Sunny Knight: a Pony's Tale

by TheothersideofSunny968

Wrapping Winter Things Up

Luna searched desperately around the dream realm, searching every dream bubble for the one she had just visited, the one with the cloaked pony. She had never encountered a dream like that one. One where the identity of the dreamer was unknown. That pony must have had some strong emotions tied to keeping his identity a secret. His words rang in Luna's ears, touching her heart...

"I just... All I wanted was a place to call home. With ponies who care about me, who I can care about and be there for as much as they are there for me... I just want too be happy..."

Luna then shook her mind clear and focused on her search. "I need to help him! Whoever he is!"

Suddenly a nudge came from the real world. A magical signal that Luna had prepared in case something had happened in the real world that needed her immediate attention. Reluctantly, the princess took one last good look around before returning to the world outside of dreams, wondering what could have been so important that the Royal guards saw fit to pull her from her nightly duties.

-just outside of Ponyville-

Sunny stood at the edge of Ponyville, worried to return to town after not only the Iron Pony competition, but what happened with those three pegusi. Did anypony know it was him who did that? No, no. How could they? No pony saw him do it. And even if they did... Did it really matter? Sunny didn't want to just run away from the only place he had left. After speaking with Luna in his dreams, he knew he had to return. If for nothing else, then to just say good bye.

Taking a deep breath, Sunny began traveling up from the opposite side of town, closer to the hospital then to the Apple farm. Which is exactly where Sunny wanted to be. He needed to see if those three bullies had made it there and were ok. He didn't plan on staying long, less somepony start to connect one and one and find out that he was the pony who cursed them.

As Sunny continued to walk, the yellow unicorn watched as everypony in town appeared to be busy helping to wrap up winter. 'That's right... That was today.'

Sunny thought about how he had promised Applejack that he would help her clear the fields when she told him about it a few weeks ago. Despite him being a unicorn, he had worked up some muscle working on the farm. Enough muscle to make Applejack think he could push the plows and the piles of heavy snow.

'They can do this without me... They have the previous years. One pony won't make a difference...' Sunny thought as he entered the hospital, only to be shocked by how busy of a place it had become over night. Nurses and assistants were running back and forth, from one room to the next with tissues, pills, pitcher of water, and blankets.

"What's all of this?" Sunny asked himself as he watched the chaos of the hospital play out.

"Sunny? Is that you?" An all too familiar voice called out as Sunny turned and saw one of his good friends, Thunder Lane, run up to him, blankets and a small sandwich in his hooves. "Hey man, where have you been?! Please tell me you are feeling ok?"

"Ugh.... I-I've been around, and I'm fine. " Sunny rubbed the back of his neck as he looked away, but then motioned to the havoc happening around the hospital. "What's going on here?"

"There's been an outbreak of the pony flu" Thunder answered. "About 1/5th of the town is here. Even Flitter and Bulk are bed ridden. I'm just lucky that I got vaccinated a few weeks ago."

"That really sucks" Sunny flat out said, covering his mouth. "Ugh... Anything else happen in town?"

"Well, it is a hospital. But something odd did happen. They did have a few guys come in" Thunder continued to say. "Doctors said it was over stress from the shifts they've been pulling in at the factory and staying out late. But i wouldn't worry about them."

"Thunder...?" Sunny and Thunder could hear the weak voice belonging to Flitter call out from a near by room.

"Gatta go! The lady calls!" Thunder said as he half bolted into the room. But he paused and looked back at Sunny. "Hey... Go home... Back to the farm. Applejack's been worried sick."

"Applejack?" Sunny said, stunned. "Worried? About me?"

"Yeah" Thunder said, his face forlorn. "She was in here last night, looking for you. Worried you had gotten sick out in the cold. When she didn't find you here she went out looking all over town."

"Thunder....?" Flitter called out again.

"I have to go" Thunder told Sunny. "Go see her, ok?" Sunny nodded and shot Thunder Lane a smile before tipping his hat to him. The grey pegasus then zoomed into the room where Flitter had been put up.

Sunny wanted to bolt out of the hospital then and there and run as fast as he could back to the farm... But there was still one more thing he had to do. He managed to catch a nurse as she was rushing by with some supplies and asked her where the room was with the three Pegasus stallions who collapsed from stress. After directing him down the hall and to the right, Sunny thanked her and watched her trot off into another room just to hear what sounded like somepony losing their lunch.

Taking a moment to gather himself, Sunny took another deep breath, then walked into the room. He was scared. Scared that he might see the three bullies still curled up and locked in a world of their own personal worst fears. Sunny was a little taken back by the fact that the three stallions were not only awake and seemingly fine, but were playing paper football across their three beds. When Sunny stepped into the room, the three stallions paused and looked at him for a moment. The yellow unicorn gulped, thinking that they would scream for the nurses, or worse, the Royal guards. It almost knocked the yellow unicorn on his flank when he saw their real reaction. All three pegusi burst into a fit of laughter!

"Hey 'bucket head'! Ready for another mud bath?!" Score chuckled.

"Yeah! 'Bucket head!'" Hoops repeated, as he usually did, chuckling with his pals.

"Didn't get enough yesterday?" Dumb-Bell was holding his sides as he laughed.

"You, ugh.... Remember yesterday?" Sunny asked, slightly confused.

"We remember we pranked you, and good!" Dumb-Bell answered.

"But... What happened after that?" Sunny asked, wanting to see how much they could recall.

"Not that it's any of your business" Score said, now having stopped laughing. "But as hard working members of the weather team, sometimes get a little over stressed. So we had to come here to recuperate. Not that a dirt pusher like you would know anything about hard work."

Sunny chuckled in relief, a smile now on his face. "Well I'm glad to hear you guys are alright. I better get back to the farm, pushing dirt around."

Feeling relieved slightly, Sunny made his way out of the hospital as carefully like as he could, dodging the heavy traffic of nurses and assistants as they zoomed around from one room to another, aiding the sick.

-Sweet Apple Acres, the snow covered fields-

Applejack was exhausted, but pushed herself to stand and focus on her work. She had slept in a bit, which left her second in command, Carrot Top, to start the team of clearing the fields. She had spent the rest of the night at Twilights, sleeping, waiting for the locator spell to find Sunny, only to find out that without some personal item of his that the spell wouldn't work. Disappointed, Applejack chugged down several cups of coffee Spike had prepared for her and grabbed an apple for breakfast, before heading to the fields to organize her portion of the Winter Wrap Up.

Now alone she stood atop the field, everything going almost according to plan. The recent outbreak of the pony flu had really hindered this years wrap up. Even with Twilight organizing the whole thing, and everypony available operating at their very best, they were still falling behind schedule. Applejack was half ready to tag one of the plow pushers out so they can rest and she can do what little she could to help, when something caught her attention. The sound of somepony clearing their throat. As Applejack turned around, She thought she had fallen asleep and was dreaming. But there, with her atop the field was the stallion she had been hunting down all night. Sunny.

"H-hey, Applejack..." He said in a hushed tone, sounding unsure of what else to say, as he avoided direct eye contact.

Applejack herself didn't know weather she wanted to run up and give the stallion a hug, to burst into tears, to keep her cool, or to sock him in the jaw. Soon, though, she didn't have to choose. Her hooves began moving in their own as she ran and jumped into Sunny's hooves. Applejack hugged him with all her earth pony strength as she sobbed on his chest, punching him lightly on the shoulder every now and again.

"Where... Where did ya go?!" She said through her sobs when she could speak. "Ah looked and looked.... But ah couldn't find ya anywhere.... Ah thought ah lost you...!"

"I had to go away for a while..." Sunny told her, now a few tears falling from his own eyes. "But... But I want to come home..."

Applejack wiped away her tears and looked into his emeralds colored eyes with her own emerald colored eyes, shooting him a smile. "Sunny... You are home..."

The yellow stallion smiled as he held her tight agains his chest, both still crying, but smiles now lit up their faces as they embraced one another. The warm, tender moment was ruined, of course by a large group of ponies who stopped their working to release an synchronized "awwwwwe."

To which Sunny and Applejack both turned red from, and broke from their hug, clearing their respective throats and straitened their respective hats.

"Ugh....I-it's good ta have ya home" Applejack said, looking out to the field, the smile still bright on her face.

Sunny's smile remained as well as he joined her and observed their progress. "Looks like we're a little behind."

"It's all thanks ta that gosh-darn-it pony flu" Applejack said, clearing her head, her cheeks returning to their natural orange color.

"Hey, clarify something for me" Sunny said as he straitened his Stetson, getting ready to pull double, maybe triple the work. Sunny's horn began to flow with its green magical aura. "If I use a spell on my body, like I did at the Rock farm, does that count as 'using magic' to help wrap up winter?"

"Ugh, well technically... Yeah. It is." Applejack shot his a cute and amused look.

"Oh..." Sunny replied, his magical aura dissipating in an instant. He shrugged it off though as she stretched his hooves. "Well, I don't want to break the town's long lasting tradition...Guess ah'll just have ta work harder with the muscles I already have!"

"Eh'nope" Applejack said, throwing the yellow unicorn off guard. When Sunny turned to look at her, he relaxed a bit when he saw Applejack's signature smile as she straitened her hat. "We'll work harder! Tageather!"

Sunny and Applejack then tagged out two of the ponies who had been working as hard as they could to clear the snow from the fields, Noteworthy and Ace, leaving Carrot Top in charge again to direct the field clearing. Everypony worked hard that day, whether it was clearing the field, planting the seeds, waking the animals from their hibernation, making nests for the southern birds, bringing the southern birds home, breaking down the ice or clearing up the cloud covered skies. Despite the teamwork and flexibility of everypony involved, winter still arrives slightly delayed. It was around seven o'clock or so when everypony had finished the wrap up. After they did, Mayor Mare called everypony to town hall to congratulate them on finishing Winter Wrap Up, despite the circumstances. Once the congratulations were done,
Sunny was about to leave with Applejack and Big Mac, when he noticed a certain orange farm mare had fallen asleep during the speech. Big Mac was about to lift his sister up and put her on his back when Sunny stopped him. The big red stallion looked to Sunny, slightly confused.

"She's over tired because of me" Sunny whispered, not wanting to wake Applejack up. "Please, let me carry her home."

Big Mac nodded and let the yellow stallion, who he now trusted, carry Applejack. The three adult ponies filed out of Ponyville, and down the road to Sweet Apple Acres. Back home. It wasn't he easiest thing for Sunny to carry a full grown pony on his back, even if she was a mare. But he did it and kinda enjoyed holding her like that. He can't remember ever doing it for anypony other then Apple Bloom when she fell asleep in the club house. Once they arrived at the farmhouse, they were greeted by a smiling Apple Bloom. She had stayed home to help watch and take care of Granny.

"Sunny! Yer back! Yer back! Ah knew ya would be!" Apple Bloom began to say then noticed Applejack on his back, and gasped. "What happened?! Is she ok? Is she hurt?"

"It's ok, Apple Bloom" Sunny said as he patted the little yellow filly on the head. "She's alright. Just tired." Without meaning to, the unicorn stallion let out a yawn.

"Sounds like ya both are pretty pooped" Granny said as she looked over from the couch.

Sunny walked over to the elderly mare and out a hoof on her shoulder. "How are ya feelin', Granny?"

"Oh better, Sunny. Much better" she smiled and gave him a wink. "How 'bout yerself?"

"Kinda confused and shaken" he admitted, but smiled at the elderly mare. "But I know now where I belong. I know now where home is."

"Home is always with th' ponies that care for ya" Granny told him, still smiling.

"I know. That's how I know I'm home" Sunny said softly before letting out a yawn.

"Welcome... Home..." Applejack muttered in her sleep. "Sunny...."

"Best get her ta bed" Granny said, patting Sunny's hoof with her own.

"Right" Sunny agreed. "Think I'm going to call it a night too..."

After wishing everypony a good night, Sunny then levitated himself with Applejack still on his back up the stairs (not willing to risk climbing the stairs with her on his back). But that was as far as he wanted to use magic. Other then the fact that he could barley hold her, Sunny wanted to get Applejack to bed by his own two hooves. The walk from the stairs to her room wasn't too terribly long, but it did seem to drag on and on. Once Sunny reached Applejack's room, Sunny calmly walked up to her bed and laid the tuckered out mare down, tucking her in. After the blankets had been tucked, and Applejack's hat hung up by her bed post, Sunny began to leave the room, only to look back once more at the sleeping mare.

"Ah'll never leave ya again..." Sunny whispered as he quietly shut the door behind him.

"Darn... Tootin...." Applejack muttered in her sleep, a smile growing on her face.