//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Hitch’s Really Long And Stupid Diary Entry // Story: The Greatest Ultimate Mix-Up Story (April Fools Special) // by Admiral Producer //------------------------------// Dear Diary, My name is Hitch. This is my first entry. Sunny suggested that I keep a diary. I don’t know why. She doesn’t have one, and I don’t know how to write these. But, I’ll try for her sake. So…about me. I’m the sheriff of Maretime Bay and Sunny’s best friend, in fact…I’m her only friend. Sunny…she’s always so optimistic that she can change things here in Maretime Bay, make everypony get along, and prove a point to our system, which is inherently Earth Pony-centric. Sprout joined our friend group in fifth grade. He’s the son of the CEO of Canterlogic Phyllis Cloverleaf. He’s my deputy now, but he didn’t start out that way, of course. It was great to have someone balance out Sunny’s antics, but I always found him a little too arrogant. Especially considering the way he talked to Sunny sometimes during our games. What does she know that all of us in Maretime Bay don’t? We’ve been taught all our lives that Unicorns and Pegasi were evil and bloodthirsty. It was not just Canterlogic. Sometimes it would be hijacking television broadcasts during Hearth’s Warming Eve to share her impassioned message. Or ripping down movie posters or billboards that showed in her words “incorrect stereotypes” of the other ponies. Or breaking into a kindergarten class every Monday to give a speech to the fillies and colts. Tomorrow is the annual presentation of Canterlogic. Sunny will try to sneak in again, but Sprout and I will be ready once more to foil her plans. And should it come to it…I’ll make the call, even if it ends our friendship for the rest of eternity. So, I guess I should start at the beginning, huh? The leader of Bridlewood, Alphabittle, then decreed that words like ‘wing, magic, feather, and mayonnaise’ would be banned as they were associated with the old days, and that they had to move forward as a society. Whenever a pony said any any of those words, a special ritual would have to be done to cleanse themselves of jinx and bad luck. Everyone blamed my parents. After all, they were the ones who had me: the troubled filly, the walking bad luck, the source of all their problems. Of course, I was just a foal back then, too young to understand why everyone hated me so much. As I grew older, I assumed they were depressed because of their magic disappearing. And so, I vowed to be the source of all of their joy. I would bring happiness to Bridlewood. I would be the optimist in the face of all this hardship. Izzy paused her story when she saw the shocked look on Sunny’s face upon seeing the letter that she wrote with her father all those years ago actually reach someone. Initially, Izzy didn’t understand why Sunny was so mesmerized by it as she once was, but then the pieces fell into place. Tears came to her eyes as she realized it, “It…it was you…” Sunny nodded slowly as she took the letter, smiling wistfully, “I made it with my Dad. We promised each other that we would prove that all ponies were meant to be friends. We’ll do our part…” She hugged the letter close, “…hoof to heart.” It was there that a switch seemed to come on in everypony’s heads as they each faced Sunny, each offering their condolences for her father’s death. Even Pipp Petals, who had long resented the rest of the ponies for getting her exiled from her home, joined in. Mom instructed me to keep the letter safe, for if Dad were to discover it, then anger and unbridled rage would certainly ensue. I tucked the letter in my mane, which is where I’ve kept it for all these years. Izzy shook her head. “We’re going to keep a low profile. I’ll have to get you guys to blend in. And…hopefully nopony notices me.” “We’re with you until the very end.” Sunny promised her, “No matter what. If I have to defend you from your idiot father, I will. I’ll do my part.” “Why?” Izzy asked, knowing full well the answer she was going to get, but she wanted to make sure her friends were up for this. “Because that is what friends do.” Sunny replied firmly. Hitch smiled. “Hey, I want to do my part too. What have we got to lose, hm?” Everypony cheered at the sight of him joining them. “I have to admit. A Unicorn forest sounds pretty magical.” Fortunately, Zipp managed to stop her right on time, “Pipp, please. Can we just have a serious discussion about this? You’ve been avoiding it whenever I try and bring it up. Does it really not bother you at all anymore?” Pipp sighed. “Zipp, why are you bringing this up now? Did something happen?” “The fact that I ruined your life and just brushed it under the rug happened!” Zipp shouted, letting all the emotion come out. “I should’ve been more careful. I shouldn’t’ve just left you hanging there in the spotlight for everypony to see! What kind of sister does that make me?!” Pipp nodded slowly, “I see where you’re coming from. To be honest…I did feel hurt when I confronted you and you just laughed it off like it was nothing. But in the end, I think it was a good wake up call. For both of us, but more specifically me…” “Really?” Zipp asked her. Pipp smiled through gathering tears. “No, you aren’t. What made you remember that incident?” “And I love you the most out of everyone too,” Zipp replied, wiping her own tears away, “Let’s start over, sis. Let’s work together to build a brighter future for everypony in Equestria. And if you want to talk about something, go ahead and do so. I know I will. We’ll always be there for each other no matter what, I promise.” “And I promise to always listen to you from now on if you think there’s a problem,” Pipp promised her, “You’re the investigator in this town.” With that, a new promise was made. It was promise of empathy, a promise of solidarity, but most importantly of all… It seemed like only yesterday that she was the most wanted pony in all of Maretime Bay for her reckless antics. But after bringing the magic back and proving that all ponies could be friends, Sunny was not only a friend to everyone in the town, she was their hero. She and her friends had accomplished feats that the townsponies could only dream of accomplishing and for that, they were eternally grateful. As she sped by the townsponies, she saw her good friend Windy way high in the sky, practicing her flight with great effort. “How’s it goin,’ Windy?” Sunny called up to the pink pegasus mare. Managing to stabilize herself before she could fall, Windy saw Sunny and waved back, “Doing good! Unfortunately, it looks like I still have a lot to learn about flying!” “You’ll get there, Windy! I promise!” Sunny called back. With that, she continued her trek all the way down town, back to the Crystal Brighthouse where she saw Zipp and Pipp talking with one another. Zipp smiled, but that smile quickly faded when all of a sudden, there came the sound of fillies screaming in the distance. She faced Sunny. “We’ll talk later, Sunny. Gotta fly!” Wings unfolding, she rocketed off towards the sound of the screams, leaving a trail of smoke behind her. Sunny sighed. She was hoping to help Zipp get over some of her insecurities about her place in Maretime Bay today. Who knew how many life-saving errands the white pegasus would be on the whole day? “Don’t worry about Zipp,” Pipp assured her. “She’s basically the town lifeguard. It’s practically her job to save fillies falling out of the sky, magic glitch-induced or no.” “Yeah, but I was hoping to find Zipp something to do,” Sunny said, “She told me before that she didn’t think she belonged here, but that’s not true! I’m trying to talk Phyllis into hiring her.” Pipp rolled her eyes. “You really think Zipp’s going to be cool with making anti-pegasus tech?” “I-“ Sunny had to admit that Pipp had a point. Even though Maretime Bay was a pony melting pot by this point, old habits died hard and Phyllis was still trying to profit off of her inventions which no one except the old grandpas bought anymore. Before she could finish, a very disoriented Zipp tumbled down the stairs and landed flat on her face, moaning. Pipp chuckled. “That’s what you get for being the town lifeguard. Now get up, sis. We’re talking about you.” Zipp dusted herself off as she stood up. “What’d I do this time, Sunny?” “You told me the day before Maretime Bay Day began that you felt like you didn’t belong here,” Sunny told her, “Is that true?” Zipp nodded slowly. “While I’m pretty happy being the town investigator, I still…feel like I get in everypony else’s way sometimes. What about when there’s no phenomenon to keep track of? The Crystals haven’t glitched since Maretime Bay Day ended.” “Izzy overheard you talking about the Wonderbolts in your sleep,” Hitch mentioned. “You’d get them to hire me?” Zipp asked her, “I don’t know. Would they trust you after how many times you broke in to give your friendship speeches? And besides, I don’t know the first thing about how to train a class, or that extensively about the Wonderbolts. I just stumbled upon some history books in the library and became obsessed. I don’t want to teach them the wrong things.” “Then we’ll research together,” said Sunny with a hint of pride. “I think we can turn that little school club into the next best flight team in all of Equestria!“ “My Dad wrote a book on the Wonderbolts?!” exclaimed Sunny in shock, “How did I not know? He read me all of his books before…well, you know…” “Yeah, we get it,” Zipp replied, “Honestly, I haven’t seen this one around here before either. Maybe it was part of Hitch’s new shipment. He spends online like crazy on Ponyzon every Wednesday.” Sunny growled. “That better may not be my money he’s taking out.” “Well, he did tell me not to let you know about-“ Izzy began. “WHAT?!” Sunny blushed in embarrassment. “Well…I understand that I wasn’t…the best pony to talk to. But at least it all turned out alright in the end, right?” “I’d say so,” Ms. Daisy replied, “And you’re lucky it did. The only reason that none of the staff are out for your blood after the madness you caused to our classes is because you hold the key to Equestria’s future. The other teachers are scared that one wrong move and you’ll take away their magic forever by separating those Crystals.” “Oooooooooonn a hopefully related note,” said Hitch awkwardly, “Zipp starts on Monday?” I agree with that,” Zipp replied, “I guess we could just hang out here until it’s time. Do I need to register, ma’am?” “Already done that for you,” Ms. Daisy told her, “My class could use a well-disciplined example like you. They’re excellent students, just…not so much respectful ones.” “Well in the meantime, I’ll just put the hay in the apple and eat the candle…” Hitch murmured before collapsing onto the ground, snoring. Sunny was trying her best to wake him up. The three ponies somehow managed to drag Hitch into the nurse’s room in the front office and lay him down onto the small bed, letting him sleep the day away. Zipp cleared her throat. “Flyers!!” All of the other students snapped to attention, all of them pointing at a pale yellow filly with a light blue mane and tail and green eyes in the middle of them. “She started it!!” Ms. Daisy facehoofed. Sunny took a deep breath. “We only have a limited time until morning. Sunshine, I need you to grab Rainbow Tails and the rest of your classmates.” Sunshine saluted her. “Aye aye, captain!” “And…what are we going to do?” Pipp asked. “Pipp, go find Zipp,” Sunny instructed her, “Izzy, Hitch, you go assist Sunshine in the gathering of the students. I’m going to clean up the field completely. I intend to teach a class!” “Oh dear.” Pipp remarked. “Zipp,” Ms. Daisy told her, “You have shown that you are ready to lead the next generation of Wonderbolts as you wanted. For that, I’d like to give you this,” She held out a Maretime Bay Elementary School badge, which Zipp accepted. “Welcome to our staff, Captain Zipp.” “Thank you, ma’am.” Zipp thanked her respectfully. As soon as she was gone, Zipp leapt up in the air, shouting and dancing with unbridled joy. “You think we should calm her down?” Hitch asked. “Let Zipp have her moment, Hitch,” Sunny advised him. “She’s more than earned this moment to be happy.” Sincerely, Hitch