Hitch doesn't really like change. It used to be that if tomorrow wound up pretty much the same as today, with forensic analysis needed to distinguish either from the day before... then that meant he'd done his job. The peace had been kept.
And now everything has changed. There are pegasi and unicorns in Maretime Bay, some of whom seem to believe that they've brought their own laws with them. The task of keeping those interactions from becoming explosive is being pressed between the hooves of one stallion. A decidedly harried, extremely overworked stallion who doesn't like change, happens to be raising a baby dragon on the side, and doesn't understand the other two cultures at all.
Hitch is tired. That's probably not going to change any time soon.
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Hitch isn't related to the mane six. He's a direct descendant of Mayor Marigold herself.
Papa Hitch is cute, but yeah, from what little I've seen in G5 so far, poor guy has a lot to deal with.
I don't have much intelligent to say, but I just love the ending. Always love it when friendship makes a problem-- or a bunch of problems-- less awful, and the Mane 5 are all just adorable.
I really gotta get all caught up on official G5 stuff. Luckily I already had all the context I needed for this fic, but I've missed a lot in the meantime. Anyway, this was a nice story.
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I love this head cannon. I takes a very special personality and a rare tolerance of BS to deal with solving the crises of the Public on a day to day basis without resorting to being an authoritarian control freak.
Ooooohhh I love this. It really shows just why I absolutely love Hitch as a character for G5—a stickler-by-the-rules, kind-hearted yet change-hating cop in a franchise about change and progress, having to deal with the after effects of segregation being dismantled all on his own. It's a shame how little the G5 media has explored this, but I'm glad at least this fanfic does. And I love your articulate writing style, even—and maybe especially—when it's used for something humorous
Town Hall is going to be Hitch main antagonist when it comes to revolutionize the police force. And he got a lot of trail to blaze.
Let's hope he does get a new deputy at some point because he won't be able to keep the rhythm.
I understood that reference.
Sparky, Dragon of Maretime Bay has a nice ring to it ....
One of the filing cabinets was occupied primarily by Sunny as well, though at least there it was her various citations and arrest records.
The town's best historian was the ostracized lighthouse keeper, so that checks out.
Hmm. Flashback to getting my fingerprints taken in grade school...
In theory, this should be the city council's responsibility to figure out. In practice, they exist largely through implication, which makes meeting for legislative sessions a bit tricky.
Which is more than a little terrifying if you think about it too much. Three isn't much better.
Still, it's not like anypony wanted Sprout back in a position of authority.
Ah. The city council is arguably dealing with the changes worse than Hitch. Or at least has very different priorities.
Yeah, it tracks that these two would have tried a more intimate relationship... and that it would have fallen through in the end.
No one tell him about the title that used to come with a horn and wings.
Lucky them.
Excellent work in freeing Hitch from the Homeric curse of the bumbling sitcom dad. (I know Mr. Simpson is far from the first, but he is the long-runner... and I couldn't resist the pun.) Equal parts fascinating and exhausting as we take in how Maretime Bay has basically become Hitch's personal hellscape, and how his friends help him mitigate the damage. Thank you for it. (And yeah, you'll probably want to echo the bit about this not being Continuum-canon in a blog post.)
"happens to raising a baby dragon"
"happens to be raising a baby dragon"?
(That one's in the description.)
"right up the moment"
"right up until the moment"?
"There was usually some litterers"
"There were usually some litterers"?
"and there was so more than her to deal with"
"and there was so much more than her to deal with"?
"So what do you say, sheriff"
"So what do you say, Sheriff"?
Thanks for writing!
Oh. "Thank you for respecting other ponies' air space, Fifi." and the like.
Can I just say, I love your dark humor? It really adds to your stories' atmosphere, either in this or the Continuum.
Personally, I think this story illustrates one of your main themes; the contrast between an almost-nihilistic world and the power of friendship. The world of G5 and the Equestria of the Continuum seem to be despair-inducing combinations of entropy and stasis, where it feels like things are constantly at risk of sliding back into the abyss and many of those in power are trying to stop it from climbing out. One of the best examples of this is the way you write Cutie Marks; not as an unmitigated good or a mark of achievement, but as a brand of destiny, something that tries to keep you confined to a set path. Yes, it might help you on that path, but it still tries to prevent you from leaving it. Which sounds super depressing, and honestly can be at times, but I believe it serves as powerful support for what I feel your main point is; we can't wait for the world to fix itself, because it won't, just like destiny won't necessarily solve our problems. What will is the Hitches and Sunnies of the world, the people who are willing to try to fix it. The only way to stop the slide towards chaos is to stop it; you can't simply hope and pray that Someone Else will take care of things, you have to do your part. The point of Lawgistics isn't the incompetence of City Hall or the magnitude of the difficulty of Hitch's task, it's the fact that Hitch tries, that he stands athwart the forces of chaos and tries to stop them. And why does he do so?
Hitch isn't just trying to bring order because of some abstract notion of justice or because it's his job, but because of Sparky, because he loves his little dragon son and wants him to grow up somewhere safe, somewhere where all he has to care about is what he's going to have for lunch and whether it's warm enough outside to play. This is why friendship, love, is so powerful; it drives us to do the impossible, to tilt at windmills, to fight against all odds for the sake of one who we want to save from a scraped knee. Yes, synthesizing three tribes' worth of legal codes into one might be daunting. So might dealing with a dubiously competent administration in Maretime Bay's government. And recovering from a decline that seems to have reduced a mighty kingdom to three cities? Almost impossible. But in the face of these challenges, Hitch simply turns to his friends, whispers "For Sparky," then charges into the fray. He knows the odds are against him, he knows he's most likely going to fail, but still he fights on, all because of his love for one little baby dragon. And perhaps, due to his struggle, what some might call Equestria's sunset could turn out to be a new dawn.
The long (and shapely) foreleg of the law.
That's practically an echo after Izzy gets done saying anything.
There's always the possibility of resigning and putting a sign on the office door. "Sheriff Hitch has resigned due to overwork and stress. If you need assistance with a legal problem, please contact the Town Hall." It's not a strike, and he can still 'advise' ponies how to behave while directing the disputes to Mr. Defund The Police Sounds Like a Good Idea.
"You there! Pick up that-- Ahem. I mean please pick up your litter. And the two of you fighting over that kumquat? Mr. Actua over at Town Hall would be an excellent advisor in your dispute. Here, I'll show you where his office is. Even though it's his lunch break, I'm sure he'd be delighted to hear each of you out."
Another fine take on the G5. So nice to see an un-dumbed Hitch: stressed, dutiful, capable, overworked, fatherly, tired, and lawful.
Seeing the girls through his eyes was very interesting, too!
" She had an I Just Finished Filleting Somepony's Pet smile, which went nicely with a near-terminal case of Resting Serial Killer Face."
Ah. A libertarian.
I wonder how they're dealing with different currencies and establishing exchange rates....
I hated G5 only Estee could make me want to go take a another look at it.
Never change, Izzy.
I'm not sure a truer statement has ever been uttered about Izzy than this one right here.
I really want to know just what it was that mayonnaise ever did to the unicorns that got them riled up enough to make it one of their jinxies. Since I suspect canon G5 isn't going to do it anytime soon (in fairness, it's not exactly plot critical), I leave that task to you to handle, Estee.
Must be keeping a ladder as close to at hoof as he can these days then.
They're all politicians anyway, so you can't exactly expect them to be sane.
This was a great character study on Hitch, and I can safely say you've done him plenty of justice in all the right ways.
Poor Hitch he just got dropped in the deep end and almost nobody realized it. He is darn lupus that Sunny is such a good friend/sibling.
I very much enjoy how you've portrayed the Mane 5 here. Hitch's frazzled single parent mind is so fun to read, and that bit about the power of names—really really good. And it all comes back to the magic of friendship in the end!
This is just wonderful.
I mean, she's not wrong...
Unfortunately, he liked the name. And thus was born the legend of Filthy Hitch.
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Maybe a name for his son? When your older brother is a dragon you probably don't get bullied that much.
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I remember that episode of Powerpuff Girls where Princess Morebucks bought the Mayor and had the same brilliant idea: decreeing crime legal in Townsville. Guess what the trio did to make sure Princess reconsidered such ruling?
Maybe Mr. Actua just needs the same approach.
It's rather sad the father of organized policing Robert Peel doesn't get more recognition beyond Gilbert and Sullivan/Keystone Cops lampooning.
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I think the word you are looking for is anarchist. Libertarians aren’t against government if that is what you mean. Libs are more, everyone gets their fair share, treat everyone equally and help the environment. Libs aren’t as extreme like the internet would like you to believe. Sorry if that got political, I just wanted to make sure that you weren’t confused with the two.