//------------------------------// // Reunited with a Twist: Armour and Sunny // Story: Zaps Apple // by Electuroo //------------------------------// Zaps Apple Reunited with a Twist: Armour and Sunny Armour McApple It had been over 1000 years since almost all of us were together, the reuniting moment of two brothers, wife and sister. Yet it was a moment I never thought would happen in all those years in my imprisonment within the kingdom I once... No, always will call home. I stood on the balcony looking at the city of Canterlot seeing so many ponies of all races either going to bed at dawn's light or starting their day, the changing of the guards and so many other things I could see from up there. “How did I come to be here? How did magic from something SHE had created to aid in her own escape go horribly wrong? How did it fuse me with Zaps and Big Macintosh? How did it pull me from the Kingdom of Harmony within the Zap Apple magical field that kept me safe for over 1000 years?..” Sunny stood directly beside me. It had only been about half an hour since I asked to speak to her alone after she awoke from fainting before us when Discord aided in our escape. From what I learned in the last 24 hours of being free... She knew, the pony I married and loved knew, there were more to my questions. A Princess she may be to them and many may think of me as a Prince, but that's something I never wanted, all I wished was for the love of my life, no matter what she looked like now. It was hard to believe that I would be beside her once more after the 1,000 or so years. “It has been over 1,000 years since I last saw or even spoke to you my sweet love. But there's more behind the questions you ask.” I didn't take my eyes off the number of ponies that moved around in the morning city sun. But she was right. “You avoid the question that must be asked and answered. And that is what to do with those still trapped in the Kingdom of Harmony itself. While you were free you were trapped as well. You and those that dreamed of nightmares endless...” Indeed I told her about those trapped in the fear crystals... I had to. “I've never truly seen happiness, Sunny. As long I stand free and outside the kingdom it's another reminder of how useless I've been for so long.” Sunny beside me with the magical mythic mane and tail flowing in the breeze, her regal crown, the plate around her neck and those shoes. All showed her power as Princess of this kingdom, ruler and alone for most of it. “That is how I felt when I could do little to help you knowing what it would cost if I did so. I bared so much pain for a long time...” “You had to do what you had to do. I find no fault in you for that Sunny. You had to destroy the means to enter the temple and if you'd learned of the last gate you would've destroyed it too. And what happened now would've not come to pass.” We both lived isolated lives in our own ways, we both had pain and still feel it. She softly smiled. “And yet there might be a chance now.” “How so?” I asked. Her answer made me turn and look up. “Mother.” “What?” “You don't know do you?” She turned and looked down to me as our eyes met. “No. Whatever you know right now and from that smile you know something about mother.” “Indeed, she had her life and body and sealed within a crystal, one owned by a musician of a form of music you most likely do not know of.” She turned away, walking back into her room. I took one last look out at the sun shining between the buildings before walking in myself, her magic closing the large glass doors behind me. “She's free? But when did that happen?” “When you had your last visitor.” I thought back and recalled with a surprise in turn. “This is mother's doing. She's the one that did something to that chest or got somepony to do it for her.” “Indeed, from what I learned when asleep from her it was a trap within a trap.” Sunny was speaking to mother in her dreams!? Oh come on! She faints and has a one on one with mother? Well that's just like her. She lay down on her bed by the fireplace and I joined her laying against her with her wing over me. “It's been too long since we just sat together and looked into the flames hasn't it?” “Indeed it has Sunny. But I can see you're just changing the subject at hoof. Just to get a smile out of me.” I smirked. “Is it working?” “Indeed it is.” I kissed her on the side of the snout. She returned it on my forehead. “Doesn't matter how much you changed on the outside and how much time has past. You're still my Sunny.” She smiled back resting her forehead against mine. I felt the horn resting on top of my mane slightly as we just closed our eyes, letting the sound of the soft burning of the fire fill the air. After a short time passed I opened my eyes and parted my forehead from hers as she opened her eyes. “I'm happy with these moments and with my little brother and the ever larger family I have now. But I'll be troubled inside till the day I can find freedom for those in the Kingdom of Harmony from that pony.” I gave her a serious look. I'm never going to give up. “As will I, I continue to feel that pain. I tried to find a way to free them after what happened to that poor stallion centuries ago... All it took was one pony to cause so much suffering now...” She turned away looking to the flames. I knew about this myself and what it did to so many other ponies for the centuries to come afterwards till the moment she cut ties with all ponies part from one. That's when it came to me. I gasped getting up on all four hooves. “Sunny! You're a genius! One pony! That's the key!” “I don't follow Armour. What do you mean?” She looked at me puzzled by my excitement. I put both my hooves on the side of her snout and gave her a big kiss and parted with surprise still on her face. Oh I love this look! “Sunny she cut off all ties to ponies but one! That one pony is directly connected to her! She and that pony are her! When she's not completely in control she still is on a subconscious level! We need to find that pony-” “And if we find this pony Triskaide, we have a direct line to the Kingdom of Harmony and maybe we'll be able to free all the ponies. If we can find a way to disable her through that pony, we'll save everypony in the kingdom and get out before she knows what happened!” Sunny also got what I was thinking, our eyes lit up with a possible answer against the Pony of Fear herself! Triskaide! I rubbed my hoof on my snout. “The only question is... How do we find this pony? It could be a mare or stallion for all we know.” “That is true. But we do know a form of magic she uses, right?” We both looked to each other and said it together. “Fear!” “Of course! Using the magic of the Zap Apples themselves it will act like a compass! It might take time to look through each town and city but if we find a way to use the Zap Apple magic in the fruit itself like it protected me for all this time-” “-We can use it to locate this pony because her magic that's fuelled by fear will still be detectable!” Sunny turned to the doors to the corridor outside her chambers. “Guards, can you please come in?” The doors opened and two white unicorns in golden armour stood before us and bowed. “Princess, how can we be of assistance?” “Me and my husband have come up with a way to free the ponies of the Kingdom of Harmony from the Pony of Fear. We need somepony to pick up as many remaining Zap Apples as possible.” Sunny briefly explained to them the plan; well part of it. I walked around them getting a good look. “Are you two twins? You look identical all the way to the eye colour, voice, mane and tail length, not forgetting the body build.” “We wear armour that makes us look and sound alike, your highness...” “Just Armour will do.” “Yes Prince Armour.” They saluted. Sunny cut in before I could say anything about it. “Send word out to some guards off duty to acquire the fruit. We do not wish for our hooves to be tipped.” Sunny gave her orders to them. “At once princess!” One of them galloped away while the other stood by the door. “Is there anything else you need Princess?” She smirked and glanced over to me. “We'll be going for breakfast soon, can you send word for my sister, Twilight and her friends to meet at the dining room we had breakfast at last time they were here?” “At once Princess.” He turned to me, seeing my eyes never stopped staring at him. “Is there something wrong Prince Armour?” I rubbed my hoof in my mane a little. “The idea of being called Prince just doesn't sit right. I didn't marry Sunny for a title, back over 1000 years ago I married her because I loved her. How about you just pass the word and just call me Armour please.” “No disrespect sir, but we can't. By code of the Royal Guard we have to call you by title.” I sighed heavily, getting a snicker from Sunny. “Fine... Just in this castle. Last thing I want is some Unicornian Noble getting their backs up because I am an Earth Pony.” “Erm... Prince Armour, did you just mention the name of the Unicorn tribe before the Windigo freeze and the formation of Equestia?” The guard was talking to me now and he had a curious nature. “Yes. My great grandfather was from that tribe and my great grandmother was from the Earth Pony Tribe of Earth. They, along with Pegasi from Pegasopolis of the Pegasus Tribe did not like the way each tribe leader was handling things, so they banded together in a small group of ponies about five in each tribe.” I got side tracked and begin to tell him the tale of what I was told and read to when I was young. “They abandoned the three tribes to set out and find their own unified home. They travelled day and night for weeks on end till they found a tree of crystal when taking on water supplies. The tree beamed with harmonious magic and they felt in their hearts what they wanted to do. It shined the way to a land within the forest where they could live as ponies and not of type. The birth of my home the Kingdom of Harmony.” I sat down closing my eyes letting the image of my home come into view within the darkness. “The three leaders of the group that founded the name and the kingdom created a magic from each of them that would protect it from harm from outsides. The Mist of Misdirection. With the magic came the Harmonious Apple or as you call it the Zap Apple...” I opened my eyes, looking directly at him and getting up on my hooves, turning myself slightly to show my cutie mark. “I am the third generation line pony of those founders. I am, or was the lead guard of the small kingdom and a farmer of the Zap Apples that we were able to make it bear fruit all year round.” The guard looked to me and back to Sunny and back to me. “Equestria was founded on that as well... But there are Nobles of all types and yes some would have ill will to you being married to Princess Celestia, some in fact would counter this and say it's false...” I turned to Sunny. “I guess that's part true isn't it Sunny?” “Being lost for 1000 years and no record, even a story, apart from mine and my sister's word. Yes...” I smirked and she couldn't help but do so as well. “It doesn't matter what they think or say. We're married and if they don't think we are, I say let them complain and counter all they like because Sunny you've always been my light.” “As you are my Armour of light.” Sunny rubbed her snout against mine and I did so in return. “Oh.” She moved away looking over to the guard. “Do you believe that one should prove themselves and their love for each other through the ages of time?” The guard eyes shifted between us for a few silent seconds. “Not really, just that Prince Blueblood most likely will not like this much Princess, he will see Prince Armour as a commoner in his own words Princess.” “That he will.” I recalled that name and thought about it for a moment. “Blueblood... Where have I heard that before...” I tapped my hoof on my snout and remembered. “Ah, my good friend Shield Blueblood, I had him go with Sunny, Nighty, my little brother and a few others to escape the Kingdom of Harmony.” I sighed heavily recalling how my little brother Zaps failed to escape. Sunny put her wing over me. “I was there... He gave up his freedom for Luna's, a little brother doing what he could to save his sisters and those he'd cared about.” Sunny brought her attention to the guard. “Could you go and tell Blueblood to come to breakfast? It's important.” “Of course.” The guard saluted and left. “Now shall we go?” she asked. I wiped a few tears away and looked up at her once again with a warm smile, and I shook my head with all knowing annoyed smile. “You're a pain in the neck Sunny.” “I know,” she jokingly countered and we laughed as we left for breakfast.