When Hitch catches a cold, it's up to Pipp to care for the stallion in his time of need. ((Hitch x Pipp))
Hitch Trailblazer, a strong figure in the town of Maretime Bay. He's arguably one of the biggest figures there and an instrumental part in keeping the balance! He's admired and he does quite a good job at his duties. But when a certain stallion catches a cold, a few ponies are gonna have to step up in order to make up for Hitch being out of the picture! ((Hitch x Pipp!))
Sunny hummed softly to herself, skating down the large hill which connected the Crystal Brighthouse to the rest of Maretime Bay. Today was her day off from the Smoothie Shop, so it gave her some time to relax in Maretime Bay, or at least that was her plan. Izzy had stayed at home, getting into more of her Uni-Cycling shenanigans as to be expected. Zipp had left the Brighthouse early to have her own fun with her flight, and Pipp- well Sunny had no clue where Pipp was. Chances were she might be at Mane Melody, but if she recalled correctly, today was Pipp's day off as well, meaning Jazz and Rocky would run the shop in her place. Ah oh well, it wasn't much trouble to Sunny anyways. She bladed her way off towards Mane Street and right up to the Sheriff's Office.
"Oh Hitchieeeee~" Sunny called out to the Sheriff, attempting to push open the door before slamming right into it. "Ow!" She recoiled a bit, holding her skate-covered hoof to her mane. She looked a bit puzzled, this time pushing on the door without moving, but the door wouldn't budge. "That's… strange?" She tried to peek through the blinds before yelping as the blinds opened slightly, followed by lime-green eyes peeking through them! Sunny exchanged glances with the eyes, a bit startled before the voice spoke from behind the door.
"OH! Sunny, thank goodness you're here!" The voice spoken was familiar. Sunny was still unaware who was speaking to her, but before she had the chance to even guess the door would open up for a second, followed by a hoof suddenly grabbing, and yanking her inside, followed by the door closing again and locking.
"Huh? What's going on?!" Sunny asked a bit in shock, looking around before spotting Pipp, looking particularly panicked. "Wha? Pipp? What're you-" Sunny was cut off as Pipp quickly interrupted her.
"Sunny, please, I need your help!" Pipp pleaded with the Earth Pony, bowing on the ground. Sunny was baffled, to say the least. She looked down at Pipp in confusion. "It's Hitch! He's sick…" Pipp explained softly. Sunny's eyes widened, now beginning to understand the severity of the situation already.
"No…"
"Yes!"
"Oh jeez, quick, call Zipp and tell her to grab Izzy, we're gonna need them for this!" Sunny exclaimed, shaking the smaller Pegasus. Pipp wasted no time, quickly tapping away at her phone, calling her elder sister.
A few minutes would pass by before sudden knocking would be heard at the door. Pipp opened the door and allowed Zipp and Izzy to enter. Zipp seemed to be a bit worried, though she was admittedly handling this much better than Sunny and Pipp. Izzy seemed to be as carefree as always, it was clear she had no clue why Hitch being sick was such a big deal in the first place. Either way, the situation was a bit severe.
"Ok girls." Sunny spoke up, walking over to behind Hitch's desk. "We've got a huge problem. According to Pipp, Hitch has come down with a cold. He's been bedridden since this morning, and he's too weak to even leave his house!" Sunny recapped the other ponies. Zipp frowned, whereas Izzy looked a bit confused. "Had that been it, it wouldn't be such a big deal but… Since Hitch plays a HUGE part in Maretime Bay! He's the Sheriff after all! Not to mention ever since he lost Sprout as a Deputy he's had to increase his workload, not only that but now he has to take care of Sparky too! Now that I think about it, I don't even think I remember Hitch being sick before… ever! So we're going to have to help pitch in, sorry to ruin your plans today girls…" Sunny sighed, finally getting her small tangent out of the way.
Of course, Sunny had to use her off day as well, so she wasn't totally exempt from this. Izzy didn't exactly work but she did have a big art project she wanted to work on, guess she was going to have to postpone it for now. Zipp was thankfully on the other end of the spectrum, it meant she had an excuse to ignore her mother's foolish requests for a day, besides, she kind of wanted to try being a Sheriff, it was always something on her bucket list of things to do in life. Pipp hadn't had any plans today, she was just coming to check on Hitch when she found out.
"Looks like we'll have to split up for now. Zipp and I will act as part-time sheriffs for now. I've had some experience being Hitch's Deputy from time to time when Sprout was away, so I've got some advantage in this case. Zipp'll be a great Sheriff in Hitch's place too given her detective skills and such! Together we can totally make up for Hitch being gone!" Sunny explained, followed by a "YES" under Zipp's breath. "Izzy, can you take care of Sparky? You've got tons of energy, besides, handling a baby shouldn't be too big of an issue for you either!~"
"Yes Ma'am!~ We're gonna have so much fun together!" Izzy saluted Sunny, already thinking up a fun list of things to do with Sparky.
"And that leaves you, Pipp, do you think you can stay with Hitch and nurse him back to health?" Sunny asked the smaller Pegasus.
"H-Huh?! W-Wait why me?! W-Wouldn't you be better suited for that anyways?!" Pipp retorted, seeming very defensive about being made to look after the Sheriff. "I-I mean… I just don't want to get sick, that's all." She huffed, although Zipp would stare at the smaller pony with a sneer.
"I'm sorry Pipp, but you're the only one I could trust on this! I could do that but I'm also the one who knows the ins and outs of being a Sheriff, and Zipp being with me would make this much easier too. And as for Izzy… well she probably wouldn't be the best help for a sick sheriff if you catch my drift… Sorry, Izzy."
"I get it, it's fine~" Izzy giggled, waving her hooves.
"Uhm… I guess that's our only choice. Alright… Ok, I guess I can watch over the Sheriff until he gets better. But if I get sick you're all going to have to look after me, got it?!" Pipp huffed, crossing her hooves. Sunny smiled, trotting over and nodding.
"Of course Pipp~ Now let's move out girls! I and Zipp will go off and scout Maretime Bay. Izzy, follow Pipp to Hitch's house, you should take Sparky back home to the Brighthouse too, the last thing we need is the chance of another pony getting sick or Sparky for that matter, we don't even know if he can get sick or not, but best not to risk it either!" Sunny explained before walking over towards the door. "Ready girls?" Sunny was met with an enthusiastic nod from Zipp, and Izzy bounced up and down in place, Pipp still looking a bit frazzled. Sunny nodded and opened the door. "Let's go Ponies!" She called, trotting out of the door, Zipp quickly flying after her. This left Pipp and Izzy to go to Hitch's house.
Izzy trotted outside, ready to head out, now just waiting on Pipp to lead the way, given she didn't know where Hitch lived herself. "C'mon Pipp, we're wasting daylight! Besides, I want to teach Sparky the art of finger painting~" Izzy spoke cheerfully. Pipp sighed and flew over in response. She proceeded to lead Izzy off towards the stallion's home, biting her lip as she flew over, not particularly looking forward to her soon-to-be encounter with the sheriff, though the reason as for why was unclear.
It took a few minutes before they made it to the house but once they made it, Izzy energetically knocked on the door. "Oh Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiitch!" She called out to him behind the door, looking through the keyhole in an attempt to look for the stallion or Sparky. She was unable to spot either of them. Pipp tilts her head before gently pushing the door, opening it up easily. It wasn't locked. They were met with the living room of the home, it was neatly kept, which made some sense given Hitch was always a bit of a perfectionist. There were a few bookshelves with books lined alphabetically, the house was generally clean as well. Soon enough they could hear some coughing coming off towards a hallway. "Oop, sounds like a sickly stallion alright~" Izzy responded cheerily before trotting in towards Hitch's room with a soft smile.
Pipp was still nervous, slowly following behind Izzy. Soon enough the two made it to Hitch's room, opening the door to see their sick friend. Hitch was standing by his bed, trying to get ready for the day… a very late start to the day. He looked dazed, wobbling a bit in place as he tried to walk towards the door.
"Whoa-whoa Hitchster, no getting out of bed for you!" Izzy smiled, using her Unicorn magic to place Hitch back in bed.
"Huh? Hngh… Izzy? What… when did you…" Hitch's words were spread out, and he didn't have any energy to argue against the Unicorn, being placed into bed a bit submissively.
"There we are~ Nice and cozy! Now if you don't mind me, I'm gonna take Sparky far far away from you before you get him sick. And your good ol' friend Pipp is going to take care of you while I'm out!~ Have fun you two!" Izzy exclaimed before trotting off to find Sparky's room. When she did find the Dragon's room it was themed like a nursery! There was a playpen, an assortment of small, presumably toddler-safe toys, and even a few nanny cams placed around the room at multiple angles. Of course, there was a crib in the corner of the room, where Sparky was wide awake, standing inside and looking at Izzy curiously. "Hey, little buddy! C'mon, let's take you to the Brighthouse and have some fun!" Izzy declared, which caused a smile on Sparky as if they understood word for word what Izzy said. After a couple more minutes Izzy was out of the home, with the baby essentials and all.
Pipp was left alone with Hitch in his room, staring down a weak Sheriff, Hitch weakly staring back up at Pipp.
Pipp gulped, slowly trotting up towards Hitch's bed, looking over him curiously as she did. Hitch was motionless, the only movements he made were the slow rise and fall of his body as he took in breaths and exhaled. "Jeez, you really are out of the swing of things huh…" Pipp sighed, pulling out her phone shortly after and quickly tapping away. "How… to… deal… with… colds." The Pegasus spoke softly, pausing between words as she typed them in on her phone. She turned away from Hitch as she began pacing around the stallion's room, now scrolling the canternet for a possible answer to this dilemma. Hitch exhaled sharply, watching Pipp pace around his bedroom. Hitch would normally attempt to reassure the smaller pony, but the cold affected his better judgment. Instead, he made an attempt to slowly climb out of bed, his hooves wobbling ever so slightly as he adjusted to his weight on them. Pipp hadn't even noticed Hitch climb out of bed, instead paying attention to her phone. "Hot Soup… ugh… Ice packs… hngh… Rest? Right. Ok, it says to check your temperature. So I have to feel your forehead. Alright, Hitch I-" Pipp paused, cutting herself off as she turned to face the bed, and unfortunately for her, the stallion was out of sight! "WHAAAAAT?!"
Hitch wobbled over towards the door, grabbing his belt with his badge on it and lazily tossing it around his shoulder as he attempted to leave through the front door. Pipp squealed, running out of Hitch's room in a panic, looking around the house before hearing the creaking noise of the front door opening to the house. Pipp's eyes shot open as she rushed to the door, just in time to see Hitch stumbling out. She gasped, chasing after the stallion. Hitch wasn't able to get a few feet off his porch before the Pegasus flew in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. "Hngh… Pipp, I need to get to work, I'm already so far- ah…" Hitch looked as if he was about to sneeze, reeling his head back slightly. Pipp squeaked in response, throwing her wings in front of herself in defense. Hitch bit his tongue, fighting off the urge to sneeze as he took a deep breath. After a few seconds more he continued where he left off as if nothing happened. "Behind…"
"I'm sorry Hitch but you can't go!" Pipp sighed, now pushing against the stallion's front. Now with their size difference, she had to stand up a bit on her hind legs just to reach his chest, and even then, normally Hitch wouldn't budge so easily. Hitch was strong, it was practically part of the job, and Pipp was admittedly, probably the weakest pony in their group of friends. Even still, however, with the condition that Hitch was in, he stumbled backward, too weak to protest Pipp's pushing power. Hitch looked a bit puzzled at this, but also a bit tired too, he couldn't really process how Pipp had gotten so strong, even if she looked exactly the same as she always did, and not how he had gotten weaker as a result of his cold. Pipp was almost as surprised as he was, expecting her actions not to work, but she managed. After a couple more seconds of pushing, Pipp managed to get the duo back inside before shutting the door behind her. "Don't worry Hitch, Sunny and Zipp are taking over while you're here! Besides, you won't be able to catch up to any of your work like this…" Pipp sighed, sitting down for a moment as she had to catch her breath.
Hitch grumbled a bit. He was a bit stubborn when it came to his work, but if Sunny and Zipp were going to handle his job for him, and Izzy was going to take care of Sparky in his place, it did mean he could relax, even if for a little bit. Still, it didn't sit well with him to make the girls cover for him because he got sick all of a sudden. "I'm… sorry…" Hitch sighed, slowly pulling his belt off, albeit a bit sheepishly. Looks like he had no choice but to stay at home now.
Pipp breathed a sigh of relief, happy the stallion was finally settling down. She stood back up before walking over. "C'mon, let's get you to your room big guy." Pipp smiled softly. Hitch nodded, slowly beginning to walk towards his room, Pipp leading the way. He watched as the adorably pink pony trotted along. Though… He was feeling worse. Hitch groaned a bit, issuing a curious look by Pipp. Pipp looked back at him just in time. Hitch groaned, his front legs beginning to give out on him as he suddenly fell forward. Pipp squeaked, quickly rushing to catch him, and she succeeded, catching the stallion before he fell- but now the problem was she wasn't strong enough to keep his body up. "G-Gah! H-Hitch I- WHOA!" Pipp squeaked once again as she fell under the weight of the stallion. Somehow she wound up just underneath him. Hitch's eyes were closed, the stallion barely able to keep himself awake. Pipp's face turned blood red, spreading to the tips of her ears. "G-Gah! H-Hitch, g-get up! Get off of me!"
"Pipp…" Hitch muttered softly, before doing the exact opposite, instead nuzzling against Pipp. Pipp was somehow growing redder in the process. She squealed out, her wings standing erect by her sides. Hitch had a small smile on his face as he relaxed more against her, but soon enough he opened his eyes again. Hitch slowly looked down, spotting a beat red Pipp beneath him. She looked as if she was about to explode! "Hngh… Sorry… Pipp." Hitch didn't seem to realize just exactly what he had done, instead slowly pulling himself up, finally giving Pipp some room to breathe. Pipp was quick to pull herself up right after, turning away from Hitch immediately as she did her best to recollect herself, panting heavily, almost hyperventilating. Meanwhile, Hitch continued onto his room as if nothing happened.
A minute later Hitch was tucked into bed, no longer giving Pipp any trouble for the moment. Pipp sighed, her face slowly returning to its prior pink color, though even then she couldn't stop thinking about what happened. Her heart was practically about to beat out of her chest at this rate. Hitch stared up at the ceiling, doing his best to rest despite his better judgment. Pipp took this opportunity to finally feel his head. She placed her hoof against his head for a moment, it was really warm. "Really warm… ok… Hold on Hitch, I'll be right back." Pipp told the sheriff before trotting out of his room, now walking to his kitchen. She looked around, finding a sealable bag. She walked over to his freezer and thankfully he had some ice cubes in one of those cute rubber trays with a bunch of faces instead of cubes. Either way, they worked, she dumped the entire tray into the bag, found a couple of napkins, and wrapped them around the bag before rushing back off to the Sheriff's bedroom. Once she finally got back she saw Hitch, finally asleep. His face was red, probably a result of his cold. Pipp blushed lightly, slowly walking over and gently planting the bag on top of his head. "Phew… get some rest Sheriff…" Pipp sighed, using this moment of peace and quiet to finally look around a bit.
The Sheriff's room was fairly standard. Next to his bed was a nightstand, on it were two photo frames, one with Hitch, Sprout, and Sunny, they looked much younger, probably before they all met. The other frame had the entire group, Hitch, Sunny, Izzy, Zipp, and herself. They were all posed in front of the Crystal Brighthouse, this was the day it was finally finished. Pipp sighed happily, looking at the photo, and taking it off the nightstand. It was such a fond memory of theirs, she couldn't help but believe that was months ago. It only felt like it happened a few days ago at most.
Of course, the original plan was for all five of them to move in together but things didn't really go according to plan, did they? Maybe five ponies sharing a single room might've been a bit much, even so. She could still remember why Hitch said he wouldn't join them in the Brighthouse, he wanted to stay close to town and his office. It's not like the commute to the office from the Brighthouse was terrible, Sunny does it every day for her Smoothie Truck after all. Of course, Sunny, even if she was the one who pushed the idea the most, also understood there was a reason for it. Simply put: it probably would be pretty awkward to share a room with four mares when you're a stallion. When it came down to it, it made sense, even if they were able to get Hitch his own room it probably would still be awkward living with them all. Besides he still regularly visits, so it wasn't a total loss, even so, Pipp couldn't help but feel a bit sad that Hitch wouldn't join them. But hey, nothing's saying things couldn't change in the future! Pipp nodded, placing the photo back down. Looking around a bit more, Pipp didn't see anything else that was too noteworthy, so she decided to leave the stallion for now. She walked over to the door and turned off the lights, letting Hitch rest while she informed the others of the current situation.
Pipp tapped away on her phone, informing Sunny and Zipp that Hitch was resting in bed, she'd text Izzy but the Unicorn didn't have a phone of her own. She trotted towards the kitchen, now she just had to learn how to cook. She wanted to make some soup for the sickly stallion but she hadn't cooked a thing a day in her life. In fact, the only one in her family who knew how to cook or bake was Zipp! She called culinary a second science or whatever. Regardless she really did make some nice meals. Pipp stared at her phone for a couple of seconds, staring at the recipe for some hay and noodle soup- though… "GAH! This is way too complicated! Forget this, I know who to call!"
At the same time, Zipp was scouting around the town from above, but for the most part things were going swimmingly. Maybe Sunny was just overexaggerating about the whole Sheriff Hitch being an instrumental part, things were going so easy for her she should just become the new Sheriff! Zipp flew down to the ground and looked around, nothing to report, and so she trotted back towards Sunny. Sunny was doing the same, looking for any problems, be it magic or general business, but nope, it was a calm day out for certain! Zipp shrugged, ready to take off again before her phone began vibrating. "Eh?" Zipp grabbed her phone, flipping it open to see Pipp calling her. "Pipp? Did something happen?" Zipp asked herself before answering the call. "Hey Pipp, what's up?"
"Oh hey Zipp, do you remember how you'd make some hay and noodle soup for me whenever I got sick back at the palace?"
"Wha? Of course, I do, it's the only thing you'd actually eat whenever you got sick- which now that I think about it makes me think you weren't as sick as you said you were half the time you wanted me to make it for you." Zipp snickered softly at the thought that Pipp lied to Zipp just for some soup.
"Well- maybe once or twice…~" Pipp giggled. "But actually, I was thinking you could make some for Hitch? I wanted to make some myself but-"
"Don't you dare! Last time you almost burned down the kitchen when you tried to make something!"
"IT WAS ONLY ONE TIME!"
"And it'll be your last time too! I'm not letting you burn down Hitch's kitchen, a gesture of goodwill or not. I'll make some soup, it'll probably take a while though. I'll have to make it at the Brighthouse since that's where all of my stuff is. Soooooo… thirty to forty-five minutes, tops?" Zipp responded, staring at the Brighthouse in the distance.
"Sounds good. Oh, and make me some too, please?~ You know how I like it, extra noodles, oh, and a little bit of edible gold!"
"You realize you're not really tasting the gold right? It's the least reactive metal? It barely tastes like-"
"Edible gold please!~" Pipp retorted, speaking in her regal tone.
Zipp rolled her eyes, nodding in response, "fine! Just try not to eat Hitch's portion too.~ Me and Sunny'll be there to deliver it, so make sure Hitchie boy is well rested!" Zipp smirked before a quick exchange of goodbyes, followed by Zipp hanging up. She walked over to Sunny, letting the Earth Pony know that she planned on making some food before the two went off to the Brighthouse.
For the next 30 minutes it was utter bliss. The clock hit 3, and Pipp was browsing her phone as she normally did. However, she was beginning to think to check on the sheriff, though part of her was hesitant. She didn't want to barge in on him, not that she needed to check in on him every thirty minutes anyways. Besides, Zipp and Sunny should be here soon anyways, so no need to rush. She brushed off her responsibilities to make sure Hitch was alright, instead going back to checking her phone… except when she suddenly heard the sound of running water. "Huh?" Pipp looked up from her phone. She was just sitting on a couch in Hitch's living room when she heard the sound of water running. She looked around for a second, not sure where it was coming from. "What on Equestria is-" Pipp froze in terror for a moment, dropping her phone on the couch, "Hitch!" Pipp shot up, quickly rushing towards the Sheriff's room and throwing the door open, he wasn't in bed! The ice pack had almost completely melted and it was on his nightstand. "But that means… EEP!" Pipp backtracked, flying over to the sheriff's bathroom, the door is left slightly ajar. Pipp felt her face turn red as she placed her hoof on the door. She was about to just open it before realizing Hitch was probably ready to take a shower now! But what if something happens?! Like if he slips and falls in the shower and needs help? Or if he accidentally drops his mane dryer in the bathwater and electrocutes himself! Or if he uhh… if he… WELL WHATEVER HE DOES she had to make sure he was ok. "SORRY HITCH!" Pipp ran in, eyes closed just in case. She waited a couple of seconds but no response. She gulped, slowly opening one of her eyes to look.
Hitch was sitting down in the tub, laying back with a soft smile. He breathed a small sigh as water slowly filled up the tub. Looks like he just wanted to take a relaxing bath is all! Pipp let out a sharp exhale, breathing a sigh of relief herself before stomping off towards the tub. "Jeez Hitch, don't scare me like that- WHOA!" Pipp yelped as she suddenly tripped, stepping on a small rubber duck, presumably one of Sparky's toys. She squealed, landing right in the tub, which seemed to wake Hitch right up from his calmed state.
Hitch perked up a bit, looking at the other end of the tub, spotting a pink posterior in the air, with the pony's head and upper half under the water. "Uhm… Pipp..?"
Pipp turned herself around, pulling her top half out of the water and now sitting in the tub as she quickly tried to fix her now soaking wet mane. "Ack, nooo my mane! I just had it styled!" The princess whined. Hitch tilt his head, not seeming to mind Pipp's presence, no instead he couldn't help but chuckle a little bit at Pipp's dilemma. "Huh..?" Pipp looked over to Hitch, spotting him in the act of laughing at her. "What's so funny Sheriff?! My mane took for… forever… to…" The realization suddenly began to sink in. She looked down at the tub, her face suddenly going dark red as she realized she was sharing a bath with Hitch! She was frozen, she wanted to jump out of the tub and run far far away but she was too shocked to move, her brain having an internal meltdown.
"Are you alright? Your face is red… Shoot… I hope I didn't get you sick as well, I'm sorry…" Hitch was apologetic, looking down shamefully.
"Wha? Nonono! I'm not sick I'm just I-" Pipp couldn't find the words, her wings even began standing out once again. "I- mmph… I'm just fine! S-Sorry I'm hehe… I'm all good, not sick at all…!" Pipp declared, hoping the cheer up the stallion, still beat red. "The water is just a bit warm is all, that's it, ehehe…"
Hitch gave her a curious look before smiling in response, "that's a relief… Thanks for taking care of me Pipp. I really appreciate it~" Hitch smiled brightly over at Pipp. Pipp's eyes dilated as she looked back, putting her hooves to her mouth as she tried to process why being thanked like this was so exhilarating to her. She gulped, looking away and then back to the stallion.
"O-Of course Hitch, what a-are friends for..?" Pipp responded sheepishly.
"Heh… Fair enough…~ I feel much better than I did before, even still, once I get some food in me I'm hitting the hay until tomorrow, then I can make up for lost time…~" Hitch declared softly. He was still weak, his throat was a bit sore, and his voice was much quieter because of that. Psychically he was a bit feeble still but he was able to walk around just fine, which was how he was able to enter the bathroom so easily. Mentally, however, he was still lacking behind. For starters he didn't seem to mind at all that Pipp was literally inches away from him while he bathed, he also didn't remember how he nuzzled up and turned Pipp as red as a tomato just before he went to sleep. Nope, he just remembered attempting to leave before Pipp pushed him back inside.
Pipp breathed a soft sigh, looking at her now-soaked mane. At Least now would be as good a time as any to get her mane cleaned up, she could brush it later. She looked around before spotting a bottle of shampoo on the bathtub wall. "Huh…" She grabbed the bottle before her eyes widened at the sight, "what?! Hitch you use the most expensive mane shampoo I've ever seen! I don't even see this kind of stuff at Mane Melody!" Pipp cried out, looking back and forth between Hitch and the bottle.
Hitch rubbed his nose for a second, "well duh, I treat my mane as if it were my own child! It deserves only the best products!" Hitch declared, before sinking into the tub a little more. Pipp giggled lightly at the sight before looking between herself and her bottle. She paused for a minute as she looked at Hitch.
"Do you mind if I… Uhm, use this… on you?" She asked curiously, hiding part of her face behind the bottle.
"Huh? You want to wash my mane..?" Hitch asked a bit curiously.
"Well, you never let me wash your mane at Mane Melody! B-Besides, I want to try this shampoo out… if it's what makes your mane so soft I'll have to take some for myself!" Pipp replied a bit giddily.
Hitch paused for a moment before slowly moving closer to Pipp on the other side of the tub. At first, the Pegasus began growing red again, squeaking for a second. But soon Hitch turned around, showing his back to her and sinking deeper into the tub for a second. "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt~" Pipp squealed a bit in response before soon grabbing some shampoo and lathering it into his mane. She licked her lips as she began to wash away at his mane, scrubbing lightly and letting the white foamy bubbles of the shampoo fill the tub as she gently got to work on him. Hitch hummed softly as she did so, leaning into her hooves a bit as she did.
This went on for a couple of seconds, however soon enough Pipp began to listen intently to what Hitch was humming to himself. It only took her a couple of seconds before she realized just exactly what he was humming to himself. "Wait… Isn't that… my song?" She asked the stallion curiously, just as she began washing the shampoo out from his hair.
Hitch nodded in response, "yeah. I love your music~" Hitch stated nonchalantly. Pipp on the other hand was losing her mind, resisting the urge to squeal like a school-filly. She blushed just as much as before though. Soon enough she stopped as she finished.
"All done, Hitch…~"
Hitch took this moment to tilt his head back, now looking right up at Pipp as she looked down at him. "Do I look good?"
"Hehe, your face is all red again…~" Hitch responded sheepishly himself. Pipp was about to retort but before she could, he continued, "it makes you look so cute…~" Pipp was silenced, she was at a loss for words. She was about to lose it, her soul was fighting to leave her body as the heat the Pegasus felt from those words alone would make the bathtub boil. Hitch thought nothing of it, smiling up at her with that same dopey face. Pipp gulped, looking down at him.
"Y… You idiot!" She huffed, blushing madly as she leaned down towards him. Hitch watched this happen, blushing a bit himself as her face got closer to his.
"Are you…" He asked for a second but shut up, slowly leaning forward himself.
"WHOA! No way!" Shouted a sudden voice from the door, causing Pipp to squeal loudly as she shot up, breaking up what would've been the final nail in the coffin before she died of blood rushing to her head thanks to all the blushing. Hitch flinched himself, slowly pulling his head up too, but instead to look over at the door. Standing there was Sunny, Izzy and Zipp.
Sunny was at a loss for words. She was just as red as Pipp was, her pupils dilated and a hoof up to her face. Her luminescent wings were out at the moment and boy were they shot out, fully erect to her sides. Izzy was looking on cluelessly, on her head was Sparky who was gently playing with her hair. Meanwhile, Zipp was blushing lightly too, but more so out of shock. She was resisting the urge to laugh up a storm at the sight of Pipp and Hitch bathing together, and breaking up what would've been their first kiss! She giggled lightly to herself. "Sorry to interrupt this beautiful scene… But we brought some soup for you two, now come get it before it gets cold- oh, and we'll let you get dried up~ Maybe remember to close the door, next time fellas?~" Zipp responded slyly before walking off back towards the kitchen. Izzy giggled and followed behind nonchalantly. Sunny on the other hand was stuck staring at the two, still beat red, unable to move until Zipp came back and pushed her along back to the kitchen.
Pipp was silent, her entire life felt like it was crumbling down at the moment. Hitch was slowly climbing out of the tub as if nothing happened. If he was at 100% brain power, he would've been as equally embarrassed as Pipp, but as it stood now he was hungry for some soup. He climbed out of the tub, falling over onto the ground as he did, but recovered soon after grabbing a towel to dry off and making his way towards the kitchen for some soup. Pipp was left in the bath, slumped down as she had to recollect herself. Her eyes slowly returned to normal size as she held her cheeks in her hooves. "S-Sweet Celestia I almost… k-kissed him…"
After about five more minutes of sitting in the bathtub almost lifeless, Pipp finally decided to pull herself out, using a towel hung up on a shelf as she dried her mane and body. Her face was still beat red in color as she tried to calm herself down. She knew she had to cool off before she went to eat with the others, but she was contemplating flying out of a window and pretending like this day never happened. She was already so embarrassed by getting caught with Hitch that not much else mattered to her right now. The more she thought about it the worse it got as she quickly dried herself off. The sooner she got out the better it would be for her. So after a minute or so of drying herself off, she slowly walked out towards the living room where the other ponies surely awaited her. Still, the thought of even staying in the same room as them was nerve-wracking on its own. Now, Izzy was a different story, but Zipp and Sunny? After what just happened? She'd die of embarrassment. Even still, it was too late to turn back, so she slowly made her way to meet up with the others.
When Pipp finally made it to the living room, the group was all settled together. Izzy was laying down on the floor, playing with Sparky, while Sunny, Zipp, and Hitch all sat down at the table, Hitch with a bowl of soup, which the stallion joyously slurped up. Pipp gulped, slowly making her way to the table, sitting adjacent to Zipp and Hitch, as well as opposite ends from Sunny. "H-Hey fillies, we-welcome… hehe~" Pipp trailed off, unable to look anyone in the eyes. Hitch was too preoccupied with his soup to really notice Pipp at the moment. His tail idly swished to and fro behind him as the warm soup filled him with a calming feeling. Zipp was sitting with a smug grin as she looked over between the three, she was having a hard time not bursting into laughter, but she held it in for the sake of making Pipp and Sunny more comfortable. Sunny, like Pipp, was avoiding eye contact with the other. She still sported a light blush from the shock of earlier and was far too embarrassed to speak up. In fact, the table was silent for the most part, with the four all not wanting to say a word.
However, soon enough Zipp was the one to break the tension. "So Pipp~" She spoke coyly. Pipp's ear flicked as she nervously looked up at her elder sister. "What's wrong Pipp? You've barely touched your soup~ If you don't take any, I'll just give it to Hitchie~ He seems to love my cooking just as much as you do!" Zipp snickered, pointing over towards the stallion on the other end of the table, who continued to mindlessly slurp up his soup.
"N-Nono, it's fine heh, I'll eat! Look, see?" Pipp took this moment to fill her mouth with noodles from Zipp's soup. With a rather loud slurp, once again breaking the awkward silence, she downed a good portion of noodles in one go. "H-Haha! Yum tasty!" She looked away sheepishly.
"Ooh, Zipp you've got to make me some famous soup too!" Called Izzy from the living room. "By the sound of that slurp it sounds really tasty~"
Zipp smirked again, "why thank you, Izzy, ~" She turned back to face Pipp, her eyes narrowing over at the pink Pegasi, before looking back to Hitch. "So Pipp… I hate to ask, but what exactly were you doing with the Sheriff in his bath… together?~" Zipp asked Pipp smugly, resting her hooves on the table as she leaned forward. Pipp luckily had her mouth empty- otherwise, she'd spit up a good amount of soup right at Sunny.
Sunny looked away from her nervously, but she also leaned in a bit, showing her interest in the situation all the same. Pipp gulped, rolling her eyes as she looked around the room to avoid eye contact with the others. "Oh well uhm… You see it's really erm… simple really, so…" Pipp trailed once again. "Hitch went into the shower and uhh… I just wanted to make sure he was alright! So I went in, but I tripped and uh, fell in the tub."
"Pfft, is that right now?" Zipp cut into the middle of the story, entering her disbelief for the story off the bat.
"YES! T-That's h-how it started! And uhh, then I washed his mane and we leaned in… to… hug."
Zipp sneered, "with your faces?"
"YEP! That's it, just a friendly hug between friends!" Pipp laughed, clearly hiding something behind that laugh of hers. Even so, Zipp saw right through that. Sunny was still looking on a bit nervously.
Zipp looked between Pipp and Sunny. There was some tension there, the tension that really wasn't there before by the looks of it. She furred a brow before shaking her head. "Well, alright, if that's what it was, then I guess it isn't such a big deal!" Zipp declared, sitting up. She had the feeling that if this lasted any longer things would begin heading south. Besides, she put Pipp on hot coals long enough, but sweet Celestia would she hold this over Pipp forever if she wanted to. Zipp stood up and walked over to Pipp, nudging her lightly. "You're doing great sis, remember to put the Sheriff to bed after you're both done eating." Zipp informed her before looking toward Sunny and Izzy. "C'mon girls, let's leave them to their devices, we don't want to catch a cold too after all~"
"Aww, we just got here!" Izzy retorted before smirking as she collected Sparky, letting the baby dragon ride on her back once again. "Though if getting a cold means some famous Zipp soup then no promises!~" Izzy spoke giddily, trotting outside with Sparky in toe. Meanwhile, Sunny and Zipp stayed a bit longer.
Sunny, who hadn't said a word up to this point since she got here, stood up from her seat. "Well… I guess that's all it is. But Pipp… can we talk a bit tomorrow?" Sunny asked the Pegasus at the other end of the table. Pipp gulped but nodded a yes. Sunny smiled softly before trotting towards the door, leaving Zipp as the last one to say goodbye.
Zipp smiled before trotting to the door, though before she left she looked back to Hitch and Pipp. "Heh, you owe me one. I won't tell mom about your little crush on the sheriff now that I know it's all but confirmed at this point~ Though do me a favor: Don't try and kiss him again while he's sick, got it?"
Pipp giggled a bit nervously, knowing nothing was going to get past Zipp. She shook her head. "S-Sure thing, ehehe…" Zipp snickered before leaving, closing the door behind her.
Once again, Hitch and Pipp were left alone, once and for all. Hitch was a bit dazed. He had just finished his bowl of soup and was getting a bit drowsy. Looks like the sheriff was ready for his nap. Hitch yawned a bit loudly as he stretched his hooves. "Mmph… That was really nice. Thanks, Zipp~" Hitch complimented the chef, though not realizing that she had left, showing off just how dazed this cold was making the poor stallion. Pipp breathed a small sigh before slowly standing up and nudging the sheriff off his chair.
"C'mon Hitch, let's get you to bed." Pipp responded softly, her blush dying down a lot since then. Hitch complied, slowly climbing out of his chair and making his way down the hallway to his room. Pipp used this time to recollect her phone, which she had left sitting on the couch after she rushed to the bathroom earlier. She escorted Hitch the rest of the way to the stallion's bedroom, where she turned on the lights and led him to the bed. "Alright, you should stay in bed for the rest of the day. When you wake up you'll feel so much better! Just like how I feel after some beauty sleep~" Pipp hummed.
Hitch smiled, finally climbing into bed, the warm sweet sweet bed. He felt like he could pass out almost instantly. He laid down on his side, however, didn't tuck himself in. Pipp noticed this, looking at his covers she slowly climbed onto the bed, beginning to drape the covers over the stallion. "All nice and cozy, right HiIIITCH!" Pipp suddenly shouted as she was suddenly pulled down. She was pulled into laying down right next to the sheriff, who wrapped his hooves around the smaller pony and held her close. All that progress that had gone to lessening her blush and making her more comfortable had gone down the drain as Pipp went red, her wings shooting out to her sides. Pipp shivered, feeling the stallion's soft fur and warm body pressed up against her was better than any blanket by a long shot. Not to mention the way he held her, made her see stars. She took a couple of seconds to process just what happened exactly before squealing as she attempted to force herself away from the stallion. She pulled away, however, contrary to before, Hitch was just as strong as he always was, keeping Pipp locked in place. "H-Hngh! H-Hitch! Let go of me!" Pipp demanded, trying again and failing at pulling away. She huffed, looking up to the stallion's face, however, he was fast asleep! "W-What?! How can you be this strong when you're passed out?!"
"Pipp…" Hitch mumbled softly in his sleep, and the hold he had on her slowly tightened, pulling her closer, Pipp's head being pulled right up against his chest. Pipp whimpered softly. She was losing the will to pull away, and quickly! She didn't want to spend all night hugging the stallion, yet with each passing second, she lost more and more of the will to pull away from her capture.
"Mmph…" Pipp huffed, attempting one last time to pull away from Hitch but failing, resulting in her giving up entirely. "UGH! Fine, you win you stupid big stallion." Pipp huffed, accepting she was probably going to have to stay there for a while. Even still, she wasn't really that mad either. She sighed, at least being able to reach for her phone in the state she was in, tucking her wings back in she held her phone out. She paused for a moment, checking the time before blushing as an idea came to mind. Slowly she held the phone out as far as she could, using the camera app on her phone and aiming directly at her and Hitch. She snapped a photo, smiling as she did.
"I guess I got one good thing out of this…~" Pipp sighed, placing her phone down. She looked back up at Hitch before nuzzling deeper into his chest. She was a bit tired herself, so she might as well take up the opportunity to catch some Z's as well. She wrapped a hoof around Hitch, followed by a wing to act as a little makeshift blanket as she dozed off before eventually falling asleep with the biggest smile on her face.
A few hours later, Pipp would wake up, yawning lightly. Pipp stretched out, grumbling softly to herself as she woke up from that morning slog. She slowly looked around, pausing as she remembered where she was. "Oh right… I'm in Hitch's room. Which means…" She nuzzled back into the chest of Hitch, still hugging the stallion lightly as she did, breathing a soft exhale.
"Uhm… Pipp? Are you awake now?"
Pipp's eyes shot back open as she looked up. Hitch was looking back down at her, blushing himself. Pipp's face went red as her eyes went wide. She squeaked, before quickly pulling herself away from the stallion, nearly falling off the bed. "H-HITCH! I'm so sorry! I-I didn't know you were awake!"
Hitch watched her pull away, giving him time to finally sit upright. "Hngh, ahhh~" Hitch stretched out before flinching as Pipp apologized. "O-Oh! Don't worry! I woke up like… five minutes ago, b-but I didn't want to move and accidentally wake you up… You were smiling so brightly it made-"
"H-HAHA! OH WELL PFFFT, that's fine, you could've just woken me up ehehe!" Pipp waved her hooves defensively before flinching, turning back to Hitch, "wait, does that mean you feel better?"
Hitch nodded, "oh yeah, I feel great! Sheesh, I felt like I was gonna flop any second yesterday, but now I feel as strong as an ox! Though the more I think about it, I can't remember much from yesterday either. I remember waking up really late… then wanting to leave but you stopped me. Then I think I took a bath… and you washed my mane… and then Zipp brought some soup! But after that, I don't remember anything else. I must've fallen asleep right after huh?"
"Oh? OH! Yeah, yeah you passed right out, ehehe… So you don't remember anything else, right?" Pipp asked, pressing her hooves together a bit nervously.
"Not really… Why do you ask..?" Asked the stallion curiously as he climbed out of bed.
"Hah, n-no reason, no reason at all! Well then, if you're feeling all great, then I guess my work here is done!" Pipp declared, breathing a sigh of relief as she picked her phone up.
"Well, I still want to know why I was… well... Why we were sleeping together..?" Hitch asked Pipp, blushing heavily as he looked over at her. Pipp was turned around but she hadn't had the courage to turn to face him, blushing heavily herself.
"Uhm… Well, you see… When you fell asleep you- A…A…" Pipp paused, stopping in the middle of her sentence as she dropped her phone and tilt her head up. Hitch looked over confusedly before realizing what was happening. Pipp suddenly let out a loud sneeze, loud, yet still adorable, sneeze. Pipp groaned, wiping her nose for a moment before the realization hit. "Oh noooooooo…" She groaned.
Hitch snickered lightly, "I'll call the girls and let them know, don't worry." Hitch sighed before leaving the bedroom, leaving the princess to flop over in defeat.
