The Second Dream

by totallynotabrony

Make Your Mark: Growing Pains

The doctor seemed stumped by whatever was going on with Hitch.

“Yes, I agree that morning sickness is a common pregnancy symptom but-” he gestured vaguely at Hitch.

“I’m a stallion?” Hitch provided.

“Didn’t want to assume.”

“Don’t you have his medical records?” I said. “You shouldn’t have to.”

I, of all people, should probably not talk too much about identity.

After visiting the doctor, and him saying Hitch was apparently healthy, life went on. Unfortunately, that meant going back to the mundane reality of dealing with the shenanigans of a people discovering magic.

Like how when we arrived back at the sheriff station, the door was covered in vines that a sheepish Dahlia was trying to remove.

“Sorry,” she said. “I was actually trying to open the door for you. I know you don’t like magic, Hitch.”

“What, me not like magic?” Hitch scoffed, trying a little too hard. “I’m totally cool with it now.”

We didn't actually end up going inside, though. Hitch realized it was time to set off on his morning rounds, and I went with him. It was partly professional - apparently I’d been leaning into this cop thing harder than expected - and partly just to spend more time together.

The two of us were a couple, and we’d slowly been introducing it to the public. Whenever some grandma would swoon, “You two would make a great couple,” we’d politely smile and nod. We were working up to public displays of affection, but maybe that would interfere with the professionalism aspect. At any rate, our friends mostly knew, though we hadn't been so formal about an announcement.

On patrol, we encountered three kids caught up in what was clearly a magic-grown tree. It was blue, and sprouted right out of the pavement where there hadn’t been a tree the day before.

“Here, let me help you,” Hitch said. I helped him pull the three little ponies out of where they were stuck.

“Magic is pretty wild, huh?” one of them said.

“Too wild if you ask me,” Hitch replied.

“Oh, no! Are you upset?”

“Me? Upset? About magic? Never!”

I thought, again, that Hitch might be laying it on a little thick. And sure enough, it came back to bite him immediately.

“So we can use all the magic we want then? No rules? No holding back?” one of the kids giggled.

“You were holding back?!” Hitch gasped, with a moment of panic. “Um... of course!”

Immediately the three kids started shouting, “Hitch said use all the magic you want! Don't hold back, everypony!”

I gave Hitch a look. He already knew he’d made a huge mistake, so I didn’t need to say anything.

Also immediately, magic started popping off all around town. I could see it in the distance, sometimes rising over buildings.

Up the hill at the Canterlogic factory, I saw what appeared to be a giant blueberry rolling down. The thing had to be two ponies high and gathering speed as it decended into town.

“Berry attack! This is not a drill!” Hitch shouted.

I wondered in the moment if he’d ever run berry attack drills before. It wasn’t a good time to be distracted, though, and as everyone in the street began to scatter, Hitch and I were left alone directly in the berry’s path. If I’d maybe left myself more time to think, I probably would have found a way to keep both of us safe. Instead, I shoved Hitch out of the way and then myself got flattened by the fruit.

---

Fortunately, the berry had been overripe and already fragile from the whole square-cube law thing. Unfortunately, I still got juiced.

“Oh, wish I’d been around earlier,” Sunny laughed. “Sounds like you made a real impact!”

I didn’t appreciate her laughing at me, though I guess as the resident smoothie expert, she probably knew I hadn’t been in any real danger from the fruit.

Hitch defended me. “Laugh all you want, Sunny, but fruit juice funk can stay in your mane for weeks.”

He had already privately thanked me for saving him from the same fate. We'd had the conversation before about roles in the relationship, and while I knew he didn't like feeling like the damsel in distress, he also didn't like getting covered in fruit pulp.

Sunny had joined us as we arrived back at the station. I really needed a shower. I took out my feelings on the vines still growing over the door, tearing them away.

Sunny changed the subject. “This plant-powered magic is something special. Growing stuff at the stomp of a hoof? Incredible!”

“More like incredibly unpredictable,” Hitch countered. “I mean, we don’t even know all that it can do yet.”

“Well, we know enough. Like, you seem to be the only pony who can talk to animals. But have you tried to grow anything yet?”

“To be honest, I’m afraid to after this morning.”

I couldn’t blame him there.

“Come on, you can’t judge all earth pony magic on one little mishap.”

“Hardly the first mishap,” I pointed out, finally getting the door open.

“She’s right,” Hitch said. “Come on, Sunny, maybe you need to see the scene of the slime yourself.”

I didn’t appreciate the joke at my expense, but tolerated it a lot more coming from him than from Sunny.

The two of them left to investigate while I went into the station to have a shower.

By the time I was done, Hitch was back and trying to sort his thoughts on the bulletin board with flashcards. Sparky, perhaps feeling somewhat neglected, was starting to make a mess of the office.

Both of us intervened when Sparky began to eat Hitch’s desk. I know we had kind of adopted him, but I was beginning to wonder if this had been a good idea. And how big dragons eventually got.

“Thanks Sentra.” Hitch sighed. “This whole magic problem has been just terrible. I don’t know what to do, and I’m afraid whatever action I take, someone will end up angry. I just want to keep ponies safe and I don’t know why it’s so hard.”

Just then, Izzy walked in. She surveyed the office. I shudder to think what it would have looked like if we hadn’t intervened in Sparky’s wrecking. “Wow, you guys look like you need some help.”

“Whatever gave you that idea?” Hitch replied, sarcastically. He came clean. “Sparky’s been excitable lately.”

“Awww, he’s just adding his flair to the furniture. Aren’t you, Sparky?” Izzy looked up. “You know, if you ever needed a dragon-sitter, I’d be happy to look after him.”

“Wow, really, Izzy? That’d be great!” Hitch said.

The bird with the tin can hat - Kenneth if I remembered correctly - showed up at the door and chirped.

“Uh yeah, I’m with him,” I said. “I’m not sure this is a good idea.” Leaving children with Izzy, really?

“He was actually reminding me of my meeting,” Hitch said. He still had his animal communication skills. And maybe he also caught what I’d left unsaid. “But…”

We put Kenneth in charge of Sparky. Sorry bird, you’re too good at your job and got punished with more work.

Down in the town square, Hitch had come to address a gathering crowd. He seemed to have come to a decision on the earth pony magic that had been getting out of control.

He tapped the microphone and stepped up to the podium. “I know we started the day with a pretty disastrous - I mean, magical morning. After surveying the recent magical changes in Maretime Bay and the messy ways they’ve disrupted our daily lives, I have decided there will be...no use of Earth pony magic!”

The crowd gasped.

“Whatsoever,” Hitch added.

Another gasp.

“Until I’ve collected enough data from all of you to form proper regulations and guidelines!”

Somebody in the crowd started hyperventilating and passed out.

Seeing that, Hitch kept the rest short. “I assure you, this is all for your own safety. We don’t know what’s possible with Earth pony magic yet. Until I’ve taken proper inventory of every flight, float, flora, and fauna power, magic is off limits! That is all.”

He stepped back from the podium. Sunny was immediately upon him. “I thought you said you weren’t gonna do anything drastic!”

“No, I said I would think it over! And my thoughts are telling me it’s bad and it’s only gonna get worse if I don’t step up!”

“I’m kind of with Sunny here,” I said, almost surprising myself. “This is a little too drastic and sudden.”

“Earth pony magic is powerful!” Sunny added.

Hitch had wavered at my words, but protested, “It’s powerful, exactly! What’s gonna happen if we have more mishaps? It’s my job to make sure everypony is safe!”

With some cajoling from me, Sunny, and Zipp, Hitch did agree to run tests on some of the townsponies, observing their use of magic and trying to figure out where things kept going wrong. However, none of it went well. In fact, things kept getting worse.

“It’s gotta be the built-up Earth pony magic!” Zipp suggested as we dodged a sudden growth of vines somepony had inadvertently created. “I don’t think you're supposed to keep it all in with this ban!”

Hitch had been getting more and more flustered, and now he snapped. “I was wrong. I shouldn’t have put a pause on Earth pony magic. I should've gone straight to the Unity Crystals and stopped it completely! When ponies united and the Unity Crystals were created, everypony got their magic! Maybe if we remove the Earth pony one…”

Hitch turned towards the Crystal Brighthouse, where the Unity Crystals were kept. Everyone started to protest, but I was the one who put a hoof to Hitch’s chest. He stopped in his tracks.

“Hey, what’s going on with you lately?” I asked, my voice calm, concerned. “You’re acting strangely, frantic, not like the Hitch I know. It’s like you’re hormonal or something.”

Panic went across his face. “I…what if I really am pregnant?”

“Wait, what?” said Sunny.

Comments

[Neo4K]

Panic went across his face. “I…what if I really am pregnant?”

“Wait, what?” said Sunny.

I mean, this never happened to Valiant in the previous story, right? Unless I missed something? If not, I'll let Hitch's pregnancy slide.

[artofwar77]

Hitch, your earth pony magic is...
fertility.

[Nismo Rose]

YES ITS BACK!!!

[Cyana Flame]

Hitch doing his best impression of a male seahorse

[KVFFour]

Panic went across his face. “I…what if I really am pregnant?”

what.