"Great idea, huh?" said Pipp, taking a picture of the table's banner as Izzy taped it in place. In large purple letters, it read:
HONESTY TRYOUTS FOR PIPPSQUEAKS!
"I'm not sure if ponies in Maretime Bay will know what 'Honesty tryouts' means, or 'Pippsqueaks' for that matter," said Sunny, seated behind the booth. "We only have a few hours to work a miracle, though, so I guess this is our best shot."
Deputy Sprout Cloverleaf walked up to the booth from behind, wearing a stern expression on his muzzle. "I overheard a group of fillies talking yesterday. Apparently that dumb princess show of yours has already infected earth ponies throughout Maretime Bay," he said.
"It's not dumb," said Zipp. "It's popular because my sister is interesting and beautiful. Not that you'd be an expert on either of those."
"Fine, whatever. Princess Pipp is awesome, everypony loves her, yadda yadda yadda. Like dealing with Hitch's fanbase isn't bad enough," said Sprout, rolling his eyes.
"I don't understand why you care about my fans," said Hitch. "It's not like I give them any more attention than I do you, and besides, I've never once seen you flirt with a mare."
"Fine, I'm not interested in flirting with any of those lousy mares who drool over you, but it'd be nice to have a snowball's chance in Tartarus if I did want to," Sprout grumbled. "Sunny, do you really have to do whatever this is right in front of the Sheriff's office?" He pointed sharply to the building behind him, frowning so deeply it looked like he was about to strain a muscle.
"It's just for one day, Deputy," said Hitch. "Relax."
"Hay, everypony! Come on up for tryouts!" shouted Izzy. There were only a few ponies walking around on a Friday afternoon. Those who bothered to glance at the booth simply continued walking.
Sprout snorted. "Hmph. I hope this is at least for a good cause, like a cultural exchange between earth ponies and pigeon—um, I mean pegasus ponies."
"Uh, right. It's a cultural exchange," said Hitch, and his tail jerked oddly to one side. It nearly smacked Izzy in the face, but she didn't flinch.
Sprout sighed dejectedly. "Hitch..."
Zipp glowered at the deputy. "It's for Sunny, okay? We need to locate the Bearer of Honesty for a quest we're about to go on. The Elements of Harmony are—"
"I know what they are," interrupted Sprout.
"Really?" said Sunny, unable to keep the surprise out of her voice. "How did you find out about them?"
Sprout quickly looked away from the herd and lowered his voice. "I used to hide outside the lighthouse and listen to your dad telling you stories," he admitted.
"Yikes! Major creep factor," said Pipp.
Hitch cocked his head. "You used to spy on Sunny when we were foals?"
"Look, it's..." Sprout began, then turned his head and noticed his mother Phyllis trotting toward them. "Uh, nevermind. I was a young colt, okay?"
"Water under the bridge," said Sunny, with a smile. "Anyway, Zipp is right about the quest. I'm sure we represent five of the Elements, and I know who is which, but we're missing Honesty."
"Sunny, be rational for once. Those stories were fun to listen to when we were foals, but they're just old legends. There's no such thing as the Elements, and even if there were, why would you expect to find Honesty in Maretime Bay of all places? Three of your friends aren't from anywhere near here—they're not even earth ponies!" said Sprout. "No offense."
"I'd say 'none taken', but why is being a pegasus offensive?" asked Zipp, raising a brow.
Sprout raised his hoof to his face and groaned. "Ugh. I didn't mean it like that, I swear. I feel like I'm trotting on eggshells with you... I mean, with such new diversity around me every time I step outside."
"It's okay, Sprout! And to answer your question, Honesty might not be here, but we still have to try," said Izzy. "What we learn on our mission could end up saving the world someday!"
"Yeah! Sunny's going to summon the ghost of an ancient alico—" began Pipp, then mumbled as her sister's hoof blocked her mouth.
Hitch slapped his forehead with a hoof. "Pipp, you weren't supposed to tell him that."
"Hitch! Why are you hiding the truth from me?" asked Sprout, as his mother stepped up beside him.
"Because I'm not Honesty? I'm Kindness," said Hitch, wearing a sheepish smile. "That's what Sunny says, at any rate."
"I'm Laughter!" added Izzy. "Talk about stereotyping, am I right?"
"It's not like I can stop you. If it isn't illegal, I'm not going to do anything except try to talk you out of being crazy again," said Sprout. "Not that it will do any good, of course."
"Gracious. Please tell me this is a joke," said Phyllis Cloverleaf, wincing as she rubbed her temple with a hoof. "I thought you had more horse sense in you, Hitch." Sweets, the Vice President of Engineering for CanterLogic, trotted up behind her boss with a clipboard in the crook of her leg.
"I'm not sure what you expect me to do, Phyllis. Have you ever tried changing Sunny's mind?" he replied. "I'm mainly going along to make sure everypony stays safe. I don't want anypony to end up hurt. Besides, I believe in Sunny."
Phyllis turned to Sunny. "As do I," she said, quickly blinking away an odd twitch in her eye. "You're a trustworthy pony, dear, but magic only returned a week ago. Couldn't you at least wait a few moons before summoning an ancient evil?"
"She's not evil! Twilight is one of the goodest—okay that might not be a word—ponies ever to have lived," said Sunny.
"If it wasn't a word, it is now! I am officially going to use 'goodest' at every opportunity," said Izzy. "This is the goodest idea I've ever had! Oops, I'm interrupting again. Go on."
"I think what Mom means is you might mess up whatever you're trying to do because nopony knows how magic works yet. We don't want to see you get hurt," said Sprout.
"Aww!" said Pipp, smiling as she rested her ankles on the table to prop up her head. "The Deputy cares about us."
"I'm sure he does," said Sweets, who then quickly blew a green gum bubble which popped onto her muzzle.
Sprout cleared his throat noisily. "Also, we don't want you to summon giant monsters that will destroy us all."
"Aww," said Zipp, her expression flat. "The Deputy cares about being crushed by monsters."
"I do care about you," said Sprout, nostrils flaring. "Ugh, that's it! Even if it's dangerous, I'm coming with you too."
Phyllis's eyes widened. "Sugarcube, we should talk about this..."
"Yes, talk to Mommy," said Zipp. "Preferably somewhere else."
"You don't have to prove anything to us, Sprout," said Sunny. "You've already made amends."
"Exactly. Hitch, could you kindly talk some sense into my son?" asked Phyllis.
"Your son listens to you more than he does me, and he's almost as stubborn as Sunny. I'm impressed by his bravery, though," said Hitch. "He's rarely this bold."
"I'm standing right here, guys," said Sprout, frowning. "Don't tease me in front of Mom."
"The other deputy can handle things for a single weekend. And I'm not teasing—" said Hitch, before Sunny interrupted him.
"It won't be dangerous! I'm not performing any magic. All we have to do is travel to Griffinstone. There's a place where Princess Twilight Sparkle will appear if we all stand together," said Sunny. "That's it! If anything, her guidance will help protect ponies from the effects of magic."
"Hay, I have an idea! Maybe we should talk to the pony who just walked up to our booth," said Izzy.
The herd turned to look at the beautiful young mare standing and waiting on the other side of the booth. She was a lavender earth pony with a candy-cane colored mane and tail and a crazy amount of cherry-red eye makeup. Her makeup and hair were peppered with glitter.
"Oh my gosh, you're so pretty," said Pipp. "I love your makeup!"
"Thank you! I'm here for the tryouts," said the mare. "I love your show, Princess, and I've always wanted to perform on the big screen."
"Princess Pipp, Sugar Moonlight is Maretime Bay's most popular model," said Phyllis. "I always use her to showcase my most valuable equipment."
"I can see why," said Zipp.
Pipp attempted to snap a candid shot, but Sugar instantly struck a pose.
"Let's not forget why we're here," said Sunny. "Sugar, would you consider yourself an honest pony?"
"The most honest ever!" she said, as one hoof nervously tapped the sidewalk. "Honest is good, right?"
"For what it's worth, I've never known her to misrepresent herself," said Phyllis.
"Nopony with a style this glamorous could possibly be dishonest! I think we've found her," said Izzy.
"This is ridiculous. She's the first pony to come up to the booth," Sprout pointed out. "How could she possibly be Honesty?"
"She's also the only pony to come to the booth," said Hitch, motioning around himself. "It has to be her. It's like, kismet."
Sugar squealed in excitement. "Yes! I can't wait to be on your show. But my name's Sugar Moonlight, not Kismet."
"My show...? Oh, riiiiight," said Pipp, with a smile. "We'll, um... be doing a road trip through the wilderness this weekend, and see how things work out." For a moment, Pipp's feathers pulled in tight against her wings.
"Perfect! When do we start?" asked Sugar, eyes wide.
"Why don't you meet us at the lighthouse with your things?" said Sunny. "I'd like us to get to Izzy's village by nightfall, and we can take off as soon as you arrive."
"Fab! Back in a flash!" said Sugar, and she galloped off.
Sweets whispered something in Phyllis's ear, and Phyllis nodded before speaking. "Sprout, if I can't dissuade you from your 'quest', I'd like you to at least take Sweets with you to help out."
"That's not a bad idea. She made for a good secretary when I was... um, temporarily in charge," said Sprout.
"I have a doctorate in mechanical engineering," grumbled Sweets.
"It sounds like you're on a tight timetable, so run along," said Phyllis, shooing the herd with a hoof. "I'll have your booth taken down and close the Sheriff's office myself."
"Thanks, Phyllis," said Hitch. "Let's go, gang."
As the herd trotted off to Sunny's lighthouse, Sweets turned to her boss. "You don't really trust Sunny, do you?"
"About as far as I can throw her," said Phyllis, "and she's an earth pony, and I injured my back two days ago. I want you to watch after my son, obviously."
"Got it," said Sweets, nodding. She hoofed her CanterLogic badge to Phyllis, but kept on her collar and tie.
"And Sweets?"
"Yes?"
Phyllis narrowed her eyes. "Keep them honest."