How does one find love? Well, the best love tends to find you.
In the dead of night, Zephyr Heights was like a beacon for any passerby.
As a Pegasus chariot flew towards the city to land. Inside was sheriff Hitch.
He stared outside the carriage. And started talking. “Wake up Zipp. I know what you want.”
And then Zipp woke up in the dead of Night with a gasp. “…it was only a dream.” Zipp looked at her clock on her nightstand. And much to her dismay it was 4:10 AM she would try to sleep. But it was very clear she wouldn’t be able to in the next few hours.
So, she figured there would be no point in trying. The Sun was going to rise in a few hours, and she knew that nopony would be awake this early. Except for maybe one.
So, she got up. And headed outside.
“Hey Hitch” Said Zipp as she walked into the station.
Hitch was at his desk. And he screamed like a little girl then turned to face Zipp. “Ohhhh hey…it’s just you Zipp. Why are you awake so early?” Said Hitch. He looked at the clock at his desk and saw the time was 4:12 AM. He was right and confused.
Zipp stood there trying to find an excuse. “Oh, uh well. I fell out of bed. And so, I couldn’t sleep, and I decided to just fly on by and see what you were doing. You weren’t asleep though, were you?” Hitch looked confused. “Um no, nothing is really happening here. And I kinda… was asleep.”
Zipp frowned. “Oh, I’m so sorry Hitch. I just thought you might be awake so you could always be on alert.” She said apologetically. Hitch wasn’t really that phased about it though. “Trust me I try to. But it just hasn’t been easy without a deputy.” Running the sheriff office in maretime bay was more or less a two-pony job. It was possible for one, but in the end that one pony would still need to sleep.
Hitch had his critter friends. But they would still have to wake him up if an emergency happened. They couldn’t do it by themselves. “You know ever since that critter crisis. I always wondered if you needed help on the force.” Zipp wondered. “I would imagine a huge reason it used to be easy, was because Sprout used to be here.”
Hitch sunk into his chair. “I hope I never have to hear about that idiot again.” Zipp was a little surprised by that reaction. Hitch got angry before, but this was the first time she felt he was actually enraged. “Why what happened?” Asked Zipp. But Hitch immediately stopped that train of thought by pouting and saying. “I don’t want to talk about it.” Hitch clearly had a lot on his mind about Sprout. But he just seemed to want to bury any memory he had of him.
Zipp tried asking him about his schedule. “Hitch. How long have you been in the station without any sleep?” Asked Zipp in a sad tone. In a way she knew the answer.
Hitch groaned “uuuuugh… I honestly lost count.” Zipp was still confused and asked. “But wait. How do you stay up and ready for the day?” Hitch had one answer. “Coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.” Ironically enough his coffee machine started going off right there. “Speak of the devil.”
Zipp was still confused but she could only say so much because she never drank coffee. “Hitch, that cannot be healthy.” Zipp obviously had a point. Hitch clearly couldn’t keep doing this if his head was always out of it.
As Hitch went to get his coffee Zipp asked another question. Something Hitch still had not decided on. “You need some sleep, and a new deputy. Speaking of which, have you found anypony yet?” Hitch sat back down, and his eyes bugged out of his face when she said that.
“I…uh… no. No, I have not.”
“Maybe it’s about time you try to find one.”