. I would rather not have you quarantined, but I will motion for it if you’re going to continue disturbing the peace.”
He looked up as Rainbow exclaimed, “What’s that supposed to mean?!”
Gawain cut off any sort of exchange the two might have had by stepping forward, walking up to Lancelot and pointing at him with his left fist as he spoke, “What did I tell you, Lancelot? You may not be ‘on edge’, as you said, but you still need to chill out! Just because she’s excited, that’s no reason to say that to her!”
Lancelot countered, “Maybe not now, but she’s already suggested making it known to the entire kingdom that our king is back. How long will it take to get to that point?”
Percival stepped forward, “Sir Lancelot, while I think Sir Gawain and I can both agree that a celebration should not be at the forefront of our minds right now, Lady Pie is simply trying to instill optimism with her ways. We need that in these troubling times.”
Lancelot replied, “I don’t doubt that, Percival, but she still must be reined in. Yes, we are in need of something to be happy about, but her rose-colored glasses are something we can do without. Were it not for Sonic and Merlina, our undying loyalty to the former king would no doubt have led to similar consequences. We all vowed that we would not make that mistake again, and with Merlina still missing, we certainly have no reason to break that vow now.”
As the knights continued talking, Shining focused his attention on Lancelot. Earlier he had looked at the tapestry showing the black hedgehog with fear because he looked like Shadow, but after listening to him just now, the stallion’s mind was beginning to see things differently. Once again, he felt bad about judging Shadow because of his words, but the hedgehog in front of him was showing a side of himself that showed more than just anger and scorn. He knew Lancelot wasn’t the hedgehog that had threatened him before, but if these worlds had shown him anything, it was that the characters that looked like Sonic’s friends had very similar personalities to them, so surely…
He was brought out of his introspection when Cadance turned to Sonic and asked, “What happened to Merlina, Sonic? Do you know?”
Sonic replied, “I don’t, Cadance, and that’s a big problem. See, when I left, I appointed Merlina as ruler in my stead, and from what they were telling me earlier, she’s been a good ruler.” He gestured to the knights, “They said they’ve had to keep her disappearance a secret to everyone while keeping the kingdom running on their own for almost a week now. They’ve clearly managed so far, but as you can probably see, it’s getting to them; they can’t keep going like this.”
Applejack spoke, “Well, they do seem a bit huffy right now, ain’t gonna argue with ya on that, Sonic, and Merlina goin’ missin’ suddenly ain’t good either. But they can get over it and find her if they work together, right? What’s the problem?”
The blue hedgehog replied, “Mainly their history, Applejack. Merlina and I both have had to step in between the knights, especially Gawain and Lancelot, to help them resolve their problems peacefully. Merlina used to be worried about their rivalry signaling the end of this kingdom, but by the time I left, she was stepping between them so that their comradeship didn’t end in an argument. Percival’s still doing what she can to help them, but even she can’t keep it up all the time on her own.”
Twilight asked, “So, in a way, Merlina and the Knights of the Round Table are like a council? They consult each other and try to arrive at the best decision for the kingdom?”
Sonic nodded, “Exactly. That’s why I ran ahead: to find out what’s going on around here. I was hoping Merlina would be here too, but the fact that she’s gone makes this even more urgent. Whatever caused her to disappear is probably also responsible for us ending up here, and we’ve gotta help them figure it out. Not just because Merlina’s magic can help us get back to Equestria, but also because the kingdom and the Knights of the Round Table need a ruler. I thought she would be the best choice for taking care of everything, and so far, it seems like she’s been able to handle all that responsibility.”
Caliburn opened his mouth to speak, but he was stopped when Rarity grabbed Sonic’s left arm with her hooves and said, “Well, now that responsibility falls on you, darling, and the first thing you need to do is look the part!” She wrapped her magic around his arm and then took off towards the doors, using her magic to drag him by the arm!
Percival, Gawain, and Lancelot all heard Sonic and Caliburn’s shout at this action and they stopped their debate, turning to see them being dragged by Rarity. “Wha-?” was all Gawain could utter. Lancelot said nothing; instead, he narrowed his eyes and, with a brief flash of blue, vanished.
The ultimate knight reappeared right in front of the throne room doors, causing Rarity to gasp and plant her hooves on the ground, coming to a stop right in front of him while Sonic had to do the same due to the momentum from being carried through the air, stopping next to her. “And where do you think you’re going with our king, miss?” Lancelot pointedly asked Rarity.
The fashionista replied, “Why, to get him dressed, of course! Like you said, he is your king, and at the moment, he does not look like a king! I will take him to get his kingly dressings and give him a makeover!” Sonic made a face at the unicorn’s words.
Lancelot spoke, “As nice a gesture as that is, our king does not have ‘kingly dressings’. He has not needed any help in being identified as King Arthur, and this is hardly the time for that.” He turned to Sonic, “I was coming to tell you that I have prepared the council chamber so that the Equestrians can join our meeting, sire. We are ready to begin.”
Caliburn nodded, “Ah, so there is to be a council meeting. I was wondering about that. And the delegates from Equestria will be present at this meeting as well? An interesting decision to say the least, Sonic.”
Sonic released Caliburn and let the sword hover before saying, “Well, they’re used to dealing with problems that threaten kingdoms, Caliburn. Twilight and her friends have protected Equestria lots of times both with and without their Elements of Harmony, Spike’s kind of a big hero too, and Shining Armor and Princess Cadance rule over the Crystal Empire. They’re like a council as well, and after everything we’ve seen today, I’d say they’ve definitely earned the right to sit in on this meeting.”
Lancelot said, “Then let us not waste any more time. Get the rest of the delegates and let’s go to the council chamber.”
As he was about to turn around, Rarity exclaimed, “Wait!” When the black hedgehog looked back at her, she asked, “Where is the king’s chamber? You must’ve had that included when the castle was rebuilt, yes?!”
Lancelot raised an eyebrow, “Yes, there is a chamber for our ruler, but it was intended for use by Merlina.” He gestured to his right, “As for where it is, you can reach it if you head that way. Why do you ask?”
Rarity’s horn lit up and her light blue aura wrapped around Sonic’s left arm again. “I apologize, Sir Lancelot, but I simply cannot let such an injustice go! Sonic is a king and he should look like one! I will do this quickly!” She looked back over her shoulder and called, “Spike, I require your aid with this matter, please!”
Her words quickly registered in the baby dragon’s head and he quickly ran across the throne room towards her saying, “Yes, Rarity! Coming! Right away!” As Rarity ran out of the throne room, Sonic tried to grab the door jamb with his right hand, but he soon lost his grip and found himself being dragged down the hallway, looking down at Spike as the dragon tried to keep up with them.
Lancelot growled at this and said, “Get back here!” He took off running after them, Caliburn floating out of the room after him.
Back in the throne room, Gawain, Percival, and the other ponies just stared at the doors, the knights particularly surprised by the scene they just witnessed. “Lady Rarity is… persuasive, isn’t she?” Gawain asked after a moment.
Applejack sighed, “That girl just can’t help herself when it comes to that high class stuff. She’s gotta get involved, gotta be the pony everypony should know.”
Percival spoke, “Well, this presents a problem. We cannot begin the meeting without everyone present, especially a meeting as important as this one.”
Shining Armor looked over at the cat and said, “I can see why it would be important, what with all that talk about Merlina disappearing and the Underworld army.”
Fluttershy asked, “What do we do now?”
Twilight sighed, “I sure wish we knew a little more about the Underworld. It would probably be a good thing to know about going into this meeting…”
Percival thought for a moment before saying, “A capital idea, Lady Sparkle!” When everyone looked at her, she explained, “Even if the king had not said all of you should be present at the meeting, knowledge about the Underworld is invaluable, especially now. While Lady Rarity, Sir Spike, and Sir Lancelot are away with Sir Sonic, I can help you all learn more about it.”
Gawain nodded, “Sounds good, Percival. I’ll leave it to you how best to handle that.” He started to walk towards the doors as he continued, “I’ll go see how Lancelot is doing. I’ll come down to the castle library to find you when we’re actually ready to begin the meeting.”
Percival put her hands on her hips and asked, “How did you know I was intending to take them down to the library, Gawain?”
As he continued walking, Gawain rolled his eyes and smirked as he replied, “Lucky guess.” With that, he hurried out of the throne room to catch up to Lancelot.
Twilight looked at Percival and asked, “There’s a library right here in the castle?”
The lavender cat nodded, “Indeed. I do enjoy visiting it when I get a chance to.” She looked back towards the doors, “I believe Sir Gawain is exaggerating how much time I actually spend there, however.”
Twilight smiled and was about to say something, but Rainbow spoke up first, “Do we really have to go to the library to learn about this Underworld place? I mean, with the Crystal Empire, it was one thing, but this? Geez…”
Percival blinked as she turned to the pegasus, “Well… yes. I feel that would be the best way to go about it. Unless you would rather I simply tell you what I know about it?”
Rainbow groaned, “They both sound boring right now, Percival.”
Percival crossed her arms, “Well, that’s not a healthy attitude, is it, Miss Dash?”
Pinkie suddenly popped up next to Percival and wrapped a leg around her shoulders as she said, “Don’t worry, Perci! Dashie’s just anxious to help Sonic and the kingdom out! She isn’t the Element of Loyalty for nothing, after all!” She turned and began trotting towards the throne room doors, “Come on! I’m sure you can convince her that what you have to show us will make her an even better Element of Loyalty!”
Percival just stared blankly at the pink pony as she trotted away. “‘Perci’?” she mouthed.
Cadance placed a reassuring hoof on the knight’s shoulder and said, “It’s okay. That’s her way of showing she likes you. Please, show us down to the library, erm… Sir Percival?” The lavender cat looked back at the princess and nodded softly, her mind still reeling not only at her apparent new nickname, but also Pinkie’s… odd behavior. They joined the party pony outside the throne room and Percival took point, leading the group in the same direction the others had gone, but taking a different turn than them later on.
After a few minutes of walking, the group stopped outside of the double doors leading into the castle library. Percival looked up at the doors as she said, “We’re here.” She turned around to look at the ponies before continuing, “Before we go in, I must remind you all to keep your voices down while we’re inside.”
Applejack spoke, “Yeah, we’ve all been in a library before, Percival. …Uh, no offense intended.”
Percival replied, “None taken, Applejack. As for why I’m telling you this, it’s because the librarian might not be of the type you are used to. She has been in the library since the days of the former king and as such is intent on taking good care of it.”
Cadance commented, “She must have a lot of passion for her work if she’s still around after everything that’s happened here.”
Percival nodded, “She does. Her passion for this place has led to her getting the title of caretaker as something of a derogatory nickname, but she’s actually quite kind when you get to know her. She simply does not have a good tolerance for troublemakers and loud talkers.” She turned to Pinkie Pie and started, “That being said… Miss Pie, I hate to request this of you, but for the time being, do you think perhaps…?” She was stopped short when Pinkie suddenly gave a salute… as well as a series of motions that started with her zipping her mouth closed and then a series of different motions as everyone stared at her. “Um… what is she doing…?” Percival asked, utterly confused by what she was seeing.
Twilight answered flatly, “She zipped her mouth closed, then locked it with a key, then dug a hole and buried the key, then built a house on top of the hole, and then moved into that house.”
Percival stared at the unicorn blankly. “That seems… a bit excessive,” she said after a moment.
Twilight glanced at Pinkie, who was now smiling a toothy smile, as she replied, “Well… at least it involves her still having her mouth. I’d say that’s better than that time when it was magically removed for a while…”
Again Percival stared at her before saying, “Yes, I would have to agree with you on that.” Deciding not to press the matter further, she turned back to the doors and used her hands to push them open, the ponies following her as she walked into the library.
While Percival began her lesson with the ponies, Gawain found Sonic, Caliburn, and Lancelot standing outside the double doors of Merlina’s private chamber. Sonic was leaning against the wall on one side with Caliburn at his side while Lancelot was standing across from him with his arms crossed. As Gawain approached the two, the black hedgehog turned his head to look at the echidna and simply said, “Gawain.” He raised a hand, waving it in reply as Sonic and Caliburn turned to look at him.
Once he was standing in front of the two, Gawain asked, “So, what’s going on here?”
Sonic answered, “Rarity’s in there with Spike, working. She took my measurements and then pushed me out of the room. Said I was distracting her.”
Gawain nodded, “Ah. At least she didn’t push you out to keep Lancelot company.”
Sonic replied, “He and Caliburn showed up pretty much right afterwards. Wouldn’t be surprised if she did it partly to buy her some time.”
Caliburn looked up at Sonic with a stern gaze, “This is no time to jest, Sonic. You do realize we do not have time for such frivolity, correct?”
Sonic glanced down at his sword and said, “Trust me, Caliburn, I’m well aware of that fact. Let Rarity get this out of her system. She is a lady,” he paused, glancing over at the doors before continuing in a hushed tone, “but she’s not quite the kind of lady she seems to believe she is.”
Lancelot looked at him for a moment before turning his head towards the doors and loudly asking, “What’s your progress, Miss Rarity?”
The white unicorn’s words came through the doors, sounding a bit rushed but as refined as ever, “Not to worry! I’m almost finished! This surely would’ve gone much faster if I had had a better plan in mind and several things from the Carousel Boutique, but a fashion designer learns to adapt! Normally adapting involves trends, but there are other circumstances one can adapt to as well!” A yelp from Spike was heard after she was finished speaking.
“Hm. Bet he’s letting her use him as a pincushion,” Sonic thought aloud.
“Well, if he’s used to having pins in his scales, I’m sure he’s fine. And hopefully she’s as good a seamstress as she makes herself out to be. We had to go through quite a few before we got the staff that we have today,” Gawain said. He looked at Lancelot and asked, “Remember that one seamstress who came to Camelot to work for Merlina, Lancelot?”
The black hedgehog raised his right hand to his face, “You don’t even need to remind me, Gawain. After seeing her designs, I can safely say she was not put out fast enough.”
Caliburn chuckled, “Quite a scene that was, I must admit. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Merlina quite as flustered as she was that day.” Gawain let out a laugh at the memory and, even as he raised his hand to his forehead, a small smile could be seen on Lancelot’s face. Despite not knowing what happened, it was enough to get Sonic smiling as well.
Suddenly, Rarity announced, “I’m finished~!” Sonic glanced towards the doors as the one next to him opened inwards slightly, the blue hedgehog pushing off the wall and using his hand to push it open a little more as he walked inside. Lancelot and Gawain looked at each other, both of them moving with Caliburn into the room to get a better look.
As they stood in the doorway looking inside, the two knights saw that Merlina’s room was exactly as they remembered it. It was a fairly sizable room with a few pieces of furniture in it, the most prominent being the large bed with magenta sheets sitting against the wall opposite the doors with a small wooden nightstand next to it. In addition, there was also a wooden chest with drawers of varying size for the wizard’s clothes and belongings sitting against one wall, a familiar metal glove and mirror resting on top of it. The two knights could see the loom Rarity had been using sitting near the middle of the room and a small dressing area she had set up off to the side. Looking towards the latter, they saw what the unicorn had created.
Rarity had woven a red cape for Sonic, which was attached to a gold shoulder plate that went over the hedgehog’s left shoulder. As she put it on him, they saw that the cape was almost long enough to touch the floor and spread out as it went down, leaving part of his backside exposed. Spike and Caliburn stood off to the side, watching as she moved around Sonic and made sure everything was right. Once she was sure, she trotted around to his front while using her magic to pick up a golden crown that was sitting on the bed. She placed it on top of his forehead and adjusted it a bit before stepping back to admire her work once more.
A moment passed before she smiled, “Perfect! Now you look like a proper king, darling! You have GOT to see yourself!” She used her magic to pull a full length mirror she had set up against the wall to Sonic’s left to her and propped it up against the chest.
Sonic stepped over to the mirror and took a look at his reflection. After several seconds, he said, “Well. That is something, isn’t it?” He turned to Rarity, still standing next to the mirror, “Thanks, Rarity. You didn’t have to do this, but it is nice.” He then turned his head to look at the plate on his shoulder before saying, “I’m not much of a cape fan, though. They usually don’t work out for me.”
Rarity walked over to the hedgehog’s side and said, “Well, I don’t know what sort of troubles you’ve had in the past with capes, Sonic, and I certainly don’t have time to do anything more, but I implore you to give this one a chance.” She pointed to the cape, “I specifically designed it with your, ahem, abilities in mind. It’s less likely to get caught while you’re running, and it won’t slow you down like a regular cape might. You should even be able to roll around with it on!”
Sonic glanced down at his left shoulder again, “Is that so? Huh.”
Rarity nodded, “And even then, it’s a garment worthy of a king.” She slowly began to lean the side of her face closer to Sonic’s as she murmured, “And I’m well aware that there’s only one throne in the throne room, but surely a king needs to have a queen as well.” Sonic was beginning to feel very nervous about how close Rarity was to him, and he could just imagine what Spike might be feeling right now…
Fortunately, Lancelot came to his rescue by loudly clearing his throat. This caused Rarity to stop her advance, both her and Sonic looking back. Lancelot, Caliburn, and Spike all had unamused looks on their faces while Gawain was at more of a middle ground; he didn’t look as angry as the other three, but he wasn’t grinning either. “We ARE still here, and we ARE able to hear,” Lancelot stated.
“As you yourself said, this is hardly the time for such antics, Lady Rarity. Save your attempts for later,” Caliburn added.
“Wha-! I wasn’t…! I didn’t…!” Rarity stammered, not noticing the flat look Sonic was giving her.
“So are you all done now?” Gawain asked.
Sonic answered, “I think so, Gawain.”
The armored echidna nodded, “All right. I’ll go get Sir Percival and the other ponies then. We’ll meet you at the council chamber.” With that, he turned and walked out, heading for the castle library.
As Sonic and Rarity headed for the doors with Spike and Caliburn in tow, Lancelot held up his right hand as they reached him, causing all of them to come to a stop. “Sire, a moment of your time, please,” he stated as he lowered his hand. Although confused, Sonic nodded in response. Lancelot looked at Rarity and Spike and said as he pointed out into the hallway, “This will take but a minute. Go stand out there until we are done.”
Rarity stammered, “What?! Why?!”
Although he was still a bit miffed at the unicorn, Spike agreed, “Yeah! Anything you have to say to these two, you can say around us!”
Lancelot put his hands on his hips as he replied, “Perhaps you two have been privy to certain secrets in your homeland, but this is not Equestria. This is the Grand Kingdom, and I ask that you respect my request for privacy. This is not a matter that calls for either of your opinions.” Spike and Rarity looked at Sonic. While the hedgehog still seemed to be a bit confused about what Lancelot wanted, he tilted his head toward the door all the same. Taking the hint, the two stepped out into the hall and Lancelot pulled the door closed behind them.
Once the doors were closed, Sonic asked, “So what’s up, Lancelot?”
As he let his arms drop to his sides, Lancelot spoke, “Forgive me, Sir Sonic. You may think me foolish, but I have… misgivings.” He moved closer to Sonic and murmured loud enough for him and Caliburn to hear, “Are you sure about bringing the delegates into this matter? After that display just now…”
Caliburn nodded as much as he was able to as he whispered back, “Indeed. That seemed quite an obvious attempt to curry your favor.”
Sonic sighed and replied, “I get what you’re both saying. I know I’ve just met them today, so there are things about them I don’t know. I’ll probably never know everything; I’m sure there are things they don’t like to talk about. But I’m sure that was just Rarity being Rarity. She’s prim and proper, and there are some bad habits that come with that. I swear, though, they’re all more than willing to help us.”
Caliburn said, “You seem to have formed quite an opinion about them, Sonic.”
Sonic replied, “After what I’ve seen them all do today, I think I’ve made a pretty sound opinion about them, Caliburn.” He looked at Lancelot and said, “Believe me, you can trust them.”
Lancelot stared back at him for a moment before curling his right hand into a fist. He held the fist up and pressed it firmly up against Sonic’s chest, the blue hedgehog looking down at it before looking back up at Lancelot. “I trust you. Therefore, I believe your words. But as you said, there are certain habits that tend to come up, and in my case, I tend to analyze what I see.” The black hedgehog lowered his hand, uncurling it as he finished, “I will do my best to remember that I can trust the Equestrians, but you’ll have to forgive me if I’m unable to stop myself from carefully observing their words and actions.”
Sonic was a bit taken aback by the black hedgehog’s words, but he soon shrugged, “Well, you told me beforehand, so… that’s a good thing to know. As long as you make the effort, I’m cool with it.” Lancelot nodded and turned to the doors, moving to one and pushing it open, allowing Sonic and Caliburn to go first.
As Lancelot was making sure the doors were closed properly, Sonic and Caliburn went over to Rarity and Spike. As they stopped in front of the two, Spike, with his arms crossed, spoke, “That didn’t take long. What were you talking about in there?”
Sonic replied, “Just clearing some things up, Spike. There’s nothing to worry about. Promise.” He made a few motions with his right hand like he did before to show he was sincere.
As Lancelot came over and they started walking, Spike grumbled, “Still not a Pinkie Promise.”
Meanwhile, in the library
“Okay, so those creatures act like scouts for the most part. It’d be important to take care of them when we see them to keep them from alerting the rest of the soldiers,” Shining murmured to himself as he looked over the pages of the book in front of him. He and the others were sitting at a long wooden table that was covered with nearly every book in the Camelot Castle library on the Underworld army.
Percival finished the explanation she was giving Cadance and Pinkie and asked, “So is that a bit clearer now?”
Pinkie nodded enthusiastically to show that she understood the cat’s words while Cadance said, “Yes, thank you, Sir Percival. Unless they group together to make one large soldier, the soldiers of the Underworld can be easily taken down with a well-placed attack.” Percival nodded in agreement.
The three of them heard a noise and looked to see a pig approaching the table. He was dressed in a blue tunic and white tights along with white gloves on his hands and red shoes on his feet. He walked up to Percival and said, “Forgive me, Sir Percival. I checked every shelf I could, but I couldn’t find any other books on the Underworld that would be helpful to you.”
Percival held up her right hand as she replied, “That’s quite all right, Oscar. What you have gone to the trouble of providing us with is more than satisfactory.”
The pig put his hands behind his back and said, “Well, if there’s anything else I can do to help you…”
Rainbow spoke up, “Actually, there might be.” Oscar, Percival, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Cadance looked over at the pegasus while the others tried to stay focused on their reading. “Do you know of any way to make all this… I don’t know, faster?” she asked.
Oscar looked confused at her words. “‘Faster’? I’m afraid I don’t understand, miss…”
Rainbow waved a hoof at him, “Ah, never mind, then.” She sighed, “There’s gotta be a way to make this less boring.”
Oscar perked up, “Boring? It’s not boring, it’s…”
He stopped short when a new voice spoke up, “Oscar, that will do.” Everyone looked to see the librarian stepping out from a set of shelves. She was a dark gray mink clothed in a yellow-colored dress that went down to her uncovered feet. Though she was walking fine, she still had a few signs of her age showing, particularly the glasses in front of her blue eyes and a few patches of white fur on her head. She walked over to Oscar and said, “I’ll take care of this. Please return to your duties.”
The pig bowed slightly, “Y-Yes, Mrs., uh, Venita. I’ll get back to work immediately.” He stood up straight and left, looking for either books lying around or someone else to help.
Venita let out a chuckle as she shook her head, “That boy really needs to learn to relax. He likes to be helpful, but he can’t seem to get over his nervousness.” She then looked over at Rainbow with a hard stare, “Which is why I would appreciate it if you didn’t try to drag him into your learning problems, miss. He may be here to help, but he does not specialize in your particular problems.”
Rainbow got defensive at that, “Hey, I was just asking him a question, okay? He’s the one who had to press it. He should’ve just kept quiet.”
Venita replied, “Be that as it may, you have been a bit of a disturbance ever since you came in here, and that’s putting it nicely. You may be with Sir Percival, but if you don’t silence your mouth, I’m going to have to fine you for disturbing the silence of my library.”
Rainbow’s mouth fell open at that. “Fine me?!” she gagged.
Venita got closer to the pegasus before saying, “And believe me, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll pay it when you receive it.” She then stood up straight and calmly said, “You have a nice day now.” With that, she left, disappearing back to the front desk.
Rainbow watched her walk until she disappeared from view. “Fine me for talking? What?” she asked.
Percival rested her cheek in her right hand as she smirked, “I’m sure it’s something that’s been long overdue, Miss Dash.”
Rainbow turned and glared darkly at the cat, “Oh, you’re so funny, Percival.” Twilight, meanwhile, was trying her hardest not to giggle too loudly.
After a few minutes, Gawain entered the library and found the group’s table, letting them know that they were ready to begin the meeting. Everyone got up to leave at that, with Twilight quickly finishing up the section of the book she was reading when she realized they were leaving. As they all stepped out into the hallway, Pinkie trotted over to a spot on the carpet and made a motion like she was opening a door, followed by more motions. As everyone watched her, Gawain started, “Uh, what is she-?”
Percival stopped him by putting her right hand on his left shoulder and saying through clenched teeth, “Don’t. Ask.”
After a couple of seconds, Pinkie finished what she was doing and gave a big gasp as she turned to face the group, taking in a lot of air. She then said, “Hi, Gawain!”
The armored echidna awkwardly replied, “Uh, hi, Lady Pie.” For a moment, he thought about finding out what was going on, but then thought better of it, instead motioning for the ponies to follow him and Percival. The two knights then led them through the halls of the castle, the ponies walking close behind them.
After a few minutes, Percival announced, “We’re here.” The ponies looked to see that they were approaching a large pair of ornate stone doors. In front and off to the left of the doors were Sonic, Caliburn, Lancelot, Spike, and Rarity. As they got closer, both Percival and the ponies took notice of Sonic’s new attire.
As they came to a stop, Twilight asked, “Where did you get that crown and cape, Sonic?”
The blue hedgehog replied, “The crown was in that room we were in.” He then gestured to Rarity, “And guess.”
Pinkie piped up, “I think you look great! You’re a real hedgehog king now!”
Rainbow nodded, “Yeah, I was wondering if Rarity was gonna go way overboard and make you look all fancy, but she didn’t.”
Lancelot glanced at Rarity as he said, “Well, she certainly didn’t go overboard in the aesthetic, but she did try to overstep her bounds nonetheless.” Rarity turned her head to glare at him at that.
“What does that mean?” Twilight asked.
Lancelot looked at her, “She knows what I mean.”
Cadance looked back at Sonic and said, “Well, I think it suits you, Sonic.”
Percival nodded, “Yes, it does. Most definitely…” She turned her head away slightly, hoping the heat she was feeling in her cheeks was not showing through her fur. Shaking her head, she cleared her throat and looked at Lancelot and Caliburn, saying, “Well met, Sir Lancelot, Caliburn.”
Caliburn replied, “Well met indeed, Sir Percival.”
Lancelot nodded and then spoke, “The wait was longer than expected, but I trust you’re all ready for the meeting?”
The ponies nodded, with Fluttershy saying, “We are. Sir Percival brought us up to speed on the Underworld army while we were waiting. It was a very informative session.”
Rainbow muttered, “I guess that’s one way to look at it.”
Both Twilight and Percival turned their heads to look at the pegasus, the latter soon facing forward again as she said, “Despite what Miss Dash thinks, I do believe they were able to learn much in the allotted time.”
Caliburn nodded, “That sounds like a reasonable assumption, Sir Percival. Now, shall we begin the meeting?” Everyone nodded in agreement.
Lancelot uncrossed his arms and turned his head to the right, looking at a section of the wall. He tilted his head towards it and said, “Keep an eye on things. Make sure we’re not disturbed.” Sonic, Spike, and the ponies were confused about who he was talking to, but they soon got their answer when a familiar purple head appeared up against the wall Lancelot was looking at and nodded before fading out of view again. It looked like Espio, but the Arthurian counterpart had a slight goatee hanging under his chin. The rest of him was cloaked, so they couldn’t tell if he had any other physical differences from the Espio they knew.
Lancelot and Gawain then moved towards the doors, each pushing one open. Once they were open all the way, Sonic and the Equestrians were able to get a good look at the council chamber. The room had a high ceiling from which a fancy-looking chandelier was hanging from in the middle of the room. There were several candelabras hanging on the side walls to provide extra light, and along the walls were the extra chairs that Lancelot had gathered earlier. And in the center of the room was the Round Table itself, a circular table made of gray stone with a map of the Grand Kingdom unfolded on top of it. Around the table were six wooden chairs; five of them looked the same aside from a mark at the top of the chair being different from each one while the sixth looked more like a throne, being far bigger and more majestic than the others. On the ground to the right of it was what appeared to be a seventh chair that looked far too small for anyone they had seen so far.
Lancelot entered first, motioning for Sonic to follow him. The blue hedgehog did so with Caliburn following at his heels, everyone else filing into the room afterwards. Percival and Gawain moved to the side walls while Spike and the ponies moved around the room and looked around a bit. Looking towards the table in the center of the room, Cadance, hoping to break the silence, asked, “So is this why you’re called the Knights of the Round Table?”
Percival, while she was grabbing a chair along the left wall of the room and pushing it towards the table in question, replied, “Indeed. The name was conceived by the old king when he was still a just ruler. That’s why we’ve kept it: to remember the time when we still saw him as our true king and not the twisted Black Knight he became.”
Shining asked, “So this is where all your important decisions are made?”
Gawain answered while dusting off the cushion on one of the chairs he’d pulled up to the table, “Right. Nearly every decision regarding the kingdom is made here before anyone else is told about it. We discuss what’s going on in the kingdom, we debate what to do, and we, eventually, come to a decision. We’ve spent lots of hours in this room doing just that since the castle was rebuilt.”
As he came to a stop next to the large chair, which faced the doors and was centered between the other five chairs, Lancelot said, “Sadly, it’s been some time since we’ve been able to do that. Our meetings have been lacking something, or rather someone, very important to the process.” He turned his head to look at Sonic at that and the blue hedgehog took the hint, moving to the front of the chair and sitting down in it, sliding into it rather easily despite the fact that it was evidently made for someone taller than him. Caliburn and Lancelot nodded, the former then floating over to the smaller chair next to it and resting his blade across it in a sort of cross between sitting and lying down.
After Lancelot took his seat in the chair to Sonic’s right, Rarity happily trotted over to the chair to his left and said, “Right then, let’s all get seated and start this meeting! We have much to discuss after all.” She placed a hoof on the chair’s armrest and started to move around to sit in it.
Suddenly, Lancelot slammed his hands down on the table as he stood up and angrily yelled, “Don’t sit there!” Rarity froze at that and slowly backed away from the chair, nearly everyone in the room staring at Lancelot at his outburst. As he sat back down again, Lancelot said in an annoyed tone, “That seat is for Sir Galahad and Sir Galahad alone.”
Although still a bit freaked out by Lancelot’s yell, Fluttershy weakly asked, “S-S-Sir G-Galahad?”
Sonic held his right hand to his chin as he said, “That’s right.” He looked at the chair to the left of Galahad’s, “Sir Galahad and Sir Lamorak aren’t here right now.”
Gawain pushed up a particularly comfy looking chair up next to Rarity, the fashionista looking at him as he spoke, “Sorry about that. Lancelot’s a bit of a stickler when it comes to these things. That’s part of the reason Sonic wanted him to get these chairs in here. Here, you can have this one.” Rarity thanked him and plopped down on the chair’s cushion, getting comfortable.
After a few minutes, everyone was properly seated. Gawain sat to Lancelot’s right and Percival sat to his right, right across from where Sir Galahad would be sitting. Rarity, Shining, and Cadance were sitting between Galahad and Lamorak’s seats, Rainbow, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie were between Lamorak and Percival’s seats, and Spike, Fluttershy, and Twilight were between Percival and Gawain’s seats. “Are we all ready?” Sonic asked as he looked around.
“We’re all present and accounted for, sire,” Gawain replied.
Percival nodded, “So let’s begin. Now then-”
Her words were cut short when the doors suddenly banged open, everyone turning to see Pinkie pushing a small food cart into the room stacked with small plates, cups, several teapots, and cupcakes that each had different colored frosting. “Sorry! I didn’t break anything! Just had to go get these!” the pink pony chirped as she wheeled her cart over to Percival.
“Lady Pie, what are you-?” Percival started to say before Pinkie placed a small plate with a cupcake that had purple frosting on it in front of her.
As she was pouring tea into a cup, Pinkie replied, “I know I’m supposed to be a guest here, but I couldn’t resist! See, I’ve hosted a lot of things back home: parties, cute-ceanaras, parties, weddings, parties, birthdays… Did I mention parties? All sorts of fun stuff! But I also know how to host meetings, and I’ve noticed that being a good host makes a meeting turn out better!” She finished pouring the tea and placed the teacup in front of Percival before bending down underneath her cart and coming up with a bowl of sugar cubes. “One lump or two?” she asked Percival.
Percival stared at her for a moment before replying, “Uh, two will be fine, thank you.” Pinkie dropped two cubes into her tea at her request and left her a stirring spoon before moving on.
As the pink pony continued serving, Caliburn tilted towards Sonic while staring at her and whispered, “Where did she acquire all of that?”
Sonic whispered back, “I have no idea. I didn’t even see her step out.” By this time, Pinkie was finishing up with Gawain, having been able to breeze through her friends since she knew their preferences, and was starting on Lancelot, giving him a cupcake that had black frosting with red stripes.
“How many lumps, Sir Lancelot?” she asked after she gave him his tea.
“None… but thank you,” Lancelot replied while holding his right hand over his cup.
“Aw, come on! It’s good sugar! It adds a great taste, and it’s sweet too!” Pinkie said.
“I think I’m ‘sweet’ enough,” Lancelot grumbled in response.
“That’s for sure! You might want to listen to him, Lady Pie; he gets any sweeter on us, he might melt!” Gawain joked.
“Sir Gawain, really!” Percival chastised while Lancelot shot him a dark look. Pinkie decided to get out of their way and moved on to Sonic and Caliburn.
After she finished serving Sonic, she turned and offered a cupcake to Caliburn. The sword stared at it for a second before saying, “I… do not believe that is feasible, Lady Pie.”
Pinkie blinked, “Huh?”
Caliburn explained, “Well, that confection does look delicious, but I am assuming that because I have only seen what others refer to as ‘delicious’; I would not know myself.”
Pinkie tilted her head, “What?”
Sonic interjected, “He’s trying to say he can’t eat anything, Pinkie.” Caliburn tilted his hilt in agreement with Sonic’s words.
“Oh! Well, that’s a shame. You should really be able to eat, Caliburn; you are a living sword after all,” Pinkie said. She put the cupcake back on her cart, “I’ll just eat it for you then, okay?” With that, she moved on with her cart. As she continued, Sonic lifted his teacup to his lips and took a sip. When he set it back down, he gave a murmur and a nod of approval.
Soon, everyone in the room was served, and Sonic looked at Pinkie as she sat down in her chair and said, “Thanks, Pinkie.” He then looked at Percival and asked, “Now, as you were saying, Percival?”
The cat nodded, “Right.” She addressed their guests, “Based on what Prince Shining Armor said earlier, I'm sure you're all aware of the situation plaguing us at the moment?”
Rainbow spoke up, “Yeah. He told us your ruler, Merlina, has gone missing for some reason.” Percival nodded in response.
“Yeah, what happened ta her? He didn’t seem ta know,” Applejack said.
Lancelot answered, “To be honest, we’re not sure ourselves. We weren’t with Merlina when she disappeared.”
Gawain nodded, “The last time we saw her, she was leaving with Caliburn on a diplomatic journey to see the kingdom. That was over a week ago.” He looked over at Caliburn and asked, “Speaking of which, Caliburn, how did you end up in the care of the Smithy?”
The sword replied, “I was left there by Merlina after we left the castle. She told him to keep me hidden until she returned. I protested, as you might expect, but she would not listen. I could only assume she left Camelot on her own. I was not informed that she had gone missing until this day.”
Sonic looked at the knights and asked, “How did you guys find out she was missing?”
Lancelot replied, “We were contacted by Lady Nimue. Ever since you left, she and Merlina have been keeping a correspondence with their magic. For the most part, Nimue has been helping Merlina settle into her role of being the new ruler of the Grand Kingdom, but Merlina reassured us that she would be in contact with the Lady and we should keep to our posts in the castle until she returned. Imagine our surprise days later when Nimue used her reflecting pool to tell us that Merlina had disappeared.”
Cadance tilted her head, “Reflecting pool?”
Percival answered, “Merlina and Lady Nimue are able to observe faraway events through them, and it’s how they communicated with each other. She didn’t tell us anything beyond the fact that she was unable to find Merlina, so she must not know what happened to her either. All she told us was that we must be ready to defend the kingdom at a moment’s notice. She said she was going to try to locate Merlina and she would let us know when she found her, but we haven’t heard from her since.”
Applejack asked, “So y’all have just been sittin’ around in the castle waitin’ fer word from ‘er?”
Gawain replied, “It’d be different if things had been quiet this entire time. Unfortunately, ever since we received word that Merlina disappeared, we’ve been receiving reports from around the kingdom of attacks by the armies of the Underworld. At first, we were able to respond to these reports and be back at Camelot Castle in a timely manner, but then the places we’d just been to reported more attacks, multiple attacks started popping up…” He gestured to the map on the table, which had small scraps of paper with writing attached to the different locations around the Grand Kingdom.
Percival continued for Gawain, “It became too much for us to handle on our own. You may have noticed that there are very few guards posted around the castle. In order to deal with the multitude of attacks, we’ve had to send out squads of the royal guard to protect these locations. We are getting down to the last of our reserves and the new recruits because of this.”
Gawain spoke, “Keeping what we have left in line hasn’t been the problem, and neither has supporting the soldiers we’ve sent out. When it became clear that we were needed here at the castle, we sent Sir Galahad and Sir Lamorak out not only to provide support, but also to help Nimue search for Merlina.”
Sonic spoke, “That makes sense. Galahad and Lamorak were positioned pretty far out on the kingdom’s outskirts when I was here. They missed a lot of what happened and had to be told about it when we sent them orders to return to Camelot.”
Gawain nodded, “That’s exactly why we thought they should be the ones to search for Merlina. Their time away gifted them with an intimate knowledge of the kingdom that the three of us do not possess, and despite mainly acting as scouts, they are good warriors. Much like you thought Merlina would be the best choice to assume the throne in your place, we thought they would be the best support we could send out while we kept the kingdom running.”
Twilight asked, “Have you heard anything from them?”
Percival answered, “They’ve been sending their reports when they can, often with the reports of the soldiers they’ve helped. They haven’t mentioned finding any leads to Merlina’s whereabouts, but there have been mentions of rumors they’d like to discuss with us before they look into them further. Hopefully they’ll return and discuss their findings with us soon.”
Spike asked while looking at the map, “Is there anything else you guys can do to, you know, resolve this?”
Lancelot glanced over at the dragon as he replied, “Unfortunately, we are not in a position where we can just leave the castle at our leisure. Without Merlina, the kingdom needs our leadership, so we cannot simply leave the castle without a solid lead anymore.”
Percival said, “We have been doing what we can, but we are in desperate need of someone to lead us.” She looked over at Sonic, “Sir Sonic, we require your leadership if we are to overcome this crisis. After hearing all of this, do you have any thoughts?”
Everyone turned to look at Sonic at that, the blue hedgehog resting his chin on top of his hands as he looked down at the map. After a moment, he spoke, “Well… I can’t really tell much from what you’ve been putting here, but,” he placed his left hand on the table and pointed at the map with his right, “is there any sort of pattern to these attacks? Anything unusual you might have noticed from what you’ve been hearing?”
Lancelot looked at the map as he replied, “Not really. Sirs Galahad and Lamorak haven’t been present for a number of these attacks, but many of the reports indicate that the Underworld army attacks for a short time before retreating regardless of the situation.”
Sonic asked, “The reports always say that?”
Lancelot looked at him, “More or less.” After a moment, he asked, “Do you think…?”
Sonic held up his right hand, “I don’t want to jump to that conclusion just yet. I’m trying to gather my thoughts right now, get a better idea before I make a decision.”
Gawain spoke up, “Actually, there’s something that’s been bugging me for a while.” Everyone looked at him, so he explained, “It’s about Merlina’s diplomatic journey. Just the way it… kind of came out of nowhere.”
Percival asked, “What do you mean, Gawain?”
The red knight shrugged, “I don’t know, Percival, just… she started having all these face-to-face meetings with Lady Nimue, and then she suddenly announced that she was going on a diplomatic journey, and she didn’t take Caliburn with her… Something just doesn’t seem right.”
Sonic asked, “What do you mean by ‘face-to-face’ meetings, Gawain?”
Lancelot answered, “It’s true that prior to leaving Camelot, Merlina had been leaving for the Deep Woods to visit Lady Nimue, but I don’t really see how anything bad could have come of it. Nimue happens to be a skilled enchantress, and while I don’t think Merlina could be up to something, without the Scabbard of Excalibur, she would not have an easy time overpowering Nimue when it comes to magic.”
Sonic held his right hand to his chin, “That’s right… Say, now that you bring it up, do we have any idea what happened to that thing?”
Gawain answered this time, “We still have no idea what happened to the scabbard, sire. We searched the remains of the old Camelot Castle long after you left, but we never found any trace of it. We were hoping Lamorak and Galahad’s search could turn up some results, but unless they’ve heard rumors about it, they’ve had no luck either.”
Sonic nodded and glanced down in thought. A few seconds passed before Caliburn asked, “Care to share your thoughts, Sonic?”
The blue hedgehog was silent for a moment. Then he looked up and said, “I think I’m gonna have to pay the Lady of the Lake a visit.”
Rarity commented, “Well, that decision didn’t take long.”
Sonic shrugged, “I don’t know what else to do, Rarity. Merlina’s missing, the Underworld army is as active as it was when the old King Arthur was around, our forces are spread thin, and we haven’t heard a peep out of Nimue. At the very least, I’d like to know she’s okay.”
Percival spoke up, “There have been no reports of attack on the Deep Woods. We sent a squad of guards out there to protect it, but it remains one of the few places that hasn’t been attacked yet.”
Lancelot nodded, “That’s because even the Knights of the Underworld know better than to mess with the Lady of the Lake. It doesn’t matter if they managed to get past our guards; they would stand no chance against her.”
Gawain looked at Sonic, “We can go for you, my liege.”
Sonic replied, “No. You three know best how to keep the guards organized. From the looks of this map, Camelot hasn’t been attacked yet either, and the last thing we need is to lose the city because the guard got disorganized due to not having three of our best knights with them. Besides, Nimue has to know I’m back by now. No matter how busy trying to locate Merlina she is, she should’ve realized I’m here and tried to contact us by now.”
Gawain sat back in his seat, “You’re right. She wouldn’t be able to ignore the return of the true King Arthur. Either she’s close to finding Merlina, or something else is going on. Either way, you should be the one to go see her.”
Percival said, “I suppose you do have a point there, Gawain.” She looked over at Lancelot and noticed the black hedgehog was looking down at the table, his hands resting atop it with his fingers slid together. “Lancelot?” she asked.
Everyone looked at him, the knight still looking down at the table. “What’s wrong, Lancelot?” Sonic asked a little louder, trying to get his attention.
Lancelot looked up at Sonic and said, “I know better than to worry about your well-being, sire. You’ve charged into hordes of enemies and tackled massive beasts before and have often come out unscathed. Still, the situation in the kingdom right now worries me. With all the sporadic attacks and so little information available to us right now, it would give me peace of mind if you had an escort.”
Percival spoke, “An escort wouldn’t be a bad thing to have, Lancelot, but I don’t know if we have enough guards to spare for one.”
Gawain nodded, “Yeah, we are kind of minimally staffed right now.”
Shining glanced around the table before sitting up straight and saying, “I’ll go with him.”
Everyone turned to look at the stallion. “You will?” Gawain asked.
“The prince of the Crystal Empire, an escort?” Caliburn added.
“I wasn’t born into royalty, I was accepted into it. Before I married Cadance, I went to the Canterlot Academy to get the training to join the Royal Guard. I was eventually accepted and rose to the rank of Captain of the Royal Guard. Yes, Cadance and I rule over the crystal ponies, but I still hold that title, and I have been using all I learned to train the crystal ponies who want to become guards,” Shining explained.
Everyone looked at Sonic when he spoke, “It’s true. From what I’ve seen, he does have the skills necessary to protect both royalty and the innocent.”
Gawain and Percival turned to each other, both making a few gestures before nodding at each other. “Very well, then,” Percival started. She looked over at Lancelot, “What do you think, Lancelot?”
Gawain nodded, “You are the one who brought it up after all.”
For what seemed like a long while, there was silence in the room. Lancelot glanced from his fellow knights to his right to Shining Armor across the table. Several seconds went by before he blinked and glanced towards Sonic before returning to the stallion, Shining trying to remain upright and keep himself from showing any signs of fear the entire time. Even if Lancelot wasn’t exactly Shadow, his red eyes were still intimidating and seemed to scan him as they stared deep into his blue eyes, searching for any trace of weakness or lying.
Finally, Lancelot broke eye contact by blinking, clasping his hands together as he said, “I suppose I have no reason to object.” Shining relaxed at that, letting out a breath he’d been holding in for a while.
He turned to look at his wife as Cadance asked, “Shining, I do think you would be the best choice to protect royalty, regardless of who that royalty is, but you and Sonic aren’t going to set out for the Deep Woods by yourselves, are you?”
Before Shining could respond, Rainbow piped up, “Yeah, you’re not leaving the rest of us behind, especially not me!”
Rarity huffed, “Please, Rainbow Dash, we all know your interest is usually more vested towards performing for royalty, not protecting it. You are a fighter, no doubt about that, but some things require a more delicate touch.”
Applejack retorted, “And you should know by now, Rarity, that towns and cities bein’ attacked ain’t no laughin’ matter!” Suddenly, the room seemed to erupt into an argument, Spike and the other ponies either trying to quell the argument or add to it. Sonic, Caliburn, Cadance, Shining, and the knights all tried to resolve the matter peacefully, but their efforts were lost amidst the flurry of words flying back and forth.
Finally, Percival stood up from her seat, grabbing the map on the table with her left hand and yanking it off while raising her right hand over her head. “Silence! Silence all of you!” she yelled as she slammed the palm of her right hand down on the table. Immediately, a column of fire shot up towards the chandelier stopping just short of touching it, everyone immediately shutting up and staring at it in surprise! It burned for several seconds, the fire disappearing when Percival clenched her hand into a fist, moving it to her side afterwards. She then stood glaring around the table, making sure to look at Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash in particular.
Gawain leaned towards Lancelot and whispered, “Wow, usually one of us is on the receiving end of that.” Lancelot looked at him at that.
While she took the map in both hands, Percival stated, “Such bickering is pointless!” She raised the map above her head and swung it towards Sonic, who stood up and grabbed his end of it, both of them setting it back down flat on the table with some aid from the others. Twilight, Shining, and Cadance used their magic to put the scraps of paper back in their proper places while Percival said, “We all have to make sacrifices during these trying times. All of you accompanying Sir Sonic for this is a luxury we can’t afford right now.”
Fluttershy asked, “Wh-What do you mean, S-Sir Percival?”
Lancelot answered, “For one thing, Sonic cannot be away from the castle for too long. He is in charge now that he has returned, and while a larger group could potentially be better defensively, it would also slow him down unnecessarily.”
Gawain nodded, “And speaking of defenses, we’re sorely lacking in those right now. We’ll take just about any help we can get at this point.”
Percival looked at Sonic, “Sir Sonic, this is your decision to make. Who do you think would be best to accompany you, and who would be best for keeping Camelot Castle safe?”
Sonic crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat, thinking for a minute. “Well, I do want to get to Nimue and back here as fast as possible.” He nodded and leaned forward, “All right, here’s what I’m thinking. Shining Armor volunteered first, so obviously I want him with me. I’ll also take Rainbow Dash with to back him up in case we run into trouble.”
Rainbow pumped her hooves, “Yes! Finally, a chance to stretch my wings properly!”
Sonic continued, “If Twilight and Princess Cadance want to come with us, they can. I’ll leave that up to them.” Cadance and Twilight looked at each other across the table for a few seconds before they both turned to Sonic and nodded. Sonic nodded back and said, “All right, then Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, you’ll all stay here and help keep an eye on things while we’re gone.” Lancelot looked uncomfortable at the last name he said, but he kept his tongue in check.
Spike blurted out, “Hey, what about me?!”
Sonic looked over at him, “Well, that’s up to you, bud. I wasn’t gonna make any plans for you, especially since I didn’t know what Cadance and Twilight wanted to do, but now I’ll let you take your pick. You can stay here or you can come with us.”
Spike gave it some thought, looking at Rarity across the table, who gave him a pleasant smile. He stared at her for a bit before looking back at Sonic and saying, “Uh, I guess I’ll go with you guys.” Rarity frowned slightly at that.
Sonic spoke, “All right, does this work for everybody?” While there was a little hesitation, he received no objections, so he said, “All right, then.” He turned to Lancelot and Gawain, “Sir Gawain, Sir Lancelot, I’ll leave it up to you two to explain what you want them to do, okay?”
Both knights nodded at that, “Understood.”
Sonic turned to Percival, “Sir Percival, you’ll be helping them as well, but first, the Knight’s Passage was rebuilt, right?”
The cat replied, “Yes, Sir Sonic. It is exactly as it was in the old castle.”
Sonic nodded, “Cool. Show Twilight, Rainbow, Spike, Cadance, and Shining where it is. I’m gonna stop by Merlina’s chamber to get something real quick, but Caliburn and I will meet you there.”
Percival placed her right arm across her chest and bowed, “As you command, my liege.”
Caliburn spoke up, “Very well. Meeting adjourned!” He tapped his blade across his seat twice and Lancelot and Gawain stood up, both of them and Percival bowing, Sonic, Spike, and the ponies doing the same after a moment.
Afterwards, Percival turned and walked towards the doors, pulling one inwards and holding it open. Gawain and Lancelot headed for the doors first, the latter saying, “Come with us.” Pinkie, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity started after them at that.
Before she exited, Rarity stopped and looked at Percival. “Forgive me for asking, but aren’t you LADY Percival?” she asked.
Percival blinked at that. “‘Lady’? I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean, Lady Rarity.”
Rarity asked, “Well, isn’t that your proper title?”
Percival shook her head, “No. I am a Knight of the Round Table. I am a Sir.”
Rarity asked, “And you’re okay being called that?”
Percival nodded, “My friends call me ‘Sir’. I have no objection to it.”
Suddenly, Applejack called, “Rarity, come on!”
The fashionista straightened up at that and realized she had fallen behind. She blushed as she looked at Percival and quickly ran out of the room saying, “Sorry, sorry!"
Percival smiled at the unicorn’s behavior. Looking back at the others, she saw they were all looking at her. “Don’t worry. I’ve gotten that from people who don’t realize the difference before,” she said. She then moved towards the hallway saying, “Come. I’ll show you to the Knight’s Passage.” Rainbow, Twilight, Cadance, Shining, and Spike quickly followed after her at that, leaving Sonic and Caliburn as the last ones to leave the room.
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YES! THIS STORY IS BACK!!!
Very good chapter. Keep up the good work!
Creativity at it's finest.
Was Rarity hitting on Sonic? Because if she was, wait til Amy hears.
Nicely written my friend...
Though honestly, I would imagine that meeting at the Round Table would have this kind of musical tone:
I hope you continue doing a bang-up job at this and don't be afraid to ask for help...
7269254
Added in. Thank you.
7269117
At the moment, it's like with Sinbad in Secret Rings, but only time will tell.
Yes More Please!!!
Alright this is amazing! Good to see you writing again man! I'm glad you didn't give up on this story.
More like Dame Percival but Sir sounds cool.
Nice to see that this story is going to continue. Will the earth dragon make an appearance while Sonic and Co are in the Arthurian world?