Sunny Knight: a Pony's Tale

by TheothersideofSunny968

New Guardians of Harmony!

It had been several hours since the girls left to go and find Sunny and left Spike all alone to watch Applejack. After re-reading his entire stack of comics several times, the little dragon tuckered himself out and fell asleep with his most recent 'Star Pony Gardians' on his face. Applejack, on the other hoof, began to stir awake from her pleasant dream.

As she looked around, Applejack only saw Spike fast asleep and the sun beginning to set in the west. "How long have ah been asleep?"

Mumbling in his sleep, Spike turned over with his comic sliding down and used as a small blanket. Not wanting the little fella to catch a chill, Applejack took the blanket that was put around her on him, and placed the pillow she was using gently under his head. After the baby dragon looked comfortable, Applejack went to the map room to see if her friends were around.

A quick search of the castle revealed that nopony outside Applejack and Spike were inside. Determined to find out what happened, and having no memory other then trying to wake Sunny up that morning, Applejack casually made her way past a sleeping Spike, out the front doors of the castle, and down the dirt road leading to Ponyville...

"We've been searching forever!" Rainbow Dash threw we hooves up in frustration. "Where is he?!"

"I thought for sure he's come here..." Twilight said to herself. "Where else would he go?"

The girls had searched the ruins of the castle of the Two pony sisters for hours, desperate to fiend their missing friend.

"Maybe back to the Apple farm?" Fluttershy suggested.

"Not to sound rude, darling" Rarity started. "But if I hurt one of my friends, the last place 'I' would want to go is back to their home."

"Wait! What about that secret cave thing?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Scoots knows where it is. She watched Sunny sneaking out of it one time. I'm sure she could-"

"There's no time!" Twilight grasped when she looked at the setting sun in the window. "We'll have to continue our search later! Right now we have to deal with Charming Knigntmare and whatever 'he' is planning."

"But what about Sunny?!" Pinkie Pie popped her head out of an old vase on a pedestal lining the hallway. "We can't just leave him here! In the dark! Alone and scared!"

"We don't really have a choice, Pinkie" Twilight hung her head and sighed. "I hate to leave him in that state, but we need to stop Knightmare and protect the ponies of Ponyville."

"But... but we'll come back and help him, r-right?" It was obvious that Pinkie was really upset about leaving her friend behind. She was his first friend when he came to Ponyville, and it was thanks to her that he went to Sweet Apple Acres and met the Apple family. She felt a strong responsibility towards him, and it tore her apart to have to leave him all alone.

A hoof landed on Pinkie's shoulder, just as a few tears were about to fall. Pinkie traced the hoof all the way back to it's owner, Rainbow Dash. Standing beside her best friend, Rainbow shot Pinkie a confident smile. "Don't worry! We'll take this Knightmare guy down, then come back and save Sunny. Pinkie promise!"

At the same time, Rainbow and Pinkie began the 'Pinkie-promise-ritual-chant'. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!"

Rainbow going through the motions that Pinkie originally came up with for her 'pinkie promises' braught back a smile to Pinkie's muzzle. With that, the girls went back to Ponyville, unsure of what exactly they would be facing...

Octavia had concluded all the nessisary arrangements that she and Thunderlane needed to discuss, but for some reason couldn't find the strength to leave the cafe. It had been hours since that old stallion told her and the boys that Twilight and her friends were off to find Sunny. But something just wasn't sitting right with her. Her mother would have called it her 'mare's intuition'. And she might have been right. As the entire town prepared for a one night special event, Octavia was slowly sipping away on her 12th cup of tea, eyes glued down the dirt road leading into Ponyville that Twilight and her friends were sure to come down.

"More tea, miss Octavia?" The waiter asked once more. He had been polite the whole time Octavia was there. Most ponies would assume she was broke and waiting for them to just kick her out. But the waiter of this cafe knew Octavia better then that, and could since something was wrong.

"Oh, ugh, yes please" Octavia replied, snapping her self back to the cafe.

"Is it a stallion?" The waiter asked, not trying to pry too much.

"Yes..." Octavia replied as he finished pouring her some more passion fruit tea. Realizing how it must have sounded, Octavia quickly added "A-A-A good friend! A good Stallion friend! A friend who is a good stallion! I mean... a friend."

The waiter laughed lightly. "He must be for you to worry this much about him. Shame on him for making you wait this long."

"We weren't going to meet up here..." Octavia answered. "He's... missing."

"He is?" The waiter sounded surprised. "Is somepony out looking for him?"

"Yes..." Octavia's ears dropped, her wart sinking with the answer she was about o give. "The best ponies for the job are."

Catching the grey mare's distress, the waiter decided to do something out of his normal character, offer advice. "You know, one would think one more pony out there looking couldn't hurt. I mean, who's to say whether you 'should' or 'shouldn't' go help a friend. You obviously worry about him this much. Who's to stop a friend from helping a friend out."

"But..." Octavia thought about the whole reason she and the guys didn't go and look for Sunny. "But I'm just a musician. I don't save ponies on a regular basis like princess Twilight and her friends."

"Before Twilight Sparkle was a princess, she was just a pony. A bit of a shut-in book worm, from what I hear. And yet, by taking a stand and following what she believed was right, she and her friends did extraordinary things" the waiter finished his speech and began to walk off. "But that's just me thinking out loud. You should do what 'you' feel is best."

Tanking a moment to think, Octavia knew what she needed to do. A small light flickered in her eyes, like a rainbow's flash. The grey mare dug into her purse, pulled out a small bag of bits, at least twice what she owed for her meal and tea. As she jumped up and ran past the waiter, she handed him the small bag and thanked him with a kiss on his cheek.

Taking the bag of bits in his hoof, the waiter watched as Octavia ran through town, heading to Sweet Apple Acres. Once she was out of sight, the waiter slipped out of sight himself, past the back doors of the cafe where the real waiter was bound and gagged to a chair. The waiter Octavia had spoken to pulled out a black orb, the one Sunny had gotten from his father for his birthday. Holding it in his hoof and chanting an ancient spell, the 'fake' waiter's form began to shift and change, reversing the spell and turning him back to his actual form. No longer masquerading as the waiter, Pappy stood with the orb in hoof, turning his attention back to the ‘real’ waiter.

"Sorry 'bout that pal" Pappy said with a smile as he looked down at the waiter. "Ah needed ta give somepony a quick kick in th' backside. Here, this will more then cover her meal and yer silence. Th' Crystal Empire appreciates yer cooperation."

After untying the nervous waiter, Pappy happily strolled back to the Apple Farm, wondering how mad Granny would be when she realized Pappy tricked Apple Bloom into doing the dishes for him.

Racing as fast as her hooves could carry her, Octavia raced down the dirt road towards Sweet Apple Acres, where she hopped to either find Sunny or get some clues as to where he could be. Maybe she would be lucky and he would be there, but something deep down inside told her that he wouldn't be. When Octavia arrived, she was shocked to see a giant whole in the side of the farm house and had a sickening feeling that that came from Sunny's room. Whatever made the whole was strong enough to break solid wood with ease. Big Mac appeared to be hard at work trying to patch it up, making little to no head way.

The stallion would need to replace most of the wall, and that would require quite a bit of wood. Wood they didn't have at the moment. So Big Mac was just going to have to close the whole off with some plywood until he could get the materials he needed to properly repair it.

"Big Mac!" Somepony called out to him, catching his attention. Turning around, Big Mac was surprised to see Octavia standing there almost out of breath. He almost felt relieved to see her, hoping she had come all this way to tell him that she saw Sunny walking into town with Applejack and the girls. But with one simple question, all of Big Mac's hope shattered. "Is Sunny here?"

A little shaken, Big Mac simply replied, "eh'nope."

"Did Applejack and the others come back yet?" Octavia continued to ask.

"Don't think so" Big Mac began to grow more and more nervous.

"Guys!" A third pony flew in as fast as he could, smacking into the side of the farm house, unable to stop. When he did, all the work Big Mac had put into repairing the side of the farmhouse had crumbled to pieces and fallen off. Not realizing the damage he had done, Thunderlane stood up, shook his head and turned to the other two ponies. "I just saw Princess Twilight and her friends coming back from the Everfree forest, looking supper worried! Without Sunny!"

"WHAT?!" Octavia gasped, feeling lightheaded and slightly nauseous.

"What 'bout mah sis?!" Big Mac began to grow more conceded, breaking it into a nervous sweat.

"I saw her leaving Twilight's castle a little while ago" Thunderlane told his worried friend. "She seemed fine. Fine enough to run almost as fast as I could fly. I think she's going to meet the girls in town. I overheard them talking about that circus going on tonight."

"Sunny's missing and they're going to a circus?!" Octavia started to turn red with outrage.

"Well... I think they might have said something about the guy in charge of it" Thunderlane tried to douse Octavia's burning rage. "Maybe he's a bad guy up to no good, or something, and they need to stop him."

Taking a few deep breaths, Octavia gathered herself, straitened her mane, then calmly told Thunderlane and Big Mac "we need to go find him ourselves."

"Who? Find Sunny?" Thunderlane tried to clarify.

"Ourselves?" Big Mac repeated her last word.

"Are we or are we not his friends?" Octavia started her speech. "What kind of friends leave others to save their friend while they themselves just go about their day as if nothing is wrong?! Are we or are we not his friends?! And do we not stick by our friends, in good times and bad?!"

Another rainbow flash flared across both Big Mac and Thinderlane's eyes as Octavia finished her speech. All of them looked to each other with glowing, confident smiles.

"Let's go save our friend!" Thunderlane declared as he stuck out his hoof.

"Let's bring him home" Big Mac put his hoof over Thunderlane's.

"Safe and sound" Octavia added as she put her hoof over Big Mac's.

Just as they all were about to head out and make the dangerous journey through the Everfree forest, some strange noise filled the night air. A loud and almost alien sound. A loud scrapping 'whooshing' noise. As the wind began to kick up, Octavia and the boys turned to see something appearing out of nowhere. A faint image at first, like a ghost, becoming more and more solid, a big Blue box began to appear. Once it was a solid image, the 'whooshing' noise stopped, and somepony popped their head out of one of it's doors. Octavia, Thunderlane, and Big Mac all recognized the pony sticking his head out of the box as Doctor Whooves.

Looking around and finally catching the sight of the other three ponies just staring at him and his box, Doctor smiled and stepped out of the TARDIS. "Ah... ugh... I can explain."

"No time" Octavia waved a hoof. "Sunny's in trouble. We need to find him. He's lost somewhere in the Everfree forest."

"Lost you say?" Doctor padded his chin then retreated into his blue box.

"Sunny's missing?!" Derpy flew out of the box and landed on her face, but quickly got up and dusted herself off. "We have to go and find him!"

"That's the plan!" Thunderlane beamed, wings out, ready cut through the air.

Smiling up at Thunderlane, Derpy's eyes, although still pointing in opposite directions, also flared with a rainbow for a split second as she smiled, happy that they were going to help their friend.

"Let's make our search a little easier!" Doctor exclaimed as he returned from his box with an odd device that he hadn't used since the TARDIS became fully operational. It was a hoof held device with several flashing lights and wires on it, that made a beeping sound every few seconds. As he held it triumphantly in the air, Doctor turned to the group of misfit friends and proclaimed "let's go save Sunny!"

As the others cheered and the thought of going out of his way to help a friend filled Doctor's mind, a rainbow flashed across the time lord's eyes as well...

Sunny had been fast asleep, enjoying his peaceful dream when the ground shaking beneath his hooves suddenly awoke him from his slumber! Shaken awake, Sunny didn't have time to think about how he returned to pony form or even how he had gotten to the tree of harmony. All that happened that day was a blur, like a bad dream. Running outside the cave and leaving the free of harmony behind, Sunny saw what had been causing all the commotion.

A giant red and black centaur was attacking the ruins of the castle above, the castle of the two pony sisters! The mighty creature continued to attack the castle as he called out "Soleggiato! Come out or I will turn this castle to rubble!"

Thinking quickly, Sunny focused his magic and teleported himself to the cliff just behind the castle. Looking back at were the centaur stood, Sunny called out "who are you and what do you want with me?"

After hearing the pony's voice, the centaur stopped his attack on the old castle. "I was sent here to pick you up and take you to your father, King Sombra. I mean you no harm. Forgive my harsh actions, I simply lost my temper."

Sunny had dealt with many characters in his past and more in his present enough to know the centaur was simply trying to sweet talk him. He could see it in the beast's eyes. But if the giant knew Sunny's real name and of his father, he might be telling the truth. But before Sunny could think up his next move, a giant red hand reached out and grabbed him, plucking the yellow unicorn from his hiding spot!

"There you are!" The centaur smiled as he narrowed his Black and yellow eyes on Sunny. "Once I turn you over to your father, I'll be free to exact my revenge on those who imprisoned me!"

Struggling against the monster's grasps, Sunny started to channel his magic into his horn, ready to teleport away when he suddenly found himself trapped in a orange sphere!

"I don't need you causing me any more problems" the centaur noted and began to walk away in the direction of the foal mountains.

Just as he began his journey, the giant centaur felt his front legs catch something. As he was about to look down to see what was obstructing his movements, something fast hit him in the stomach, slightly knocking the wind out of him. Before he could recover, something else came down in him from above, hitting him with the force of two tones! Feeling lightheaded, the centaur collapsed to his knees and landed face first on the ground, dropping the orb that contained Sunny!

Once the orb fell and shattered, Sunny quickly looked around and saw his friends! Doctor, Derpy, Octavia, Thunderlane, and Big Mac! Running up to his friends, they all bombarded him with affectionate hugs. "Guys... ugh... great to see you too.. but-"

"We're so glad you're safe!" Octavia interrupted him.

"We were worried!" Big Mac added.

"That's great... but-" Sunny could barely speak through the right hug. But this time, somepony else interrupted him.

Orange orbs engulfed all of Sunny's friends, separating them from their hug and levitated them up off the ground. The centaur who the group had take down moments ago had regained consciousness and cast some sort of spell to separate the group. The scene was so familiar to the muscular being, that is almost made him worry. The last time a group of ponies came to aid a target of his, he wound up back in Tartarus. But this time, he was going to make sure not to leave a single drop of magical energy in them!

"Looks like I have a little snack" the centaur narrowed his eyes on Sunny's friends as he licked his lips.

"NO!" Sunny cried out in a loud and commanding voice that actually managed to shake the giant centaur. Pausing a moment, Sunny sighed, knowing he was defeated. "I'll... I'll go with you. Just don't hurt my friends. Please."

"No Sunny!" Thunderlane called out as he began tackling the side of his bubble in an attempt to break loose. Derpy began cannon balling, butt first, to try and achieve the same result, with no success.

"You can't go with that fiend!" Octavia added as she began punching at her bubble with her hooves, knowing her strength could break boulders. Big Mac tried bucking his bubble as well, but neither bubbles showed the slightest hint of weakness.

"That's Tirek! He attacked Ponyville and Equestria before! He'll surely do it again!" Doctor staged as he pulled out an odd looking wand shaped device and began waving it at his bubble. The item made a loud screeching noise, but ultimately wasn't effective.

"Guys... it's ok" Sunny sighed again as he walked over to Tirek, ready to tell them the horrible truth, knowing the truth would set him free. The truth would show them that 'he' himself was a monster like Tirek, like his father. And when they saw that, they would want nothing more to do with him. As much as it would pain him, putting emotional distance between him and his friends was the best thing for them right now. It was time to tell them the truth, to be honest with them... “He's going to take me to my father... to King Sombra..."

"King... Sombra?" Big Mac paused his bucking to look at his yellow pal.

"Isn't that...." Thunderlane stated to say, but couldn't find the strength to complete his sentence.

"He's the evil king who brought the Crystal Empire to it's knees" Doctor spat it item out of his mouth. "The one Princess Twilight and her friends had to fight when the Empire returned."

"Sunny... you're a prince?!" Octavia's first response was a rather unexpected one to Sunny.

"Not really the point I was making" Sunny flatly said, avoiding eye contact with his friends complexly, but still speaking loud enough for them to hear. "Tirek, I'm ready. I'll go..."

"Good" the red and black centaur raised a hand over Sunny and cast him in a similar orange orb like his friends. Having given up the fight despite his friend's plea, Sunny sat down like a good little colt in the bubble, ready to be taken where he was told. "But first, a snack!"

Sunny's eyes jolted open as he watched Tirek levitate the orb with Thunderlane inside it up to his face. The Black eyed beast opened his mouth as wide as it could stretch. As Thunderlane pressed himself up to the farthest edge of the bubble that he could, trying as best as he could to put as much space between him and Tirek as possible. But his actions were pointless, he was unable to escape the centaur's hunger. Sunny watched as an orange and yellow energy was sucked from his close friend and swallowed up by Tirek!

"THAT WASN'T PART OF THE DEAL!!!" Sunny yelled as loud as he could, jumping to his hooves and banging on his orb. "I TOLD YOU TO LET THEM GO AND I'D-"

"Silence, foal" Tirek snapped as he put Thunderlane's orb down, the grey Pegasus stallion now a lighter shade of grey and all the color removed from his eyes. As Tirek picked up Big Mac's orb, he shot a quick glance at Sunny who was desperately trying to break out of his own orange ball. "I made no such 'deal' with you. 'My' only deal with with your father, to deliver you safe and sound to him. Your 'friends' are a snack I'll need for the journey. So relax and say your final goodbyes!"

Sunny watched in horror again as Tirek opened his mouth up wide and began observing the magic from Big Mac. The sight was too much for Sunny to bear and he continued to fight, trying to buck, punch, or blast with magic against the walls of his prison. All with no success. Once Big Mac was fully drained, and left as a grey image of his former self, Tirek reached for Octavia's orb next.

As Octavia was lifted up to the giant beast, she looked down to Sunny and tried her best to call to him. "Sunny! I believe in you! If there's anypony who can save us, it's y-"

But the musical mare was interrupted as Tirek started absorbing the magic from her too. Sunny stopped his attempts to break free to watch through tear filled eyes as every last drop of magic was drained from Octavia, just like with Thunderlane and Big Mac. Once all magic had been taken from her, Tirek added her to the small pile of ponies still in their orange prisons that were also drained, before reaching and grabbing Derpy's orb. The poor grey mare could only shiver and shake as Tirek's large red hand reached out and grabbed her orb prison.

"You need to do something Sunny!" Doctor yelled out from his prison, caring the unicorn's attention.

"I... I don't know what else I can do! I'm not Twilight Sparkle!" He admitted, bitting his lip as he said it. "I'm just a former prince... I don't know half the spells Twilight, or even the other unicorn's in town probably know! I'm not as strong as Big Mac! I can't-"

"Quite telling yourself what you ‘can't’ do!" Doctor snapped. "I saw you risk your life for ponies you didn't even know! You've taken on armies before all on your own!"

"Armies that were just ponies! Or griffins! Or creatures that weren't the size of buildings!" Sunny snapped back, motioning to Tirek. "And certainly not something like him!"

"What you're facing doesn't matter!" Doctor's expression remained unchanged as he tried to focus less on Derpy, his oldest and dearest friend, being drained of all her magic, and tried to focus on Sunny. "I know you can do this! You just have to look deep inside yourself!... as a stallion of science, I don't normally say this, but find the magic inside of you!"

"Magic... inside of me?" Sunny repeated Doctor's words as he watched Doctor's orb rise up to Tirek's mouth, and, like the others, began to lose all the magic from within him.

'Magic within!' Sunny shut his eyes to focus as he mentally chanted the thought. 'Magic within! Magic within! MAGIC WITHIN!'

Throwing Doctor Whooves's orb to the rest of the ponies in the pile, Tirek snapped his fingers, breaking the orbs they were kept in. As the image of the ponies falling to the ground, all weak and deprived of their natural glow, flashed across Sunny's eyes, carving the memory into the stallion's mind, something began to bubble inside. Something dark and deep. Something that Sunny remembered. And a voice spoke out again. 'Let it go.'

"That was a nice snack" Tirek chuckled, satisfied with his actions. "But it's time to get this foal to his daddy. I want my revenge, and I've waited long enough to..."

Tirek stopped his monologue when he noticed the orb that contained Sunny began to fill with a black kind of smoke. The orange orb that helped the former prince began to warp and, at some points, break. Tirek watched, unable to react out of curiosity. Right as his red hand was about to reach out for the orb, though, it shattered, causing the centaur to retract his hand to protect his face.

When he felt it was safe to open his eyes, the centaur couldn't believe what he was looking at. A thick black miasma seemed to be covering the ground and spreading through the entire area as a pair of burning red eyes pierced the black smoke where Sunny once stood.

"What magic is this?" Tirek asked as he tried to blow the smoke away with waves of his large arms.

"The magic... of FEAR!!!" Sunny called out from the black smoke. A pony like figure then jumped out from the miasma and lashed out at Tirek, striking him in the chest. The blow was great and slightly knocked the wind out of Tirek. But the centaur just landed on his hooves, quickly recovering only to be attacked again from the side! Sunny hit a second powerful blow hit Tirek’s ribs before vanishing in lot smoke and reappearing behind the giant centaur and landing another blow at his lower back!

Strike after strike, Sunny now in a full umbrum form, continued to lash out as hard as he could. Kicking, bucking, punching, even bitting Tirek whenever he could. The giant centaur tried to retaliate, striking back with back hands, fists, as even swinging his large horns, but every attack just passed through Sunny's smoke like body. In a short time, Sunny had mastered his birthright form inherited from his father, simply through the power of rage and anger. But it was the source of anger that would lead to his greatest weakness. As monstrous as Tirek was, he had a sharp and calculating mind, not a sharp as someponues, but he was smart enough to realize something when his eye caught sight of all the drained ponies he left in a pile off to his side.

Realizing Sunny’s possible weakness, Tirek stopped trying to block and attack the umbrum like pony and started to gather energy into his left hand. "I’d stop attacking if I were you!

"Unless you wish to see your 'friends' turned to ash!" Tirek chucked as he turned the giant energy ball towards Doctor, Derpy, Octavia, Thunderlane and Big Mac, who were all still drained of all their magic, too weak to stand let alone run away from danger.

Understanding the danger his friends were in, Sunny stopped his attacks immediately. His voice echoed like howls in the dark after midnight, his glowing red eyes turned back to their usual green color as he looked from his opponent to his friends. “No! You wouldn't!"

"Try me!" Tirek's toothy grin grew as the magical orb of energy grew larger in his tending hand, seeming to gather fiery rings around it. "You surrender and come with me! Or they pay the price!"

Looking from Tirek then to his friends, Sunny's anger quickly subsided, and with it, his umbrum like form. As the yellow unicorn began to revert to his previous state, appeareing the same as he did the first day he came to Ponyville, he hung his head in defeat. Sunny could never let his anger overpower his love for his friends. The only friends he had, aside from family. As the miasma began to clear, and the last of Sunny's shadowy body solidified, Tirek began to reach down with one mighty hand to grab him, his other hand dispensing the energy ball into nothing. As he did, Sunny put up a small shield, not enough to completely block the attack, but enough to stop Tirek from grabbing him. She shield faded shortly after Tirek touched it.

"What is the meaning of this?! Still defiant?!" Tirek snapped, narrowing his eyes on the little yellow unicorn.

"I'll go willingly" Sunny stated. "Just... just give me a second to say goodbye to my friends..."

"Why would I do that?!" Tirek asked. "The longer I wait, the longer it takes to-"

"Give. Me. A. Second" Sunny's voice rang deep like a bronze bell, his eyes flaring as they shot a hard look at Tirek.

The giant red and black centaur hesitated for a moment, remembering that same gaze and tone that Sombra used on him. Trying to hide his hesitation, Tirek grunted and narrowed his eyes on the little pony. "You have one minute. Then we leave. Staring now."

Not wanting to waste any time, Sunny ran over to his friends as fast as he could. Only, as he reached them, the former prince was suddenly at a loss for words until one of them spoke up.

"You... you aren't really going... are you?" Big Mac asked, his voice sounding so weak. Sunny had never heard the red stallion sound so tired before

"If I do, he'll leave you alone" Sunny replied, his eyes avoiding contact.

"He'll... hurt ponies like... like last time..." Thunderlane added, fighting with all his might to talk.

"... Twilight and the others can handle him" Sunny countered after a brief moment of hesitation. "They've done it before. They can do it again."

"Don't go..." Octavia begged, tears forming at the far corners of her eyes.

"You're... our friend..." Derpy didn't allow Sunny to say anything before she did. Her crossed eyes now grey ghosts of their normally joy filled selves.

"... you all would have been better off if you never met me..." Sunny finally spoke up, fighting back the tears. "Look what knowing me and trying to help me has done to you."

"You're wrong..." Doctor put one hoof down and used it to pull himself up half way, eyes locking onto Sunny. "That monster... did this. Not you.... you... you saved us... from ourselves."

"Since we met you" Octavia chimed in again, digging deeper to find the strength to speak from the heart. "We've all become better ponies. Ponies we wouldn't be if you didn't help us."

"She's right bro..." Thunderlane forced himself to crack a smile at his yellow friend. "I have no regrets about us being friends."

"Me neither" Big Mac's smile stretched from ear to ear.

"So Sunny... how do you feel?" Doctor asked, a half smile creeping into his own muzzle. "Do you really want to go? Is this how you want things to end?... what is it you want?... just tell us what you really feel... Be honest.”

His heart was racing a million miles per hour, as Sunny looked from his friends to Tirek and back. He knew his time was almost up, and there would be no point in fighting back. So with nothing more to lose, Sunny felt something burning deep inside, like a furnace fire growing to warn a house in the dead of winter. Something that Sunny kept deep, deep inside was raising to the surface, and he no longer wished to fight it. He was ready to let what he kept inside out! The truth. The truth he had buried deep side to keep ponies at a distance, to keep his secrets, and to keep his heart from hurting like w had in the past.

"I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE!" Sunny burst into tears as his voice rang though the forest, shaking the trees and scaring the wild life near them. All eyes were on the yellow unicorn as rivers ran down from his eyes.

"I finally have friends! REAL friends!" Sunny said through his tears. "I don't have to worry about being a 'perfect prince'! I can goof-off! Have fun! Stroll into town like anypony else! I live in a wonderful house! With ponies who like me for me! It's all I've ever wanted!... I just... I just wanted that for so long! Now I don’t want to lose it! Any of it!”

With that final declaration, Sunny's body began to glow! Some unknown power began to raise the yellow unicorn into the air! The light then hit his friends, each one beginning to glow a different color in respect to the element that had awaken inside each of them from the experience they all had with Sunny. As the lights that surrounded each of them grew in intensity, their colors began to return to them, and then some! Their manes and tails began to grow, gaining streaks of various colors. Along their bodies, images of their respective cutie marks began to appear as well, also in various colors that matched the streaks in their manes and tails. No pony knew why all of this was happening, that was, until the tree of Harmony reached out and reminded Sunny of the dream he had while he slept beneath it’s branches.

While the yellow unicorn slept, the three of Harmony basked him in it's light, sensing he was in need of it's harmonious and peace brining powers. Along with such a gift, the tree knew it had to bestow onto him the Knowledge of what was happening, so that he could lead the others when the time came. The time is now. Now the new Guardians of Harmony have awakened!

As Sunny rose into he air, glowing with an orange light that surrounded him, he began to speak, turning his head first to Big Mac. The big red farm pony appeared to be holding back some laughter as he floated into he air, himself, a blue light coating his entire body. "After finding the ability to balance work and fun, and sharing the gift with others, you, Big Macintosh, are bestowed with the element of Laughter..."

The next pony Sunny turned to was Thunderlane, who's body was coated in a red light as he floated in the air, striking a victorious position. "For seeking out a way to share your life with new and old friends, showing you don't want to lose either, you, Thunderlane, now represent the element of Loyalty!"

Sunny smiled as he turned his head towards Octavia, who smiled back with nearly tear filled wide eyes and an even wider smile as she floated in purple light. "Sacrificing one's own goals in order to aid other's dreams is a noble sacrifice in deed. That is why, Octavia, you represent Generocity."

Looking over at Derpy, his mind jumping back and regaining the memories of over 1000 years ago, Sunny smiled at his old friend. The grey mare began to float without flapping her wings, raising upside down at first, but flipping right side up as she began to glow light pink. "For aiding another in great danger with no worries for your own well being, Derpy, you represent Kindness."

Glancing at Doctor now, who proudly nodded to Sunny, knowing that the yellow unicorn remembered the times they shared 1000 years ago and the lesson he installed on the Time Lord. The earth-pony scientist began to glow in a brilliant purple light as he rose off the ground. "For putting your own ideals aside and embarrassing the magic of friendship, for aiding your fellow pony, and finding the magic inside, Doctor Whooves, you represent the spirit of Magic!"

With all his friends now floating in the air, powered by the respective elements they they all individually embraced, that he himself helped to bring out from within them, Sunny was magically brought into the middle of them, still glowing orange. "And I, myself, learned to trust you all with my secrets. I kept up walls, hid things from you, afraid that you wouldn't accept me if you knew the truth. But I was wrong. And I'm happy that I was!

"In entrusting you with the truth, I can raise, to stand with you as a fellow Guardians of Harmony! I, Sunny Knight, Soleggiato Cavelere, represent the element of Honesty!" Now that all six ponies representing all the elements of Harmony were together, standing united, the glowing magical energies flowing through them began to intensify.

Tirek feared what was happening, getting a strong since of déjà vu. But try as he might, the powerful centaur couldn't find it in him to move his muscular horse like legs. It was as if they were glued to the ground as he awaited his judgment at the hooves of the new Guardians of Harmony. All six of the ponies, including Sunny, were floating in the air, the various rainbow of colored auras that surrounded them began growing brighter and brighter then before. They seemed to just stand as a mighty force to be recorded with as they all turned to Tirek, the looks on their respective muzzles were all displeased.

"TIREK!" Sunny called out with his voice loud enough to rival thunder itself. "YOU HURT MY FRIENDS, THEN INSISTED ON GOING FURTHER TO THREATEN THE REST OF EQUESTRIA! WE WILL NOT ALLOW THIS! IT'S TIME YOU GO BACK! TO TARTARUS WITH YOU!!!"

All at once, the colors that surrounded the six ponies shot into the air, creating a rainbow like beam of magical energy, one Tirek simply couldn't steal and swallow. Like the magic that defeated him last time, 'this' magic was also the power that was found deep within pony hearts, hearts that were linked by an unbeatable force. A force of magic known as 'friendship'.

The centaur cried out in rage and anger as the rainbow of magical light surrounded him and blasted a hole beneath his hooves, opening a way leading back to Tartarus, and his prison cell, where Cerberus was happily waiting for his returning prisoner. The last glance Tirek saw was the hard gaze of Sunny's green eyes looking down on him, but not with disgust or anger. No. There was something else in his eyes. A loss of hope. But not for anypony else other then Tirek himself. Was there once hope Sunny had that Tirek could go on and become something more then a tormentor bent of destruction? Tirek will never know...

As the portal to Tartarus sealed back up, and the magic that Tirek stole from Sunny's friends returned to them, the six ponies returned to normal. The magic that made their highlights and extra marks on their bodies began to return to their resting places deep within the individual ponies, until the time would come once again when they needed the magic of friendship.

Thunderlane held both his hooves out to Big Mac, who happily met his hooves with his for a double high hoof. As the guys cheered, Octavia was going back and forth with Doctor, explaining and comparing how they both felt from that brilliant and amazing magic that courses through them. Sunny was the only pony who was silent. Noticing this, Derpy walked over to him, catching him looking at his hooves, his breathing slow and deep.

"Are you ok, Sunny?" Derpy asked simply. As she did, everypony fell silent and looked to the one friend that they all collectively shared.

Taking one last deep breath, Sunny turned to face his friends, shot them a weak smile and told them "I guess I have a lot of explaining to do. There's a lot I wasn't honest and open about... but... to be honest, I don't think I have much to worry about anymore."

"How I wish that were so" a familiar voice called out from within the wild brush of the Everfree. Stepping out, the mare's presence shocked everypony there. They all knew Zecorra was in a coma like sleep, so to see her standing there really shook them all. Her eyes were locked with Sunny's even though her message was for everypony there. "I would not be celebrating just yet, the real danger has yet to be met."