So, I knock on Hitch’s door, RAP RAP RAP RAP! Before opening it up and trotting in to see Hitch there, wearing a blue taffeta sun dress with floral print and a blond wig!
I pay this no mind as I trot towards the window while saying, “S’cuse me Hitch! I left my Friendship Journal in here and I was gonna read some more of that tonight!” before stopping just shy of the sill, grabbing the purple book in my mouth and turning around…
Hitch turns his neck right to look at me and I then notice that he’s wearing lipstick and blush as he says, “Oh, that’s okay Sunny! Just take it and be on your way!”
I smile with the tome in my teeth and say from between them, “No problem!” and turn to begin trotting back out the door from which I came…
I trot out to the hallway and shut the door with my right hind hoof and begin trotting towards the other side of the Crystal Brighthouse…
Hitch was wearing a sun dress, a red wig, and makeup, I think to myself as I continue trotting and this new information searches in my mind for some sort of connection…
I trot back to my study where I set the journal down onto my desk. I breathe in through my nose slowly and deeply before exhaling and turning to trot back to the other end of the Brighthouse…
I reach the room again and open the door to trot inside just in time to see Hitch, sitting on his haunches before a pink vanity mirror, about to apply some eye shadow to his eyes by using his forehooves…
I began to wonder how he learned to do that so fast before saying to him bluntly, “You’re dressed like a mare!”
He gets done putting purple shadow on his left eye when he says to me without moving his face, “Yeah, well, Sparky was abducted by aliens, so what are you gonna do?”
I widen my eyes as I’m suddenly not sure I heard him right? “Uh, what Hitch?”
He finally turns his neck right to stare at me and his eyes widen and I admire the job he did on applying the shadow, “Aliens! A flying saucer just came out of space and I saw a big eerie light come out of the center and Sparky just levitated up into the spaceship and then, it flew off! I don’t know where they took my baby dragon!”
I frown at the spectacle of the frantic gender-swapped stallion, “Um, so uh, this is how you’re coping?”
He blinks, “Uh, what do you mean?”
I gulp, “Well, I mean the dress, wig, and makeup and everything?”
His eyes widen, “Uh, I’ve always dressed this way, Sunny?”
I widen my eyes at this, “Uh, okay Hitch! I need to go see Izzy now!” before turning to trot to the other side of the Brighthouse…
<*****>
So I trotted up to the same abandoned house in the woods as before… I heard my hooves trudging through the heavy leaves on the forest floor and it’s obvious nopony really comes out here…
I notice the brown door is slightly ajar, and that makes me wonder if Alice is around?
“Alice?” I call out.
“In here, Mary! I found something!”
My eyes widen when I wonder what that could be and I use my magick to open the front door and trot in…
“Mary! The closet!” I hear Alice say and I turn my head right to see she’s wearing the same black vest as before and I turn and trot her direction…
“What did you find?”
I trot closer to see that she’s got her blue eyes affixed to a glowing necklace, floating in the air inside the closet.
I get nearer and see that it’s a strange black necklace! It has a peculiar pony design up top which features a pony with a horn and wings! I know I’ve heard of that sort of pony before? “Uh, what is it?”
“It looks like a necklace! What do you think of it Mary?”
I frown at the ugly thing… Now, I have no idea why I did what just did… I grabbed the necklace in my green magical glow and pulled it to my neck…
CLACK! Went the clasp behind my neck as I felt a strange surge of power go through my body!
It’s strange, but I could’ve sworn I felt something latching onto my spirit when Alice stared at me with wide eyes, “Why did you do that?”
I blink, “I uh, I don’t know? But um, uh,” I stare up at her and smile…” how does it look?”
“It looks fine, but you don’t know what that necklace is or what it does! You shouldn’t tamper with magick like that!”
“Oh come on! This house isn’t that old! No way could a magical trinket or knickknack be in here!”
She frowns, “I hope you’re right…”
I continue smiling at her, “Of course I am! I’m always right!”
<*****>
So I was standing there, using my blue magick to work the paintbrush on my right! I stared at my easel and thought I really needed more blue! This painting should be blue! Blue to the max!
There’s strange electronic house music dancing around in my head now as Sunny opens the door behind me and frantically explains, “Sparky’s been abducted by aliens!”
I look down to lower the paintbrush to the bucket of painty water on my right and turn to stare at her, “Well, have you checked the closet? A lot of times, I think aliens took something when it was just in the closet the whole time!”
Sunny widens her eyes, “This is serious! He’s cross-dressing now!”
I incredulously respond, “WHAT?” and I suddenly notice the stallion behind her wearing a red wig and dress down the hallway and say, “Oh, so that’s what the dress is about!” and widen my eyes. “Lookin’ good Hitch!”
“What are we gonna do, Izzy?”
I stare back at her, “Well, unless the aliens bring him back, all we can do is comfort Hitch?”
We both hear a masculine voice from behind Sunny scream at us, “I’m fine! Everything is just fine! There’s nothing wrong right now!”
Sunny widens her eyes, “Right! I’ll go talk to him!”
I blink, nod, and respond, “And I’ll make tea!”
<*****>
I walked next to Alice deeper into the woods and craned my neck left to her, “So uh, it’s hot right now! Why are we taking another walk?” as my new necklace gently clacked against my neck…
She breathes in through her nostrils and turns to stare at me and smiles, “AH! Isn’t the fresh air wonderful and don’t you just adore the birds chirping?”
“Nature sucks!”
She guffaws, “Oh, come now sweet Mary! Surely you can think of something here to appreciate?”
I frown when I think she’s so odd… No other unicorn has been so zesty for life as this before? “Are you okay, Alice?”
She smiles down at me, “Why wouldn’t I be, sweet Mary?”
Suddenly, I notice a roc in the air behind Alice! I notice it aiming it’s claws as it begins to dive towards her and without hesitation, I send a BOLT of green energy towards the bird of prey and cause it to explode!
I think I smell charred bird in the air when Alice looks over her shoulder and asks me loudly, “WHAT WAS THAT?”
I blink, “I uh, there was a big bird and I uh, I shot it out of the sky for you, but uh, I uh…”
She turns to me and furrows her brow with interest, “You WHAT Mary?”
I blink again as I’m still astonished with my blood now surging through my four limbs, “I’ve NEVER done anything like that before! Where did I get this power?”
Her brow loosens somewhat, “You didn’t have that power before the necklace… Clearly, it was indeed magical!”
I blink again in amazement as I just barely get my legs to stop trembling, “N-no Alice! I shouldn’t have this! I really shouldn’t have this!”
She smiles, “Nonsense, Mary! Keep it! Consider it as a gift from me!” she pridefully raises her neck haughtily. “I have plenty of power already, you see!”
I frown when I think about what she just gave me… “Are you sure?”
She nods, “Positive! Consider it an insurance policy should another roc or other dangerous creature cross your path!”
I smile when I just think about the amazing gift my new best friend just gave me! “Thank you so much Alice!”
<*****>
As I see Izzy there sipping her raspberry tea with her magick, she then sets the cup down on her plate and causes it to stop glowing, and then stares directly at Hitch, still wearing his dress and wig, “Now Hitch, we’ve gotten you to understand that Sparky is gone, yes?”
He blinks and nods solemnly, “I-I think so? Um, you’re sure there’s NOTHING we can do? I mean, isn’t there a way to contact the aliens or?”
Izzy smiles gravely back to him, “We’ve already been over this three times, Hitch! There’s nothing we can do!”
Hitch nods back soberly, “R-right… I sure am gonna miss that little guy!”
“I’m sure we all are Hitch, but after we’ve grieved…”
Hitch cuts her off, “There will be a time of moving on?”
Izzy smiles, “Now you’re getting it!”
“Um,” Hitch continues, “c-can I keep wearing the dress and wig? U-um,” he smiles. “I like it!”
Izzy beams back at the stallion, “If that’s what it takes, then sure!”
Hitch blinks, “Well, I uh, this whole Sparky thing just made me start doing this and um, well…”
“You like dressing like a girl!”
“W-well, yeah!” He smiles nervously…
<*****>
I nervously frown up at the hot magenta alicorn as she furrows her brow, “What do you mean, Sparky was abducted by aliens?” as she stares down at me while furrowing her brow in irritation.
I gulp, “W-well, it wasn’t my fault this time, Opaline! According to Hitch, aliens just came down and took him away!”
She sighs as she raises her view, “Well, you’re actually right Misty… There’ll be no punishment, this time, as this had nothing to do with you…” she turns and begins trotting away from me. “Clearly, we’ll need a new strategy now!”
(To be continued… )