//------------------------------//
// Be Prepared 
// Story: Unicorn Attack! 
// by milesprower06 
//------------------------------//

With his first patrol of the morning done, Sprout trotted back into the MPD precinct, and checked the complaint box, finding it empty, before going back to his desk and sipped at his soda, which he had pulled from the mini fridge under his desk before he made a quick stride down the coastal highway.

He had to give Hitch credit; for the insane panic that the town had been in after the unicorn's sudden appearance, his reassuring speech has done wonders to calm things down. Sprout had been asked a couple of times on his first patrol where the sheriff was, and he explained that he was escorting the unicorn back to where she had come from, along with Sunny Starscout. They seemed to accept this, and went on with their day. For his part, Sprout was glad that he was so far able to carry the banner without Hitch here, at least for the time being.

The double doors to the precinct opened, and in walked Phyllis Cloverleaf, Sprout's mom and head of CanterLogic.

"Good morning, sugarcube. How are things going today?" She asked with a smile.

"Not too bad, for the start of a solo run, how are things going for the factory?" Sprout asked in return.

"Solo? Hitch isn't here?"

The stallion shook his head.

"He and Sunny took that unicorn out of town, I'm guessing back to wherever she came from."

The factory director looked almost bewildered at those words.

"He just let the unicorn leave?" Phyllis asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I mean, why wouldn't he? She answered all of our questions, and aside from the panic, she didn't really do anything wrong. No brains melted or read, as far as I could tell. He did a great job of calming everyone down before he and Sunny left with her last night, that's for sure."

"Yeah, and calming everyone down is sure to increase sales, right?" Phyllis replied.

Sprout detected the more-than-a-hint of sarcasm coming from his mother's tongue.

"Mom, what's the big deal? You already sold plenty after everything calmed down last night."

"Yes, and the important thing is that we keep selling, so we can keep improving our products, and keep making new ones. Sugar cube, if the ponies of Maretime Bay aren't scared of pegasi and unicorns, then they don't want to be prepared. And if they don't want to be prepared, then they aren't demanding CanterLogic products to protect them. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"Uh... Huh?" Sprout answered, really unsure of what else to say at the moment. Honestly, he wasn't quite sure what his mom meant. If ponies didn't need to be kept safe and stylish, then surely CanterLogic would be able to shift gears to just stylish, right?

"I'm glad that he can keep things calm, but I'm not sure if it's such a good idea for the town sheriff to go trotting off to see an invading unicorn home! Don't you think so, sweetheart?"

"I mean, that's what I'm here for, mom. To fill in for him so he can take time off, or attend to something out of town," Sprout countered, although he can't remember the last time Hitch actually left town, even on vacation. Last time he did, he came back covered in furry, fuzzy woodland creatures."

"And you're doing a terrific job, so far, Sprouty-kins. Keep up the good work, and maybe we'll be looking at Maretime Bay's new sheriff, eh?"

Sprout's eyes widened in shock. She wasn't seriously suggesting... Usurping Hitch's badge, was she?

"Being sheriff is all you talked about when you were younger, wasn't it? I'll let you think on that. I've got to get back to the factory, sugar cube. Keep up the good work!"

With that, Phyllis Cloverleaf turned on her hooves, and pushed the doors to the precinct open, and trotted back outside, flooding the center of the office area with sunlight for a few precious seconds, and this pushed Sprout out of his chair to raise the blinds on the door, letting in the late morning sun.