Thanks to the heroics of Sunny Starscout, Hitch Trailblazer, Izzy Moonbow, Zipp Storm and Pipp Petals, magic has at long last returned to the land, and after many many years apart, earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi no longer live in abject fear of each other. However, there’s still one big loose end Sunny has to tie up. All it took was one little question from her new friends about her old foalhood friend Sprout Cloverleaf.
(Additional character tag: Sprout Cloverleaf)
Edited by: James Fire
10/3/21 Now with a live read courtesy of StraightToThePointStudio! Check it out along with reads they've done of other fics!
Chapters (1)
This story is pretty impressive. I enjoyed every moment of what I read. I love how you wrote Izzy and how she just acts like Pinkie with a unicorn horn. You wrote them all with the respect they deserve. Now maybe make another connection to this after the series comes out?
Hehe. This was cute, I enjoyed it.
Solid work, Dancie.
One spelling error. “You look more nervous than a pony who was dared to challenge Argyle to a game,” stated Izzy. “Namely me. Seriously, I don't have a good track record there.”
You mean Alphabittle. Argyle was Sunny dad.
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Omg thank you! How in the world did I miss that? Fixed!
I enjoyed it quite a lot and I appreciate someone putting Sprout in a normal character light. Instead of being a mindless idiot or a vengeful nobody.
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A connection to this? Hmm. Possibly. Will have to see how the tv series goes. I wonder if Sprout will have some real role to play in it.
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Thankie all!
This is nice and refreshing. Doing what Twilight couldn't but knowing she tried.
I clicked the link faster than any story I've read so far. I give you an A+ on this one. Really stirred up some happy feels for me.
I remember long ago reading an essay that defines him. The writer had made note that failed organizations and individuals were hampered by a combination of incompetence and jealousy he called 'injellitence.' Factor in inept parenting that papered over flaws instead of punishing them and you get a low-grade thug like him.
This was a nice read. Good job.
I really enjoyed Izzy in this as well as every other character. I honestly don't see her being too much like Pinkie. She is bubbly sure, but she doesn't have the goal to make everyone smile or really be friends with everyone. She has those sassy/vengeful moments where she kinda verbally beats someone down in one sentence. She's honestly less oblivious and more capable of controlling a situation than she lets on.
That's my view of her anyway.
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And yes Caffeinated Pinkie, Izzy does have that charm about her only not as zany as Pinkie. I can't wait to see what she does in the tv series.
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Thankie all.
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Oh yes. We definitely saw that with Sprout's mother.
Oh, Izzy, Izzy... Sprout is a mama's boy, but mocking him for it in public is neither cool nor conducive to convincing him to become friends with you. It's a bit of miracle he didn't close himself off after that.
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Do you really think it's just a question of him not being punished? She encouraged his worst impulses, she'd fed him bigotry his whole life and he was so desperate for her approval that I wonder if she neglected him or raised him in a way that made him outsource his sense of self-worth.
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That's why Pipp was like, "duuuude that was so not cool!" Hearing Pipp react like that I think might have been why he didn't completely close off, ie one of the ponies responsible for turning his world upside down sticking up for him at least in that capacity. Or it could be that after the movie Sprout realized that he was a mama's boy and we just didn't see it on screen. Who knows. Anyway I'm glad you enjoyed this.
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It's funny because he's listed as the main villain for the movie, yet his mother played a big role in why he turned out that way.
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I did enjoy it, yeah. :)
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I added a little bit at the end there after thinking about that for a second.
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She appeared to have cared more for the machines she was building than the son she was making into another sort of malfunctioning unit of military hardware.
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Eeyup.
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He's best understood not as a person but as another failed device that turned on its handlers. Getting him to see the horrible trick that was played on him would probably be the only way he can move forward.
I like the fact that you had Sprout only give his responses in double negatives instead of the positives. It shows he still has his reservations but at least wants to try. Great job overall!
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Thankie!
Like this, though a little short.
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Maybe so, but glad you enjoyed it nonetheless.
I am unsure how sunny is sitting in her bedroom when the top half of her lighthouse was destroyed
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It wasn't completely destroyed, but turns out I did forget to mention the place being fixed up in the background quickly with everypony helping. Added a bit to Hitch's line at the start and another reminder at the start of the last scene. That was a good catch on your part and I'm really embarrassed I overlooked a crucial detail like that.
This was very heartwarming. I loved it.
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Thankie.
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Yeah, it was a real jerkwad thing to do by Izzy. Glad you had characters address that in-universe. Though of course, it's also true that him being a momma's boy is a big problem, because his mom is... kind of a bad person herself. She'd rather literally walk away than acknowledge that her son is lost and really hurting, because at this point it's just inconvenient for her.
Wow this was a pretty nice story sunny and the others are enjoying a picnic until they talk about sprout thinking what he did but into Sunny's mind she still wants to be her friends still despite the mixed opinions from each other same ways hitch so the others talked with him thinking they would get to him hopefully he will accept their invitation which later on he did which I still think that's the beautiful thing I ever seen Second Chance can be hard but it's not always not too late to fix things this was some really nice story keep up the good work
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Thankie.
This is such a glorious story to read through and enjoy! Everything leading up to the sweet ending, oh man it's fulfilling stuff! Hope you didn't mind, but I simply HAD to make a reading of this calzone-y fic of yours!
Audio Linkyboop!: https://youtu.be/whUB9ESAHkM
(I don't mean to offend anyone with this comment in any way)
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Soon as it's up I'll add it to the story description and blog it plus mention it in self-promos. Hopfully some of my followers and such will become your listeners. 
Holy hoof that's awesome! Thankie so much!
This was actually really good! You did a great job. Have a solid like from me!
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Thankie!
I think there's definitely elements of "this person or that," but on the whole, you're right. It's also worth mentioning that Sprout is, terrible luck aside, a product of his environment. Just like Sunny, except she had a father that told her "things can be better" as opposed to a Karen.
I wonder… Does Pip’s phone have 5G network for G5?
This was a really nice read, and made me feel a little. Thanks for that.
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Thankie.
It's a nice read, I love it
Hopefully in the show we can have a reformed Sprout, as they did with Discord.
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Heehee I wonder what plans they have for that as well.
If the writers for FIM could make me actually like Diamond Tiara and actively root for her redemption, I'm sure the writers of the new show can turn Sprout around.
This was really sweet.
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Heehee Thankie. I wonder if that will be part of the tv series but we’ll see.
Oh I love this
One of my main hopes for the series is definitely a Sprout redemption arc. In a way, he was only the culmination of years and years of being fed racist nonsense by his mother. The important thing is to unlearn those biases.
I like how this feels as awkward, difficult and downright scary as apologies feel in real life. Sprout didn't break down and cry and hug Sunny. He took his time and, even in the end, was still a bit closed off. That's just how people are when they realize they did something wrong.
Very good fic!
knowing how competitive sunny is, it makes perfect sense that she needs this advice
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I wonder what’s in store for the actual tv series.
Sprout's standoffishness throughout the story makes it feel relatable. I imagine most people do not immediately drop years' worth of emotional baggage when someone they have a strained relationship with moves to improve it.
Izzy shifting between serious moments and bouts of silliness was nice to see. The "more grounded and aware Pinkie" approach is one I think most writers are settling on.
This one was really nice, i liked it! It's one of the few
Fics ive read that manage to feel like something from the show. Tho imo, confronting him at his work felt a bit inconsiderate; at least irl, i would feel uncomfortable with social pressure and work pressure pulling me in two different ways.
I really hope that the show/specials do a good job of developing him and addressing his crimes/mistakes. Ideally, i'd love it if they managed to both have him confront his mom about her side of it and also have him own up to his own part.
A fair and short fic to be honest, a few character flaws and contradictions here and there and just not my cup of tea when it comes to writing style
Interesting.