Sleep usually meant a lot of things;
Sleep is what helps one regenerate lost energy. Sleep can relieve stress, letting the body unwind and go into a maximum level of relaxation.
But sometimes, sleep could encourage the opposite. In some unfortunate cases, sleep can bring unsettling events.
Nightmares.
When experiencing these, one can feel helpless, stressed, and have a loss of control in the situation that they are in. This eventually leads to the body forcing the individual to wake up after a certain level of stress is brought on to them.
For Zipp, it continued to haunt her.
For months the white Pegasus mare experienced nightmares quite often. It wasn’t every night, but too many to begin with.
The events that took place varied from there being no magic, resulting in their family being exposed, to the most random events where she just had zero control. One nightmare was a little silly, but still frightening for Zipp, when she was held down, and her mane started falling out of her. Another was simply Pipp and Izzy telling her constantly that it’s her fault. She didn’t know what her fault was, but she kept telling them that she was sorry.
Sometimes, she would wake up in tears, or a cold sweat. She would rarely fall back asleep on her own, often dozing off because of how tired she was.
All of this resulted in Zipp looking worse over time. The color of her fur under her eyes had a small tint to them, no longer being pure white. Her ears rarely perked, often sagging a little, along with her tail. Her movements and motor skills were overall lagged out. She found herself often going to the coffee shop, BetterBuzz-@-Maretime-Bay almost every day, getting the most concentrated cup of coffee they brewed.
Tonight was probably the worst Zipp had ever experienced. The girls were out on the town, having fun. Zipp decided she would go to bed early. It was only about 8:00, but her eyes were struggling to stay open.
When falling asleep, all she could remember was being on the couch. But now, she was in a dark room. ‘What the-?’
Suddenly a slamming sound was made behind the mare, startling her. "Who's there?"
Lights turned on, revealing a pony. In front of her was Hitch, smiling at her. "Hey Zipp."
Hitch… the pony that made her swoon.
The earth pony stallion was a clear vision for Zipp. He checked every single box off for her, loyalty, determination, maturity, initiating, friendly (obviously), kind, a great friend, and of course… he was hot.
The Pegasus never really had an interest in any pony. At first her mother thought her door swung the other way, but Zipp quickly debunked that from her. She liked stallions, but she didn’t. As confusing as that may sound, in Zipp’s defense, she never could really find one that attracted her to them. All of them were just… ehh.
But for some odd reason, the sheriff of Maretime Bay had a complete opposite effect on her.
Luckily for Zipp, she could keep her cool around him for extended periods of time when everypony was hanging out. When it was just the two of them, she sometimes would intentionally slip on her attitude, seeing how Hitch would react.
Hitch being himself would just flirt back. It was his general personality. He was just being nice. And for Zipp, that upset her.
There was one time where Zipp and Hitch were hanging out, just the two of them, and an idea popped into her head. When saying their goodbyes, the Pegasus went in for a hug. Hitch at first wasn’t expecting this, but quickly recovered and returned her hug. When he did so, he had wrapped his hooves around her wings. This was unintentional of course. Hitch didn’t know that wings for a Pegasus were a sensitive and intimate place. However Zipp didn’t mind at all, but rather was quite happy with the situation, hugging him for a little bit longer than she should have.
But right now, he was in front of her, a small smile on his face, ears flat. This caused Zipp to tilt her head to the side, her left ear dropping slightly in confusion.
The stallion then started to come up to her. "How are you Zipp?"
When he approached, he didn’t slow down. Zipp’s mouth was now slightly opened, ears now both fully perked. "Uhm... What do you mean?"
"I mean, how are you? How're you feeling?"
This question was odd to Zipp as she suddenly realized that this was a dream, and she had full control. She could think for herself and do as she pleased. But the Hitch she sees now isn't real, but rather her subconscious? So that means she's just talking to herself.
She may as well. "I... I don't know Hitch. I feel, lost. I don't know why I've been having nightmares, or- or that I struggle to even function around you."
Hitch stopped just a short ways away from Zipp, his face now showing genuine confusion, as if it actually was the real Hitch. "Why do you find it hard to be around me?"
Zipp blinked. "Wh-... Hitch, you know why. I like you. You aren't even real, you're a figment of my imagination and you don't even know... ugh..."
"Well, if that's the case..."
His eyes started to close, his head tilling.
"Why don't we test your theory of 'liking me.'"
He was going in for a kiss.
But as soon as Zipp realized what was happening, Hitch froze, his expression immediately changing to panic. The next thing Zipp knew, the floor below fell from under him as he was hanging off the edge.
“Zipp! Help me!”
Zipp was shocked. She tried to come to his aid, but she couldn’t move.
'Now's not the time to not be in control Zipp! C'mon!'
“Zipp, please, help me!”
She kept trying.
Nothing.
‘No no this is not happening! This isn’t real! Wake up!’
The stallion’s grip was slipping.
He then fell to the endless bottom below...
And so did she.
One of her greatest fears. She was going to die from falling, and she couldn’t even spread her wings.
She then heard a voice… it sounded like Hitch, but it was right next to her. “Zipp. Zipp what’s wrong? Hey, wake up!”
The sight she saw below terrified her, the ground coming at an alarming speed, Hitch already there, motionless.
“Noooo!!!”
Zipp shot up from her sitting position. She was panting, frantically looking around the room. She could feel that her cheeks were drenched in tears.
When coming to her senses, she felt a hoof on her left shoulder.
Her wings shot out, and in one full motion slammed down as she slid away from the hoof, going to the right side of the couch.
Next to her on the other end was Hitch. A concerned look on his face.
“Zipp.”
He tried to move towards her, but she held a hoof out.
“N-no… please.”
“Zipp are you okay? I walked in and saw you were having what looked like a nightmare. You’re awake now.”
She froze. She didn’t know what to say or do.
Hitch made another attempt to get closer to the mare, now successful.
He put a hoof on her shoulder again. Before he could even ask, Zipp started to cry again, falling into his body, wrapping her arms around him.
“Oh my stars Hitch I’m so glad you’re here. I-I-I I saw you falling. I couldn’t do anything!”
“Shhh it’s fine Zipp, I’m right here.” Hitch rubbed her back, trying to soothe her.
But he was stopped when she pulled away slightly, making eye contact with him for the briefest of moments before giving him a kiss right on the lips.
Zipp didn’t even notice it herself, returning to the hug, aggressively nuzzling him.
Hitch was now speechless. ‘Wait, what just happened?’
But right now that wasn’t important.
“Zipp, how long has this been going on?”
“*sniff* I, uhm… like a month maybe?”
“And you’re just telling me now?” Hitch was in shock again, feeling her nod in his neck. "What about the girls, do they know?" She shook her head no.
Hitch has never seen Zipp so… weak. She was always so cool and laid back, often being the bravest of the group. But right now, she was lost.
She then separated from Hitch again, looking at him. “I don’t know why it happens, but it just does and that's just the surface of the stress I've been going through and I just don't know what to do anymore Hitch.”
As her rambling came to an end, a boom of thunder erupted, vibrating the Brighthouse. Zipp flinched and looked around frantically. Hitch didn’t move. He never really was ever afraid of storms, but Zipp looked terrified.
“There’s a storm outside, obviously. The girls are at my apartment right now waiting for it to end.”
She nodded.
“Zipp, I know that this question isn't important right now, but, why did you kiss me just now?”
The question caused the mare to look confused.
“What?”
Hitch started to get more concerned. She didn’t even remember. “You kissed me, and then hugged me again… anything you wanna talk about?”
“I-wh… uhm..”
“Zipp, did you do that…by accident, or is there more to it?”
Her ears dropped flat, eyes wide, fear on her face.
“Hey hey, Zipp it’s fine. You can trust me I swear. It’s just you and me here. Nopony else has to know. But you did kiss me…”
She kissed him. She was already screwed.
"How about we touch upon that topic later. Let's just talk about you right now, okay?" The attempt to distract Zipp from that horrifying news seemed to work, as she nodded, half paying attention.
"What's scaring you Zipp?"
"I... alotta things Hitch. Not just the whole deal with how the magic works or how we barely know anything about it, but there's just so much more on my plate that shouldn't make me stressed but it just does. Being the future queen doesn't help at all, and making sure that my personal image is a ten outta ten. It all just piles on and it just affects everything else like my availability to you guys. Dammit I must sound like Pipp at this rate.” Zipp mumbled the last part, as if embarrassed to throw shade at Pipp.
“Zipp, you’re one of the strongest ponies I know, and something like this should be beating you down this badly. Sure you may be help up to a standard that’s higher than any of us, even higher than Pipp, but that shouldn’t change who you are. You may have to play the part a little bit, but you can still be you. But, and forgive me for prying, but I feel that all of this stress isn’t actually all of it. Is there… something more to it Zipp?”
The mare noticed what the sheriff was trying to do. Classic interrogation tactic, curious for all of the information. She remembered what he said, she kissed him randomly.
She nodded quickly.
“Does it have to do with what happened earlier, when you, you know?”
Another frantic shake of her head yes.
But the response she got was unexpected. A smile?
“Wow, wait do you mean yes by accident…”
She shook her head no.
“Yes, it meant something?”
She nodded again.
The next response was also unexpected. She then received a hug.
Another loud boom of thunder, now shaking the Brighthouse. But this time, Zipp didn’t even flinch. Being encased in the stallion’s grasp made her feel protected.
But then Hitch made a move that neither he or Zipp expected him to make tonight. A kiss on the cheek.
“I… can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m really happy that you feel the same Zipp.”
“You… do?”
“Of course. Look, I’m glad and heartbroken about all of this. I’m glad that… well, you obviously feel the same. But I’m just upset that you feel so stressed that you feel that way towards me. I know that you know that I’m very easy to talk to so, why hide it?”
Zipp looked down at the ground, ears pinned against her head, mumbling, “Rejection.”
“Zipp. Isn’t it better to know the real answer, rather than wondering what the answer could be?”
More tears started to fall.
Hitch put his hoof up to her, wiping the tears away. It’s as if he knew what she was thinking.
“Don’t worry, everything is real right now Zipp, I’m real, this is real, all of it. You shouldn’t bottle up all of these emotions. I’ll admit, yes, there are some things that you can keep to yourself that nopony knows, but little things like your image, or how you feel, shouldn’t be in control of your life. As far as we know, you only got one, so why waste your opportunities by not taking them at all, even if there’s a chance of it not working in your favor?”
Zipp couldn’t take it anymore. What Hitch was saying was all true, and she was taking the opportunity right now. She kissed him again, pushing into his body, forcing him to fall into his back, now laying in the couch. A small rush of air being inhaled through the stallion’s nose could be heard, but when Zipp peaked at him, his eyes were closed.
Zipp then laid down on him, preventing him from moving in any way. The taste he gave her was intoxicating, and she wanted more. She held a hoof to his mane, stroking it a few times.
After a couple of minutes, Zipp finally decided to let go of him.
The retraction of her caused Hitch to almost follow the mare, as he was beyond dazed. He was swimming in bliss. “Whoah…” was all Hitch could say.
She laughed lightly. A shaky tone still coming from her. “Hitch, you have no idea how happy I am right now, even after all of this...”
“Oh I think I do have an idea.”
The two shared a laugh.
“What does this make us Zipp?”
Her confidence suddenly shot back up into play, yet her voice still wary. “Well… I’m all yours Sheriff. The real question is, can you handle me?”
He smiled, nodding.
Zipp was now possibly the happiest mare in Equestria right about now.