Sprout's Second Chance

"Alright, aaand there we go!" Izzy said, fastening the fourth and final tape of Sunny's fresh diaper around her waist, before giving her a couple light taps to let the mare know that she could sit up. Zipp had also finished with her little sister, so the two 'foals' were ready to get to work.

They had separated the second floor into six equal sections with painter's tape, or 'pie slices' as Izzy had put it; five spaces for each of them plus an extra space for a guest.

"Alright, you two can start on your own spaces, and we'll be out getting more pieces for ours," Zipp told them. "Now you two behave. You can have milk or water, and there's snacks on the counter. Be back soon!"

With that, the unicorn and elder pegasus went down the curved ramp to the first floor and out the front door, leaving the two padded ponies alone with their unassembled furniture. Even with their beds still in the boxes, Pipp's looked double the size of Sunny's, who wanted something similar to what she had in the old lighthouse. Pipp quickly trotted down to the ground floor to the kitchen, and came back up a couple minutes later with two bottles of cold milk, giving one to Sunny.

"Alright, so just so there's no clever cheating, one bottle of water or milk an hour, got it?" Pipp said, looking over at Sunny before going over to her boxed up bed.

"As long as we don't drink until we're about to burst and moaning on the floor with stomachaches," Sunny replied.

"Deal. So, let's drink and build! Now let's put tab 'A' into slot 'B'!"

Hitch didn't have a high chair, so they had to make due with their imaginations as Sprout sat in the chair at the kitchen table next to Hitch's, as he was slowly fed a bowl of applesauce, with a sippy cup of lemonade.

"Hey Hitch? You're... You're enjoying yourself too, right?" Sprout asked after swallowing his first bite.

"I guess you could say that, yeah. It's interesting, to be sure, but why do you ask?" Hitch replied.

"I mean, I know you probably view this as a job, and my mom is no doubt paying you for your time, it's just... You're my best friend, Hitch. This was your idea, and I want to know that you're enjoying yourself too."

Hitch's expression turned into a soft smile as he got another spoonful of applesauce. They had been working together at the station for so long, that Hitch honestly couldn't remember the last time that Sprout had referred to him as his best friend... Or honestly, the last time he himself had thought of Sprout as a friend, and not a subordinate that he had to keep an eye on almost every day, and reign him in when necessary.

"Well don't worry," he began, slipping the spoon into Sprout's mouth. "I am enjoying myself. Even playing with some of my old toys with you is taking me back a bit. We're almost done getting all of our old kits put together, and this time we have a bit more than a room to have our battles in; we have a whole house. Not to mention what crazy track designs we're gonna put together tomorrow."

Sprout smiled as he swallowed, imagining the possibilities. But before he could create the most amazing carriage tracks ever, he had to help the resistance defend against the horde of zombies that were headed this way.

"And Izzy really didn't have an issue with these sets of PoneBloks?" Hitch asked as he continued spoon-feeding his friend.

"I was honestly afraid of that on her first day, but when I explained some of the backstory and the lore, her excitement only grew. The way she floated some of the zombie ships around the house was just... Awesome," Sprout told him.

"Well, I can't do things like that, but no reason why she can't come over and have a two versus one battle one of these days," Hitch offered, and Sprout immediately nodded.

"I know you've been enjoying this new side of yourself, pal. Considering that this started with you being, well, temporarily suspended from the department, I'm wondering if you've been thinking about coming back anytime soon, since, well, since this isn't a punishment anymore," the sheriff said, putting another spoonful of applesauce into Sprout's mouth.

Sprout took just a few moments before swallowing that his current mouthful.

"Well, to tell you the truth, Hitch... I'm not sure it's the best idea to come back," Sprout admitted, beginning to twiddle his front hooves under the table.

"Oh? Why is that?" Hitch asked, setting the nearly empty bowl down on the table.

"I mean, that was a lot of trust that I took advantage of and abused, Hitch. If I come back and start over, I know that a lot of the town is going to be wondering how long it's going to be before it happens again," the red stallion confessed. "I know that some of Maretime Bay won't trust me with that kind of authority again... And they'd be absolutely right not to."

Hitch took a moment to take this revelation in.

"Well, if you're not going to be my deputy, have you given any thought to what you want to do for a job?" The sheriff asked him.

"Yeah, I have. Even despite the fact that it was magically replaced after weeks of work, I really enjoyed helping to renovate and rebuild Sunny's lighthouse. The construction forepony said he was pretty satisfied with my work, and he said if I wanted to, I could stay on if I wanted a change of pace. I think I'm gonna take him up on that offer."

"Mm, that's a fine line of work, Sprout. One that would undoubtedly be better with you being a part of it. I can't say that I won't miss you at the station, but maybe it's for the best. Maybe this way, we can work on our friendship, and stop worrying about our working relationship."

Sprout smiled at Hitch as he picked up the bowl of applesauce and scraped up one last spoonful.

"I'd like that, Hitch. I'd like that a lot."