Sunny Knight: a Pony's Tale

by TheothersideofSunny968

Getting to know them

Sitting in a chair at the Apple family's wooden dining table, Sunny sat perfectly still, eyes looking ahead, the poor yellow unicorn was afraid to move while Granny Smith examined him. The mare studied Sunny, taking note of the various details of his person. From the hat line on his head, the dirt under his hooves, the muscles on his back legs, to even the way he breathed when she ordered him to take a few deep breaths.

When Sunny went back to the Market place to find Bright Mac and Buttercup again and tell them he was an honorary member of the Apple Family, he knew he would be met with some skepticism. Sunny didn't expect them to bring him to Granny Smith to be tested. Sunny was suptised to see Granny looking so much younger, but he had to refrain from smiling and giving her a big old hug when he saw her.

"Hmmmm, ya certainly do look like ya worked on ah apple farm before" Granny stated, relaxing her gaze as she sat back in a nearby chair."But ya still haven't said where ya got that hat from. Only a hoof full of ponies carry th' family mark. Mah own son don't even have it."

Gulping again, Sunny decided telling her some of the truth shouldn't hurt. "Well, it was quite ah while ago. Ah was sleepin' on th' side of th' road when Goldie Delicious passed me by, saw ah looked hot, then gave me this hat and told me ta go see her niece in th' next town over. Sayin' she and her friends might be able ta help me out. That's where ah met Appleja- ah mean, mah fiancé, and started honest work on her farm."

Sunny could guess that Granny was still examining him as he told his story, but Sunny spoke the truth, mostly. He did leave out a few parts and stumble once, but he was speaking the truth. After releasing a held breath, Granny declared "Well, ya check out. Ya can stay here for ah bit while yer ride gets all fixed up. But yer gunna have ta earn yer keep. Those who don't work, don't eat."

Releasing a heald breath, Sunny was relieved to have Granny's weighing eyes off of him. Bright Mac and Buttercup ran over to him and greeted him with a hoof shake and a hug respectively. Sunny hated to have to tell half truths to them, but the full truth would have been too unreal for them. He couldn't just come out and say he had time traveled to the past accidently, and was actually their daughter's fiancé in the future… especially in a future where they don't exits in…

"Welcome to Sweet Apple acres, Cousin" Bright Mac released Sunny's hoof. Sunny certainly saw where Applejack and Big Mac got their strength from.

But unlike Applejack or her siblings, neither Bright Mac nor Buttercut had a very strong southern accent. Sunny concluded 'They must have picked it up from listening to Granny for so many years. Heck, I picked it up after just under a few days.'

"Would you like a tour of Sweet Apple Acres?" Bright Mac offered Sunny, flashing a half smile.

"Ah'd love one" Sunny replied. 'It would be interesting to see how Sweet Apple Acres was so many years ago.'

"How long ya expect ta be stayin'?" Granny asked, her expression relaxing a bit.

"Mah friend said it would take 'bout three days or so to get his, er, ride all fixed up" Sunny answered, still feeling nervous about the long time gap, but confident that 9 could infact get him back just shortly after he was pushed threw the magical mirror.

"Ah'll set up th' spare room" Granny said before happily trotting out of the kitchen. It was odd for Sunny to see her so young, but even odder to see her trotting around. It made him chuckle lightly.

"What's so funny?" Buttercup asked, slightly curious.

"Oh, ugh, just thinking about mah fiancé's grandma and how similar to Granny Smith she is" Sunny answered honestly. The half truths and white lies felt wrong to him, but he couldn't let them know he was from the future.

"Tell us more about this fiancé of yours" Bright Mac lead Sunny and Buttercup out of the farm house and began the tour of Sweet Apple Acres.

"Yeah, what is she like? How did you meet?" Buttercup followed up, a new found energy radiating from her.

Thinking for a moment of how to answer this without letting them know he was from the future, Sunny started to weave his tale carefully. "Well, like I said, I was sent to find her by Goldie Delicious. Ya see, when she found me, ah didn't exactly have all mah memories. Long story 'bout that later, but Goldie knew her neice and her neice's friends were the kind ta help ponies out who 'er in need so…"

As the trio walked around the Orchard, Sunny both took in the sights as well as go on to explain about how he and Applejack met when she got back to the farm, as well as meeting her siblings, who, Sunny was sure not to mention any names. Bright Mac and Buttercup seemed to overtaken by the story, they almost didn't hear Sunny's own quesgion.

"Oh, sorry. What did you say?" Buttercup snapped out of her thoughts first, but was quickly followed by Bright Mac.

"I asked how you two met" Sunny smiled at the both them. Sunny took note that while he was telling his story, Bright Mac and Buttercup seemed at a state of peace, gazing off into the distance.

"Ah, well, OUR story goes back to when we both were just little foals…" Bight Mac started to tell their own tale.

For the rest of the tour, Sunny's attention was focused on Bright Mac and Buttercup talking about when they first met. Meeting as foals, how Buttercup got her nick name, it brought a huge smile to Sunny's face. Before he knew it, the sun was setting.

"Wow, is it really that late?" Bright Mac rhetorically asked.

"We better be getting back to the house. Granny said she was trying a new recipe for a carrot potato casserole" Buttercup said as she and Bright Mac started down the road, Sunny quickly catching up and walking beside Bright Mac. The three of them continued to their conversation with how Bright Mac and Pear Butter attended the same school, the only one in town, and would try and get the others attention in one way or another, even though they were on the far opposite ends of the schoolhouse. Sometimes that got them in trouble, but they didn't honestly care, so long as they were togeather.

Dinner was amazing. Though, Sunny knew it would be. Granny at this age might have just tried the recipe for the casserol, where he came from, she had actually made it one of her specialties. Sunny felt odd about sitting at the same table he often ate at with Applejack, Big Mac, Apple Bloom and (a much older)Granny Smith. It was the same table, but with less wear and tear from time, and although most of the ponies at the table weren't the usual company, Sunny felt just as relaxed. Although he was trying to take full advantage of this rare opurtunity, getting a chance to be around his future in-laws, there was still a part of him that wished that Applejack could be here.

About a third the way thru his meal, Buttercup cleaned the edges of her mouth with her napkin and asked Sunny "so… has your fiancé made you dinner yet?"

This caused Sunny to almost choke on the bit he had taken. It was an honest and simple quesgion, but Sunny had been lost in thought and was shaken by the sudden quesgion. Taking his napkin and cleaning his own mouth up after swallowing the bite he nearly choked on, Sunny happily replied "yes. Actually. We both would take turns cooking meals. Sometimes I'd make lunch for her and her siblings. Sometimes dinner. Just whoever is free at the moment."

"What's your favorite dish she makes?" Bright Mac asked, a small smile on his face. Buttercup noticed a little bit of food on his cheek and motioned it to him.

"Well…" Sunny thought about it, bit it didn't really take him long. "My favorite breakfast and desert she and her Granny make are Apple Fritters. Ah could eat those day and night. But for ah real meal, there's an apple Swiss penini sandwich that we came up with one day. We were cleaning out th' fridge and came across some things that were close to expiring, and just threw it all togeather. It's kinda become our sandwich. Even wrote it down in th' family recipe book."

"You're gunna have to make it for us before you leave" Buttercup chimmed, a large smile on her muzzle. "Bright Mac and I would love to try it."

"I love me a good sandwich" Bright Mac chuckled.

"Swiss cheese and apples in ah sandwich?" Granny asked, doubting that such a concoction would taste any good.

"It's got ah little more then that" Sunny chuckled, knowing just how Granny felt. "Ah was ah little skeptical too, but trust me, it's really good."

The four of them enjoyed their dinner while stopping every now and again when another story about a dish or meal came up. It was wierd, but Sunny felt just at home with Bright Mac, Buttercup and even the younger Granny as he did with Applejack, Big Mac, Apple Bloom and the older Granny Smith.

'Is it becouse ah see ah see a little of Applejack, Big Mac and Apple Bloom in them? Or am ah just comdortable around the Apple family in general?" Sunny pondered as he took another bite of the casserol. 'Or am ah just comfortable around THEM? Bright Mac and Buttercup.'

The thoughts buzzed around in Sunny's head until he realized he finished his meal. He lightly laughed, then offered to do the dishes. A smile grew on his face when he asked Bright Mac and Buttercup if they wanted to see a cool spell. Both of them and Granny sat back and watched as Sunny cast the dish cleaning spell on the Apple's dirty dishes. Sunny told them that he used the spell often back on his fiancé's farm to save them time and energy. He had to stand there and supervise, of course. He couldn't just set the dishes up and walk away, something could go wrong. And something normally did, but only when an overly aggressive sugar container was involved. The Apples all watched in awe as the plates, silverware and cups all began floating in the air, almost dancing as they waited for their turn to be dunked into the soapy water, scrubbed by a floating sponge or cloth, hosed off by the sink head, then floaded over to a drying towel, and finally land safely in its proper place in either a cabinet or drawer with other silverwear. All the dishes took maybe three minutes to be washed and put away. The show was so entertaining Bright Mac, Buttercup and Granny all watched in awe the while time.

"Ah don't like anypony usin' magic ta do household chores" Granny noted about half way through. "But ah'll allow it tonight. It is pretty entertaining."

"It's amazing!" Buttercup clapped her hooves togeather.

"Shucks, ma'am, thank you, but if ya like this, you'd love one of mah puppet shows" Sunny tipped his hat.

"You do puppet shows too?" Bright Mac asked, seeming heavily interested.

Before Sunny knew it, he was in the living room of the Apple Family farm house, sitting behind a makeshift puppet theater created from a few sheets, some chairs and a rope. As the curtains pulled back, several little puppets floated into view, with one of them holding what appeared to be two rectangular pieces of paper.

The one holding the slips of paper walked over to a few others in such a realistic way, Bright Mac, Buttercup and Granny were all awestruck. The mare puppet held her hoof out to the other 5 puppets that were all different colored ponies and Sunny spoke in the most Twilighty voice he could muster. "Girls! Princess Celestia sent me two tickets to the Grand Galloping Galla! But I have 5 friends!"

The performance made all three Apple family members laugh hysterically, Sunny, of course, played around with it a little to make it a little more fun and not so serious. After having each of the main 6 go through their reason as to why they want to go to the Gala, as well as try and win Twilight over with favors and promises, Sunny got to the best part.

The puppet playing as Twilight told a small puppet off to her side to take a note, unfortunately the Apples didn't have any baby dragon puppets, so Sunny used a dog puppet instead. As the puppet Twilight walked around on the stage, Sunny made sure to speak loudly and clearly for the message to the story.

"Dear Princess Celestia,

I've learned that one of the joys of friendship is sharing your blessings, but when there's not enough blessings to go around, having more then your friends can make you feel pretty awful. So, though I appreciate the invitation, I will be returning both tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala

-your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle"

The puppet playing Twilight then lowered her head and sent the letter and the two tickets away, leaving the Apples who had been listening intently shocked.

Sunny paused for effect, then had another little scroll appear to the puppet Twilight, who presented her friends, and dog, each with their own ticket whole reading the scroll. "My faithful student, why didn't you just say you needed more tickets in the first place."

Bright Mac, Buttercup and Granny all laughed and cheered at the performance as the pony puppets began to sing and dance about how they were all going to the Grand Galloping Gala togeather.

"THAT was even better then the dancing, self cleaning dishes" Bright Mac cheered.

"I'll say" Buttercup agreed. "Light hearted, whimsical, and it had a great moral to the story."

Granny was about to complement Sunny on his show but she let out a long yawn. "That was ah hoot, but ah think ah better be hittin' the old sack. You kids don't stay up too late. There's work in th' mornin'."

"We won't, mom" Bright Mac told her as he and Buttercup helped to take the stage apart.

"Hey Sunny…" Buttercup smiled and spoke sheepishly. "Would you mind… maybe doing another show tomorrow?"

"Please!" Bright Mac let lose a wide smile of his own.

"Please" Buttercup repeated her husband's statment with an equally big smile.

The sight of them both so eager to hear his stories brought a smile to Sunny's own muzzle. "How could ah say no to such a wonderful audience. Sure ah'll do another show. Heck, maybe two stories instead of just one."

"How many do you know?" Buttercup asked.

"Enough to fill a few books" Sunny chuckled.

After settling in for the night, Sunny thought how ironic it was that he was sleeping in his old room, or rather, in the room that would become his room in the near future.

'They're really nice folks' Sunny smiled to himself as he staired up at the familiar ceiling. A million thoughts began flying around his head like fore flies as his eyelids became heavier and heavier. 'I wonder if they like me… I wonder how they got their cutie marks… I wish Applejack and Big Mac and Apple Bloom were here… I wish I could tell them everything…'

Sleep quickly took hold of Sunny, and he fell asleep, looking forward to the next day when he and his inlaws would have another day of work and play togeather.

The next morning was like most mornings in the Apple family home at Sweet Apple Acres; ponies were up before the rooster crowed, got cleaned up and ready for work while Granny made everypony a hardy breakfast of eggs, hay bacon, hash rooms and a bowl of fruit. By the time she was done, Bright Mac, Buttercup and Sunny had just finished with their early morning chores. They had made great headway in the day's work load, thanks to Sunny's added help.

"We'll be done with the day's work a little before noon, mom" Bright Mac told her as he took a bite of one of his sunnyside up eggs.

"Ya will, eh?" Granny smiled as she sat down to enjoy her own breakfast.

"Granny, ah was gunna ask ya" Sunny chimmed in. "Ah know of ah few restoration spells. Ya know. That can smooth out withered or rough wood, take rust off metal, and what not. Is that OK for me ta use on some of the farming equipment? Ah saw the cart out back looks ah little worse for wear."

Granny thought about it, being very strict on not using magic to do an earth pony's job. "Ah suppose fixin' equipment wouldn't hurt. Just so long as ya ain't out there usin' magic ta get th' chores done. Dishes ah'll let go, but work in th' feild needs ta be done bah hoof."

"No worries Granny, ah understand" Sunny smiled as he continued to dig into his breakfast.

After they all finished breakfast, Buttercup offering to do the dishes while Bright Mac and Sunny went back into the orchard to finish up the Bucking.

"Your fiancé buck?" Bright Mac asked as he kicked a tree.

"She sure does" Sunny answered after Bucking a tree, a few dozen apples or so fell neatly into the baskets below, with the exception of a few stragglers who missed. "She was th' one who taught ME how ta buck trees."

This caused Bright Mac to chuckle. "SHE taught YOU, huh? From what ya told us, she sounds like a swell gall. You're ah lucky guy. You get along with the rest of her family?"

This caused Sunny to freeze as he picked up the Apples on the ground and put them in the baskets. He didn't know how to answer that one.

"Ugh…" Sunny tried to think of what to say. "Well… me and her siblings get along pretty well. And her Grandma seemes ta like me well enough. But her parents… its… "

Seeing his hesitation, Bright Mac went over and put a hoof on Sunny's shoulder. "Hey, it's alright if you don't get along with them. I don't exactly see eye to eye with Buttercup's pop."

"Its not that…" Sunny sighed, as he looked away from Bright Mac. "Ya see… her parents… ain't with us no more…"

Sunny turned away from Bright Mac, he couldn't look Bright Mac in the eye as he answered, and was fighting back more tears. It wasn't until Sunny felt a hoof on his shoulder that he turned around.

The expression on Bright Mac's muzzle was a mixture of forlorn and peace. "I'm sorry… for both you and your fiancé. She sounds like a really sweet gal. And you seem like a great guy. I'm sure if you ever did get a chance to meet her folks, they'd say the same thing."

That pushed Sunny over the edge, and the yellow unicorn pulled Bright Mac into a bear hug. After a few moments, Bright Mac hesitantly patted Sunny on the back.

Releasing Bright Mac from his grip, Sunny pulled away and hastily whipped away a few tears, hoping Bright Mac didn't notice. "I'm sorry… it's just…"

"No worries" Bright Mac told Sunny. "And we'll just let that be our little secret. Ah won't mention it to anypony."

"Thanks…" Sunny smiled as he looked over his shoulder at Bright Mac. "Well, ugh, let's finish up this work. What are you and Buttercup gunna do with all your free time?"

"Well, we were gunna run it by you first, but did you want us to take you into town and show you around?" Bright Mac offered.

"You guys don't have to" Sunny bucked another tree, most of the Apples fell into the basket this time.

"You're family. And you're only in town for a few more days" Bright Mac stated. "Let us show you around."

"Well, alright" Sunny chuckled.

The town was slightly different then how Sunny knew it to be in the future. And it was kind of cool to see what it was like before he arrived many years later. There weren't as many shops, mostly just one called 'Barnyard Bargins' which Sunny remembered would be there in the future, but would also be three times the size.

"That store's run by a fella named Stinking Rich. Granny sells him jars of her Zap Apple Jam when the Zap Apples are in season" Bright Mac told Sunny.

"Its a big seller, eh?" Sunny asked, already knowing the buisness deal between the Apples and the Riches involving the Zap apple jam.

"It is. You haven't had it before, have you?" Buttercup asked Sunny.

"No, actually, I haven't" Sunny answered honestly. And he had been around for a harvesting of the Zap Apple Jam.

"We don't have any right now, but here in ah few months, the Zap Apples will be ready for jamming again." Bright Mac smiled. "We could send some to you and your fiancé if you like."

The thought was pure and innocent, but Sunny had to keep up a front and not let either Buttercup or Bright Mac know that that would never happen. "Yeah. That sounds really swell. Thank you."

The tour of the town didn't take long, and the trio happily returned to Sweet Apple acres. When they arrived, Granny wanted Bright Mac to run back into town and grab some nails so he and Sunny could fix part of the fence around the Orchard. While he was gone, Buttercup went to the kitchen to start preparing some of the orders for pies and other baked goods. Not wanting to just sit around, Sunny offered his hoof.

"Now, just gently roll the dough out, and fold it often, that will make it flakey, but don't use too much force" Buttercup instructed Sunny.
She watched as the yellow unicorn handled the pie dough with great ease, making less of a mess then even Bright Mac at times. Bright Mac had told her that Sunny worked the orchard like he had been doing it for years, she didn't know he knew his way with cooking this well either.

"You do alot of baking on your fiancé's farm?" Buttercup asked as she began slicing apples for the pie filling.

"Yeah, gotta be a jack of all trades at, er, on the farm" Sunny had to stop himself from saying Sweet Apple Acres.

"Your fiancé keep you busy with work?" Buttercup laughed lightly.

"Well, we all work togeather" Sunny answered as he finished laying out the pie dough into a pan, then moved to work on another. "Her brother, little sister, her grandmother, we all do our part. And ah always wanted to learn all I could so ah could help wherever."

"Are your parents farmers too?" Buttercup asked as she began mixing in sugar, butter, cinnamon and a few other ingredients before dumping the mixture into a pot and carrying it over to the stove to simmer.

"Ugh, well… no" Sunny answered nervously. He hadn't planned on talking about his parents.

Sencing Sunny's parents might be a sensitive subject, Buttercup decided to steer away from the topic. "Well, I'm suprised. You work so hard and seem to take such pride in your work, I could have sworn you'd been working on a farm your whole life. My dad used to run a Pear farm not far from here… before he left…"

While trying to avoid a the topic of Sunny's parents, Buttercup accidently brought up the painful topic of her own father. A still very sensitive subject. She had to take a few deep breaths to calm herself and stop herself from crying at the thought of her father who chose to walk away from her rather than be a family.

"We have more in common then I though" Sunny appeared next to Buttercup, shocking her a little. His tone was dejected and full of pain. "See… my mom works in the Canterlot castle. And my father… he worked in a kingdom a little ways away. He… did some bad things. I'm still trying to get through to him, but it's hard. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't met the Apples that I did. I made friends, work an honest job, reconnected with my mother and aunt, and had my fair share of adventures."

A wide smile spread across Buttercup's muzzle as she gave Sunny a hug. After separating from the hug, Buttercup sounded happy for Sunny then she was upset by her loss of a father in her life. "I guess, we both are lucky to have found the ponies in our lives. I got Granny, Bright Mac, and my friends. You got your new family and friends."

Sunny smiled back as he returned the hug. "Ah guess we are lucky. And if ah do say so mahself, we make mighty fine additions to th' Apple family."

"I agree" Buttercup chuckled lightly, feeling the glow coming from Sunny. "Do you give your fiancé pep talks like this one?"

Sunny chuckled "Most of the time she gives them to me. She's my rock. I've been hers a time or two, but she holds me down most of the time."

"Well, I'm glad you have her in your life then" Buttercup chuckled a little bit, before returning her attention to her pie filling. When she did, Sunny went back to the dough, putting it into another pie tin, before moving on to the next one.

After finishing a few pots worth of apple pie filling, Buttercup asked Granny, who just walked into he kitchen, if she wouldn't mind tagging her out so she could go grab more sugar from the barn. Granny didn't mind at all, and was, in fact, popping in to see how everypony was doing. While she stirred the pot of apple pie filling, Granny kept a close eye on Sunny, still unsure that a unicorn is suited for farm work.

Watching him work the dough, quickly and efficiently, Granny thought he might have worked with food before, possibly as a baker or something."Hey, Sunny, what was it ya did, you know, before ya worked on ah farm?"

"I was a royal guard " Sunny plainly stated, not seeing the harm in being honest about it. "Oh, and a knight."

"Hmmmm, ah didn't think knights were still around" Granny mumbled to herself. There was a part of her that was warming up to Sunny, but she was still half suspicious still of him. Something he wasn't saying that gave her a nervous feeling in her bones. "Is that where you got yer name?"

"Actually, my real name is Soleggiato Cavalere" Sunny moved aside to allow Granny to pour the hot contents of pie filling into the pie bases he finished making."But everyone calls me Sunny Knight. My father was also a knight. And a captain in the guard."

"And ya chose ta leave being a knight ta work on ah farm?" Granny raised an eyebrow at Sunny, questioningly.

"Being a royal guard was great but…" this was another tough subject Sunny was trying to avoid. "It was… complicated. I cared for my sub-, er, those I served to protect. But… it's not what I wanted. I wanted to be around ponies who liked me for me. Not for stopping a swarm of fire locusts, for fending off dragons, or any of that. And working with my fiancé and her family, on the family farm, well, its more important to me then any castle."

"Well, ah can't blame ya for that" Granny chuckled. "Ah feel th' same way 'bout Sweet Apple Acres. Ah hope mah kin carries it down from generation to generation, just like mah pa did with me. One day, ah'll be passin' it on to mah son, who'll pass it down to his son or daughter."

Taking in a sharp breath, Sunny didn't know how to respond to that and focused more on his pie dough.

Granny didn't much care for the silance. A smile grew on her muzzle as she asked Sunny "so
… does yer fiancé like ah stallion in armor?"

This caught Sunny off guard. "Ugh, what was that, Granny?!"

A sly smile spread across Granny's muzzle as she lowered her eye lids and raised her brows. "Just askin' if she likes it when ya wear yer armor."

The gesture made Sunny chuckle lightly. "Well… actually she-"

Their conversation was interrupted by Buttercup screaming from the barn. Through the kitchen window, Sunny and Granny could see she pressed herself up against the barn, a Bugbear hovering infront of her, growing angrily as it lashed at her with its four bear claws. Buttercup threw the sack of sugar she had been carrying and managed to dodge the Bugbear's attack!

Without thinking, Sunny teleported out of the kitchen and made a mad dash to Buttercup. A second before Sunny reached her, several nails flew at the Bugbear, irritating its back and causing the creature to let out an anger filled growl as it rubbed the area hit by the nails. Turning around, the Bugbear came face to face with a very displeaded Bright Mac, who narrowed his dagger eyes at the beast. Joining him in surounding the Bugbear, Sunny took a fierce battle ready stance.

"What say we teach this brute a lesson in how to treat a lady?" Sunny kicked up dirt with his right hoof, appearing ready to charge, lowering his horn.

"Lets show him what happens when you rumble with the Apple Family" Bright Mack cracked his hooves, narrowing his eyes on the ferral beast.

Just when a fight looked like it was about to break out, the Bugbear fell to the ground and covered its head with its claws in a feeble attempt to hide, crying its eyes out. Sunny, Bright Mac and Buttercup hesitated for a moment, then approached the weeping creature.

"Ah have ah sinking feelin' this is the start to some adventure" Sunny tipped his hat back, looking down at the crying Bugbear.

"Poor thing…" Buttercup began petting the creature on its back. "Maybe he needs our help."

Bright Mac looked back to the farm house and waved at his mother. "MA! I think we're gunna figure out what's bothering this big guy. Might be a little late to dinner."

"Fine, but don't bring back any more pets!" Granny sighed in reliefe and retreated to the kitchen to wrap up what she could of the pie orders.

A few hours later, Bright Mac, Buttercup and Sunny all come trotting back up the dirt road that lead from a large rocky mountain just on the boarder of Ponyville, back down into Sweet Apple acres. The three of them had just completed a quest that none of them will soon forget.

"Ah can't believe Quarry eels managed ta sneak into ah Bugbear's cave all the way from Ghastly Gorge" Sunny stated as he happily trotted.

"I can't believe how soft and cute Bugbear cubs are!" Buttercup smiled, remembering the adorable little critters.

"I can't believe we somehow managed to lure the eels out of the cave, away from the cubs, send the eels back to their gorge, feed the mother Bugbear and her cubs a scrupcious meal and sent them on their way back to Bugbear territory and still had enough sunlight to fix the fence!" Bright Mac summed up their adventure pretty well.

"Boy, we sure have some story ta tell Granny!" Sunny chuckled as he trotted down the dirt road.

"I wonder if she'll believe us" Bright Mac paused and took a big whiff of the air. A smile spread across his muzzle. "Looks like she made us some Chilli and cornbread.

"Wow, ah haven't had that in ah while" Sunny was watering at the mouth.

"It's one of my favorites" Bright Mac admitted as he rushed down the dirt road leading up to the Apple farm house.

"Last one back's a rotten apple!" Buttercup made a bolted the road, quickly passing up Bright Mac.

Not wanting to be left behind, Sunny broke out into a full gallop. As he ran passed the trees, Sunny took another look out to the orchard. It's so much smaller then what he was used to. Almost like looking at a little sapling when you were used to looking at it as a full grown tree. Just then, Sunny wished Applejack could be there with him. To see the farm, the town…her parents. She would have loved it all… But Sunny knew that couldn't happen. It was a fluke that HE was there in the first place. Taking another deep breath, Sunny finished the race last, but didn't really care. Racing his unknowing in-laws was a hoot of fun.

Time seemed to go by so fast. Sunny had enjoyed the last couple of days with Bright Mac, Buttercup and (younger) Granny Smith. He almost lost track of time, but knew these days couldn't last forever. On the last day, Sunny told the Apples that he needed to check on his friend at the edge of town, and galloped as fast as he could back to 9 and his TARDIS. When he arrived, Sunny knocked a few times on the front door of the big blue box. He paused and got nervous for a moment, until 9 opened the door and let out a long yawn, wearing a Sombrero.

"Ugh, 9? You ok?" Sunny asked, an eye brow on Sunny's face raised in questioning concern.

After stretching, 9 rubbed his eyes and looked over at Sunny. "Ah, yes. I'm fantastic. Was just about to have a bowl of Wheaties, care to join me?"

"Ah was actually gunna offer you breakfast with th' Apples. Since it's mah last day, they decided ta take the day off. We're all havin' ah large farewell breakfast." Sunny stated, eyes still looking Doctor up and down, noticing not just the odd hat he was wearing, but also the confetti that stuck to his leather jacket and the smell of mango and pineapple on him. "Say 9… is the TARDIS up and running yet?"

After stretching and stepping out of his big blue box, 9 tossed the Sombrero back inside, then patted the door with his hoof like someone would for a companion pet. "Yep, she's right as gold, good as rain and ready to go when you are. Just got back from test driving her. She has pin point time accuracy all down now. Something I REALLY should have fixed a while ago. I wanted to make sure I got you back to the proper time."

"If ya have th' time accuracy down, ah suppose… we don't have ta rush too much…" Sunny tried to hold back a wide smile as he trailed off for a second, trying to read 9's reactions. "So, would ya like ta come have breakfast with Applejack's parents? Or would you rather have your Wheaties?"

"A breakfast feast with the Apple family? Who would turn that down?! That's like saying no to a dance with princess Millennium at the grand Galloping Gala, 2999!" 9 made sure the TARDIS was locked before practically running down the road.

"The Apple Farm is this way!" Sunny called out to 9 who was running in the opposite direction.

The 9th Doctor Whooves paused, flipped around, and continued running but this time in the right direction. After he passed Sunny, 9 told him "I knew that. Just wanted to streach my legs a bit before getting to the real run. Hey, think you can out run me to the Apple farm?"

"Loser does the dishes?" Sunny suggested, that being a popular wager amungst him, Applejack and her siblings all the time.

"Deal! I'll have you know, I ran several times in the great running of the bulls where I came from!" 9 informed Sunny, picking up speed.

"And ah'll have you know, ah once outraced an avalanche" Sunny smirked as he pulled slightly ahead of 9.

The two would have kept trying to one up eachother with other examples of what would give them an edge, but before they realized it, they reached the archway that fed into Sweet Apple Acres.

"So, who's yer friend again?" Granny asked as she passed 9 a plate full of food.

"Doctor Whooves" Sunny told Granny, taking a bite of pancakes.

"Though, my friends call me 9" 9 cheerful stated and thanked Granny for the food.

"9?" Bright Mac repeated the last thing their new guest had said.

"So you have eight other numbered friends?" Buttercup asked, then took a sip of her orange juice.

"Twelve, actually" 9 answered. "1 thru 8, a cranky old guy named War, then there's me, 10, 11 and 12. 12 is kinda cranky too, but he's way more fun then War. We all hang out in a secret club house and talk about history. We're all into Equestrian history. Oh! And SciFi! We love good SciFi nonsense! Robots, aliens, time travelers and all the like!"

"You're a big reader, eh?" Bright Mac asked after he swallowed a big bite of hashbrowns. "I'm a fan of mystery novels myself."

"Hmmm, maybe one day you'll get to go on a big adventure and solve a few mysteries" 9 chuckled as he took a sip of his own orange juice.

"What makes you think we haven't already?" Buttercup smirked, catching both Sunny and 9 off guard a little. To most ponies, the comment would have seemed like a small joke, but Sunny being tied to the element of Honesty, and 9 having developed a very active lie detector section in his head, they both knew she was serious.

Everypony was silent as they ate for a moment until Granny spoke up. "So, Sunny, how far off is th weddin'? Ah don't think ya ever told us?"

"Yeah, or where you planned to hold it" Bright Mac added after swallowing the mouthful he had been chewing.

"Do you have somepony helping with the baking? Maybe I could help. I have a great friend in town who owns a bakery, and she makes the most wonderful cakes!" Buttercup chimmed in, a large smile growing across her muzzle.

All the quesgions at once made Sunny nervous. He and Applejack had been working on things here and there for the wedding, but never set a date. There was always something on his mind, something he felt he needed to do first before he tackled his big day.

"Are you worried about your father?" 9 casually asked in an indoor appropriate tone, not loud, not hushed, and oddly enough, not stressed or serious either. Almost as if he had just asked Sunny if he wanted more to drink, rather then if Sunny were worried about his evil tyrant father and whatever schemes might be brewing that could otherwise ruin his big day.

Anxiety overtook Sunny like a giant wave hitting an cliff's side. He felt like he was drowning in disbelief. Sunny didn't notice everypony had stopped eating after 9's quesgion and had turned their attention to him. The atmosphere surounding the yellow unicorn had gone cold and dence. He suddenly found himself swallowed up by worries and fears he normally suppressed. Sunny was frozen in place, unable to speak.

It wasn't often that 9 regretted something he said, but this was one of those rare moments. He looked over at Buttercup, Granny Smith and Bright Mac for help, desperate for an idea of what to do or say. Taking a deep breath, Bright Mac tried to grab the reigns.

"You shouldn't worry about your father" Bright Mac shot Sunny an aged, wise but relaxed smile, siezing his role as Sunny's Father-in-law and not just some friendly stallion. "When Buttercup and I decided it was time to tie the knot, we both were worried what our parents would say or do."

"My father wanted to move far away from the Apples and their farm. But I couldn't leave Bright Mac" Buttercup jumped into the conversation, sharing a loving gaze with Bright Mac. "I wouldn't want to spend a day away from him. Being separated would have torn me apart."

Still distressed, Sunny found the strength to speak, but his words were low and lacked his usual bravado. "I just… I wish this trouble with my father would be over, so Applejack and I could have a normal wedding, a honeymoon where we don't have to worry about anything, and start a normal life togeather…"

Bright Mac returned his attention to Sunny and told him. "Don't let the world tell you when it's a good time for you and Applejack to get married. Just go ahead and do it."

"Applejack…." Buttercup muttered the name under her breath. The hairs on the back of Sunny's neck stood on end.

He had spent the last three days trying to NOT say Applejack's name so he didn't mess up the future, and here, during a moment of weakness, he let his guard down and let her name slip.

"Applejack… we were thinking of that name for a girl, when we finnaly have our foal" Buttercup smiled and blushed a little as she turned from Bright Mac to Sunny. "That's the name of your fiancé? The one you've talked about who's a hard worker, competitive, honest, down to earth and daring?"

Gulping down his nervousness, Sunny smiled weakly and nodded. 'I hope I didn't just mess up the future some how…'

"Yeah, I like that name. Mom, wasn't your great grandmother named Applejack?" Bright Mac asked Granny.

The middle aged green mare thought as she scratched her head a little. "Ugh… maybe. Ah can't remember right now. Buy if'in you think so. Ah guess she was."

"What about if you have a boy?" 9 asked with a wide grin on his muzzle, trying to steer the conversation away from Applejack's name.

"Oh! We were going to name him Little Mac, like Bright Mac Jr. But not" Buttercup smiled as she nearly bounced out of her chair with joy. "Oh! I can't wait to have some foals!"

The rest of the dinner was spend eating and going back and forth with foal names, clothing ideas, foal tips from Granny and surprisingly 9. Sunny was shocked by how much 9 knew about foals and babies. But the atmosphere allowed Sunny to calm down and enjoy the rest of his meal, all thoughts about his father were pushed out of his mind for the moment. After everypony was finished, Sunny offered to do the dishes, like he had for the last three days, wanting to contribute as much as he could, but Bright Mac insisted he get them and told Sunny to go relax with 9, Buttercup and Granny.

"We still have some time before we have to leave, what would you like to do?" 9 asked Sunny. The way he said it made it seem like 9 was ignoring everypony else in the room.

"Well…" Sunny thought about it, the looked to Buttercup. "Ah'd really like ta hear some more stories from y'all. Maybe go over some family albums and hear some tales about some adventures ya'll have had growing up and what not."

"Sounds like fun to me" Bright Mac joined the group having finished his dish duty. On his way over, Bright Mac grabbed a family album off a near by bookshelf and sat next to his wife on the family couch and invited Sunny over to the seat next to him.

Leaning over to look at the pictures in the open page, Sunny was shocked to see an old time picture of Bright Mac as a foal. "Is that you, Bright?"

"Sure is" the yellow stallion chuckled. "Sure was small, wasn't I?"

"You were th' cutest foal in the hospital" Granny chuckled.

"Only becouse Buttercup wasn't born there" Bright Mac noted as he flipped a page and showed off Buttercup's foal picture. She was a smiling little filly with a bouncy tuft of a mane.

Sunny listened to Bright Mac and Buttercup share stories of their youth, of when they got in trouble for breaking curfew, some of the times Granny didn't know about and gave them the stink eye for, stories of them having secret picnics in the near by forest, and of when Buttercup wrote Bright Mac and her a song.

After talking about it, Buttercup offered to play it for them. Pulling out her guitar out of the hall closet and tuning it, Buttercup began to sing her song that she wrote just for Bright Mac and her.

"We're far apart in every way,
But you're the best part of my day…"

This wasn't the first time Granny had heard it, but it still brought a tear to her eye just the same as it did 9 and Sunny. Though, for 9 and Sunny, it hit them harder, knowing what they knew about the future.

After the song, Bright Mac had the idea to challenge Sunny to a lassoing contest out in the barn, which everypony seemed interested in. Granny still didn't seem one hundred percent convinced that a unicorn could do the work of an earth pony on a farm without magic, and wanted to see his lassoing skills.

Both Sunny and Bright Mac readied their lassos and showed off their hoof work at spinning them in the air, to their sides, even hopping back and forth through the loops, earning cheers from the small crowd of Granny, Buttercup and 9. Once the two were done warming up, 9 brought out a few still targets for them to lasso first. The first target was Granny's rocking chair, which both were able to lasso with ease. Next 9 brought out a lamp, this one was a but more tougher, since neither competitors were allowed to let the lamp fall and break its light bulb. If the lamp started to fall, they have to try and pull it to them and catch it before it hit the ground. Bright Mac focused, tossed his lasso, and managed to snag the lamp and not have it even jiggle. Sunny up next, tossed his lasso, ropped the lamp, but unfortunately hit the lamp at the wrong angle and almost knocked it down. Last minute, he pulled with all his might on his lasso and sent the lamp flying thru the air at him! With quick thinking, he used his body to cushion its blow and caught it before it his the ground, laying on his back. After ropping a few more still furniture from the house, Buttercup brought out one of their friendlier cows for the boys to lasso. The bessy was happily chewing some grass and ignoring anything beyond what she was chewing.

"Whatch this one" Bright Mac told Sunny as he readied his lasso, twirling it around in the air near him a few times before shooting it out and catching the unamused cow by the horns. The cow seemed rather annoyed by the sudden appearance of the rope wrapping around her horns, but continued to just chew some grass in her mouth. With a flick of his rust, Bright Mac undid the lasso and pulled it back to him, freeing the bessy.

"That was pretty good" Sunny chuckled, straitening his stetson hat and readying his own lasso, twirling it slowly at first in the air. "But check this one out…"

After picking up more speed, Sunny tossed his lasso with a bit more force then what was needed, and unfortunately, his lasso missed its cow target and landed beyond sight.

Bright Mac chuckled lightly and padded Sunny on the back. "Better luck next time, partner-"

Before Bright Mac could say anything further, Sunny, who was still gripping hard onto his rope, was pulled with enough force to lift him off his hooves and flying through the air. Several loud angry grunts echoed in the air, letting Bright Mac, Buttercup, 9 and Granny all know what Sunny must have lasso by mistake!

Pulling Sunny to him with all its might, Brutus the farm's bull who's horns Sunny's lasso seemed to grab hold of unexpectedly, grunted once more as Sunny depended from the air to him. The bull was shocked at first when a random lasso hooded onto his horn. But then when he realized some pony had lassoed him probably as a joke, Brutus saw red and began running around in his pen, dashing one way then the other. No pony was going to make a joke out of him so long as he could put up a fight.

Meanwhile, Sunny held onto his lasso for dear life, but decided it was literally time to take the bull by the horns! Just as Bright Mac, Buttercup, 9 and Granny Smith all arrived at Brutus's pen, Sunny had pulled himself all the way to the bull's neck and literally grabbed him by the horns in an attempt to direct him. Brutus didn't take kindly to anypony touching his horns, and let out an enraged howl before attempting several bucks to relieve his back of Sunny. Seeing everypony watching him, Sunny decided it was as good a time as any to show off a little.

Letting go of Brutus's horns, Sunny grabbed the lasso that was still tied around them with one hoof, and with his free hoof grabbed his stetson and began waving it in the air. A wide smile grew on his muzzle as he let out a loud 'Yeeeehaaaawwww!"

This earned a cheer from his small crowd, but another angry cry from Brutus, who had never been so humiliated before. The bull began kicking and jumping every which way to throw Sunny off, growing more and more frustrated. Sencing a raise in the bull's anger, Sunny decided he had had enough fun with Brutus and began thinking of a way to get off.

He didn't have to think for long, becouse Brutus swerved to his left and bucked the pony on his back, off. Sunny was flying through the air, with very little time to think or focused in a spell to save himself. Everypony moved quickly out of the way as Sunny crash landed through one of the beams that closed Brutus into his pen. Sunny had landed on his head, hard enough for him to feel very sleepy….

Several moments later, or maybe a bit longer, it was hard to tell, Sunny awoke, shooting strait up and looking around in sudden confusion. He was somehow back in the farm house.

"Ya alright there, Mr. Rodeo star?" Granny chuckled as she looked up at him from some cross stich piece she was working on, rocking back and forth in her favorite rocker.

There was a throbbing feeling on the side of Sunny's head. "Ah… remind me never ta do that again."

"I see my patient's awake" 9 entered the room with Bright Mac and Buttercup following behind him. 9 took a seat next to Sunny and pulled out an odd looking instrument that looked like a thick metal pen with a light on end of it. Holding down a button on it, the instrument emitted a bluish light while making a buzzing noise. After a moment of running the light over Sunny, 9 looked at a small screen on the instrument and read the odd circle letters on it. "Well well, Mr.Knight, looks like you're going to be just fine. But I have to advise not doing that for atleast a week."

"Ah ain't planned on doin' that ever again" Sunny chuckled as he sat up.

After sharing a few more stories related to Sunny's incident, mainly about Granny's cousin who runs a rodeo and started off as a rodeo clown, the sun started to lower in the west. It was just about dinner time. Granny and Buttercup went into the kitchen to make something special for Sunny's last dinner of his trip. Sunny tried get up and help, but 9 instructed Bright Mac to make sure he stayed put, that he still needed to rest.

"You took quite the hit from old Brutus there, partner" Bright Mac tried to reason with Sunny to keep him on the couch and relaxed. "Best ta just let us do some of the work."

"After dinner, you should he fine to move up and about" 9 plainly stated.

Sitting back and trying to relax, Sunny looked over and watched as Bright Mac, Buttercup and Granny all worked on the night's dinner togeather. It was oddly familiar to see how well they worked togeather, made eachother laugh, understood one another's language when it would make most ponies second guess what they meant. They were a fine tuned working machine when they worked togeather. It brought a smile to Sunny's muzzle as he thought how Applejack, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom all came by it honestly.

"So are you going to put on a show again tonight?" 9 asked in a low tone, reminding Sunny he was there. 9 motioned his head in the direction Sunny had piled the items used for his make shift stage and puppets for his shows at.

"Do I have my doctor's permission to use magic?" Sunny smirked and raised a brow at 9.

"No" 9 stated with a smug look of his own. "I can't quite speak for YOUR Doctor, but you have MY permission."

"Good, now, I just need to think of a story" Sunny sat back and looked up at the ceiling, trying to decide which story to conclude his show with. "I want to make it a good one. Maybe the one about Applejack and her friends going to their first Grand Galloping Galla? Or how about the one where they faced off against Discord?"

"How about your own story?" 9 suggested casually.

Sunny gulped not know quite what Doctor meant. "You mean, like, tell them a story about ME?"

"You're an interesting guy, as far as Sunnys go" Doctor elaborated lightly. "I'm sure there's some story you can tell about yourself without telling that it was about YOU, if you want. This would be the only time you could give a silent confession to your in-laws about who YOU really are. Take that opertunity, or don't. But think carefully about it."

Before Sunny could protest, Granny called them all in for dinner. 9 helped Sunny get to his hooves and lead him into the dinning room, where they enjoyed a good meal with the Apples.

Like most meals, that last dinner that Sunny would share with Bright Mac and Buttercup was over much too fast, despite the conversations they had, the jokes and stories they told, and there was a bit of messing around with everypony throwing biscuits at one another. Even Granny got in on, laughing like she hadn't done in years. After clearing the table and finishing the dishes, everypony retired to the living room.

"If everypony wouldn't mind, I'd actually be honored ta put on one last show for y'all" Sunny spoke up after dinner.

This caught everypony by suprise. Bright Mac and Buttercup looked nervously at one another, but before either of them could speak, Granny chimmed in. "Ya don't have ta do that, Sunny."

"Ah know, but it's something ah want to do" a half smile cracked across Sunny's muzzle when he told them "besides, ah wanted ta tell ya'll mah favorite story…"

"No worries, miss" 9 interjected, catching Granny's attention. "Sunny is fine to give a farewell performance. Doctor's word."

After everypony was reasured by Doctor, the time traveler gave Sunny a nod to proceed with whatever preparations he needed to do. Using a few spells, Sunny quickly altered the structure of the puppets he had been using, touching some up with a color changing spell or two, adding some aluminum foil for armor or jewelry, and stacking a few boxes togeather to make a make shift castle. At last, Sunny was ready to weave his tale.

Eyes went back to Sunny once again as the stage curtains to the male shift puppet theater opened up. Looking out to his crowd, which consisted of Bright Mac, Buttercup, Granny Smith, and 9 himself, Sunny cleared his throat and began to build his setting. "A long, long time ago, not long after all three pony tribes came togeather to live in peace, did a princess live with her sister and magical teacher in a castle that almost reached the clouds…."

Sunny could tell everypony was interested in his tale thus far. He may have changed the names of the characters in his story, but everything else about his story would be kept the same. His life story.

Bright Mac, Buttercup, Granny Smith and 9 all watched and listened with great interest at the tale Sunny weaved. A tale of a forbidden love, a missing princess and a foal the forbidden lovers had in secret. Pausing for a second to put some make shift armor on the puppet of the prince, Sunny saw how sad the audience was and decided to brighten their priorities with a few shows of his ventures as a prince, before he told the fall of the Empire. The prince puppet was shown sparing with the king, his father, and his father teaching him the code of a knight. Thinking quickly, Sunny made some make shift dragon puppets out of Bright Mac's boots near the door and played thru the scene where he was deemed 'the Black Knight'. And to add one more touch, Sunny played the scene out with him meeting the Baba Ya Ga sisters for the first time when he had to deal with a field's worth of fire locusts, using some dish towels as the cloaked figures. Those short stories brought smiles to everypony's faces. Which was good, becouse the next part of the story… was going to be Sunny's least favorite part.

Manipulating the prince puppet to climb a tower made of the stove top pipe, Sunny reenacted his own climb up the Crystal castle tower, where he would fight his own father. When the armored puppet arrived at the top of the stove pipe, er, tower, he came face to face with a dark grey puppet king, who after the first three acts, had changed and altered to look more evil. Eyes a different color, mane and tail out of control, and a toothy smile on his muzzle.

"'There you are' the dark King's voice rang like a deep bronze bell. 'I was begining to think you wouldn't show up' the king kept his back to the knight." Sunny continued to narrate.

"'Who are you?! Where is my father, the king?' The knight asked, his heart shaken with worry."

"'Why, I'm hurt, you don't recognize me?' As the stallion turned to face the knight, the Knight's heart sank when he realized this dark ruler was his own father the king! His entire look had changed. He was no longer the kind, good king the knight remembered."

"'Father… is that… you?' The knight struggled to speak." Sunny paused to take a deep breath, not for dramatic effect, even if it came across that way to the Apples watching the show.

'"Come here, Look at my beautiful empire.' The dark unicorn king told his son the knight as he looked down at the misserable pony puppets appearing to mine for him as they marched around in tin foil chains."

"'What… What have you done?' The knight puppet asked his father."

"'I have taken what is mine!' The evil King puppet looked like he stomped his hooves down in anger. 'This is the way my Empire is to be run! With my loyal guards by my side, and my slaves working day and night to serve me!'

"'No! No! This isn't right!' The knight puppet seemed very upset."

"'I want you by my side. Your potential and skill in the unicorn arts could help to expand the Empire! Think of it!' The king tried to sway his son. 'All of Equestria could bow before us! No pony could stop us!'"

"'And what of my mother?' The knight puppet asked his father." Sunny took another deep breath, the images in his mind replaying that horrible day once again.

"'I have a special spot in the Dungeons just for her. I thought about turning her to stone, but I want her to see me in all my glory when I rule all of Equeatria!' The evil King puppet chuckled."

The knight puppet then appeared to have his horn glowed green. "With a teleporting spell, the knight summoned warriors carved from wood to aid him. This shocked the evil king. 'What is the meaning of this?' He asked his son."

"'I'm not going to let you do this' the knight told his father. 'Stop this madness, set the ponies free, and change things back to the way they were… please, father. It isn't too late' the knight pleaded once more to his father."

Sorrow worked its way into Sunny's heart as the puppet playing the part of his father paused, then turned back and strick out at the knight puppet, but instead hit the earth pony wooden warrior puppet. "'As if a few toys could stop me!' The King's heart was untouched by his son's words. And a battle broke out."

The puppets played out the battle almost exactly as it happened, well, say for the dark crystals. It would be impossible for Sunny to make the dark crystals without channeling dark magic. So in lieu of the dark crystals Sombra manifested, Sunny used sharp pebbles he found on the porch. The battle had Granny, Buttercup and Bright Mac at the edge of their seats, while 9 simply watched as if he were a regular bystanders watching someone performing an everyday feat. By the end, everypony witnessed the dark king puppet turn the knight puppet to stone after declaring that he would cast a spell to lock the knight in a nightmare until he saw things his way, then shot him off into space.

The Apples all paused, mouths slightly open, all waiting for the story to go on, but Sunny never continued with his story.

"What happened next?" Bright Mac was the one who spoke up and broke the silance.

Taking a deep breath, Sunny quickly illustrated with the puppets what happened as he cut a few corners to save on time. "Well… the knight circled the stars, losing his memory to protect his mind from the horrors of a 1000 year long nightmare, and in doing so forgot who he was. He eventually ended in a small town, made many friends, including a new family who took him in, and they all went on lots of fun adventures togeather."

"But what about his father, the evil king?" Buttercup asked, sneering as she said 'evil king'.

"Well, ugh, ua see…" Sunny thought up an answer, just not as quickly as he had hoped. "I haven't written that part of the story yet."

"Awww" the three Apples released a wave of dissonance with the sigh.

"But tonight's your last night here! Can't you tell us what's gunna happen!" Bright Mac pleaded. "It's gunna drive me nuts not knowing what happens!"

"Do you have a slight idea of what might happen?" Buttercup asked, giving Sunny a watery eyed look. It was at that moment that Sunny knew where Apple Bloom got her puppy dog eyes from.

Scatching his scapt, Sunny tried to think of an ending to his own story.

"Its your story" 9, who had been silent the whole time, watching with great indifference, finnaly spoke up. "How do YOU WANT it to end?"

The answer was simple. Sunny once again manipulated the puppets to have them all standing togeather, holding hooves then pulling one another togeather for a big hug. "The evil in the King's heart melted away. He and the Knight's mother were happily married at long last. The prince also got married to a very special mare who didn't care whether he was a prince or a popper. They all had to face many more challenges, but from that day on, they would do it togeather, as a family. A true happily ever after…"

Sunny was met with a loud roar of cheers and hoof stomps. It appeared that the Apples, and even 9 all loved how he ended the tragic story. It wasn't until Sunny stood up to bow that he realized he himself had been crying, this time he knew why. 'Because I want us to have that happy ending for us…maybe one day, we willbe that one big happy family…'

"Are you sure you have to go?" Buttercup looked at Sunny with a sorrowful expression.

"Ah'm afraid so" Sunny pleaded with her, feeling remorseful, with a part of him.woshing he could stay longer. "Ah have ahlot of things ta tend to back home."

"Wedding arrangements?" Bright Mac cocked a half smile at Sunny.

"Amungst other things" Sunny replied and tipped his hat to Bright Mac.

"Best not to keep Applejack waiting" Buttercup noted, also wearing a small smile.

After Sunny gave Granny and Buttercup each one more hug, and shook Bright Mac's hoof, Sunny and 9 waved goodbye to the small family and to the old farm house that Sunny knew he would see again soon. As Sunny and 9 disappeared into the distance, Granny let out a long yawn and retreated into the house.

"You kids don't mind cleaning up th' puppet show stage, do ya? Ah'm plum tuckered out." Granny asked as she was already walking up the stairs to her bedroom.

"No worries, mom, we got it" Bright Mac called to her, his words reaching her right before she shut her bedroom door.

As the young couple began cleaning up the furniture and sheets used to make the stage, Buttercup looked over at Bright Mac and asked in a hushed tone "so… what do you think of him?"

"Sunny?" Bright Mac asked, earning a small nod from his wife. He flashed her a small, modest smile "I think our kids are in good hooves if he's there."

Buttercup picked up the puppets, looked at them for a moment, then pulled them in for a hug. In her mind she thought of them as her own children. "I wish we could have been there more for them. Helped guide them as they grew up… it's what parents are supposed to do, right?"

Tears began to fall from Buttercup's eyes as she silently wished she change what would happen. Bright Mac felt that same aching pain, but swallowed his sadness and wrapped his loving wife in his hooves.

"We won't be there for them… but they aren't alone…" Bright Mac whispered softly to Buttercup. "They are in good hooves with my mom, friends they make, and eachother…"

"And Sunny" Buttercup forced a smile as she looked up at Bright Mac, her hoof rubbed his cheek gently. "He reminds me alot of you…"

That made Bright Mac chuckle. "Guess our girl's got good taste then."

"And if she's anything like me, she'll keep him out of trouble" Buttercup smiled weakly.

"Only time will tell…" Bright Mac smiled back at his wife as he planted a soft kiss on her lips, wishing their time togeather would last forever…

Author's Note:

Note: sorry this chapter took so long to write guys. I've actually rewritten this one 6 times, wanting to just get it right and give Sunny a good amount of time with Bright Mac and Pear Butter. Because they won't be back.

There are some things that can't be changed. Even if we really wish we could.

I find myself quoting David Tennant "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry."