Tonight, for the first in a very, very long time, is the first annual night of the Trivia Trot.
Sunny Starscout helped arrange everything needed for this event, plus with the help of friends, most noticeably Izzy, tonight feels like it could, no will be a smashing success. Well okay, maybe not too much smashing entirely.
But Sunny still hopes tonight and everypony will be all good.
At least, fundamentally.
***
“Everything is set. Soon enough, everypony should be arriving and the night can fully begin.” Sunny Starscout said to herself encouragingly, hoping that tonight will be a success.
“No problemo Sunny. As long as we all have fun, then it will be a success.” Izzy said as she walks into the main living room area, with a tray of fast food hayburgers.
In Sunny’s living room there are three separate tables set for the contestants, each one finely decorated with a light blue with gold trim tablecloth. In the middle of the tables being a wooden moderator podium. Off to the sides being tables meant to be used for snacks.
“I know we all will!” Sunny goes over and puts a hoof around Izzy, both smiling as bright.
The night would officially begin with the sound of a knock on the front door.
“It’s open!” Sunny yells out over to the front door.
Being opened from the outside, Hitch Trailblazer is the first pony to arrive.
“Hey Sunny, Izzy. I’m here. And I brought snacks.” Hitch says as he walks on in, carrying with him a plate of spicy carrots with mayonnaise dip.
“Oh, and Izzy. Sorry about the mayo.” Hitch quickly apologizes as soon as he sees the unicorn inside Sunny’s house.
“None taken.” Izzy brightly smiles.
Next pony to arrive is Sprout. Looking as 'totally not wanting to be here' as ever.
“Why am I here exactly? Why do I have to be here? I have so many questions, not enough answers?!” The earth pony mumbles to himself.
“Hiya Sprout. What’s been happening with ya?” Sunny gives a bright welcome.
Though all Sprout replied back was nothing but grumbling under his breath as he walks further on into the house.
The next (and last) ponies to enter are none other than both Pipp Petals and Zipp Storm.
“Hi, we’re here.” Zipp greets the ponies inside as she walks on in through the front door.
“Uh huh. Yes.” Pipp walks on in after her, though she appears more focused on her phone more so than on the other ponies in the room.
“Well, now that everypony is here can we truly begin,” Sunny says to all the ponies, getting in the middle of them all, “Now, if you don’t know, we are doing a ‘Trivia Trot’. It’s something ponies used to do for fun. Like, a long time ago.”
“Now if you'll excuse me as I tell you all the rules and...-” Sunny interrupts herself when she sees of how everypony don’t seemed to be all focused on her.
Izzy being more focused on cheering up a grumpy Sprout. Zipp and Pipp having a rather ‘serious sister-to-sister conversation’. And Hitch just so balantly standing still by the snacks’ table. Not paying attention to anypony.
“...and, we should pair everypony up. Izzy, I believed you-”
“Righto!” Izzy pulls out a piece of paper from right out under the tray that has the hayburgers on. “Zipp, Sprout. You’re team one.”
“What now?” Zipp acts surprised.
“Huh?” Sprout asks, confused.
“Pipp, Hitch. You’re team two.”
“What?” Pipp acting just as surprised as her sister.
“Really Izzy.” Hitch says deadpanned.
“And Sunny is the moderator and-”
“Wait, but there’s only five of us. Meaning you don’t have a partner.” Sprout interrupts Izzy.
“Oh don’t worry. I invited somepony to be my very own personal partner. And he should be here in three, two...” Almost on cue, a knock sounds on the front door.
“There he is!!” Izzy joyously bounces over, opening the front door and seeing her game partner on the other side.
This pony of whom Izzy has invited may not look like your average, run-of-the-mill pony... but it was.
With a pure black coat, mane and tail nothing but long strings of dark gray hair, and that’s not to mention the eyes. Yes!
It’s eyes having no pupil, just completely white.
Everypony appears shocked (while also confused, scared a little, and even more surprised), in awe completely at just the sight of Izzy’s partner.
“Uh Izzy, are you sure this is the pony? Do you even know him, or her... or...-?” Sunny asks her friend about her unusual partner she’d invited.
“You all look like you’ve seen a ghost. Plus, it’s no worry. He’s fine. We both met right outside that twenty-four hour convenience store from way back when, and wouldn’t ya know, we just hit it off.” Izzy explains to her friends of how they met.
Everypony though still staring in silence before Sunny having to break it up again. Trying to put on a welcoming smile.
“Well okay. Nice to meet you. What’s your name?”
The strange pony, having heard Sunny’s question, and seeming to take kindly to Sunny’s smile, what with how it smiled back. No matter how creepy it looked.
To answer her question, the pony gave a long, dark, gloomy whinny in response.
“Uh, okay.”
“Pfft. Oh Carl, you're such a crackup!” Izzy giggles at her partner’s response.
“It’s name is Carl. Nice.” Hitch quietly says sarcastically to himself.
“Well, now that everypony is here, let us begin!”
***
“Now that everypony is seated, we can fully begin.”
Sunny officially starts the night off. Each pony with their partner and sitting at one of the three tables.
Sunny meanwhile standing at the moderator podium in the middle of them.
“Alright, so usually the rules are far more complex, so I have taken the liberty and completely simplified them. All you three teams have to do is shout, ‘LETTUCE!!’ to get a chance to answer the question I give you. And don’t worry, a pony of no bias will be keeping score... I’m talking about myself. Sounds simple, right?” Sunny flashes a smile over the whole room, being totally proud of everything she’d planned.
“Sounds easy enough,” Pipp speaks for the whole room in approval of Sunny’s rules for the game, “Oh, and Zipp, you're so totally going down.” Pipp said with a cocky smile and attitude.
“Yeah right. Back in school, you couldn’t even spell isototalitarianism.” Zipp claps back.
“Uh, what she said!” Both Hitch and Sprout say at once.
“Hehe. This is gonna be so much fun.” Izzy says to her game partner. The response she gets back is the same long, dark, gloomy whinny from before.
“Okay. Now you all got that out of the way, now let us officially begin.” Sunny brings up on her podium a medium sized box of trivia cards, taking the lid off and choosing a card at random.
“First question, what is the difference between-”
“Lettuce!!!” Hitch shouts out loud.
“Uh, maybe let me finish the question first?” Sunny says, inquisitive of Hitch’s sudden burst.
“No it’s, I forgot the lettuce that goes with the carrots I’ve brought! If you let me go home and-”
“Sorry Hitch. But if you leave, then you are disqualifying your team from competition. It’s a rule I created.”
“Oh.”
“You get us disqualified Hitch and you’ll never play checkers with me again.” Pipp speaks intensely, obviously not wanting to lose. Almost making Hitch cry a little (on the inside).
“Well, if I may continue...” Sunny goes back to reading the card to everyone.
“...what is the difference between photosynthesis and chemosynthesis? Short answer only.”
“Lettuce!!” Zipp immediately shouts out. Clearing her throat before giving her answer: “Photosynthesis occurs in plants while chemosynthesis occurs in bacteria.”
“Correct! Team Zout gets one point.”
“Beat that sis," Zipp looks across from her sister with a smug expression, “And next time, give me a challenge.” Zipp said this time to Sunny as cocky as ever.
“You really know all about that kind of stuff, don't cha?” Sprout asks curiously to the white pegasus.
“Well yeah. It’s just basic biology we’ve all learned in school. Didn’t you guys learn the same thing?”
“Pffffft. Probably. Though I mostly forgot everything I learned.” Sprout says truthfully to her.
“You really don’t remember everything you've learned?”
“My best subject was lunch. Tells you all you need to know right there.”
Almost as if they’re long time friends, both Zipp and Sprout laugh off their whole exchange. Laughing like they were just told of an old inside joke.
Seeing their laughter, Sunny can do nothing but smile.
“Alright, next question...” Sunny pulls out another card. “...what are the names of the mystical reindeer legend told to us all when we were young?”
A loud whinny comes up, everypony looking towards Izzy and her partner.
“He says lettuce!" Izzy says for Carl, "Oh, and he also answered that their names are Aurora, Bori, and Alice. Boom! Double drop.” Izzy metaphorically drops the mic.
“Uh huh. Well, that is correct. Team Cizzy gets one point.”
“Hurray!!” Izzy cheers her team on, her partner giving an ever somewhat happy (and still creepy) smile and whinny.
“Listen here Hitch. We’re already down one point to everyone. Do something to make this better!!” Pipp grabs a hold of her partner, shaking him uncontrollably.
Hitch easily removes himself from Pipp’s hooves. “Yes honey.” He says ever so sincerely to her.
“Next one...” Sunny grabs another card. “Who is... Hitch Trailblazer?” Sunny acts surprised after just reading the card. Everypony else (including Hitch, maybe excluding Pipp) surprised by the question as well. Even Carl is surprised.
“Lettuce!” Pipp speaks up in a singsongery tone. “And Hitch Trailblazer is the most handsome -est, kind -est, most reliable -est, and best -est pony that you’d ever want to play checkers with, and...-”
Pipp breaks up her longwinded answer, seeing as how everypony (including Hitch) looking at her weirdly.
“Alright, well I’m just taking that as a correct answer. I’ll have to look into it on why this card is even in here in the first place. Either way, team Hipp scores one point.”
“Hurray!” Pipp celebrates her victory with a tight congratulatory hug around Hitch’s upper body. Her sweet mumbling of joy causing her to not hear Hitch being choked.
Carl, Izzy’s partner, whinnies at the sight of the two.
“I know right. Tell us you two are in a relationship, without telling us you two are in a relationship.” Izzy nods her head in total disapproval along with her partner.
“Well um, since each team now has one point each, let us continue the game!”
***
(Fifteen Minutes Later)
“Well, it appears you all have a tie.” Sunny speaks out to the three teams. Team Zout, Hipp, and Cizzy all having exactly twenty-two points.
It’s been a rough fifteen minutes, from some teams gaining points to some teams losing points. But not at all worrisome for Sunny. The six ponies (plus whatever Carl is) were all having fun.
At least, she hoped they were. Kind of. Okay, maybe they were really so super competitive as to want to win this thing. What you have the two sisters trying to ‘oneup’ each other, then you have one stallion trying so desperately to show the other stallion how much better he is/can be.
At least Izzy and Carl look like they’re having fun. Unless Carl is secretly plotting for world domination and neither pony knows what he’s talking about except Izzy because she’s “apparently” the only one to understand him.
Nah.
“And because of the sad fact that I’ve run all out of trivia cards, it appears that the game is over.”
Everypony (especially Zipp and Pipp) takes the news rather poorly. Not to mention in shock and surprise.
“No! It. Cannot. Be!!” Sprout yells out.
“Yeah! No way we can end this without me beating my sister!” Both Zipp and Pipp say simultaneously at the same time, both ponies too noticing it. “Hey! Stop repeating after me! No you! Ugh!!”
“I’m just here so I can have fun.” Hitch says quietly to himself.
Carl also gives a long, dissatisfactory whinny.
“It’s okay there. Your plans for world domination will eventually go through.” Izzy gives her partner a solemn understanding pat on the back.
“Now now everypony. I get you don’t want the game to end just yet. So to make ya happy, we will be doing one final round. A sudden death round, whichever team shouts lettuce first and answers correctly will be the winner. Any questions, if not, then we will continue.”
Hearing this, the room immediately gets quiet. The only action happening is the six nods of approval given by all towards the wooden podium in the middle.
“Alright! The sudden death round question is... uh...”
Of course Sunny hadn’t exactly planned this out. Thinking to herself long and hard on what she should say. And all that thinking caused her to sweat nervously and uncontrollably.
“Uh... uh... oh. Yes! Simple.” Sunny finally gets a lightbulb of an idea in her head. And her being so proud of it as she smiles as bright as ever.
“And the sudden death round question is... what, or who, are the six different and unique ponies, who are all friends, names?”
The question, seeming so simple yet so surprisingly hard, as it appeared everypony was having a real struggle trying to crack it.
The three teams did not seem to get it.
“I should mention that there is a timer.”
That last sudden bit of news also seeming to freak everypony out.
“Uh... LETTUCE!!!” Everypony blurts out at once.
“Sorry, but only one pony may ring in. So only one of you will have to answer.” Sunny says with a smug expression.
Everypony looks unto one another nervously until Hitch finally speaks up for everyone:
“Alright, I think I speak for everypony in saying that we don’t know the six names you are referring to. Sorry.” After Hitch finishes speaking does everyone look down onto their tables in defeat.
“Are you all serious! It’s you guys. You! The answer to the question, six names of six different and unique ponies, are Hitch, Sprout, Zipp, Pipp, Izzy, and me!! ...okay maybe Carl, so seven names then.”
“Oohh.” Everypony all say at once in unknowingly naive unison. Silence falling upon them all.
“Well, I for one had a great time. Right, Carl?” Izzy breaks up the silence, her partner replying back with a joyous, full of expression whinny.
“I supposed that was a great time for me too. And I even learned more about you Sprout.” Zipp said after, nudging her partner on the shoulder.
“I guess it was pretty great as well.” Sprout said, trying to sound as uninterested, but also showing a small grin.
“Me too. You and I are such a great team Hitch.” Pipp says to her partner, elbowing him light (but also surprisingly hard).
“Yes honey, it was.” Hitch responds back with a hoof around her. Pipp responding back with an almost embarrassing blush.
Carl gives a long whinny, speaking (to really Izzy only) on his thoughts on the two.
“Carl, not here. Not at this time.” Izzy feels almost taken aback by Carl’s latest comment on not only the game but towards both Hitch and Pipp.
“Hehe. He says he totally too had a great time. Hahaha!” Izzy lies to everyone, not even thinking of telling everyone of what Carl had really said (he said he wondered what a night of checkers must be like for both Hitch and Pipp).
“Well, since you all seemed to have fun, then I hereby declare that tonight, the first annual Trivia Trot for the very first time in a long time, was a success!” Sunny says emphatically, everypony else going along with it and cheering together.
And from there the night ended... but not until for another two hours though as they all decided to just hang out at Sunny’s place.
Hanging out as friends.
What are friends for indeed.
Especially since what’s about to happen next will not only test themselves, but their friendship.
(Far Away, In Another Generation. More Specifically, The G4’s Endspere)
“So, we now know of the world more clearly. Wanna check it out for ourselves?”
“Yes! Those ponies will definitely have no clue of what’s coming.”