What Is This, Exactly?
Hitch stood in front of his bathroom mirror, wondering if his aqua green mane was acceptable as it was, or if he should apply a little styling gel. If he was perfectly honest, he even felt a little strange going out without his sash and badge, instead opting for a simple small saddlebag much akin to Sunny's, save for all the cutie mark buttons she had on her strap.
Looking himself up and down one more time, Maretime Bay's off-duty sheriff deemed himself presentable, and turned to leave the bathroom, shutting off the light behind him.
Normally, his days off were spent relaxing at a nice secluded spot on the beach, where he didn't risk spotting litter on the street and instantly kicking himself into Sheriff Mode.
But that was a risk he would have to take today, because Sunny Starscout had invited him to go see a movie.
It had only been a couple weeks since they had played their part in bringing magic back to Equestria and reuniting the nation, and Hitch had begun to... Take inventory, as it were. His friendship with Sunny had been considerably strained because of her activism, and he was feeling increasingly guilty over that because she and her father had turned out to be right all along.
So when he had gotten a text from her a couple days ago asking him to the movies this evening, he immediately said yes, seeing it as an opportunity to continue healing their strained friendship. Making sure he had enough bits to cover two tickets, popcorn, and a soda, he was out his front door and into the cool Maretime Bay evening.
The most common site by far for the past two weeks were orange construction pylons, as crews worked to remove all of CanterLogic's Unicorn Entrapment Devices from the street, and then resurface the affected areas. The biggest factory in town was also undergoing a major rebranding, cancelling all of its anti-unicorn and pegasus devices, and beginning to design products that were beneficial to all races and their settlements.
Regardless of citywide street repairs, Maretime Bay's nightlife was as lively as ever, with venues all over seeing increased revenue from the new unicorn and pegasus visitors. The Maretime Bay Cineplex was near the center of town, and was currently showing four films; Horns, Harry Trotter, Dirty Prancing, and the main attraction for the past few weeks was Judgement Neigh, a highly anticipated sequel to a hit sci-fi film that had come out before Sunny's time.
Construction crews hadn't yet gotten to the ten Unicorn Entrapment Devices on the walk and street, so the lines had to make due in making their way around them, as pylons and caution tape had been put up around each one. It made them a bit longer and curvier, but ponies didn't seem to mind, and they were doing a good job of staying clear of the tram tracks, something else Hitch frequently had to remind younger ponies of when he was on duty.
Off to the side of the line, over by two of the movie posters, he noticed a familiar apricot earth pony wave at him, and he gave a smile and trotted over.
"Good evening, Sunny. And here I thought I'd beat you here. You haven't been waiting long, have you?" He greeted.
"Don't be silly. You'd have to be late for me to be waiting. I've just been taking in the sights tonight. It's amazing, seeing everypony enjoying our city together," Sunny replied.
She did have a point. The line to the theater's ticket booth was thirty ponies long, and it was filled with a mix of earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi.
"So, ready to get in line?" Hitch asked, and his friend nodded, and they began walking past the posters to get around to the end of the line around the corner.
"You think movies like this will stop with the reunification?" Hitch asked, as he glanced at the theatrical poster for 'Horns'.
"Eh, I wouldn't be so sure. In fact, I think they might get better as filmmakers from different races come together and discuss what they've been doing," Sunny replied.
"Really?" Hitch asked.
"Well, you don't think we're the only ones who let our biases influence our movies, do you? Zipp was telling me of a Zephyr Heights movie called Friday the 15th, about a mass murdering unicorn called Jason Vorhooves who used his horn to stab ponies who camped near Crystal Lagoon. And Bridlewood isn't immune either. One of Izzy's favorite movies is called Blazing Saddles," Sunny explained.
"Blazing Saddles?"
"Yeah, it's a Horner Brothers comedy about an earth pony sheriff that comes to protect a town full of racist pegasi."
"...Should I be offended at that?" Hitch asked, and got a giggle out of Sunny for his trouble as they got in line, with two earth ponies and a unicorn filing in behind them a few moments later.
"In all seriousness, in response to your first question, I think some of the most blatant biases will fade, but not disappear completely. Self-deprecation is a form of art, after all," Sunny told him.
"So, what'll it be. Judgement Neigh?" Hitch asked.
"Yep, I've actually heard nothing but good things. Even Zipp and Izzy liked it. They popped in to see it the day after everyone's magic had been restored," Sunny answered. Nothing official had been decided, but a lot of ponies around town had come to call it Reunification Day.
"That's the sequel to the one that was before we were born, right? The one about unicorn and pegasus robots from the future?"
"Yup, that's the one. I remember how they closed off a section of CanterLogic to film part of the sequel," Sunny answered.
"Yup... I remember having to escort you off the premises that day..." Hitch said, another pang of guilt hitting him in the chest as he recalled how she had attempted to protest the making of the film. It must have showed in his expression, because Sunny noticed.
"Hey, don't worry about it. Water under the bridge as far as I'm concerned," Sunny reassured him with a smile. He returned the smile and shrugged the feeling off as they stepped up to the ticket booth.
"Two for Judgement Neigh, please," Hitch told the ticket agent on the other side of the glass.
"Together or separate?" The older mare asked.
"Together," came the simultaneous reply from both ponies. They both did double takes, glancing at each other and giving a nervous chuckle.
"I can take care of it, Sunny," Hitch told her as he began to reach into his saddlebag.
"Nonsense, I invited you, remember?" Sunny countered, also reaching into her saddlebag.
Hitch paused, and realized she did have a point.
"That'll be four bits, ma'am," the ticket agent told her. Sunny came out with the correct change, and she was handed two tickets, and they made their way over to the doors.
"Popcorn is on me though, you hear?" Hitch said with a smile.
The pair of ponies passed through the double doors, and quickly picked up their snacks; extra large popcorn and two sodas, which Sunny let Hitch hand over the bits for. Now that they were fully ready, they went over to the usher who took their tickets.
"Theater 1 on your left, thank you and enjoy your movie!"
The popcorn smelled so good that they started munching on it on their walk down the hall to their theater.
"Where do you want to sit?" Hitch asked.
"I've always loved it right up front, come on!" She told him excitedly, walking down the outer aisle of the theater, going right down to the front row, where luckily the two center-most seats were still empty. They hadn't realized how close they had cut it because not even two minutes after they had sat down, the lights dimmed, and the various filmmaking factoids faded out to the Lighthouse Entertainment intro slate.
"Three billion equine lives ended on August 29th, 3997. The survivors of the nuclear fire called the war Judgment Neigh. They lived only to face a new nightmare: the war against the machines."
When Sunny and Hitch came out of the front doors of the Cineplex two and a half hours later, their hearts were racing, and the dusk sky from when they had gone in was now a clear, starry night.
"Whew, what a ride!" Hitch exclaimed, glancing up at the review quotes that were posted up on the main marquee of the building. "How is 'very good' only three stars? Ugh, critics..." He said, rolling his eyes. "Come on, I'll walk you home."
"You sure?"
"It's a nice enough night, why not?"
Together, they walked towards the coast.
"Well, I can't say this too often, but that was better than the original in every single conceivable way," Sunny said.
"You got that right. Wonder if they'll make any more," Hitch added.
"I'd say leave it as it is. How many movies about robots traveling back in time to change the future by killing John Trotter do you think they can make?" Sunny asked. Hitch laughed.
"Those special effects were really something. A pegasus robot made of liquid! And those shots in CanterLogic, wow! You'd really think they have a section of that place filled with molten steel," Hitch commented as they cleared Maretime Bay's main square and headed to the outskirts, the streets turning to dirt paths and grassy hills.
"So, where do you want to go next time? Nice dinner, perhaps? Plenty of places offer a great view of the coast, or plenty of atmospheric places downtown," Hitch told her.
"Wow, you make it sound like we might be dating," Sunny teased.
Hitch nearly stumbled in his gait, but saved it at the last moment as they made their way up the final hill to Sunny's lighthouse, which was still undergoing repairs, having scaffolding all around the damaged tower, but had enough work done to now be considered livable, at least on the first two floors.
The off-duty sheriff swallowed a nervous lump in his throat.
"Uh, um... Are we?" He asked, his cheeks flushing pink.
"Well well, isn't that forward of you," Sunny said, smiling at him.
"I-I'm sorry, Sunny. I shouldn't have said that, and... Um..." Hitch got tangled up in his words, and got another giggle out of Sunny.
"Hitch, I'm teasing you," Sunny said, playfully elbowing him as they came up to her front door. "Besides, I said it first. We've known each other our whole lives, so I don't think it would be that surprising to too many ponies in town if we did get that far."
Hitch smiled at her as she dug the key out to unlock her front door, and she opened it before turning back to him.
"I had a great time tonight, Hitch. To answer your last question, you can take me anywhere. I'm not picky, and I know you'll pick somewhere amazing."
With that, she held up her front right hoof, and Hitch immediately knew what to do, bringing his right hoof up as well.
"Up high, down low, hitch it to a post, flip it sunny side up and on a piece of toast."
Instead of letting go at the end, Sunny held on, and took a step forward, and kissed him on the cheek. As she stepped back towards her door, now her cheeks were a delightful shade of pink as well.
"And that," she began. "Was the answer to your second-to-last question. I'll let you think about that while you plan our second date."
She turned and stepped into her house, and turned to give him one more smile as she began to close the door.
"Good night, Hitch."
It was all Hitch could do to return the smile, as his cheeks positively burned and his mind went a mile a minute. The door latched closed, leaving Maretime Bay's sheriff to slowly turn and walk back towards town, wondering what kind of step he had just taken...
FIN