16 days after Zipp’s breakdown
Love can be a beautiful thing. A feeling of utter bliss and tranquility. Like your mind just stops thinking about all else but that one special pony.
However, love can also be blinding, leaving ponies unable to see the truth in front of them. That what they see as love is actually a lie.
And right now there was no couple in Maretime Bay that this reflected more than the newest pairing of Hitch Trailblazer and Zipp Storm.
Ever since the sheriff first kissed the princess in the cave, the two of them have been the talk of the town. It wasn’t everyday one of the royal daughters found love, or that a mare magnet like Hitch would finally make a choice on a marefriend.
However, with everything that happened surrounding how they officially became a couple, the two of them haven’t spent much time together, just the two of them. Both of them decided it was about time to change that, thus leading to right now where Zipp was being prept for the night out by Sunny and Izzy while Pipp and Hitch talked outside the Brighthouse. “You guys really don’t need to do this.” Zipp groaned as Izzy combed her mane.
“Nonsense! A little touching up never hurt anypony.” Izzy brushed it off, both what Zipp said as the pegasus’ mane.
“You’d be surprised how many ponies would prove you wrong, Iz.” Zipp dryly responded, having hear several stories from Pipp of things going wrong at Mane Melody.
“Don’t worry, Zipp. It’s nothing major. We’re already about done.” Sunny assured her as she and Izzy stepped back to see their work.
“Hmm. Looks good, but could use a little something else.” Izzy said.
Zipp cringed at the thought of being touched up even more. “Guys, I really don’t think-“
“Hang on. I think I got it.” Sunny said as she quickly ran over to her bedside and pulled something out of a drawer.
Heading back over to the group with the object in hoof, Zipp was able to see the object and recognized it as the present that Izzy gave Sunny for her birthday. Izzy also recognized the item and gasped. “Is that the mane-cessory I made for you?” She asked with a big smile on her face, immediately catching onto Sunny’s plan.
“It is!” Sunny replied back with equal excitement.
“Sunny, I-I can’t take that.” Zipp protested.
“Nonsense!” Sunny told her. “It’s not like I need it right now.” She said as she started looking for a place to hang the accessory from. Problem was Zipp’s mane wasn’t as long as hers so there weren’t many places to display the object.
This was reinforced by Izzy critiquing every place Sunny suggested. “No. No. No. Oh, that’s a big no. Uh, i’m pretty sure wearing it like that is Jinxie.” She informed her friend.
Sunny groaned in defeat and fell onto her haunches. “Ugh. I thought for sure it was going to be perfect for your mane.” She told Zipp with disappointment in her voice.
“Ah, don’t worry about it.” Zipp assured her with a wing pat.
Suddenly, Izzy gasped loudly. “Wait, the mane-cessory was original a bracelet before you put it in your mane.” She said before she took the object with her magic. “So, maybe…” She said as she tried something different.
With the accessory in place, Izzy and Sunny took a step back to marvel their work. “It’s no Pipp work. But I think it’s a pretty good job.” Izzy said as she levitated a mirror over to show Zipp her new look.
Zipp gasped at what she saw in the mirror.
Downstairs, Pipp was unable to work on her sister’s appearance because she was busy having an important talk with Hitch. Even if she was the younger sister, that didn’t mean she was not at all protective of her big sister. “Pipp, I swear on my badge as Sheriff that I-“ Hitch was about to promise before Pipp held up a wing and stopped him.
“Hitch, if you want threats, then go ask my mom for some that I’m pretty sure she made once me and Zipp were old enough to start dating. We all know you would never hurt or take advantage of Zipp. It’d be pretty much impossible for you to do so. No, instead I need to warn you about…something else.”
Pipp looked to the side nervously, confusing and concerning Hitch. "Something else?" He asked her.
Pipp took a deep breath before speaking, hoping that Zipp wouldn't be too upset with her for saying this. "Listen, my sister is one of the strongest willed ponies I know, if not the strongest. But while she can be as sturdy as a house made from titanium, she also is as fragile as if it was made out of glass. And I'm not just talking about all the crap she's been dealing with recently. This has gone on longer than that."
"It has?" Hitch asked.
Pipp nodded sadly as she recalled the night she discovered it for herself. "She's had these feelings before. Feelings of not being good enough. Of being a failure."
Hitch's eyes widened at this information. Much like Pipp, he never expected Zipp to be troubled with such things. Especially before the corruption and breakdown.
Pipp continued. "I'm telling you this because there's a very high chance that she might start thinking that she's not worthy of you. That you deserve somepony better as a marefriend. Are you understanding what I'm telling you?”
Despite having a hard time believing what Pipp was saying, not that he believed Pipp actually thought those things, Hitch still nodded. "And what should I do if that does happen?" He asked.
"Really, I'd say do this throughout the whole night, but don't be afraid to show her affection. Let her know that you chose her specifically and that you aren't changing your mind." The pink pegasus offered her advice before asking. "Can you please do that?"
Once again, Hitch nodded. "You have my word." He promised.
Pipp smiled at his response just as she heard somepony coming down the stairs and turned around. "Oh, speak of the pony, and she shall appear." She said as she moved out of the way, allowing Zipp to come into view. When Hitch saw her, he stopped breathing.
While Sunny and Izzy's touch ups were subtle, to the sheriff they were still as clear as day. Her mane glistened like the night sky, her hooves looked polished and shined like silver from a china shop, her wings appeared softer than the softest blankets, the little touch ups to her face highlighted her snow-white fur and those beautiful blue eyes you could get lost in, and to top it all off she had Sunny's mane-cessory hanging from her ear like an earring.
There was no other way of putting it. She looked absolutely gorgeous.
Zipp noticed Hitch gawking at her and chuckled. “Why don’t you take a picture, Sheriff? It’ll last longer.” She teased.
Hearing her voice, especially with laughter in it, snapped Hitch out of his stupor. “Oh, uh, sorry. It’s just that, uh, you look, uh.” He tried to say but his brain was still not functioning properly, unable to come up with the proper adjective. Finally, he was able to settle on. “Beautiful.”
Despite the smile on her face, Zipp felt that Hitch’s description wasn’t accurate. “Oh, come on, Hitch. It’s not that impressive.” She told him.
Hitch shook his head. “It doesn’t matter how little of a change it is, you always manage to look beautiful in my eyes.”
Hitch was rewarded by an adorable blush that covered the white mare’s face as she cutely tried to hide it. “S-so.” She squeaked out before she quickly corrected herself and spoke normally. “So, you said you have the evening planned for us?”
“Yep. I think the two of us are going to have a lot of fun tonight.” Hitch said as he offered his date a hoof, which Zipp gladly accepted as they headed off to town.
It goes without saying that the evening was going wonderfully for the two love birds.
First they stopped by the Maretime Bay Arcade and played some games. When they played laser tag, Hitch found himself getting zapped by his marefriend consistently while never being able to get a hit himself thanks to her agility and stealth. Zipp would deny it, but he knew she was enjoying seeing him failing miserably.
He was able to get some revenge when they played Pony Kart, managing to beat her 3-0. While it was admittedly mean to do so, Hitch couldn't help but laugh at Zipp's misfortune.
After some more games, the two of them went to catch a movie. Throughout the film, which was an action-comedy, Hitch had a hoof around Zipp, while the pegasus wrapped one of her wings around his back, and they snuggled close to each other.
All that leads to now where the two of them were currently having dinner together. Hitch knew that Zipp wouldn't be a big fan of a fancy restaurant where they had to wait for who knows how long for their meal, so instead they went to a fast food place and took theirs to go and ate out at the public tables.
Throughout the meal, Hitch would dip some fries into dipping sauce and fed them to Zipp, to which she happily accepted each time. "How many more fries are you going to be feeding me, Sheriff?" Zipp asked teasingly. "I'm pretty sure I've eaten more of your plate then you have at this point."
"Just want to make sure you are properly fed, Milady." Hitch replied like a gentlecolt, to which Zipp couldn't help but blush and chuckle at. "Although." He said as he suddenly gave a sheepish smile as he got up from his seat. “I should probably get some more. Be back in a jiffy.” He said before leaving.
Zipp smiled as she watched Hitch leave before deciding to focus on the food on her own plate. Everything felt good right now. So good that as she ate, she didn’t notice three mares approach her from behind until one of them spoke up. “Well, if it isn’t Princess Zipp herself.”
Turning around, Zipp saw the Filly Three: Sugar Moonlight, Rosedust, and Lily, approaching her. She frowned. These three have caused trouble for her friends in the past, namely with using Sunny for her alicorn form as a way to raise their status. “Can I help you?” She asked as the three mares stopped at her table.
“Oh, we’re not the ones who need helping, Zipp.” Sugar spoke up. “Instead, it’s your new coltfriend who you need to be helping.”
“Hitch? What’s wrong with him?” Zipp asked, now starting to get upset at the possible implications the three mares were getting at about him.
But to her surprise, Sugar instead said. “It’s it obvious? The problem he’s dealing with is you.”
Zipp took a step back with widened eyes. “Wh-what?”
“You heard me loud and clear. Hitch deserves someone better than you.” Sugar told her. “I mean, look at you. You really think he’s attracted to whatever this is?” She said as she gestured to all of Zipp.
“He told me himself that-“ Zipp tried to defy before being interrupted by Sugar.
“Obviously lying just to make you feel better about yourself. That’s really the only reason he’s even giving your relationship a chance, anyway.” She said as the three of them started circling Zipp like sharks.
“Yeah, why would he want to go with somepony who is crazy enough to have their wings clipped and become crippled?” Rosedust asked.
“Somepony who is an even worse helper that Sprout was, and can’t seem to do her job as a detective without messing it up?” Lily asked.
“Somepony like you?” Sugar finished as they came to a stop circling and looked directly at their victim, taking pleasure in the distraught look on her face. “Face it, Zipp. There’s nopony in all of Equestria that would want to truly be with you. The closest chance you have at any love is whatever stallion your mother forces to be your suitor just so you can produce an heir.”
“But I’m pretty sure by that point she’ll realize that she’s better off with just giving everything to your sister since that poor colt would rather be with her anyway.” Rosedust added.
“As annoying as she can be, at least she isn’t some coward who hides her face anytime somepony with a camera shows up. And she’s actually attractive.” Lily pointed out.
Sugar nodded at her cronies responses before going in for the final strike. “Hitch shouldn’t be wasting his time with an emotionally unstable, unattractive, foolish mare like you. So stop holding him back from the pony he’s truly meant to be with. The pony he deserves. Because it’s clearly not, and never will be, you.”
Zipp looked utterly devastated once they were finished. She tried to fight back, refute everything they have just said, but nothing would come out of her mouth. Because she believed that deep down they were right. This was all nothing but a lie she was telling herself just so she doesn’t have to face the truth.
Unable to form a response, Zipp ran away, tears streaming down her face, all while the Filly Three watched her leave with triumphant smiles. Now that she was out of the way, Hitch was all theirs.
Speaking of the stallion, it was then that he finally returned to the table with more fires. “Sorry that took so long, Zipp.” He apologized, not realizing his date was gone. “For a place that advertises themselves for putting the fast in fast food, you’d think they wouldn’t have line problems.” It was only when he put the food on the table that he realized that the Filly Three were the ones present and not Zipp. He immediately knew that something happened while he was gone. “Sugar, where’s Zipp?” He asked the ringleader.
Oblivious to the seriousness of the sheriff’s tone of voice, she responded with. “Ran off crying because she just couldn’t seem to accept the fact that despite being a princess she’ll never be the mare for you.” She said before the three of them laughed at what they considered a job well done.
Hitch looked both horrified and furious at what he just heard. “What?” He was all he could stammer out before Sugar spoke again and only increased his rage.
“We simply did you a favor and told that freak to go and stop holding you back from finding the perfect mare. Like me for exam-“ She didn’t get to finish as Hitch’s hoof forcefully made contact with the side of her face.
Rosedust and Lily gasped at what they just saw while Sugar staggered back, a hoof on the cheek the stallion slapped. She was about to yell at him for slapping a mare like that, but stopped when she saw the look of utter fury on his face. “I will deal with you three later.” He said before running off to find Zipp.
What he or the Filly Three didn’t know was that Posey was standing nearby and recorded the whole thing. “Oh, I think somepony else might beat you to that, Sheriff Hitch.” She said as she sent the video to the pony she knew had to see this.
Zipp found herself on a small cliffside looking over the beach. It was a cruel irony that this place looked perfect for a romantic setting, but here she was sobbing her eyes out from having her heart broken.
What the Filly Three said to her kept ringing through her head like a bell. How could she have been so stupid? Of course this relationship wasn’t actually one of true love. She flat out told Hitch she wanted to rape him for ponies sake. Even if that wasn’t true, that alone should’ve been enough to tell her that Hitch only returned her affections just so she could feel better about herself. But she couldn’t keep doing that to Hitch. He deserved better than her. He deserved better than a stupid, unattractive princess that spent her days crying like a newborn foal.
She was so caught up in her misery that she didn’t hear Hitch call out to her when he found her, run over to her, and sit down next to her until she felt a hoof wrap around her and pull her into a hug. “Zipp, I'm so sorry you had to hear that. I shouldn’t have left you alone back there!” He scolded himself for being so stupid.
“No, I’m the one that’s sorry, Hitch.” Zipp said through her tears. “I shouldn’t have been wasting your time by being your pretend marefriend and just accepted the facts.”
“Pretend? The facts?” Hitch repeated, unable to believe what he heard.
“Yes, the facts. Look at my mom and Pipp. They’re-“
“Nowhere near as beautiful as you.” Hitch cut Zipp off, unable to hear her criticize herself so harshly. “Zipp, when I called you beautiful before I meant that. Never in my life have I met a mare as stunning as you. No offense to the rest of our friends, but they don’t hold a candle when it comes to who is the most attractive.” He blushed slightly at realizing he probably should’ve said something other than attractive, but kept going. “Your face, your coat, your mane, your eyes, your wings, your hooves, your athletic body. All of that put together make the perfect pony.”
“You don’t have to lie and try to make me feel better, Hitch.” Zipp told him.
“The only one lying to you right now is yourself.” Hitch retorted as he gently backed away from the hug and wiped the tears off Zipp’s face with a hoof. “Zipp, I love you for everything you have. Not just for your appearance on the outside, although that doesn’t not help, but also for the pony you are on the inside. You’re the kind of mare who continues to protect those she cares about, even in the face of doubt. You’re a caring and sweet mare who just wants what’s best for those in her life. I can’t even count how many times you’ve helped me get out of sticky situations. We’ve been the perfect team since the day we first met. Sparky’s been seeing you as his mother long before we started dating. He knows that you’re the pony for me.”
“You think that I deserve somepony better, but I don’t want a ‘better’ marefriend, I want you. I chose you because you and you alone are the only mare I want to be with. I love you, Zipp Storm. I always have, and I always will.” He finished by gently taking Zipp’s hoof in his own.
“Hitch.” Zipp said as tears started to form in her eyes, but not ones of sadness. “That’s……that’s the sweetest thing anypony’s ever said to me!” She cried before she hugged him with so much force she tackled him to the ground, aggressively nuzzling him the entire time. “Thank you so much!” She cried happily.
Hitch chuckled as he accepted and returned the affection without any hesitation. “You’re welcome, Zipp.”
They stayed like that for a few minutes before Zipp finally backed off slightly to allow her coltfriend to stand up again. “But what about the Filly Three?” She asked him. “What if they-“
“I think that slap I gave Sugar is more than enough to send the message straight to them.” Hitch assured her.
Zipp looked surprised, and a little impressed at what she heard. “You actually slapped somepony?” She asked him.
Hitch chuckled and rubbed the back of his head with a hoof. “Yeah, well, ponies do crazy things when they’re in love.” He told her.
Zipp just smiled at his response. Before Hitch could react, Zipp gave him a big kiss on the lips. Just as soon as it happened, the pegasus broke off from the kiss and smiled at the sheriff. “I love you too, Hitch. And I wouldn’t want to be with anypony else either.”
Hitch smiled in response before he pulled Zipp in for another kiss that she happily accepted.
For the two of them, right now nothing else mattered. There was only each other and the love that they shared. A true love.
A real love.
“I cannot believe he did that to me!” Sugar hissed as she rubbed her cheek while she and her lackeys sulked in defeat at their failure in breaking up the new couple. “What kind of sheriff goes around slapping mares in the face?! I swear, I’ll sue him for assaulting me!”
“Oh, I think he’ll be the least of your problems.” Turning their heads, the three mares saw Pipp descending from the sky and landing in front of them with an annoyed look on her face.
“What do you want, Pipp?” Sugar hissed at her, not in the mood to deal with their biggest rival on social media.
Pipp smiled sweetly at them, but as she spoke her face turned to one of anger. “Oh, I was just minding my own business when a certain friend of mine showed me a very interesting video showing you three making my sister cry!”
From the tone and stamping of her hooves, Sugar had a pretty good idea of what Pipp was thinking and backed up fearfully with Rosedust and Lily. “Y-you can’t be serious. What would Hitch say when he finds out you attacked three ponies?!”
“Yeah, I took that into account and made a little call.” Pipp said as she looked up. “And here she comes now.”
A shadow swooped over the terrified Filly Three before Queen Haven landed next to her daughter. “So, you’re the ponies who dared to make my baby girl cry!” She said angrily with her wings flared out as she and Pipp slowly approached them.
“Like they say, Sugar, never side against the family.” Pipp told her.
“No, no! J-just let me explain. I-i-i-i-it wasn’t what it looked like!” Sugar pleaded, but they fell upon deaf ears. “No! NO! NOOOOO!”