> "Sprout's Sentence"
>  by SonicandMLPFan
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue - Sprout's Sentence (RE-WRITTEN)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sprout, can you please just tell me what I specifically told you not to do while I was gone!"

"...start a war."

"And what did you just do over the past few days!?"

"...start a war."

Sprout Cloverleaf closed his eyes after he answered Hitch, knowing full well of the damage he has done to ponykind. 

It has been an entire week since magic has returned to the land of Equestria and the three pony tribes got along again, but more importantly at this moment in time, two days since Sprout's cruel dictatorship over Maretime Bay came to an end. 

Ever since Hitch Trailblazer left to chase after Sunny Starscout, Sprout became the de-facto sheriff of Maretime Bay until Hitch came back after a little pressure from his mother, and since then he took advantage of all the fear and paranoia that was present in Maretime Bay, and used it to gain all of the authority and power he dreamed of ever since he was a foal.  

But because of this rise in power, he became a cruel, inconsiderate, fear-mongering dictator that was blinded by his own ambition, and after Sunny and her friends restored magic, Sprout was stripped from his title as emperor and was demoted back to being deputy. 

He was currently in the sheriff's office being chastised by Hitch.

"Sprout, do you have any idea on how many by-laws you broke?!?" Hitch shouted causing Sprout to flinch.

Sprout gulped. "Um, how many exactly?"

Hitch slammed his hoof on the desk. "Well let's see. Public endangerment of the citizens you're supposed to protect, enslaving said citizens for your own goals, starting a war, which I specifically told you not to do, property damage, poor workplace environment, need I go on!"

Sprout looked down in shame. "I-I'm sorry Hitch, I'm sorry for everything. I guess I got too caught up in my own pride that I forgot to see the truth."

"Are you sorry though, Sprout? Or are you just saying that because you got caught!"

Sprout said nothing, slightly fidgeting his hooves in an attempt to distract himself from the matter at hand.

Hitch sighed while closing his eyes before opening them again. "Look, Sprout. Saying that you're sorry isn't enough to fix the damage you've done, and you know that. You have to be accountable for all of your actions. I mean just look at the streets, it's practically cluttered with tons of debris, and litter because of you!" 

Sprout lifted his head up to see Hitch, who was staring at him with a determined look. "So, for your crimes against Maretime Bay, I'm sentencing you to two months worth of community service. For the next eight weeks, you will be cleaning up all of the mess you've made, from fixing Sunny's house to cleaning up every single piece of litter present in Maretime Bay needs to be removed from top to bottom." 

Sprout gulped when he heard the sentence he was given. "E-Everything?"

"Yes, Sprout, every single piece."

A fire of anger erupted in Sprout. "T-That's crazy, Hitch! I shouldn't be stuck doing low-life garbage duty. Just put me in jail or something, force me to carry you around for centuries, ban me from Pizza Hoof! Just anything other than litter du-"

"Would you please be quiet Sprout!" Hitch yelled. Sprout immediately stopped yelling at his superior.

Hitch sighed in annoyance. "Would you stop complaining for once, Sprout! This the lightest punishment I could give you after everything you've done. I would've done worse if it wasn't for Sunny, she convinced me to lighten your sentence."

Hitch stepped off of his desk. "Being stuck in a jail cell won't do you any good, forcing you to carry me around would be nice but won't change you for the better, and banning you from Pizza Hoof will just force you to starve! I'm doing this so that you could understand the consequences of your actions! Do you understand me!"

The room went silent, as Hitch heavily breathed, and Sprout looked on in shock, and a bit of fear.

Eventually, Sprout sighed, although he despised litter duty due to his external and internal disgust towards litter, he (begrudgingly) accepted the sentence he was given. This could be his big chance to redeem himself after all the cruel dictatorship he imposed onto Maretime Bay, to show everypony that he is a changed pony, and besides, it could have been worse. "Okay, Hitch. When do I start?"

"Tomorrow morning, 8:30, don't be late, and start on Mane Street. Otherwise, you'd be starting somewhere way more stinkier than you'd realize."

Sprout gulped. He slowly hopped off of his chair, preparing to leave the sheriff's office. He was about to reach for the door and exit the building and head home, that is until Hitch made one more additional note.

"Oh, wait, Sprout, I almost forgot. To make sure you're not slacking off on the job, I'm sending in a supervisor to keep an eye on you."

Sprout blankly stared at Hitch. "Okay? I dunno why you'd forget that, but whatever. So, who's gonna supervise me?"

Hitch gave a small smile. "Since you can't really learn to get along with other pony races from someone your own race, I've decided to send in a very special pony to do the job, someone who you might know. She's the one that inadvertently started this mess, so it'd be right that she helped you finish it."

Sprout raised his eyebrow at Hitch, what does he mean by a "very special pony", who could he possibly be referring to. He might be referring to those two pegasi princesses, Fipp & Dipp he thinks, but that'd seem unlikely. Who else could he be referring to? Unless it is....no, it can't be.

"Hitch, you don't mean..."

"Sprout, you know who I'm talking about. The pony supervising you is Izzy Moonbow, the unicorn that "terrorized" Maretime Bay."

Sprout's eyes widened in horror as his throat began to swell up. His sentence was just made worse by that one statement, not only is he picking up litter, which he already hates, but he's also being supervised by Izzy Moonbow, the most annoying pony in existence.

Whenever she was around him, she was annoying him to no end, always asking him trivial questions or started rambling on and on about sparkles and dreamcatchers. She annoyed him so badly that he wondered if death by pure unadultereated annoyance is in the realm of possibility.

Hearing that triggered a memory he'd rather not revisit.





Trails of magic sparkled through the air, as ponies of all races watched in awe and wonder at the sight of it, knowing full well of one thing, magic has returned. Every pony race from unicorns to pegasi to the earth ponies all rejoiced in the fact that the thing they once held dear was finally back.

They also rejoiced in the new found friends they found in the other pony races they once feared, they came to realize that hiding in fear won't do any good, and that reaching out to others in love is the best way to live in harmony and hopefully start to restore Equestria to its former glory.

The only pony who isn't in awe, and in fact wasn't even staring at all, was Sprout Cloverleaf.

He had no idea how to feel at the moment, especially with everything that had since transpired. On one hoof, his reign over Maretime Bay is over. Nopony dared to call him emperor anymore, and they threw him to the sidelines. He felt even more worthless than when he was Hitch's deputy.

On the other hoof however, his rampage at Sunny's Lighthouse and magic returning made Sprout begin to question whether his beliefs against unicorns and pegasi were justified or not.

As he looked upon the streets of Maretime Bay, he saw ponies of all races just getting along, the fillies and colts playing with each other while the adults had a calm conversation with each other. Nopony was fighting, nopony was swooping down and snatching the other, and nopony was especially frying each others' brains out.

Sprout didn't see monsters, he didn't see homicidal maniacs that were hunting for innocent ponies to feast on. He just saw ponies, ponies just like him.

Sprout sighed, things won't be the same anymore after this day. He'd have to adjust to unicorns and pegasi living amongst each other, and he might have to face some sort of a punishment for enslaving an entire town against its will. He doubted that anyone would forgive him, especially after the harsh treatment he gave them, not even his own mother could console him. 

All Sprout wanted was to collect his thoughts and be alone, and he got what he wanted for a while, until one certain unicorn decided to come his way.

"Hi, new friend!"

Sprout's train of thought came to a screeching halt as soon as he heard somepony greet him. He got startled, so much in fact that he fell to the ground in the process.

"Ugh. My head." Sprout groaned.

"Oh, sorry bout that. I just saw that you were alone and that I'd come and say hi."

Sprout looked as a unicorn mare came into his field of vision. The unicorn had a lilac coat all over her body, a long dark blue wavy mane adorning her head, and the most innocent smile on her face.

Sprout continued to look at the unicorn, who in turn looked back at him, her smile never leaving her face. After a few moments, she offered her hoof to him. "Need some help?"

Sprout gruffed. "Um, no thanks. I can do it myself uh...Spizzy was it?"

"It's Izzy actually."

Sprout quickly composed himself. "Well, Izzy. It's...nice seeing you? But I gotta go."

"Why not? Aren't you feeling a little lonely?"

"I'm fine, Izzy. I need to be alone right now."

Just as Sprout was about to walk somewhere else, he suddenly stopped walking. "Huh?!" Then he felt himself being lifted off of the ground. Sprout turned around to see Izzy using her unicorn magic to pull him to her. "What the? Hey?! What are you doing?!"

"Nope. Nuh uh. I'm not gonna let you be on your lonesome, you just need a friend." Izzy said with a smile, unaware of all the personal boundaries she's breaking.

After much squirming from Sprout, he was eventually placed on a small staircase near the pier. Izzy gleefully sat right next to Sprout, who looked at her with shock and confusion.

"Hmm, your sparkle right now seems a bit dull."

"Sparkle? What are you talking about?"

"Y'know, your luminescence. Can't believe I have to explain this again. It's basically a pony's mood. The happier somepony is the brighter it shines! So tell me, why is your sparkle so gloomy today?"

Sprout looked at Izzy with even more confusion. "Luminescence? Sparkles?! This mare might be nuts or something." he thought.

Izzy leaned in closer to Sprout. "Come on, whatever's bogging you down can't be that bad. Nothing a little glitter can fix!"

Sprout coughed. "I-It's uh n-nothing, Izzy. I'm perfectly fine see. No issues here."

Izzy gave Sprout an inquisitive look. "Hey, I think I've seen you around before. That outfit looks a bit familiar and-" she suddenly gasps, "Are you Sprout? That pony in that giant red robot that destroyed Sunny's home and almost killed me and my friends?!" she asked in a strangely excited tone.

Sprout groaned. "Great. Another reminder of my mistake."

Izzy suddenly gave Sprout a giant bear hug. Sprout didn't this much force from a mare her size, and as such began to suffocate in response. "Awww. Is that why you're so sad right now?  You shouldn't be too caught up in the past to neglect the present. You should be celebrating that magic's back and we're all friends again!"

As Sprout continued to be hugged tightly by Izzy, he felt like he couldn't breathe and believed that this was gonna be the place where he'll die. "I-Izzy! You're squeezing me!" Sprout pleaded, but those words fell on deaf ears as Izzy hugged him even tighter than before.

"It's ok, Sprout. You don't have to feel alone anymore." Izzy whispered.

After what seemed like hours, Izzy suddenly stopped hugging him. Sprout immediately dropped to the floor, heavily trying to catch his breath as the both of them heard Sunny Starscout in the distance.

"Izzy? Where are you? There's this really good restaurant that I wanna show you. It has the best pizza in town!"

Izzy sprung into action. "Coming!" She trotted away with a spring in her step, but not before waving Sprout goodbye. "I guess I'll see you around, Sprout. Hope we can talk more!"

As Sprout watched Izzy trot away from his field of view, still trying to recover from being almost squeezed to death, one thing was clear in Sprout's mind. He hated Izzy Moonbow, and he wanted nothing to do with her.







Sprout dashed as fast as he could to where Hitch was standing and fell down to his knees as he grabbed Hitch's front hooves in an act of desperation. "Hitch, please! Don't let her be my supervisor! I'm begging you!"

Hitch awkwardly released Sprout's grasp on his front hooves. "Sprout, come on. She's not that bad once you get to now her, and besides, you need to learn how to get along with unicorns and pegasi, and she's the best fit for the job."

Sprout quickly picked himself up. "B-B-But what about those two pegasus princesses, F-Fipp and D-Dipp, th-they could supervise me, right?!? Or what about Sunny, she has knows more about pegasi and unicorns than anypony else in Maretime Bay, she could help me, right?!? Buck, I would even take the flying dog as my supervisor, just please don't let her be my supervisor!" 

Hitch started to become annoyed as Sprout continued to plea and started to push him to the entrance of the sheriff's office. "Sprout, their names are Zipp & Pipp, and they went back to Zephyr Heights with their mom to settle out some political issues, Sunny is busy trying to rebuild the house that you destroyed, and the flying dog, really? Are you that desperate? Izzy Moonbow is the only pony available at the moment because she has all the free time in the world, and lucky for us, she is taking an extended vacation to Maretime Bay right at this moment"

Hitch, after much shoving from his end, finally got Sprout out of the station. After panting for a few moments, he looked at Sprout, who was still wearing that desperate look on his face. He gave him a frustrated glare. "Sprout, whether you like it or not, Izzy Moonbow is gonna be your supervisor, and that's final. Now go get some rest, you need it for tomorrow. And don't start complaining, that will not help you clean those streets faster. So goodnight!"

"Nononononono please, Hitch! I'm beggin you! Have mercy! No!" Sprout cried as Hitch slammed the doors to the station shut, leaving Sprout out alone in the cold of the midnight, bewildered and distressed.

For the next few moments, Sprout just stared at the doors of the sheriff's office, trying to process the events that just unfolded. For the next eight weeks, Izzy Moonbow is going to be watching him, for several hours, and several days. The thought still sent chills down his spine. 

And as the former emperor walked back home, he dreaded the day that laid before him.
> Chapter 1 - Enter Izzy (RE-WRITTEN)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sprout trembled in place as he looked at the entrance to the sheriff's office, the day of reckoning has finally arrived, the day that his eight week community service starts, and more importantly, the start of a living nightmare.

Sprout released a breath he did not know he held in. "It's only two months, Sprout. Only two months, two months of her, and then you're free. Free to do whatever you want that is in the boundaries of the law, free to be away from her."

Sprout sighed. "Okay, here goes nothing." he said, before opening the twin doors of the office.

Sprout closed his eyes shut while opening the doors, unable to bear even the slightest chance of Izzy being present in the sheriff's office. He opened his eyes and saw Hitch on his desk making small talk with a certain lilac unicorn.

Sprout gulped as he saw Izzy on top of Hitch's desk, beginning to dread the possibilities of whatever Izzy might do to annoy him.

"U-Um, H-Hitch, Izzy, I'm here..."

Hitch and Izzy's conversation was cut short when they heard Sprout's voice. The both of them turned around to see him  just slightly peeking out of the doors and entering the station.

Izzy gasped at the sight of him. "Sprout!" she cried.

Sprout lightly cringed at Izzy shouting his name aloud, before getting tackled by her into an extremely tight bearhug.

Hitch chuckled at the sight. "Well, well, well, I didn't expect you to show up early, Sprout." he smirked as he continued to watch Izzy squeeze the living life-force out of Sprout.

Once Izzy's "assault" on Sprout was finished, he gasped for air after a minute of being nearly hugged to death. "I-Izzy, next time you try to hug me, could you give me a little warning next time."

"Okie-dokie, Sprouty." Izzy innocently replied

Hitch smirked once more at Izzy's response. "Okay, Sprout. I got most of your equipment ready. You start from main street all the way up to the entrance of the CanterLogic factory, and no cutting corners, you hear me?" Hitch said as Izzy used her magic to pull out most of Sprout's equipment from under the desk.

"Yes, I hear you loud and clear, Hitch." Sprout unenthusiastically replied as he got outfitted into the green trash picker outfit.

Once the outfitting was done, Izzy took a step back to look at Sprout in his new suit. "Hmm, looking good, Sprouty."

"Would you please stop calling me that." Sprout mumbled under his breath.

Izzy then decided to tackle Sprout into another crushing bear hug, "Oh! You're so cute in that outfit I could just eat you up!"

Sprout's eyes widened in horror at the statement. He frantically waved his hooves to Hitch, who was taking in the hilarity of the situation. "Hitch! Help me!" he whispered.

Hitch hopped of the chair of his desk. "Welp, I think it's time to get to work, Sprout. Those streets aren't gonna clean themselves." Hitch lightly pushed Sprout out of the office an into the streets.

"And Izzy, make sure to keep an eye on him."

Izzy saluted with a determined grin. "Yessir, Sheriff Hitch!" she said before bouncing her way off of the sheriff's office.

Izzy playfully bumped Sprout's side and giggled, causing Sprout to tumble to the ground. When he picked himself up, he groaned. "I'm in a living nightmare."



Litter. All Sprout could see around him, was litter. It was everywhere from the street ponies trotted on, the nearby parks and beaches, to even the most unexpected places like the gum under dining tables.

And despite all the efforts from Hitch and Sprout (mostly Hitch) to clean up every piece of litter the two could find around Maretime Bay, littering was still a rampant issue that never seemed to cease.

Sprout shivered as he continued to look at the litter that laid before him, practically frozen on the cobblestone road he was standing on.

"Hello? Equestria to Sprout? Equestria to Sprout? Are you there?"

Sprout was snapped out of his trance when he heard Izzy call him, also noticing her hoof lightly waving at his face to grab his attention.

"Shouldn't you be working?" Izzy asked awkwardly, hovering Sprout's trash picker and trash bag for him to see.

Sprout sighed. "Oh yeah, right." He then took the equipment from Izzy's grasp.  Sprout sighed, looking at the streets before him. "If this is the only way to redeem myself for everything I did, then I seriously need to talk with Hitch for better punishments. But, the sooner it's done, the better." he thought.

He then slowly, but surely, started to pick up the litter, one by one.

As Sprout continued his duties, Izzy watched attentively. "So...is this all a supervisor does?"

Sprout stopped and turned around. "Yes, that's all they do. They just keep an eye on somepony to make sure that they doesn't slack off on the job." he said. He lowering his head and continuing his duties.

Izzy watched very attentively as Sprout continued to pick up each litter carefully. As Sprout trotted across the street to clean more litter, Izzy started to move closer to him step by step. If she was gonna keep an eye on him, she needed to be as close to him as possible. 

By the time Sprout reached the entrance to the CanterLogic factory, Izzy was practically at close eye contact with him. 

Soon, Sprout lifted his head up to stretch his neck, as to not give himself neck pain. He was immediately greeted by Izzy's face extremely close to his. This made him flinch on the spot. "I-Izzy! You almost gave me a heart attack! What are you doing?!"

"Keeping an eye on you, that's what a supervisor does right?"

"Well, yeah. But they aren't this close. Could you please just move a bit so I could focus?" 

"Oh, um, okay. If that's what you want Sprout." Izzy replied

Izzy moved one step away from Sprout. "How's this?"

"Um, maybe a little farther Izzy." 

Izzy moved away from Sprout again. "How about now?" 

"Uh, a little more."

Izzy moved again. "How about now?" 

"Um, I think we both need a little more space than that. How about a few more steps?"

"Okie-dokie-loki," Izzy then moved two steps away from Sprout, "Is this okay?"

"Um, a little more, Izzy."

Izzy complied and moved two more steps away.

"Just a little more, and then we're done."

Izzy then moved two more steps away from Sprout.

Sprout smiled. "Ah, that's perfect. Just keep that much distance away and I'll be fine." he then went back to picking up the rest of the litter on the ground.

Izzy continued to watch Sprout from afar as he picked up each and every piece of litter on the ground, one by one.

The process lasted for hours. As each piece of trash got picked up, the more tired Sprout became. Constantly groaning from the heat of the sun, and his legs began to become wobbly. He was so tired that he wasn't looking where he was going, until...

Squish

Sprout froze when he heard the noise. He looked down to see he stepped on something very soft, sticky and squishy. He lifted his hoof, and a pink trail of chewing gum along with it. Sprout shuddered. "Gum, why did it have to be gum?" he thought.

Sprout tried to move, but the gum on his hoof was firmly stuck onto the ground. "Come on! How old is this gum anyway?!" he groaned as he tried to pull the gum away, the sound of it stretching filled his ears.  

He pulled as hard as he could, but the efforts were futile. Soon, after much pulling, Sprout was suddenly pulled back, falling onto the pavement with an audible thud.

Izzy gasped and ran towards Sprout in an attempt to help. "Don't worry, Sprout! I'll help you!"

Sprout's eyes widened as he saw Izzy charge towards him. "No! Nononononono! Izzy, don't! You'll get yourself-", but just as he was about to warn her, she bashed headfirst into him, causing the both of them to tumble. 

When the two of them stopped tumbling, Izzy lifted her head. She lifted her hoof and her eyes widened at the thing she noticed on it. It was the same gum from before now stuck onto her hoof as well, "stuck with me..." Sprout finished.

Izzy awkwardly laughed as she continued to stare at the gum on her hoof. "Oops, hehehehe, sorry about that." Sprout could only roll his eyes. "D-Don't worry, Sprout. I can fix this." she then tried to pull the gum off of Sprout's hoof and her own.

"Please don't." Sprout groaned, before getting dragged along with Izzy as she tried to pull the gum off. For the next few hours, the two ponies tussled as they both of them unsuccessfully tried to get the gum off of each other, lasting all the way until the night.

"Just hold still!" Izzy shouted, now trying to pull off the gum using her mouth.

Sprout pulled and chewed with his mouth harder on his end. "I'm trying, Izzy!"

After much biting, chewing, and pulling, the gum recoils, dragging Izzy along with it towards Sprout. The velocity from the gum, and Izzy's momentum from said velocity caused her to crash into Sprout again. 

The crash caused the both of them to tumble down the hill that lead to the Canterlogic Factory. The two of them made audible groans as they rolled down the hill, concluding with the two of them falling head-first into the pavement, causing Sprout to crash on top of Izzy.

"Ugh." Izzy groaned. She hadn't felt this much pain in a long time.

She slowly opened her eyes, expecting to see a bright orange hue in the sky as the sun sets, only to be greeted by the face of Sprout Cloverleaf. Izzy blushes at the sight of his face near her own, his eyes meeting hers (albeit closed), she looked down to see his body touching hers. She blushes harder, realizing that Sprout landed on top of her, in a very suggestive position no less.

Izzy began to panic, what should she do? Should she try to lightly remove herself from the situation, stay there and stare at Sprout's face until he wakes up, take him to the nearest hospital?

Suddenly, her brainstorming stopped. She didn't now why she stopped, but her attention became focused to another thing, Sprout himself. As Izzy continued to stare at Sprout, she found herself admiring his looks. 

From his yellow curled up mane, his surprisingly defined eyebrows, his bright red coat, to his surprisingly pincheable cheeks, Izzy found herself blushing again, not out of embarrassment, but out of fondness for Sprout, she even smiled to herself as she looked at him. She didn't know how to publicly say this but she found Sprout to be...cute.

Eventually, Sprout's eyes slowly started to open. Izzy noticed and retracted her smile. As Sprout's eyes fully opened, his eyes widened as he saw Izzy below him. He looked below and saw his body pressed against hers, and blushed redder than his own red coat.

For minutes, the two said nothing as they just stared at each other in shock, and embarrassment.

Sprout groaned. "Ugh, I think you broke my neck."

Izzy sheepishly laughed. "Sorry."

"Okay, Sprout. I think that should be it for today. Hope Izzy didn't give you many proble-" Izzy and Sprout widened their eyes when they heard the voice. They turned around to see Hitch Trailblazer, frozen in place, looking just as shocked as they are.

Hitch blinked, taking in the image he's seeing, before rubbing his eyes with his left hoof. "Uh, Sprout? Izzy? What in hoofness's name just happened?" 

Sprout blushed. "Well, I-"

"We got gum stuck on our hooves." Izzy sheepishly replied.

Hitch said nothing as he looked at Izzy and Sprout in their "suggestive" position. He slowly trotted away backward.s "Okay then, let's just pretend we didn't see anything."

"Agreed." Izzy and Sprout said in unison.

Hitch continued walking backwards, trying to remove the image from his head, until he was out of sight.

Sprout sighed. "What have I gotten myself into?" he thought

"A sticky predicament" Izzy replied.

Sprout groaned, fearing what the next day might bring. Suddenly, he felt his vision getting messy, the foreground getting blurrier, and the details becoming less defined. Soon, other parts of his body started getting the same treatment, from his hearing getting less clearer, to his legs starting to lose their balance. 

"Sprout? Sprout, are you okay?"

Izzy received no response. Sprout's senses continued to get worse and worse, the world around him starting to fade from his vision, before he finally fainted onto the ground. 

"Sprout!" Izzy cried, rushing to his lying body on the pavement.

The last thing Sprout could see was Izzy shaking his body, before everything faded to black.
> Chapter 2 - Rude Awakening
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Darkness. All Sprout could see, was darkness. He didn't know what had happened. The last thing he remembered was tumbling for hours with Izzy Moonbow at the steps of CanterLogic, and then...it all faded to black.

Izzy. Sprout hissed at the thought of her. That mare singlehandedly ruined what was once a reasonable punishment and an opportunity to redeem himself, into a living nightmare. All ending with Izzy knocking him out on the pavement of Maretime Bay.

"Oh great! Now I'm dead thanks to her! Sprout internally groaned. This is the end for him, this was his legacy, dead at the hooves of Izzy Moonbow, forever to be remembered as the cruel irredeemable dictator he once was, to be forgotten by time, left to rot in this purgatory...or so he thought.

Suddenly, Sprout's vision got hazy. He wasn't seeing pitch black anymore, he was beginning to see light. 

"Am I going to the great beyond?" Sprout thought as he continued to stare at the light. Although he was dead, at least he's comforted by the fact that Izzy won't be there with him.

Soon, the light Sprout was looking at became more defined, and it morphed into the shape of a...pear? Sprout realized the and there, much to his dismay, that he wasn't going to the afterlife, he was still alive, and the light he was staring at was a lightbulb

Other details of the location started to become more clear in Sprout's vision. White colored walls appeared beside him, an electric fan was just beside the lightbulb, and to his sides he could see railings.

"Railings?" Sprout thought, "Where the buck am I?!?"

Then, Sprout's other senses started to come back as well, more specifically: his hearing. 

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Sprout heard light beeping noises coming from his left side. He tried to turn to see the source of the sound, but couldn't. His neck felt as stiff as a wooden board, and he was not gonna let that slide. "Grr! Come on, neck! Just move!" 

For the next few minutes, Sprout tried to move every part of his body. From his arms, to his hooves, to his stomach, to even his flank. But alas, they acted just like his neck: stiff, immobile, and painful.

"Ah! Why does this feel so painful!" Sprout groaned, still trying to get his neck to move. He kept twisting, turning and groaning, all leading to the same result: endless amounts of pain. 

Sprout then decided to look at his body in full instead of just feeling it. He looked down to see mountains of body casts upon his body, from top to bottom. "W-what?! Why am I in a body cast?!" he shouted.

Sprout sighed, "What happened to me..." he sulked. At this moment, Sprout felt like the universe is out to get him ever since Hitch left Maretime Bay to go after Sunny. First he became a cruel dictator due to his own pride and his mother's damaging influence, then he had to do community service with Izzy Moonbow as his supervisor, and now he's in a full blown body cast, unable to move, thanks to said mare. Sprout honestly felt like he shouldn't even try anymore.

Silence befell upon the room as Sprout continued to sulk about his miseries. That is, until he heard a gasp.

Sprout immediately stopped when he heard the gasp. The gasp was high pitched, feminine, and strangely annoying. Sprout felt a sense of deja vu when he heard the noise. He recognized the voice, but he didn't know who the voice was coming from.

"S-Sprout? You're awake?" the voice said, concerned for Sprout's wellbeing.

When Sprout heard the voice a second time, everything clicked in his brain, and all the memories of who the voice was flew back right back in. He knew who the voice belonged to, he knew who was in the room with him, and he dreaded almost every second of it. It was her, it was Izzy Moonbow.

Sprout gulped. The nightmare didn't end, it just took a short break before coming back with a vengeance. Now, instead of being tortured by Izzy in the streets of Maretime Bay, he was going to be tortured by her in a hospital room with no way out, and he dreaded the next few hours.

Sprout forcefully laughed, "Yes, Izzy. I'm awa-" and before he could finish his sentence, he was tackled by Izzy into a bear hug, made even worse with his stiff body cast.

"Oh, Sprout! Thank Heavens you're awake! You won't believe how long I've waited for you to wake up! I'm so sorry that I hurt you a week ago!" Izzy cried, squeezing into the hug even further.

Sprout struggled to breathe as Izzy hugged him, "A-A week ago?! What the actual buck happened to me?!"

Just then, a door slammed open, revealing a brown pony with a black mane and a white doctor's coat. "Miss Moonbow! What are you doing to Mr. Cloverleaf!"

Izzy immediately stopped once she heard the doctor yell at her, "Oh, sorry, Doctor Midnight. Guess I kinda got too caught up in the moment." she then turned to face Sprout, "Hope I didn't hurt you too badly."

"You have no idea." Sprout muttered under his breath.

"Well, now that you're done squeezing Mr. Cloverleaf to death, I would just like to have a small one-on-one checkup on him, if you mind?"

"Oh, no problem at all, Doc!" Izzy smiled, and with a skip in her step, Izzy trotted out the room, humming a small tune along the way.

The doctor trotted up to Sprout's bed. "I hope Miss Moonbow wasn't a bother."

Sprout groaned once more, "I think she broke a few of my bones."

Dr. Midnight lightly chuckled. 

"What? Now you're gonna laugh at my pain?"

"Oh no, Mr. Cloverleaf, it's not about that. It's just that Miss Moonbow has been by your side ever since the accident. She even pleaded to be in the operational room, but we had to decline. If she saw what we did inside of there, she would've been scarred for life." Dr. Midnight smiled at Sprout, "You've got a really dedicated friend over there, Mr. Cloverleaf."

"She's not my friend." Sprout muttered.

"Oh, then what is she to you then? Your marefriend?"

"What?! No! She's not my marefriend! We're not even close acquaintances! She's just my supervisor during my community service, nothing more, nothing less, doc!"

Dr. Midnight gave Sprout a suspicious look, "Uh huh. Well, I just came here to inform you that your injuries from the accident were major with a lot of broken bones, so you will need to stay in this hospital for about a month."

Sprout's eyes widened, "A month?! What accident?! Please just tell me what happened to me, doc!"

"Well, don't you remember? Your tumble at CanterLogic caused quite the fracture in your skeletal system, and you also went into a coma back then so maybe that's why your memory is a bit fuzzy." The doctor mused.

Sprout began to panic, "F-Fracture?! How long will I be like this, Doc?!"

Dr. Midnight put his hoof on his chin, "Hmm, if no further injuries happen after you leave, it will probably take about five months before you could walk properly."

"Five months?!" Sprout shouted in shock, "B-but what about my community service?!"

"Ah yes. After your recovery, you will continue from where you last left off, these hospital months won't count as community service hours, Mr. Cloverleaf." 

Sprout was in shock at the news, so much so that he couldn't even mutter a single coherent word. Only sputtering out random gibberish from his mouth.

"You shall not worry, Mr. Cloverleaf. It will all be over soon, just be patient. And you will not be alone much longer, Miss Moonbow is going to be by your side for the rest of your stay here." Dr. Midnight comforted

"I was hoping you wouldn't say that..." Sprout muttered.

"Well, I believe our checkup here is done. I will see you tomorrow, Mr. Cloverleaf." Dr. Midnight slowly departed the room, and with a gentle shut of the door, Sprout was left all alone.

"One month...One month in this bucking hospital with her..." Sprout sulked in his thoughts. Not only is he stuck in a hospital, unable to move due to a body cast, and has a low chance of walking again because of his fractured bone structure, but he's stuck in said hospital with Izzy Moonbow. 

A single petty tear dripped down from Sprout's left eye, "Why does the universe hate me?"
> Chapter 3 - Food For Thought
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The streets of Maretime Bay never felt this lively, until now.

Ever since magic was restored across Equestria, Maretime Bay had become a hot spot for unicorn and pegasi tourists alike to get to know each other better after years of unjustified hate. 

Shops and businesses were bustling with new customers every day, several unicorn and pegasi traps were removed thanks to the help of Hitch Trailblazer and a couple of other ponies willing to help, and for the first time after more than fifty moons, everything was at peace. No fear, no prejudices, no hate, just ponies getting along. 

It was especially a refreshing sight for Izzy Moonbow. Her first visit to Maretime Bay was filled with fear and paranoia, but now, her second visit was full of love, peace, friendship, and acceptance. And she couldn't be more glad.

Izzy cheerfully trotted down the streets, waving to almost everybody along the way, all the while humming a tune, with one goal in mind: making it up to Sprout.

Ever since she inadvertently sent him to the hospital the week before, she had felt nothing but remorse over what had happened. Sprout was her responsibility and she blew it. She wanted nothing more to do than to make it up to him. 

Izzy decided that wandering the streets of Maretime Bay, Sprout's hometown, would help her think of ways to make it up to him.

The bay's calm and welcoming atmosphere gave Izzy a sense of peace as she continued to roam Mane Street. So many of the sights, sounds, shops and locales jumpstarted Izzy into brainstorming on how to make it up to Sprout.

Maybe she could give him a new mane-cut, but he was in a hospital bed with a cast that wraps around his body, and it would be hard to style his mane in a condition like that. So that's off the list.

Maybe she could give him a decent book to read, the Maretime Library has several decent reads, but then again, he was still stuck in a hospital bed with a cast, with no physical way to hold the book.  And hoofness knows that Sprout won't stand her reading it to him, from what she saw of him, Sprout is a stubborn pony.

Or maybe she could give him one of her friendship bracelets as a sign of peace, she was sure she had some leftovers back at Bridlewood.

Or maybe- 

Sniff 

Izzy stopped in her tracks, her brainstorming screeching to a halt. 

Something caught her attention. She smelled something, something so invigorating, something so lovely, something so divine, that she had to know where it came from.

So, she smelled the warm air of Maretime Bay again. The smell intoxicated her nose with an aroma of ecstacy, sending waves of dopamine into her brain, this time though, she followed the smell.

Izzy pranced throughout the streets, savoring each sniff as she followed the trail, unaware of the world around her. 

So unaware in fact, that she wasn't even looking where she was going. 

SLAM

Izzy groaned as she hit the lamp post in front of her, falling to the ground in the process.

After a few seconds, she slowly opened her eyes. On top of her was a giant sign with a cardboard pizza on it with the words Pizza Hoof: Good to the Last Slice engraved on the sign.

Izzy's eyes widened as she saw the sign. She now knew what can make Sprout feel better: food. She was completely flabbergasted as to why she didn't think of that earlier, Sprout was practically starving at the hospital.

So, with a skip in her step, bits in hoof (which came from Sunny as a welcome gift), and a determined grin on her face, she trotted into Pizza Hoof.





Room #113 at the Maretime Bay Hospital never felt so quiet, the only noises that came from the room were small grumbles or groans, mostly due to the pony inhabiting the room, Sprout Cloverleaf.

After a rude awakening from a week-long coma, the former emperor of Maretime Bay has been sulking at his current situation for the past hour.

In Sprout's mind, everything up to this point has gone wrong all because of one mare. One mare that singlehandedly ruined his entire life: Izzy Moonbow. 

Not only was she still annoying as Tartarus, almost never leaving his side, but she was also the reason he's now stuck in a body cast in the hospital. If she didn't intervene in his community service, if she wasn't even chosen as his supervisor, things would've been different, and Sprout desperately wanted that.

Sprout hated her before, but after what she did to him, his hatred for her grew by the hour.

His sulking was cut short however, by the knock on the door. Sprout groaned, "Whoever this is, it better worth my time." he thought.

The door slowly opened to reveal a lilac unicorn on the other end with a dark blue wavy mane, a headband around her mane, multiple friendship bracelets adorning her hooves, and an optimistic smile gracing her face.

Sprout sighed, "Of course, it had to be her."

Izzy smiled, "Hi, Sprout. I thought I'd just come by to see how you were doing. You are my responsibility after all."

Sprout forced a smile, "I'm doing great!" he mumbled sarcastically.

"I know for the past few hours here you feel a bit...uncomfortable to say the least, so I decided to get something for you. A get well soon gift if you will. It's right outside the room, I'll get it right no-"

"Would you just stop, Izzy?"

Izzy stopped in her tracks. She turned around to see Sprout, frowning at her. She awkwardly chuckles, "W-what do you mean, Sprout? Stop what?"

"You know, you being you! Why do you have to be so annoying!"

Izzy was taken aback by Sprout's words, "A-annoying?" No pony had ever called her that before.

Sprout groaned, "Ugh, do I seriously have to spell, it out for you! For the past few days, you have been ruining my life, Izzy!"

"R-Ruining your life?"

"Yes, wasn't it obvious?! Ever since you first step hoof into Maretime Bay, you have made my life into a living nightmare!" Sprout's anger was practically just as red as the coat of his fur, "You invade my personal space without my consent most of the time, you're oblivious to the world around you, your hugs nearly kill me, your voice is annoying, your incessant ramblings are annoying, everything about you is annoying!"

Izzy was left speechless. To the point where if she tried to say something, she would,d either stutter, or say incomprehensible gibberish.

"And the worst part is, you are the reason I'm here right now. If you didn't step in and make me tumble down the hill to my mom's factory, I wouldn't be stuck in this wretched hospital room, in a full body hoof cast drinking through a straw!"

Small tears started to form in Izzy's eyes, "I d-didn't mean it, S-Sprout. I didn't mean for any of this to happen to you."

"Well if you had actually thought for once in your life, maybe this wouldn't have happened!"

Izzy was now on the brink of crying, with small streams of tears flowing through her face, and an occasional sniffle being heard.

"I never ever want to see you again, Izzy! Do you hear me! Now do me a favor and get out of this hospital and never come back!" 

The room went silent after that. The only sounds that can be heard were Sprout's tired and raspy panting.

The silence was broken however, by Izzy sniffling. It was a relatively small sound, but it was noticeable enough for Sprout to stop panting. 

Soon, the sniffling grew into quiet whimpers, her voice becoming a bit more louder. Izzy squeezed her eyes shut as more tears fell from her face.

Finally, Izzy's quiet whimpers transitioned into full on sobbing, with each sob being louder than the last. Her small river of tears now a giant waterfall streaming down her face.

As Sprout watched it unfold, he didn't know what to say. From what little time he spent with her, she seemed like a pony who wont let negativity take over her, and will stay positive no matter what. But here she is now, on the floor crying like a newborn foal desperately looking for her mother.

Sprout winced as he continued to watch Izzy cry, "Izzy?" he asked. Despite hating her to bits, Sprout somehow deep down didn't want to see her cry. He didn't know why he felt that way, but it was a feeling inside of him he can't ignore.

Izzy looked up at Sprout, eyes now bloodshot, "I-I'm so s-sorry, Sprout. I never w-wanted any of t-this this to happen to y-you, never in a million moons!" Izzy said through her tears, "W-When I saw you on that hospital bed, I-I felt like I failed you, Sprout. I f-felt like I failed my duties as your supervisor. You're here because of me, and I-I was too stupid to prevent that." She turns away from Sprout, "Ever since that day, I wanted to make it up to you, Sprout. I-I spent half of the bits S-Sunny gave to me as a welcome gift to get you food and-"

"Waitwaitwaitwait...you got me food?"

Izzy silently nodded.

Sprout sat there in silence, barely saying a word. This mare took time out of her day, spent her own money, just for him? No one has ever done that for him, except her. It was only minutes before he could muster a single word, "Why?"

Izzy sniffed, "B-Because you don't deserve this, Sprout."

Sprout was taken aback. He never saw Izzy this honest, this open, or emotional before. He always saw her as this overly zealous maniac, optimistic to a fault, to the point of ignoring social cues just to get what she wanted. That was how he saw her until now.

"I know what it's like to feel alone, Sprout." Izzy closed her eyes, "Nopony wanting to talk to you, nopony acknowledging you, nopony being there for you through everything, good and bad, no matter what. If ponies did want to be near you, it'd probably be for bullying. It was almost as if you didn't matter, almost as if you..."

"Never existed?" Sprout said.

Izzy silently nodded once more. "I don't want you to feel the same way I did all those years ago back in Bridlewood."

Something had changed in Sprout after seeing Izzy this dejected, so lacking of the manic energy she'd usually have. Sure she was still annoying at times, but he realized now that she never did it out of malice. She just wanted to help him. Her actions can be questionable at times, but he could tell that her heart was in the right place.

Izzy stood up. "I-I think I should go. I-I'm not welcome here." She then slowly walked towards the door.

A wave of guilt washed over Sprout. Not only did he take Izzy's kindness for granted, but he also broke her to the point of breaking down into tears. Sure, she might need some lessons in social boundaries, but she wasn't a bad pony, she was never a bad pony to begin with.

As he saw Izzy somberly walk out the hospital door, Sprout knew that he had to make things right.

"Wait!"

Izzy stopped trotting before she could fully exit the room. She turns around to see Sprout, who looked at her with remorse. 

Sprout sighs. "You...you don't have to leave, Izzy."

Izzy was surprised, moments before Sprout was yelling at her to leave, but now, he's quietly wanting her to stay. "I don't ?"

Sprout simply nodded. "I maybe kinda need you right now?" he said awkwardly, "You are my supervisor after all."

Izzy said nothing, only giving Sprout a small sad smile.

After that, things went silent for a while, as the two ponies just stood there looking at each other, not knowing what to say to each other after both of them had an entire emotional outburst.

"So...you said you brought food?" Sprout asked, trying to liven the mood.

Izzy's face gave a small smile. "Y-Yeah. It's just some Pizza, I hope you don't mind. The restaurant I got it from is really good."

This caught Sprout's attention. "Wait a minute! You brought Pizza?"

Izzy rubbed the back of her neck. "Yeah, do you like them?"

"Like them? I love them! They're one of my favorite foods!" 

Izzy's face instantly lit up. "Really?! Mine too! Pizza is strangely the only food I liked back home, Maretime Bay and Zephyr Heights had way better food than Bridlewood in my opinion. Hold on! Let me get it for you!" Izzy then used her horn to grab the pizza box from outside the room.

Sprout watched as the pizza box float in the air towards the room, its scintillating smell gracing his nose. Izzy gracefully opens the box to reveal the pizza inside. 

Sprout gasped as he saw the pizza, and more specifically, the toppings on it. It was mushrooms and artichoke, his favorite type of pizza. He practically drooled at the sight of it.

Eventually, after much staring, a question popped into Sprout's head that broke the entire mood of the moment. How was he gonna eat it?

"Um, Izzy?"

Izzy continued to smile, eyes closed and grin wide. "Yes, Sprout?"

"Don't mean to be rude here but...how am I supposed to eat this."

Izzy's eyes shot open. "Uh...I never actually thought of that when I bought the pizza." She awkwardly laughs.

Sprout groans, slightly slumping into his bed. The only thing that can keep him sane, even for a little moment, was lractically impossible to reach by his own strength. It was so close yet so far.

Izzy's eyes softened as she saw Sprout sulk in bed. She never likes seeing anypony she knows or cares about sad. She has literally been around sad ponies for almost her entire life and she never enjoyed their over-exaggerated misery one bit.

And even though Sprout became a cruel, merciless dictator that had singlehandedly destroyed her best friend's home, Izzy had a firm belief that everypony deserves a second chance, even if they don't deserve it, and Sprout was no exception. 

Suddenly, an idea popped into Izzy's head, an idea so obvious that she wished she would time travel a few minutes before so she could slap her past self in the face for her ignorance. 

Although she had no clue if Sprout would even approve of the idea, she was willing to give it a try. After everything that happened to him, she wanted him to be happy. "Uh, Sprout. Um, I see you're having trouble getting the pizza, right?"

"Isn't it obvious."

Izzy sighed. "Well, I was wondering...I h-have an idea, and I'm not sure if you'd approve..."

"Anything could work. I just want my pizza."

Izzy gulped. "W-Well...d-do you mind if I...feed you?"

Sprout simply stared at Izzy, dead silent with his face having the most dumbfounded expression Izzy saw. "What?"

Small drops of sweat started to fall from Izzy's head. "Well, since you're in bed, and can't possibly get the pizza on your own. Why don't I feed you?" She awkwardly chuckles, trying to lighten the mood.

Sprout still looked at Izzy with utter confusion plastered onto his face.

"If you think this is some unicorn trick to embarrass you in front of everypony, it's not. I really want to help, Sprout. And right now, this is probably the only way. Please don't be mad." She finished with an awkward smile.

It only takes two minutes for Sprout to respond, and he responded with a hefty sigh. "Ok, fine. If this is the only way, then so be it. Just, don't try to feed me like a foal. It's embarrassing."

Izzy sighs in relief. "Ok, Sprouty Wouty! I'll do my best!"

"Please don't call me that." He quietly mumbles under his breath.

Izzy levitated one of the pizza slices in the box, and moves it toward Sprout's head. At first he was a bit hesitant, he hasn't done anything remotely like this since he was a foal, but if this was the only way to eat pizza at the moment, then he's not gonna take this chance for granted.

Sprout takes a small bite of the triangular tip, and when the pizza entered his mouth, he moans in contentment. "Just like before."

Izzy smiles as she watches Sprout, little by little, enjoy his meal, as she gently moves the slice so Sprout can eat better. Soon enough, Sprout was done with the first slice. "Do you want another one, Sprout?" She asks, lifting another one in the air.

Sprout gave Izzy a smile, the first one she saw him do in ages. "You know the answer, Izzy."

Izzy quickly obliged as she was about to give the second slice, until someone barged into the room.

"Hey, Sprout. Just came here to check up on you. Izzy told me you're out of your coma no-"

Both Sprout and Izzy turned their heads to see Hitch Trailblazer standing at the doorway of the hospital room, simply looking in shock at what he was witnessing.

"Hitch, i-it's not what it looks like!" Sprout hastily shouted. Izzy quickly nodded in response, accidentally dropping the slice onto Sprout's bed.

Hitch could only stare. It took minutes before he could say another word. "I think I'll pick a better day to visit." He slowly, and awkwardly walked out of the room. "Have fun you two with...whatever you're doing, but don't have too much fun."

Sprout angrily sighs. "Hitch! We're not dating!"