-/-Zephyr Heights-/-

*ding*ding*

“I hope you two are hungry. I’ve had our chefs cook up your favorite, girls.” Queen Haven said to her two daughters with a big smile on her face.

The three of them were joined by Alphabittle Blossomforth at the large dinner table. He was even dressed up in a nice suit for the occasion. Of course, he sat next to Haven, who was on his left. Haven was in the middle, while Pipp sat next to her on the right, and Zipp sat next Pipp. It was a very nice get together.

Although, it would be even better if Zipp looked to be enjoying herself. Which she wasn’t. Ever since she came back home, she had just looked as miserable as ever. And it certainly didn’t go unnoticed by everypony here at the table.

One of the chefs came over to Pipp with a tray that had a silver cover on it. The excitement could clearly be seen on her face. The chef lifted the cover off and revealed her dish to her.

“For you, Miss Petals: A daffodil and daisy sandwich on a sourdough bun, with buttered egg noodles on the side, and a strawberry lemonade for the drink. To your liking.” The chef said to her.

Pipp took a big whiff of the smell of the food in front of her. “Oh, yes. Just like when I was a filly. It looks so good. Thank you, Benjamin.” She said, very lady like, earning her a courteous smile from him.

Another chef came over to Zipp. Truth be told, even though she was looking forward to a nice meal with her family, she still couldn’t shake the miserable, guilty feeling she had. It was hard for her. The chef lifted the silver cover off the tray, revealing the dish to her.

“And for you, Miss Storm: a toasted hay and petunia sandwich on wheat bread, with a side of a baked potato filled with butter and cheese, and a sparkling water for the drink. To your liking.” The other chef said.

“Thank you, Bartholomew.” She said in a low tone that did seem genuine, but still showed some misery to it. She was clearly not in the best of moods right now.

The chef who served Pipp came to Alphabittle next. Now HE was probably looking the most forward to this. His giddy smile just screamed excitement.

“For you, Master Alphabittle: a Hayburger on a brioche bun, with a side of extra crispy hay fries, and a glass of swamp fever cocoa from Bridlewood for the drink. To your liking.” Benjamin said with class and dignity.

“Thank you so much, sir.” Alphabittle said.

Finally, Bartholomew, came over to the one in charge of it all, the Queen of Zephyr Heights, Fairwheather Haven.

“And lastly, for you, your majesty: a grilled salmon with lemon sauce, with a garden salad and prench dressing for the side, and a glass of grape village farms’ wine for the drink. To your liking.” He said in the best way he possibly could.

“Why, thank you, Bartholomew. Benjamin. This all looks so lovely. You may be excused now.” She said to them.

“Yes, your majesty.” The both of them said at the exact same time, before leaving the dining room, so the family could dine in peace.

As soon as the two chefs left, the family began to eat. In a respectable manner of course. When eating in a royal castle, manners maketh the family.

“Oh, I’ve missed this, girls. Having a family dinner with the ponies I love.” Queen Haven said, flashing a quick grin at Alphabittle. Which which caused him to get flushed red with a nervous chuckle.

This made Pipp and Zipp cringe a little bit. It was clearly obvious by now that Haven and Alphabittle were a romantic item. The two had been spending a lot of time together. If she was doing her daily rounds, he’d be there with her. Maybe not for all of them, but quite a bit. Whenever she had some free time(which was rare in her case; being the Queen and all), he’d accompany her on that free time.

Also, it was just the way they acted toward each other. The way they’d look at each other. The little subtle comments and compliments. And the fact that Haven had started calling him “Alphie”. No other pony had called him that from Pipp and Zipp’s point of view.

It was weird at first when they started realizing it. However, even if it was still a bit cringeworthy, they still accepted it. As weird as it made them feel, they knew that Alphabittle and Haven were very happy together. And that’s what they wanted the most. Their mother to be happy.

Especially knowing that Haven had been a widow for over 15 years now. Her husband, the late King of Zephyr Heights, Sky Rift, had suddenly, and almost randomly, died of a heart attack while Haven and their daughters, were spending time together. When they found out that he had passed away, it was truly a devastating blow to them. Haven did put on a strong face for her subjects, and her daughters, but as they got older, they could tell that their mother was very lonely, and looking for love.

So, if anypony deserved a special somepony, it was her. If anypony could truly make her happy, it was Alphabittle. If she was happy, they were too.

However, if there was one pony in this room right now who was NOT happy, it would be the heir to the thrown of Zephyr Heights, Zipp Storm. She had been back in her home town for about 6 hours already, and she still felt so miserable. Not even her favorite food could cheer her up,

Of course, Haven, with her motherly senses, she could tell that her oldest daughter was gloomy and depressed. After she a bit of her salmon, she spoke to her.

“Zipp, honey, what’s wrong?” Haven asked, showing concern. This caused Pipp and Alphabittle to look at her as well. "This is your favorite dish. You're barely taking a bite. What's going on, deary?"

Zipp gave a sad sigh. “Well, you guys, I…well…I want to ask you something. Especially you Mom.” She said, looking at them.

“What is it?” Haven asked, showing concern and interest.

“What do you think of Sprout?” She asked. Which caused Haven and Alphabittle to look confused and surprised. Pipp silently picked up her sandwich and took a bite. She had a feeling her sister would ask that. She just didn't think it'd be so soon.

“Why do you ask, deary?” Haven asked.

“I mean, do you still hold a grudge against him? After his reign of terror? I mean, he almost killed you guys." Zipp said to all three of them. Haven's face just remained stoic, while Alphabittle looked away in an awkward glance.

"Because, that's why I did it. I still hadn't forgotten about what he did. To you. But..." She paused.

"But what?" Haven asked.

"Well, before we found out about this brother of Sprout, he ACTUALLY said sorry to me. And Pipp. He even said, if he ever saw you guys again, He'd apologize to you as well. And, well, he actually came across very genuine." Zipp said, looking away for a quick second in regret over her actions.

"I guess, what I want to know is, if Sprout actually does apologize to you both, what would you think?" She asked, now rubbing her shoulder with her left wing.

Alphabittle took a quick glance at Haven. Noticing her still stoic stare, he worried about what her reaction would be. Worse yet, what she would think when HE would give his answer to Zipp.

Haven took a deep breath. Inhale and Exhale. "Do you REALLY want me to be honest, Zephyrina?" She asked her in a scolding, motherly tone. Zipp nodded her head yes, while Pipp looked on at the awkward situation, still eating her delicious sandwich.

“Before I do, I need to say this first: when Hitch told me everything about what happened 2 days ago, I was not happy with him arresting you. However, after what he told me, I have to tell you that I am VERY disappointed in you.” She said, scolding her daughter.

Zipp’s ears dropped. “I know.” She said, sounding bummed.

“I did NOT raise you to start fights or use physical force on somepony. Especially giving that you struck first. I was, and still kind of am, very disappointed in you for doing that.” Haven said, scolding her more. Zipp looked even more bummed than ever.

“Although, even if I don’t approve of you doing what you did, I do understand why.” She said, causing Zipp to pay attention to her.

Haven sighed. "After Sprout's rampage, I thought about having him jailed. I really did. I even thought about taking him away from his home to be thrown in our dungeon. Admittedly, I was even concerned about you leaving Zephyr Heights to move to Maretime Bay. Because I didn't want you to have to face a discriminatory pony like him." She explained to her.

"So, what made you change your mind?" Zipp asked her.

Haven looked at Alphabittle, who blushed in embarrassment. "Alphie and Sprout's mother, Phyllis. We talked that night. Phyllis practically BEGGED me not to throw her son in jail. She was even teary eyed and emotional. I felt kind of bad for her. I was still thinking about it, until Alphie told me something.” She said, now motioning for him to tell her daughter what she meant.

He sighed. "Before the races were united again, we all taught everypony to hate and not trust the other races. Admittedly, I taught my little orphan foals that Unicorns were the superior race. Your mother told me how she told her subjects that Pegasi were superior and Earth Ponies and Unicorns were second rate. And I'm pretty sure somepony with power in Maretime Bay did the same thing for their ponies too. Parents taught their kids to fear them. Their parents did the same to them growing up, and their parents and so on and so forth. If you would've seen Phyllis, she was filled with so much guilt and remorse. She even told me she wished she could take it all back. She blamed herself for filling her son's head with lies and paranoia." He said with remorse and shame all over his face. Pipp, Zipp and Haven feeling sympathy for their friend.

"What I'm trying to say is, if Sprout hadn't done it, somepony else probably would've. Admittedly, I probably would've. If..." He trailed off, before looking at Haven, who now blushed a little herself.

"If I hadn't met your mother. After we met, I learned to not be so judgmental of ponies. Even if they made dumb decisions. So, I can't hate Sprout. Whether he wants to apologize or not, I just can't bring myself to hate him. Or anypony. So, I just decided to squash whatever animosity I may have with him. Because, if any of my old orphan kids did what Sprout did, I'd feel I'm to blame too. I just can't hate him, Zipp." He said, smiling while looking into Haven's eyes.

Haven looked back with a smile of her own. Admittedly, that caused Pipp and Zipp to feel like they wanted to hurl. But, they kept a straight face on. They didn't want to offend their mother.

She looked back at Zipp. "When Alphie told me all of that, I knew that it wasn't worth it to throw Sprout in jail. After all, Phyllis told me she would handle it with him. And after everything Alphie told me about her, I can see that she has. So, while I am a bit angry that he hit you and gave you that black eye..." Haven paused, while Zipp touched her bruised eye socket. She flinched a tiny bit, but not too much.

"I have decided to let it go and forgive. I need to be better for our kingdom. And for you two." She said, looking at Pipp, who was almost done with her sandwich. "And holding grudges doesn't make me that for you or anypony else. So, if Sprout does indeed apologize to me and Alphie, then I will forgive him."

Pipp and Zipp smiled at their mother's kindness. They really didn't see that coming from her. They were glad their mother didn't want to be bitter and angry for anything.

Zipp looked down at her tray. "Oh wow. This looks great." She said, now taking a bite of her sandwich. Her tastebuds went to heaven when she took that big bite.

Alphabittle and Queen Haven chuckled and went back to their trays as well. Overall, it was a very nice family dinner for all of them.

-/-

2 Hours Later

-/-

"Are you sure you wanna do this, Zipp?" Pipp asked her, sounding very worried as they stood behind the curtain, with their mother and Alphabittle behind them, looking equally as worried as Pipp.

Zipp nodded in seriousness. "This was part of the deal. I have to honor my part of it. Plus, I just have to tell the truth. We've lied to so many of our subjects for so long. It's time We, espeacially me, told the truth. I have to do this, Pipp." She said, reassuring her younger sister.

"Are you sure, Zipp?" Alphabittle asked.

"Yes, deary. If you do this, your reputation may be damaged. If not ruined. Do you want to risk that?" Haven asked her, showing worry for her first born daughter.

Zipp smiled and put her wing on her mother's shoulder. "It'll show that I'm a pony. Just like everypony else. I made a mistake and I have to admit that. I gotta do what's right, Mom. Wish me luck, okay." She said, now walking though the curtain.

The three ponies just looked on in concern for Zipp. They hoped she was right. They hoped everything would be okay in the end. By Celestia, they truly hoped.

-/-

Maretime Bay-Hitch & Sunny

-/-

"*sluurrrrrppp* Ah. Thank you, Sunny. I needed that." Hitch said after drinking a smoothie Sunny made for him. His favorite was Super Citrus. His usual one he gets.

"No problem, Hitch. I'm happy to help. In any way." She said, now sitting in a swivel chair that sat next to Hitch's desk. "So, what did you need me to research? Have you found anything interesting?" She asked him, while playfully spinning in the chair.

Hitch knew that Sunny, probably, wasn't gonna like what he found. Or what he was hypothesizing in his head. It might make her feel scared. And he didn't want that for his lifelong friend. But, he already asked for her help, and if she was willing to do it, then he had to be honest with her.

"Well, yeah. I do have something I need to research for you. But, before that, I need to go over everything with you about what all has happened." He told her.

She stopped spinning to look at him. "What do you mean?" She asked him.

Hitch took a breathe and decided to continue. "Well, it's about Phyllis." He said, making Sunny nod, which caused him to keep going.

"Before you and Pipp and Izzy showed up here yesterday, and before Alphabittle and Queen Haven arrived, I had a talk with Phyllis about her other son. I even have a name."

"Who?" Sunny asked, looking very interested.

"Bud Bloomington. That’s her maiden name. Have you ever heard of that name before?"

Sunny thought for a moment, trying to remember if she did.

“Well…” Sunny began. “I think I remember Bloomington as, like, a family of farmers. In fact…” She gasped happily before running towards the entrance of the Sheriff’s Department where her bag was. She fished through it and brought out her little book of history involving Unicorns and Pegasi.

She trotted back over and showed it to Hitch. “I did some research on one of the Elements of Harmony from many years back. The Element of Honesty: Applejack.”

Hitch raised an eyebrow. “What does that have to do with Bloomington?” He asked.

She opened her book and showed Hitch her notes. “Applejack was an apple farmer. Her father and grandparents were too. But, her mother was a pear farmer. And her aunt and uncle were Orange farmers. They also had friends who were produce farmers as well. Now that I think about it, I think it was The Bloomington’s who started their Blooming Days Festival with the Apples. They may have started it when Applejack was in her 50’s. It was a big deal for all farmers of Equestria.” She explained to him with an excitable tone.

Hitch both felt impressed and disheartened when Sunny told him all that. Impressed that Sunny knew all of that. Not to mention, this “Applejack” she had talked about before, now sounded a lot more interesting to hear about. Hell, maybe he might even research the legend of Applejack after this.

But, the reason he also felt disheartened, was because, if what he felt in his gut was true, then that meant that what he found was true. He knew Sunny wasn’t gonna like what he was about to say. Especially when it came to Phyllis and the possibility of her being….raped.

Sunny saw the uncomfortable look on Hitch’s face and began to feel worried.

“What’s wrong? Is there something about The Bloomington’s that you found?” She asked him.

Hitch gave a big sigh. “Bloomington is Phyllis’ maiden name, like I said. But, look what I found.” He said, pulling out a piece of paper from his little In/Out file stack.

He gave her the photo he saw of the big Bloomington family photo, with the black mark in it. Possibly, editing out a family member who was in the photo many years ago.

Sunny’s eyes widened in surprise. “What is this?” She asked.

“Remember when I used to take photography class when we were in school?”

Sunny nodded. “Yeah. And you got in trouble for taking pictures of Ms. Clementine dancing while she had nopony in class.” She said with a giggle.

Hitch didn’t look amused. He never forgot his punishment. It was so humiliating. And it didn’t help that his Mother was behind it all. Served him right, but it still didn’t make him feel better.

“Anyway…” Hitch continued. “When I was taking those classes, I learned how to edit photos. You could erase things that photobombed it. Like, another pony in the background or an eagle flying past you. However, it’s how you edit it out that made me take an interest in this here.” He said, now pointing at the black mark.

“This, right here, is a poorly done edit job. To try and erase somepony out of this picture. Either that, or they wanted it to be that way. They purposefully made that edit job look so poor. It's almost like, they wanted to show that this pony isn’t welcome in the Bloomington’s family anymore.” He said in a grim tone, making Sunny feel shocked.

“But, why would they do that? How could any family just kick out their own family member?” Sunny asked, before instantly catching on to what Hitch might be trying to say.

“W-Wait. Are you saying, that this is Phyllis’ family growing up?” She asked.

“It might be, Sunny. And this isn’t the only one. Look at what else I found.” He said, now taking out three more photos and giving them to Sunny. He found theses after searching the Bloomington website some more from earlier.

Shocking her even more, she looked at a photo of a photo of Liana and Aster Bloomington standing outside of a school house with their son Marlow, and a black mark that was next to him.

Another one showed Marlow on a tractor, holding something in his hooves. What was there was a mystery, because it was another black mark again.

Lastly, there was a photo of Liana, Aster and two other ponies standing next to a picnic table, laughing with joy, while a black mark was shown covering whoever it was standing on the table.

“This is all so crazy. If this black mark really is Phyllis, why would they kick her out of the family? What did she do to make that happen?” She asked.

“Well, honestly Sunny, when I interviewed her, she even told me that the Bloomington name means nothing to her now. For whatever reason, she hates them.” Hitch told her.

“How could she hate her family though?” Sunny asked, looking upset. She probably felt that family was supposed to love each other. And be happy. Apparently, that wasn’t the case here.

“It may have to do with Marlow there.” Hitch said, pointing to the photo of the blonde stallion.

“Why?” Sunny asked him.

Hitch shuddered. “Marlow Bloomington committed suicide almost 40 years ago. He was only 21 at that time. He was their only son.” He said, pointing to Liana and Aster.

Sunny out her hoof to her mouth. “Oh my. Their own son...killed himself?” She asked, getting choked up. Suicide was a touchy subject for her.

“Yeah.” Hitch said, feeling bad for Marlow. "You know what's odd, though?"

Sunny looked at the photo of Marlow holding whatever the black mark was, and then looked back at Hitch. "What?"

"When I read Liana and Aster Bloomington's memorial on their website, it said that they had two children. Yet, they only mentioned Marlow. It never said the name of the other foal they had. So, if I'm assuming that Phyllis is a Bloomington, this family, and with all these black edit mark jobs on the photos, it makes me think something." He explained to her.

Sunny took a little bit to put two and two together. When she did, her face appeared shocked again.

"If this black mark is Phyllis, and she's been kicked out of the family, and what you just said about them not mentioning Marlow's sibling, then...then that means..." She trailed off, before Hitch finished for her.

"Marlow may be Phyllis' brother."

Both of them felt a chill run through them. In all the years they've known her, they didn't know she had another son. Now, they find out she, quite possibly, could have a brother. Or, had a brother in this case, because he's been dead for almost 40 years.

"I also found this too." Hitch said, now regaining Sunny's attention again. He pulled out another picture. He gave it to Sunny. Her eyes now looked horrified at what she was seeing.

"I don't wanna look at that." She said, while giving the picture back to him. It was the picture of the burned down orphanage in Clopton from 20 years ago.

"Sorry, Sunny." He said, putting the picture back.

"What does that have to do with anything involving the case?" She asked, not sounding happy about having to see the picture.

"When I interviewed Phyllis, she told me that, 3 or 4 days after giving birth to Bud, she went to Clopton and dropped him off at an Orphanage there. Lexy Orphange is what it was called."

"So, she just dropped him off at the first orphange she could find? She just wanted to get rid of him that badly? Was she that desperate to not keep him?"

"Well, Sunny, she was about 14 or 15 when she got pregnant with him. She was a young teenager when it happened."

"Okay, so she was young. But, does that mean she was right in doing it that way?"

"No. But, she didn't care. She hates who impregnated her AND she hates Bud. She even kept calling him "That Thing." She really only named him Bud after the nurse who operated on her gave her the first name she could think of. She clearly doesn't want to talk or even think about him. Ever again."

Sunny looked pissed. "That is horrible. What kind of Mother is she? What kind of Mother does that? What kind of Mother hates her own child?" She said, sounding a bit emotional.

Hitch sighed. "You're right. It's not right. But, after some thinking, I think I can understand why she did it."

Sunny raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Right before Phyllis left her interview, I told her that nopony would judge her if she had a foal when she was a teenager. She was young and she chose to have sex with whoever she did it with. However, before I could finish my sentence, she interrupted me. She said something that made me keep thinking about it more." He said, looking disgusted at what he felt.

"What did she say?" Sunny asked.

Hitch took a deep breath. "She screamed "I DID NOT--" before stopping herself. Then she left. The more I thought about it, the more I asked myself, "What did she mean by DID NOT?". And then I thought, did she mean she didn't choose to have sex? Meaning..." Hitch said, trailing off. As if to make Sunny put it together herself.

And she did. Sunny's shocked and disgusted look said everything. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Hitch, are you saying...that Phyllis was raped? When she was a teenager?" She asked.

"I think so, Sunny." He said in a low, somber tone.

It went quiet for a bit. Neither her or Hitch said anything. The statement he made was truly heavy. They couldn't believe that Phyllis might have been raped at a young age. Knowing how strong she was emotionally, she must've been hiding this for years. Even when the two of them were foals.

The silence was broken when Hitch spoke again. "This orphanage in Clopton burned down 20 years ago. Do the math, and you'll see that Bud Bloomington was about 17 or 18 at the time. Have you ever heard anything about this orphanage before?" He asked her, causing her to shake her head No.

"Okay. So, I'm gonna do more research on the fire at Lexy. I need you to research anything more about the Bloomington's. Look up anything about that family. Hell, maybe see if there is a death certificate of Marlow. Maybe, look for Bud's birth certificate. I'm counting on you, Sunny. Can you do it?" He asked her.

Sunny paused for a moment before nodding her head Yes. "I won't let you down, Sheriff Hitch. Let's do this." She said in a sad, but somewhat determined tone. Hitch grinned and nodded back. The two of them then went to a computer desk to search for evidence on how to find this monster. It was time to catch a killer.

-/-

Izzy & Sprout

-/-

"Ooohhh, that smells delicious." Izzy complimented, as she took a big whiff of what was being cooked in the kitchen. It was around lunch time now. Vinny had already gone next door to his restaurant. It was time to start his shift. Bella would go over later. Right now, she was fixing lunch for Sprout and her new houseguest, Izzy Moonbow, who were sitting at her dining table.

Bella heard Izzy's compliment just now and let out a happy giggle. "It'll taste even better, darling. I hope you have an appetite." She said in a sing-song type tone.

“Thanks so much for letting me stay for lunch, Miss Bella.” Izzy said happily. Sprout, meanwhile, was trying not to look at Izzy. He didn’t expect her to be here. After yesterday, when she and Sunny helped him up after he was beat down by Oscar and Sal, he kind of wanted to be alone. Or, at least with Bella and Vinny. Two ponies who truly love him and care for him.

How much did Izzy care? Was that why she was here? Did she really consider Sprout a friend?

As Bella brought over the two lunch plates to the table, she said to her, “Oh, why it’s no problem at all, deary. Any friend of Sprout’s here is a friend of ours.” She said that, while she laid down two plates of Italian Caprese Salads. They looked delicious.

Sprout, however, blushed and looked away a little in embarrassment after what was said. Izzy saw that and let out a low giggle. It was cute seeing Sprouty look so all red faced. Just like his coat color.

“Well, Bella, we…I mean, we, uhh…” He tried to say, but couldn’t find the words. What was he supposed to say to her? Thankfully, Izzy knew.

“Sprouty apologized to me after he went cuckoo bananas with his giant machine of doom.” She said, crossing her eyes and rolling a hoof next to the left side of her head in a joking way.

Sprout groaned. “Why you gotta bring up old stuff, Izzy?” He asked in a low and frustrating tone.

Bella looked at Sprout with sympathy. She knew that his actions from before still had an effect on him. It probably will for the rest of his life.

Izzy looked surprised to hear him say that. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. I was just joking.” She said, trying to defend herself, but in an apologetic way.

Sprout groaned again. He didn’t want to be around anypony right now. He just wanted to be alone. He looked toward the sliding glass door that lead to Bella and Vinny’s outdoor garden. Something that Bella took a lot of pride in. There was a bench there that he could eat at.

He grabbed his plate. “Thanks for the salad, Bella. It looks really good. But, I just wanna be alone right now.” He said, as he trotted toward the glass door. As he opened it and trotted outside, Izzy couldn’t help but feel like shit. She came over here to help Sprout and now she had to open her big, fat mouth.

“Sorry, Miss Bella.” Izzy said to her, sounding bummed.

She sighed sadly. “I know you didn’t mean any harm, but you should really watch what you say around him. He feels tremendous guilt and shame about what he did. He poured his heart out to me and Vinny 3 nights ago. He was even crying. I feel so bad for him too.” Bella said, now looking outside.

Sprout was indeed sitting at that bench, eating his salad. Alone. In misery.

“May I ask why you’re really here, Izzy?” Bella asked, still looking at Sprout outside.

“Because, I wanted to check on Sprout. To see if he’s okay. I mean, he got beat up and he found out he has a brother he’s never known. He must be so sad and depressed. And I just hate seeing ponies like that.” She said sadly, while she took a depressing bite of her salad.

It was a good salad. Very good. However, even if her tastebuds felt like they were walking on sunshine, she still felt sad for making Sprout feel so bad again.

“Well, Izzy.” Bella said, getting her attention. “If you intend on cheering up Sprout, do better at it.” She turned to look at her. Izzy couldn’t help but feel intimidated with the look on Bella’s face.

“I love Sprout. I love him as if he’s another son to me. And I’m what a lot of ponies may call a “Mama Bear”, if you get what I mean. You DO know what that means, right?” Bella asked her in a scary tone, while getting close to her face.

Izzy gulped in fear. “You’ll hurt whoever hurts the ponies you love?” She asked, chuckling in intimidation.

“Yes.” Bella said. “So, if you are going to cheer Sprout up, make sure you do it right next time. Because if you don’t…and you hurt him more…..” She trailed off, making Izzy finish what she wanted to say.

“There will be consequences.” Izzy said in fear.

Bella then smiled her warm, kind-hearted smile. “Exactly, deary.” She said, patting Izzy on the head like a foal, making her blush in embarrassment.

“Oh, and how’s the salad, deary? Is it good?” She asked in her sweet tone.

Izzy nodded. Both in fear and honesty. “Yep. It’s really good.” She said, taking another bite.

Bella chuckled. “Well, I’m glad you like it, deary.” She said, walking back to the counter.

Izzy knew something from that day forward. It was something she would take with her to her eventual grave. And that was:

Don’t mess with a Mama Bear like Bella.

Izzy couldn’t help but feel happy, looking at all the pretty flowers in the back yard. There were red tulips, gorgeous yellow sunflowers and pink petunias. Bella worked very hard on her gardening, it seemed. She must do this as a hobby when she isn’t working the pizza joint.

However, her happy feeling faded away when she looked ahead at the bench Sprouty was sitting at. With an empty plate and now dirty fork. Looking sad and miserable.

All because she opened her big, fat mouth.

She took a deep breath before she got closer and closer to him. She hoped she looked good. For some reason.

“Hey.” She said in a sheepish tone.

Sprout didn’t answer. He just looked at the ground. Not paying her any attention.

“Mind if I sit next to you?” She asked, trying to sounding upbeat.

No answer from him. So, since he technically didn’t say No, she slowly trotted over to the bench and sat next to him. He didn’t show any emotion. Although, Izzy did sense his sparkle. And it was clear that he was as miserable as his Mother is. Which made her feel sad. So, she decided to start up a conversation. And she knew what to start with.

“Miss Bella has a really pretty garden, huh? It kinda reminds me of Dahlia and Posey’s garden.” Izzy said, with a chuckle.

“Uh-huh.” Was all Sprout uttered.

Izzy thought for a moment, before she saw his empty plate. That was something.

“And her Caprese Salad was SOOOO delicious. Am I right?”

“Uh-huh.” Again, no emotion. Just misery vibes.

Nothing. Izzy knew she was just giving small talk. She needed to do big talk now. And that meant she had to have a conversation that may be uncomfortable. For him.

Izzy sighed sadly. “I’m sorry if I made you feel bad. I didn’t mean to make you relive any bad memories. I really was just joking, Sprouty.” She said.

It was silent between the two of them for a little bit. Izzy almost felt like giving up and walking away. He obviously was just so sad and miserable, that nothing she could do would make it better. Telling jokes? Compliments? Stories that could get your mind off of anything? No. Sprout felt that depressed. She gave another sigh of sadness as she was about to get up, before she heard Sprout mutter something. Very silently.

She turned her head to face him. “What was that?” She asked.

“Why?” Sprout asked, a little louder now.

She looked confused. “Why what?”

He looked at her with frustration on his face. “Why are you sorry?”

Izzy felt surprised to hear him ask that question. “Because, I felt bad for making you feel bad.” She said.

“Why should you? I deserve to feel bad.” He said.

“What? Why would you say that?” Izzy said, sounding shocked he’d say that.

“I hated you.” He said, with a choke in his voice, making Izzy’s heart hurt. She knew he was getting emotional now.

“I hated you for just being a Unicorn. Same with Pegasi, who are some of your friends. I chose to listen to my Mother, and it made me want to hurt you. All of you. I almost killed you with that giant machine of doom. Hell, when you tried to be nice to me not too long ago, I pretty much told you to fuck off. So why?!” He loudly asked, with small, angry and emotional tears running down his face. Izzy flinched a little bit when Sprout raised his voice.

“Why, huh?! Why?!” Sprout continued to yell. “Why are you so forgiving?! It pisses me off! Why don’t you hate me, huh?!” He screamed in her face, while he huffed and puffed with tears in his eyes.

Izzy felt her lip quiver. She almost felt like crying herself. She knew now just how much sorrow and guilt Sprouty had. He clearly hasn’t forgiven himself for his actions. It would probably take a lot for him to fully let go of what he did.

If she felt bad before, she certainly felt like shit now. She had no idea how one little joke could make Sprout relive his past actions. And make him feel like the worst pony in the world, which he wasn’t.

His brother obviously was.

“Because you need a friend.” Izzy said softly. Sprout’s anger induced face was replaced with that of a confused one. What was she talking about?

“I don’t think it’s right that you’re going through all of this. And I don’t think it was right of Zipp to do what she did. You’re innocent, Sprout. We all know that.” She said in as comforting a tone as she could.

Sprout felt a small pang of anger rush through him. Zipp Fucking Storm. If there was one pony he hated now, it was her. Accusing him in front of the whole town? Fuck her.

“And, also, because you’re a good pony.” Izzy said.

Sprout looked surprised to hear that. “No, I’m not. I’m…I’m…” He was about to finish his self loathing rant, before Izzy put a hoof on his shoulder, surprising him. He looked at her light purple, unicorn face.

“You made mistakes. We all do. I’ve made some, Zipp has made some, even Hitch has made mistakes too. That doesn’t mean you’re a bad pony. If you were a bad pony, you wouldn’t feel any remorse for your actions. You’d still want to separate all the pony races. Hell, you’re talking to a unicorn right now. That’s some progress, right?” She asked him, giggling a little bit, and taking her hoof from his shoulder.

Sprout heard Izzy’s words. She was right in saying that everypony makes mistakes, they certainly do. Even great ponies like Hitch and Sunny.

But him: was what he did what one would call a mistake?

“Why are you being so nice to me?” He asked her.

She let out a giggle again. “Because I want to make everypony happy. Including you, Sprouty.” She said in a kind tone.

Sprout couldn’t believe that he was hearing this. He had never met a pony so forgiving as her. Even after his little rampage, she forgives him and wants to be his friend. She comes over to cheer him up when he’s feeling down. She even calls him a good pony, when he doesn’t feel like it.

He gave a smile. “You really mean that?” He asked her, causing her to nod her head yes.

He sniffled and wiped away the tears from his eyes. “Thank you, Izzy. I’m glad I have you as a friend.” He said, causing Izzy to blush and giggle again.

Which made him giggle too. He felt surprised at that. Her giggle made him do the same just like that? Weird. He wondered what it was?

When the two looked at each other again, they were silent for a minute, before Sprout decided to break the silence.

“So, you want me to show you the rest of Bella’s garden?” He asked, sounding shy. He wondered why he felt so tingly around her all of a sudden. It was odd.

Izzy smiled widely and nodded. “I’d love to.” She said, feeling giddy again. About spending time alone with Sprouty.

There she went, calling him that name again.

“Come on.” Sprout said, motioning her to follow him. Then, for the next few hours, Sprout showed Izzy around Bella’s beautiful garden.

Little did they know that that very pony was watching them. With a warm smile on her face. Happy to see Sprout looking happy.

Good work, Izzy.

Author's Note

Well, hope you enjoyed this long ass chapter. This may be my longest one to date. Side note, more chapters in the future may be longer. I plan to end this story, HOPEFULLY, by the end of the year.

Anyway, if you guys liked this chapter, make sure to like, comment, follow and favorite for future updates. Thank you all and goodnight everybody.