Sunny Knight: a Pony's Tale

by TheothersideofSunny968

Back to Iron Hill

"Thank you all for coming, after such a rough day yesterday" Sunny stated taking his stetson hat off and placing it on the back end of his chair.

All the Guardians of Harmony had met in their meeting room in Twilight's castle, along with Spike the dragon, who was taking notes to share with Twilight and the others later. Starlight Glimmer asked if she could sit in, wanting to help in any way that she could, and Sunny agreed. Twilight and the girls were out and couldn't return right away, otherwise, they all would have met up for this meeting. Twilight and her friends, along with Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadence and Shinning Armor, were all sent warnings to watch out for a dangerous tall, pink, unicorn mare. More of an explanation would be sent later after the Guardians had their meeting, and Spike had time to put more detail down on paper.

"Rough day, indeed" Octavia let out a sigh and took a sip of some ice tea Spike graciously provided for everypony.

"Ah think ah need ah good theropist after yesterday" Big Mac admitted, fearing he might develop a phobia of crows.

"I'm just glad everypony in town got a muffin" Derpy's shoulders sank as she twirled her silly straw in her cup of ice tea, the memory of her angered feeling haunting her still.

Turning to face his friends, Sunny put both hooves on the table, appearing very serious and fierce. "We have a new and obviously very cunning enemy. I suspect she has ties with my father, but I can't say for sure."

"Really? Your dad's behind this?" Thunderlane spoke up after sipping down his entire cup of ice tea. "I gotta say, dude, your dad is kinda a jerk!"

"What makes you think that this tall, pink mare has anything to do with your father?" Doctor asked, narrowing his eyes, hungry to learn all the details.

"Before my father ruled the Crystal Empire 1000 years ago, he served a unicorn princess by the name of Princess Amore" Sunny explained. "She had statues, books and paintings about her all around the Crystal castle. I've never met her, but I'd know her anywhere. My father used to tell me about her when I was younger. SHE was the lost princess my father was looking for all those years ago, before I was even born."

"So, this missing princess from 1000 years ago, shows up out of nowhere, pushes you through a magical mirror, then goes about causing trouble for all of us to… what avail exactly?" Doctor was trying to piece everything togeather, but there were things that didn't quite link up.

"I think she was trying to break up the Guardians of Harmony" Sunny's expression hardened as his tone went deep, eyes sharpening. The weight of the truth in his words sent shivers down everypony, and dragon's backs. "She went for me first, and some things she said didn't sit well with me."

"What did she say?" Derpy asked curiously as she poured herself another cup of ice tea.

"She said something about me being a 'mongral', and sorry her 'son had to raise me.'" All of Sunny's friends looked insulted for their friend, but Sunny remained focused. "That's when I knew something wasn't quite right. The princess Amore I read about and my father talked about was a kind hearted mare who would rather talk out her problems rather then fight."

"Is it possible she was under some sort of spell?" Doctor suggested, patting his chin with his hoof. "Maybe Somepony was manipulating her."

"That's possible" Sunny said weakly, unsure of weather it was a spell Amore was under or something else.

"Sunny, ugh, I'm not familiar with your family history" Starlight Glimmer spoke up, catching everypony's attention. "But if she did say those things to you, it sounds like she's you fathers mother."

"That's not possible" Sunny disregarded the theory. "My father was found by princess Amore's guards when he was a foal and taken to an orphanage. She never adopted him. Actually, he was never adopted at all. He and my Aunt Radiant Hope grew up in the orphanage."

"Oh! Oh! I think I know!" Derpy chimmed in, as if a light bulb flickered on over her head. She caught the attention of everypony in the room.

"Yes Derpy" Sunny pointed to her as he took a seat, a little shocked she had so much enthusiasm. "You have the floor."

"I don't want the floor" Derpy chuckled a little. "But I want to say what I just thought. Well, if she was talking like she was Sunny's grandma, but she looked like Princess Amore, maybe Sunny's grandma turned into a ghost and went inside princess Amore and is controlling her body like a puppet!"

Everypony paused and thought about the theory for a moment, leaving Derpy to wonder if what she said was stupid and maybe she should have just kept her mouth shut.

"That… might actually he possible" Sunny finally spoke up, redirecting everypony's attention to him. "Although ghost might not be quite the right word for it. I don't know everything about my father's liniage or what umbrum are fully capable of, but their bodies can become shadow and smoke. They might have the power to posses others.

"Whatever the case, though, we now have a new enemy to worry about" Sunny refocused the group. "I'll have a sketch made and copies of the possibly possessed Princess Amore to be passed out and posted around, warning others about her."

"Ah! This would be an excellent opertunity to test out my latest invention!" Doctor Whooves spoke up, a smile spread wide across his muzzle. "It takes the image of a piece of paper, uses light and Inc and makes a copy of it! Although I can only duplicate images in color, not black and white, so words will have to be a shade of blue or red."

"Hey guys And! An evil princess is trying to break us apart, you know what this means?" Thunderlane chimmed in again, everypony and baby dragon redirecting their attention to him. "It means… we as Guardians of Harmony, have our first official arch enemy! That's great! We really are, like heros! I mean, we took down Charming Knightmare, but he's, like a good guy now, I think. And we had help from Princess Twilight. But this is a bad guy all our own!"

His statment was met with mixed reactions. Doctor and Octavia seemed rather annoyed at his ignorant boasting statment, Derpy looked a little confused becouse she didn't know how she felt about having an 'arch enemy', Sunny and Starlight cchuckled in an awkward way at the pegasus's boasting, and Spike and Big Mac didn't react. Mostly becouse Spike was busy writing everything including Thunderlane's statment down, and Big Mac didn't quite know how he felt about having an 'enemy' at all, much less an 'arch enemy'.

It was in the middle of this reacting that Sunny's flank started to glow, images of his cutie mark began to appear and close in around his actual cutie mark before falling away. Starlight was the first to notice it, even before Sunny, who was trying to think of a way to get his friends back on track.

"Hey Sunny, I think you have a call" Starlight stated to him casually, pointing to his flank.

Looking down at his flank, Sunny realized what she meant and knew instantly that he was being summoned by the Vutie Mark Map. Getting up out of his seat, Sunny caught sight of another pony's glowing flank. He pointed to Starlight and stated in a natural tone "You too?…"

Looking down, Starlight Glimmar saw her cutie mark was also flashing, indicating that the map was calling her as well.

Turning his attention back to his group of friends, Sunny spoke up loud enough to catch the attention of anypony who hadn't noticed his glowing cutie mark. "Guys, looks like ah'm gunna have ta go help somepony in need. Will ya'll hold down th' fort while ah'm gone?"

Stepping up and standing beside Sunny, Big Mac smiled and nodded. "Ah'll conclude our meeting. Ya'll just go and help that pony in need, alright, Sunny?"

With a nod and a tip of his hat, Sunny and Starlight left the Guardian's meeting room and ran strait for the map room.

"Ah'll right" Big Mac called out, catching everypony's attention. "Now, do we have any other new Guardian buisness?"

Thunderlane's hoof shot strait up, causing some of the other Guardians to raise a brow at his sudden enthusiasm after his last statment.

"What cha got, Thunderlane-" Big Mac started to say before Thunderlane shot straight up and started to hover just a foot or two above the ground, fueled by enthusiasm.

"Ok guys, picture it!" Thudnerlane started, and paused, looking around the table with a wide grin. "Stay with me and picture this! Matching! Uniforms!"

The entire group released a held sigh, sharing the same thoughts and feelings on uniforms for themselves. The only pony who wasn't technically against it was Derpy, who was too busy picturing what the uniforms would look like, pictured something like bucket ball uniforms, then a long, thin smile spread across her muzzle as she thought about Doctor wearing such a uniform. She thought he would look so handsome.

Some time later, Sunny and Starlight were both on the friendship express train, on their way to the same destination. The map had called them both to the same location for the same mission most likely, which Starlight was actually happy about. She never interacted with Sunny much, even though he is engaged to one of her best friends and lives in the same town. Half the time she's either on a mission or Twilight is trying to teach her some sort of friendship lesson. She wouldn't admit it outloud but she still felt guilty about what happened to Sunny during her whole time traveling fiasco. It was one thing to mess up the future in multiple ways, its another to have caused one pony to witness the different horrible way in which it changed. The worlds she made a mess of changed back when they set the time stream right, unfortunatly for Sunny, his memories stayed. He may have forgiven her, but Starlight still felt, deep down, that she had to earn his friendship to really forgive herself.

"So, ugh, been to this place before?" Starlight asked Sunny, realizing the silance between them had grown uncomfortably awkward. They hadn't said a single word since they boarded the friendship express and they were more then half way to their destination.

Sunny had been lost in his own train of thought, pondering why the map would send him THERE of all places. Hearing Starlight's voice pulled him out of his own head and he turned to look at the pink unicorn. "Ugh, what? Oh! Sorry, what did ya say?"

Clearing her throat, Starlight repeated her quesgion "have you been to Iron Hill before?"

Returning his gaze forward, Sunny remembered the first and only time he had been there, over 1000 years ago. He bounced the idea back and forth of weather or not to tell Starlight about that day when he pushed the ponies of the town away from the dragon's cave and helped the dragon mother destroy the foundations that the towns folk were building having ignored his warnings. In the end, Sunny decided as much as he didn't want to relive it, it would be best to fill Starlight in before they walk into a possible situation.

"Well… it was 1000 years ago…" Sunny started the story, wishing he had been sent anywhere, ANYWHERE, else other then the town of Iron Hill.

As the train pulled into the Iron Hill station, Sunny did his best to lead a very worried Starlight off the train. Sunny himself had pulled his stetson hat over his horn, hoping no pony would recognize him.

Jumping to Sunny's side, Starlight asked in a tone that, although hushed, was still too loud for Sunny's taste "You don't think the town's folk are still mad at the Black Knight for what happened 1000 years ago, do you? I mean, it was 1000 years ago, it's not like alot of ponies from back there are still around. And they just kinda turned around and left at the Crystal Empire, right? So the town might be over what you did 1000 years ago, right?"

As if the town was answering Starlight's quesgions, Sunny and Starlight walked into he shadow of a large statue that stood in the middle of the town. Their jaws dropped as they gazed up at a large Iron statue of an armored, fiendish looking unicorn ridding on the back of a dragon as it seemed to breath fire at the town around it!

"Ugh… that might help keep the feelings alive" Starlight chuckled sheepishly.

Taking in a deep breath, Sunny pushed the image of the less then flattering statue out of his mind and turned to Starlight. "Maybe we should split up. Cover more ground. And meet back here in an hour or so."

"You sure that's a good idea?" Starlight asked Sunny, seeming a little more then concerned for Sunny's own safety. "I mean, this town seems to hate the Black Knight-"

Again, as if the town itself wanted to answer her quesgion, a stallion caught Starlight and Sunny's attention as he yelled "Alright! Pull her down!"

Sunny and Starlight turned and looked behind them the statue which now had ropes around it and was being pulled up by the roots off its place at the center of the town. The large statue started to fall away from them,, but it got caught on an iron rod that once held it in place. It's new direction had had statue falling in a way that almost landed on Sunny and Starlight. Thinking quickly, Starlight grabbed Sunny and teleported them both about ten feet away from the statue. They avoided being crushed, and coughed as a huge cloud of dust erupted when the statue hit the ground with a loud clang.

When the smoke cleared, Sunny and Starlight's coughing alerted the stallion, who was yelling earlier, to their presence. Looking around the statue on the other side, a large, plump earth pony rushed right over to both unicorns and met them with a humble smile. "Tourists! I am so sorry! I didn't see you there! Please, allow me to welcome you to our town of Iron Hill! I am the mayor, Mayor Carehoof ! At your service."

"Nice ta meet cha" Sunny smiled nervously at the mayor of Iron Hill as he extended a hoof. The mayor's hoof grabbed Sunny's and shook it wildly like it was a rodeo bull.

"It's awful nice ta meet new folks! Welcome to Iron Hill! Our town mines the near by mountain for Iron ore and makes alot of Iron based goods sold and traded all around Equestria! From tools to pans, from stakes to weapons and armor for the royal guard! We make it all! Care ta take a tour! I can get you somepony to show you around." Mayor Carehoof had been shaking Sunny's hoof the whole time he spoke, luckily his words spat out at a hundred miles her hour, so Sunny didn't have to hold on for too long.

When Sunny managed to free his hoof and stop shaking like he was in the middle of a violent earth quake, he asked this mayor "Ugh, wasn't there some other fella in charge?"

"Oh, you must have visited when our old mayor, Hot Iron, was in office" Mayor Carehoof looked a bit unease speaking about the previous mayor. "Well… ya see, after an incident at the Crystal Empire, the folks of Iron Hill thought it best to rethink our values and life goals. But mayor Hot Iron refused to let his family's old grudge go. And in the last election, they voted him out, me in, now he-"

As if on some sort of comical coincidence, a rather grumpy looking stallion in a grey custodian jump suite, popped up from an alleyway and marched right up to Mayor Carehoof. "Carehoof! I just found several more minners just lollygaging down by the river during work hours! If you can't control the workers of our town's most precious resource, how do you expect to fend off an attack!?"

Mayor Carehoof sighed and frowned for the first time in Sunny and Starlight's presents as he looked at the aggressive custodian. "Hot Iron, we've talked about this before; you aren't the mayor anymore. You have to stop trying to control everypony. It's not your place."

"No, it's yours!" Hot Iron snapped and shot daggers at Carehoof. "It's the Mayor's job to keep the peace and to make sure everypony upholds the law! And here you are, destroying the statue MY ancestors made! How do you expect to educate the next generation about the dark rein of the Black Knight if you don't have a stature to strike fear into their hearts!? It brings the past to life and let's them see what our ancestors saw! A horrible, monstrous, evil-"

This time is was Mayor Carehoof's turn to interupt, his annoyed expression turned even more sour and silanced Hot Iron. "Missunderstanding! If our ancestors had heeded the warnings of the Black Knight 1000 years ago, they could have been half way where we are now and not lived all those years in fear that the sky was falling! Hot Iron, get back to your job, and keep your nose out of other pony's business. Unless somepony put the wrong items in the recycling or trash bins, I don't want to hear any more form you!"

The anger filled burst from Carehoof made Sunny and Starlight feel like flies on the walls as they watched Hot Iron sizzle out, but his hard muzzle remained fuming. The earth pony knew when to call it quits. Hot Iron picked up a broom he discarded, and began to sweep the streets aggressively to expell his enduring frustration.

Mayor Carehoof waited until Hot Iron was out of sight before turning back to Sunny and Starlight, his furious expression changed into a nervous smile. "I'm really sorry you folks had to see that! Iron Hill is really a kind and welcoming place, say for, ugh, our former mayor and current head custodian. Please accept a meal on me at any of our fine restaurants as an apology! Explore our town and tell any restaurant that Mayor Carehoof will cover your meal."

Leaning close between Sunny and Starlight, mayor Carehoof whispered "the password of the day is 'blue bird'." The mayor then proceeded to direct the construction ponies who were hauling away the unflattering statue of the Black Knight and the dragon.

After a moment or so, Sunny cleared his throat and promptly stated "well, time ta get lookin' for that friendship problem!"

"Really?" Starlight's flat tone indicated that she couldn't believe that Sunny was willing to write off what they just saw as nothing.

"Those two didn't seem like friends" Sunny stated, his accent void from his voice. "No friends, no friendship problem. Obviously we're here for somepony else. Now, why don't we start by looking around the town?"

Starlight knew Sunny was avoiding dealing with Hot Iron, but she knew they weren't on too much of a time crunch. Maybe if she went along with him avoiding the problem, eventually the problem will catch up to him. Besides, as she looked around, Starlight's gaze became focused on a shop that sold iron based nicknacks and gifts with the town's name on them. And she wanted to check them out before they left.

After visiting the gift shop, and leaving with several gifts for the others back home, the two unicorns ventured to the town's main Iron works factory, hoping to find their friendship problem along the way. The two joined a tour along with a good half dozen or so other ponies who were lead by an earth pony mare with smile that looked almost too large for her muzzle.

"This factory was built ontop of the original factory 400 years ago and still stands to this day" the tour guide explained as she lead Sunny, Starlight and the other tourists past several factory ponies hard at work heating the iron and pouring the heated liquid metal into molds. "And the original factory stood for over 600 years before that."

"618 years…" a growl from a corner, correcting the tour guide. The growl's owner was none other then Hot Iron himself, who was focused on sweeping up bits of iron debris to be put in the recycling bin. "And it was built two years after the original town was destroyed by the Black Knight and his evil dragon."

Clearing her throat but keeping the wide smile, the tour guide tried to redirect her group's attention away from Hot Iron. "Ugh… yes! Back then, our town's main product happened to be skillets, cooking grates for outdoor cooking-"

"Armor, Sheilds, and swords" Hot Iron interrupted again, once again tearing the attention away from the tour guide. "The town wanted to make sure that if they ever were attacked again, like the town had been when the Balck Knight showed up, they would be ready for a fight. And the town's folk were trained to handle the weapons they made. Their bodies made strong by the labor in the mines and the process they took to melt the ore, so the heavy Iron armor barely weighed then down. Puhhhh. Can't say that for the town's folk of today…"

The tour guide had one last ditch effort to regain control over her group. "Oh! Crafts! Yes! Let's all walk over here to the craft station, where you all could make some wonderful and unique souvenirs! Be careful, and use those thick aprons and heat resistant gloves and goggles!"

Almost the entire group's attention had been redirected by the thought of unique iron items they could make to remember their trip as they were lead down a corridor by the tour guide. All except two unicorns from Ponyville. Starlight and Sunny both took one last glance back at the disgruntled custodian, Hot Iron, who returned a hard glance back at them, his eyes almost seemed to glow. Then the two unciorns from Ponyville left the custodian behind and rejoined their group, and try their hooves at Iron forging.

After visiting the Iron mines, Sunny and Starlight decided it was a good idea to take the mayor up on his offer of a free meal and settled on a restaurant near the next site they planned to check out, the main town.

After sitting down and looking over the menu, Sunny's eye caught something he knew he had to try. "Ah think ah know exactly what ah want! There's ah salad on here with fresh apples grown just outside th' town. Ah wanna see how they compare ta Granny's Apple garden salad."

Starlight chuckled. "You can take the pony out of the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the pony. I have to say, I would never have guessed that YOU grew up living the high life, eating the fanciest foods, wearing expensive outfits and dinning with royalty. Looking at you now, I can hardly believe you're Celestia's son."

Starlight's last statment made Sunny sink in his seat. He waved a hoof at her trying to keep her quite as he looked around nervously. "Hey, keep it down. I don't want anypony to recognize me."

"Why? Aren't you proud of your mom? She's kind of a big deal" Starlight raised a brow at Sunny.

Sitting strait up in his seat again, Sunny avoided looking at Starlight, and hid from the other attendants of the restaurant behind a raised menu. "It's not that I'm not proud of my mom. It's just… well… I don't like special treatment. That's why I feel so comfortable with the Apples. Even after finding out I was a prince, and who my mother was, they still treated me like ME."

"Ah, the curse of being royal" Starlight chuckled again but let her joke die down. "In all seriousness, you shouldn't try and hide who you are. Ponies want to get to know the REAL Sunny. And I bet if you let them, you'll see alot of ponies like YOU for YOU."

"Get out of my kitchen!" A mare in a chef's uniform screeched, emerging from the restaurant's kitchen, pushing a familiar looking custodian out with his own broom.

"But when was the last time you sharpened your knives? Or checked the expiration date on your fire extinguisher?" Hot Iron pleaded nervously as the chef pushed him more and more with his own broom. "What about the-!"

Hot Iron had been walking backwards and didn't pay attention to his footing until he tripped over a rock and fell backwards with a painful thump.

The chef loomed over him, her narrowed eyes beeming down at the former mayor. "THIS is MY kitchen. I never told you how to run the town, and I'm not going to tell you how to pick up trash, so don't tell me how to run my kitchen!"

The chef mare then tossed the broom at Hot Iron who caught it in mid air, looked frightened for a moment until the chef mare disappeared back into her kitchen and all eyes were once again on him. He casually stood up. Brushed the dirt off his custodian uniform, then glared back at the eyes that weighed down on him and snarled "What are you all looking at?! Shows over!"

The frustrated former mayor then stormed off with his broom over his shoulder. Once he was out of sight, the low sounds of conversations returned to the restaurant.

"Still don't think HE'S part of the friendship problem?" Starlight raised a brow at Sunny.

"If anything, he's got an occupation problem" Sunny stated, tearing his attention away from the direction that Hot Iron left in. "He definatly needs a life coach to lead him to a job he actually likes."

"Are you both ready to order?" A cheerful unciorn levitating a notepad infront of himself appeared, a casual but wide smile on his muzzle.

"Yes, I'll have the house salad with the Apple slices" Sunny tried to put on a smile, but all of Starlight's suggestions were starting to get at him. He refused to believe Hot Iron was the pony they were there to help. Surely there was somepony there who was arguing with their friend or fighting with a close family member, who really needed their help, and they just haven't found them yet.

Across from him, Starlight could see the conflict within Sunny, but was still annoyed that he refused to acknowledge the real problem was Hot Iron. She would have to just keep on him as they checked out the rest of the town. There was only so much a pony could deny, and Sunny was reaching his limit.

"The Apples were interesting" Sunny stated as they left the restaurant behind and made their way to the housing area. "But Sweet Apple Acres still has waaaay better quality apples."

"Great, but don't forget why we're here" Starlight had slightly enjoyed her meal. The pasta dish she ordered was OK, but she wished it had more sauce. She had to remind herself, and Sunny, that they were there on a mission.

"You're right" Sunny straitened his hat, not realizing he had just reveiled his horn. Up until just then, Sunny had been very cautiousand kept his horn hidden from the moment the two of them arrived in town. "We need to find that pony in need and help them with their friendship problem, then get back to Ponyville."

Just before entering the housing area of Iron Hill, there was a small sweets shop that looked as though it had a fresh coat of paint and a flashy new sign out front that read 'Sweeter Treats'. As Sunny and Starlight passed it, making it just one hoof step into the actual housing area, a too familiar voice rang out like a rusty bell in their ears.

"What do you meant you got rid of the 'Power Up Shakes'?" Hot Iron yelped as he was pushed out of the sweets shop.

"No pony liked them" the mare running the sweets shop flatly told Hot Iron, her expression cold and hard despite the sweet warm cent emerging from her shop as she opened the door, which caught the attention of several other ponies walking by, not just Sunny and Starlight.

"What do you mean!? I had atleast two a day! I know others did-" Hot Iron's outraged plea was interrupted by the shop owner.

"Nopony, Except you, liked them" she repeated herself, then stomped her hoof. "And another thing, I don't want you to come in my shop again. You're bad for buisness."

Hot Iron's outrages expression cracked as he went pale and shocked. "B-but I'm one of your best costomers!"

"I'm getting more customers now that YOU aren't in office" the baker mare went on. "But every time you come around, ponies either walk out or take their treats to go. Like I said, You're bad for business, and I have a pair of foals who want to attend Princess Celestia's school. And it isn't cheep. Now SHOO!"

The sweets shop owner then used her own broom to brush at Hot Iron's hooves, forcing him to jump back, falling on his backside in the street. The sweet shop owner added insult to injury by slamming the door on him.

"Still not convinced that HE is the reason we're here?" Starlight asked Sunny.

Looking all around the housing area for a possible way out, er, a friendship problem, Sunny fumbled with his words, feeling the pressure build up. He knew there wasn't much more he could deny. They were running out of areas in the town to check and this guy kept popping up as if it were a sign. "Well, ugh, it could be, and possibly-"

"I knew it!" A bellowing cry caused Sunny and Starlight to look over to see a very angry looking Hot Iron approached them. Eyes balzing as he stomped over to them, his broom extended like a weapon at Sunny. "I knew it was you from the moment you got off the train! I could just feeeeel your evil presence! You may think you're so smart, disguising yourself like some sort of farm colt, but I knew you were none other then The Evil Black Knight!"

The commotion had caught the attention of everypony around the housing area and even some from just beyond at town Square. Older ponies feeding pidgons crumbs of bread, young foals playing games in the street, a pair of friends playing game of checkers under a tree, the tourist and tour leader, Mayor Carehoof, and a good three dozen other ponies who were going about their daily routines had emerged and made their way to Sunny and Starlight.

"And now that you are hear, I, Hot Iron, descendent of the town's founder, will-" by his tone, Hot Iron was about to say something more threatening, but he was interrupted by a rather cheerful mayor.

"He will welcome you to our town as an honored guest!" Mayor Carehoof flashed a wide, toothy smile as he put one hoof around Hot Iron and extended his other hoof to Sunny. "If I had known the son of Princess Celestia was coming, shoot, I'd have hung up some banisters, balloons and maybe prepared some of those party cannons I've heard so much about!"

The mayor grabbed Sunny's hoof with both of his hooves, shook it wildly, then turned and faced the town, speaking loudly for all to hear. "If not for this gentlecolt, we all would still he working night and day to prepare for some dagon attack. Our children would still be taught how to make and use weapons in schools. But thanks to him clarifying what REALLY happe Ed all those years ago, we all can relax and enjoy life without fear! Let's all give the prince a big Iron Hill welcome, what do you all say!"

Everypony cheered, stomped their hooves and screamed at Sunny with great enthusiasm. This was the most exciting thing to happen to their town since that fiasco in the Crystal Empire, which was something they all rather forget and move on from. The mayor saw Hot Iron was about to say something else, something that would only make matters worse, and he quickly turned Sunny away from the former mayor and began leading Sunny back towards Town Square.

"Your majasty, It would do us a great honor if you would help us design a new center piece for our town square." Mayor Carehoof spoke to Sunny as cheering townsfolk followed them. "We wanted to get rid of that frightening statue for so long, but we can't seem to come up with a new statue to take its place. Our town staff have been at each other's throats trying to come up with something that will fit our town perfectly and welcome travelers with open hooves. I hear you're talent is seeing the good in everything and helping to bring it out. You are just the pony we need to help design out town's new statue. What do you say? Will you help us?"

'The committee is at eachother's throats? And my talent can be used to help an entire town, not just two ponies? Sounds like we found our 'Friendship' problem.' "Mayor, ah'll do whatever ah can ta help yer town." Sunny amswered proud fully as he began to relax, feeling that now he had discovered the REAL friendship problem.

The crowd cheered louder when they heard Prince Sunny was going to help their town with its statue. Everypony followed behind Sunny and the mayor, even braking out into a cheerful song. That is, everypony except for a broken Hot Iron. Starlight Glimmer watched as the crushed custodian realized he had truely lost his place in his home town.

Falling to his knees, Hot Iron's burning inner fire flickered. "I don't have a place here anymore. This isn't MY Iron Hill."

Approaching him, Starlight put a hoof on his shoulder. "Things change. I used to be the leader of a town once, too. But it wasn't for me. Maybe being mayor of this town just wasn't for you."

"You don't get it" Hot Iron opened up to Starlight. "Since I was a foal, old enough to stand, I had been trained by my father to fight. I mastered a sword by age 5, a lance by 7, and every other weapon our town used to produce by the time I graduated high school. It was my duty, no, my destiny to protect this town from the dangers of the Black Knight and his monstrous hord. We all were read stories as foals of the dragons that burned down our old town, of the threats of an evil Black Knight, and how we would have to raise up and protect our town." All the feelings and thoughts that Hot Iron kept alive in his mind and heart began to pour out, draining his drive.

"I used to think I knew what was right for everypony, too" Starlight moved to stand infront of Hot Iron, trying to catch his full attention. "But I was wrong. I was trying to force everypony to give up what made them special and unique. The hardest thing I ever did was admit I was wrong. I just wanted everypony to be happy. Isn't that what you want?"

Tugging away from her, Hot Iron's temper flared a little. "I wanted to keep them safe. I wanted them to live without fear. They're all so happy pretending there aren't dangers out there, lerking in the shadows, just becouse the Black Knight wasn't evil, doesn't mean there isn't still evil out there."

"If you knew Sunny wasn't bad, why were you so quick to jump on him just now?" Starlight's kindness and understanding wavered a little.

Turning his back fully on Starlight, Hot Iron stud up, and began ripping off his custodian uniform. "You wouldn't understand! You have a princess to protect you and your small town! We had an army, but our army tossed away their weapons, and their fight. I was the only one left to stand up and protect the town, but I couldn't do it alone! I give up! Let this place be over taken by dragons and monsters! Let the town's folk realize I was right! But I'm out! I'm done!"

No longer weighed down by self pity, Hot Iron stormed off to gather his things and move to somewhere, anywhere else. He was done with the town that was done with him.