Sunny Knight: a Pony's Tale

by TheothersideofSunny968

Prince Sunny, Friend to all

"I don't know if I can do ok this…" Sunny said with a dry mouth, his heart pounding a million miles per hour, his hooves feeling sweaty.

"You'll be fine" Applejack reasured him as she helped to straiten out the cloak on his Black Knight suit of armor. "Just act natural. Like ya do with us."

It was the day of Sunny's coronation, as well as the ceremony to honor the New guardians of Harmony and the Elements of Harmony for their hard work on repelling the Changelings and forces of Sombra's army. Although, some felt the celebration was not called for, especially after what happened to Discord. Fluttershy didn't leave her cottage all week. Her friends were over every day doing their best to help her get through this, reasuring her that they would get him back, but it was still hard to see her friend as a pile of rocks. Sunny blamed himself, knowing it was his father who had done the horrible deed. Couple that with the fact that nearly all the Changelings and most of Sombra's guards escaping, the battle felt less like a victory. The only things that made the Elements and Guardians feel any better about it were that no pony was hurt and Sunny and his mother, Princess Celestia, were reunited after 1000 years. That latter fact was why Sunny was willing to go along with this at all. The truth had to be known about them. He may have brought White Out, her husband Thunder Veil and the assistant Fesa to record and later report everything, but the ceremony would solidify their writings. But there was alot that went with it. Standing there in the Apple Family's farm house, knowing what awaited him just beyond the front door made Sunny more nervous then being in a cage full of angry Timberwolves.

"That's easier said then done" Sunny told his special somepony as he looked into a mirror. He was once again looking at the Legendary Black Knight, a prince of the Crystal Empire, somepony he rather forget about. "I was perfectly happy just being 'Sunny, an Apple farmer from Ponyville', but now I have to be 'Prince Solggiato Cavelere, the Black Knight' again…"

Something clicked in his mind, something some ponies said long ago that didn't make sense at the time, but began to piece together after he repeated their words. Sunny didn't have long to dwell on the words of the past.

"You listen here" Applejack grabbed Sunny's head with both hooves and forced him to turn and look at her. "You'll always be 'Sunny' no matter what ya do. Whether yer ah 'apple farmer from Ponyville', ah 'prince' or even ah 'sofa sales pony'. Titles don't make ya who ya are, 'you' make ya who ya are. An' if ya ask me, yer ah ripe good stallion, and ah wonderful pony. And ya deserve ta be recognized fer it."

"I couldn't have said it better myself" a familiar, motherly voice rang out from just down the hallway from where Sunny and Applejack were. Princess Celestia emerged from the dark hallway, dressed in her sceramonial dress, smiling at both Applejack and Sunny.

"Princess, ah was just-" Applejack started to get nervous and sumble over her words a bit. But Princess Celestia smiled and spoke up.

"It's ok Applejack. I was just coming in here to do the very same thing" Celestia said as she casually walked up to her son and his mare friend. "You know, Sunny always gets nervous before ceremonies, even if he has nothing he needs to do but stand there and smile."

"Really? He did a pretty awesome job with all those modivational speeches" Thunderlane's voice caught the attention of Sunny, Applejack and Princess Celestia. Looking over, they saw not just Thunderlane, but the rest of the new Guardians of Harmony, Thunderlane, Derpy, Doctor Whooves, and Octavia and Big Mac. All were dressed and groomed for the big event, all proud to not eat not be Guardians, but to be standing there with their friends, sharing their victory, ready to declare to Equestria who they were.

"That's in th' heat of th' moment" Sunny started to say, his accent returning. Without him seeing, Celestia smiled as she noticed her son relaxed a little. "It's like goin' on ah rollercoaster, it has ah long build up till th' first drop! Ah hate that "

"Awwwww so no trips to Las Pegasus's famous roller coasters!?" Derpy pouted, sounding cute and disappointed.

Shaking his head, Sunny put the frightening idea of roller coasters aside. "What are ya'll doin' in here?"

"Waitin' fer you" Big Mac simply said with an easy smile on his muzzle.

"Like it or not, you are the pony almost everypony came to see" Doctor stated flatly, but broke his stone look with a cocky smile of his own. "But don't be afraid, we're here with you. We're not just a team, we're friends."

"Let's go out there and give them the show they all came to see" Octavia smiled at Sunny as well as she combed back her mane with her hoof.

"You'll do just fine" Celestia lowered her head to be just a little closer to her son, now looking him in the eye. "Just relax, and be yourself. Let them see the real you, not the you you think you have to be. After all, you've done some amazing things just being yourself. I know, I've seen them. Remind me to show you the Celestial plane later."

Before anything else could be said, Kibitz, the elderly assistant to Celestia and Luna, walked in, pocket watch in his hoof. "It's time! Let's not keep the guests waiting!"

He then paused, eyes locked on Sunny. He then approached the yellow unicorn and offered his extended hoof. "I must say it is an honor, sir. My name is Kibitz, and if there is anything I can do for you, please, don't hesitate to ask."

Without skipping a beat, Sunny smiled at Kibitz, and his accent asked "could ya put this armor on an' walk out there for me?"

The New Guardians laughed, Applejack Laughed, even Princess Celestia laughed a little, trying to hide her laughter behind her foreleg. Kibitz looked at Sunny, shook his head and mumbled 'definatly related', before saying "Please, it is time."

Kibitz then left Sunny and the others behind as he exited the farm house, heading to the open area of the farm where the stage and seats had been set up. Though more seats had to be improvised. There were three times the ponies and other creatures then they expected to show up, including members of the Apple Family who came from all across Equestria to see the prince that moved onto the farm. Not everyday you learn of a secret son of a princess, let alone him living on a family farm. Princess Celestia didn't see a need for anymore words of encouragement, so she teleported out of the farm house to rejoin her sister Princess Luna at the stage.

Taking one last deep breath, helmet under hoof, Sunny looked over at his friends who were smiling back at him. "Well, here we go."

Walking out of the farm house, Sunny was amazed by the large crowd that had gathered for the ceremony. Not just ponies had arrived, but dragons as well! Only a dozen or so. One in particular beening as big as the barn itself. Torch stood with several smaller dragons around him. Sunny also recognized one of the smaller dragons as being Torch's daughter and current Dragon Lord, Ember. Along with dragons were three yeti that Sunny recognized from the Gala. He was glad they were still wanting to mingle with ponies after what happened. Continuing to take deep breaths, Sunny lead the other guardians out of the farm house and up an isle. Once ponies saw them emerging from house, a few began to cheer and stomp their hooves. Out of the corner of his eye, Sunny saw a number of the Crystal Royal guard there, Ipsy and the three siren sisters in their land walking forms, Rosewood sat next to them, and even Comic Stan was in the crowd. It actually made Sunny smile. But he didn't stop until he reached the stage where his mother, his aunt Luna, as well as the Elements of Harmony, Cadence and Shinning Armor all stood in formal attire, all smiling at the New Guardians.

Once Sunny and his friends were on stage, Princess Celestia stepped forward and spoke using the royal Canterlot voice, allowing all the guests to hear her. "Welcome everypony, we are here today to celebrate and acknowlage Equestria's newest protectors. These ponies here have banned togeather and saved Equestria from great and terrible forces, and I trust they will continue to do so in the near future. Please step forward when I call your name and I will present you with a metal of honor. Doctor Whooves…"

Doctor smiled as he walked up to Princess Celestia. He lowered his head, and she placed a metal with a purple ribbon around his neck, then he stepped back in line, rejoining his friends. The same was done for Octavia, Thunderlane, and Big Mac, who had no problem going up and receiving their respective awards, the ribbons of each metal matched the color of the element for each guardian. When it was Derpy's turn, though, she started to walk up to princess Celestia, but caught her hoof on a loose board. She fell over and landed flat infront of princess Celestia, who shot her an awkward smile before levitating the poor, clumsy mare up, to her hooves with her magical aura. After dusting Derpy off a bit and seeing if she was ok, Celestia place her metal around her neck, and watched carefully as Derpy trotted back in line and stood by her friends. There was only one last guardian of Harmony to address now. The one alot of ponies and other creatures came to see.

"Prince Solggiato, please step forward" princess Celestia adressed Sunny by his birth name.

Taking one last deep breath, looking from his friends, to Applejack, to his mother, remembered what they all said to him, and began to walk up the stage. He could feel so many eyes on him as he took every step. Sunny felt like at any moment something was going to go wrong, another part of the reason why he hated ceremonies like this. But he didn't fall, didn't trip, and no pony said a thing. All silently watched as Sunny reached his mother, smiled and bowed.

"Prince Solggiato, you have continued to prove yourself worthy of both your Princely title, your Knightood, and now as a 'Guardian of Harmony'. You have done everything you can to keep the peace in Equestria, to aid your fellow pony, and to stop those who seek to disrupt the peace and Harmony. We are forever in your debt" Princess Celestia smiled at her son as she placed the metal around his neck. "But there is one more thing you deserve today."

Princess Celestia turned and faced the crowd. "1000 years ago, Prince Solggiato lived in the Crystal Empire along with his father, King Sombra. It was there he was crowned a prince at a very young age. Too young to ever remember. But today is a new day. And on this day, I bestow upon you, the title you always had and hid, a prince of Equestria!"

Lowing his head, Sunny allowed his mother to present to him a silver band with a single green gem embeded into it, ontop of his head, resting it slightly above his brow. Raising his head to look at his mother, Sunny smiled, then looked out to the crowd, and spoke in his royal Canterlot voice so every creature could hear him. "Ponies, Dragons, yeti, and all else who came out to see us, I want to say thank you.

"1000 years ago, my world was very small" Sunny started to say. "I kept to myself, and did whatever I could to bring peace to others and to try and be worthy of my title, as well as make my parents proud. Who, if you ask them, like all parents, they would say they are always proud" Sunny joked, earninng smile amongst the crowd. "I've learned since then that I don't have to do things all on my own, and that having friends by your side to help you, and you help them in turn, makes the things you accomplish in life that much better, because you can share them with ponies who care about you."

Looking from his mother to his aunt Luna, to Applejack, Twilight and their friends, then to Doctor, Derpy, the rest of the Guardians of Harmony, to Cadence and Shinning Armor, then to all the ponies and various creatures in the crowd, Sunny was able to share the biggest smile he had ever had as he spoke from the heart. "I can honestly say that I'm the luckiest pony in all of Equestria to have all the friends and family that I do. I promise you all that I will continue to serve my fellow pony, as well as any other creature in need, and maybe make more friends along the way."

"Three cheers for prince Solggiato!" One of the Crystal royal guards cheered.

Right as ponies began to cheer, Sunny raised a hoof, stopping them in their tracks. "No! From now on, you all may call me Sunny, Sunny Knight!"

The crowd broke out into loud cheers, hoof stomps, roars and howls. Everypony, every dragon, and every other creature present cheered in applause for the crowning of Equestria's virtuous Prince Sunny.

After the actual ceremony, every creature was invited to partake of the largest feast Sweet Apple Acres had ever seen since the last Apple Family reunion. Everypony and evercreature wanted to shake hooves and speak with Sunny and the new Guardians of Harmony. Food, games, story telling, and somepony even brought the equipment for jousting! To truly put the past behind them, Sunny and Shinning Armor had a friendly joisting match, with Shinning Armor being the winner. Afterwards both stallions shook hooves, then entered into the bobbing for apples contest, Sunny proved victorious at that competition. But everypony had watches as the two yeti brothers Mac and Tosh tried their hands at joisting. It didn't go very well, but Sunny was able to repair the broken equipment with a quick spell. When the sun began to set, the party started to die down, most guest had taken their leave, say for the Apple Family members who were visiting from out of town.

"Ah feel like we should help clean up" Sunny told Applejack who offered him his signature Stetson hat, which Sunny gladly put on over his crown. The two pieces of headwear seemed to fit together perfectly.

"Don't ya worry none 'bout the clean up, it won't take long" Applejack reassured him. "Why don't ya go relax with yer mom, ah'm sure she'd like ta be seeing alot more of ya. An' ah know it goes without sayin, but she's welcome here any time."

Smiling back at the orange farm mare he fell in love with, Sunny leaned in and gave Applejack a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks Sugar cube. That's mighty sweet of ya. Ah'll let her know."

It didn't take Sunny long to find his mother. She was standing on the farm house porch, looking out I to the sea of apple trees, lost in thought.

When Sunny approached her, Princess Celestia turned and smiled gently at him. "It feels like a dream. I still can't believe I've finally found you after all this time."

"I feel the same" Sunny said, nervously adjusting the Stetson on his head.

Celestia casually approached her son, looking him over from a few different angles before telling Sunny "it's a good look for you. You are so handsome. You are just the spitting image of your father."

"Funny, Dad always said I looked alot like you, especially when I smile" Sunny admitted to his mother.

The thoughts and memories of his father were bitter sweet to Celestia, Sunny could easily see the conflict in her eyes. The love, pain, happiness and torment.

"We'll get him back" Sunny tried to cheer his mother up. "Something ain't right. He wouldn't do all he had done or said what he said if something else wasn't more going on. Ah feel it."

"I hope you're right" Celestia sighed, then pushed the thoughts of Sombra out of her mind, trying to focus on the stallion infront of her. "But let's enjoy this day. I want to enjoy being reunited with my son, and being able to claim him as my son in public. No more secrets."

"It's feels really good" Sunny smiled at his mother. "I hope you don't mind, I know it's been so long, and you live in Canterlot, but I kinda have a home here in Ponyville... On th' farm…"

"I asumed you would, and prepared for that" Celestia then levitated a gift she had hidden and presented it to Sunny. The gift itself wasn't wrapped and left Sunny guessing for a moment. Why his mother would present him with a large mirror with a gold, white and purple frame stumped Sunny for a moment. Then a lightbulb flickered on in his head. A quick smile to his mother who nodded back confirmed Sunny's suspicion.

Sticking one hoof to the mirror, Sunny's hoof went through and disappeared into the mirror, almost as if he stuck his hoof into a puddle of water. Without any further hesitation, Sunny pressed forward, walking through the mirror like a doorway. Once fully through, Sunny got a better look at his suroundings. He had emerged from the mirror to end up the throne in Canterlot Castle.

The stained glass windows that portrayed main events in pony history were a big give away. Sunny had never been there before, the castle being built long after he was sealed away, but he had read about it and seen pictures in books. The castle was more beautiful then he imagined. Sunny couldn't help but notice alot of the stained glass windows were of Applejack, Twilight and thier friends. But one window in particular caught Sunny's attention.

It was on the side of the room opposite to the stained glass with Applejack and the others facing nightmare moon. It was very similar, with an evil looking pony at the center, but all around him were 12 other ponies that Sunny instantly recognized as his friends, the Guardians of Harmony, as well as Applejack's friends, the Elements of Harmony.

'That was our fight against Charming Knightmare' Sunny looked up at it in awe. 'our first battle and our first victory fighting as the new Guardians of Harmony.'

Sunny went back through the mirror and reemerged at Sweet Apple Acres, his mother waiting for his response.

Without skipping a beat, Sunny smiled up at her "Now we won't ever be far apart at all."

"I'm glad you like it" Celestia gave Sunny a hug once again, him returning the embrase. "I could never ask you to leave the place you call home, but I want you to be close to me as well. I'm glad you're ok with this."

"I'm more then glad" Sunny told her as he broke the hug. Looking her in the eye. "Now you could come over for dinners, take a break from work and enjoy some fresh home made apple pie, and-"

"And be the family we always wanted?" Celestia smiled down at her son, tears growing at the far corners of her eyes. "Nothing would make me.more happy."

"We're all glad ta have ya" Applejack's voice caught Sunny and Celestia's attention. They both had been so drawn into her own world that they didn't notice the four ponies standing on the porch with them. Applejack, Big Mac, Apple Bloom and Granny Smith all stood by, watching Sunny and his mother. "Ya'll are welcome here anytime. Ah told Sunny before, any family ah his is family and ours."

"Eh'yep" Big Mac smiled and grinned.

"Darn tootin'!" Granny agreed, chuckling to herself.

"Hey! Wait ah minutet!" Apple Bloom jumped infront of her sister, catching the orange farm pony, and almost everypony else off guard. "If Sunny's ah prince now, does that mean if he married Applejack, that she'll be a princess!?"

This caused Sunny and Applejack to turn red in the cheeks and look away awkwardly, while Granny, Big Mac and Princess Celestia all chuckled lightly.

"Ah think ah best be putting this up somewhere safe. Like mah room" Sunny wrapped his magical aura around the mirror and began to maneuver it into the house.

"Ah think ah'll help ya with that!" Applejack said as she followed quickly behind the yellow unicorn.

Once the two of them were out of ear shot, the three adults laughed a little louder at the cute scene that took place before their eyes, while Apple Bloom just stood there, still waiting for somepony to answer her question.….

"Sorry 'bout Apple Bloom" Applejack said as she opened the door to Sunny's room while he focused on trying to maneuver the large mirror in safely.

"It's alright Applejack" Sunny reassured her as he backed up, focusing on the mirror. He was so focused on the mirror that he didn't notice Applejack stop, and ended up bumping into her with his back side. "Oh! Sorry."

Applejack didn't say anything for a moment as Sunny put the mirror off to the corner, safely securing it to an open part of the wall. But when the shock was over, Applejack asked in a hushed voice, her eyes never leaving what had caught her off guard. "Sunny… is he a friend of yours…"

"Is who a-" Sunny started to ask as he turned around, shocked to find somepony he had never met before sitting at his work desk, all the books and other things he had on there had been pushed onto the ground carelessly. What had taken their place on his desk was the chess set that Sunny received mysteriously on his birthday.

A grey Pegasus stallion with a white mane and tail had ben sitting at his desk, looking over the positions of the pieces, studying them. What was most frightning and haunting about the stallion's presence were his eyes. Black where it would normally be white with glowing green for their Iris color. Those eyes were note natural, and made Applejack and Sunny's sences unsure of what to feel. Lifting up one piece, the grey pegasus spoke with a certain sharpness in his voice "so 'you' are the prodical son, eh? I think the writer would have liked us to meet in a more subtle, possibly less threatening way. But I don't really care what he wants."

"Th' who?" Applejack asked, raising a brow at the stranger.

Ignoring Applejack's guesgion, the stranger turned back to the chess set. "What a terrible, wonderful game this is. You have all your pieces lined up on one side or the other. You know who your friends are and who your enemies are… or do you?"

The stranger then grabbed a black piece that looked strangely like himself, pulled out a bucket, then dipped the piece in the bucket. Applejack and Sunny both watched cautiously, but curiously, at the grey pegasus. Sunny, though, felt something more off about the stallion then his unnatural aura.

Something didn't feel right about this pony. More then his haunting eyes or careless actions, it was something deeper. Something Sunny never felt before. When it hit him, Sunny felt more on edge, felt a stranger need to keep up his guard around this pony then anything else he ever encountered. 'This guy has no fear of any kind.'

"That's very correct, young protagonist" the stranger said before pulling the piece out of the bucket. The bucket itself was full of paint. Grey paint. The figure of himself from the chess set was now a grey color just a few shades lighter then himself. "One thing you need to get through your head, your father is doing what he believes is right. He isn't misguided, he isn't hypnotized or under a spell. Your father believes it is time to release his kind and let them take revenge on those who wronged them. Aka, the ponies of Equestria. So you have to choose; stop him and keep half of your 'family' locked away or let the ponies and other creatures of this world suffer. But you can't stop Sombra and save him. That won't work this time."

"And who are 'you' ta tell him what he can or can't do!?" Applejack jumped in, getting more and more annoyed at the grey stallion.

The stranger then placed the chess piece that looked like him, now painted grey off to the side, off the board. "I'm just somepony not playing this game anymore. I stopped by as a final goodbye, maybe, and leave knowing I woke you up to reality. You can't make everypony happy, not every creature gets a happy ending, and when it comes down to it, you have to choose between your father and his kind or the ponies who you consider to be worth fighting for. It's your choice, but you'll need to choose soon and fast. Not evercreature wins in this game…"

Before anypony could say anything else, the grey stallion jumped out the open second story window and flew off into the night. Applejack and Sunny raced to the window and watched the creepy and insightful, grey pegasus vanish in the dark of the night. Maybe to never be seen again. But nopony except 'he' can decide that…

Author's Note:

I honestly don't know if Cynical will show up again. I think he might. But it's complicated. Best answer I can give without sounding crazy (it that possible by this point) is he will show up if he wants. There is no happy ending for him. It just is the way it is.