“Here you go, Cloudy Skies! Just as the doctor ordered!”

Sunny Starscout passed four pearnana deluxe smoothies towards the eager customer, a peach-colored pegasus stallion, with a wide smile on her face. Cloudy took the smoothies in his hooves before putting them in his saddlebag. He zipped the bag up with a satisfied grin before looking back at Sunny.

“Thank you so much, Sunny!” he said. “You really know how to make somepony’s day!”

“It’s my pleasure,” replied Sunny. “How are you and Terra enjoying the Boardtrot so far?”

Cloudy shrugged. “Well, she ain’t a rollercoaster type pony, I’ll say that. But for her first time here, I’ll say she’s taking to it quite well. The teacup rides are definitely her favorite. We’ve gone on them three times!”

Sunny giggled. “That must’ve been fun.”

“I’ll say. Thanks again, Sunny!” With that, Cloudy swung the saddlebag around and flew off.

Sunny sighed with satisfaction before wiping some sweat off of her forehead. It was a busy day today at the Boardtrot. The weather was hotter than usual, so most ponies tended to flock to her stand in order to cool off. Not that Sunny minded, of course. Good business meant that she got to do what she loved, which was sharing her passion for smoothie making with the rest of Equestria. She was always happy with her old smoothie shop, but this new stand borne out of the Boardtrot’s creation was the best upgrade she could have ever asked for.

The new stand was bigger, with far more room for exotic fruits and unique flavors. She got to expand her horizons and discover recipes she didn’t even think existed before. And it was made even better now that she had help: her brand new assistant Comet the Auroricorn. Comet had moved to Maretime Bay following she and her friends’ adventure to Starlight Ridge. Within months, he had become her right hoof pony. They were the perfect team, and productivity had only doubled since they had started working together.

Sunny glanced at Comet, who was furiously working with the blender. She chuckled. “Comet, I think we have a breather. You can take a break if you want.”

Comet eagerly took that opportunity. He looked even more exhausted than she was. “Whoo! That was something, alright. We certainly make a great team, Sunny!” He adjusted his glasses, which were starting to fall down.

“Yeah, we do.” agreed Sunny, smiling again. “You’re the best help anypony could’ve asked for.”

Suddenly, there was a loud rumbling noise, alerting both of them. Sunny and Comet stepped out to investigate, only to see a large generator-type machine being pulled by a dark blue earth pony mare with all her might. She had a light blue mane and tail with white highlights. Her eyes were deep purple and she looked like she hadn’t slept in days. How long had she been traveling? Ponies gathered in droves, watching the strange mare lug the generator and set it right in the middle of the walkway.

Sunny peered at the mare closely, a flicker of recognition going off in her mind. She knew this pony. It had been a long time, yet somehow she knew. That’s when it hit her.

“Moonlight Gleam?” Sunny asked, not believing her eyes.

The mare looked up and flipped her mane in a fancy manner. “The one and only, I-“ That’s when she also recognized Sunny. “Sunny Starscout?!”

“Uh, yeah, it’s me.” Sunny waved at her. “How’ve you been since high school?”

“Oh, I’ve been fantastic,” Moonlight responded. “Although…not as fantastic as you’ve probably been. You’ve gone up in the world, Suns. From that nerd in history class to now…the alicorn?” She said that last part with a hint of skepticism. “Let me see.”

“I can’t exactly do it on command that easily yet,” Sunny said uneasily. “Still workshopping.”

“Hm.”

Comet leaned into her ear. “Who is that pony?”

“That’s Moonlight Gleam,” Sunny whispered back. “My old high school bully who used to…you know, tease me a lot in history class. I haven’t seen her in years.”

Moonlight grabbed a megaphone in her hoof and held it up to her face. “Come one, come all! The new Instant Smoothie Generator has come to your own Boardtrot! Are you tired of smoothies being made the dumb ‘ol fashioned way? Well, come take a look at this beauty!”

“The…dumb old fashioned way?” Sunny couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

Within seconds, ponies were flocking to the generator and fawning over it. Moonlight was explaining how it worked and how it could generate smoothies within seconds, just from a simple prompt! She said that the old ways of making drinks by hoof was done, and that this machine would revolutionize the way any sort of recipe was made! And ponies were buying it. Sunny looked around for somepony that wasn’t just staring at the machine in awe, somepony who would see through the nonsense being fed to them. Even Comet had left and was asking all kinds of questions.

That was when the rest of her friends showed up, coming in from across the Boardtrot. Thank hoofness they did. Sunny was about to think she was losing her mind. But as always, her friends always seemed to know when something was wrong. And they were here to help.

Zipp was the first to be suspicious. She walked up to the generator and peered at it. “You’re saying this thing can just…generate smoothies in seconds? From what? What ingredients?”

“Any ingredients you can imagine!” Moonlight explained happily. “You see, all you have to do is type a prompt using this keyboard.” She pointed to it. “And you can get a smoothie in seconds! Why waste precious time waiting for something to be made by hoof when you can just get it?”

“Um,” Pipp interjected. “How ‘bout because TRUE perfection takes time to make?”

“Yeah,” added Misty. “Where’s the love and care put into it? Sunny always takes time to make sure her recipes are the best they can be.”

“Sounds awfully lazy to me.” Hitch stated flatly.

Sunny stepped forward. “Yeah, Moonlight. The reason why my smoothies take time to make is because I need to spend time making sure the order is exactly the way the customer wants it. You can’t just get perfection in seconds. It’s…hollow.”

“There you are again,” Moonlight sneered. “The same ‘ol Sunny, talking about tradition and how things SHOULD be. This is the future, and ponies will see it! Watch.” She walked over to the keyboard and typed in a random combination of ingredients. Within seconds, a seemingly perfectly made smoothie popped out on the other side. She caught it and gave it over to Seashell.

“Wanna give it a taste?”

Seashell eagerly took the generated smoothie and took a sip from the straw. Instantly, her face lit up. “This is the best smoothie I’ve ever tasted!! Thank you so much!!”

“Oh don’t thank me, sweetie,” Moonlight said kindly. “Thank the future of innovation!!”

This got the crowd of ponies even more excited than they already were. They instantly held up their money and clamored to get a crack at generating their own smoothies. Moonlight smiled in triumph and told everyone to get in line.

Sunny groaned. She faced Moonlight angrily. “You’re selling these ponies slop! That thing is a machine! It CAN’T make art.”

“Obviously, your customers disagree.”

“Do they though?” Sunny challenged her. “You haven’t given them the freedom to choose. I say they should try both my smoothies and the machine’s back to back, so they can decide for themselves which one they like more.”

“Ooh, so like a contest?” Izzy asked, grinning widely.

Sunny nodded. “Pretty much. The ponies should be able to choose.”

Hitch looked from Moonlight to Sunny. Both mares were engaged in a tense stand-off. He then shrugged his hooves. “Eh. Works for me.”



The contest began at high noon. Sunny and Comet were at their stations, while Moonlight stood next to her generator. Both of them stared at each other intensely, determined to win whatever the cost. Hitch sounded his whistle and it was on. The customers lined up at Sunny’s stand. The first pony, Windy, asked for an order. Sunny and Comet got to work. After a minute, the blender finished, Sunny packaged the drink, and gave it to her. Windy took the smoothie to the machine and typed in the same prompt. Within seconds, out popped the same smoothie perfectly packaged.

The process continued for the next hour, with Hitch calling the shots and Izzy keeping score with Pipp. The smoothies were rated according to customer satisfaction, which was given anonymously to Hitch. As time passed, Sunny began to grow worried. What if she wasn’t good enough? What if making smoothies by hoof really was just old fashioned, and there was no need for ponies like her anymore? If a machine could do everything, what was the point?

That question was hard to answer.

“The scores are tied!” Hitch declared. “12 Sunny to 12 Generator. This final round will be the tiebreaker! For the final round…” His face turned deadly serious. “…I will order.”

The ponies muttered to each other in concern as Hitch walked over to Sunny’s stand with confidence. Sunny knew Hitch. He knew that he cared about her deeply, but he also was impartial when he needed to be. If she lost this final challenge, then she would know it. He wouldn’t hide it from her. She admired that about him, but it also filled her with a deep sense of dread. This was the ultimate test to prove which was the superior way of making smoothies, by machine or by hoof. It all came down for this.

“Give me the Dream Team Delight.” he stated firmly.

Swallowing her fear, Sunny nodded slowly. She and Comet got to work. Fruits flew across the air. The recipe was processed in the blender, then packaged by Comet. Sunny sighed heavily and hoofed it over to Hitch, who took a sip. The crowd of ponies watched with bated breath.

“The final smoothie has been tried!” announced Hitch. “And the winner of the Great Smoothie Challenge iiiiiiiiiiiiiiissssssss…”

Moonlight stared at Sunny with a look of triumph. “Give it up, dweeb. You’re done.”

“Not yet.”

“SUNNY!!”

The crowd erupted in standing ovation. Sunny couldn’t believe what she had just heard. She had won! She had actually won! Moonlight’s expression was a mix of shock, horror, and disbelief. Then that look turned into one of pure anger at the sheer thought of losing to her rival.

“NO!!!” Moonlight screamed. “No no no no NO!!” She jabbed an accusing hoof at Hitch. “You’re biased towards your friend! Mine was better, and you know it!”

Hitch shook his head. “I may be her friend, actually her best friend. But I’m still sheriff, and what I say goes. Sunny’s smoothie was better. She wins the competition.”

“But how?! Why?!” Moonlight’s tone was calmer now, but there was a hint of despair in her voice. “How could your old fashioned ways be better than having it be instantly made? It’s just a stupid recipe!”

“That’s just it though,” Sunny said, stepping out of the booth. “It’s not ‘just a stupid recipe.’ The Dream Team Delight is a very special recipe, made by so many exotic ingredient combinations and by teamwork. A machine couldn’t possibly hope to replicate that. I knew when Hitch gave the order that there was only one way that smoothie could be made. And while it may seem exhausting and tiring to have all these smoothies made by hoof and blender…what matters is that they’re made with love, they’re made with care. Every single recipe has a specialness to it. It has a soul, one that a machine and a simple prompt just doesn’t have. No matter how easy it may seem…patience and dedication is how real art is made. And that’s my greatest strength.”

With that, she transformed into an alicorn in a luminous flash of light, much to the amazement of all. Once she settled back down to the ground, she looked at Moonlight with compassion. “And someday…for the sake of Equestria, I hope you understand that it’s yours too.”

Moonlight blinked back tears. “I-I see. Looks like I have a lot to learn about that. Maybe you were right in pursuing being a chef as a career choice. It suits you.”

“Thanks.”

Misty walked up to her. “We all have a lot to learn. There’s no shame in being wrong about something, as it helps us grow.”

“No argument about that.” Zipp agreed.

“Three cheers for Sunny!!” Izzy exclaimed. “Hip hip-“

HOORAY!!”

The thunderous cheer from the crowd was all Sunny needed to hear that day.