Story 1: Foalhood Friends
Read Time: 20 Minutes
Genre: Slice of Life
Summary:
It's Sunny Starscout's time to shine on a day like no other! With her first day back to school after a short break, she's looking forward to impressing the class with her homemade unicorn cupcakes. She’s hoping the cupcakes will spread her optimism and joy about reuniting the three pony kinds!
“Goodnight Daddy!” The little apricot orange filly’s soft sounding voice spoke out.
Before closing the door shut and wishing her a goodnight’s rest, the light blue stallion smiled at his innocent daughter Sunny Starscout. Her sparkling emerald green eyes squinting back, letting out an adorable yawn to compliment her cuteness. Her father Argyle Starshine chuckled to himself, not leaving her sight until he finally replied,
“Goodnight my little pony.” Closing the door carefully and leaving his daughter to herself.
With one more yawn, the little filly turned her head to look at the tabletop beside her. Staring in curiosity and wonderment at each of the colorful figurines. With the belief in her heart that the Elements of Harmony were watching over her.
“Goodnight friends!” Sunny slowly closed her eyes shut, smiling cheek to cheek.
And with that, the new nightlight that her father constructed just for her started dimming down. Darkening the room by the second, the young earth pony fell into a deep slumber, dreaming the day where she would befriend a Unicorn, or a Pegasi.
The following morning...
The morning came, and the sun was shining brightly through the windowsill. The warmth coming from the rays struck Sunny's nose, causing the filly to form a wonderful smile in her slumber. Rubbing her eyes and letting out a short yawn, she blinked quickly and slowly sat up from her bed, looking over to her figurines standing guard.
"Goodmorning friends!" Sunny's voice lit up the room brighter than the sun.
She hopped up out of bed and walked over to the window, looking out onto Maretime Bay from her lighthouse. Her father and her have been living there far away from the others, despite the amount of belief they had in reuniting the three pony kinds, their fellow ponies considered them outcasts. Nonetheless, the two didn't let any of their nonsense get to them, they were going to show everypony they were right!
"Ooh! What time is it!?" Sunny pranced around, looking back over to her friends by the clock.
"7:15 A.M."
"I still got time, I hope we still have some of those unicorn cupcakes left!" The little filly spoke out loud, hearing a knock on her door.
Her father opened the door, smiling down at her while wearing a cooking apron. Sunny looked up to her father, her eyes sparkling and her nose catching the scent of blueberry waffles!
"Goodmorning Daddy!" Sunny trotted up to give him a big hug, earning a chuckle from her father.
"Goodmorning Sweetie! How's Blue-" Argyle returned the hug and was quickly interrupted by her,
"Blueberry waffles for breakfast? Sounds Yummy!"
Letting out a slight sigh, her father ruffled a hoof in her neatly straightened magenta purple mane. He watched as Sunny quickly bounced from hugging him to running down the stairs in such a rush. He followed after her and once he got downstairs, he saw her already sitting down waiting patiently at the kitchen table. She tapped her hooves against the tabletop eagerly wanting to get a bite of those warm scrumptious waffles!
"Slow down Sunny bunny, they'll be done in just a few minutes. I have to keep on flipping them for just a bit longer!" Her dad gave her a wink, walking over to the stove top to continue the waffles.
"But daaaad, I'm starving!" Sunny pouted, resting her chin against the table and lowering her eyebrows.
"A scout who has patience..." Argyle started, flipping the waffles over while giving her a one eyed glance.
"Is a scout that goes far!" Sunny finished the statement, lifting her muzzle up and showing her father a goofy grin.
"Adda' filly, you have everything ready for school today?" He let the waffles cook on their own and started walking around to join her at the table.
"I always do!! We still have our unicorn cupcakes right?” She looked up to him with her innocent sparkling eyes.
Her father nodded and pointed towards the refrigerator, the cupcakes were just through the door waiting to be eaten! Sunny giggled and let out a high pitched squeal, she was so excited to bring them to class today. Today will be the day where she'll make a lot of friends sharing the cupcakes, after all... Who could say no to a yummy decorated treat? But then she remembered when her best friend Hitch, as well as his friend Sprout came over yesterday for their play date. How they were playing with her figurines, despite Sprout not showing any interest in how she was playing with them. All she wanted more than anything else in the world was to show everypony that they were wrong about the other pony kinds.
"I wonder how everypony would react if I just happened to befriend a unicorn or a pegasus pony. Having a friend who could fly or float things sounds fun!" She thought to herself, rubbing her hoof on the tablecloth.
“What’re you thinking about sweet pea?” Argyle interrupted her thoughts, getting up from the chair to finish making the waffles.
Her daughter stopped what she was doing and gave him a slight frown, showing concern.
“Hitch and Sprout won’t believe me… I don’t know how much longer until they start believing us. Will anypony listen to us? The things our teacher have taught us in history class have all been wrong… Whenever I try to say otherwise, I end up getting in trouble.” She sighed, her frown grew bigger while she hung her head over the table.
“Well, not everypony is going to accept that, but that’s okay. The important thing is that you stand up for what you believe in, one day I know we will prove to every pony that all three pony kinds are meant to be friends.” He spoke with a soft fatherly voice that instantly brought cheer to her face.
He finished making the waffles and took out the lovable syrup that Sunny craved so much! She watched in adore as he poured the sticky treat all over them. Once he finished, he brought the plate over to her and set it down. Her face was practically beaming in excitement! Looking down at the delicious breakfast in front of her, she noticed that her father had made them differently than usual. The waffles weren’t your average looking ones, instead they had shaped figures cut into the holes. There were several figures that looked like earth ponies, unicorns, as well as pegasi!
“Wooww! How did you do this dad?” Sunny looked up back and fourth between the waffles and her father, tapping her hooves in excitement.
“Made them myself from scratch, hope you like them!” Argyle smiled, running a hoof through her hair to mess around with it.
Her stomach growled at that statement, however she didn't want to eat them. She was a bit hesitant because they looked so awesome to her! After a few more seconds passing by, she shook her head and allowed herself to eat them. She leaned her head forward and took a big bite of the waffle. The yummy tasteful sensation of blueberry hitting every part of her taste buds, with the syrup complimenting it even further. She gasped in joy, making her father laugh at her reaction to the waffles.
"Like them sweet pea?" He asked, amused with her reaction.
"They're amazing!" Sunny's response was so bright, it wasn't long after she was already halfway done to the first waffle on her plate.
Satisfied with her answer, the stallion went to the fridge and opened the door wide. There they laid, the unicorn cupcakes that they had made together! He took them out and turned back around to head back to the table, not before using his back leg to close the fridge door. By the time he got back to the table, he was shocked to see Sunny was already finished with her waffles!
"You've already finished them?" He asked, leaving his mouth open in surprise.
His daughter giggled and sat there innocently, staring at the unicorn cupcakes with her bright eyes. Her father started packing them up in small containers so that she could take them to class and share them. Even though she was extremely excited about the fact of sharing cupcakes and making brand new friends in her class, there was still that second thought of how everypony would react to seeing them.
"Daddy, what if I get in trouble or sent to the timeout corner if my teacher doesn't like that they're unicorns..." Sunny's voice went soft as she gave her father a slight frown.
"Sweetie, should that happen then you just call me over there and I will deal with it. It wouldn't be your fault if anypony reacted negatively to the cupcakes. They're just cupcakes after all, and you made them with all your heart! I'm sure your teacher will see that part at least, your classmates are going to love them! Are you ready for school darling?" Argyle took a few steps closer to her and gave her a nuzzle on her nose, with her response being the occasional adorable giggle.
He always knew what to say to her whenever she was feeling down. The encouragement he gave her couldn't compare to anything else, Sunny grinned cheek to cheek and trotted around the table joyfully. Her saddlebags were sitting there waiting to be packed up for the day ahead of her. She carefully grasped the containers full of cupcakes and set them down inside her saddlebags right beside her school supplies. Hitch and Sprout were definitely going to love these! She put a lot of effort into these cupcakes with her father yesterday evening when they were over, but by the time they were finished baking, Hitch and Sprout were already leaving after their play date. Sprout's mother on the other hoof, didn't approve the idea of being offered unicorn cupcakes. Sunny shook her head as she closed up the saddlebags and lifted them over her back, she faced her father once again and ran up to wrap her forelegs around his, embracing him in a long warming hug.
“Thanks for teaching me how to make them daddy! I sure hope everypony likes them.” Sunny ended the hug and took a few steps away.
“Anytime Sunny bunny, you leaving for school?” Argyle motioned his head up at the clock on the wall.
Sunny eyed it for a tad second and then nodded her head up and down to answer his question. She turned around and hopped to the door to head on out, but not before stopping beside her sparkly rollerblades. She picked up all four skates’ laces with her mouth and sat on her flank to fit them on her hooves. Once she finished putting them on, she laced them tight and stood up on all fours to face the door. She lifted a front hoof for the doorknob and tried to turn it, but struggled to do so with a skate for a hoof. While she stopped for a moment, she just thought about using her mouth to open the door herself, but her vision suddenly got covered by a helmet!
“Now you’re all set kiddo!” Argyle laughed at her attempt in opening the door, he put a skate helmet on top of her head and opened the door for her.
“Thanks daddy!” Sunny beamed in delight, kicking her back legs to push herself forward and out the door.
The summer air was so refreshing with the sun beaming down on Maretime Bay! The cool breeze swept in from the sea and blew over the grass and bushes. The flowers were bloomed for the summer and there was just so much green everywhere you’d look! Before skating on ahead, Sunny side glanced her dad and waved a hoof at him to say her goodbyes.
“Have a good day at school sweetie! Remember, don’t let any pony-“ The stallion was just about to remind her, but she already knew what he was going to tell her without even thinking!
“Don’t let any pony get me down or make me change how I feel about what I want to stand up for, got it! Daddy you don’t have to remind me everyday, we’ll do our part hoof to heart!” She kept her positive energy and spirit up, feeling joyous and excited for school.
“That’s my little filly.” Argyle chuckled to himself, giving her a wave back.
He watched as she kicked her legs back and began skating down the path to head towards the town. His heart felt pride and belief seeing how he didn’t need to worry about her. She was a tough young filly, just what he wanted to raise her as. She proved those traits to him many times before, at such a young age too! On the other note, Sunny was well on her way to the town where her fellow earth ponies lived at. She and her father lived alone in the lighthouse sitting atop the hill, they were a little apart from the town. Despite the amount of criticism and relative response other ponies gave them for what they believed and studied in, nopony wanted to give their ideas a chance. A chance at harmony and building long lasting friendships with ponies of all kind. Sunny shook those negative thoughts out of her head and kept her grin strong. She eventually passed by the town gate that separated Maretime Bay from the road connecting out to the plain field. There was nothing much around the bay town other than the sea and the mountainous view past the plains. Feeling her legs needing a short break to regain energy, Sunny came to a halt by a streetlamp. The schoolhouse wasn't far from where she was at. There were lots of ponies roaming around the streets, with the occasional carts being stationed along the cliff side of the town.
"Hm... Maybe a smoothie or two would be nice on a hot sunny day like today." The little filly spoke out loud.
Though her father had just taught her how to bake cupcakes, she wanted to perfect her skills and develop a natural talent for creating sweet treats. She skated up to the smoothie cart and saw one of her favorite ponies that worked at the carts. The old mare had her back turned to the counter, unfortunately for Sunny... She wasn't fully grown yet and she could barely be seen from the other side of the counter.
"Good morning Glacia!" The young skater clapped her front skates together making a 'cling' to get the attention of the older mare.
The smoothie maker Glacia Breeze, turned and looked down at Sunny with a smile that matched hers! Her coat was colored white and she had a strawberry vanilla milkshake for a cutie mark. Her mane was two-toned colored that matched the colors of the sky, one was an aqua blue color, while the other had a hint of darker blue shaded in.
"Why if it isn't one of my most dearest customers in town! Good morning Sunny, what brings you here?" The mare happily greeted Sunny back, walking closer to the counter so that she could see her better.
"Well... Why would I skip saying good morning to the best-est smoothie maker in all of Equestria?" Sunny laughed, looking up to the mare with bright eyes.
"I wouldn't say ALL of Equestria deary, though I appreciate the compliment. It's always delightful to be visited by one of my happiest customers." Glacia chuckled at the young filly.
On the occasion, Sunny would visit her from time to time whenever she could! She was one of the only ponies who actually greeted her back and had an actual conversation with her. With a short thought in mind... Sunny stopped smiling for half a second to take a deeper thought into note. She knew that there were a hoofful of ponies that knew about what her and her father have been trying to show everypony. Whenever they spoke about reuniting the three pony kinds or went into the deep history of Equestria, nopony would even bother listening to them. All of these ponies lived their lives in fear and showed hatred towards Unicorns and Pegasi. There were even some posters around town that showcased the other pony kinds as monstrous enemies to their kind. What did they know if they never truly met them? Who knows how long it's been since any of the pony kinds have set hoof into each other's territories. She knew of other places around Equestria where they lived, but they were so far away...
"Sunny?" Glacia tilted her head and took note of the sly frown Sunny had.
Sunny shook her head and blinked quickly, her thoughts were interrupted by the mare. She heard an "ahem" from behind and glanced over herself seeing a short line forming right behind her.
"O-Oh! Sorry I spaced out for a second there!" Sunny giggled shyly, blushing in embarrassment.
"Lemme guess darling, the same as usual?" Glacia took out a notepad and was ready to take her order.
"Yes! I'll have a vanilla smoothie, and can I also get a chocolate one for a friend of mine?" Sunny requested politely, opening her saddlebags with her mouth.
"Of course! This other smoothie is for somepony special isn't it?" The mare jotted down what Sunny requested and made the young filly blush lightly.
"Him and I? We're just friends!" Sunny shook her head with her small ponytail flying around her neck.
And with that, the professional smoothie maker began working on her order almost instantly. Sunny watched in awe as the mare picked up all kinds of mixtures and the required fruits for the smoothies. She tossed them over without even looking and they somehow landed perfectly in their own blenders. With a spoonful of sugar being poured into both of the blenders, Glacia turned the blenders on with both of her hooves simultaneously! She made it look so simple, even the ponies behind Sunny were impressed by the mare's natural talent. Not long after, the blenders came to a halt and the mare picked both of them up with her forehooves. Then she poured them into the regular sized cups and sealed them in a blink of an eye! Overall... It only took her a full minute just to make the smoothies for Sunny!
"Wowie!" Sunny was awestruck at the mare's talent, she wondered if she could pull it off herself at home with enough practice.
Sunny used her mouth to fetch out the bits and left them over the counter to pay for the smoothies. She left the right side of her saddlebags open so that it could fit the smoothies securely in the pocket. To which Glacia happily tossed over the smoothies to the young filly's saddlebags and the trajectory of the mare's tossing was spot on yet again! The smoothies landed perfectly together in the pocket and Sunny closed the bags with her nose. Sunny bowed down to the older mare with delight and thanked her before skating off to school.
"Thanks Glacia!" Sunny waved a hoof, peeking an eye back to see the mare waving back.
As Sunny continued her skate, she passed by several other ponies minding their own business on the streets. The hot sun was beaming down on her, it wouldn't be too much longer until she could enjoy the smoothie with her friend!
"Awesome! I'm carrying a lot of sweet treats with me today, I can't wait to surprise him when I get to school!" Sunny thought to herself, keeping that innocent bright smile on her face.
Feeling eager for her day today, things couldn’t get any better! She knew without a doubt that this day would be terrific, she kept skating and skating passing by the dozens of ponies. Until she finally arrived at the small schoolhouse, where other colts and fillies her age were playing outside. She kept going until she got closer and closer to the large group, then when she finally got there, she sat on her flank to rest from her favorite activity. She was out of breath, but she felt relaxed being a bit early than usual. Typically her friend would’ve been here by now, but it looks like she beat him today! She began taking her skates off one by one, while also trying not to tilt the saddlebags over. Once she finished taking her skates off, she took her helmet off next and she trotted over to a small metal rack in front of the pathway to the door of the schoolhouse, setting her stuff down beside the rack.
“There, they should be fine sitting here.” Sunny smiled, nobody would steal them.
She kept looking at the skates for a bit longer, until she was interrupted by a familiar voice from behind! A certain colt greeted her by tapping her, making her turn around. She instantly recognize that voice, it was the voice of her friend! The young colt had a light amber coat as well as several markings of white around the bottom of his legs, under his belly, and another marking between his eyes. His mane was colored aqua green, with his amber eyes complimenting the look of his coat.
“Hitch!” Sunny gasped, coming closer to embrace him in a short hug.
“Morning Sunny!” Hitch greeted back, accepting the hug and returning the affection.
The two foals blushed lightly from the hug and took a small step away from each other after the hug ended. It wasn’t long after though until a certain red colt came by to interrupt the two.
“Well if it isn’t Sunny! Hope you didn’t bring your figures with you today.” The red coated colt rolled his eyes and stopped right beside Hitch.
The young colt’s hair was blonde and slicked back giving everypony the impression that he liked to look cool. His appearance matched to Hitch’s, puffing out his chest and he stood confidently eyeing down Sunny like a hawk.
“Good morning to you too Sprout!” Sunny didn’t let him get to her, especially not after how he treated her yesterday.
She wouldn’t forget the moment where he completely changed up the game she was playing with Hitch, and how he threw the figures without a care in the world. How would he like it if someone threw a precious toy of his?
“Hitch don’t tell me that you’re gonna be playing with her during recess today. We’ve got the four square game planned with the fillies!” Sprout nudged Hitch, as his friend just kept looking back and fourth between them.
In all honesty… Hitch didn’t know what to say, he didn’t want to have to be forced into picking between one or the other.
“That’s fine! I didn’t bring them with me today, four square does sound like fun though! May I join with your group of friends?” Sunny asked innocently while she tilted head adorably.
“I dunno… You know how our other classmates feel about y-“ Sprout kept going on and on until Hitch put his hoof over his mouth to keep him quiet.
“We’d love to have you join our game Sunny! Isn’t that right Sprout?” Hitch said that last part to Sprout quietly for Sunny not to hear.
“Ugh fine! Anyway… I’m going to go say hello to my friends.” Sprout rolled his eyes, his ears dropped as he trotted away from the pair.
Sunny stared at him keeping one eyebrow raised, she wasn’t quite sure what he had against her. Not that it mattered to her either way, she wouldn’t let anypony ruin her day! Then that thought came back into her head for just a tad second… The idea of her classmates not liking her? Her smile slowly crept down along with her ears. She suddenly felt that confident feeling going away as she thought further about how her classmates would react to her cupcakes.
“Sunny? You okay?” The colt took notice of her change in expression and walked around to see her face.
“Hm? Yeah I’m fine!” Sunny smiled at him and picked herself up from the drained feeling.
“Come on!” Hitch stuck his hoof out towards her and chuckled nervously.
They were surrounded by a hoofful of their classmates, but not all of them! They were too busy making their own conversation to pay any attention to them. That was until the two foals smiled at each other with goofy grins, and chanted together at the same time,
“Up high down low hitch it to a post! Flip it sunny side up and on a piece of toast!”
The two ponies did their signature hoofshake with each other, as they performed the actions of flipping a sunny side egg together to finish it off! Their classmates stopped what they were doing and stared at the two at their interesting combination. Soon after, both of them immediately started something anew! Their classmates took after them and started doing their own thing with their close friends! Both of the foals giggled and shared a short, but sweet nuzzle with each other. This was the perfect time to pull out smoothies!
“Now that Sprout isn’t around to feel jealous or anything, I got you something!” Sunny beamed with joy, using her mouth to open her saddlebags.
“Oh? Sunny you didn’t…” Hitch opened his mouth in surprise, leaning forward to see what she had for him.
“Yes I did, consider it a BFF gift! Since we’re such good friends and all!” Sunny pulled out his respective smoothie making the young colt gasp in happiness.
“Oh you didn’t!” Hitch asked in disbelief.
“I did!” Sunny nodded and hoofed over his smoothie, which he politely took from her.
Once she pulled hers out, the two foals ‘clinked’ their cool drinks together and took a sip out of the large straws. The two of them drank together and looked like complete dorks, they shared a small blush as they savored the tastes of the yummy smoothies.
"Thanks Sunny, you really didn't have-" Hitch wanted to thank her, but Sunny put a hoof to his mouth to interrupt.
"Today is a hot day! Let's just hope Sprout doesn't-" She spoke out, but all of a sudden...
"WHAT'S THAT?" Sprout came right over and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Uhh... What?" Hitch asked his friend what he was so angry about, Sprout wasn't looking very happy.
"Where'd you get the smoothie? Didn't bother to ask me if I wanted one huh?" Sprout went on, clearly expressing his jealousy and expression.
"Sprout there's no need to be upset!" Sunny tried her best to remain positive, but that only seemed to make things worse.
"Nah! I totally see how it is, you two are such GOOOD friends, well what about me? I thought I was apart of this trio group?" Sprout put his hoof down with a pouty voice.
Sunny and Hitch's ears both dropped in unison, they gave each other a one eyed glance of annoyance. Without saying anything back to the red colt, he just stormed off into the schoolhouse. After that little conclusion, sparking several looks from other ponies... The two foals eventually finished their smoothies and tossed them out in a nearby garbage bin. It was about time for school to start, so together the two trotted up the steps towards the schoolhouse. Their other classmates followed after them and they all entered the house in a neatly formed line. The inside of the house was pretty typical, there were the occasional desks, the board at the front, and of course followed by the teacher's desk at the corner of the room. Everypony took their seats as their teacher was nowhere in sight yet. Sunny sat at her usual spot in the dead center of the desks with Hitch choosing the seat right beside her. Sprout also joined and sat in front of Hitch, Sunny saw the same expression on his face from earlier. The look of jealousy and anger was clearly visible from his eyes and mouth, she didn’t want any part of it.
“Sprout are you okay?” Hitch noticed the expression in his friend’s behavior and touched his back with his hoof.
Without hesitation though, Sprout just turned to face the two of them and tried his best to imitate a fake smile.
“Oh yeah I’m great! How’re you two doing?” He asked sarcastically, eyeing Sunny like she was prey.
Sunny just gave him a smile back to remain calm and collective, then their teacher suddenly came into the room! She was an older mare, not much older than the average aged pony, but she wore glasses. Her coat was colored light purple, along with her mane taking a darker tone of the same color. Her eyes were emerald green and her cutie mark was a piece of paper with a pencil writing on it. She had her mane tied into a small bun, and also had a pencil lodged between her ear.
“Good morning my little ponies!” Their teacher greeted her students, walking over to sit down at her desk.
“Good morning Miss Hops!” The entire class greeted the teacher back with the same amount of enthusiasm.
“You can just call me Hops as well if you’d prefer, anyway are we ready to have another fantastic day?” Hops placed a hoof on her desk setting a book down.
She scanned the entire room and stopped for a second once she laid eyes on Sunny. Much to her knowledge however… Sunny didn’t seem to notice her teacher stopping to look over her.
“Sunny Starscout.” The teacher changed her tone of voice into a more serious one, forcing Sunny to feel a bit anxious and confused.
“I-I… What’d I do?” Sunny asked out loud, tilting her head and dropping her ears.
The entire class had their eyes on the young filly and she was definitely put on the spot now. Luckily nopony snickered negatively about her, but she had absolutely no idea why she was just suddenly picked on. Waiting for the teacher’s response, she stared back with her eyes locked into a gaze.
“Your father mentioned that you were bringing cupcakes today to share for the entire class! Is that correct?” Ms. Hops’ expression turned the other way around back into a joyous voice.
All relief entered Sunny, she thought she was in trouble for no reason!
“Yes I brought cupcakes!!! Made them myself, freshly baaaked! Well… At least I hope they’re still fresh.” Sunny said that last part to herself, setting her saddlebags down beside her chair.
With that announcement, everypony in the room started cheering in delight, the young filly’s cheeks started turning red from the amount of gratitude her fellow classmates were already showing her.
“That’s wonderful news! You can pass them out when we get to lunch hun! Now, let’s begin our activities for the day! But first as requested from the president of Canterlogic herself! Sprout’s mother Phyllis Cloverleaf, has told me to teach history first and foremost as the town’s most important subject to learn about.” Ms. Hops finished her statement, earning an interested response from most of her class.
All except Sunny… She sighed and slightly lowered her head to the desk below, of all the subjects she was best at, history was very different from the rest. Especially with all the history her father has studied and taught her, she didn’t know whether or not if she was going to interrupt today’s lesson like she did the last time. Last time it didn’t really go very well… Nothing but a slightly heated argument between her and the teacher. At this point she didn't know whether or not she was going to even attempt in participating in the lesson, or try to bring up her dad's research. Staring blankly at her hooves, she knew this was going to be a long subject.
A brief moment later...
"Alright class, so as you can see... Equestria has always been the same for as long as we ponies can remember! And remember, always stay within Maretime Bay's general area, don't venture out too far and definitely be on the lookout for our enemies!" Miss Hops held a pointing stick with one of her hoofs, and pointed towards the board's map of Equestria.
All of the students stared at the board all with similar emotions and feelings, Sunny noticed that her classmates around her looked rather scared and worried about the mentioning of their 'enemies'.
"Now, can anypony remind the whole class what is the most important rule to know about pegasi and unicorns?" The mare asked aloud, causing a chain reaction of colts and fillies raising a hoof into the air to be called on.
"Yes, Sprout!" Miss Hops called out on Sprout, to which the Colt stood up on top of his desk and acted as if he were on stage.
"As our enemies, never come into contact with a pegasi because they can snatch you away like a predator! For unicorns, stay as far away from them as you possibly can because they can fry your brains!" Sprout answered confidently, earning nods from his classmates as well as the teacher.
"Now hold on just a second!" Sunny Starscout couldn't handle it anymore... It finally broke through to her and she jumped up on top of her desk to face Sprout.
"Oh brother..." Sprout mumbled under his breath, quiet enough for nopony else to hear.
"Yes Sunny?" Miss Hops called out on Sunny, lowering her glasses to eye the young filly.
Sunny took a small gulp and stood in a proud stance. She looked around herself and saw every colt and filly in the class staring up at her, along with Sprout sitting back down in his desk. Some ponies already knew what she was going to say... Hitch especially, his ears were lowered and he gave her a nervous smile. As if he were trying to warn her "Don't say it.", Sunny went on and continued ignoring the attention she gained.
"Back in the olden times-" Sunny started off with her side of the story, but Sprout rudely interrupted her by yawning loudly.
The yawn was loud enough to earn some giggles and chuckles from their classmates, while others stayed silent to listen to her 'usual' speech.
"In the olden times, all three pony kinds used to be the best of friends! You would see lots of them with each other, no matter what kind of pony they were! We even befriended griffins and dragons of other lands, nopony ever talks about it anymore though! Miss Hops, surely there has been some sort of historic artifacts and ancient books passed down from the old days! My father and I have studied a lot about the past days of Equestria, many moons ago when the princesses ruled the land! When the young unicorn came into the world and shared her magical power to all of Equestria." Sunny gave her speech off, everypony stayed silent along with her teacher.
Sunny let out a sigh from the speech, but felt like she needed to address something more to the class.
"Just think for one moment, what if the olden times came back? If you had a friend who could fly or float things right before your eyes! They could cast spells for the benefit of others, and bring happiness and friendship to everypony else!" Sunny continued, seeing a small handful of her classmates smiling up at her.
She felt proud at that moment, feeling like she could finally convince somepony else. That her father's research had been true and correct to it's word, she smiled brightly at everypony. They all stayed silent leaving her up there on the pedestal… It was at this very moment though, Sunny’s heart started pounding at the suspense in how they would react. She opened her saddlebags and pulled out the lucky containers she brought with her.
“Alright everypony, who wants a cupcake!?” Sunny chanted with her joyous voice, revealing the cupcakes to the class.
At the angle she was holding them though, nopony could tell they were her special made unicorn cupcakes. To her relief though, the entire class started cheering in unison! She never felt any happier than this moment, they would finally learn about the Equestria her father researched. She could finally convince other ponies that unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies were meant to be friends!
“NOW HANG ON JUST A SECOND THERE!” The all too familiar voice rung out, making everyone silent.
“How do we know if any of that is real? How do WE know if what she says is real at all? Just because of something her father made up? Hitch back me up here.” Sprout lightly nudged his friend behind him.
Sunny’s ears dropped and her heart sank, there was no way… She stared deeply into Hitch’s as he just glanced back and fourth between Sprout and herself.
“Well uh…” Hitch sounded hesitant at first, but took a deep breath before finally continuing with his answer.
Before he could finally give Sprout and the rest of the class his answer, all eyes were on him... Their teacher suddenly interrupted the commotion, raising a hoof in the air.
"Quiet down everypony! Sunny Starscout..." Miss Hops eyed the young filly with an angry look on her face.
Sunny turned back and faced her teacher, still holding the containers up with her hoof in perfect balance. She was prepared for the worst, for detention after school... For being put into the timeout corner and being made fun of as a laughing stock in front of the whole class.
"Miss Hops I-" She went to speak, but...
"We'd be delighted to have your cupcakes! Alright everypony, gather around in front of the board so Sunny can share her cupcakes." Miss Hops happily announced, cutting her off with a delightful voice.
Everypony except one in particular... Immediately got up from their seats and ran up to the board to join their teacher. Sunny gasped in joy, thinking the worst to come wasn't inevitable, things were off to a great start! She hopped off of her desk and trotted over to meet the rest of her class eagerly waiting for cupcakes. There was one pony who stayed at his desk though…
“I made these cupcakes with lots of love, I hope you enjoy them!” Sunny shouted as she placed the containers on the ground.
She quickly opened them all up to reveal them, and the entire class gasped at the sight.
“Ta-Daaaa unicorn cupcakes!!” Sunny closed her eyes and smiled proudly at her treats, puffing her chest out.
She felt very confident about the speech she gave, she was definitely going to win them over.
“Unicorn Cupcakes!?! SEE!!! Her dad brainwashed her, Unicorns are our enemies! They’ll control your minds and fry your brains!” Sprout ran up and placed himself next to Sunny, eying down on the cupcakes.
“Sprout that’s enough, leave her alone.” Hitch stood in front of his classmates, walking slowly towards Sunny.
“Sunny Starscout! How could you bring such imagery to class!?! I couldn’t imagine how Phyllis would react if she were to see these.” Miss Hops walked forward placing a hoof to stop Hitch from getting closer to Sunny.
Unfortunately for the young filly… Just like every time before, everypony would gang up on her.
“Don’t eat them! For all we know they could brainwash you too or something, it’s like my mom always told me. Stay away from Sunny and her father if you don’t want to be brainwashed and become a zombie!” Sprout continued on, stepping away from Sunny as far as he could.
“Sprout, that’s enough! Leave her alone.” Hitch walked around Miss Hop’s hoof, eventually standing beside his best friend.
What nopony else didn’t notice however, was Sunny’s initial reaction to all of the negativity thrown her way. She had her head hung low and had tears streaming down her face. Her ponytail mane swept on the side, covering apart of her face to hide the tears.
“Sunny, go to the corner and think about what you did, we can’t have this anymore! Stop this nonsense, it’s not good for you… And it’s not good for anypony else.” Miss Hops spoke to her gently while also keeping her emotions in mind.
At the end of the day she didn’t want to come down on her too hard, but she felt Sunny needed to be taught.
“I-I just wanted to-to…” Sunny sobbed in between her response, choking a bit.
She turned away and dragged her hoofs across the room. Once she got to the corner of the room, she sat on her flank and refused to look back to them.
“Class, you may all have your break. Don’t eat the cupcakes.” Miss Hops announced, seeing Sprout as the first pony to pick up the lids of the containers and seal them.
Once they were all sealed, he picked them up and casually trotted to the closest garbage can. Sunny didn’t dare to turn around, but her ears were enough to communicate what she heard. The sound of her container being thrown away into the garbage, all that hard work and time spent making each individual cupcake with her father.
“There, jobs all finished! You all won’t be brainwashed.” Sprout finally finished, as the class looked to him with smiles on their faces.
Meanwhile on the other hoof, Sunny kept to herself. As the tears kept flowing down her cheeks, she didn’t even want to attempt in wiping them off with her hooves. As best as she could, she tried keeping the sobbing to a minimum. For now, she just wanted to be left alone…
“What am I talking about, I’m gonna be alone… Nopony is going to believe me or want to give me a chance.” The young filly thought to herself, keeping her head hung low to the ground.
It was then, she was sitting there to herself, hearing the class behind her having fun talking with their friends, and their teacher just sitting at her desk appraising Sprout for his ‘good’ deed. This joyous day immediately turned into a rainy one, and it couldn’t get any better than this-
“Sunny?” That familiar colt’s voice spoke softly into her left ear, making it perk up.
Sunny’s ears were up, but that didn’t mean her spirit and emotions did the same. She was just glad to hear him anyway beside her, her best friend.
“W-What do you want Hitch.” She didn’t dare look at him, she kept looking to the ground feeling depressed.
“Don’t listen to Sprout, that was so uncalled for. He didn’t need to throw them away.” Hitch said coldly, shooting an angry glare at Sprout from afar.
“Well maybe he should’ve…” Sunny replied with a negative tone.
“Even though he did, I wouldn’t say he got rid of ALL of them.” Hitch threw a smirk at her, she quickly caught the sight of his smile, and she gave him a one eyed look.
“What do you mean?” She raised her head up, finally turning to face him.
The two of them sat close to each other while Sunny was curious at what he just said. He was carrying his saddlebags and he opened them to have a quick look through them. It was then she opened her mouth slightly and gave him a look of shock. She could feel her frown turning upside down, her cheeks becoming light pink when she saw what he pulled out. It was two uniquely designed cupcakes that looked just like the unicorn ones, except they were colored blue and had edible glitter and sprinkles on them!
“You…” Sunny looked at him in shock, switching between his eyes and the cupcakes.
“You made these for me a few days ago when we had that one play date remember? You thought Sprout threw them away as soon as we left your house, but I managed to convince him not to. I’ve kept them in a container all fresh and ready to eat!” He spoke in a shy voice, his cheeks noticeably becoming light pink just like hers.
She could feel her heart beating slightly faster, her mouth eventually became a joyous smile that matched the sun. The smile she always showed off to everypony in town!
“I thought you didn’t… Believe in what my father and I-“ She wanted to speak, but Hitch shook his head.
“I don’t know if any of that stuff you and your dad talk about is true, but I don’t know how to feel about it. It isn’t exactly convincing when the entire town believes in the idea we’ve been taught our whole lives so far.” He cut her off, looking to the ground.
“No it’s okay! I understand.” She put a hoof to his mouth to return the gesture, ignoring the fact that he didn’t believe in her ideal belief.
Both foals sat there together just staring at one another. The two eventually gave each other nerdy grins and shared a laugh soon after the short awkward silence. Then without further ado, Hitch took the wrappers off of the cupcakes and took a large bite into the side. A bright smile lit up his face as he chewed the delicious flavorful cupcake dancing on his tastebuds.
“These are pretty great actually!” He answered, making Sunny giggle innocently at his reaction.
“I put a lot of flavor into these ones especially, that’s why they’re more colorful than the other ones.” She stated, taking her respective cupcake and biting into it as well.
The two sat there enjoying the tasty treat together as well as the company they provided for one another, Sunny felt her heart beating warmly.
“Come on!” Hitch stuck a hoof out for her to initiate to, which she gladly did.
And together, the two best friends did their initial hoofshake with each other.
“Up high down low hitch it to a post! Flip it sunny side up and on a piece of toast!”
Later on in the evening…
“Sweetie I’m so sorry that happened to you today. I’ll be having a word with your teacher soon enough.” Argyle sighed in frustration as he tucked his daughter into bed.
“Oh don’t worry daddy, I’m over it now!” Sunny spoke out with the usual joyful attitude she let out.
“But honey, getting in trouble just for bringing in unicorn designed cupcakes-“ Her father wanted to interject something, but he stopped himself when his daughter just shook her head.
“Trust me daddy, it’s okay.” She reassured him, letting a yawn out.
Her father chuckled to himself, as he stepped closer beside her bed. He leaned his head forward and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Then he turned on the nightlight that he had designed for her. The three pony kind symbols lit up the entire room and made Sunny awe at the ceiling.
“Well get some sleep my little pony, I’ll see you in the morning!” Her father grinned and turned to head towards the bedroom door.
Sunny’s eyes followed him as she watched him leave, but not before telling him,
“Goodnight daddy!”
She gazed up at the ceiling once again until she turned her head to the side and looked at her figurines.
“Goodnight friends, and to Hitch… One day I’ll convince him to believe in us!” She mumbled to herself, finally closing her eyes and falling into a peaceful slumber.
