Chapter 4:
“This gift is going to be perfect!” she whispered to herself as she dipped her brush in paint before adding another stroke to her painting. Izzy had been going out to the Café with Hitch and Sunny for a few weeks now, and Izzy had been bringing the pair gifts everyday. Usually she would bring them pretty crystals she found during her material hunts, but today she wanted to give them both something a little more special. Izzy was working on an art piece of herself, Sunny, Hitch, Zipp, and Pipp to celebrate Sunny’s home finally being finished with repairs. She’d moved back in the day before, and Izzy wanted to make a housewarming gift for her to show her appreciation for Sunny.
Izzy didn’t forget Hitch though, and while she didn’t have time to make a whole art piece for him, she made him a special bracelet. It wasn’t quite a friendship bracelet, but it was a bracelet to celebrate all the work he does for Maretime Bay. Hitch never really seemed like the type to wear bracelets much, but Izzy hoped he would appreciate the gift nonetheless. Izzy put a little extra care into making his bracelet look more professional in hopes that he would wear it on the job from time to time.
Adding another dash of purple to finish up Pipp’s hair, and adding her Golden Tiara on top, Izzy had finished her painting! Standing back, Izzy took a moment to admire her work. Oftentimes, her paintings would be quickly made and hung up around her house since that was her preferred style, but for this one she spent extra time and care to make it look perfect.
Gazing upon her work, Izzy couldn’t help but get excited. Sunny was going to LOVE it! Izzy got up extra early to finish it before their meeting, which was…
Izzy glanced towards her clock. Her face turned to a look of shock when she realized she was a little over 5 minutes late to their breakfast meeting. Quickly turning to her painting and bracelet, she stuffed them in a nearby bag and quickly teleported herself and the bag to Maretime Bay. Normally she would teleport down the gravel road just outside of town so she could walk down and look at the scenery, but there was no time for that today. She instead teleported straight outside of the Café. Looking around, Izzy couldn’t see Sunny or Hitch waiting outside, so she went into the Café to look for them.
Upon entering the Café, Izzy’s eyes darted from table to table. There were a few other ponies in the Café, mostly Earth Ponies, but out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Sunny and Hitch sitting at a table looking at their menus. Relieved, Izzy trotted over to their table and took a seat while using her magic to set her bag under the table next to her.
“Sorry I’m late! I was busy working on something and didn’t see the time.” Izzy explained as she sat down.
Looking up from their menus, Hitch and Sunny turned to look at Izzy. Sunny was the first to speak. “There you are Izzy! We were worried you weren’t going to show up!” Sunny said with a worried look on her face.
Hitch had a similar look on his face, but it looked like something else was troubling him. “We didn’t know if you were going to be here today when we didn’t see you outside waiting at the benches like you usually do. It’s a good thing you are here though…”
Confused, Izzy decided to ask about what was troubling them. “You two look upset, is something wrong?”
Sunny turned to look at Hitch, as if asking if she should explain, and Hitch gave her a nod. “Well, the thing is… Hitch might not be able to make it to breakfast anymore.”
Upon hearing the news, Izzy’s face turned from relief back to a look of worry. “Why? What happened?”
Hitch glanced at Sunny to let her know that he would explain. “Well… As you know, Sprout is currently going through a community service program to try to prove that he is still Deputy-material. The court has ordered that he has to work supervised in the mornings, which is when I would generally have time for these meetings. I’m the only one qualified to look after him, so I’m going to have to spend some extra time in the morning watching over him to make sure he’s doing his job properly.”
Izzy couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed at the news. She rather enjoyed having these breakfast meetings with him and Sunny. Izzy also got a little concerned. If Hitch wasn’t going to be able to make it anymore, would they still have their breakfast meetings?
Turning to Sunny, Izzy asked what was on her mind. “If Hitch isn’t going to be able to make it, are we still going to have our morning meetings?”
Izzy watched as Sunny thought for a moment. “I mean, we can if you still want to. It would probably just be the two of us going, unless Zipp is able to make it.”
Hitch heard what Izzy asked and decided to add a note to what he said. “It won’t be a permanent change. It’s only going to be for the next two or three weeks. After that, Sprout is going to be going through a reassessment program to see if he still qualifies for the position. Once that’s over with, I’ll be able to meet up with you two again. If you want, you can still meet up until I’m able to make it again.”
Taking a moment to think it over, Izzy decided that meeting with just Sunny couldn’t really hurt. “I suppose we can do that. Are you up to meeting with me in the morning for breakfast Sunny?”
“I don’t see why not.” Sunny responded.
Izzy was definitely a bit saddened by the news, but it hurt less hearing that it wasn’t a permanent change. Izzy was perfectly fine meeting with only Sunny for a little while. Izzy really enjoyed spending time with Sunny anyways, so why not?
Wanting to help soothe the mood a little bit, Izzy decided that now was the perfect time to give Sunny and Hitch her gifts.
“While we’re all here, I’ve got some gifts for you!” Izzy exclaimed.
Sunny and Hitch looked at her with intrigue. Hitch decided to ask a question. “Oh, did you bring us some more crystals?”
“Nope! I’ve got something a little more special for you today!” Izzy explained as she pulled out the bracelet. She wanted to start with Hitch’s gift before she showed off her masterpiece.
“For Hitch, I made you a bracelet to celebrate the work you do for Maretime Bay! I tried to make it less flashy so that you could wear it on the job if you’d like!”
Hitch watched as Izzy levitated the bracelet around his front-left hoof and clicked it into place. “Why thank you Izzy. I like it!”
Hitch gave Izzy a hug as he complimented her work. Moving her gaze onto Sunny, Izzy decided to make a bit of a spectacle around the reveal of her painting.
“For Sunny, I made you something a little extra. I wanted to congratulate you on finally being able to move back into your house! So, I made you something that you can put inside your house! Think of it as a housewarming gift.” Izzy said as she set the bag on the table in front of Sunny.
Izzy started slowly pulling the painting out of the bag while stomping her hooves on the table to act as a drum roll. After a few seconds, she used her magic to swiftly remove the painting from the bag and floated it down to Sunny.
“Ta-da!” Izzy shouted as she set the painting in Sunny’s hooves.
Izzy watched in anticipation as Sunny looked over her art. What was only a second or two felt like a minute to Izzy. She was waiting to hear Sunny’s reaction to her painting. Izzy was proud of her painting, but she suddenly wasn’t sure if Sunny would like it. Anxiously, Izzy waited for Sunny’s answer.
“Izzy, I love it! It’s beautiful!” Sunny exclaimed.
Izzy let out a quiet sigh of relief. She liked it after all. Izzy watched as Sunny turned the painting to show Hitch.
Hitch took another moment to look at it before he shared a similar reaction. “Izzy, this looks great! You really captured my mane, and you even have my sash and badge!”
Sunny turned to give him a smug look.
“a-and the rest looks great too.” Hitch said with an embarrassed look.
“Thanks you two! I really appreciate it!” Izzy replied with a beaming smile.
“And thank you for the gift Izzy! It’ll look lovely on my wall!” Sunny said while setting down the painting and giving Izzy a hug.
Izzy was happy that Sunny appreciated her art. She spent most of the night before and a lot of the morning working on it. Feeling a happy tingle of joy from their compliments, Izzy started to let go of her hug with Sunny. While it was a shame that Hitch wouldn’t be able to make it to another meeting for a little while, she was still excited to spend time with Sunny.
Turning back to the table, Izzy heard Hitch’s stomach growl. “It sounds like someone’s a bit hungry?” Izzy said while giving a small smirk to Hitch.
Hitch gave a little embarrassed nod. “Yeah, we have kinda been talking for a little bit. Maybe we should order something before I have to go to work…”
Sunny glanced up after setting the painting in the bag Izzy left her. “I’m thinking of having the same thing as yesterday. Izzy, could you go make the order?”
“Sure!” Izzy replied. She waited to hear what Hitch was going to order before getting up and going to the line up front.