Sunny Knight: a Pony's Tale

by TheothersideofSunny968

Dark Knights and Starry Skies

It has been weeks since Sombra was released from Snowstorm, but still the young unicorn guard remained in a weakened slumber. The former warden of the IronLock prison occupied a bed in the emergency wing right next to the one a weakened Radiant Hope rested in. Both Sombra visited often, worried for their health. As the proud unicorn King stood at the entertainment way, he noticed Snowstorm began to stir. In a moment, a grey cloud slithered from the slumbering colts ears and gathered behind Sombra.

"How is he doing?" Sombra asked his 'faithful' servant.

"Still having nightmares about his father" the grey smoke answered as it took its true form of a tall, grey unicorn with a top hat and sharp teeth. His toothy grin was kept humble as he took his top hat off and bowed slightly for his king. "It's not easy keeping princess Luna out of all these inmate's dreams, as well as your son's. But the Moon princess does grow weaker by the day."

"...Celestia's duties are great" Sombra found it hard to speak her name after all these years of burning hatred. "But she and the others will be dealt with soon enough. Go see how that mad scientist is doing with his new toys."

Chuckling a bit, Charming Knightmare found it hilarious that the former doctor of the prison had become twisted enough to be called a 'mad scientist' by somepony such as King Sombra. "As you wish, your majesty...."

Waiting until Knightmare was gone, Sombra felt at ease to think freely. 'That one will betray me one of these days, but for now I'll keep him around. His power over the dream realm is most useful.'

Just then, Sombra caught sight of Radiant stirring in her bed, and slowly, her eyes began to open. Not wanting to frighten her, Sombra slowly entered the medical wing, making his way over to her.

The former king of the Crystal Empire was the first thing Radiant saw, and despite his darker appearance, she still recognize and smiled at her oldest friend. "You're looking better..."

"Take it easy, Hope" Sombra said in a soft and hushed tone. The most gentle he had spoken in over 1000 years, say for the time he spoke with Sunny in the Castle of the Two Pony Sisters. "Are you thirsty?"

The unicorn mare nodded weakly, still smiling and looking up at Sombra through half lidded eyes.

Knowing just what would pick her up, Sombra had a pitcher of her favorite fruit mix prepared. It was a concoction of Radiant's own creation. She had taught it to Sombra 1000 years ago, before he ever became a Crystal guard. It was one of his few memories he still cherished fondly.

After pouring her a glass, Sombra used his green magical aura to lightly lift Radiant up, helping her to drink. She smiled when she saw the silly straw he had put in the drink. The two had grown up together, so he knew what to do to make her happy.

After a few sips, Radiant pulled away, not wanting to drink too much and make herself sick. "Thank you, Sombra..."

"Your welcome, Hope" Sombra replied with a weak smile, but quickly broke eye contact, setting the glass aside, ready to walk away and leave Radiant to rest. "Get some sleep. You're still weak from healing me."

But before the king could leave, Radiant Hope grabbed ahold of his cloak, forcing him to face her. Looking her in the eye, he knew she wouldn't let him go without answering a few questions. "What happened, Sombra?... Why did you turn your back on the Empire? Why did you Enslave the Crystal Ponies?"

Sighing and hanging his head, Sombra readied himself for the inevitable; telling the story to explain his actions. To be honest, he would rather all of Equestria just see him as a bad guy doing bad things for petty reasons such as obsession or greed. But the truth to his actions were far darker then that, and far more painful.

Taking a seat between Radiant and Snowstorm, Sombra dusted off the old memories he tried to suppress. "It all started about a week before that faithful night... the night Sunny's mother showed her true colors, and betrayed us..."

Little did either Radiant or Sombra know that Snowstorm was wide awake and listening to every word Sombra said...

Traveling deeper into the former prison, Charming Knightmare did as his master commanded of him, and went to check on the 'mad scientist', who had set up shop in the empty cell block 'E'. Well... to say it was completely empty would be a lie. The pony prisoners who were in there had been removed and recruited into Sombra's army (either due to their own choosing or through fear-powered hypnotization). The 'new' prisoners were much more lively, last time Charming checked. As the dark grey unicorn rounded the corner, though, he was amazed to see all the Changelings in their various cells were now standing in single file lines, like obedient toy soldiers. All their eyes now glowing red as their breathing showed they were in a mentally relaxed state. Which was more then Charming could say for the pony in a lab coat at his work bench.

Hunched over and breathing heavily, Surgical Scalpel could barely contain the amount of saliva his mouth he was creating. His now red eyes were wide and darting everywhere, like a parasprite that couldn't decide what to consume first at an all you can eat buffet.

"So... much... power..." the earthpony doctor started to say, breathing after every word. "There's... so... much... going.... on...."

Charming smirked as he approached the doctor, knowing that Surgical was dangerous, but well aware that there was nothing the mad doctor could do to hurt him in his current state. "You're feeling the strain of multiple minds running through yours. It's a lot to take in."

Turning his head slightly, Charming saw the good doctor's face had grown more pale, his irises shrunk and changed to a reddish color to match the changelings. A wide and crooked smile stretched all across the stallion's muzzle as he blankly started at Charming. Atop Surgical's head was a specially crafted crown that Sombra and Charming made together to keep the changelings under control, linking their minds with the wearer. Special red gems embedded into the iron crown allowed the wearer to bend the changeling's will to their own, with negative side effects of course. But neither King Sombra nor Charming Knightmare knew the extent of the 'side effects', which is why they allowed Surgical to be the ginny pig. Ironic for somepony who used to use others for his own testing.

"Say, I have an idea" Charming chimed in, looking at the twisted pony before him. "How about a rehearsal before we prepare for the main event?"

"Yes.... YES.... YES!!!" Surgical began screaming, causing the changelings to shake to life, hissing and clicking as they flew all around their cells, eager to be released into the world once more.

The top hat wearing unicorn smiled as he adjusted his hat, flashing small and refined smile. "Glad to see you're on board. I'm technically not supposed to show my face in Ponyville ever again, but for this, I think I can break my own promise. It's for the ultimate good, after all..."

"There! That one kinda looks like Apple Bloom!" Applejack said as she pointed out a cluster of stars in the sky.

"Ah see it!" Sunny chuckled as he noted the resemblance. "Oh! There! It's a clown on a unicycle!"

Squinting her yes for a moment and turning her head slightly, Applejack finally saw what Sunny saw. "Hey! Not bad, Sugar cube!"

"Thanks, Partner..." Sunny smiled as he closed his eyes for a moment.

The two had taken the opportunity with the newly cleared skies to do a little star gazing. At first, Sunny amazed Applejack with how much he knew about the constellations and stars, but after noticing how awkward it made her feel, not knowing any herself, the yellow unicorn came up with a more fun idea. While the two ponies lay on their back atop a lush as grassy hill, they simply looked up at the stars and said what they thought they looked like, kinda making up their own constellations. It may sound silly to anypony else, but to them, it was a relaxing way to have fun. And after the hard day they both had putting the farm back together, they deserved some relaxing fun.

The two ponies remained silent for a good long while, Sunny just enjoying the moment. But Applejack was full of questions. Sunny started to notice she was shuffling her back hooves from the sound of rustling grass. He learned that Applejack often did this when she was thinking or nervous.

Wanting to relieve her of this uneasy feeling, Sunny simply asked "somethin' on yer mind, partner?"

Holding her breath for a moment, Applejack sighed and looked over at Sunny. "Sugar cube... ah don't mean ta pry... but... can ya tell me ah little bit more 'bout ya?"

Sunny turned his head away, his heart beginning to race.

"Not... not 'bout yer Pappy. But 'bout you... what ya were like before ya lost yer memory." Applejack corrected herself seeing Sunny's uneasy feelings.

Smiling to himself, Sunny looked back up into the star filled sky. "Well, alright. But ta be fair, how 'bout we go back and forth. Ah'll answer one of yer questions, but after, you have ta answer one of mine. Deal?"

A little shocked that Sunny would have questions about her, after living with each other as long as they have, kind of surprised the orange apple farmer. But then again, she lived with him just as long and still didn't know much about him. "Ah'll right. Deal. But ladies first; what did ya like ta do for fun where ya grew up?"

"That's quite ah lost there" Sunny said with glee. "Ah liked ta practice magic, takin' things like clocks apart, even if ah never figured it how ta put 'me back together again, practice fencing, sword play, and pulling pranks-"

"Ya'll know how ta use ah sword?" Applejack was surprised that somepony like Sunny knew such an art. "Why would ya need ya know that? Did ya want ta become ah royal guard or somethin'."

Not wanting to lie, Sunny had to think quick. "Well... technically that's two questions. Before ah answer any more, you have ta answer one of mine."

Sighing in defeat, Applejack rolled her eyes. "Fine. What cha got?"

"What's yer favorite color?" Sunny asked, a small smile on his muzzle.

"Ya'll don't know mah favorite color?" Applejack asked, slightly surprised.

"Ah think ah know, but ah wanna make sure" Sunny replied.

"Ah think ah know yours too" Applejack added, sitting up just as Sunny did the same. Both ponies now facing each other. "On '3' we'll say what we think the other's favorite color is, ok?"

"Sounds fine to me" Sunny said with a not and a half smile.

"Ok... one... two..." Applejack started counting down, both ponies ready to tell the answer. "Three!"

"GREEN!" Both Sunny and Applejack answered simultaneously.

The two ponies paused for a moment, their expressions shocked but also hard to read. Then, slowly, a smile appreared on both of their muzzles. Both fell back laughing for a moment.

"Guess we have the same favorite color" Applejack commented.

"It's the color of your eyes..." Sunny said under his breath.

"What was that?" Applejack asked, only hearing his mumbling.

"Hay! Technically I still get ta ask 'you' ah question" Sunny pointed out. "Ah answered two of yours, but you only answered one of mine!"

"Technically, ah never asked ah question, sugar cube" Applejack said with a small smirk. "But thanks for th' freebie."

Chuckling to himself, Sunny felt like he finally met a mare who can match his wits. "Well, ah guess ya earned yer answer then... ah said, ah like green 'cause of yer eyes..."

After hearing that, Applejack's heart began to beat loud enough to were she swore Sunny could hear it too! Her face turned bright red and her ears began to burn. She was glad that Sunny's wasn't able to see her, it was really embarrassing.

After several moments of silence, Sunny spoke up to break the awkwardness he was afraid he made. "But before ah met you, ah preferred black."

"... black's ah good color on you" Applejack replied, trying to calm herself down.

The comment brought a thought to Sunny's mind. He thought about how he would look in in his tuxedo that Rarity had made for him for the Gala, and what Applejack would be wearing. That thought made him think deeper into the dancing portion of the Gala. Would Applejack want to dance with him?... like... slow dance?...

To clear his head, feeling his own cheeks were now on fire, Sunny cleared his theist and asked "so what kind of things did you like doing when you were younger? What did 'you' learn in school?"

Bringing herself back down to earth, Applejack thought about it for a moment. "Well... ah kinda just really likes takin' care of th' farm, helpin' Granny bake and cook. 'Course ah liked playin' with mah friends, and we did some fun stuff at school too. Like learn ta make paper mache masks, readin' an' writtin' and th' what not. Math sure came in handy, 'specially with runnin' th' farm."

A thought then occurred to Applejack. "Now, Ah'm gunna guess ya'll went ta some fancy-smancy school, since ya know so much 'bout stars and readin' so much..."

"I guess you could say that" Sunny replied, not thinking the Crystal Empire academy was anything really fancy. Granted, it was bigger then the one Apple Bloom and her friends go to, and there were a lot of recreational activities available, plus his father made sure the school had quite a bit of funding from the royal treasury, but they still served basic lunches, had regular books and supplies like any other school.

"Did ya'll have ah' lot of friends growin' up?" Applejack was nervous to ask, but managed to get the question out without stuttering or hesitating.

That trip down memory lane was one Sunny wasn't fond of. But it wouldn't reveal 'who' he was to Applejack, technically. Sunny knew would have to be careful about what he did say. "No... I... I didn't have any friends. Not really..."

Sending the awkward atmosphere, Applejack thought it was best to move on. "Yer question-"

"It ok, Applejack" Sunny interrupted, knowing the orange farm mare just wanted to move on because the question might upset him. "I... I don't want to hide things from you... if I can help it.... I had some 'friends' when I was younger. Ones who played with me, hung out with me, sat with me at lunch, smiled and waved to me and even went to my birthday parties with me..."

"What happened?..." Applejack asked. Turning over on her side so she was now side by side with the yellow unicorn. Applejack propped her head up on her hoof so she could look at Sunny, her eyes full of nervous concern.

With a sigh, Sunny looked down and continued. "It was on my birthday... the last birthday I had before I got my cutie mark... I invited all my 'friends' to a birthday party. At one point I had to step away and use the bathroom, but as I was coming back... I heard them making fun of me and my father... saying how I was a loser, and I would probably never get my cutie mark. They laughed at me, saying how if I wasn't... well... in the financial situation I was in, they would never be friends with me. But because I had all the coolest toys, had the best parties and could introduce them to all the important ponies around, they forced themselves to be my friends..."

Sunny could no longer keep the pain inside and took several deep breaths to fight against the tears.

"If ah ever see any of those jerks, ah'll, AH'll!..." Applejack started to think of a million and one ways she would make Sunny's fake friends regret what they did to him.

But the freckled farm pony was quickly silenced as Sunny's hoof grabbed hers. "It's ok, Applejack... if it wasn't for them, ah wouldn't know what 'real' friends were like. 'Real' friends stick with ya whether ya have ah mountain of gold, or nothing. They listen when ya need somepony ta talk to. And when yer feeling hurt or down, they do what they can ta make it all better."

Applejack was a little shocked to say the least. Sunny was obviously hurt from those jerks in the past, but rather then continue to let it hurt him, he used that pain to help him find true friendship. The rage that had been gathering up in Applejack had dissipated and she met his gaze with hers and smiled softly at him. "Yer one amazing fella, ya know that?"

"And ah bit of ah trouble maker" Sunny added with a small wink. "Ah ever told ya how me and Pappy, not mah dad, but Pappy the elderly stallion who helped ta take care of me, well, how we used ta pull pranks on th' maids?"

"Ah recall ya mentionin' somethin' bout Pappy" Applejack started to say. "But ain't it yer turn ta ask me ah question?"

"Well...ah thought 'both that" Sunny started to say. "Ah have a lot of questions ah wanna ask ya, but it's gettin awful late, and we have ta be up early. Ah was figurin' we could spend ah little more time just talkin' no keepin' score, then head ta' bed... and maybe, if ya want... we could do this again tomorrow night...If ya ain't busy."

Taken back by what he was asking, a small smile began to grow and grow on Applejack until it reached from one of her ears to the next. 'Ah second date?! He wants ta go on ah second date?! And find out more 'bout me?!' "Well, Sugar cube, ta be honest...that sounds really nice."

Looking over at Applejack with his own smile, Sunny added. "Glad ta hear it. Maybe ah'll grab ah bottle of Granny's special aged cider fer us ta share."

"Ifin' she don't catch ya first" Applejack laughed as she plopped back on the ground next to Sunny, her eyes now looking strait up at the stars.

"Ah can be sneaky" Sunny replied as he turned his gaze to the sky as well. "But fer sure, tomorrow?"

"Ah doubt there'll be any friendship missions that'll take over night" Applejack stated. "But that'd be th' only thing that could keep me away."

"Then it's ah date" Sunny said with a chuckaling smile.

'DATE! HE REALLY USED TH' WORD DATE!' Applejack's internal voice was screaming with joy. If it wouldn't seem too weird, the farm pony felt like she could buck the entire orchard on her own from just hearing that. But playing it cool, while still showing interest like Rarity told her to do, Applejack replied with "you bet. Better be here, sugar cube."

"Wild yeti couldn't keep me away" Sunny joked.

"Yeti? Like them big furry critters up north?... are they real?!" Applejack gulped, remembering we Granny telling her scary stories about them when she was a filly.

"Eh'yep. Ah met one o'them one time" Sunny stated with a grin. "Nice feller, made ah great cup of tea."

"Are ya'll pullin' mah leg?" Applejack asked as she raised a brow at the yellow unicorn.

"Ah could either tell ya 'that' story, or ah could tell ya 'bout th' time me and Pappy his over 100 rubber snakes and bugs 'round fer th' maids ta find" Sunny smiled back at Applejack.

"Let's stick with Pappy's story" Applejack said as she rolled back over, starring up at the stars.

"What's th' matter? Ya'll ain't 'fraid of yetis, are ya?" Sunny playfully nudged Applejack.

"Well... Granny told some pretty good campfire stories when me an' Big Mac were little" Applejack admitted without giving a full answer.

"Bet Granny's stories ain't got nothin' on mah' dad's" Sunny said with a smirk. Confident that his father's tale of the Umbram would trample anything Granny could come up with involving Yeti.

"Save those stories for tomorrow, ok Sugar Cube?" Applejack rolled her eyes again.

"Ah'll right, ah won't scare ya tonight" Sunny chucked. "Well, one day, I went up ta Pappy while he was workin' and he gave me ah whole bag full of rubber snakes and bugs. He knew ah knew exactly where ta put 'me so th' maids would fun 'em. This one ah was mighty proud of..."

Longer into the night then they expected did Applejack and Sunny talk on and on, sharing stories of their past, things they liked, things they didn't, and much, much more. They eventually called it a night and went off to bed. Both with pleasant dreams of each other. Sunny dreamt about dancing with Applejack at the Gala, while Applejack started to have a nightmare about a yeti attacking the farm. But at the last moment, Sunny showed up and fought it off with a giant carrot before it gave up and made them all the best tea Applejack had ever tasted.