Sprout

Sprout is a male Earth pony and supporting character in My Little Pony Generation 5, first appearing as the antagonist of the film My Little Pony: A New Generation. He is the former deputy sheriff of Maretime Bay and son of Phyllis Cloverleaf.
He is called Deputy Sprout and Sprout Cloverleaf in some merchandise and depictions.__TOC__
==Development and design==
Sprout's design was finalized by Lea Dabssi; in concept art, Celia Kaspar refers to him as "Sprout Cloverleaf". His name is similar to the G4 Newborn Earth pony Apple Sprout.
==Depiction in A New Generation==
In the film My Little Pony: A New Generation, Sprout first appears as a young colt and friend to Sunny Starscout and Hitch Trailblazer. Like most other Earth ponies, Sprout has been taught to view unicorns and Pegasi as dangerous enemies, usually putting him at odds with Sunny's views that all pony races should be friends.
Years later, Sprout is the deputy sheriff of his hometown of Maretime Bay, with Hitch as his senior. He attempts to keep an eye on Sunny during her song Gonna Be My Day, but she constantly outruns him. Afterward, he watches a presentation at the Canterlogic factory hosted by his mother Phyllis Cloverleaf. When the unicorn Izzy Moonbow comes to Maretime Bay and causes a panic, Sprout is among those panicking and hiding from her. After Sunny runs away with Izzy and Hitch decides to go after her, Sprout is left in charge of keeping the citizens safe while he is gone.
Later, when Earth ponies show up outside the sheriff's office concerned that more unicorns and even Pegasi will show up in Maretime Bay, Sprout admits that this is indeed a possibility. Instead of calming the Earth ponies down, he tells them to give in to their fear and paranoia out of self-preservation; through the song Danger, Danger, he rallies the whole town into an angry mob under his command, ready to strike at the unicorns and Pegasi first. Further later in the film, Sprout, now calling himself the city's "emperor", has the Canterlogic workers build a large machine for offensive purposes.
When Sunny and Hitch return to Maretime Bay after their quest to bring magic back to Equestria fails, Sprout makes a declaration of war against the other pony races and deploys his "Sprouticus Maximus", a massive tank equipped with anti-unicorn and anti-Pegasus weaponry. Against the wishes of his mother, Sprout attacks Alphabittle, Queen Haven, and the other unicorns and Pegasi outside of town, resulting in the destruction of Sunny's lighthouse home. After Sunny succeeds in bringing the three pony races together, Sprout is fired from his deputy sheriff position.
==Depiction in Make Your Mark==
In the Make Your Mark Chapter 2 episode Growing Pains, after Earth ponies gain the ability to magically grow plants in the hour-long Chapter 1 special, Sprout appears doing community service sweeping outside the Canterlogic factory. In two separate scenes, his plant magic causes a giant glimmerberry to roll through Maretime Bay. In The Traditional Unicorn Sleep-Over, Sprout briefly appears at the beginning when Izzy is chasing Sparky Sparkeroni through town.
In My Little Pony: Winter Wishday, Sprout briefly appears celebrating Winter Wishday with the rest of Maretime Bay.
In Top Remodel, Sprout follows Sunny and her friends into the defunct Canterlogic factory, claiming that it still belongs to his family. When he, Hitch, and Pipp find winged rodents inside, he attempts to get rid of them, then departs after failing to do so. After the factory is remodeled into Canterlove Studios, he once again claims that the building belongs to him.
Sprout appears in Cutie Blossom Bash as part of a flashback detailing how Hitch got his cutie mark. He refused to let a filly join in a game with himself and a group of colts, which Hitch defied by playing with her anyway. He also was present during Hitch's Blossom Bash, looking away with resentment. In Mane Smelody, he is among the ponies seen in Mane Melody. In Nightmare on Mane Street, he wears his community service hard hat as a costume for Nightmare Night.
In Roots of All Evil Pt. 1, Sprout is among the ponies of Maretime Bay panicking over Opaline's corruption of the Together Trees. When he loses his cutie mark, he runs to his mother for protection. In Roots of All Evil Pt. 2, Sprout is among the ponies singing in support of Sunny, and regains his cutie mark upon Opaline's defeat.
==Other depictions==
In the 2D animated YouTube web series My Little Pony: Tell Your Tale, Sprout appears on wanted posters in Nightmare Roommate, Foal Me Once, and Secret Ad-mare-er. He also appears in the console video game My Little Pony: A Maretime Bay Adventure and the mobile game My Little Pony: Mane Merge.
===IDW comics===
In of the 2022 comic book series, Sprout appears on pages 10, 18, and 19.
==Merchandise==
Toys of Deputy Sprout include the 6-inch brushable figure that comes with the Mane 5 in the Shining Adventures Collection set, the 1-inch figure that comes with 21 other figures in the Mini World Magic Mini Equestria Collection, and the figurine that comes with 9 other figures in the My Little Pony My Busy Books set by Phidal.
==Personality==
Sprout is portrayed as conceited, spoiled, lazy, cowardly, and overly ambitious. From his introduction, he uses his position as deputy sheriff to order other ponies around, particularly Sunny Starscout. Despite this, though, he shows little interest in actually doing his job, making up excuses or even inconveniencing himself to get out of sheriff work. He is also shown to be very jealous of Hitch Trailblazer, not only for being his superior but also for being more popular than him among the Earth ponies.
As a result of his mother Phyllis' upbringing, Sprout is very prejudiced toward unicorns and Pegasi, using said bigotry to stoke the fears of Earth ponies and unite them against the perceived threat of the other pony races. His ambitions even drive him to declare himself "emperor" of Maretime Bay. He is also considerably spoiled and immature due to his mother's coddling, calling her "Mommy" and constantly seeking her approval.
==Quotes==
==Gallery==
===IDW comics===
My Little Pony (2022) issue 6 cover B.jpg
My Little Pony (2022) issue 6 credits page.jpg
===Merchandise===
MLP G5 Shining Adventures Collection.png
MLP G5 Shining Adventures Collection packaging.png
MLP G5 Shining Adventures Collection back of packaging.png
===Concept art===
Sprout Cloverleaf concept art 1 by Celia Kaspar.jpg
Sprout Cloverleaf concept art 2 by Celia Kaspar.jpg
Sprout concept art by Lea Dabssi.jpg
Sprout concept art 2 by Lea Dabssi.jpg
Sprout concept art 3 by Lea Dabssi.jpg
Sprout concept art 4 by Lea Dabssi.jpg
Sprout character evolution by Lea Dabssi.png
Sprout anti-unicorn hat by Lea Dabssi.jpg
Dictator Sprout concept art by Lea Dabssi.png
Leaving Maretime Bay concept art by Alvaro Ramirez.jpg
Sprout declaring war concept art by Alvaro Ramirez.jpg
Sprout's mech original design by Fabia Sans.jpg
===Miscellaneous===
MLP A New Generation - Ken Jeong as Sprout.jpg
My Little Pony A New Generation voice cast.jpg
MLP G5 Instagram - What's Your Mood Today?.jpg
==References==
Category:Law enforcement
Category:Reformed antagonists
Category:Supporting characters