Sprout Cloverleaf was scowling.
He had been scowling for quite a long time.
He had been scowling from no less than a week.
There was also a name that could make Sprout's face move from simple scowling to a clenching, teeth grinding countenance of rage, and that name was Hitch Trailblazer.
One week ago, the sheriff of Maretime Bay had declared Sprout guilty of theft, psychological abuse, abuse of power, property destruction, conspiracy, attempted brainwashing, attempted tyranny, attempted usurpation, public endangerment, and attempted murder. However, at the urging of Sunny Starscout, the sheriff of Maretime Bay had decided to show mercy and simply sentence Sprout to some community service, which amounted to the clean up of the rubble of the lighthouse he had destroyed.
All by himself.
While the very name of Hitch Trailblazer enraged Sprout a great deal, the very thought of Sunny's smiling face caused Sprout's blood pressure to spike. As he hauled another heavy cartful of rubble, he muttered to himself in a mocking imitation of Sunny's voice, "'You were just scared and unsure and worried, Sprout. I still want us to be friends. Soon, you'll see that all three pony races can life in harmony. Nyeh-nyeh-nyeh!'"
Sprout kicked a rock ahead of him and continued on, "Sure, Sunny, it's easy for you to be all sweet and nice and happy all the time now that everypony just loooooooves you, and everypony hates me. Thanks for that, by the way. Thanks for taking away all the power and respect I always deserved! Thanks a lot you horn-kissing, feather-licking freak!"
As Sprout's thoughts began to drift towards Sunny's new friends: Izzy, Pipp, and Zipp; the rage inside him became too much to bare, so instead he pushed them out of his mind, which then left him with somepony else to think about: his mother. Phyllis Cloverleaf had quickly made herself scarce after the showdown that had left Sunny's lighthouse destroyed, and subsequently restored magic to the world. The mare could barely look her son in the eye and refused to even answer the simplest of questions.
"Mommy, was I a good sheriff?"
"Uh, look! A flying dog!"
Things hadn't improved since.
Every morning, Phyllis would greet him with an awkward smile and some breakfast and a boxed lunch before swiftly leaving home for work much early than she usually did. Every night, Sprout would come home after his community service to a pre-prepared dinner ready to be microwaved, while Phyllis locked herself away in her room, the loud music from the inside drowning out his knocking and calling. The mare hadn't even been present at her son's trial and subsequent sentencing.
"They took everything from me," Sprout said, his scowl getting more vicious, "I had this entire town in the palm of my hoof. I was ready to wipe those unicorns and pegasi out. But then that know-it-all Hitch and that goody-four-shoes Sunny and those three. . . things she brought back here ruined everything!"
With a mighty heave, Sprout upturned the cart of rubble onto the huge pile he'd been forced to make. He unhitched himself from the cart and walked around the mound, continuing to mutter to himself.
"And after all that, after I try to keep Sunny from putting us all in danger, after Sunny gives those unicorns and pegasi the power they needed to attack us, after everything I did to bring order to Maretime Bay so that everyone could think and act just like me, the right way, the only way, the best way,. . . they just toss me aside and leave me to do this?!"
Sprout turned away from the mound of rubble and said, "I was their Emperor! I was determined to make this world safe for earth ponies! I was about to lead earth pony kind into a golden age under my ambition and brains! Something Hitch wishes he had! But noooooooo! Let's just do whatever the daughter of the late village idiot says! Why? Cause she has a horn and wings now? That stupid, smiling, fraternizing little horse!"
Sprout launched straight into a vicious tantrum as he began bucking the pile of rubble of his own making and screamed, "I hate her! I hate her, I hate her, I hate her, I HATE HER!"
Sprout stomped his hooves petulantly and went on, "Sunny's the big hero, Hitch got to humiliate me, Mommy doesn't love me anymore, and unicorns and pegasi can walk right in whenever they want! They need to pay! They all need to pay! I want power! deserve power! I need to make them pay! I'd give anything to get revenge on them! I! Want! Revenge!"
To punctuate his rage, Sprout drove one final, furious kick into the rubble pile.
DONNNNG!
Sprout's ears perked up at the sound, and he quickly turned around to see what his right hind-hoof had collided with.
Sunny's father had collected many artifacts during his travels, so Hitch had instructed Sprout to sift through the rubble and set any such pieces aside. Naturally, Sprout had no intention of doing so, and simply tossed everything into one big pile. Nevertheless, the red stallion found himself staring at one such artifact at that very moment.
The object was boxy and made of greenish metal, with several strange markings on it. However, what caught Sprout's attention was the way the object was glowing. His interest piqued, Sprout reached out and began to pry the object out of the pile of rubble with his right forehoof. Eventually, the object came free, and Sprout now held a patina covered, cracked bronze bell about the size of one of one of Sunny's roller skates.
Taken in and attracted by the object, Sprout held in between his forehooves, and gave it a firm shake.
DONNNNNNG!
There was an eerie flash of light that enveloped the earth pony, and the shadow the pony cast quickly began to change as magic was poured out of the bell and into its newest owner.
In Maretime's Bay most popular pizza restaurant, an earth pony server came out with a pizza pie on his back. However, he tripped, and the pizza went flying, only to be caught in a golden glow and levitated onto the table the server was headed towards.
The server got up and blushed as he bowed and said, "Thank you, Sunny! I'm so sorry about that."
Sunny Starscout, sporting her translucent golden wings and horn, smiled good naturedly and said, "Don't worry about it, I'm always ready to help, and glad to help."
The server gave another nod and went back into the kitchen, leaving Sunny and her four friends to enjoy their food.
Izzy looked at Sunny with wide eyed amazement and said, "Woah! You're good! You're even better than me, and I was born with this thing!" She then tapped her horn with her hoof for emphasis.
Sunny laughed and said, "Oh, no, I'm not that good, Izzy. Sure, I can pick things up and grab things quickly, but the art you make with your horn is on a whole different level!"
Izzy rested her chin on her forehoof and said with a cocky grin, "What can I say? I'm a master with macaroni."
Pipp Petals quickly used her smartphone to snap a photo of herself holding a slice of pizza with her friends in the background, and then she said, "Sunny told me about your magically enhanced arts and crafts binges, Izzy. Apparently glitter and macaroni fly around like a warzone when your creative juices get flowing. You gotta let me record and post it!"
Zipp Storm had a look of mock surprise as he said, "What? My sister posting something not about herself? Really?"
Pipp rolled her eyes and said, "Obviously, I would be the subject of Izzy's art. Maybe like a portrait, or maybe an abstract expressionist version of me? I hear that's trending."
"Of course," Zipp said with a shrug before snagging a slice of pizza.
Hitch was smiling at the girls, caught between amazement and contentment, or perhaps a combination of the two. Then he turned to Sunny and said, "I never thought I would feel so happy about being completely wrong."
Sunny shook her head and said, "I keep telling you, Hitch. It's not about who right or wrong or whatever. It's about moving forward, not being afraid, and being united."
Hitch looked down in shame and said, "It's shame it cost you your home, thought. I still feel responsible. I'm the one who left Sprout in charge. I failed in my duty as sheriff."
Sunny placed a comforting hoof on Hitch's shoulder and said, "It's okay, Hitch. You didn't know. You and Sprout were just scared. But we all know better now. And I still have a home, it's just that my house is . . .a little broken . . ." Sunny gave a wry smile and said, "But a lighthouse can be rebuilt, and I'm sure most of the stuff inside is okay. But even then, that's just all stuff. Look what we all achieved together! Magic, friendship, harmony! It was all worth it. Everything is okay now. The danger and the fear is finally over."
BOOM!
All the ponies in the restaurant did one of three things; scream in fear, hit the ground and duck for cover, or turn their heads to look at once was the front of the restaurant. Sunny and her friends chose the third option.
A figure could be seen marching through the dust cloud that came from the explosion that blew apart the front of the establishment. When the dust settled, the five ponies all gasped.
"Sprout?" Hitch said, completely dumbstruck.
Sprout was wearing his Emperor's collar and medals again, but he wasn't wearing the hat. This was because of the long red horn on his forehead. Sprout smirked as he flared his blood red wings out wide. Unlike Sunny's horn and wings, Sprout's were solid and clearly a part of his body.
"I owe you a huge thanks, Hitch!" Sprout said smugly, "If you hadn't forced me to clean up what was left of that lighthouse, I never would have found this!" Sprout then tapped the glowing bell that now hung from his collar, the object humming with great power as it pulsated with eerie light.
Sunny's eyes widened and she exclaimed, "The Bewitching Bell!"
"The what?" Zipp asked urgently.
"My dad found it on top of a mountain, during his travels, when he was younger," Sunny explained, "According to his research, it belonged to an ancient evil sorcerer called Grogar, the First Emperor of Equestria. The bell was the source of all his magical power, and he used it to rule over all pony kind. But then a unicorn named Gusty the Great defeated him and hid the bell away. Dad figured that all of it's magic was long gone, and it sure seemed like just some old fashioned bronze bell. . ." Sunny took a second to catch her breath after the long explanation, and stared at the glowing artifact that now hung from Sprout's neck, ". . .but now it looks like it's starting to work again!"
Sprout gained a thoughtful look, and he said, "The First Emperor of Equestria. . . I like the sound of that. . .but I think I'd like the sound of Sprout, the Last Emperor of Equestria a whole lot better!"
Hitch gulped as he looked the red alicorn up and down, and he held out a forehoof and said gently, "Okay. . .okay, Sprout. Let's all calm down. Just take off the bell so we can settle things."
Sprout rolled his eyes and said, "Wow, Hitch, you sure do you love the sound of your own voice, don't you?" Sprout then grinned wickedly and leaned forward and said, "Well, guess what? I'm done doing what you say. Now, you're gonna do what I say. You're gonna shut-up and listen. Got it!"
"Heeey, Pippsqueaks!" Pipp suddenly said with a smile as she held her smartphone out so it could record both herself and Sprout behind her. Her face then turned sour and pouty as she said, "As you can see, we got a very rude pony here who clearly doesn't know how to respect-."
ZAP!
Pipp's jaw dropped as a magic missile from Sprout's horn struck her smartphone, blasting it out of her hooves and shattering it.
Sprout snickered wickedly and said, "Heh-heh-heh. You pegasi are so pathetic with your stupid smartphones. So high and mighty and rich and privileged with your wings and your skyscrapers. And the fact that you two are royalty makes it worse. Scum like you doesn't belong anywhere." Sprout then pointed an accusing hoof at a pouting Izzy and said, "And YOU! You're just like the rest of those backward unicorns, stupid and insane. You've got to be the dumbest creature alive! What's inside your head, anyway? Mayonnaise?"
"Bing-bong!" Izzy shouted with eyes crossed, then she shook it off and said, "Uh, I mean, you aren't very nice at all. Look what you did!" Izzy frowned as she gestured to Pipp, who appeared to be in the midst of a nervous breakdown over the destruction of her smartphone as Zipp tried in vain to console her.
"How am I supposed to post to my Pippsqueaks?" Pipp whimpered.
"Perspective, Pipp. Perspective," Zipp urged gently as she held her sister with her right wing, "Smartphones can be replaced. We can't."
Sprout just grinned and said, "Ooh, you haven't seen anything yet. With this new power, I'm going to show all those unicorns and pegasi who's really in charge. They won't get in my way ever again. Ever."
Sunny stood up from her chair, her own horn and wings glowing as she said sternly, but rather calmly given the circumstances, "Sprout. Stop. I thought you understood, like everypony else did, but I guess not. That's my fault. I should've talked to you before. But I will now."
Sunny walked around the table slowly until she was standing right in front of Sprout, "Earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns are all ponies. They each have different talents, different features, and different types of magic, but we're all still ponies. Earth ponies give life to the ground and can bend the earth and break and crush solid rock, pegasi can fly and manipulate clouds, and unicorns can levitate things and use magic to make things happen. When all three races work together, there's nothing they can't do. We don't have to fight each other. We don't have to be afraid of each other. We all want the same things: to be happy and safe and to enjoy life and have friends."
Izzy jumped forward and stood next to Sunny on her left, and she said, "Uh-huh! Everypony wants to have friends! Nopony wants to be all alone!"
Pipp had finally snapped out of her state of shock, and after giving her sister a nuzzle, she and Zipp hovered above Izzy and Sunny to face Sprout as well.
Pipp swallowed hard, forcing herself not look back at the shattered pieces of her phone, and she said, "We just want to make other ponies happy, because that makes us happy. And it doesn't really matter what kind of ponies they are."
Zipp nodded and said, "That's right. No more lies, no more dark secrets, just everypony being themselves and accepting each other for who they truly are."
Hitch stepped over to Sunny's right and said, "All that propaganda, all that fear. . . don't you see how wrong it all was? We were turning other ponies into monsters just because they were different from us. There never was any danger, Sprout."
Sunny nodded, feeling bolder and more at ease with her friends close by. She smiled her best smile and said, "Look at us, Sprout. We're all friends. The five of us. Our races don't matter. All that matters is who we are. The time for fear, paranoia, and suspicion is over, Sprout. You don't have to be afraid of them anymore! They're not a threat! We can all be friends. Just come join us, and we can all share the Magic of Friendship."
Sprout stared at the group of five smiling ponies for a moment, then he closed his eyes and said softly, "Wow. . .I. . .had no idea. . . ."
SLAM!
Sunny and her friends all flinched when Sprout suddenly slammed his right forehoof into the floor so hard that a huge crack appeared beneath his hoof.
"WHAT NAIVE DOPES YOU ALL ARE!" Sprout spat at the group, "Seriously! And here I thought the lame speech that Sunny gave at the Canterlogic Expo was bad! You are such a wuss Sunny! There's not a drop of determination or ambition in you, is there? You'll never get what you want like that!" Sprout then swaggered closer to the group in a manner than oozed arrogance and said, "But what else should I: somepony who was always meant to be a ruler, expect from you: somepony who just isn't cut from the right cloth. Do you really think I care about whether or not the other races are an actual danger or not? I had power over every single pony in Maretime Bay. All I had to do was say the right words, and then BAM! Angry mob that did whatever I said! I was an Emperor! THE Emperor!"
Sprout panted for a moment, and he looked over at Sunny, almost longingly, and said, "Alright, I got a question for you, Sunny. You ever felt like. . .like you deserved more? Like you could be so much more than you already were? Like, you were supposed to be just. . . more?"
As Sprout's wings flapped about, Sunny swallowed hard and gave a curt nod. "Well. . .yeah?" she said, slightly unsure of where Sprout was going with this, "I mean, I always wanted to be the one to get the pony races to be friends again. With all the stories my dad told me, and how tires I was of seeing everypony being so afraid over nothing. I felt like, I just had to do something."
Sprout grinned eagerly, like a predator that had just cornered his prey, and said, "Yeah, yeah. That's it. The way things are, the place you're at: it stinks! Ponies shouldn't be ignoring you, they should be listening to you, respecting you, obeying you!"
Sunny's eyes widened and she shook her head frantically. "No-no-no-no! That's not it! I didn't want ponies to obey-."
"And then you go out and grab it!" Sprout shouted over Sunny, "That desire to show everypony that you're better than all of them! That you should be in charge! That you deserve more!" Sprout flared out his wings, then turned to admire them greedily, raising a forehoof to stroke the feathers of his left wing. "I do deserve this power. I always deserved power," Sprout said, his voice oozing with self adoration, "That's why as soon as Hitch left, I took it; and it was a perfect fit on me."
Sprout pointed an accusing hoof right at Sunny and ranted, "But then you and your stupid friends showed up and took it all away from me! Having that power was the best feeling in the whole world! Do you know why? Because I deserved that power! I wanted it, and I was determined enough to take it! Only I'm worthy of that power! ME! That's the big difference between you and me, Sunny. I've got the drive to make things better for me, while you're too busy caring about others when you should be caring about yourself. All that does is make you a little wuss that's just begging to have all her power taken away from her. Well too bad for all of you, because I don't care about friendship, or harmony, or all the races getting long! All I care about is POWER, you foals! Everypony needs to obey me and follow my orders without question, and they will. Believe me, they will! And if they don't, they're DEAD!"
Sunny kept shaking her head as she argued, "No, no! Caring about others makes you stronger. Having friends means you have others to help you when you need it. Everything you're saying, Sprout, it'll just make everyone miserable, including you. It's wrong. It's all wrong."
Sprout stopped to grind his teeth a bit as the Bewitching Bell pulsated in response to his strong emotions. He gave Sunny an unnerving death glare as he said coldly, "Oh, so I guess that means you're right about everything, huh? You think you're so special? You think you're so much smarter and better because you believe in friendship and harmony? Well guess what? I'm gonna make your death so horrible, so gruesome, so unspeakably horrendous, that from now until the end of their worthless lives, every time your friends close their eyes, all they'll be able to see is you being crushed and smashed and ground down into the dirt beneath my hooves again, and again, and again, AND AGAIN!"
Then, without further ado, Sprout fired a massive beam of magic directly towards Sunny. At the last possible second, as Sunny was closing her eyes and bracing herself for the blow, a a kind of deep, basic magical instinct woke up within her. It was a kind of desperate, life saving reflex that caused her horn to flash and summon a magical shield around her. Sprout's beam made contact with the shield and blasted Sunny straight backwards, right through the walls of the building and out the other side.
Sunny bounced a few feet before the spherical shield popped. She lay on the ground for a moment, breathing heavily as she slowly processed the fact that she was still alive. Then she saw Sprout flying out through the hole in the building she'd made. Fight or flight kicked in and settled on flight, so Sunny jumped up into the air and flapped her translucent wings hard as Sprout flew in hot pursuit. Sunny could hear the stallion's maniacal laughter as hate filled magic missiles whizzed by her.
Ponies in the streets all screamed and ran at the sight of the mad alicorn sending death lazers into the buildings and streets of Maretime Bay. Most fled into their homes, while some were terrified enough to dive into the sea to escape the carnage. Sunny kept on flying low to the ground, her mind clouded by panic and fear as explosions went off to her sides and right behind her. Eventually, Sprout's aim improved enough to send an shot right beneath Sunny's tail, the shockwave of the blast flipping her over and knocking her to the ground.
Sunny rolled over and turned to see Sprout land and slowly advance upon her. The red alicorn raised his sparking horn, only to be nearly knocked over when an apple pie struck him on the left side of his face. Then another pie hit him. Then another.
Sunny turned and saw Izzy walking forward while levitating a large stack of pies. With a determined look on her face, she said, "You leave my BFF alone, you BBB!"
Sprout shook the pie off of his face, then glared at the unicorn and asked, "What does that mean?"
Izzy smiled and said, "Best Friend Forever, of course! Everypony knows that!"
"No, no, the other one!" Sprout asked impatiently.
"Big Bad Bully, of course! C'mon, get with the program!" Izzy said with a roll of her eyes.
Sprout shot a magical blast into the pies, causing them all to explode and cover Izzy with mashed apples. He then turned to see Sunny get back up onto her hooves. Sprout's horn sparked, and Sunny immediately took to the air. Sprout smirked and let Sunny get some air, then he fired a quick blast that struck Sunny in the back.
Sunny cried out as her wings splayed out, and she quickly began to fall. She shut her eyes as she braced herself for impact, but was surprised when she got a soft landing instead. She opened her eyes and discovered that she had landed in a cart-full of pillows, which was being pulled by Hitch.
Hitch quickly took off, using his earth pony strength to pull Sunny and the cart swiftly down the street. As he ran, Hitch turned back to Sunny and said, "I've got you, Sunny. I'm with you. I won't turn my back on you again."
Sprout watched the two fleeing figures from the distance, and his anger and hate spiked big time. "That Hitch," Sprout hissed, his eyes glowing with intense hatred, "You are NOT better than me!" Then, with a flash, Sprout was gone.
In that same flash, Sprout was suddenly standing right in Hitch and Sunny's path.
"Look out!" Sunny shouted.
Hitch turned to look ahead and his eyes widened when he saw Sprout standing in their way and smirking. As Hitch tried to stop the cart, Sprout just laughed and aimed his horn down at the street and fired. This caused the section of the road Hitch and the cart were on to erupt as a massive pillar of stone burst out of the ground. The pillar smashed the cart, knocked Hitch flat onto his face, and sent Sunny flying through the air.
Sunny rolled across the ground, but was spurred to action when she heard Sprout laughing again. Not even bothering to look behind her, Sunny quickly started running.
Sprout grinned as he pointed his horn up to the sky and fired a beam into the sky. Dark storm clouds appeared and blotted out the sun, and bolts of lightning rained down on Maretime Bay. Earth ponies ran around in a panic, and visting unicorns and pegasi found themselves awkwardly clinging to each other for some semblance of security as the world appeared to be ending all around them. All the while, Sunny frantically dodged the lightning bolts as she ran through the streets, until a particularly large bolt of lightning that crashed into the ground in front of her forced her to make a sharp turn into a dark alley with a dead end.
Sunny spun around on her hooves just in time to see Sprout standing imposingly, wings glistening and horn at the ready. Sunny trembled fearfully in the dark alley, until a beam of warm sunlight shone down upon her. She looked up and saw that the storm clouds were being cleared away by Pipp and Zipp. The siblings flew fast, not wasting any time as the kicked and punched the dark clouds with their hooves, turning them into harmless puffs of steam.
Sprout looked up as well and pouted, and then he sent a ball of magic up with a flick of his horn. The ball shot up to the two pegasi and exploded, knocking the pair out of the sky.
Sprout chuckled darkly and shook his head, "Seriously, Sunny. The least you can do is actually try to fight back." Sprout advanced menacingly upon Sunny, who was staring back at him as she struggled not to hyperventilate. "I mean, you really are kind of a hypocrite," he said said with a triumphant grin, clearly enjoying the current moment, "Is that what friendship really means to you? Letting them do all the dirty work while you keep running away like a coward? Just like I said, I'm the better ruler. I'm the Emperor here. I get things done, and nothing can stop me."
Sunny frowned as she stood up a bit straighter, looking her attacked in the eye.
"Well?" Sprout said with a tilt of his head, "Am I right? Are you really just a weak little coward? Is that why you're not fighting back?"
Sunny hardened her gaze slightly.
"Answer me, weakling," Sprout taunted, still wearing a cocky, horse apple eating grin, "Fight back, you stupid little dreamer!"
Sunny took a deep breath, then stood firmly on her hooves and said to her assailant, "I'm not fighting back because we shouldn't be fighting in the first place! We were friends once, Sprout, and I still want us to be! You can still stop yourself from going to far. You don't have to do this, Sprout! You probably don't even want to do this! Do you really want to be a killer?"
Sprout laughed out loud and said, "Are you serious? Why do you think I had the Sprouticus Maximus built? It was specifically designed to destroy the homes of those unicorns and pegasi and kill them! That was the plan all along! To exterminate them and anypony else that got in my way! When your up against ponies who are different than your kind, you need to have the conviction to put them in their graves. Being an Emperor means that anypony that gets in my way either gets out of my way or gets taken out permanently. You and your friends were supposed to die in that lighthouse, Sunny. You just got lucky," Sprout's teeth clenched as he seemed to radiate hatred as he added, ". . .and of course, Hitch just had to ruin everything for me, like he always does!" Sprout wicked smile then returned and he said, "Well, he can't hold me back this time! Finally, everypony will obey my orders once again, as they should! Everypony will respect me!"
Sunny shook her head as she said, "You've got it all wrong, Sprout! You can get respect and friendship from everypony if you would just act responsibly and help other ponies! That's better than making everypony fear you!"
"I don't care about your stupid ideals!" Sprout spat contemptuously, "I don't care about anypony else! The only pony that matters in this world is ME! Everypony else just needs to follow my orders brainlessly like the stupid sheep they are. As long as I'm comfortable, who cares about everypony else?"
"But then you'd be all alone! No friends! Nothing!" Sunny shouted desperately, albeit with a small hint of frustration in her voice, "I don't even understand why you want to hurt me! What did I ever do to you!? All I wanted was to bring ponies together! I wasn't trying to hurt you! I was trying to make a better world for all of us to live in. Once your punishment was over, you'd be just as happy as the rest of us!"
"All you ever did was make things harder for me!" Sprout countered as he marched towards Sunny, "Just. Like. Hitch. You took away my empire. You took away my power. I had everypony's obedience, and you ruined it! You turned my mommy against me!"
Sunny hung her head sadly and said, "I'm sorry about that, but I didn't mean-."
"If only I had gotten rid of you just like I got rid of your dad!"
Sunny's head shot up with eyes wider than they had ever been, "What? What did you just say? Why did you say that?!"
Sprout rolled his eyes and said, "Oh, please. Mommy kept telling me that your stupid dad was filling your head with fantasies and lies. She kept saying that he was trying to brainwash everyone, open us all up to be hurt by those unicorns and pegasi, and you were the proof of that. I wanted to help mommy out, and at the time I wanted to still be friends with you. So I figured if I got rid of him, you'd snap out of it, and you'd be normal like I and everypony else was. It was so easy. I just put a bit of rat poison into that stupid neckbeard wearing hipster's coffee that he loved so much. I would've told mommy what I did, but for some reason she was all broken up and sad when he died, so I figured I'd keep my good deed a secret."
Sunny's jaw dropped, and tears filled her eyes, "No. . .no. . .You're lying. You have to be lying."
Sprout smirked and said, "Nope! I'm not! I've always did what I had to do, because that's what you have to do to get what you want. But don't worry, you'll be joining him soon enough! And guess what? Since your stupid friends got in my way, I decided that I'm gonna kill them too! I mean, why not? I already tried to kill them at the lighthouse, why not give it another go! And this time, I don't even need a machine to do it! I can do it all on my own! First I'll break all of Hitch's legs, then I'll kill him! Then I'll rip off those arrogant little princess' wings, then I'll kill them! And I'll do it all in front of that retarded unicorn, making sure she watches it before I rip that stupid horn out of her stupid head and-."
"SHUT-UP!" Sunny screamed.
The scream also came with a huge magical blast that erupted from Sunny's horn and scored a direct hit on Sprout. The attack sent him flying out of the alley and skidding across the street. Sprout shook it off and raised his head, smirking as he remarked, "Finally, you're-."
"SHUT-UP!" Sunny screamed again as she shot forward like a comet, her forehooves outstretched as she collided with Sprout. The pair went flying out of Maretime Bay, and Sunny slammed her forehooves into Sprout over and over as tears of grief and anger evaporated from her eyes.
"SHUT-UP! SHUT-UP! SHUT-UP! SHUT-UP! SHUT-UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Some distance away from Maretime Bay, there was now a large crater. Within that the crater, Sprout lay flat on his back with a bruised chest and two black eyes, and the medals all ripped off of his now tattered emperor's collar. Sunny panted heavily as she stood over him, grief and inner turmoil evident on her face.
Sprout coughed a bit, then looked up at Sunny in shock and asked, "H-h-how? Why? Did you do. . . that. . .just because I threatened your friends? Why are you so determined now?"
Sunny nodded and said, "My friends are everything to me. More important than my lighthouse, my stuff, even my magic. They've brought me so much happiness, they made me finally feel like I belonged, like I mattered, like I'm more than just some misfit that no one listens to or cares about. I would do anything for them, and I would do anything to keep them safe. That's what true friendship is all about, Sprout."
Sprout blinked his eyes, then a malicious smile spread across his face.
Then Sprout teleported away.
Sunny's eyes widened in surprise at this, and he stared at where he was a moment ago in confusion, then her heart grew cold and the bottom fell out of her stomach as her mind finally figured out what was going on. With a flap of her wings, Sunny took off and zoomed as fast as she could back to Maretime Bay
"Nonononononono, please, no!" Sunny thought to herself as she flew.
Sunny eventually arrived at the center of the town, and her worst fears were realized. Izzy, Pipp, Zipp, and Hitch were all being pinned down in a bowing position by Sprout's magic. Sprout cocky smirk got all the bigger as Sunny landed before them, and he said, "I'll kill them. I'll kill them all right now. You know I will. I tried to kill all of you with my Sprouticus Maximus, didn't I? Well, now I'll just have to use my 'Sprouticus Bell' instead."
Sunny looked in despair at Sprout and her captured friends, then sighed and said with her head hung low, "What do you want me to do, Sprout?"
"Sunny, no!" Hitch shouted, "We're not worth it! Don't give in! He'll ruin everything for everypony if you don't-!"
Without even turning around, Sprout fired lightning at Hitch, causing him to scream in pain and then fall silent. "I hate your arrogant voice so much, Hitch," he muttered, then he looked Sunny in the eye and asked, "So, this Bewitching Bell. . . can it, like, take magic from other ponies?"
Sunny swallowed hard, and she nodded.
Sprout grinned. "Well. . ."
Sunny's head shot up and she demanded, "You have to promise to let my friends go and not hurt them!"
Sprout raise his right forehoof and nodded. "Fine," he said.
Zipp shook her head frantically and shouted, "No, Sunny! Don't trust him!"
"You have to Pinkie Promise!" Sunny insisted.
Sprout rolled his eyes, "Ugh! Really? That stupid thing your dad made up?"
"He didn't make it up!" Sunny argued, "He discovered it in his research!"
"Fine, fine," Sprout relented, then he went through the motions with his forehooves as he said, "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."
Sunny sighed and nodded, "Okay. . .do it."
Sprout was smiling gleefully as he lifted the Bewitching Bell and aimed it at Sunny.
DONNNG!
A glowing pulsating wave struck Sunny, and she gasped and whimpered as magic was forcibly pulled out of her body. Her translucent horn and wings flickered out, and Sunny weakly fell down to ground.
The magic holding down Sunny's friends vanished, and the four ponies all dashed to their fallen friend's side.
"Oh no-no-no-no!" Izzy said in a panic as she knelt down next to Sunny, "Don't go, Sunny! Don't go towards the light!"
Hitch nudged the mare and said, "C'mon, Sunny. Open your eyes. Say something."
Sunny did open her eyes, and she breathed out slowly and said, "I'm okay. We're all okay."
Pipp looked at Sunny's bare back and said, "But. . .your wings. Your magic. . ."
Sunny smiled warmly and said, "It doesn't matter. I don't need magic. All I need. . .are my best friends."
"GAG!" Sprout shouted in disgust.
The other four ponies glared at Sprout, but Sunny just shook her head in resignation and said, "You got what you wanted Sprout. You beat me. Just. . .just go. Do whatever you want. Just. . . leave us alone. . ."
Sprout frowned down at the group for a tense moment, then his wicked smiled returned with a vengeance. "You are so stupid, Sunny!"
DONNNNNG!
The rest of the ponies all cried out as the Bewitching Bell ripped out their magic as well.
"Nooooooo! No fair!" Pipp moaned as she weakly flapped her feathery wings.
Sunny's eyes widened in horror, "But-but-but. . ."
Sprout laughed and said with a smirk, "Did you really think that I'd let you idiots live? I am Sprout Cloverleaf! The Final Emperor of Equestria! And what are you five? Two snobby pegasi, two know-it-all earth ponies, and a brain-dead unicorn! And you all dared to defy me! You're traitors! That's all you are! You have nothing! Friendship? HAH! Friendship can't save you now, LOSERS!"
Pipp shook her head and said in a panicky voice, "No-no-no, I can't die like this! Not to this little mama's boy! That's so lame!"
Zipp glared at her sister and shouted, "Seriously!? We're all about to die and you're still thinking about how you look?"
Pipp turned to Zipp and said, "Did you ever see yourself going out like this?"
Sunny was filled with despair as she said, "I'm sorry, everypony. I didn't fight hard enough. I couldn't stop him. It's all my fault."
Izzy scooted in closer and hugged Sunny, "It's okay. You did your very best. You did what you could to keep us safe."
Hitch nodded and said, "Yes, Sunny. You did the best you could, that's all anypony could ever ask for you."
Sunny could feel the wings of Pipp and Zipp on her back.
"We're so lucky to have met you, Sunny," Zipp said warmly.
"Ditto," Pipp added.
Sunny sniffled and said, "Thank you. . . everypony. . .I love you."
"We love you too, Sunny," Izzy added, smiling in spite of the grave situation they were all in. Amazingly, this smile was infectious, and the rest of the group was smiling as well.
Sprout cocked his head as he stared at the group huddled together in front of him, "Oh wow. This is . . actually kinda sad. . . . 'CAUSE YOU'RE ALL ABOUT TO DIE!"
Sprout immediately fired a massively large, widespread beam of magic over the five ponies, laughing maniacally as he bathed the area the group was huddled together in with all the power he had. He kept on laughing even after he had thoroughly blasted the area.
But his laughter stopped abruptly when he opened his eyes.
The five ponies were all perfectly untouched as they lay upon a patch of scorched earth.
Izzy opened one eyes and quipped, "Are we dead yet?"
Sprout took a step back and gaped at the group, "But-but-but-but-."
As the group slowly composed themselves, they suddenly noticed that there was a purple glowing aura surrounding them.
Sunny's breath caught in her throat as a spark flashed in her eyes. "Of course. . . how could I forget?" she whispered, then she closed her eyes and focused, and her translucent horn and wings reappeared.
Sprout's jaw dropped even further and he struggled to form words, "Bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-but I took your magic!"
Sunny opened her eyes and smiled. "You can never take away our magic, not as long as I've got my friends beside me," she said as she began to levitated into the air. Hitch, Izzy, Pipp, and Zipp began to rise up off of the ground as well, held aloft by the purple aura. "Because what you don't understand, Sprout," Sunny declared, still smiling brightly, "Is that friendship is magic."
The five ponies all linked hooves as the purple aura became a massive glowing sphere of magic that surrounded them.
Sprout quickly aimed the Bewitching Bell at the group and rang it again, desperately trying to absorb their magic. However, this was similar to using a teacup to empty out the ocean. Sprout's attempts to stop it were all in vain as the sphere suddenly expanded, moving towards him swiftly.
As the magic washed over him, Sprout screeched out, "NO! NOOOOO! WHYYYYYYYYYYY!?"
The sphere then exploded, sending a massive rainbow shockwave similar to the one caused by the reunion of the three crystals. As the shockwave spread across all of Maretime Bay, all of the damage caused by Sprout's rampage was repaired, including the destroyed pizza restaurant.
As the light faded, Sunny and her friends floated back down to the ground, their own magic restored as well. Before them, on the ground, lay the Bewitching Bell. The magic within it was gone, and it lay inert and no longer glowing. Not too far away from the bell stood Sprout, reared up onto his hind legs and a look of shock and horror on his face.
He was also now entirely made of stone.
The group stared at the now petrified pony in shock.
Zipp gave a solemn nod and said, ". . .Well, I guess he really was the Final Emperor of Equestria."
Hitch knocked on the door of Sunny's newly rebuilt lighthouse, and the mare quickly answered the door and smiled. "Hi, Hitch! Still keeping Maretime Bay a safe place for all ponies?"
Hitch flipped his mane and smiled, "That's right!"
Sunny nodded, then her expression turned slightly serious and said, "Any news on Phyllis?"
Hitch frowned and shook his head, "Nope. She cut and run after Sprout had his second evil rampage. Huh. She probably left during the rampage. Good riddance, I say. Hopefully Canterlogic will get a better CEO. One who isn't a fearmonger and is willing sell products that improve the lives of all ponies."
"Sure. . . But I still wish I could've spoken to her. . ." Sunny mused.
"C'mon, Sunny," Hitch said, "Your dad said it himself, she brainwashed Maretime Bay into fearing the other races for years. And then she made money off of that fear. She's a harpie, and she's kinda responsible for turning Sprout into a monster."
Sunny sighed and said, "Well, I guess. Not much we can do about that now, anyway. But Hitch, I was wondering if you could help me with something."
"Anything, Sunny," Hitch said with a smile.
"I want to learn how to defend myself, and my friends, a bit better," Sunny said with great conviction, "Sometimes friends have to fight to keep each other safe. Sure, the Magic of Friendship saved us that time, but the next threat that shows up might be something I need to fight head on."
Hitch raised an eyebrow and said, "Well, sure. . .but what do I know about magic?"
Sunny shrugged and said, "Oh, I'm sure I can learn more about that part later. Maybe Alphabittle has some old books on magic, or maybe I'll just experiment teach myself. But I'm sure you can help me use my hooves better, and Pipp and Zipp can help me with my wings. As long as I stay determined, I know I can master this new destiny I have."
Hitch was visibly impressed by Sunny's determination, and he said, "I'm with you all the way, Sunny. With that attitude, there's nothing that can get in the way of our bright, shining future."
It turned out that the Bewitching Bell wasn't the only artifact taken from the rubble of the original lighthouse, not that Sunny or the others ever noticed it was gone.
In an undisclosed location, a long scepter made of purple crystal lay on a table. The top of the scepter had three prongs, as if it was once meant to hold something. On one of the walls of the room was a schematic of the scepter with precise details on every part of it. The schematic also depicted a large egg-shaped gem of some kind being inserted into the three prongs.
"Once I fix this thing, they will all burn."
A pony walked over to the empty Bloodstone Scepter and rested a pink-furred hoof on it.
"Don't worry. Mommy will avenge you. . ."