In the cramped room of an old light house, an orange earth pony mare was lying in her bed, snoring. Her alarm clock rung, which caused the mare to wake up with a groan. Her hoof wobbled trying to get it to stop before it did!.. by throwing it on the floor.

"Urgh..." She groaned, she lazily got up and looked at what time it was... only to realize she broke her alarm clock. "...right,"

She yawned for a good five seconds before she exited her bed, her magenta mane all over the place. She walked up to the calendar before her eyes widened, a smile appearing on her faces. On the calendar was the words "Canterlogic Annual Presentation" with red ink circled around it. "Oh, yes! Hitch and Sprout won't know what's coming!" She smirked.

She excitedly walked down the stairs, a small creak coming whenever she stepped on a plank. She entered her kitchen, pouring milk and cereal at the same time into a blue bowl with stripes. Okay, how do I infiltrate the Canterlogic building this year? She thought, Backdoor? No, it's guarded. Hide inside an incoming trunk of shipments? Maybe, but no. Disguises? Have I tried disguises? Well, I have nothing to lose!

A few minutes later, she tied her mane into a braid and put on some skating shoes. She put on a name tag that read: "Hi! I'm Sunny Starscout!" before she opted to throw it away. "Okay, first, I make an appearance, then disguises! Okay, Sunny, you can do this!" She said to her said, feeling full of determination.

She skated out of her house, slamming the door as she did so. Next to the door, was a photo of a young Sunny and what was presumed to be her father.

The lighthouse was on top of a hill, which gave Sunny an overhead view of her entire town - Maretime Bay. Somehow, she felt so overjoyed, that she could sing! But, for reasons I will not specify, she won't.

Sunny skated into town, waving at ponies as she did so. "Heya, Mayflower! Ooh, good morning, Jazz!" She greeted, to which she received a small wave back. "Hey, Sprout!"

Infront of Sunny, was a red stallion with a blonde mane. "Hey, Sunny," He rolled his eyes.

"So... Sprout! What're you doing here?" Sunny asked, putting on a small smile. "Shouldn't you be at Canterlogic for the annual presentation?"

Sprout narrowed his eyes on Sunny, who kept her small smile. "Oh, Hitch told me to keep an eye on you, we don't want another incident, do we?"

"Oh, come on, Sprout, lighten up!" Sunny laughed off, putting a hoof on Sprout's back, who pushed it away.

"I spent two hours getting the goo out of my head! Do you think that's fun!?" Sprout said to Sunny, who just laughed.

"And I said I was sorry!" Sunny defended, skating around Sprout. "So, if I'll be on my way..."

Sunny tried to skate away, but Sprout walked after her. "Yeah, no. I'm coming with you, today! Fun, right? A whole day, with me!"

"Right! Fun..." She said, mentally panicking. How was she going to get inside now?! "Well, I'm heading to the smoothie cart, but if you'd rather watch the show..."

"Eh, once you've seen it once, you've seen it twice." Sprout shrugged off. "Also, my mom ordered a smoothie delivery, so maybe you'll get inside after all."

"Wait, really?!" She shrieked, her eyes widening. "Sprout. If you're joking with me right now! I swear to Faust!"

"I spoke with mom, and she said you can come in, as long as you don't cause trouble!" Sprout said, "And you don't bring goo."

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Sunny said, hugging Sprout. Who, while uncomfortable, returned the hug. "Now, let's go! To the smoothie cart!" They seperated as the two started walking.

A few minutes later, they arrived at a blue smoothie cart. Sunny pulled out her keys before she unlocked the door to it. She entered the smoothie cart before coming out with a portable smoothie cart. "That's new," Sprout remarked.

"I made it myself, wonder why they don't sell these at Trotmart." Sunny thought, but it didn't last long as she strapped the cart to her back. "You know, Sprout... I do have another cart and an extra pair of wheels."

"Me? Skating? You'd have to be delusional if you think you're going to get those on me." Sprout said, but stopped after he saw the pleading look in his friend's eye. Knowing that he was going to budge sooner or later... he begrudgingly put on the skates and strapped on the smoothie cart. "This is the worst." He grumbled.

"Cheer up! You used to love skating!" Sunny said, elbowing Sprout.

"Keyword: used to." Sprout said, putting a hoof on his face. "Let's just get this over with,"

The two started skating towards the Canterlogic building, the two receiving stares from onlookers around them, which Sprout hated. "Ponies are looking at us!" He said though teeth. "Is it too late to stop!?"

"Oh, come on, it's not that bad!" Sunny said, doing nothing to dispel her friend's nervousness. "Hitch'll be there when we arrive, it's fine!"

"How do you know that!?" Sprout retorted, which caused Sunny to smirk.

"I've been doing this since I was twelve, I have six years of experience. Hitch isn't exactly unpredictable," Sunny countered with, which caused Sprout to quiet down and continue skating. "Ooh, we're almost here!"

After a few minutes, they arrived at a tall building with the words "Canterlogic" plastered onto it. Just then, a yellow stallion with a teal mane came out from behind a stop sign, along with two small seagulls and a crab.

"Hey, Hitch!" Sunny greeted, which Hitch responded with a small smile. "So... what brings you here?"

"Oh, haha, Sunny, we all know where this is going, and... why is Sprout wearing skates?" Hitch asked, noticing the skates on his partner's hooves and the annoyed look he gave him.

"Hitch, please, let's get the speech done with," Sprout said, groaning. "I really want to remove these now, like, now."

Hitch chuckled before he turned back to Sunny, he put on a stern (but calm) look as he spoke, "Listen, Sunny, we all know where this'll go. You try and sneak in, me or Sprout stop you, it happens every year! You never get in! Well, except for the time when-"

"You don't need to bring it up again!" Sprout said, who was taking off his skates. "Also, your wrong, Sunny's coming inside this year." He struggled on removing the last skate before he accidentally threw it to Faust knows where! "...I'll pay you back?"

"Wait, wait, wait! Sunny Starscout, the pony who tried to sneak in for six years, is allowed to go... inside?" Hitch asked, hesitantly. "Didn't Phyllis ban her the the third time?"

"Yup, buuuuuut! I talked to Mom, and she said Sunny can go in as long as I keep an eye on her!" Sprout said, which calmed down Hitch a little.

"So, now that's cleared up, can we go in?" Sunny asked. "I've also got a smoothie delivery inside, and if I'm late, I get paid less. I need the bits, Hitch! The bits!"

"Okay, okay, you two go on in. I'll enter the show later, I'll see you there." Hitch said.

"Alright, bye, Hitch!" Sunny said, walking up the steps to the Canterlogic building with Sprout.

"Sunny, please, for the love of Faust, don't do anything, okay?" Sprout begged Sunny, who only smiled.

"It's me, your friend? Trust me, I won't do anything!" Sunny lied, laughing it off. "And you'll be beside me for the whole showcase, so there's no way I'll do anything!" Sprout, I'm sorry, but I have to do this. You'll understand when we take the first steps to pony unity! She thought. The two entered the Canterlogic building, where multiple gadgets and gizmos were showcased.

"Where are the smoothies?!" In the C.E.O's office, a pink earth pony with a blonde mane and red glasses paced around, clearly looking stressed. She wore a name tag which read 'Hello, my name is Phyllis Cloverleaf' in cursive."Oh, why'd Appleloosa Vegan Chicken cancel on us?! They would've gotten here by now!" The mare cried out. "Sunny, if this is some sort of payback on banning you, I swear to Faust!" She said... to no one.

Just then, the doors of the office swung open. Phyllis turned around and saw Sunny, along with Sprout there. "Oh, finally! I was wondering when you'd get here, y'know!"

"Don't worry, Ms. Cloverleaf, me and Sprout have your deliveries right here," Sunny assured, moving her flank to show the smoothie cart hitched on. Sprout did the same, which caused Phyllis to calm down a lot.

"Thank you, Sunny." Phyllis took out a coin purse, and gave Sunny twenty gold bits. "If you'd be a dear and get them down to the showcase for me? Please?"

Sunny nodded, "Of course, Ms. Cloverleaf! I'm right on it!" Sunny dashed out of the room. Sprout was about to follow her, before Phyllis stopped him.

"Make sure she doesn't get into trouble, got it?" Phyllis said, which Sprout nodded to. "Good. This presentation has to be perfect, okay? The future of Canterlogic depends on this showcase, Sprout."

"Yes, I know. You've said it like, a hundred times already, mom!" Sprout said.

"It doesn't hurt to mention it one last time, dear." Phyllis walked up to a shelf with various trophies. "Now, go along, dear."

Sprout nodded before running to find Sunny, "Oh, Sunny, your just like your father, aren't you?" Phyllis said to herself, eying one trophy on the shelf.

"Best Invention Award: Phyllis Cloverleaf & Argyle Starshine"

A few hours later, after Sunny and Sprout dropped the smoothies off, the two (along with Hitch) were next to the stage where the live-presentation would be held. "It's much more... cramped then I remember it," Sunny squeaked out, the amount of ponies squeezing her.

"Yeah, they invited ponies from Appleloosa, Fillydelphia, Trotkyo, basically every earth pony civilization here." Hitch explained, "They should've gotten a bigger building, these much ponies under one roof has to be violating some law, right?"

"I've really got to go talk to Mom at some point about enlarging the building, like, yeesh, can't a pony have personal space?" Sprout said, rather annoyed at the amount of ponies in the building. "What I wouldn't give to go out and get some of that new "Hulyak" noodles!"

Sunny looked at the time, and saw that it was almost starting! She needed to go, now. So, she did the best thing a mare could do in a tight situation. "Sprout, Hitch, I need to go to the bathroom, tell me when it's going to start!" Sunny lied.

"Hm? Oh, right, sure," Sprout said nonchalantly, waving his hoof.

Sunny smirked as she made her way through the crowd. A few minutes later, she made it out. "Phew! Okay, now I just need to find the backstage... aha!" Sunny saw a door labeled "Hallway towards Backstage" and ran towards it.

With Sprout and Hitch, Sprout was drinking a smoothie he had randomly acquired from a pink earth pony with a bubbly personality. "Ah, this is goooooood! Who knew chocolate could be put in a smoothie with oranges and limes? Though, Sunny's is better,"

"Hey, wait, where is Sunny?" Hitch asked, which Sprout shrugged in response.

"She said she had to go to the bathroom? Why?" Sprout said, which made Hitch's eyes widen.

"And you didn't go with her?!"

"No? That's weird, Hitch! I'm not a pervert!" Sprout said, looking a bit offended. "You act like Sunny's going to go to the backstage... Oh, Faust, Sunny's going backstage!"

But just as he said that, the lights dimmed, indicating it was starting. Fog came from behind the stage as a stallion announcer’s voice is broadcast over the sound system, "Dear guests, valued guests, and other guests... it's the moment you've been waiting for! As the founder of Canterlogic, she's been keeping us safe for thirty seven years! It's... Phyllis Cloverleaf!"

A spotlight lit up as Phyllis walked on stage, holding a warm smile towards the crowd. "Oh, thank you, Mic Check! So, as you all know, we here at Canterlogic just love making products that protect you..." She pointed to two posters, one with unflattering pictures of unicorns, and the other with unflattering pictures of pegasi. "...from ponies like them." On the last word, Phyllis visibly shuddered in disgust.

"And like I always say, to be scared is to..." Phyllis indicated for the audience to complete the sentence, which they did "...be prepared!" The audience roared out, which made Phyllis let out a small laugh. "Oh, I love it! Well, let's head on to the main part of the show! The annual showcase!"

A light violet earth pony went on the stage, wearing a metal cap with a singular antenna pointing upwards. "Up first is Sugar Moonlight!" Phyllis announced as the said mare was posing while the cameras captured her photo. "Look at her absolutely killing our all new high-tech Anti-Mindreading Hat! Looks like those psychic unicorns are out of luck today, baby!"

Sprout and Hitch exchanged worried glances as the next pony walked up stage and Sugar Moonlight left. "Now, let's welcome Sparkle Chaser!" Sparkle Chaser, a light blue stallion, was wearing what appears to be a periscope wide enough to accommodate both eyes. "Look at him in our Pega-Periscope Goggles! It's an easy way to keep your eye on the sky! So watch out you pegasi!" At that moment, Sparkle Chaser accidentally fell off the stage, the goggles breaking upon impact. "Somepony get him to a hospital, and bring a ten thousand bits." Phyllis whispered to a security pony, who nodded. She turned back to the audience as she cleared her throat. "This is... all part of the show!"

As two ponies helped Sparkle Chaser into a trauma board, the next pony went on stage, a box strapped on his back. "Um, next up, the Earth Pony Balloon Escape Pack!" The stallion pulled at the rip cord, which opened and deployed a dozen of balloons, which lifted him off of the stage. Just then, an air current sweeps him considerable higher and pulls him towards an open window. Phyllis laughed awkwardly as the pony was swept outside and into the sky. "Uh, we take great care here at Canterlogic to ensure the safety of you, our loyal customers!"

"Shouldn't we look for him?" Sprout asked, momentarily forgetting about Sunny.

"Sprout, just exactly how are we going to do that? We don't exactly have the means to do it, anyway." Hitch said. "And, right now, we need to be on stand-by incase Sunny does something... Sunny!"

"Now, ponies, please stay back! This next part is fully automated, and we don't want anypony blocking another pony's view, do we?" Phyllis instructed. The ponies did so as Phyllis looked at her two workers - Toots and Sweets - who pressed a button on a machine.

The walls behind Phyllis opened, and inside were blank white walls decorated only with hash marks and burn/explosion smudges. In the center was a training dummy, wings and horns strapped on to it. Unexpectedly, Sunny pushes the dummy aside and takes it's place, wearing a unicorn horn and pegasus wings while holding a sign with a horseshoe, two pegasus wings, and a unicorn horn in an interlocking design.

"Earth ponies of Equestria! Fear is not your friend! But unicorns and pegasi can be!" Sunny shouted, eliciting gasps and murmurs in the crowd. "Let's extend the hoof of friendship to the other tribes!" As it was waiting for a cue, two pairs of boot-shaped steel clamps pop up from the platform. Three of the boot-shaped steel clamps secure themselves to the hooves not holding the sign, which momentarily shocked Sunny. "Okay, maybe this was a bad idea."

"Turn it off- turn it off!" Phyllis said under her breath. Toots and Sweets were rapidly pressing buttons, but none of them did any help. Sunny, however, was trying to break the clamps by hitting it with her sign. Phyllis forced a laugh out of her as she spoke up, "So, with our Anti-Pega-Lift Boots, no pegasi will be able to abduct you!"

Knowing that trying to free herself was proving to be a futile effort, Sunny continued with her speech. "Peace with Pegasi!" At that moment, a hatch opened in the ceiling, allowing a large clamp decorated with stylized wings and head to drop toward Sunny, which took her fake pegasus wings. "Unity with unicorns!" This time, it took her unicorn horn, which Sunny tried to get back. "No! Um, Empathy from Earth Ponies!" Lastly, it took her sign away.

"Give it back!" Sunny tried stomping on the clamps with her one free hoof, before it trapped that hoof as well. "No!" The clamps opened, and just as Sunny was about to escape, she was yanked up by a normal clamp. "Ugh! Somepony help!" Sunny shouted. Hitch and Sprout lept towards where Toots and Sweets were, who looked really, really stressed.

The podium where she used to be flipped around 180 degrees, showing a black square with a giant red X on it. "Uh, everypony! Look at our Unicorn Entrapment Device!" Phyllis stuttered out. A one-horned helmet is clapped onto Sunny’s head as she dropped down onto it. Reinforced panels sprung up from the floor around its perimeter, which effectively, trapped her in. Two flaps unfold and slam down around the horn to immobilize it, activating a built-in alarm and red strobe light. "Unity with unicorns!" Sunny shouted inside.

"Toots, Sweets, shut it down!" Hitch instructed, but the two were clearly trying to do so.

"I-I'm sorry, Sheriff Hitch, but we can't!" Toots said. "It's fully automated- it has to go through the whole cycle! And we're not even close to being done!"

The Unicorn Entrapment Device swiftly disassembles itself, whereupon another mechanism rams a pair of metal wings onto Sunny’s flanks, causing her to gasp in fright. The target panel under her hooves rotates 90 degrees so that she faces a heavy steel door, which hisses open to let a new contraption roll into view on a set of miniature tank treads. It consists of a central pole with a tank of greenish liquid mounted on one side and a vertically mounted wheel on the other, with six cups at the ends of radial shafts. "Oh, no." She said meekly.

As Sunny was yanked into the air once more, the contraption's wheel started to spin, firing green goo at Sunny, who was being spung in a circle while shouting out her slogans. "Empathy from Earth Ponies!" At that moment, a green glop struck her in the face, which Sunny wiped off. "Cease fire, cease fire!"

"Uh, and this is the Splat-A-Pult!" Phyllis said, her eyes flicking from the crowd to Sunny.

Back with Hitch and Sprout, the latter pushed Toots and Sweets out of their chairs as he started rapidly clicking the buttons. "Let me do this, I think I know how to!" Sprout pushed a red button, and just like that, it stopped. Sunny, who was covered in goo, fell down as slid forward towards the glass window. She had just enough force to knock one of the panels out of place, allowing her to skid to the end of the runway.

Sunny stood up as she sighed, "Aren't you tired of being scared all the time? We don't need any of this Canterlogic junk! Because, we're not in danger! It's... it's all a lie! And, I know it must be hard to believe, but I'm telling the truth. Unicorns and pegasi... they can be our friends!"

Phyllis scoffed, "Friends? Really? And what if they attack us, then what? How are we going to protect ourselves? With hugs? With magical rainbow lasers?"

"But just imagine," Sunny said, "If you had a friend that could... that could fly? Or a friend that could-"

Phyllis cut her off, "-fry your brains with a single zap? Or a friend that could swoop down and snatch you away? Oh, please, Sunny. All those stories your dad told, they were lies. Because in reality, unicorns and pegasi don't want to be our friends, and neither do we. And the sooner you accept that Sunny, the sooner you won't be let down when you find out that those stories are just that. Stories."

Phyllis turned to Hitch and Sprout, "I'd advise you to do your job, sheriff. And Sprout? I think it would be best if you cut ties with her."

Hitch and Sprout walked towards Sunny, "Alright, Sunny, it's time to go." Sprout said, but Sunny shook her head.

"No! Everypony has to hear this!" Sunny said, moving away from the duo. "Phyllis is wrong! We can be friends! We were friends with the other tribes before, we can do it again!"

The crowd started booing, which caused Sunny to flinch. "Hey, we don’t need any of that around here!" A pony in the crowd shouted. "Get off the stage!" said another one.

"Come on, Sunny. Show's over," Hitch said. And reluctantly, Sunny complied. The three left the stage as more ponies made negative comments about her.

"Sunny, you’re just embarrassing yourself!"

"Is the poor widdle baby sad?"

"What an embarrasment!"

Sunny tried her best to block them out, but it just kept coming and coming. Sunny let out a few tears, which Sprout instantly noticed. Sprout went over to Sunny's side as he comforted her, "Don't worry about it, Sunny. Come on, let's get out of here."

Hitch, Sunny, and Sprout made it to the exit. "We're going to have a talk about this, Sunny." Hitch said in his sheriff's voice. Sprout glared at Hitch, which Sunny noticed.

"It's fine, Sprout." Sunny said, wiping her tears. "Let's just go," Her voice cracked as she left the building, Sprout and Hitch following behind.

"...Do you have any idea how many bylaws you broke in there?" Hitch said, pacing around. The three were infront of Sunny's smoothie truck.

"Hitch, go easy on her!" Sprout said. "She's had a long day!"

"No, Sprout, she needs to hear this!" Hitch said. "I can't keep associating with somepony who breaks every rule and causes chaos wherever she goes. I’m the sheriff!" He said, rubbing a hoof at his temple.

"Exactly! You could help! Ponies look up to you!" Sunny said, speaking up.

"Sunny, the law is the law. I have to uphold it and keep everypony safe!" Hitch said, rather annoyed.

"You said "everypony," which includes unicorns and pegasi!" Sunny said, a smile growing on her face.

"Sunny! What did you think was going to happen? You give some speech, then what? We all instantly welcome unicorns and pegasi into Maretime Bay? You say there's nothing to be scared of? Then prove it!" Hitch said, stomping his hooves the the ground. He took some time to breath before speaking up again, "Look, Sunny, I'm sorry. But me and Sprout are the last real friends you've got in this town. Do you really want to lose us too?"

Sunny sighed while Hitch turned to Sprout, "You coming?" He asked, but Sprout shook his head.

"Sunny needs a friend right now, and you're not exactly being one right now." Sprout said, firmly. "You go on ahead, I'll see you tomorrow."

Hitch nodded before he left. "Sunny, you alright?" Sprout asked, turning to Sunny, who wasn't there. He looked around and saw Sunny, sitting on a bench. He sat down on the bench as Sunny started talking.

"I wish Dad was here," Sunny said, her voice breaking. Sprout went closer to Sunny and hugged her as the mare started crying.

"Don't worry, Sunny, I'm here," Sprout said, rubbing a hoof on her back. "It's going to be all... right? What the?"

Sunny broke off from the hug and saw a stampede of ponies, running their way! "What's happening?" Sunny asked, taking a moment to wipe her tears. "Wait... is that...?" As everypony was freaking out, a mare walked up to her and Sprout.

She had light violet fur, a bright blue mane worn in untidy waves, and purple eyes. But what most stood out to Sunny, was the medium blue horn sticking out from the top of her head.

"Hi, new friend!"

Author's Note

Okay, so here is the second chapter! I'll try and get chapters out when I can, so don't expect it to be updated next week. And anyway, one of the major changes is Sprout! I really like Sprout, Sprout's a good character! Gen 5 could've done more than just make him that annoying character that doesn't change AT ALL. Like, they could've set him up for a redemption arc! I know that MLP transitioned back into a kids show, but forgiving is technically a life lesson! So, I made Sprout take Misty's place in the Mane Six! Sorry, Misty, but five girls and one boy is literally so unbalanced. Anyway, if your enjoying the series, stay tuned for more!

If there's any problems, spelling errors, or anything, please comment it or private message me so I can change it! Hate comments will be deleted, so don't even try and hate!