To Honour and Serve
“So, you think you’ve got what it takes to be the sheriff’s deputies? Do you think you’ve got what it takes to keep up with every pony in Maretime Bay? To tell the litterbugs to put away their trash? To help a vulnerable foal who’s lost out in the open? To make sure every pony in town follows the law because the law is the very law itself?”
Hitch paced up and down his office, a strong sheriff's face of steel and determination. With everything back in order, with the trolley cart back on its tracks, the lighthouse up for repairs and Sprout’s damage being rectified, he thought it was time to hire some ponies to help keep track of things around town.
However, these new deputies weren’t ponies at all.
In the corner, Sprout watched Hitch’s over the top performance in slight amusement, munching on some doughnuts.
“This takes me way back…” Sprout sighed as he remembered Hitch giving him the talk.
“Did the sheriff ask you to speak?” Hitch turned to Sprout, causing him to straighten up.
“N-no, sir!” Sprout stuttered. Hitch just nodded sternly before turning back to his recruits.
“As my deputies, you will represent the very values of respect and citizenship. You are an example to others and represent the qualities that make Maretime Bay thrive. With magic restored, you are now beacons of light in this shining new age to all unicorns and pegasi who are now welcome to this town.”
Hitch stopped pacing and looked down at his new recruits. In front of him, two seagulls, one with a makeshift can as a helmet, and a crab formed a line and stood at attention.
“As deputies, do you promise to set an example to those around you?”
The seagulls squawked in response. The crab, not being able to talk, just made a sound with his pincers.
“Do you promise to stick by the law?”
The critters gave another response.
“To aid those in need, lending a wing or claw wherever possible?”
They gave another sound to answer Hitch’s question.
Hitch smiled and turned to Sprout.
“Sprout, the badges if you please?”
Sprout, too busy munching on his third pizza slice, scrambled to his hooves and picked up three medal badges on a velvet red cushion and marched over to Hitch’s side. As he was marching, Hitch unpinned his badge and held it up for every critter to see.
“This is not just a badge,” Hitch announced, “This represents your duty as protector to this town. Wear it, not just with pride, but a vow to serve and protect the citizens of Maretime Bay!”
The seagulls gave a salute with their wing and the crab with a claw.
Sprout stood beside Hitch as he gave the medals to his new recruits.
“I, Sheriff Hitch, hereby name you Deputy Squawk, Windy and Claw. Wear it well.”
He then rose back up and looked at his new recruits with pride. Sprout could have sworn he saw a tear run down Hitch’s cheek
“Are you crying?” Sprout asked. Hitch quickly wiped the tear away.
“No,” Hitch lied, “It- it was the seagulls’ feathers brushing against my nose with I put the medals around them.”
Sprout rolled his eyes as he turned towards the clock hanging on the office wall.
“Permission to turn myself in for the evening. I need to help fund with inventing new things since pegasi and unicorns are no longer a threat.”
Hitch coughed and straightened up, looking at the clock as well.
“Permission granted, Sprout. You are dismissed.” Sprout waved goodbye and exited the office. Hitch watched him leave before turning towards his critter recruits.
“Now that’s out of the way, I’m afraid with new recruits comes with new paperwork for me,” Hitch sighed. He walked over to his desk and looked down at the mountain of paperwork.
The sound of bird feet and claws scuttling towards the exit made him look up and he saw his critters making their way towards the door. It was then he remembered that they used to sleep outside the office at night.
“Hey,” He called to them, causing them to stop and turn to him.
“It’s going to be a cold night and I have a lot of paperwork to get through,” Hitch smiled, “And now that you are officially deputies, I can’t have my new deputies sleeping out in the cold. What would that make me as a sheriff, making my new recruits sleep rough on their first night? I could do with some company.”
The gulls and crab looked at each other before the birds flew and perched upon Hitch’s shoulders. The crab scuttled its way up Hitch’s tail and took residence upon his head. Hitch smiled as he began signing his papers with his recruits by his side.
"Now let's do battle against this monstrous mountain of paper," Hitch chuckled as he and his critters settled down for the night.
Morning came and four ponies consisting of two pegasi, one unicorn and an earth pony were walking towards the sheriff’s office. They were planning on getting breakfast early at one of the cafes, but that couldn’t really start without one of their friends.
“Have you heard from Hitch, Sunny?” Zipp asked, “Did he say anything about meeting him in town?”
“Not that I could remember,” Sunny shrugged, “Though sometimes his duties can last all night, either some new laws to pass or a mountain of paperwork to work through.”
“Paperwork as in making paper planes, birds and crowns?” Izzy asked, “That sounds like fun!”
“The other kind of paperwork,” Sunny chuckled, “The boring kind. I think you mean paper folding. You know? Like origami?”
“Well I hope he won’t be too busy,” Pipp chimed in, “I was hoping to make a tourist stream on all the good places to go in Maretime Bay for first-time visiting pegasi.”
“That sounds like a lot of fun,” Sunny answered with a smile, “Maretime Bay could use a tourism boost now that unicorns and pegasi can come to town. I think Hitch would also like that idea. The beaches are a nice place to go in the summer. I could show you my favourite spots.”
“Let’s see if Hitch is up for some breakfast though first,” Zipp intervened, “Poor guy probably needs his morning energy.”
The four of them were now in front of the office and Sunny opened the doors quietly. The rest followed her in and they were soon greeted to the most adorable sight. Hitch was asleep on his desk, drool escaping his mouth and dripping onto some sheets of paper. If Hitch sleeping wasn’t enough, what made it extra adorable for the four ponies watching as what was on him. On either side of his shoulders were two seagulls and a crab was also sleeping upon his head.
The four of them couldn’t help but make cute sounds at the sight in front of them.
“Wow,” Zipp said with a quiet laugh, “Sheriff's got his work cut out for him last night.”
“And looks like his squad decided to join him,” Sunny chuckled at the sight before her eyes, “They always follow him around when he’s on duty.”
“They’re so adorable!” Izzy beamed.
Pipp was busy taking out her phone and took a picture of the sight in front of her. Unfortunately, she forgot to put her phone on silent and the phone made a loud click as the picture was taken. The sound caused the crab to pinch too hard on Hitch’s ear, causing the sheriff to jump up with a yelp. He fell backwards on his chair, taking the birds and crab with him. Hitch scrambled up and looked around him frantically with wide eyes.
“Sprout ate the doughnuts, I swear!”
The four of them burst out laughing whilst Hitch looked at the four of them with a bewildered look.
“Morning Sheriff Hitch,” Sunny laughed, “Have a nice sleep?”
“Not a word!” Hitch growled, helping himself and his recruits back on their legs.
“Well would you look at that,” Zipp chuckled, “The town sheriff just became the town clown. Don’t worry sheriff, our lips are sealed. What’s with the critters anyway?”
Pipp wandered over to them and noticed the medals they wore. She knelt down to have a proper look at them before cooing at them.
“Aww,” Pipp cooed, “You made them your new deputies. That’s so adorable!”
“Well, with more ponies coming to town, I thought I could use the extra help,” Hitch rubbed the back of his head with a hoof. “They started following me when I helped them get the litter off of them on the beach. Honestly, ponies just don’t respect the local wildlife these days.”
“Which is why you passed that littering law in the first place,” Sunny chuckled, causing Hitch to nod in agreement.
“Since I’ve known them for a while, I thought I could give them a role to play around town.”
He petted them gently and turned towards his four friends.
“What are you all doing here?” He asked
“We thought we could all go and have breakfast and then help Pipp with a live stream to boost the town’s tourism,” Sunny told Hitch.
“That does sound like an interesting idea and breakfast does sound good,” Hitch considered before looking down at his critter mates, “Could the recruits come along as well?”
“The more the merrier!” Izzy said enthusiastically, “Let’s make it their ‘congratulations-on-being-Sheriff-Hitch’s-deputies’ celebratory breakfast or something. Then, I could give you all glow-ups to all of you for Pipp’s stream. I’ve never done glow-ups for critters before, so that will be fun.”
“Then that’s settled,” Sunny said, looking down at Hitch's critters, “Let’s get some food for every pony and critter.”
And so the five ponies and three critters headed out into the morning light to grab some breakfast before Pipp’s streaming event.