"Can you believe it Hitch, my father went to Zephyr Heights before us."

Sunny was very excited after concluding the meeting with the president. My emotions unlike hers would be more of awe and curiosity. I never expected Mr. Argyle to have a whole secret life, not even Sunny, his daughter, knew about it.

We were on our way back to town on our way to the police station. Sunny, Sprout, and Phyllis had been surrounded by a crowd of ponies as we entered the city, there was some panic and curiosity mixed in. Unlike Sprout, I reassured them and explained that both Sunny, Sprout, and I would be going on a diplomatic mission to Bridlewood and Zephyr Heights for a while. They wondered who would handle the order, but that was already arranged, President Exel and the army would remain in town until formal meetings with the other races were finalized. One less problem to worry about.

But there was one issue I was concerned about that I had not yet told Sunny.

"I told you Hitch would be back safe and sound."

"Sprout sure went crazy with power."

"You were right, we shouldn't have helped him."

After the explosion of magic, I began to understand my squad. At first, I thought it was my imagination caused by the battle with Sprout's robot, but even after that, I could understand their conversations. They didn't know I could understand them, as deep down I didn't know why I could, so I assumed it would go away eventually, but that wasn't the case.

"Now I feel bad about tipping over the stands in the square."

"Yeah, we got carried away with Sprout's song."

"It's a shame about Sunny's smoothie cart. Good thing they'll never know it was us."

¡They tipped over the carts?! I thought.

I stopped dead in my tracks and looked at them instantly. They seemed to react as they stood at attention, which worried me, I didn't want them to know I could understand them. I said nothing and moved on.

"Is something wrong, Hitch?" Sunny asked me after my abrupt stop.

"No, everything's fine, I thought I saw something."

The four of us continued on our way, only my squadron was silent. Those three were a mystery to me. I had known them since I rescued them from small accidents on the beach, and since then they stayed with me, regardless of the situation. They slept outside the commissary and from time to time I gave them food. They even had the same greeting that Sunny and I had. Strange.

We reached the main street of Maretime bay, and it was time to split up. Sprout had to get ready to leave and would go with Phyllis to get ready. I wanted her to open her mind and wondered why he had acted that way. They said goodbye to us and we agreed to meet in an hour, we had already had lunch, so we figured it would be a good time.

Sunny and I walked into the station, my squad stayed outside as usual. I looked around, my desk was tidied up, I had done it last night. On the other hand, the rest was a complete mess, including Sprout's desk, I don't think he had even cleaned up the pizza grease he had made to avoid joining me. How I regretted not forcing him to come with me.

I walked over to my desk and looked for my house keys. It was a small one-story house with the basics. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, and a living room. I also had a basement where I had a small home gym, so I didn't lose touch.

"Here you go Sunny." I said extending the keys to Sunny, they had a key ring with a crab on it. My other copy had a seagull on it. I guess I got a little attached to the boys.

"Your house keys, what for?"

"I think you need a good bath Sunny, I didn't want to tell you, but you're starting to smell a little." I said with a wry smile. Sunny wasted no time and sniffed. He grimaced a little. Hahaha.

"You're such a bully, you should say that in a more discreet way."

"It's just the two of us and we don't have time to play detective, didn't you want to leave as soon as possible?"

"You're right." He agreed.

"You go first, I have to do some paperwork and organize this mess a bit."

Sunny nodded and hurried out of the police station. Now for the first time in a while, I was really on my own. I had to leave a list of patrols and schedules for the army, as well as leave a map of the city, I'd bet they already had one, but better safe than sorry.

I was expecting a list from Phyllis of the damage done to the city by Sprout, but, it would come out of my pocket to repair the carts that overturned my squadron. It's not fair for Sprout to be blamed for something he didn't do. I'll have a talk with them later.

I started gathering the necessary information along with the map. I marked some points of interest, in case the president wanted to see how much the city had changed in seven years. The advantage of knowing this city so well is that this guy's work is pretty fast.

Once the paperwork was done, I concentrated on organizing the office, I didn't want strangers to think that we don't work seriously here. I started organizing the drawers, there were some that were open and one that had a kicker engraved on a drawer. What the hell did Sprout do here? I really didn't understand why he acted the way he did.

The almanac I did every year for charity was scattered here and there, I hadn't noticed it, but... Sprout had pasted her face on the pictures. I looked at the vandalized pages for a moment, I didn't know what expression I had, but I knew what I felt. Grief, I could only feel sorry for my childhood friend and co-worker.

I filed the vandalized calendar in a drawer in my desk and put a new one on the wall, I always kept a few extra copies just in case, I had to as they always ran out. I looked around, straight at Sprout's desk, and noticed something that made me angry.

I trotted over as we were in a hurry, we wanted to get to Bridlewood before dark, with some haste we would be there by dusk. Near the desk was a pizza box with the slice that had stained the desk, normally it would be a cause for anger that Sprout hadn't even cleaned her desk, but my attention was elsewhere.

A folded piece of paper that said deputy. I began to remember the old days. Sprout's dream was to be the sheriff of Maretime bay and protect it from pegasus and unicorns, and to some extent, those who thought like Mr. Argyle and Sunny.

Fortunately, Sprout was anything but helpful. He was cowardly, lazy, and I honestly believed he lacked the muscle for the job. I applied for the sheriff's position at Sprout's request, he told me it would help him a lot to have a friend as a deputy, so I accepted.

I would never forget the look on Sprout's face when I was elected Sheriff in his place. He had failed almost every test, both physical and intellectual. The first to congratulate me was Sunny, I remember her telling me that I could now help her to help the other ponies see that friendship was the way. I never did it, and in fact, our relationship grew more complicated over the years. I would venture to say that this year might have been the last year of our friendship if Izzy had not come. I wasn't at all proud of how I had treated her that day, and even more so now, but I didn't want her to keep getting into trouble.

Back to Sprout, he didn't even qualify as a deputy. No one else ran for the position, so I pushed the machine a little and got him the job. I could really use the extra help. I knew Sprout wasn't an idiot, in fact, he was pretty smart when it came to scientific stuff, I guess that's Phyllis' genes at work. He had a bucket of puzzles on his desk, he was always taking it apart and putting it together, I could never deal with that. The fact that he could design and assemble a working robot in three days had merit. It was a shame the reasons why he built it.

At some point, I picked up the paper that provoked the current thoughts. I looked at his wall, only to see a customer of the month certificate. I turned to see my own wall, and it was full of diplomas and certificates. I also had some sports trophies from my youth, karate competitions, school trophies, and none for skating, I could never beat Sunny at that. A smile settled on my face.

At this moment, I had two polar opposites in my mind. Sunny and Sprout. Why did I now see them as so different? Sunny always stuck to her ideals, no matter how difficult the situation. I could feel it had broken at Bridlewood when the two crystals failed and nothing happened. I was heartbroken and it hurt to see her like that, however, when she found out about the third crystal, she didn't hesitate to try one more time, and to everyone's surprise, it worked. I really admired Sunny.

Sprout's face the day I was elected to the position came back to my mind. It wasn't one of anger, it was frustration, I guess she could only see how her childhood friend had stolen her life's work. At that moment I understood. While Sunny was still trying, Sprout had given up too quickly. I hadn't told her, but he didn't get better over the years, in fact, she got worse.

I pulled out the vandalized almanac, only to see Sprout smiling in the pictures. I saw the paper with the word deputy on it on his desk, and finally the client of the month certificate. It was my fault. I knew there was a factor of Sprout himself for not moving forward, but, what had I done for him? I had never set him up for training, never commissioned him to do a major job, so he never got to practice or prove to himself that he could. I had not commissioned him with a badge commensurate with his position. I had disrespected my childhood friend and neglected him. I just sighed at that moment.

Sunny trotted into the office, flinging open the doors and startling me. I quickly put the calendar away on my desk, not wanting to cause Sprout any more trouble. Sunny looked in the direction of Sprout's desk, almost surprised to see that he hadn't cleaned up.

"Hitch, did something happen?" asked Sunny, I walked over somewhat dejectedly. The first thing I noticed was that he no longer smelled nasty, I think he used some of my shampoo as I recognized the smell. I also noticed that her hair retained the rainbow, which gave me to understanding that it was permanent. I wonder if my ability to understand animals will be permanent as well. She had her saddlebag with the Cuti Mark pins from her filly toys.

"Sunny, I'm a bad friend." I said, acknowledging my mistake.

"What, why do you say that?"

"It's because of Sprout, I feel like I'm the cause of her behavior."

"Why do you think that? It wasn't you who incited him to build a war robot."

"I don't mean the robot, I mean before, remember he wanted the sheriff's job? Come to think of it, he never made an effort to do his job as a deputy, and I never helped him get over himself." I said, pointing to what was bothering me most of all. That piece of paper with the word deputy on it. When I saw it I thought about how I had treated him.

Sunny took the piece of paper, then looked at the client of the month certificate, as well as my wall of certifications and diplomas.

"Do you think all these years you've looked down on him?" Sunny said, and it was only part of what I was thinking.

"Not only that, but I also feel like he's belittled himself, locking himself in his bubble and refusing to try to improve. Like he's given up because of... Because of me."

"Hitch..." I felt like Sunny wanted to tell me something, but that's what I felt, even if the ultimate responsibility for some change lies with Sprout himself. What kind of friend wouldn't help him? I'm a terrible friend. "I think that's a conversation you have...no, we should, have with Sprout." Sunny finished, looking at me with a smile.

She was right, I wanted to talk it over with Sprout and apologize, but at the same time, I wanted an apology for her actions. I guess we'll talk this afternoon.

"Luckily the three of us are going to Bridlewood together. I'll take the opportunity."

"Hitch, I'll take care of the grooming here, it's getting late and you don't exactly smell like flowers either." Sunny had hit back. And she was right, I hadn't had a good shower in days. I smiled at her, "Go home and take a nice bath. I left your saddlebag on the table, I don't know where you keep your stuff, so I thought it was for the best."

"Thanks. You're right, it's best to talk it over with him too." Sunny handed me the keyring and I put it in my drawer, I had mine hanging on the wall.

Relax friend, we'll talk to all three of us, I just hope I don't make things worse.

Time passed in the blink of an eye. I bathed, got my saddlebag ready, and even had time to polish my badge, I was going as Sunny's escort, so I had to be in uniform.

We had arranged to meet at Sunny's house, or rather his remains. When I arrived, Sunny was already there, talking to President Exel. I had stopped by the commissary and picked up the paperwork I did earlier, and I had Sunny to thank, he cleaned up the office very well.

I went over to the general to hand him the paperwork. I don't know why, but I was getting nervous just looking at him, even before I knew his position.

"General, here are the documents with all the information about the town. I included a map with points of interest in case needed." I said as I handed over the documents. He simply nodded.

"Thank you, sheriff, your city is in good hands. I can guarantee it." He had a stoic look on his face. I really admired the fact that I kept seeing his emotions.

I walked over to Sunny and the president. They seemed to get along very well together.

"I promise to come and talk more when your house is repaired, you have my word."

"Thanks, Exel. Oh, Hitch, you made it!" said Sunny running in my direction, he extended his right hoof, signifying only one thing.

"Up high! Down low! Hitch it to a pot! Flip it Sunny side up and on a piece of toast!"

We bumped together as we laughed. I really enjoyed our greeting and for a brief moment, I forgot my worries. Unfortunately, a voice brought me back to reality.

"Youth is wonderful." Exel's calm voice brought us back to reality. I was a little embarrassed that we had been spotted, but only a little.

"Oh my, looks like we're the last ones."

Phyllis and Sprout bequeathed. I wanted to tell them they were late, but it was no big deal and I didn't want to argue. Sprout no longer had his emperor's suit on, instead, he had his deputy's badge, a saddlebag, and a groomed mane. That was the Sprout I had left in charge of Maretime bay.

We were together and ready to go. I wasn't going to deny it, I was a little uncomfortable with Sprout being my subordinate again, but those were orders, and I was going to take advantage of them to settle this matter.

"Well, looks like we're ready to go." I said. I wanted to leave as soon as possible. Even if we arrived in Bridlewood on time, we were not guaranteed accommodation. I think we were somewhat optimistic in believing we could rent a hotel room or, at worst, stay at Izzy's house. It was rude to arrive unannounced, so I wished there was a hotel.

"Looks like it's about time, Ambassador Sunny." Exel said this apparently intending to annoy Sunny, but she was too excited to notice his tone of voice. "Take this, it's two letters. One is for the unicorn representative and the other for Queen Haven, it details the whole situation and the fact that we want to start friendly talks."

Exel handed over the two letters, and Sunny wasted no time in putting them away.

"¡What are you waiting for, let's go!" Sunny practically shot off, I was going to run after her, but I remembered that Sprout was coming with us. He still hadn't said anything. I turned to look at him, and he seemed to react as he started to move, only to be stopped by the president.

"Here Sprout, a little present from me for the trip." He said as he held something out to him, I couldn't see what it was. "It's a tape recorder. Believe me when I tell you that listening to your past self helps you grow for the better."

Apparently, he had handed her a portable recorder, did he want me to record a diary or something? I didn't understand, maybe it was an adult thing.

"Thank you, Mr. President." Sprout answered him somewhat dryly, maybe it was something too old for him, but it was rude not to accept a gift from him the public. He stowed the recorder in his saddlebag in a hurry, only to be hugged by Phyllis.

"¡Oh, my baby is getting away from Mommy! Don't get separated from the group and obey Hitch, okay?" That last part made Sprout flustered, I could see a frown, but she quickly nodded.

"Yes, mommy." That was all her answer. We were leaving for a few days, so I thought the goodbye would be something more emotional, but that wasn't the case. Sprout started walking and quickly caught up with me. He just stood next to me, looking in the direction of Sunny, who was still running.

The last I saw of Maretime bay was goodbyes and the army airships. I started to move forward with Sprout, we quickly picked up the pace to catch up with Sunny, after all, we were her bodyguards.

Sunny had slowed down, and now all three of us were going at the same pace. I was in the center, Sunny to my right and Sprout to my left. No one was saying anything, the silence was deadly. We were already some distance away from Maretime bay and Sunny seemed to notice this, as she nudged me as she looked in Sprout's direction. I guess the time had come.

I plucked up my courage and opened my mouth, it was time to settle our business.

"Sprout." I said, causing him to stop on the spot, Sunny and I followed. "There's something I want to tell you and I'd like you to listen to me."

"Sunny, Hitch, there is also something I want to tell you." To our surprise, Sprout had something to tell us. I had known him since childhood, and the tone he had just used was one completely foreign to him. It was gentle and with a hint of regret. The three of us were looking at each other, waiting for someone to start. I thought it had to be me, but Sprout beat me to it.

"Sunny, Mom told me to apologize for what happened yesterday, and I...I don't know how to do that. I thought I was doing the right thing, protecting the town, and when they gave me the chance to stop I... I ignored them and kept going, to the point where I almost crossed the line." He didn't take his eyes off Sunny at any point. She seemed to mean it, and he was right, apologizing wasn't easy.

"Sprout, I'm really happy that the only damage was my house, we can rebuild it with no problem. I won't deny that I'm still a little angry about what happened, but I think starting with an apology is a good start. Friends?" Sunny extended her hoof forward. She had a charming smile.

"Friends." Sprout replied on the spot, extending her hoof next to Sunny's. He also had a smile, somewhat forced, but it was there. Nonetheless, I felt her somewhat anticlimactic apology was easier than expected.

"Sprout, what made you change your mind so quickly? This morning you wanted Sunny punished for releasing Izzy." I knew it was adding wood to the fire, but I wanted to hear her reason. Sprout lowered his hoof and looked directly at me.

"When I came home, my mom told me something I thought I'd never heard." He turned to look at Sunny. "When your father died seven years ago, Mom felt horribly guilty for almost a year. She told me that he was still her childhood friend, and the fact that he left while they were having an argument hurt her very much." Sprout bowed his head, looking at the floor for a few moments. Sunny and I were listening to him intently. "At that moment, I saw you fall from the lighthouse, and I wondered What if something had happened to you. Could I live with the guilt?"

Sprout was shaking his head, and I could honestly empathize with him. That day I was standing next to Zipp, watching my two friends fall next to the top of the lighthouse. At that moment I thought the worst could have happened, and luckily that was not the case. Both Sunny and Izzy, and Sprout, who was inside his robot, were fine.

"Sprout." Sunny hugged Sprout. That must have surprised him because he reacted a little. After a while, he let go. "Let's work together to make sure that doesn't happen to any ponies, be they earth ponies, unicorns, or pegasus." Sprout nodded.

It was my moment, Sprout was not the only one who had an apology to give. He had given an apology, that showed me that he was capable of learning from his mistakes. It was my turn to do the same.

"Sprout, I have an apology to make to you too." That surprised him, as he had a raised eyebrow. I guess he wasn't expecting that. "I was cleaning the office today and noticed that I haven't treated you as you deserved, Sprout. I've belittled you all these years and I wanted you to know that I didn't mean to, I'm sorry."

I lowered my head looking down at the floor. I was a coward, I didn't want to look him in the eye, while he and Sunny could do it, I was incapable. I felt like a bad boss, and on top of that, a bad friend.

"Hitch I..."

I wasn't able to go on, I could only lift my head and look him in the eyes, it was all I could do, and what I saw shocked me. His eyes were watery, almost as if he was going to cry. He quickly swiped his hoof across his eyes, wiping away the tears.

"When you were picked as sheriff, I felt empty, I remembered how you were always better than me at everything, I even thought Sunny would be a better sheriff than me. When you appointed me deputy, I felt sorry for my for depending on you so much."

"Sprout, that was never my intention, and I'm sorry if I made you think it was. It's true that you weren't capable at the time, but I feel guilty that I didn't help you get better, it's what a friend would have done." I still had a lot to say, but I felt a lump forming in my throat. I couldn't put my thoughts into words.

My body moved on its own, when I realized, I was giving a hug to a tearful Sprout. It felt warm and comforting. We stood like that for a while, only to be interrupted by Sunny, who joined in the hug.

"Well friends, it's time to move on, Bridlewood is still far away." I said we had to keep going, and so we did.

"Hold on guys." Sunny said, extending his right hoof, for a moment I thought he wanted to do our salute, but that didn't seem to be the case. I went along with her idea and put my helmet next to hers. She then looked at Sprout as she smiled and nodded her head. He ended up doing the same thing we did, only then did she know what she wanted to do.

"¡Hooves to hearts!" Sunny and I raised our hooves and shouted, Sprout just raised his hoof, still confused. I couldn't blame him, this was so spontaneous.

"That was embarrassing." Sprout said. I agreed with him, just a little. Sunny pouted, making us both laugh.

We decided to continue.

"Speaking of embarrassing Sprout, a little birdie told me you sing really well. Good enough to inspire a whole town." I said with a chuckle. Sprout turned red as a tomato, and that's saying a lot, given his natural color.

Sunny laughed out loud, while Sprout asked me who the birdie had been. I guess this is a good time.

"Sunny, Sprout," I called to them both. "When the rainbow blast returned the magic and you got your temporary horn and wings, I began to understand animals. More specifically my squadron. It was with them that I learned of your performance and that they had overturned the carts, including yours Sunny. I will pay for them, I promise."

"¡WHAT!" They both exclaimed at the same time.

"You can talk to the animals... Wait a minute, couldn't you do that already?" Sunny said it like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"I didn't understand them, I'm like an animal magnet, but since yesterday, I can understand what they're saying."

"Wow, that's amazing." Sprout said. Was it amazing to be able to understand animals? According to him, yes. "I wonder if I'll have any magic." Sprout whispered to himself something I couldn't understand.

"We all have magic within us, Sprout. Our friendship is the most powerful magic." Sunny said proudly, Sprout smiled and nodded. For the first time, the three of us were smiling, marching off to a new adventure.

We set off with our friendship renewed and one less weight on us.

Author's Note

This time the chapter is from Hitch's point of view. While Sunny was hurt the most by Sprout's actions, I think one of the main causes of Sprout's behavior was being belittled by Hitch. That's my opinion of the movie. The other cause was his mother, but I will address that another time.
I honestly apologize for the orthographic mistakes, my native language is Spanish, and writing in English is a real odyssey for me, I know it's not an excuse, but it's a good exercise to improve, mistakes make you stronger :v
In the next chapter, our group finally arrives to Bridlewood, where our favorite unicorn will return.
Thanks for reading the chapter, see you in the next one.