Sunny Knight: a Pony's Tale

by TheothersideofSunny968

Two Flames

"Hey man, what'cha doing all the way out here?" Thunder Lane asked as he floated down to Sunny's right side. It seemed odd for the grey pegasus to find his yellow friend atop a random hill just staring off at the trees, but Sunny was kind of an odd guy. But that made him interesting.

"Your cousin, Race, and his siblings, are challenging your brother and his friends to another paint balloon fight" Sunny said as he grabbed another hoof full of popcorn and offered some to Thunder Lane.

"Again?! Ugh! He does this all the time!" Thunder Lande smacked his hoof against his forehead before seeing the popcorn and taking a decent hoof full of it. "Every time Race comes down, he and Rumble do this. It never ends well. Mainly with a Race gloating about how he and his siblings are 'the fastest, strongest, and best fliers in all of Equesteia ' and how they 'are soooo going to be Wonderbolts.'"

Sunny sat and stared at his grey pegasus pal for a moment, his look of concern eluded the winged pony, thou. "Ugh... I think Rumble might have a good chance this time, though."

"What makes you say that?" Thunder Lane asked, taking a bite of the pop corn as he began to calm down.

"Well, I.... Might have helped Rumble and his pals come up with some new battle strategies..." Sunny answered sheepishly.

"... And where did 'you' learn anythin about battle? Moving hay stacks and Apple barrels?" Thunder asked, pressing further on the topic with a single eyebrow raised at the yellow unicorn.

"Ugh... Books?" Sunny thought it would be best to stick with the same story, no matter how ridiculous it might have sounded to Rumble and his friends. "Oh! And Your brother and his pals are also fighting to take back the Cutie Mark Club house. Race and the others challenged Appel Bloom and her friends to a paint balloon war as well, and won it for a week from them."

"Really?" Thunder Lane seemed to quickly forget about Sunny learning battle tactics from 'books' for a moment and sat down to enjoy the water balloon fight. "Now that's interesting. You know Button has a crush on Sweetie bell."

"Kinda guessed that" Sunny said taking another bite of popcorn. "And doesn't Rumble have a thing for Scootaloo?"

"Man I can never tell with him" Thunder Lane admired. "It's one thing one week and another the next."

"Hey everypony!" Flitter appeared overhead with her sister, Cloud Chaser. "What's going on?"

"Rumble and his buds are taking on Race again in a paint balloon fight!" Thunder Lane began to explain to his Special somepony. "This time, the Crusader's club house is on the line!"

"That's exciting!" Cloud Chaser commented. "I got to go tell Rainbow Dash! She'd love to see this!" Before anypony could say anything, Flitter's sister had taken off, heading into town.

"Wanna sit right next to me, baby?" Thunder Lane flashed Flitter his casual smile, one that the grayish blue pegasus mare couldn't say no to.

As she took a seat, Sunny then passed the popcorn over to Thunder Lane, saying he was full and offering him as Flitter the rest. Really, Sunny would rather have one of his best friends and the mare of his dreams sharing a snack, then to stuff his own muzzle.

Down in the tree covered area, the designated battle field, Rumble, Button Mash, and the rest of their team cautiously traveled from their end to the area where Race and his group supposedly started. They traveled in the formation that Button Mash had planned from the begining, with Rumble, Snips, and Snails up at the front, and him with Feather Weight covering the back.

"Keep your eyes peeled" Button said as he kept an eye on the back left side of their formation.

"Ya know, if you think about it, that phrase sounds really gross!" Snips commented, cringing at the horrific image his mind painted.

"Focus guys" Rumble said as he and his group continued to advance towards Race's side. "We need to be ready for-"

"SURPRISE!" A feminine voice cried out as a blue blur fell from the sky and landed right in the middle of the young colts. With a paint balloon in each wing, Reina grinned as she immediately flung the one in her left wing at Snails, hitting him in the face.

The lengthy, young unicorn's face was coated in the green paint and soap mixture as he began to run around, panicking. "AH! I-I CANT SEE! I CANT SEE!!!"

The rest of Rumble's group did what they planned on doing if Race and his team were ever bold enough to try that tactic while they were in that formation. Scatter. Well, all accept for Snips, who forgot about the plan and was attempting to aid his best friend in getting the green goo out of his eyes. But Snails refused to stop running around.

The formation for the most part was solid, but as Sunny pointed out, if a Pegasus were to drop strait down in the middle, they would be able to strike any of the team members at once. So the best plan would be to break formation, get their backs to something solid, then strike. If everypony were to strike at once to hit the attacker, though, it would lead to more confusion. So, Rumble and Button assigned each member with a target on the other team. Fortunately for them, Feather weight was the one assigned to Reina, not Snips or Snails.

The thin and light weight Pegasus grasped his balloon and moved in for the shot, only, when he emerged from his hiding spot from behind a tree, and threw the balloon with all his might, it came up short. From his wing, the paint and soap filled balloon only traveled about three inches before falling to the ground. When the balloon hit the ground, it actually backfired and hit Feather Weight's front hooves, causing the young pegasus so slip and fall flat on his face.

This scene caused Reina to actually burst into a small fit of laughter, making her forget all about the cubby colt running around her. In that brief moment, Snips ran across the puddle that was made from Feather's balloon, and began to slide across the ground and right into Reina! Before she even noticed, Snips had accidentally run into her, causing the balloon he was carrying to jump from his back, and strait up into the air! Button, Rumble, and when he could look up, Feather Weight all watched as Snips's balloon started to plummet towards then ground until it hit Reina right on her head, silencing her laughter.

Everypony froze, even Race, Reese, and Ralan who had hidden themselves behind near by trees and bushes popped out to witness the impossible outcome. Snips had technically avenged his fallen brother in arms by plopping a balloon on top of Reina's head and dousing her with orange paint! The Pegasus mare froze there for a moment, her mind trying to catch up with what just happened. Button Mash, on the other hoof, decided to act.

Before Reese or Ralan could move, he shot Rumble a signal, and as fast as they could, splattered the two blue pegusi with their own respective water balloons. Reese and Ralan turned and looked at each other, unable to fully understand what just happened. They were coated in orange paint, but that would have meant that Rumble and his friends actually got them! How could Race's plan to break up their stupid formation fail?!

But it was true. Living up to his name, Race was the first to realize this and took to the sky above the trees, knowing that any attempted shot at him would be blocked by the branches.

"Ugh! This stuff is gross!" Reina said as she whipped some of the orange paint/soap mixture from her muzzle.

"Let's go get washed up" Reese suggested as tried to wipe the orange from his glasses, with little to no progress.

"Yeah..." Ralan commented as he followed his two siblings. He paused briefly before sneering at Rumble and his group. "You'll never beat Race! He's the best! He could take all three of us down on his own!"

"Yeah?! Well we'll just see about that!" Rumble said, narrowing his eyes at Ralan.

But the blue pegusus with now orange colored ear rings was walking away, hoping that the paint doesn't effect the ear ring's color. He thinks they were real gold, but they could have been bronze. Ralan didn't know how either metals would react with the soap and paint mixture and probably should have worn his clear plastic ones.

"Ok, guys, we need to stay on our toes!" Button said, bringing their attention back to the battle field. "Race has never been hit. He's crafty and fast. Let's go with plan Omega Delta!"

"I don't know guys..." Feather Weight said as he hung his head low. "I couldn't even get a pony when she was two feet in front of me..."

"Don't give up Feather" Rumble tried to say, patting the thin and lengthy colt on his back. "So you had a bit of a hiccup. It happens."

"Actually, it might have saved us!" Button commented, thinking about the situation.

"What do you mean?...." Feather Weight asked, looking up at the brown earth pony.

"If you hadn't made that puddle, Snips wouldn't have slipped! And if he didn't slip, he wouldn't have hit Reina!" Button started to say.

"Then we wouldn't have gotten the other two who were hiding!" Rumble concluding.

"Really?! So.... If I wasn't here..." Feather started to feel better as he began piecing everything together.

"We wouldn't have the advantage over Race we have now!" Snips added as he and Snails rejoined the group, the green paint now wiped clean from his eyes.

Just as the thin Pegasus started to feel good about himself, a fast flying balloon came out of nowhere and smacked the pony right in the face! A wave of green paint covered his entire body thanks to the force of impact. Feather hit the ground hard, not quite sure what happened to him. Thinking fast, Button Mash and Rumble dove into the bushes, leaving Snips and Snails out in the open. Snails was safe, being out already. But Snips panicked, not knowing where to go, whether to hide behind a tree or in a bush like his friends. It didn't take Race long to zoom by and toss a balloon at the chubby unicorn, soaking him green with paint and soap.

"Two losers down! Two to go!" Race commented as he took to the tree tops again. "You guys got lucky! That wont happen again! I'll take you all out my self!"

Although still hiding in the bushes, Rumble and Button Mash were able to peer through the leaves and sticks and see each other. The two friends had been pals for a long time and did many cooky things together, including coming up with their own silent hoof language. Something that up until now, had only been used to share answers in class. Button was signaling Rumble from his hiding place that he could see where Race was in a tree just off to his side. Button was signaling Rumble that he was going to hop out and try and lure Race out. When he did, Button needed Rumble to strike while they still had a chance. Rumble argued, saying Race was more likely to go after him, them being long time rivals and related. The light grey Pegasus also argued that Button's arm would be better for throwing the balloon as well. Reluctantly, the gamer pony saw his friend's logic and they both signaled for them to put the plan into action.

Jumping into a roll, Rumble popped out of the bush and caught sight of Race almost immediately. Trying his best to strike Race first, Rumble took balloon in wing and threw it with all his might. The balloon would have hit it's target, had it's target been any of Rumble's other cousins. Sad to say, this wasn't the case. Race was pushing twice his normal speed, adrenalin pumping in his veins from the threat of being outnumbered. And with ease, Race maneuvered several inches to his left and avoided the balloon completely. But as he swooped down to hit Rumble with one of his balloons, something caught his eye.

Button had hopped out of his hiding place and tossed his balloon at his sweeping opponent! Race thought fast and flipped his wings forward to push himself back with a small gust of wind. The blue pegasus with a red star cutie mark planned to flip around in mid air, avoiding Button's balloon altogether, then retreat back into the tree tops and wait for his next opening. But that wasn't going to happen.

Just as Race finished pushing out a gust to maneuver around the oncoming balloon, Rumble jumped and wrapped himself around his cousin, holding him in place as Button's balloon made contact and burst all over Race's right side! Covering the blue Pegasus in their team's color orange! The three of them just stood there for a moment, the last few moments replaying in their heads as orange paint dripped from the blue pegasus. The silence was so unnerving the sound of a pin drop could echo for miles. It wasn't until loud cheering was heard off in the distance did any of the young colts move.

Race narrowed his eyes to the hill where Rumble's 'coach' sat, only to become mortified at the sight of what must have been half of Ponyville siting with him! Most of them with binoculars or short telescopes of their own! They had been watching this whole time! And now that Race had lost, they were cheering?! CHEERING?!?!

The normally blue pegasus began to turn red as well as see it. He stopped his hoof as he flung some of the orange paint off of him before turning to his cousin, eyes full of lightning. In a sharp tone he spat "we were going easy before, playing with you losers. Now the kiddy gloves are coming off! Nopony, and I mean NOPONY, makes a fool out of me!"

He dashed off as fast as he could, using the trees to hide himself and his shame, leaving Button and Rumble there, stuck with awe at what just happened. A second after Race disappeared from their sight, Button tacked Rumble, cheering and whooping at their slight victory.

"We can do this, dude! We can do this!" Button laughed as their other team mates came into view, their bodies washed clean of any green paint.

"Yeah" Rumble pushed Button off of him, smile on his face. But the slime quickly faded as he faced his team mates. "But Race is a sore loser, and he won't let this go. He'll come at us fast and hard. We have to-"

Before the light grey Pegasus colt could finish his sentence, he was hit with a balloon filled with green paint! It had fallen from the sky, and was quickly fallowed by two or three dozen more! The paint filled water balloons were falling from the sky! Rumble had been the first to be taken out, fallowed quickly by Snips! Snails dove into a bush for safety, with his eyes peaking out. Feather Weight flew up and found safety hiding in a tree. Button jumped back into his previous hiding bush, looking around for the assailant.

The gaming pony's searching eyes quickly zoomed in on Reese who flew over was and had dumped a huge sack's worth of their paint balloons on then! Not thrown, but dumped!

"Hey! That's cheating!" Button called out from his hiding spot.

"No it isn't" Reese replied, having emptied his entire sack. "It's called 'strategy'."

"Just like hiding in a bush!" Ralan's voice rang in Button's ear. The ear ring obsessed Pegasus appeared behind Button in the bush, grabbed him from behind and lifted him up while holding him against his will. The little brown earth pony struggled, but couldn't find the strength to break free from his captor!

Button realized why he wasn't just hit with a paint filled balloon! He was being held up to watch everyone of his comrades be taken out first! The brown earth pony watched as Raina slammed a paint filled balloon in Snips's face, followed by slapping two balloons on both sides of Feather Weight's head! Reese then tripped Snails and made him fall into a bucket of their paint filled balloons. The can stuck to the lengthy and awkward unicorn's head as he ran past Reese and Race who was holding Rumble up by his back legs.

"Pull!" Race ordered, several of his team's soap and paint filled balloons in his wings.

Reese and Race at the same time tossed Rumble up into the air, where the little light grey Pegasus struggled to fly away, only to be met by his older cousin at every turn. Even after the first couple of balloons, Race continued to pummel Rumble with a seemingly endless barrage of paint balloons. It wasn't until Rumble's form couldn't even be made out any more that Race finally stopped. Rumble flopped down and lay in a giant pile of green paint, with the only thing showing were his watery eyes and a small mouth that struggled to hold back crying.

"And guess who's next?" Ralan said with a chuckle.

Race's sharpe gaze shot over to the little brown earth pony who had beaten him moments ago. "Looks like you're the last one. Ready to be humiliated?"

"Th-this isn't fair!" Button yellows out, tears at the corner of his eyes. "You aren't fallowing the rules!"

"Oh? We aren't?" Race playfully asked, acting dumb for a moment as he turned and asked his siblings who were laughing lightly. Race then approached the brown earth pony an knocked his cap off. "Let's see. What 'rules' did we break, exactly?"

"Well for starters, you went after us before we were all ready!" Button began.

"ERRRR! The rules that we all agreed on states 'once everypony had been cleaned off and ammo was prepared, the game continues'" Race said with a cocky smile. "You crybabies were all cleaned up and I know you made waaaaaay more then enough of your water balloons to last through the first round."

"You physically attacked us! We were supposed to only use paint and soap filled balloons!" Button continued, his temper pushing back his tears.

"Oh? Did you see anypony 'hit' anypony with anything 'other' then a balloon?" Race asked sarcastically. Technically, the bully was right. No pony used anything other then balloons, the were just more

aggressive then needed.

"W-what about pulling me out of the bushes?" Button stumbled a little.

"Not hitting" Race commented before turning to his brother. "Are you hurting the wittle-baby?!"

"Nope" Ralan said as he rocked Button back and forth like a new born foal. "Isn't he just previous! He's soooo fussy before nap time!"

"A-a-and why did you do that t-to Rumble?!" Button was finding it harder and harder to choke back the tears.

"Oh that?" Race said as he nonchalantly pointed to the pile of green paint that coated a teary eyes Rumble. "Let's just say that was payback for that stunt you two pulled. I'd say we're even. Buuuut I got one last thing today before this round is over and you guys go running off home to cry to your mommies!"

Button Mash watched, eyes wide with horror as Race approached him slowly, a large paint filled balloon in his hoof as his sharp eyes locked onto the brown colt. "Now I want you to listen and listen good. 'We', my brothers and sister, are the best flyers from our school. 'We' are going to be best that the Wonderbolts ever had walk through their doors. Our names will go down in history, and I don't want 'MY' name tarnished by some little, video game obsessed, loser of a nopony who got lucky in a paint balloon game! GOT IT?!"

Reina walked over, picked up Button's hat, and passed it over to Race. Race gave the brown earth pony one last cocky smile as he put the balloon in the cap then slammed it down on Buttons head! Ralan then let Button fall to the ground. Even though his hooves were free, Button didn't immediately wipe his eyes free from the green paint that blinded him.

"Let us know if you LOSERS wanna call it quits!" Race said as he began walking away, his siblings fallowing behind him, each snickering at his comment.

Time froze again, only this time, the emotion waiting for time to start again was more of dread, disrepair, and utter loss. They hall had been defeated in just a matter of moments, leaving Rumble, Button, and the rest of their friends all wondering if Race and the others had just been playing with them this whole time? The thought sunk their little hearts deeper and deeper.

"Guys..." Rumble said as he began climbing out of the pain mess he was trapped in. "I think we should just go home... Forget about this..."

"Never talk about it again..." Feather said as he continued to wipe his face clean of green paint.

"I think i need to forget this whole day..." Snips added as he started to walk away.

"Won't be too hard for me..." Snails added, walking along side his best friend.

"Well I'm finishing this!" Button Mash stomped his foot as he glared off in the direction Race and his team were heading in. Everypony stopped and stared at the little brown earth pony as a fire flickered in his eyes, powered by pure determination that only wavered for a moment. Now, now Button was ready to finish this fight.

Rumble continued to hang his head, his own inner flame was already put out. "Button... This wasn't even your fight to begin with. He's my cousin. They all are. I shouldn't have dragged you all into this."

"You didn't 'drag' us into this, Rumble" Button noted as he walked over and looked his best friend in the eye. "We wanted to join because it was fun."

"Yeah, now it's not fun" Rumble looked away from Button, unable to continue looking at him.

"You're right" Button agreed, causing everypony there to look up at him in slight confusion. "So let's make it fun again! Let's beat them and show what true friendship can do! Come on guys! We can do this!"

"Give it up, Button!" Rumble snapped, feeling frustrated with his friend's optimism.

Not wavering from his bravado, Button walked over to Feather Weight. "Feather, remember when you broke your mom's expensive vase? And we all went to her and told her it was because we were playing ball in the house so you wouldn't get all the blame?"

"Well, yeah... We even tried to glue it back together.." The thin and lengthy Pegasus admitted.

"Yeah, and it did look like something Opal spit up, but still! Your mom is scary when she's mad! But we made it through that together, right?" Button continued, urning his a small buck toothed smile from the white Pegasus.

"Yeah... And I guess it would have been a lot worse if she just lectured me alone" Feather Weight commented, remembering the scolding they all received.

"Snips and Snails!" Button called out as he ran over to the goofy duo. "Remember that time you two were asked to watch the balloon stand at the Summer wrap up festival, but the balloons got loose and carried the helium tank away?"

"Yeah..." Snips answered for both him and his lengthy buddy.

"Didn't we all chip in and help get the tank and balloons back?" Button asked, knowing full well that at least Snails would remember.

"Yeah!" Snails replied first as he jumped up and down with joy. "You guys carried a trampoline all around town, and i got to jump on it to catch the tank!"

"That was... Kinda fun, actually" Snips admitted, even though at the time he was pretty panicked.

"Right!" Button agreed then turned to Rumble who was still covered in green colored paint. "So, what do you say? Do we beat this level together? Race and his goons are a heck of a boss battle. But we can do it together."

Rumble sat there for a moment, thinking long and hard about it. The memories of all their past adventures were flashing in his mind. There were so many other times that they'd worked together to get through problems even bigger then this. With a heavy sigh, Rumble turned and faced his pals, a half smile on his face. "I'm in. So what's the plan?"

"I'm glad to hear that" Sunny said as he stepped out of the bushes. All the colts were shocked by the sudden appearance of the yellow unicorn. "What? Coach has to prep his team for the big game right?"

"Right!" Button and Ruble said together, the fire in their eyes burning strong once more.

"So Button, which of your plans were you thinking of?" Sunny asked as he passed out buckets of warm water, sponges, and dry towels.

With a very determined look, eyes filled with thunder, and a smug grin, Button Mash turned to his whole group and simply said "All of them."