//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7 
// Story: Why not? Sure. I'll Marry You. 
// by HAKDurbin 
//------------------------------//

Hitch, Sunny, Izzy, and Periwinkle stayed in their hotel room until dark, where ponies who lived outside of Zephyr Heights had already begun the journey back to Maretime Bay or Bridlewood. Hitch would rather have left as soon as he concluded business with Queen Haven and Zipp, but he couldn't deny that it was smarter to begin their journey late at night when there would be no nearby ponies wanting to talk to him simply because of the wedding. 
Thus, they snuck out of Zephyr Heights from their hotel and walked for a few hours before they made camp. When they arrived at Maritime Bay two days later, it was past midnight, so Periwinkle and Hitch went to their respective houses while Sunny and Izzy went to the lighthouse. Hitch plopped onto his bed and got under his covers with a cheerful smile. Though his bed at the hotel room was extremely comfortable, nothing could be the comfort of his own bed in Maretime Bay. 
The next day, Hitch took a shower, ate breakfast, and began trotting to the police station, humming a cheerful tune as though it were a regular day. But as he walked down the streets of his beloved town, ponies were giving him looks of surprise or encouraging smiles. Obviously, every pony was thinking of the wedding, making it clear that this day would be anything but normal. Still, Hitch continued to smile and sing a merry tune to delay the inevitable for as long as he could as he made his way to the police station. 
The two seagulls and the crab were napping on top of the police station sign until they heard Hitch's footsteps. The seagulls chirped with glee as they flew down to meet Hitch while the crab snapped its claws vigorously. 
"Yes, yes, it's nice to see you guys, too,"  Hitch said. "Now, let's say we enjoy another day of protecting our citizens and upholding the law?"
The critters responded with a single saluting and the crab clamping its claws again. Hitch smirked and walked past the critters to open the police station doors. He opened his mouth to give the station a good morning but he was quickly interrupted by hoof grabbing him by his badge and pulling him inside. Sprout closed the doors before the critters could get in and turned to Hitch with a frustrated glare. 
"Hey, Sprout. What's going on?" Hitch asked. 
"What's going on? What's going on?!" Sprout shouted. "How about the fact that you got married to a pegasus princess! One of the few pegasi that can fly of all ponies! Every pony has been ballistic ever since the royal wedding! My mom and I have spent the last 3 days with ponies coming to the station just to ask questions about you and the princess. They're always asking why you didn't tell them that you were getting married, why you were holding that marry me sign, if you are going to stay in Zephyr Heights to be a prince, or if you were going to make me sheriff."
"Ponies were asking if I was going to make you sheriff?" Hitch asked with a raised eyebrow. 
Sprout rubbed his leg with a nervous chuckle and said "Well, said ponies are mostly me and mommy, but there are a few other ponies who were curious about that too." 
"Uh-huh. Sure," Hitch said. "Did anything unrelated to the wedding happen?"
"Just the typical argument and somepony tossing litter on the ground. Mommy made sure everything was under control apart from that," Sprout said. "But back to the matter at hoof, why did you marry the pegasus princess?!"
Hitch huffed and said, "Okay, first of all, her name is Princess Pipp. Second of all, it was a misunderstanding mixed with being pressured and…being talked into wanting to be legally married."
"You want to stay married to her? Have you lost your mind?" Sprout asked. 
"Actually, Sprout, I've been concerned about everypony's state of mind ever since Presto Tetrachord was caught," Hitch said. "Secondly, I don't even know if we will stay married. We will occasionally visit each other and get to know each other."
Sprouts stared at Hitch, baffled, then massaged his head as he said, "This is too much for my head."
"Believe me, Sprout, this is a lot for me, too," Hitch said. "We can only hope it will not affect day-to-day life here in Maretime Bay. 
Just then, there was a knock on one of the front doors and Sprout smirked before gesturing to Hitch to answer with his front leg. Hitch hesitated, uneasy with how Sprout looked at him before he walked over to the doors and opened them. Dozens of ponies crowded the front of the police station, talking over each other toward Hitch as soon as he opened the doors. Sprout cackled mischievously behind Hitch, enjoying seeing him experience what he had been going through for the past 3 days. Hitch huffed and shook his head before he firmly stomped his hooves  for silence.
"Everypony. Everypony, quiet down!" He shouted. 
As soon as hitch began stomping his hoof, ponies began to fall quiet out of respect for their dear sheriff. Sprout glared in jealousy as Hitch cleared his throat. 
"All right, what's the problem here?" He asked. 
“Problem? How can there be a problem when our sheriff heroically saved the day at Zephyr Heights?” One stallion asked.
“Yeah, way to go, Hitch! You practically saved the unity of all ponykind and got yourself a lovely wife in the process!" Another stallion shouted. 
"I'm so happy for you! Where is your wife, Hitch? Are you leaving us to be a prince?" A mare asked. 
"If you do, we'll miss you, but you have our full support. Isn't that right, everypony?" Another mare said. 
Ponies cheered and shouted words of agreement. They then waved their front legs in the air, singing, "For He's a Jolly Good Pony." Hitch grinned nervously and awkwardly waved back. But just as ponies were about to finish singing their song, Posey Rose pushed through the crowd with four other earth ponies following behind, all five of them looking at Hitch with looks of betrayal and anger. 
"Sheriff Hitch, what's the meaning of all this?" Posey demanded. "Was it not enough that you allowed unicorns and pegasi to live in our town or for others to move in Bridlewood or Zephyr Heights? You would take things so far as to marry a pegasus princess?"
"Yeah, did you plan it so the princess married you instead of Presto Tetrachord?" Another earth pony asked. 
The ponies that supported the marriage looked at Posey, and her group flabbergasted, and a unicorn mare stepped up. 
"How could Hitch have planned to marry the princess? Everypony knows he never left Maretime Bay until Sunny convinced him to go to the wedding with her and Izzy. Plus, he has no cell phone where he can listen to Pipp's music or possibly get in contact with Queen Haven," she said. 
"He still was holding that sign telling the princess to marry him. It's clear that he wants to use the marriage to convince all of us to keep the peace between us and Earth ponies and pegasi," Posey accused. "I bet he was in league with that mare that Presto Tetrachord was in that video with." 
"That's ridiculous. Daisy Weather just pointed out that Hitch doesn't have a phone and so can't talk with anybody outside of Maretime Bay," a pegasus stallion  pointed out. "Besides, you ponies who have known Hitch all his life should know that he would never do anything so dishonest!" 
"Of course, a pegasus would defend him. He married your princess," another member of Posey's group said. "Maybe he didn't plan it, but maybe Sunny did. She lives with a unicorn who might know who Pesto Tetrachord was with."
"Honestly, Berry Tart, you guys are just pulling straws. Sunny would never do something so dishonest either," another earth pony said. "You're essentially accusing Hitch and Sunny of causing a marriage between two different races of ponies that would have happened anyway had Presto not betrayed Princess Pipp Pedals,” an earth pony said. 
“Princess Pipp Trailblazer,” another earth pony corrected. 
"But that still doesn't hide the fact that he was the only pony holding a sign that convinced the pegasi princess to marry him!” Posey barked. “Even if he never met the princess before or knew Presto cheated on the princess, he still pursued one of the three pegasi who can fly. If I didn't know any better, I'd presume Sheriff Hitch married somepony with magic to convince the few ponies against the peace that there's nothing wrong with interacting with unicorns and pegasi magic or no magic. Well, we won't have it, Sheriff Hitch. Do you hear me? We. Won't. Have it!"
Before Hitch knew it, ponies simultaneously began arguing with Posey and her friends. The ponies that sided with the marriage surrounded Posey and her friends, but the naysayers refused to back down despite being few. Sprout smirked and wanted to join Posey, but he knew it would get him into trouble with Hitch. Hitch huffed and shook his head before returning to the station and coming back with a whistle. He blew the whistle, making everypony cover their ears as they turned to him.
"That's better," Hitch said. "Now, I appreciate that so many of you support my marriage to Princess Pipp. That said, I want to stress that neither Sunny nor I planned it. We went to Zephyr Heights to witness Pipp marrying Presto. What happened with Presto was as much a surprise for us as it was with everypony else."
"What about the sign?" Posey asked, with naysayers and supporters saying words of agreement.
Hitch hesitated, not wanting to make Periwinkle's plan public.
"Uh, a mare tried to get Presto to marry her instead of Pipp during the concert before the wedding. When she saw the video of Presto kissing another mare, she shoved the sign into my possession before she broke down crying."
"A mare? Who?" Posey asked with a raised eyebrow. 
"Doesn't matter. The point is there was no ulterior motive behind marrying the princess," Hitch said. "It was a spontaneous decision to handle a devastating situation. Currently, Princess Pipp and I plan to visit each other occasionally to get to know each other. What that will lead to, I cannot say, but I swear on my badge that I will never leave Maretime Bay to be a prince."
"So, what? Are you not going to live with your wife unless she moves here? Isn't that a little much?" An earth pony asked.
"Maybe, but that's something the princess and I will figure out for ourselves," Hitch said. "In any case, Sprout and I are on duty, so unless somepony has a complaint to file or has something else to report that has nothing to do with Princess Pipp and me, I'm going to have to ask you all to disperse. And please, no arguments amongst each other."
Ponies opened their mouths to protest, but their respect for Hitch prohibited them from going against his wishes, and so they went about their business, heading homes or heading to their jobs. Hitch sighed in relief and went back inside with Sprout, where the critters were waiting. Hitch walked over to his desk and sat on his chair, leaning back before he noticed Sprout standing next to him with another astounded look. 
"Yes, Sprout?" Hitch asked. 
"You're going to be visiting Zephyr Heights to date your wife?" Sprout asked. 
"That's not exactly what I said, but I guess you could look at it that way,'' Hitch said. 
"Does that mean you'll put me in charge regularly with Mom conditionally?" Sprout asked. 
"Not exactly. The queen has offered to have a couple of her guards patrol Maritime Bay in my absence, one of which is very by the book. She will be carrying out my duties as sheriff while you work for her as deputy," Hitch said.
"What?! You trust me so little with the town that you would have a couple of pegasi guards be the sheriff while I'm still deputy? That's so unfair!" Sprout screamed.
"Sorry, Sprout, but you can't handle things maturely because of your prejudice against the unicorns and the pegasi," Hitch said. "Besides, being a sheriff is a lot of responsibility."
"So what? I can be responsible," Sprout claimed. 
"Really? Then why don't you do something very responsible, like writing a report about everything that's happened while I'm gone?" Hitch said, smirking. 
Sprout looked at him in disbelief before he growled and stomped toward his desk like a little foal put in timeout. Hitch smirked, pleased that his point was made before he took out a folder of paperwork from his desk and began writing paperwork he had not finished before going to the wedding. As Hitch got to work, he smiled as he grew more comfortable fulfilling his regular duties as the sheriff. It was as if doing his job was a safe haven from all the craziness at Zephyr heights. 
His moment of peace was interrupted when there was a knock, and the front doors opened. Hitch huffed, mentally praying that whoever was coming in was not another citizen asking questions, demanding, or expressing their negative opinion against his marriage. At first, he felt assured that wasn't the case when the only pony coming in was Peach Melba, but his Hope was soon dashed when he realized she was wearing a hot pink polo shirt and hat with a gold Z at the center and holding a small package with her right front leg. It didn't help that Peach's friendly demeanor that Hitch was used to was replaced with melancholy that seemed to have turned into a hint of grief as soon as Peach glanced at the wedding ring hanging around his neck. Peach took a deep breath through her nose before waking to Hitch with a forced smile. 
"Good morning, Hitch. Welcome back," Peach said with a forced smile. "Con…congratulations on your…marriage."
"Thanks, Peach," Hitch said before glancing at the package. "Is that what I think it is?"
"Yup. It's your new phone the royal family purchased for you," Peach said. "My boss wanted me to send it to you as soon as we found out you're back."
"What?! Now you're getting a smartphone?!" Sprout shrieked. "You said you don't need stuff like that."
"Yeah, well, I do now since I have to keep in touch with my wife," Hitch said.
Peach flinched at Hitch calling Pipp his wife and cleared her throat before putting the package on Hitch's desk. Hitch took out a box cutter from his desk drawer and cut open the box. Inside was a phone in a light gamboge case with aquamarine sides protected by foam and a charger. Hitch picked up the phone, and analyzed it while Peach cleared her throat. 
"The case is for protecting the phone in case you drop it. Queen Haven thought it necessary since you've never used a phone. She even thought it would be appropriate for the case to be the color of your coat and the sides the color of your mane," Peach said. "Additionally, per the royal family's plan, you have unlimited data, one terabyte of memory, and a warranty lasting up to five moons."
"I have no idea what any of that means," Hitch said. 
"You basically can use the Canternet as much as you want, practically put as many apps, music, videos, and photos as you want, and if you lose your phone or it gets destroyed, you get a new one, no worries," Peach explained. "Also, per the queen's instructions, you have the numbers of Princess Pipp, Princess Zipp, and Zoom of the royal guard already added to your contacts, so you can call or text them."
"Not the queen herself?" Sprout asked. 
"She probably doesn't trust me enough to want to be my contact," Hitch said. "Is there anything else I should know?"
Peach resisted the urge to whimper and said, "Well, I wouldn't say it's something you should know, but Princess Pipp also wanted your phone to have the music app, Amplify, downloaded with all of her music on a playlist so you can listen to it. You also have headphones in the box that you can use to listen to the music privately."
Hitch’s ears perked up, and he looked up from his phone. 
“Really? How do I do that?” He asked. 
Peach hesitated as she kept her forced smile and said, "W-Why don't I show you how to use your phone before I teach you how to play music?"
Hitch frowned but accepted that it was necessary. He handed his phone to Peach, and Peach walked over to Hitch's side so he could look over her shoulder. Peach walked Hitch through how to use his phone, turning it on, turning it off, restarting, adjusting audio, choosing a ringtone, and setting his phone to sound, vibrate, or silence. She then showed him how to swipe between pages on his home screen and how to open, close, or switch from one app to another. 
Finally, Peach paused before begrudgingly opening Amplify and opening a folder containing Pipp's music. Hitch was taken aback as Peach scrolled down to show the dozens of songs on the playlist. Peach then plugged the headphones into the phone and put the buds on Hitch's ears before selecting a song. 
As soon as the song began to play, Hitch's heart skipped a beat. Though he didn't fully listen to Pipp's songs by themselves at the concert, he recognized the instrumental music. Hitch smiled as Pipp began singing. He imagined himself at the concert again, watching Pipp sing with all her heart, smiling as she flew above the crowd. Hitch wished he had a phone that night to capture Pipp's performance like so many ponies did at the concert. 
But while Hitch was enjoying the song, Peach watched with her ears hanging low. She only had a brief moment to say hi to Periwinkle on her way to the sheriff's station from the Z-Heights store. Periwinkle unknowingly gave Peach hope that things might not work out between Hitch and Pipp when she explained Hitch's reluctance to make the marriage legal. But as she watched Hitch listen to the song, she struggled not to show any contempt or sadness as if she were fighting the pain of stubbing her hoof with a rock. It didn't matter that Hitch married Pipp spontaneously or that he didn't spend the night with her. The way he smiled as he listened to Pipp's music may as well have fallen for Pipp at first sight compared to how he looked at any other mayor, including Peach herself. All the poor mare and her friends could do was wait and see if things fell apart between Hitch and Pipp over time. 
Even so, Peach knew Dahlia, Mayflower, and Wisteria would want to know about her visit to the sheriff's station. The four mares were devastated when they watched the wedding on TV. Mayflower knew she was too old for Hitch, but she still adored being around him. The other mares were distraught from watching Hitch get married before they tried to express their feelings. Until then, Peach would have to tell her friends to brace for the worst the next time they got together.
The song ended, and Hitch opened his eyes with a pleased smile. He took off the headphones and put his phone down as he turned to Peach and said, "Okay then. That's everything. Right?"
"Y-yes, that's everything the Royal Family made sure was set up," Peach said. "As for the phone itself, there are instructions for how to use it, among other things. Not many ponies bother to read it since they know the gist of it, but it's up to you if you want to read it. Anyway, I better get going before my boss begins to wonder where I am. If you need help with anything else apart from that, please do not hesitate to drop by the Z- Heights store and ask me, Hitch."
"I won't," Hitch said. "Thank you very much for your help, Peach."
"No problem, Hitch. Happy to help, Peach said. Her cheeks were aching from her fake grin.  "Have a good day."
"You too," Hitch said. 
Peach closed her saddlebag and turned to Sprout as she headed to the front doors. 
"Have a good day, too, Sprout," she said.
Sprout gave the pegasus a halfhearted grunt in response, not looking away from his paperwork as Peach exited the station. Hitch put his phone and headphones on his desk and returned to his paperwork. After a few minutes, however, he slowly began to stop writing until he finally stopped. He tried to continue writing but felt stuck as though he were a fictional writer having a horrible case of writer's block. Hitch's eyes then turned to his phone, and he pursed his lips. Reason dictated that he shouldn't play music while on duty, yet he wanted to hear more of Pipp's music. Hitch then rubbed his chin, wondering if he could listen to the music while writing his paperwork. 
After a minute of debating with himself, he plugged his headphones into his phone, turned his phone on, opened Amplify, and played another track. Hitch expected it to be another loud, upbeat song, but this track was calm and quiet, with Pipp singing softly while a piano played. Hitch was taken aback, but the song still made him smile. It was comforting to hear Pipp sing this way, making Hitch feel as if Pipp were with him in person, helping him forget about the craziness happening outside of the station. 
When the song ended, Hitch selected the track again and returned to writing. He resisted humming the tune to not disturb Sprout, yet he couldn't stop himself from tapping to the slow beat. Whether he liked it or not, Pipp was in his life now, and for the first time, that didn't sound so bad for the sheriff of Maretime Bay.