Opaline hummed to herself as she sat down on her throne. She was staring at herself through her Alicorn Compact, she glared at her own eyes. After obtaining some dragon fire from Sparky, she felt much more powerful, though if only for just a couple of seconds. She needed that power, but to steal the dragon might prove more difficult after the last failure. She assumed the ponies, especially the dragon’s caretaker, would be on high alert thanks to the multiple failed attempts to steal items around the group. The Alicorn groaned, shutting her compact angrily. “Ugh! Just what am I failing to see?! How am I supposed to get my hooves on that accursed lantern or that meddling dragon now?! Curse you Misty, you just made things harder than they needed to be!” Shouted Opaline, stomping down from her throne, walking up towards the center of her room, glaring down into the reflective surface as she twisted her hoof around. Soon enough the surface turned into a viewing glass, showing off Maretime Bay in its entirety. “There must be something I’m missing. How can I get more information on these accursed ponies if the compact doesn’t work in that stupid lighthouse?” Opaline asked herself before pondering the few ponies that lived there.
“Sunny Starscout… a young, bright but undoubtedly naive mare. She’s taken my compact and hasn’t even attempted to use it for prolonged moments of time. At least while she holds onto it I can know her location, except inside of that lighthouse. I doubt she even told her friends about the encounter she had with ‘herself’. How foolish. Had she come to grow under my wing she would have made a fine underling. How talent is wasted… I will steal her magic eventually.”
“Izzy Moonbow… a curious unicorn mare with exceptional creative skills, and by far the most trusting of their group of four. Misty was able to infiltrate their group through Izzy’s outgoing personality at the very least, however in terms of getting information from her… Needless to say she isn’t the brightest gem in the quarry is she? Even still, she may prove useful to get Misty out of a tight spot, wouldn’t she?”
“Pipp Petals… a bright little Pegasus with an insatiable greed for personal gratification. Goodness she wouldn’t deal much to get information out of either in all regards, she’s too involved with her phone to get along with either. Misty will have a hard time procuring information from her if she winds up streaming herself, which is an inevitability. Besides, I can’t have Misty gaining attention, ugh, that would be a disaster if SHE had fans.”
“And lastly… Zipp Storm… an annoying, highly curious detective that just won’t take a hint will she? Multiple times she’s ruined my plans and her guard is too high up. Ugh, what an annoying pony she is, couldn’t she be more like her sister, a bit air-headed and foolish? Her general intelligence, while useful, would be impossible to obtain from her.”
Opaline growled in dismay, glaring down at her seeing glass. She scoffed, stomping back to her throne. It felt like the whole castle shook with each gradual stomp she took. “There must be something I’ve been forgetting. Think. How else am I going to get any information on that blasted Brighthouse, or that lanturn, or anything for that matter?! And how was she going to get that blasted dragon from their caretaker-” Opaline paused, seemingly brightening up as she realized something. She smirked before narrowing her eyes at the door to the left of her room. “MISTY! GET IN HERE!” Shouted Opaline.
Misty squirmed. She was laying down in bed… well if you could even call it a bed. It was just a mess of blankets and pillows, why would she ever be given the luxury of a full bed? She wasn’t useful enough… Misty slowly pulled herself out of bed, wincing a bit as she stared down at her pillow, it was soaked in tears. Just how long had she been crying for..? She felt thirsty just looking down at her wet pillow. She grumbled for a moment before gently tossing her pillow over and standing up. Her room was bland… unimaginative. The only piece of decoration was some dresser with three unlit candles sitting on top. It was a depressing sight, she could’ve swore there were more things in this room some time ago… but now… no. Even the window was boarded up, not with wood or anything but weird… a lacy net? It was placed there with some magic to prevent even the thought of leaving through the window. Misty sighed, taking a deep breath and making sure she was as presentable as possible before nodding and walking up towards the door. She opened it up and walked through, making her way to Opaline’s throne room.
By the time Misty made it inside, Opaline was glaring daggers at her. “What took you so long.” Opaline asked, though it wasn’t a question, more a statement. Misty opened her mouth to answer but Opaline stopped her right then. “Don’t bother. I don’t need another dumb excuse. Now. I’m sure I know what I want, don’t you…” Opaline asked with a low tone. Her voice made Misty’s heart sink, she felt the gravity around her grow heavy, she was scared. Ever since Opaline had gotten just a taste of what dragon fire had added to her power, she’s been acting rather hostile… well, more hostile than normally.
“Y-You… You want Sparky the Dragon’s dragon fire..?” Misty asked curiously, hoping she was right. She never wanted to be wrong when it came to Opaline.
Opaline nodded, “yes. You’re correct. The measly amount of dragon fire you brought back to be the other day was not nearly enough to feed me. I need much more of the fire if you even think I’ll be satisfied.” She responded coldly. Even after getting that question right, Misty still felt herself shrivel up, keeping her head low and not looking up towards Opaline. “But.” Opaline paused, staring down at Misty. Misty felt the eyes aimed at her, it almost burned. Misty submissively looked up at Opaline, meeting her gaze with shrunken pupils. “I need information as well. As it stands I’m not sure the exact reason you weren’t able to get up inside of the lighthouse.” Misty almost wanted to correct her for a second, but she forced herself to hold it in. “My theory is that only one of those trusted by those ponies may be granted access up to the lighthouse and the source of that prisbeam magic. That of course leaves those four hooligans who live in the lighthouse, however thanks to your repeated failings and being caught by the meddling Pegasus, I doubt they would trust you up there.” Opaline spoke with a growl at the end.
Misty was shivering in her position. She didn’t know how to respond, she was just afraid. She didn’t want to make the Alicorn more upset than she already was.
“But… there is one more pony.” Opaline added before turning to Misty. “A pony you haven’t been acquainted with formally, not yet anyhow.” Opaline grew a crooked smirk. “The baby dragon I had you steal belonged to a pony named Hitch. He and you have never met formally I believe… which also means that he has no reason to fear or find you suspicious either. Unless you were foolish enough to let him spot you with the baby dragon that is!” Opaline responded, eyeing Misty down.
Misty squeaked a bit, seeing that almost hungry looking glare from Opaline. If she didn’t know any better she would think Opaline was going to swoop down and eat her prey! Misty gulped, looking away, “a-ah… Yes Opaline! He never saw that I was the one who stole Sparky! A-And for some reason he was sleeping in his filing cabinets when I-”
“I didn’t ask Misty.” Opaline responded harshly before walking over towards the center of the room. “Regardless. You will be imperative for the success of this plan. If you fail. I don’t see a worthless pony like you ever getting her cutie-mark.” Opaline hummed, twisting her hoof around the water in the middle of the room. The seeing-glass showed off at the sheriff’s station. “You.” She turned to Misty. “Will attempt to swoon the stallion. Do whatever it takes to get him to let his guard down and for him to reveal as much information as he can! And while his guard is down you will also attempt to steal back the baby dragon! I need more of that dragon fire to become more powerful. So. Whatever it takes for you to get him to talk.”
Misty looked down. She… She didn’t want to give Sparky away to Opaline. No… she didn’t like to admit it… but agh! Sparky was just so cute, she had gotten attached to the baby dragon during those hours trapped in a closet with the little gremlin! He was honestly too cute. But Hitch… “You want me to… make him swoon for me? Him? You mean like… get him to fall in love with me?” Misty asked curiously, a light blush coming to form on her cheeks as she asked.
“I don’t believe in love, Misty. You know this. I believe that cooking is an art-form that I reign supreme in. I believe that ponies should fear and look to me as their righteous leaders. Love? No. It’s a idiotic idea. And don’t even think about talking about love near me.” Opaline spoke with a groan. Some… old baggage?
Misty could feel something was wrong. Was it… something in her past? Maybe she was heartbroken? Misty didn’t know exactly what of course, and instead moved in close. “W-Why not..?” She asked foolishly. “Love is beautiful-”
Opaline’s eyes shot at Misty before the large Alicorn walked up to Misty before suddenly smacking the mare’s face with a hoof. Misty cried in pain, falling over and holding her cheek where she was smacked. “What did I just say?! Don’t ever, EVER, talk about love near me.” Opaline scowled before turning her back to Misty. “Clean yourself up. You need to look presentable to the stallion you’ll be attempting to win over, and most stallions don’t like mares who look beaten and filthy.” Opaline glared back at Misty for a moment before trotting away. “You will not be allowed back into the castle until you come back either with information or that dragon.” Opaline added.
Misty was recovering from that blow, wincing in pain as she felt her cheek numb up a bit. She gasped, looking up in shock as Opaline claimed she was to come back with information or a dragon, or not come back at all. Misty could feel her heart sink, it was beating fast. Her eyes darted all around. No no no, please anything but that. Misty slowly forced herself up into a standing position, wincing softly as she did.
“As it stands I’ve given you far too many chances already, Misty. Time after time you’ve given me nothing but failure. So it will be. If you return to me empty handed I will personally see you kicked out without even a blanket to keep you warm out in that unforgiving world we call life.” Opaline’s tone was as harsh as ever. Failure would not be tolerated. Those were her last words before she walked out of her throne room, leaving Misty there alone.
Misty was left speechless. She wanted to shout and beg Opaline to reconsider- but no, she wasn’t in the position to do such a thing! Misty whimpered lightly for a moment before shaking her head. No. No she couldn’t fail. Misty huffed, quickly rushing over to her room. She barged inside of her room, finding a marker laid out on her dresser. She pulled off the lid before slowly beginning to doodle the same butterfly on her right side as before. She didn’t bother putting the cap back on as she slammed the marker back down on the table before suddenly rushing out of the castle.
It was dawn. The sun was barely up over the horizon, but Misty couldn’t waste another second. She quickly began dashing down towards Maretime Bay, tears welled up in her eyes as she did, the cold autumn air now biting at her sides as she ran down the long and winding hill from the mountain that housed Opaline’s castle all the way to Maretime Bay. She didn’t stop once, she couldn’t afford to. No she couldn’t stop no matter what, even if her body screamed at her, yelling at her to slow down she didn’t listen. Her stomach growled… what was the last time she ate? The day before yesterday she was being chased down by Zipp the entire evening, and before that she was looking for the lanturn same as her, no time to eat. Then the day after she was stuck in a closet all day with Sparky before going back to the castle with dragon fire only to lay down in her room the rest of her day. She couldn’t even remember the last time she drank water! Her body was screaming out in pain, she needed to do something about her state and fast but… no she needed to get information out of Hitch! Or grab that dragon! She couldn’t afford to get kicked out of Opaline’s castle, no she just couldn’t! So she went on, full steam ahead to Maretime Bay, even if her body was going to kill her for this later.
Hitch yawned softly, trotting out of his station and looking around curiously. Ah. What a lovely morning!~ He could see all the early risers walking around Maretime Bay, and Hitch himself wanted to get a nice morning snack at his favorite donut shop! Hey, it may be cliche but donuts were this stallion’s favorite fuel source! Second place being a smoothie from Sunny’s truck, but she wasn't open this early anyways. Hitch smiled, looking back at Sparky who slept in his little cabinet. Hitch was able to leave for a couple of minutes while Sparky slept and he’d be back in no time! He couldn’t help but imagine those sugary donuts filling him up. Oh boy oh boy!~ Hitch began to make his way towards his favorite shop before flinching as he was stopped by a voice coming from behind him. Hitch paused, looking behind him to see a Unicorn suddenly dashing his way.
“H-Hitch! Hitch T-Trailblazer! I-I-” Shouted Misty as she ran up towards Hitch. Hitch flinched, bracing himself, it almost looked like Misty was going to crash into him! But… no… He felt a sudden pomf up against his chest. Hitch looked down in shock to see that the Unicorn had crashed up against his chest, but she must have slowed down a bit before she hit him. However… she wasn’t moving. Hitch looked puzzled. It wasn’t a hug, she didn’t try to wrap her hooves around him or anything. She was unmoving. Hitch looked a bit nervous, looking around curiously for a moment before gently pushing against her.
“H-Hehe, sorry, I don’t normally do uh… hugs? In public.” Hitch responded, pushing her away with no resistance whatsoever. He found it strange, beginning to give the Unicorn a curious look before flinching. She had fainted! Hitch’s heart sank as he quickly moved a hoof to suddenly hold onto the Unicorn before she flopped over. “W-Whoa! H-HEY! Are you alright?! Excuse me?!” He shouted. No response. She was out cold. Hitch looked around worriedly. “Aw… apple fritters. Shoot, alright hold on.” Hitch gulped before slowly grabbing her, doing his best to hold her as he arranged himself to get her body on top of him. Once he did that he made his way to the station.
Pushing the door open he looked over at the jail cell, currently unoccupied. Hitch sighed, grabbing the key which hung up off to the side. He unlocked the cell and walked in. Normally the cell was reserved for criminals, though mainly ponies who litter and don't pick up after themselves. But he’d make an exception this one time. Hitch did his best to slowly lower himself down, and nudge Misty onto the cell’s bed. He gulped for a moment pulling away from her and watching her for a moment on the bed. He looked around before rushing back towards his desk. He had a blanket stashed underneath, y’know for those cold late nights at the station and what not, before rushing back to Misty and tossing it over her body, wrapping the Unicorn in warmth. Finally, he grabbed a pillow that had been thrown off to the other side of the cell, presumably by Sparky, and moved it underneath Misty’s head, fluffing it up a bit before he did so. He looked over Misty for a moment. She looked comfortable enough. Admittedly though, that bed wasn’t exactly made for the most comfy rest but in this situation it worked well enough. Hitch nodded and quickly made his way out, looking back at the cell for a moment he decided to lock it up. Just in case. “Heck, I’m going to be late to pick up my donuts…” Hitch sighed before rushing out to go grab said morning food before Sparky woke up.
Misty groaned softly, beginning to wake up from her sudden fainting. Misty rubbed her head for a moment. She felt… warm… Her body felt snug and comfortable…wait that’s not right! Misty suddenly shot up. Being comfortable? No, that was unheard of! She suddenly looked up and around, and to her surprise she was in a cell! “H-Huh? What’s going on here?!” She asked in shock before glancing down. She was… in a bed? She had a warm blanket wrapped around her and… even her pillow wasn’t half bad either. Where the heck was she…?
“Ah, you’re awake!” Called out a voice from the side. Misty’s eyes shot towards a desk just on the other side of the bars. It was none other than Hitch, who gave her a concerned look on the other side of the bars. Misty squeaked for a moment, backing up in her cell for a moment. She feared she had done something wrong, like accidentally assault him, or maybe he found out she was with Opaline, or… or… or… “Whoa, it’s OK, you’re not in trouble!” Hitch quickly explained, seeing the look of dread on her face as he walked over towards the cell door. He grabbed his key and unlocked the door, smiling over at her. “You came to me and fainted on the spot! That was a real shocker, so I decided to let you rest here for a little bit… Sorry if you were uncomfortable, I tried to make it as nice as possible, for a jail cell anyways.”
Misty began calming down, slowly leaving her bed, where the bitter cold soon surrounded her. She shivered for just a moment before moving on. It was nothing she wasn’t used to. But Hitch calling it the best he could do issued a soft look of pain for Misty. It was honestly really nice by her standards. The bed was a bit rigid but all in all it was still a bed, it had that much more over her room back in the castle at least. The soft blanket that kept her warm through her sleep she almost didn’t want to let go of, and the pillow was just the tiny cherry on top of a nice sleep cake. Misty began making her way towards the cell door before suddenly grabbing at her belly, hearing it begin to growl with need. “Ugh…” She grumbled, pausing for a moment before continuing.
Hitch shot her a concerned glance. Was she hungry? Hitch moved out of the way of the cell door and over towards his desk, where a box of a dozen donuts sat on top- though Hitch had already eaten two. He grabbed the box and made his way back, stopping just in front of Misty as she leaned against the cell door to balance herself. “Would you like some food? You look starved…” Hitch asked with concern. Misty had to pause a bit. Her eyes looked back between Hitch and the donuts for a moment before staring at Hitch for an extended period of time. Was he… worried about her? The idea alone caused Misty to step back a bit into her cell, but her growling stomach demanded she take some food at the very least. Misty whimpered lightly, approaching the stallion and looking back towards the box he held. She avoided eye contact with him for the moment as she quickly began taking a few donuts for herself, specifically 4. Hitch gave her a warm smile, “there you go!~” He responded softly. Misty felt her heart begin beating faster. What was with this stallion? Misty backed up a bit, pulling herself back into her cell in the process. She stared at the round treats before her, giving it a worried look. She had never tried a donut before, but she was also too hungry to care either. She just hoped it wasn’t poisoned or anything, she closed her eyes before slowly taking a bite of one of the donuts. She paused for a moment, her eyes shot open and lit up with almost child-like wonder. She stared down at the donut for just a moment before quickly making work of it, biting in multiple times, leaving no trace. The moment she finished one donut she was already working on the other.
“Whoa~ Haha, I guess you really were hungry then!” Hitch responded in a teasing manner before turning away and walking back to his desk. Misty resisted the urge to squeal in delight. What were these delectable treats?! She quickly finished off the second… then the third, before finally eating the fourth. Misty sighed happily, body falling to the floor as she relaxed against it, her stomach now being filled for the time being. They were… SO good… She almost wanted to take another donut from the box, there were six left when she stopped picking some, but she didn’t want to take anymore than she already had either. Soon enough though, Hitch came back towards the mare with a cup of water, offering it to Misty. “Would you like some water too?”
Misty paused, staring at the cup of water. Of course she hadn’t had much to drink in the past day or two either. So she gently pulled herself up, trotting over a bit nervously towards Hitch before reaching out and gently pulling the cup away from Hitch before bringing it to her lips and gulping down, being much more reserved as she did it as compared to when she scarfed down those donuts. Hitch gave her a warm smile, “and if you want more of either I can grab you some~”
Misty looked up at Hitch for a moment, locking eyes with him for a second. “Thank… Thank you.” She muttered out. Hearing this, Hitch gave her a closed eye smile. If looks could kill, this would’ve brought her back from the grave. Misty felt her heart rate increase, her heart beating slightly faster and faster, and the mare pulled her eyes away.
“But… I hope you don’t mind if I ask a question or two? Y’know, some give and take! I gave you some food and water and you can give me a little information!” Hitch smirked. IT WAS A TRAP! Misty cursed at herself for taking those delectable donuts before sighing, pouting up a bit as she crossed her hooves. “Don’t worry, it’s not something big. I just want to know why you called my name earlier!”
Misty paused, now remembering what had happened. She was running down the Maretime Bay Streets, she had run out of tears to cry, less she died of dehydration, and she was rushing right towards the sheriff’s office, hoping to swoon the stallion as soon as possible. However, right as she bumped into Hitch everything went black, her body shut down and she didn’t know what happened until she woke up later. “I-I uh… well… I just wanted to uh… yeah well… I just really wanted to…to…to… tell you about how such a good job you’re doing here in Maretime Bay!” Misty spoke sheepishly, looking away from Hitch.
The stallion could tell something was up, he wasn’t born yesterday after all, but he didn’t press her further for questions either. “Aww, thanks Misty!~ That means a lot to me! Being a sheriff you’d think you get a ton of recognition but nope, so it’s nice when you get it every now and again!~” He declared softly before looking back towards Misty. “But… I am worried. You just bumped into me before blacking out. You fainted and I had to bring you here, not before you started scarfing up that food and drinking up water. Not to mention… you look a bit beat up. Like some pony hit you beneath your eye.” Hitch paused, stopping himself from going further. “But… What I’m trying to say is: Are you alright? You’re not in trouble or anything yeah? You look hurt, and it wouldn’t sit right with me if I just let you back off without making sure you were alright!” Hitch gave her a look of worry as he slowly stepped forward, getting closer towards Misty.
Whoa! What’s with all the questions, was he a detective or something? Well probably… Misty felt her heart sink back a bit as she was asked if she was alright. Her body quivered for a moment, she wanted to step back a bit but she failed to, her body unable to move as she froze in place. “I-I… No- I meant y-yes I-I!” Misty was unable to speak. Her eyes darted around, maybe she could run away? No, Hitch’s body stood in front of the cell, she’d have to go through him in order to leave and he probably wouldn’t budge too easily. Misty bit her lip, looking around a bit more. No easy way out of the cell. She whimpered lightly for a moment. “I-I… Well.. Maybe?”
Hitch grumbled softly. He didn’t want to pry any further, besides it was clearly a personal affair. Even still his heart ached at the idea of just leaving her to go after what had just happened. “Well… I’ll be honest… I don’t believe you when you say that, but I don’t want to make you any more uncomfortable than you already are.” Hitch spoke with a soft sigh before moving out of the way of the cell exit and off towards his desk. “Just know that as sheriff of Maretime Bay, you can be honest with me, and tell me whatever is bothering you. It’ll stay between us, no other pony will know.” Hitch nodded, sitting down at his desk and beginning to chow on another one of those donuts.
Misty’s mind swore at her over and over. She gulped, beginning to make her way out of the sheriff’s office. She was too embarrassed to even think of continuing. However she remembered her mission. She was supposed to swoon Hitch, get him to spill some beans, but at this rate she was failing horribly. Misty stopped at the exit, she looked back at Hitch. Her body ached just at the sight of him. What happened? She felt her legs go numb at the idea of stepping out of the station. She couldn’t… no. Where would she go? Back home to the castle? HAH! As if Opaline would even let her! She hadn’t gotten a shred of information, let alone grabbed Sparky. She looked back at the door, moving a hoof to press lightly against the door before then turning back to Hitch. Her heart sank deeper, she couldn’t believe what she was about to do…
“S-Sheriff…” She asked, looking over at Hitch as she pulled herself away from the door. Hitch shot her a curious look for just a moment. Misty gulped before slowly speaking up. “The truth is… Well the truth is… I…”
“I love you.”