Sprout's Second Chance

"I don't think I've ever seen so many stars in my entire life," Sprout said, the front half of his body was laying outside of his tent's entrance flap, as he stared up at the stunning night sky.

"Quite the view, you got that right. You certainly earned it for being so well-behaved on our little trip!" Izzy replied, half of her body laying outside her tent in a similar manner in her tent, which had been set up right next to Sprout's.

Their wagon rested just a few feet away, and their campfire had been doused immediately following dinner so they could stargaze before bed, as they headed out of Bridlewood and back towards Maretime Bay.

"Thanks for a great time these past few days, Izzy. I mean it. I figured I'd spend most of the time at your place in diapers, but Bridlewood is a beautiful place. I can't wait to come back. I hope Sunny had just as much fun up in Zephyr Heights. Hope I can get up there sometime." Sprout told his traveling companion.

"You'll love it. They have the most comfortable dungeons. Massage chairs, fresh fruit bowls, the most luxurious captivity you could ask for!" Izzy replied.

Sprout chuckled as he continued taking in the field of stars overhead. He assumed that Zephyr Heights had been much more accommodating for tourists now, and couldn't help but wonder if the pegasus city had an ageplay store like Maretime Bay had. If there was any such shop in Bridlewood, Izzy hadn't taken him there, perhaps because he had brought his own supplies, nearly half of which was coming back with him to Maretime Bay due to lack of use.

"Well, I'm turning in for the night. You might want to do the same soon, Sprouty. We've got a ways to go tomorrow. And definitely don't fall asleep with your head sticking out of your tent; bugs will have a feast by the time the sun comes up," Izzy warned him, before popping back into her tent and zipping the flap closed.

With how comfortable he was already, Sprout knew the chances of him accidentally falling asleep were increasing by the minute, so slid back into his tent, zipped up the tent, snuggling into his sleeping bag to settle down for the night, and letting the nearby chirping crickets lull him to sleep.

Sunny's canter was lively and enthusiastic as she trotted over the grassy hills as she and the royal pegasus sisters approached the coastal town of Maretime Bay. It had been a fantastic few days in Zephyr Heights with her two friends, and she was still beside herself that now all of her new friends were participating in this new fetish of hers, or were at the very least aware and accepting of it. She was now dead set on dedicating a section of the restored lighthouse to giving everypony a play space of sorts to engage in this new kink of theirs.

As they crested the next hill, she saw a trio of ponies sitting just off of the dirt path. As they descended the hill, she saw that there was a blanket between them, and recognized Hitch, Sprout, and Izzy, who had spotted them as they came down the hill. With a wide smile, Sunny galloped forward to their picnic area, and as soon as Izzy stood up to greet her, the earth mare threw her front hooves around her, and they spun each other around a couple times before releasing each other from the hug.

Hitch gave a soft smile.

'Yup, that's definitely new love if I've ever seen it,' he thought to himself.

"Well, I take it somepony missed me," Izzy teased, coming in for a short nuzzle.

"What are you guys doing all the way out here?" Sunny asked as Zipp came down with the wagon along with her sister.

"Hitch was already here waiting for us, said there's something to show us," Izzy answered.

Sunny turned to Hitch, who also got up after taking his last bite of his peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"Yeah, something, um, big, certainly happened while you all were out of town. Figured I could try and show all of you together."

"I'm sure it doesn't have anything to do with the rainbow beam of light on the horizon," Zipp said, sarcasm all too apparent in her voice.

Hitch and Sprout quickly packed up the picnic blanket and got it back in the wagon, and the six ponies set off, continuing towards town. When they came over the next hill, Sunny let out a gasp, as she saw the site of her home.

The structure roughly resembled Maretime Bay's old lighthouse that had been heavily damaged several weeks ago; a two-story crystal house with a two-tier glass lighthouse. The front doors were considerably more elegant, with two tall deep pink doors replacing the single one, with gold horseshoes as handles. Surrounding the front doors was a simply stunning stained glass display, depicting a pegasus, a unicorn, Zephyr Heights, Bridlewood, and at the very top above the door, the lighthouse itself.

"Oh my stars..." Sunny managed to say as she stood dumbfounded.

"It appeared out of nowhere the night after you all left."

It took all the restraint Sunny had to not gallop at full speed and instead keep pace with the two wagons Zipp and Hitch were pulling as they came up to the clearly magical structure.

"Well Sunny, I think you should do the honors," the sheriff said as he and Zipp got unhitched from their respective wagons.

Sunny took a breath, took a step forward, pushed the double doors open, and her breath was taken away again.

Two short steps descended into the foyer, with multi-colored crystal tiles making up the floor. The walls were painted a sky blue. The kitchen on the right side was roughly in the same place it had been originally, with a bit more space this time around.

Instead of stairs off on the left side wall, two spiral ramps made of crystal and polished wood provided access to the second floor. Sunny ascended the curving walkway and her smile widened further when she saw all of the available space on the second floor, where the elevator to the top waited in the center, a rainbow beam shining up out of the glass cylinder.

"This... This is way too much room for just me. This is for all of us, I just know it," Sunny commented, turning around to the five friends who had accompanied her inside. "We can get five beds in here with room to spare!"

She got smiles and nods from her friends, who were realizing that with that idea, they now all suddenly had a place to stay in Maretime Bay as well. Izzy's grin was the widest as the opportunities for unicycling was expanding in her mind by the millisecond.

Not wanting to get too far ahead of herself, she stepped towards the elevator with her friends, and once they were all on the platform, it rose effortlessly up to the top of the lighthouse. There, just above the heads of all of them, in the middle of the rainbow beam, floated the three unity crystals. The view from the balcony provided the same spectacular view of both the ocean and Maretime Bay.

"So now, I think I can give you something of a welcome home present," Hitch said, digging into his saddlebags, coming out with an envelope. "Compliments of CanterLogic and Maretime Bay Construction."

Sunny tore the envelope open, turned it over, and out came a check, her eyes widening and mouth dropping open at the amount.

"Just what is this?" Sunny asked, trying not to fall over or faint.

"What was left over from the construction budget, materials cost, and your extended hotel stay. When the inspection team declared this place structurally sound, the construction team found themselves with quite the surplus. We figured you could use the money to furnish the place," Hitch told her.

Sunny's hoof trembled as she put the check back into the envelope.

"Yeah... Yeah, I need a minute to catch my breath. I'll see the rest of you downstairs, and we can figure out what we're going to do next," Sunny said, taking a few deep breaths as she stepped towards the railing. Her friends gave her nods of understanding, and began to step back onto the lift platform. "Pipp, please stay," Sunny said.

The pegasus stepped off of the lift moments before it descended to the second floor, and stepped towards Sunny, who was taking in the view, before turning to her friend.

"Wow... I mean... Wow. So, clearly I won't be staying in a hotel for the next few months. I've made up my mind, Pipp. I want to give us all a space to explore our younger sides. Clearly we're about to do one serious shopping spree. Let's let Izzy go nuts with her creativity for the bedrooms. Let's put a nursery and play area of sorts in the basement. What do you say?" Sunny asked excitedly.

Pipp gave her a smile, before breaking into a giggling fit.

"What's so funny?" Sunny asked.

"You don't see the irony? The foals are going to design the nursery!"