Sunny Knight: a Pony's Tale

by TheothersideofSunny968

Mother-Sunny day

As Princess Luna approached her sister's private chamber( not her secret one used to escape everypony, but the one that the royal guards actually stand outside and guard), she could hear papers ruffling, a quill scribbling, and sound of books hitting the ground with a thud. The princess of the moon sighed and thought how much Twilight picked up from her dear sister. The guards opened the door for Princess Luna, who was met with a similar scene of Celestia's room. Under normal circumstances, Celestia's private chambers (the well known one) would be tidy, with at most, a stack of books and scrolls on her bedside and work desk. But at the moment, there were open books scattered all around the room, scrolls hanging from her canopy bed, sheets of paper scattered all around, books left in positions that would have given Twilight Sparkle a heart attack, and Luna's dear older sister in the corner at her desk hastily scribbling away about something. Luna approached her sister to ask what it was she was working on when Celestia grew frustrated, crumpled up a piece of paper, and tossed it into an already overflowing trash can, where it was greeted by many similar crumpled up pieces of paper.

Looking at her sister, Luna's concern grew. Celestia's normally gently flowing mane had actually ceased its movment and had spots where several strands of hair were sticking out of their normal flow. Celestia's normally relaxed and regal posture crumbled and left her hunched over her desk to be as close to her work as possible. But what concerned Luna the most about her sister's obsession in her work was the lack of sleep Celestia was getting. Celestia had drank so much coffee that she and her room smelled like a coffee shop. Not a chain coffee shop like Ponybucks, but a self owned one where they only use organic beans and operate in small quarters and boast about roasting their own coffee beans.

"Sister" Luna called out to Celestia, who was once again busy scribbling away at a piece of paper. Celestia didn't reply or even acknowledge Luna's existence.

"Sister!" Luna tried again to get her sister's attention, speaking a little louder. But Celestia only grew frustrated with what she was writing, crumbled up the paper and sent it to join the others in the waste bin.

Luna didn't want to resort to the royal canterlot voice, but it seems that she had no other choice. Luna cleared her throat, puffed out her chest, and she channeled her magic into her vocal cords as she spoke. "SISTER! IT IS 'I', PRINCESS LUNA! ACHKNOWLAGE ME!"

To the Princess of the moon's suprise, Celestia still didn't budge, well, other then to grab a scroll that was open on the ground. Celestia looked it over, then returned to scribbling something down on her new sheet of paper.

Releasing a puff of air, Luna knew what she had to do, but avoided doing it. It would shock her sister, and in her fragile state, Celestia didn't need the added stress. But it was the only thing left Luna could think to do to snap her sister out of this funk.

Leaning in close to her sister, Luna whispered gently into Celestia's ear "morning sister, Sunny's here-"

Celestia stood up strait, panicked and began racing around frantically, kicking books and scrolls out of the way in such such violent manner, it would have made Twilight faint. "No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No!"

Luna wanted to interject, but thought it best to let Celestia work a little of the panic out of her system, and tire herself out a little, before she spoke up. Luna didn't enjoy seeing her sister like this at all. After several moments of running around, Celestia started to run low on energy, looked over to a tray of untouched food and three empty pots of coffee. One pot still had a few drops of coffee sitting at the bottom of it. Celestia focused her magic and tried to levitate the pot over to her so she could give her body a desperate jolt of energy.

"I think you have had enough, Sister" Luna intercepted the pot and placed it back on the serving tray. "It is time for bed. You have a big day tomorrow."

"Wait! I thought you said-!" Celestia started to protest as Luna used her magic to levitate her older sister into the air and place her in her bed.

"It is night" Luna examined, wrestling Celestia into her bed and forcefully tucking her in. "You need your rest for tomorrow."

For the last week, Princess Celestia had been planning a special day with her son, Sunny. A day where Luna would take over for all her royal duties, where the Apples would handle all of Sunny's work around the farm, Twilight and her friends would keep Equestria out of danger, and the other New Guardians of Harmony would hold down the fort. A day where Celestia could be just a mother, and Sunny could just be her son. And they can just have a fun, regular day togeather. But for the last week, Celestia had tried to spend some time figuring out what they could do as mother and son. Between her diplomatic duties, royal meetings, as well as a suprise appearance from a foreign ambassador, Celestia had no time to actually think of what to do on their mother-son day.

"I can't rest, Luna! I need to do more research! Come up with a plan!" Celestia tried to protest, but her magic and physical strength had depleted due to her exhaustion.

"What you NEED now is some sleep" Luna spoke forcefully. "Listen to me, sister; you have been planning this day for over a week, you have a pretty good idea of what Sunny would like and would not like to do. You made sure the weather team will have it a bright, sunny day with a fair temperature. I will keep Canterlot running, and Twilight and her friends will keep Ponyville safe. So please, do yourself a favor and relax. Get. Some. Sleep."

Her sister's words barely sunk in as Celestia's heart remained filled with worry. "But, what if something goes wrong?! What if we eat at a restaurant that he doesn't like the food at? What if there is a sudden storm the weather team can't handle!? What if-!?"

Luna cut her sister off. "What if fire fell from the sky, and your nose fell off?"

Celestia was about to agree and paint a more vivid picture for her younger sister when she realized her sister was trying to show her how ridiculous she was being with all her worrying. Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down, some small tears gathered at the ends of her eyes as she let out a wide yawn. "I… I just want to be a good mother…"

"You are a good mother" Luna tried to tell her sister.

"Tell that to the son I haven't spent hardly any time with in over 1000 years…" Celestia quipped. "And now he's getting married, starting a family of his own… I bet he-"

"Enough, sister!" Luna snapped, catching Celestia's attention. "Self pity is not becoming of you. Now, as a pony who has popped into Sunny's dreams before, I can tell you he loves you, and he is looking forward to spending time with you. Don't ruin it for you two by overthinking. Just go out there and have fun."

Taking a few more breaths, Celestia felt her eye lids grow heavier, sleep began to take hold of her. She turned to her sister and flashed her a warm smile "thank you sister. I needed that."

"I know, now, good night, sister" Luna cast a quick spell to help Celesria get into a deeper sleep. As the princess of the sun began to slumber, Luna quietly snuck out of her sister's room and released a held sigh. 'You and your son are so alike. HE is just as worried about tomorrow and wants to be a good son to YOU. Ugh… I personally can't wait until the day AFTER tomorrow. Maybe THEN you two can have more relaxed dreams.'

Sunny was finishing his breathing excersizes as the train pulled up to the Canterlot station. He was equal parts nervous and excited about today, and glad he got a decent night's sleep. As the train stopped and ponies began to pour out of the carts, several royal guards had to usher them away, telling them to keep moving. On the deck of the station, Princess Celestia eagerly awaited her son's arrival, wondering if it would have been better to have picked him up in Ponyville in her chariot and flown him back to Canterlot. She decided against it, though, remembering his fear of heights. Besides, the only real hassle she and he would have is meeting up at the station and getting out of the sea of ponies. After that, she had a plan mapped out to allow them their space and privacy to enjoy the day as mother and son.

'Maybe I should have come in disguise. I do have that changeling amulet that could change my appearance' Celestia thought. But before she could think more on a way to avoid the crowd of ponies gathering around her, Sunny came into view. He waved at her with a wide smile spread across his muzzle, and she returned the eager wave and smile. Celestia found herself speaking Luna's words as if it were her new mantra 'Just enjoy the day. Just enjoy the day. Relax. And just enjoy the day.'

"Hey mom!" Sunny had crossed over several ponies and made his way to his mother, practically leaping at her, giving her a big hug.

The warmth of the hug was soothing and for a moment, put Celestia's mind at ease. After several moments, she reluctantly broke the hug. "I've been looking forward to this day."

"Me too!" Sunny cheered, still dawning a wide smile. "In your letters, you said you had a, ugh, list?"

"Indeed" Celestia smiled as she made a scroll appear out of nowhere, opening it and flashed it to Sunny. "I have spent the last week going over all the fun things Canterlot has to offer and cross referencing it with books on parental child bonding and things I know about you."

Hearing this caused Sunny to chuckle a little.

"What's so funny?" Celestia hastily asked, worried that she might have gone overboard with studying up, or thinking maybe she should have kept the list part to herself, but then also thought 'no, Sunny is my son, we should be open with one another about such things'. Buy fears and paranoias still grew inside the Sun princess's head.

After a few seconds of being lost in her thoughts, Celestia felt a hoof over hers. That slight touch pulled her out of her fearful state and snapped her back to reality. Looking down, she locked eyes with Sunny. His emerald green eyes reminded Celestia so much of his father, the way Sombra used to be. "I'm sorry, mom. I just though how much like Twilight you sounded. I don't know if she got that from YOU or you just took a page from HER book."

Hearing that caused Celestia to relax a bit and breath. She laughed a little now, herself mirroring Sunny's action. "Twilight was like that long before I ever met her. So I guess I took a page from HER book."

"Well, I guess I'll take a page from Cadence and tell you 'not to worry so much'" Sunny started to lead his mother off the deck of the train station and into the streets of Canterlot. "'Couse today is just about you and me. Let's just have fun, ok?"

Celestia smiled down at her son, amazed at how level headed, yet cheerful, he had become. He was so different then how he was 1000 years ago. 'Was this who he was hidding behind that refined wall all that time? Do i… do I even know my own son?'

Princess Celestia felt another nudge, looked down and saw Sunny nudging her lightly as he looked up at his mother, eyes wide and pure. "Don't over think things, ok?"

The Princess of the sun shook away her troubling thoughts and in that instant decided to listen to her son on the matter. Now clear of worries and troubling thoughts, Princess Celestia walked with her son to a carrage that she had waiting for them.

"So, what do you want to do first?" Sunny asked his mother, his bright and cheerful disposition toned down a bit so they could relax as the carrage began moving.

"Well, I was thinking about showing you Canterlot's shopping dustrict" Celestia admitted. "We can sample food and drinks from all the different food vendors, we can window shop, and there is one ship in particular I wanted us to visit. I know Rarity gave you a rather nice looking suite for the Galla, but I'm going to guess that you don't want to wear that out to every formal occation."

Thinking hack to the effort Rarity put towards his tuxedo that he wore to the Grand Galloping Galla, Sunny didn't think he would have too many formal occasions to wear it out, but it would be nice to have something else to wear should the occasion call for it. Even Applejack, who was all about necessity, has a few different dresses in her closet. Maybe it would be a good idea to try and keep more then one. "Ya have ah good point, there."

Hearing Sunny agree to the shopping trip made Celestia beam a little with great joy. Yhe princess of the sun loved walking the shopping district, seeing all the different shops from the baked goods, china shops, and various clothing stores she always found enjoyable even though she could rarely do it herself without catching a great deal of unwanted attention.The thought of helping her son try on various tuxedos and formal wear made her heart feel ten times lighter. And maybe… maybe she could get her son the very tuxedo he would wear on his special day.

Celestia's glow flared a bit, beaming with the joyful thought but also flickered with some slight worry. Sunny could tell something was bothering his mother, but before he could ask, one of the stallions pulling the royal carrot called out to them.

"We've arrived, your majasties" one of the stallions called out in a firm and flat tone, hiding any and all emotion, as royal guards did.

"Thank you" Celestia pulled herself away from her thoughts as her door opened, a royal guard on each side of the door.

Having six royal guards to one carrage seemed a little excessive at first to Sunny, but as he took a step out of the carrage, his opinion quickly changed. The six royal guards cleared a pathway from the carrage leading up to the shop's front doors, keeping two groups of ponies from pushing their way through to see Princess Celestia and her son. The groups of ponies were cheering and calling out Sunny and his mother's names, flashes from cameras came from both sides. Everypony around was excited to see the royal mother and son.

Having dealt with overexcited crowds many times in the past, Celestia simply smiled and walked down the space the six guards kept clear for her and her son. After taking a few steps, Celestia got a funny feeling, turned to look behind her, and saw Sunny was lagging behind. His muzzle plastered with an expression of nervous unease. She realized that although she had dealt with the public like this for over 1000 years, her son didn't. When he was a prince 1000 years ago, nopony went as far as this crowd to shower him with flooding attention. Thinking quickly and acting swiftly, Celestia raised her left wing and reached out to her son, sheltering him from half the crowd, but giving the appearance of a loving mother who wants to he close to her son. This seemed to snap Sunny out of his frozen state and togearher, they walked up and into a clothing shop.

Once inside the shop, Sunny looked over his shoulder and watched the six royal guards break into two group. One pair stayed outside and guarded the entrance, preventing anypony else from entering the shop. The other four disappeared out of sight. Princess Celestia knew, though, that the other guards disappeared to the roof top to keep an eye on them from the sky, with one guarding the back entrance. Although security wasn't really nessisary to keep the princess or her son safe (with their combined magic and strength, the two could handle almost anything in Equestria) but more or less to keep ponies from bothering them during their quality bonding time.

"Ah! Princess Celestia! You are here!" A lengthy mare in high heels ran up to Sunny's mother and greated her with a bow. It was a sight to see her elegantly bow in those high heels and not fall over. The mare then turned her attention to Sunny, causing the young stallion to flash a nervous smile. "And this handsome young colt must be the son I've heard so much about! My, my, my! I bet you had to beat the mare's off with a stick! If you weren't getting married, you'd have to beat me away too! Ha! But no worries! Let's get started! Right this way! Right this way!"

Celestia walked behind her son who was lead to the back of the shop into one of the fitting rooms. There, the shop owner put Sunny up on a small stand infront of three mirrors angled around him. Celestia stood out of sight of the mirrors, a smile spread across her muzzle as she watched the shop owner dress her son in a number of different outfits ranging from a loose fitting Eastern style of formal wear, to a western style that would have pit a smile on Applejack's muzzle, before ending up with one that she thought looked perfect for a formal occation.

"There! What do you think?" The shop owner asked.

Looking at her son, Celestia could see Sunny was trying to put on a shocked and amazed expression, but she knew her son better then that. He certainly had his mother's talent for hidding behind a false expression.

"It's amazing! It feels nice, what is the material you used?" Sunny asked in a relaxed but still eager tone, trying to sound more interested in the suit then he actually was.

"It is 100% saddlearabian sattin" the shop owner explained as she looked over the tuxedo, pulling at the various sleeves and checking how certain ends fit, making sure it wasn't too snug. "Want to walk around and see how it moves? I know you royal guard types value mobility. What with needing to jump into action at a moments notice, even at formal times."

Watching her son as he got down off the pedestal and walked around a bit, Celestia saw he brightened up for real when he saw how flexable he could be in the suite.

"Mind if I have a moment with my son?" Celestia stepped forward and asked the shop owner, flashing her a gently smile.

"Of course! Of course! I'll, ugh, would either of you like some tea? Or water?" The shop owner nervously asked, thinking how she should have asked that when the two first arrived. She was so excited to not only have the one and only Princess Celestia in her shop, but her son as well, that she forgot her normal routine of dealing with prestigious company. Most of the other royals who grace her shop are met with beverages or- "or would either of you like something to eat? Strawberries? Carrot squares? Cucumber sandwiches?"

"I'm fine, thank you" Sunny and his mother both said at the exact same time, which caused them both to look at eachother, smile and chuckle a little.

The shop owner smiled and dismissed herself after telling them both to simply call for her when they needed her, that she would be within ear shot.

Approaching her son, standing directly behind him as they both looked into the mirror, Celestia studdied her son for his REAL feelings on the suite. After a small pause, she finnaly just asked him. "What do you think? Honestly. If it's not to your liking…"

Sunny spoke up gentle energy "I love it. I really like that it's as flexible as it is. It just… has me worried a bit. And thinking…"

"About your father?" Celestia knew that was the only thing that could be bothering Sunny about the wedding. Most ponies worry something will go wrong, but most ponies worry about somepony misplacing the rings, or the cake being the wrong color, the invitations being sent out on the wrong date, or even the bride tripping while walking up to the alter. Unfortunately, her son had worries of his own father crashing the party with some villainous scheme.

A deep sadness washed over Sunny, and his mother could see it in three different directions, thanks to the mirrors. When he spoke, Sunny's voice was regal and forlorn. "I… I was hoping we would have this all sorted out by the time the wedding rolled around so dad could walk Applejack down the isle, since Big Mac is my best stallion….We talk sometimes about stuff like that. 'If my father reforms before the wedding, would you want him there?' You know what she said?"

Celestia shook her head, the world around her seemed to disappear except for her and Sunny. It was moments like this, no matter how painful or sorrowful they were, that she wanted to share. Opening hearts to one another.

"She said 'from all ya told me 'bout him before he went all evil king and what not, he sounds like ah sweet guy. Ah'd be honored ta have him walk me down the isle. If he's reformed by then.'" Sunny smiled as he shook his head. "We have talks like that some times. Like 'If you were in the Crystal Empire 1000 years ago, what would ya do for ah living?' And she told me 'I'd grow the first orchard worth of crystal apples, and keep you in line. Somepony needs to.' Then we'd laugh. Guess I couldn't have gotten away with half as many pranks with Pappy if Applejack was there to stop me."

That brought a smile to Celestia's muzzle. She outstretched and put a wing around her son, her voice ringing like a small silver bell. "I never gave you both my blessing. But I want you to know, I'm glad you found such a wonderful mare, who makes you happy and, hehe, keeps you in line."

The last part made both Celestia and Sunny chuckle a little bit. When Sunny stopped his laughter he turned to his mother and shot her a wide smile. "Ya know, ah'm not just getting ah wife. Yer also getting ah daughter. Well, ah whole family. Ah tell the Apples 'bout you all the time. At first, they thought you were just some untouchable princess who could do no wrong. But ah made sure ta tell them all yer embarrassing secrets."

That made Celestia a little nervouse. "Oh? Like what, prey tell?"

"Like when you're stressed, you eat chocolate cake" Sunny started with a half cocked smile. "Or how you visit a small spa hidden in the castle between meetings on busy days to help unwind and prepare yourself. Or how you sometimes give your assistants the slip and make them stress out."

"You told them all that?" Celestia grew a little nervouse. Especially after remembering the youngest, Apple Bloom, was part of a news paper that had once spilled secrets of ponies all around town.

"Don't worry, ah made them Pinkie promise ta keep it all ah family secret" Sunny said to put his mother at ease. His expression turned grim as he muttered in a deep low tone "and nopony breaks a Pinkie promise. No pony…"

The sudden seriousness in Sunny's tone when he mentioned the 'Pinkie Promise' concerned Princess Celestia a bit, but her worry was interrupted by a royal guard stepping inside. "Your majasty, we need to leave now if we're going to make the show."

"Show?" Sunny asked, looking towards his mother.

Celesria smiled down at her son. "I think you'll really like it. Some things have changed, but others have bested the test of time. We still have some time before the show. Why don't we do some more shopping?"

Peering past his mother to the front windows of the shop, Sunny saw many ponies climbing and clawing to get to see them. Trying too get pictures holding up signs and waving to catch their attention. Gulping, Sunny suddenly felt nervous about simply exploring the shopping area.

To avoid the paparazzi, Celestia teleported herself and Sunny into their carrage after paying for his new suit, the guards following behind from the street. After putting some distance between themselves and the group of ponies wanting autographs, pictures and the like, Celestia decided it would be more fun to continue on hoof. To a point, it was. Sunny did his best to ignore the crowd of ponies kept at bay by the guards who circled him and his mother, and focus more of the shops around them.

The shopping strip of Canterlot was classy indeed, with only the most successful and wealthy shop owners able to keep their shops running. Celestia led Sunny into an antique shop that she knew her son would find interesting. SHE always did, being able to pick out a genuine antique from a false one, Celestia made sure no antique shop in Canterlot could sell anything but genuine pieces. Just to prevent falsifying actual antiques, Celestia passed a law about a decade or two back that declared any antique store selling false antiques would have every sign or lable with 'antique' on it to be replaced with 'thrift', including the store's sign. And if anypony tried to change the signs or labels back, there was a heavy fee. Counterfeiting things is bad enough, but counterfeiting items from the past, made Celestia feel insulted. And in Canterlot, if your 'antique' store suddenly turned into a 'thrift' store, it made most ponies stay away. Those stores were able to pick up and move to less popular shopping areas and continue their work, but they weren't fetching 1500 bits for a 'thrift' dresser anymore.

The antique shop was a good call. Sunny was amazed at all the things that were dated between when he disappeared and the present day. He would turn to his mother with great curiosity and ask her a million quesgions about everything that caught his eye. Having been a teacher herself at one point, Celestia was more then happy to explain about the various antique paintings, odd items that used to be in every house hold, and furniture. Her son had the same reaction she did.

"Why do they have to give every different piece of furniture a different name? Can't they just all call it what it is? A dresser? A bed frame? Night stand?" Her son raised a brow at his mother.

Hearing her own thoughts come from her son made Celestia laugh. "I often wonder the same thing. I suppose it makes it sound fancier then what it is."

After finishing up at the antique shop, Celestia and Sunny browsed a few more stores before settling at an ice cream parlor where Sunny was amazed they had over 200 flavors! Well, that is, they have about 30 different individual flavors and could combine two or more to make new flavors. Sunny had ordered a combination of mint and peanutbutter ice cream in a cone, Celestia had cake and strawberry also in a cone.

The two of them sat outside the store and enjoyed their sweet, cold snack. It was really nice, the both of them just getting to sit there and relax.

"Do you come here often?" Sunny was genuinely curious, then took a livk of his ice cream that was slowly melting.

"I haven't in a long time. Not since before Cadence got married. She's a big fan of ice cream. But us mares got to keep up our figures." Celestia answered her son then took a long, hard lick of her own ice cream.

"You used to go out on trips with her like this?" Sunny asked casually as he took another lick.

"We did, not so much any more" Celestia explained. "She has an empire to run, a husband and daughter. It's not easy for us to get togeather much anymore. We do still write to one another and keep in touch, but we haven't spent any quality time togeatger like we used to."

Sunny felt a little bad that his mother and Cadence didn't get to spend much time togeather. It was worse then him and his mother. Sunny may work hard on the farm and have his new life in Ponyville, full of friends and his new family, but Sunny could make time for his mother easier then Cadence. Maybe he could think of a way to change that and help his mother get some time with her niece.

A ploping sound pulled Sunny away from the eyes. He looked down and saw his half eaten ice cream fell to the ground.

"Oh, I'm sorry Sunny" his mother seemed very sympathetic. She stood up "I'll get you another one."

"Oh, no, thats OK." Sunny stopped her. "I'm actually full. Guess ice cream fills me up. So, are you going to tell me about this 'show' now?"

"I wanted to keep it a suprise…" Looking over her shoulder at a large clock placed on the street, Celestia mumbled slightly "Its a little early… but I suppose we could head on over."

A royal guard brought their carrage around, Celestia hopped inside, still finishing her own ice cream. Sunny stepped inside behind her and the guard shut the carrage door for him. All togeather, Sunny, his mother and the 6 royal guards accompanying them travled down the cobble stone road to the inner part of Canterlot city and away from the outer shopping district.

A short dive later and Celestia and Sunny arrived at the Canterlot Theater. Although it was smaller and had less up to date lighting then the popular Manehatten theater, it was still quite extravagant. Large white marble pillars kept a purple and gold roof over their heads and fed into a single theater that was lined with red velvet seats. Above the floor seats were seven balconies lining the ceiling. And the best seat in the house was always reserved for the Princesses, of course. Whenever the princesses made an appearance at a play, the house always sold out, so the theater managers always kept their box empty for them or their honorable guests.

"Tonight is one of my sister's favorites" Celestia informed Sunny, passing him a panflit with a sad clown on it. "Its called 'Ponyacci'. Although she and I prefer the 'Opera Phantom Pony', this play was first conducted 1000 years ago. It's a show about passion, love-"

"Wait! Was it made by Leoncoltino?" Sunny's eyes went wide with disbelief and awe.

"Ugh, why yes." Celestia answered after taking a quick glance at the play's pamphlet. "Wait, you knew Leoncoltino?"

"Yeah! When I was on a mission in the south east sea front, he was directing street performers" Sunny explained with great vigor in his voice. "Nice guy, a little odd, but nice. He had alot of really good writing ideas, but he didn't believe in himself. Before I left, I helped him set up his first stage. That's where I recognized the name. It was his first big time play. He told me all about it before I had to leave, since I coudlnt stay and watch the actual performance."

"I have to say, I'm amazed" Celestia was worried Sunny wouldn't appreciate such a dark play. But after hearing the history he shared with the director, she relaxed a bit. "I'm glad your friend's play has survived long enough for you to see it."

"Me too" Sunny beamed, seeming more enthusiastic then she should about such a play.

The lights dimmed completly, and ponies dressed in older style clothing danced on stage singing in an older style of Italequestrian dialect that had changed slightly over the years.

To most ponies who had read up on the old language, the play is about a mare in a love triangle with her husband, a hunch back and the stallion of her dreams. But to Sunny, who still had the old language fresh in his mind and had never seen the play before, it came out as about a mare who was looking for something to eat. Her husband had burned her dinner, a stallion with a sore back who's leg fell asleep offered her pancakes, but her cousin's best friend offered her the dish of her dreams, a low sodium seaweed wrap. Right after the cousin's friend left to go see his friend a duck, the mare's husband was about to confront her about not eating his burnt casserole and stealing his last slice of pie, Sunny could no longer contain himself. The yellow unicorn burst into laughter, tears of joy streaming down from his eyes.

Everypony in the audience turned their attention to the chuckling yellow unicorn in the princess's balcony. It's a general rule in showbuisness to keep the show going, even if there is a major disruption and to let the ushers deal with anypony or creature causing a ruckus. Unfortunately, said ruckus was being caused by Princess Celestia's one and only son, and the ushers didn't quite know how to handle it, and stayed nervously back. If it were just simple laughter Sunny was making, the actors could sing over it. Unfortunatly for everypony else, Sunny's royal canterlot voice sprang up and his laughter filled the entire opera house! It was so loud, the actors and singers stopped what they were doing, breaking the shows illusion, and all turned and stared at Sunny.

Feeling extremely awkward by her son's outburst, no matter how innocent it probably was, Celestia nudged him, trying to get his attention. "Sunny…"

After feeling his mother tap him on the shoulder, Sunny did his best to gather and compose himself, wiping several tears away from his eyes. When he did, his laughter finally faded, and he realized the entire orchestra had gone silent. Sunny was confused for a moment before he read the room and got that everypony was shooting him a hard gaze. Trying to ignore everypony's eyes, Sunny shrank in his seat, and wished he could just disappear.

"Did you want to leave a little early?" Celestia whispered to her son who was melting into a puddle in his seat.

"That would be nice" Sunny spat out so fast his mother had to wait for her mind to repeat it back in slow motion to understand what he had just said.

After a quick moment of her horn growing golden, Princess Celestia and her son disappeared in a flash of golden light, just as the curtains closed and the managers came on stage to appologize for the disruption and offered to start the play over again in just a moment.

"I see. That would explain your reaction." Celestia popped the tip of her hoof against her lower lip as Sunny explained to her why he was laughing at such a somber play. The two were back in his mother's carrage and were driving away from the theater.

"I'm sorry…" Sunny hung his head, ashamed he had embarrassed his mother so badly in her own city. "Ugh, the papers are going to have a feild day with this one! I'm so, so sorry mom."

"You don't need to apologize" Celesria tried to comfort her son who looked like he was crumbling up into a wad of paper in his seat. "It was an honest mistake. And don't worry about news papers. Headlines come and go. But our mother-son day is far from over. I had a feeling you would be rather rusty on the events that took place over the last 1000 years, so I thought a quick lesson was in order."

This caused Sunny to pop up out of his defeated position and raise a questioning brow at his mother. He wasn't exactly studious like her most faithful student, but maybe a crash course in modern history might help prevent another opera scene.

It didn't take them long to arrive at the next destination. The building before them seemed to be modled slightly differently then the other structures in Canterlot. The pillars to the outside were structured more closely to the buildings in Cloudsdale, and the roof appeared more pointed at an angle. It really stuck out in comparison to the other flashy gold, purple and marble white buildings with swirled tops.

"'The Canterlot Musium of Equestrian History'?" Sunny read the name of the building outloud.

A smile spread gracefully across Celestia's muzzle as her confident magenta eyes met her son's. "You lived 1000 years ago and hopped over to this time. You missed 1000 years of history, and I thought you may want to catch up. What better way then with paintings, statues and relics from those times? Plus, I was able to send word ahead, and we have the entire museum to ourselves."

Celesria was hoping that last part would be a big selling point with her son. She guessed that Sunny would want some quiet time alone without ponies popping up around them wanting pictures or autographs.

"That… might have been a good choice" Sunny agreeded with his mother, but his words fell flat. 'Especially after my flub up a the opera'

Celestia could since her son was troubled and leaned in closer to him. "Is this OK, Sunny? If not, we can do something else."

Sunny snapped himself out of it and focused on what was important. 'I don't want to completly ruin our day togeather. There have been a few bumps in the road, but the day's barely half over!' Putting on a smile, Sunny looked his mother in the eye and told her "hope you're ready to teach 1000 years of history."

Seeing her son's renewed bravado lightened Celestia's spirits. "I hope you're ready to learn."

As they walked up the steps, Celestia suddenly remembered the last time she visited museum. "You know, this reminds me of the time when Twilight was in her second year at my school for gifted unicorns."

"Oh?" Sunny kept up his chipper pace with his mother. "How so?"

"She was so eager to learn as much as she could, I decided to suprise her with a trip here. I even had the place cleared out so I, her mentor, could have her full and undivided attention." Celestia was so proud and lost in her memory that she failed to see her own son's expression change.

Sunny had felt odd about something, but couldn't quite put his hoof on it. These places his mother had taken him, she had mentioned a different pony at every one. Cadence at the ice cream shop, his Aunt Luna at the opera, and now Twilight at the museum. He was starting to see some pattern, but pushed the thought to the back of his mind. Today was about him and his mother. And he wasn't going to do anything else to ruin it for them.

"Ah, and here we have the Pegasome section" Celestia happily told her son in the most cheerful and informative manner she could. She couldn't quite put her hoof on it, but she had a feeling something was bothering Sunny. But she pressed forward and tried her best to keep their day going. "You recall your last encounter with Camander Hurricane's grandson?"

Thinking back brought a smile to Sunny's muzzle. "I remember…"

Over 1000 years ago, Sunny had gone on a peaceful mission to check in on Pegastome, the great city of pegasi before Cloudsdale was ever dreamed up. Commander Hurricane, one of Equestria's founders, had started the construction, but it wasn't completed until just after his Son, Cold Front, passed the touch of leadership to HIS son, the newly appointed commander Sky Runner. When Sunny met the young leader, he connected with him instantly. Sky Runner was a very likable guy. Firm with his leadership, but more understanding then his father or grandfather had been. Sunny helped Sky Runner chase off an army of gremlins who created artifical storm clouds, and from there on, even though Sunny kept others at a distance, Sky Runny always considered Sunny to be a good friend and ally.

"Well, I'll have you know that Sky Runny had lead Peagastome into a golden age." Celestia brought Sunny back to the present. "Under his rule, the pegusi started creating many machines that would later be the foundations for the weather factory. Without his ideas and leadership, the pegasi might still be trying to make rain clouds by hoof. It wasn't just Sky who you helped. Galop Gazer, the young aspiring astronomer you helped up in the Foal mountains, was able to created Equestria's largest telescope. Pepperdance, the mare who you inspired to venture out past her small town, started the venture into the southern desert part of Equestria, and created the first railroad system that ran from what is known as Appaloosa today all the way to here in Canterlot and inspired the creation of the friendship express. And you remember that filly you met in the wetlands? Puddle Splash? Well, believe it or not, because you shared a single pot of tea with her, showing her how to brew it and telling her different leaves and spices make different tasting teas, she moved out of the wet lands and started the largest tea company in Equeatria! Even changing her name to Tea Love."

"Wow…" was all Sunny could say as his mother motioned to the first working weather machine, built by Sky Runner 1000 years or so ago. It was an old beat up metal box with broken tunes and light bulbs on it.

"It was all thanks to you and your encouragement" Celestia smiled at her son. "Sometimes believing in somepony just a little bit can have a great impact."

"I'm glad I made such an impact in their lives" Sunny admitted, smiling pleasantly at the images of a beaming city in the clouds woven into a tapestry next to the old weather machine.

Seeing her son cheered up, Celestia presses on. "And here we have the mare who created the modern day oven! She started with just brick, mud and some fire, but was able to…"

Sunny was about to follow right behind his mother when a brightly colored tapestry caught his eye. Sunny paused, his mother's words became muffled in his ears. He didn't quite know what the image was that he was looking at, but it was horrifying. A city in the clouds set a blaze. Buildings on clouds were all on fire, images of ponies screaming and running around made Sunny's heart sink. It wasn't until Sunny saw a falling image of a light blue pegasus with a green mane and tail. It took him a moment, and Sunny didn't want to believe it, but there was no denying that the falling pony was none other then Sky Runner.

"Sunny, I thought I lost you" Celestia galloped up to her son, sounding a little annoyed. "I was talking to nopony for a while before I realized you…"

The Princess of the sun trailed off as she caught sight of what her son was looking at.

"The fall of Pegastome" Sunny read the description of the tapestry outloud. "The fall of the once great city was brought about when one of the first weather machines went haywire and caught the newly constructed weather making station on fire. Although the ponies were able to rebuild their city, the stallion responsible for the machine, Sky Runner, was seen fleeing the scene."

Sunny didn't know if his mother knew about this and just didn't want to tell him, or if she honeslty forgot this ever happened and only focused on the good parts of Sky Runner's history. 'What else don't I know.'

Before Celestia could calm her son down, Sunny disappeared in a flash of black smoke. The princess of the sun worried about her son's mental state, tapping into his umbrum powers like that. Several more puffs of smoke cropped up here and there as Sunny teleported all around the musium. Celestia feared what Sunny was looking for he wasn't going to find. She knew not all the ponies Sunny met and interacted with had pleasant stories or happy endings.

Finnaly, Sunny stopped poofing around and ended up at a bench near the heart of the musium, his head hanging low as he stared at the ground, his eyes returning from red and green to just emerald green, pruple flames at the far ends of his eyes flickered out. Celestia approached her son as calmly and quietly as she could, unsure of what she could say to him.

"Galop's telescope was built on the side of a mountain, and fell multiple times, forcing him to sell everything he owned to rebuild it" Sunny stated for his mother to hear as she approached him. "Pepperdance started her railroad team with over fifty ponies, but drove half of them away with her 'crazy songs and dancing', she was made fun of by her own home town and never went back. And Tea Love, she left her friends and family behind to travel Equestria, obsessed with finding the best ingredients for her teas. She never saw her family again…"

"I know how all this looks-" Celestia finnaly reached out to her son, but was hesitant to put a hoof on him. Why was she so hesitant? Was she doing something wrong? Did Sunny have a right to he this upset?

"Did I do anything right?" Sunny asked his mother without tearing his eyes off the floor. "Did I ever really help anypony back then?"

Taking a deep breath, Celestia took a seat next to her son. "You can tell when a pony is lying, right? You have an affinity, like Applejack with the element of Honesty."

Looking up at his mother, Sunny couldn't muster words, but was able to simply nod.

"Then, please, listen to me. The whole story isn't something that is shown at the museum, mostly becouse we have nothing to show off of it and the curator insists on only showing eye catching things. No matter how tragic or incomplete it may be.

"First off, yes. Sky Runner's machine DID burn the factory to the ground. Yes, he did run away, and it was a while before he returned to his city to help them rebuild. But he DID eventually return. He went looking for somepony to help him, to give him an idea of what to do. Unfortunately… you weren't there. He got lost looking for YOU and the Crystal Empire. He was rescued from a storm and brought to me in Canterlot. I helped him with a redesign of his machine, as well as safety precautions for the structure of a weather factory. The ponies of Pegastome were a little hesitant to take him back, but gave him a second chance. His new machine and rebuilt factory worked and never caught fire again, and all was forgiven."

Sunny had watched his mother carefully as she spoke and payed great attention to every word. He felt every word was honest and true, which made him feel a little better that his old aquantance's story wasn't as tragic as they made it out to be. But his mother wasn't done there.

"Galop's telescope did fall off the mountain, about 7 times" Celestia continued. "And yes, he did sell his house and all his worldly possessions to pay for repairs and new parts. I tried to offer him a grant to pay for the telescope, but he insisted that he make the great sacrifice. That he earn his place in Equestrian history with his hard work and self sacrifice. He lived in a small shack next to his telescope on the mountain side. To this day, his telescope still stands where it did 1000 years ago, secure on the same mountain. Pepperdance… well, yes, she did chase off half her team with her songs and dancing. But the other half who enjoyed her dancing and singing went of to invent country style music and square dancing. She started her new style of song and dance to help keep up the spirits of her team members during the trying and difficult times they faced when making the rail road. And I know families are supposed to stick together. But Tea Love's family in the wet lands shunned the idea of her and her love for brewed tea. She left yhe wet lands and never returned, but she met a very sweet colt on her journeies who DID share her love of tea. And togeather, they had many foals, who also all had many foals. She was always a family mare. One of her decendants even owns a tea shop, here, in Canterlot, and was named after her ancestor."

There was so much to take in. Anypony else would have thought that Celestia was lying and making the stories up to lighten the blow. Anypony who couldn't tell when somepony was lying, that is. Sunny sat and reeled his mother's words around in his head, repeating the stories, as well as testing the honesty in his mother's words. After several moments of silance, Sunny leaned over to his mother and hugged her.

"I'm sorry" Sunny's words were horse. "I just… I feel like I'm messing today up. I wanted it to be special, but I keep ruining everything."

Nudging her son a little before wrapping her wings around him and pulling him into a hug, Celestia was doing her best to he motherly, closing off her worryful thoughts and listening to a voice deep inside. "I'm just enjoying spending time with you. I want to make up for lost times and … I hope you can forgive me."

Sunny thought he had heard his mother wrong, but Celestia elaborated on her words. "I've been running you around, doing things with you that I did with Cadence, Twilight, Luna and even Shinning Armor. I guess all those times I was with them, teaching, relaxing, shopping, I… was preteninding it was always with you. I started a school so unicorns who struggles with magic could learn, thinking how I wish YOU had a school you could have gone too. I took Cadence in and adopted her as a niece becouse I wanted a family. I took Twilight under my wing becouse she reminded me of you. Gifted, but unpolished, and needing sompony there to help bring out the good in them. But none of them WERE you. And I never bothered to ask YOU what you wanted to do."

It was Sunny's turn to be comforting. He relaxed and focused his magic to release his magical energy and once again grow into his larger form. He was just a few inches taller then his own mother, his hooves just a little longer then hers, which all suprised Celestia as he wrapped his hooves around his mother, pulling her into his chest. It was different having somepony else comforting you like this, but it brought her peace as she felt his heart beat. The heart beat of somepony she bought into this world. Of somepony she hoped loved her as much as she did him. It was a soft but strong beat, and very warm.

"I love you mom" Sunny's voice was slightly deeper, more like his father's but still just as gentle as the colt she watched grow up. "I'm not mad. I just want us to spend time together."

"I'm happy knowing you're ok…" it was time tears fell from Celestia's eyes. Tears she kept locked up, buried deep inside. Not tears of fear, anger or sadness, but ones of relief. Her son was there with her, holding her, showing his love. He had grown into a fine stallion, she only wished she had done more to help him as he grew up. "And I'll always be there for you. From now on."

Releasing his mother from his hug, Celestia looked her son up and down, taking in the impressive sight of her big, strong, boy who looked now more like her then his father. A small beam of pride flashed from her muzzle.

"Ugh, so, what do you want to do now?" Sunny asked, clearing his throat.

"Whatever YOU want to do" Celestia stated with a small smile on her muzzle. "Do YOU have anything you wanted to do today?"

A smile cracked across Sunny's own muzzle as a flash of green made his stetson hat reappear. After pulling out a folded piece of paper, Sunny put the hat back atop his head and held his own small list out to his mother, who skimmed over it.

"Hmmm, well, if we're going to hit everything on this list before sunset, we better get started" Celestia noted as she looked from the list to her smiling son.