How the Mane 6 met Screwball

by Musiclover435

Chapter 3

The next day, after a delicious breakfast and another tour from the mayor, the Mane 6 decided to split up to find the friendship problem, Pinkie Pie was with Twilight, Fluttershy was with Applejack, and Rainbow Dash was with Rarity.

Everypony would look around town to find the friendship problem, one group was going back to the factory, another group would ask around town, and the last group would search the school. Fluttershy and Applejack took the school, Pinkie Pie and Twilight took the factory, finally, Rarity and Rainbow took the town.

"Are you sure we'll find the friendship problem at a school, Applejack?" Fluttershy asked.

"I don't know, Fluttershy, but it's a start. The school could be having a bullyin' problem and the mayor doesn't know about it."

The two arrived at the school during lunch and recess and watched the school ponies playing with each other. "Seems like everypony is gettin' along here. Maybe comin' here was a bust."

"Maybe not." Fluttershy pointed to a young filly who was sitting under a tree drawing a picture by herself.

"That looks like Tootsie Roll, Mayor Sweet Tooth's daughter."

"Wonder why she's by herself. We should ask her." The two walked over to Tootsie Roll. "Excuse me?"

Faster than Fluttershy and Applejack could register, Tootsie Roll crumbled up her picture and stomped on it with her hoof. She smiled at them after she was finished. "Yes? Oh, you were with the mayor yesterday? Where are your friends?"

"Uh... they all went 'round town." Applejack cleared her throat and tried to speak but didn't have the words.

"What are you doing over here? Don't you want to play with your friends?" Fluttershy asked.

Tootsie Roll was silent for a bit then she sat down. "Umm... I don't have any. No pony wants to be my friend."

"Why? You seem like a nice filly and with you being Mayor Sweet Tooth's daughter, I would imagine that everypony would like to be your friend."

"Not really. The mayor is nice to everypony and always lets everypony try his newest creations."

"Have you tried asking anypony?"

"Yeah, I bet if ya get to know anypony, they'll be your friend faster than a pig gettin' his grub."

Tootsie Roll bit her lip nervously. She was about to say something then the bell rang. She sighed sadly. "Look, I know friendship is important and all but no matter what you say, I won't make any friends. No pony wants to be my friend and no pony ever will." She grabbed her destroyed drawing and walked inside the school but not before throwing her crumpled up paper in the trash.

"Gee, that was..."

"Sad."

"Yeah, you said it."

---

In town, Rarity and Rainbow Dash were asking around town to see if anypony had a friendship problem with each other but everypony, just as they had seen yesterday, was getting along fairly well.

"Doesn't anypony have any issues? No town is perfect, not even Ponyville is this perfect," Rainbow Dash told Rarity.

"I do agree. Everypony getting along seems odd. Even in Starlight's village, while everypony seemed happy, not everypony was."

"Yeah, so there has to be somepony who's unhappy."

Then Rarity noticed Tootsie Roll walking through town with a list in her hoof. "Look, isn't that Tootsie Roll?"

Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes and said, "Yeah. I guess school is over for her. Maybe she knows something. We should ask her."

"Agreed."

The two walked over to the young unicorn. "Hey, Tootsie Roll, what are you doing?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Tootsie Roll looked at her and said, "Oh. I'm just doing some shopping for the mayor. He's always busy with other ponies so he makes me do all the shopping."

"So, what are you buying?" Rarity asked.

"Not much. Some seeds to plant to make new candied fruit and a few supplies for me."

"Mind if we join you?"

Tootsie Roll just shrugged her shoulders and said, "Sure. I guess it would be nice to have some company."

The trio continued their trek through town in silence until Rarity started to ask some questions. "So, do you know of any problems in town?"

"No. Everypony gets along really well. No fights, no disagreement. Everypony gets to suggest new ideas to the mayor and he takes all of them, while not all are used, everypony understands that not every idea is a good idea."

"That makes sense. Even in the Wonderbolts, while we try new trick ideas, not all of them work. Have you suggested any ideas to him?"

"Not really. I'm not that creative."

"Are you sure? I've met all sorts of fillies who are very creative and you did say that the mayor accepts all ideas."

Tootsie Roll sighed sadly. "Yeah, all ideas but mine, but that doesn't matter. Besides, my ideas aren't very good." Wanting to change the subject, the trio finally arrived at the store. "Oh, look, we arrived. I should do the rest of the shopping by myself. Then I have to head home. Bye." Then she walked into the shop without another word.

The two friends looked at each other in silence and started to walk back to their hotel "Well, that was weird."

"Indeed. It seems like Mayor Sweet Tooth's daughter does have ideas but she doesn't get to voice them. Could that be the problem?"

"Not sure, but it does seem likely. She also seemed really sad. Besides, she said, "It'd be nice to have some company". That could indicate that she normally shops alone."

"Maybe, but if her ideas not being looked at and being alone is the friendship problem, then why didn't the map send the CMC? They would be much better at this than us."

"Yeah, maybe the others are having better luck. We all agreed to meet back up later. Let's go talk to the others." Rarity nodded and the two ran back to the hotel room.

---

Pinkie Pie and Twilight returned to the hotel room with nothing from the factory workers. "Pinkie Pie and I didn't find anything at the factory. All of them said that Mayor Sweet Tooth was the best boss/mayor ever."

"Yeah, even I didn't find anypony who was unhappy and that's my job!"

"Well, Fluttershy and I think we found something."

"Same, with me and Rainbow Dash."

"What is it?"

"Tootsie Roll," Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack said at the same time. The four looked at each other in confusion.

"Tootsie Roll, Mayor Sweet Tooth's daughter?"

"Yeah, Fluttershy saw her at the school. It was recess time and Tootsie Roll was by herself drawin'. When Fluttershy and I approached her, she quickly destroyed her drawing and talked to us."

"Destroyed her drawing? Why would she do that?" Twilight asked.

"We're not sure. We were so shocked by her actions that we forgot to ask. We did ask her if she had any friends and she told us that no pony wanted to be her friend."

"Yeah, Rarity and I got the same vibe from her. She was doing shopping for the Mayor and for herself. It seemed like she didn't have any friends and even though the mayor takes ideas from everypony in town except from her."

"Why? Tootsie Roll is his daughter, why doesn't he take ideas from her?"

"I'm not sure, but something seems fishy about all this. Somethin' else I noticed was that Tootsie Roll never once called Mayor Sweet Tooth, dad, she just called him, the mayor."

"Something I noticed was when we first met Tootsie Roll. Her mane and tail were dyed."

"How can you tell her hair is dyed?"

"As a mare who spends hours on her mane and tail, I could easily tell that her mane and tail are dyed. Parts of her mane are truly white but the rest of it is dyed white. I just can't figure out why."

"All that does seem weird. Her mane and tail could be something that she wants but not calling the mayor, dad, is suspicious. You girls stay here, Pinkie, let's go back to the factory."

"YIPPIE!!"