Sunny Knight: a Pony's Tale

by TheothersideofSunny968

Sombraverse

As Sunny pulled the cart full of apples up the hill leading to the barn, he thought about the day he arrived at Sweet Apple Acres. About walking out of fog into a nearly empty town, their resources mostly being shipped to the Equestrian army that is fighting some evil King Sombra right now. And how he had come to live at the Apple family's farm.

Sunny had just been found by Apple Bloom, wandering around Ponyville, while she was trying to pull a wheelbarrow full of tin cans and paper. Apple Bloom and her friends had been tasked with gathering things that could be recycled or melted down and used for the war cause. Sunny had helped little Apple Bloom back to the farm where he met Apple Bloom's sibings; her big sister Applejack and their older brother Big Macintosh. Both the older siblings were questioning why Sunny had not gone off to join the others on the front line when he explained to them that he couldn't remember anything about himself. Apple Bloom gave him the name 'Sunny' after a clip from a news article in an old paper she found. He rather liked the name, it was short, catchy, and unlike the current situation of Equestria, bright and up beat. Applejack looked him over well, and knew he was telling the truth about his lost memory.

Sunny wanted to go and join the war effort, to fight on the front lines, but nopony would let him if he had memory problems. So he did the next best thing in his mind, and worked with the Apples on the farm to produce and can applesauce for the ponies fighting the good fight. The apples were hesitant to let him work on the farm at first, but there was something about the upbeat yellow unicorn that the Apple family felt they could trust. Sunny seemed determined to do anything he could, and not just for the war cause.

The few moments where everypony wasn't working, Sunny did his best to cheer them up and brighten their spirits. It was in this dark time that he felt everypony needed to be shown there was a light at the end of the tunnel. He did everything he could to put a smile on their faces and help them to forget about the war. Puppet shows, reciting plays he found in old books, building forts in the farm house, telling stories he began to remember about a great worrier named 'the Black Knight'. He even got Applejack and Apple Bloom in such high spirits at times, they would bake some apple fritters or mini apple pies for them to enjoy while they told stories themselves, often about their family and times before the war. But it seemed that nothing could get much out of Big Mac say for a half smile. That didnt stop Sunny from trying, though, even if it was to no avail.

But their good times were not meant to last. Sombra's forces grew closer to Ponyville, they were looking for something or somepony. And another, rather unexpected, guest was about to pay the Apple's farm a visit…

Humming to himself, Sunny was doing his best to gather the apples from today's hall as fast as he could, excited to show Applejack, Apple Bloom and Big Mac the new act he and his little pony puppets had been working on. The small wooden figures Sunny made out of broken branches and sticks were his loyal, little actors in the many plays he performed. They may have obly been a hoof high, but there are no small parts, just small actors. Recently it had become harder and harder to lift the Apple's spirites, but Sunny refused to give up.

When Applejack was instructing him on various tasks around the farm, her whole being seemed to turn grey as she would often tell him of how it all used to be. How they used to bake apple based sweets all the time like apple fritters, apple tarts, apple pie, and so much more. But now it all went to making canned applesauce. The applesauce from Sweet Apple Acres was far better tasting than most produced in Equestria, but that didn't say much. Applesause could be canned and gave soldiers the sugar and nutrients needed to keep fighting. It also gave them hope that another day was coming, that dawn was just on the horrizon… Sunny just wish 'HE' could have been that pony. To take up arms against this evil king. There was something deep down inside him that told him he needed to be there. But there was a louder calling he answered, whenever he looked to the Apples and their farm. 'It isn't supposed to be this way… this is wrong…'

"That the last of it?" Applejack asked Sunny, her tone rather flat and unemotional as her dazed eyes met his.

Startled by her sudden appearance, Sunny hesitated but cleared his throat. "Y-yes it is, Applejack. That's the last of the hall for today."

Looking over the bunch of apples Sunny had collected then looking over to the factory, Applejack mentally calculated that they would need more then usual for the war effort. "Go and get another cart full. They're gunna need it."

"Ok, Applejack" seeing the orange farm pony so worn down, so callus, it rocked Sunny deep down. He wished there was something he could do to make this all right.

"Sunny?" A new female voice rang in Sunny's ear as he started to offload the barrels of apples form his cart.

Looking in the direction of the new voice, Sunny was a little shocked to see a purple alicorn mare standing infront of him, with a little purple dragon tailing right behind her.

Looking her up and down, Sunny scratched his hoof to his head "do ah know you, stranger?"

"Its me! Twilight Sparkle!" The purple alicorn paused. Sunny thought about it, but no reaction came to mind. "I'm your friend! Remember?!"

"Sorry miss Sparkle" Sunny replied as he readjusted his hair net ontop of his head. "Can's says ah remember. Please forgive me, though. I've had some mighty terrable memory problems as of recent. Can't remember much other then this here farm."

"What's goin' on out here?" Applejack asked as she emerged from the applesauce factory pushing a barrel, her eyes locking on to Twilight.

"Applejack! You're here too!" The purple alicorn jumped and gave Applejack an immediate hug.

But Appeljack, appearing just annoyed pushed the purple mare away and asked in a flat tone "what can ah do ya for?"

"Its just so good to see you" Twilight's relief remained in tact as she continued to talk to Appeljack. "It's just I can't find Pinkie Pie, or Rarity, or Fluttershy, or Rainbow Dash. But I just knew you'd still be here!"

Continuing to roll the barrel up and onto a cart, Applejack once again answered Twilight with little emotion in her voice. "Of course ah am. This is mah home. But who in tarnation is Pinkie Bow, Flutter Dash… or you for that matter?"

Seeming hurt by Applejack's quesgion, Twilight, broken hearted asked "You… dont know who I am?…"

"Nope" Applejack answered flatly again as she continued to roll another barrel onto the cart. "Honestly, the only name I recorganize is Rarity, and she left for Mainhattan years ago."

The little dragon piped up with wavering ease in his voice as he looked to Twilight "probably to become a world famous fashion designer, I bet."

"Not what ah heard" Applejack stated as she finished loading up the cart, shutting and locking the back end, still not making eye contact with either the aliocrn or baby dragon. "Last ah heard she went ta help out with th' cause, just like everypony else."

A little more then confused, Twilight repeated Applejack's statment. "The cause?"

"The war against King Sombra an' th' Crystal Empire" still lacking any emotion, Applejack answered Twilights echo. Both the purple alicorn and her dragon friend gasped, shocked by what Applejack had said. Narrowing her eyes at the new comers, slightly annoyed, Applejack asked "where have you two been?"

"Actually its 'when'" the little purple dragon answered with a matter of face attitude.

"I know this is hard to believe, but you and I and those other ponies I mentioned are friends" Twilight spoke in a desperate and worried tone, her voice shaky.

"Did you hit yer head on ah crate of cider 'er somethin'?" Applejack asked still in great disbelief of what the purple alicorn was proposing to her.

"I'm telling you the truth, and if you come with me, I'll prove it" Twilight boldly stated, shaking off her uneasy disbelief and worry before galloping as hard as she could just north west of the Apple farm.

At first, Applejack was about to ignore the two weirdos and get back to work, but a purple magical aura engulfed her and levitated the orange farm pony up into the air, forcing her to tail behind Twilight and her little purple dragon.

As Sunny continued to work in the orchard, gathering more apples, he saw the scene of Applejack being carted away, against her will, by Twilight. If it were any other situation, Sunny would jump in to save the orance farm pony. But somehow he knew that Applejack was in no real danger. And instead of jumping to her aid, Sunny just smiled and waved to her, yelling "A'hm awful glad ya finnaly made some new friends, Sugarcube!"

"Get back ta work!" Was all Applejack said as she, Twilight and the little purple dragon vanished into the distance.

Sunny continued his work as normal for about another ten minutes or so, wanting to hurry up and get the extra work done before Applejack got back, hoping she would be in a better mood. While Sunny worked, he couldn't help but feel something was wrong. Something deep inside told him to be on guard. Then a shriek broke the otherwise calm silance of the orchard.

Sunny's ears went up immediately, recognizing the owner of the voice. "Apple Bloom!"

The yellow unicorn left his buckets of apples and cart behind to make a mad dash through the orchard, hurrying as fast as he could to the barn. The trees around him seemed to blur as his hooves barely touched the ground. In a matter of seconds, Sunny reached the edge of the orchard, breathing heavily as he couldn't believe his eyes.

Before him were three dozen ponies, clad in black spiky armor, all marching towards Big Mac and Apple Bloom who were standing their ground at the barn's front door. Ahead of the armored ponies was a rather tall, dark grey unicorn, if you could call him that. His mane was wavy and black like smoke, his horn glowing red like hot iron, jagged white teeth filled his mouth, and a pair of monstrous red eyes narrowed on the apple farm.

"With this factory destroyed, the army of Equestria will lose most of their food supply, and will fall" the dark unicorn chucked loudly, his evil laughter echoing in Sunny's ears.

Without a second thought, Sunny took a deep breath and called out in a voice that shook the skies themselves "NOT IF I HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT!"

Focusing as hard as he could, Sunny teleported to the space just infront of Big Mac and Apple Bloom, between them and the opposing army. Standing his ground, Sunny kept his eyes on the armored ponies before him as he asked Big Mac and Apple Bloom behind him "are you guys ok?"

"Eh'yep" Big Mac answered, eyes still filled with worry as he held his younger sister.

Turning his attention back to the army and the dark stallion leading them, Sunny spoke loudly once again "LEAVE NOW. I DON'T WANT TO FIGHT YOU, BUT I WILL. I PROMISED I WOULD LET NO HARM COME TO THIS FARM OR THE PONIES WHO LIVE HERE."

The armored ponies, mindless and unable to make any decisions of their own simply waited for their master to give them a command. It didn't take him long to react, simply stepping out of his sea of armor clad ponies, head held high, appearing triumphant as he presented a jagged toothy grin. "Well, well, well, I would have never guessed I would have found you here, of all places. But you were always brilliant at strategy. Hiding yourself at the farm that supplies the army of equestria with 75% of their food supplies is a brilliant move."

Not fully understanding what he was getting at, Sunny stood his ground, but his muscles released a little. "I don't know who you are or what you're talking about, but I won't ask you again. Leave now."

No longer smiling, the dark unicorn, eyes glowing green and red now, with flames of purple flickering out of their far corners, stepped forward still, head held high as he spoke in a deep, more serous tone. "Don't you recognize me? I am King Sombra, ruler of the Crystal Empire. I was the one who was there when you were sworn into the Crystal guard over 1000 years ago, I stood by Celestia side as she knighted you, and I was the one who sealed you away for 1000 years to open Your eyes to the truth!"

The King's words began to rattle Sunny both inside and out so much that he didn't even notice Applejack rejoin her siblings at the door of the Apple family barn. Something about what Sombra was saying seemed true, and slowly the
fog in Sunny's mind started to clear. Sunny was a Crystal guard, further more a Knight. But there was something else something in the front of his mind that was making him sick at the thought of it..

"You did it!! It was you!" Sunny snapped, anger now filled in his voice. "When you sealed me away in a 1000 year nightmare, you separated me from my family! From my friends! My mother! My Father!"

"No Sunny" Sombra's smile returned, his two rows of sharp teeth flashing in the light. "I AM you FATHER!"

Sonny's heart sank, he felt like he was going to puke. "No… NO, THAT CAN'T BE TRUE! YOU'RE LYING! THERE'S NO WAY I COULD BE RELATED TO A MONSTER LIKE YOU!"

"Search your feeling, Sunny, you know it is true." Sombra smiled confidently as he signaled one of the guards to his side, who in turn blew a whistle, signaling several other guards. "Not only that, but you just helped your father assure victory in this war…"

Before anypony could tell what was going on, dozens of burning arrows flew from the orchard, sticking into the barn, setting it ablaze. While Sunny and Sombra had been talking, the hypnotized Sombra guards poured oil all around the barn, farm house and factory. All of which where now going up in a blaze! The apples were about to scramble to the fire extinguishers, but Sombra's guards stopped them, tying them up and restricting them, forcing them to watch as their home burned to the ground. The flames spread to the orchard and turned it into a sea of fire, ash spreading to the sky, turning it black as Sombra's heart. Sunny escaped the guards and tried to douse the flames of the farm house as best as he could, but it was all in vain.

When everything was burned to a black crisp, Sombra told Sunny he had a few more loose ends to tie up, but to meet him back at the Crystal Empire for his reward for his dedication to the cause. That thanks to him, the war was practically won. But his words were muffled in Sunny's ears as the yellow unicorn just started at the black mess that was once the Apple family's home. Long moments had passed as all Sunny could do was gaze at the horror that stood before him, taking in all that had just happened. The world he cherrished and wanted to protect with all he was just went up in smoke.

"This is all you're fault!" Applejack hissed as she ran over to Sunny, eyes narrowed at him. "You are the son of that tyrant! You brought him here! You betrayed us! After all we did for you! We lost our home and our only chance of winning this war ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!"

Sunny didn't know what to say, except "I'm sorry… I… I didn't know…"

"Well its too late for that!" Applejack turned her back on Sunny, kicking dirt up at him as she rejoined her older brother who looked just as betrayed as she did, and her little sister, who hadn't stopped crying. But before she was out of ear shot, she told Sunny "I wish I had never found you…"

A darkness enveloped Sunny'a heart as he, fell to the ground, broken, completely broken as he wished that he remained lost. He didn't want to live this life. A life filled with pain and torment that he couldn't help alleviate, that he seemed to trail with him, hurting those around him. Wss that what his destiny was? Was that the lesson his father was trying to teach him!?… then a wave hit everything. The world aroudn Sunny began to shift. Everything, every pony, the ground, the sky, it all started to warp anx change. Like somepony rewinding a clock, but still setting it on the wrong time yet again…