I think that the friendship between the characters in G5 is more realistic than FiM.
FiM's Mane 6 was formed because of Celestia's behind the scenes shenanigans while G5 had Sunny Starscout meeting friends she already knew
like, Sprout and Hitch Trailblazer or because of things that happened naturally like Izzy Moonbow visiting Maretime Bay because she had Sunny's letter.