Gales of Fate

by Gamer Script

Chapter 1: A New Case

It was a dim morning in Maretime Bay, the sun just beginning to rise from beyond the waves as the usually prosperous and buzzing town was only just beginning to awaken. Ponies getting their stalls and shops set for the oncoming bustle, the Canterlove Studio's cleaning crew, or at least the huffy red stallion that was told to clean what was 'his', coming in to start the day. The usual sights to any of the town's residents. To that end also was the sight of the town's Sheriff out for his usual morning jog with a teal tank top, light blue sweatpants and matching head and wristbands as he made his way down the main strip leading to the studio.

Hitch took even paced breaths as he made his way up the hill, a determined look in his eye as he made it to the top and took a moment to sigh and look out on the scenic view of his home being slowly draped in the gentle sun's rays. He put his hands to his hips and smiled proudly at the town he'd sworn to protect, the shimmering ocean and the ponies going around starting their mornings. He then looked over towards his next destination that was Sunny's Lighthouse. Looking down at a notebook he'd withdrawn from his pocket, he made a check mark next to the Studio on a list of other places, "Alright, now I just gotta get to the lighthouse and my jog for the day is done! Man, Zipp really knows how to make a pony work. This regimen is amazing to keep in shape, but it worries me I might fall behind if they go running off on another adventure." He chuckled as he rubbed his head before hearing a pair of wings come up next to him. Looking over, he saw the pegasus in question zoom down and land by his side from a triple axle, her wings flared out as she rose and brought them back in, "Speak of the evil Alicorn and she shall appear."

She smirked with a risen brow as she crossed her arms, wearing a black sprinter's outfit with blue, pink and white stripes on the sides of her hips and across the chest and back of the top as she nodded, "Morning to you too, Sheriff. Enjoying your route I wrote out for you?" She asked curiously as she gave him a light punch to the shoulder.

"Yeah! I was just talking about it with," he paused looking around a moment as he chuckled nervously, "Uh... Myself, I guess." He admitted bashfully before looking back at her, What're you doing over here, though?" He said as she shrugged.

"You think I just wrote that thing out for you? That's my flight path every morning, duh." She explained as she tapped the notepad to emphasize her point.

As he looked back at it closer he realized why he was having a bit more trouble than he originally thought with it, "So that's why my lungs felt like they were on fire! These spots are so much easier to fly to than to run!" He said as she chuckled at his frustration. "Don't laugh! You think it's so easy to run this?"

"Uh... Yeah. Yeah, I do." She said matter-of-factly as she tilted her head, "What's wrong, Hitch? I thought you said it was good exercise."
"It is! But the point is that you don't run these, you fly everywhere!"
"What, you wanna race or something?"
"What? No, I-- ... Y'know what? Yeah! Yeah, I do! First one to reach the Lighthouse, on foot, wins! Deal?" He said as she looked at his outstretched hand and nods, taking and shaking his hand.

"May the best pony win. Cause I know I will." She said as she got into a starting position, Hitch doing the same as his little bird friend hopped over and rose it's wings much like a drag race starter, tweeting to signify a countdown. On the final tweet, the two took off running. As they came down the hill, they were neck-and-neck, neither one giving an inch as Zipp laughed looking over at Hitch, "Look at you! Didn't think you'd actually keep up!"

"When you spend your entire life chasing Sunny to stop her from causing civil unrest or getting herself hurt, you gotta be fast!" He said proudly as they rounded a corner. As they ran, neither one of them heard the approaching gallop of a third pair of hooves quickly catching up to them as what could only be called a blue blur surged past and between them both, catching them off-guard. "Whoa! Hey, that was really dangerous!" Hitch called out as the blue trail made it past and gone in a few seconds. While Hitch scolded where the pony was last standing, Zipp's eyes widened a bit as she took a sharp turn after them to his surprise, "Zipp? Hey, where're you going?" He said as he ran to follow her, his prior exercise starting to catch up with him as he began to slow down. Once the two were fully out of sight, he groaned and made his way towards the lighthouse again.

Opening up the door, he saw Izzy and Sunny over in their kitchen area while their newest addition, a messy haired unicorn girl slept holding Sparky to her chest. He smiled momentarily watching the two before he sighed and made his way to the other two, "Morning Izzy, Sunny."

Catching their attention from what they were making, seemingly pancakes, Izzy waved whackily as she normally would, wearing a crop top and a necklace made of well-assorted paperclips and beads, "Goooood morning Hitcharti!"

Sunny, wearing a purple t-shirt and sun-spotted red pajama pants waved as well, taking a sip from a tea cup as she sighed, "Morning, Hitch. You're up early. Again." She said curiously as he nodded.

"I was out for a jog. Finally decided to put that route that Zipp wrote up into action. But anyway, speaking of Zipp, something happened." He said as he sat at the island countertop and groaned, "I think it was... That stallion again."

Izzy tilted her head confusedly before turning to Sunny who groaned, "Him? Hitch, I don't get what your big deal with him is."
"He's reckless, a destruction of property waiting to happen, a violation of the rules of crossing the road, road safety, public safety," he listed as Sunny rolled her eyes.

"Just because he doesn't seem to look where he's going sometimes doesn't mean he's some public danger. We've been over this."
"Yeah, and I'm still right! Remember that time he crashed into your stall and nearly broke your blenders? Or the time he crashed into the sheriff's office? Or maybe that time when--"
"Hitch, he crashed into the office when your dad was still the sheriff." She said poignantly as she crossed her arms.

"Wassup~! Morning Hitch, Iz, Sunny!" Came the melodic voice of Pipp, flowing down the stairs and into the kitchen in a dainty spin wearing a bright white robe with golden and lavender accents as she came over and leaned in the island next to Hitch, "So, what's the big goss with whoever you two're talking about?"

"Morning, Pipp! I have no idea, but it's kinda fun to watch!" Izzy said as she munched on a pancake, holding one out to her with her magic as she took and started eating it herself.

"This stallion in town."
"This menace of the town."
The two of them spoke in unison before they looked back at one another in disbelief, "What???" They said in further confusion at one another's statement as they began laying into one another.

While Izzy and Pipp watched confusedly at the two, they heard a pair of yawns come from the doorway as Misty came stumbling over with her eyes closed carrying Sparky in one arm while rubbing her eyes free of sleep with her opposing arm, Sparky doing the same. She wore a white button-up and a pair of jeans with minor rips in the knees as she sat next to Hitch whom Sparky crawled into the arms of with a delighted, sleepy gurgle nuzzling into him as he paused in his ranting to smile and peck his head, "Oh, hey Sparky! Sorry bud, didn't mean t'wake ya."

Sunny sighed as she looked to Misty, "Sorry Misty, didn't mean to wake you up either." She said as Misty groaned a bit and was given a pancake on a plate which she groaned and fell face-first into, making Pipp and Izzy chortle a bit as a light munching sound could be heard from the tired, disheveled mass, "Anyway, what did that stallion have to do with your morning?"

"He nearly crashed into Zipp and I on our way here! She went chasing after him and I decided that if anyone could catch him it's her. Also," he groaned leaning his head on the counter, "I was tuckered out from finishing up the route." He groaned as Sunny rolled her eyes and placed a couple pancakes in front of him with a small cup of Sparkleberry Syrup.

"Well, if you say so. Not like she's in any danger or anything chasing him down. At most she'll come crashing in as tired out as you are--" she was cut short as the sound of the front door bursting open resonated, making Misty shoot up haphazardly from her pancake and scream in surprise before falling back only to be caught by Izzy under her arms, "There she is."

Following the noise was the sound of panting and flapping wings as Zipp rounded the corner and landed at the entrance of the kitchen, "Yeesh... Whoever that pony is can sure book it. I lost track of him tons'a times." She sighed as she made her way past the others and opened up the fridge, snatching out a bottle of water and waterfalling it into her muzzle with a contented gulp and sigh.

"Believe me, I know the feeling." Hitch groaned leaning on his free hand with minor annoyance as he unconsciously opened his mouth to the floating fork of food pressed to his muzzle by Izzy and giving it a munch.

"You know him?"
"We both do."
"Pretty sure Iz, Misty and I are just finding out about this mystery speed stallion today. Neither of them have given him a name besides 'menace'." Pipp spoke up as Izzy and Misty nodded in agreement as Izzy was playing 'Airplane' with Hitch's fork of food before he snatched it out of the air and began eating on his own again.

"Menace, huh? Weird... Kinda sounds familiar for whatever reason..." She said curiously as she leaned over onto the counter herself between Izzy and her sister.

"Now that you mention it... Yeah, it totes sorta does! There was so totally someone like that back home, wasn't there?"
"Hmm... Something like that, I think... Hey, Sunny! What is this stallion's name?" Zipp inquired as Sunny passed out proper portions of puffy pancakes to the rest of of her pony pals.

"Hmm? Oh, easy. His name is-- ... Uh... Huh. Now that you ask I don't think we ever actually got one. He and I never spoke much. And... Honestly, thinking about it more? I don't even remember him living anywhere in town." She said with a bit more of a curious concern dripping into her voice before looking to Hitch, "Hitch, any ideas?"

"Well, he's... He's obviously... He lives around... Uh... Wow, um... No. I have no clue either. He's been around since we were little fillies and your dad was still around, but even back then he was always getting into trouble. Even more than you did." He said teasingly before he rubbed his chin in thought.

"So lemme get this straight: The four of us have memory of a speedy stallion that got into trouble but not a single one of us can pin him down physically or even think of his name?" She explained to herself as the others seemed to agree with varying states of concern, "Sounds like a case to be cracked! And I'm the one that's gonna do it!" She said as she slammed her hands to the counter and swiped up her breakfast, "Whenever you guys are good and ready, let's get this guy! The mystery of the speedy stallion is a go!" She said racing away upstairs.

Izzy blinked a bit confusedly as everypony peered around at one another before shrugging, "Well, that'll be fun! I'mma go see about some Unicycling supplies calling my name! Toodles and thanks for the pancakes, Sunny!" She said trotting happily out the door.