The Only Chapter
Maritime Bay, being that classic beach town, was known to be a little, how do you say it, fragile, when it came to storms. Little events such as rain would most of the times hurt the town, with tree branches breaking from trees, plants being destroyed, and the town becoming very dusty when the water dries up and leaves the dirt. Even when it got windy, somewhere in Maritime Bay, whether it be in the town, or on the outskirts, a tree, or some signpost would fall over, resulting in fixing and or in need of replacement.
Today was no different. Not even close due to the storm from last night. Torrential downpour turned into a brutal storm, with high winds, lightning, thunder, and even hail at the end. This resulted in Maritime Bay looking very disheveled. But, the town, being used to something happening whenever a raindrop shows up to the town, quickly took action, and Canterlogic quickly got its heavy equipment out to clear any fallen debris.
The town was now still, as the only sound was all of the townsponies helping clean up. There was no wind, not even a breeze. Only clear skies. With the integration of Unicorns and Pegasi, it made cleanup a lot easier. Being able to magically lift heavy objects was a lot easier than having seven ponies help hoist and monitor a massive crane to get the trolley back on the tracks, or a tree out of the way.
With the sun now high in the sky, and the town started to make more noise, caused two certain ponies, now newly lovers, to wake up.
Pipp opened her eyes slowly, met with beige fur and a little bit of aquamarine.
Hitch.
Pipp smiled and tilted her head up, looking around the room that was mostly in the dark. She slowly grabbed her phone that was hooked under her wing to check the time. 9:40 A.M. Pipp then took the opportunity to open her phone to see her notifications, noticing a message from Sunny, delivered past midnight. ‘Hey Pipp, Zipp got your message of where you are. I’m guessing you can see that it’s really raining outside. Don’t try to come to the Brighthouse, it’ll be too dangerous. Text us when you two wake up ;)’ Pipp smiled at the last part.
The four mares knew that Hitch liked Pipp for a while now, and always encouraged Pipp to make something happen. Sunny often reminded her that Hitch is not one to make bold moves. ‘He may seem like a confident go-getter, but trust me, if he really does like you, which he totally does, he’ll never muster up the courage’. Eventually Pipp told the girls that it was time she took charge. A great feature for her was that she was very confident. She had realized in life that you really just need to take your chances, don’t worry about what others' reactions might be when talking to them, or making decisions, or even how you live your life. It’s her life, and she didn’t tell others how to live theirs unless they asked for advice. On her social media, sure, she did have boundaries. She knew that the canternet could be a dangerous place to easily get canceled on, but other than that, off social media, she was set loose.
“Hey Pipp”. The sudden words surprised the pink mare, as she looked up to see Hitch
staring back down at her.
“How long have you been awake?”
“Like, maybe 15 minutes, give or take?”
Pipp shook her head. “And you didn’t wake me?”
“I didn’t want to disturb you. And… I was comfortable watching you sleep. It reminded me just how beautiful you really are.” Hitch smiled when stating the last sentence.
“Well now, it seems that all of your nerves have gone back down to normal.”
“For now.” Hitch noted, causing Pipp to chuckle. “Are you hungry?”
Pipp nodded.
Hitch just smiled and decided to unravel himself from the mare, getting out of bed, putting his hoof out to stop her. Saying nothing the stallion left the room, and Pipp waited in silence, electing to go on her phone to go on Ponygram. The sudden smell of food being cooked filled her nostrils, something cake like, and coffee. ‘Yum’.
After a few more minutes, Hitch came back with a tray on his back, on it were an assortment of things. Waffles decorated with strawberries and raspberries, a bowl of fruits, orange juice, coffee, a glass jar of pure maple syrup, oatmeal, and cereal with a glass jar of milk waiting to be poured. It looked straight out of a commercial on TV. Everything was organized and sorted accordingly. Hitch came to Pipp’s side of the bed, setting the tray next to her lap, so when Hitch re-entered his side of the bed, it would be in-between them.
He gave her a knowing look, as she looked like she was ready to drool. “Dig in Pipp.” Immediately the mare did what she was approved to do and got a fork and knife and started towards the waffles. When the first bite hit her mouth, she realized it didn’t even need syrup. Her eyes widened.
“Oh my stars, Hitch, this is amazing!” She exclaimed with a mouth full of food. This caused him to laugh. “I can’t cook to save my life!”
Hitch took that as an opportunity to jab her. “Well guess we have that sorted out on who is the better cook.”
“Har har sheriff.”
Hitch took the cereal and poured some milk in the bowl and started eating himself. The two sat in silence, enjoying the food that the stallion brought, occasionally making eye contact and smiling. When Hitch was done with his cereal, he took the bowl up to his muzzle and drained the milk, with a little bit of it accidentally dripping to the side of his mouth, causing a giggle to emit from his left. She took the opportunity to make an interesting move on Hitch before he could pick up a napkin.
Giving him a seductive look, she leaned towards him, lolling her tongue out and giving the side of him a good lick, cleaning the stained fur, now milkless, replaced with the dampness of Pipp’s tongue. When she pulled away, she saw Hitch’s face change. He was shocked at first, not expecting this from such a posh pony, and when he thought it couldn’t get any more surprising, Pipp suddenly had a very small yet cute burp. Light and almost silent. This caused her to put a hoof up to her mouth, eyes widening in shock, her face very visibly red for having a pink coat. “Oops, sorry” Her ears now flat against her head, a shy smile on her now, all Hitch could do was laugh, to which Pipp joined.
Finishing up their breakfast, Hitch put the dishes in the dishwasher, and they headed out, their destination set to the Brighthouse.
But, when the two smiling ponies got outside, the town’s condition had other plans. While most of it was much better than in the early morning, it still needed help. A big lead in the cleanup operations was Hitch.
He looked over to Pipp, who was looking around at all the debris. “Hey, go ahead of me, I’m gonna quickly make sure that everything is being taken care of. I should only be an hour or two, oaky?”
Pipp smiled at the stallion’s commitment to being a worthy sheriff, and gave him a peck on the cheek. “Don’t be too long, okay? And stay safe.”
Hitch nodded at the last part. “Of course.”
Pipp took one last look before extending her wings out and lifting off into the sky, slightly startling the stallion from the sudden whoosh. ‘That’s gonna take some getting used to.’ He quickly shook it off and headed to the main point of town, set to find any ponies that may still need a helping hoof.
When Pipp got to the Brighthouse, she saw that it was mostly cleaned up from the debris and flew to the main door. Opening it, she saw the three mares that lived with her in the house. They were congregating at the kitchen table, now directing their attention to Pipp. They all smiled. “Pipp you’re back!” Izzy exclaimed. “How was your night with your new man, huh?”
“Oh nothing much Izz, but We did have an amazing breakfast. He can cook!” The girls laughed at this.
“What’s on your mind though Pipp. Now that all the dust has settled, how do you feel about this?” Sunny asked. Pipp knew Sunny meant nothing by it, wanting the best for both of her friends.
“Well as we all expected, he was a mess in the beginning of our little hang out. I have to say while I’m sad we didn’t make it here, I’m glad how it all turned out. Hitch is… just what I need, now that he is comfortable with me. It feels like I have no limits when with him. He makes me feel safe to do and say whatever I want.”
“Oh Pipp I’m so happy for you.” Sunny said, giving Pipp a hug. “Just know this. Hitch is a very nice and loyal stallion. I know him down to the tee, and he will never let you down or betray you or do anything shady on you. You just need to make sure that you do the same and be your best you for him. I’m not saying that you won’t, but I’m just telling you what to expect, which is nothing but the best.”
“I know, and thank you Sunny for telling me that. You’re right, I know Hitch would never do anything like that, and it’s nice to hear it coming from you, being his childhood friend and all.” Sunny smiled.
Zipp on the other hand had other plans. While she loved Hitch like a brother, would defend him to the end of time, and always be there for him, she knew that she needed to have a one-on-one conversation with him.
As if on cue, Hitch briefly knocked and stepped into the Brighthouse, looking at the mares, smiling. “Hey girls, what’s good?”
Pipp turned, smiling “Hey there sheriff.” she said in a soft tone, biting her lower lip for a split second, causing the stallion to become a bit embarrassed.
“Hitch, just the stallion I need. You think you can help me with something at the edge of the outside of the Brighthouse?” Zipp asked immediately when she got the chance. Better now than never.
“Yeah of course!”
When going outside, Zipp instantly cut to the chase.
“Okay look. I’m really glad that you and Pipp finally decided to take your relationship up a notch but I just need to give you a fair warning. You know, classic sibling talk. Pipp may seem very posh and forward and confident, but let me tell you, she was not at all that before you Sunny and Izzy came into the picture. All she had was her fans and the canternet. She never really talked to her fans directly but one day… she decided to look into her DMs, because I upset her…” Zip was silent for a few moments, her head hung in shame, ears low, a pained look on her face, attempting to hide it from the sheriff. Hitch, being trained to notice changes on the fly, noticed immediately.
He was going to apologize, wanting to tell her that it’s not her fault, that it’s in the past, and clearly Pipp forgave her, but Zipp finally continued. “When scrolling she saw the usual, ‘hey how are you, I love you, Pipp Pipp Hooray,’ the classics. But there was one that caught her attention that wanted to make sure that she was okay. Same age, stallion, good looking, good reputation… Unfortunately, she fell into his trap, responded, started talking to him, and things took a turn for the worst. Long story short, he asked her for inappropriate photos. She almost did send them but luckily she went to mom because of how mortified she was with herself and got the situation dealt with.”
Hitch didn’t know what to do whilst listening to this. First, why was Zipp telling such sensitive information? Was she trying to scare him? Also, why was she suddenly acting like he was a threat? Maybe she wants him to know that she will always be there to protect Pipp? Lastly, who was this stallion! Hitch knew that he would gladly break the law and dishonor his badge to teach whoever that colt thought he was a serious lesson. Not just because it was Pipp, but because it was in a way sexual harassment, to which the law had zero tolerance for.
As if she could read minds, Zipp continued with a look of reassurance. “Don’t worry Hitch, the stallion was dealt with, fined, given a restraining order, and restricted from attending or being near any government gathering or building of Zephyr Heights unless it was the city hall. I don’t mean to upset or scare you but let me explain. Pipp ever since has hidden that away and has become a more outgoing pony, being more of a flirt, not afraid to make others uncomfortable. It took her so long to come back around to being her normal self before even becoming near the way that she is now. If they can handle her attitude towards them, then they’re good in her book, which has proven to work, oddly enough… What I am saying is… don’t hurt her. Because if something happens, I don’t know if she’ll ever be the same. I know you aren’t going to, but seriously, if you don’t think you can handle this, or see yourself with Pipp forever, then don’t go through with it. Call it off right now.”
They stared at each other for seconds, feeling like minutes.
Zipp then put on a very serious and intimidating angry look. “And don’t you EVER think that I won’t interfere if something goes wrong. I don’t care who’s fault it is, yours or her’s, I can’t see Pipp like that again.
Hitch finally spoke. “I’m not going to abandon Pipp. I wouldn’t have gone into a relationship with her if I couldn’t see her in my life to the end.”
Zipp eventually relaxed her face. “Okay bud. I believe you… Thank you. I trust that you won’t go back on your word… She really does adore you you know.” Zipp started to turn around to the Brighthouse.
But as quickly as she did, she turned back around, also suddenly mentioning a fact that Hitch also thought about. “Oh, don’t forget, Pipp is the most famous and well-known pony in Equestria. She has higher status than me and my mother combined. Be ready to be a lot more popular when others find out."
Hitch chuckled. “Yeah, I thought about that. Worth it.” His simple response got a laugh from the snow-white Pegasus.
“You do also know that Pipp has fangirled about you for a while, right?”
This statement stopped Hitch in his tracks. He felt like he already knew that, but hearing it from somepony else… “Really?” Zipp Nodded.
“Yeah, she couldn’t stop talking about you. She always wanted to just keep talking and talking about you, to the point where I had to bring something else up just to force her to think about more than one thing.” This caused a laugh from the sheriff.
Zipp kept going, further resulting in Hitch’s laughter. “Sometimes she’d talk about you for so long when it was just me and her at dinner, that I had to remind her to continue eating her food!”
“Wow, that’s great, haha!”
“What also really got me was the time we were at the noodle shop in town for lunch, and you showed up for a lunch break I think.” Hitch nodded enthusiastically, remembering.
“Oh yeah! I was on break, yes. It was just you and Pipp that time, correct?”
Zipp nodded. “Yup! Of course, she had mentioned your name a couple of times while we were eating, and she saw you walk by. You hadn’t seen us yet and she flipped out. She literally told me in a whisper to act normal, as if I wasn’t already, and of course, she failed miserably, slurping her noodles in the loudest way possible. I remember, not only did it get your attention, but the entire shop’s too!”
Both ponies bursted out laughing at the expense of the princess. “Wow, I did not know that Pipp was so… all over the place about me.”
“Yeah, well like I said, she really has her ‘act how you want and don’t care what the other might think’ and ‘if they can handle it then they’re good’ attitude. But a few times when it came to you, she just… lost it.” Zipp was now smiling at Hitch, as he smiled brightly at the last part of what she had mentioned to him.
As Zipp turned back around, Hitch followed her to the main doors to the Brighthouse, and when getting back through said doors, the two ponies saw the other three on the couch talking. Hearing Hitch’s name told him that they were gossiping.
When they joined, Sunny decided to put Hitch on the flame. “So, sheriff, care to explain anything?”
“Actually, I want to know how you guys figured it out with Pipp.” Hitch butted back, Uno Reversing Sunny’s question.
Sunny decided to answer Hitch’s question, but she wouldn’t go down without a fight, adding a bit of spice to her answer, as it wasn’t supposed to be her on the hotseat. “Well, you acted so much differently with Pipp around, often directing your conversations towards her, standing with her, helping her, and always lending a hoof when needed, that it started becoming obvious. Your mood was always a little bit brighter when with Pipp or whenever you were doing anything that involved her, always laughing with her or, I don’t know, being more gentle with how you acted and talked, if that makes sense? Oh, and also, I may have looked into your search history on Ponygram when you left your phone on when you went to go use restroom one time.”
The last part got Hitch. ‘I really need to remember to turn off my phone when I put it down.’
“Okay, well, since you answered my question, I’ll answer yours. I… really can’t describe my attraction towards her. Sure, there’s definitely a physical attraction. I’ve never seen a pony so beautiful in my life before you Sunny.” This caused Sunny to embarrassingly look away. “I just love the fact that Pipp is so smart and loves to be playful yet serious, fun yet organized, she’s outgoing, and a little bit reckless, but also self-sufficient. She has her whole life together better than me, even if she says otherwise and disagrees. She checks all of the boxes and more… She’s… truly a vision to me.” The last part got everypony’s attention, getting an aww from Sunny and Izzy. Hitch literally just poured his heart out on how he felt about Pipp. Maybe that storm was really a good thing after all.
“So… what now?” Izzy asked.
“What do you mean?” Pipp responded back, wondering what that meant. After all, with Izzy it could mean a million things.
“Does that mean you’ll move in with Hitch?”
Hitch was about to respond, but Pipp answered first. “Well, eventually I would assume yes, but as Hitch mentioned, we’re gonna take it slow. So, no, I’m gonna stay here until Hitch feels comfortable.” She concluded. Hitch couldn’t have said it any better if he was being honest with himself.
“Yay Pipp stays with us!” Izzy shouted, causing all the other ponies to laugh.
A sudden ring from Sunny’s satchel went off. Her phone. She pulled it out, seeing the time. “I better get going to my smoothie stand. I’ll catch you guys later, okay?” Everypony nodded.
“Yeah I better go too, I gotta meet my mom for some royalty training.” Zipp said, slightly straining on her words.
“Ooh, that reminds me! I’m gonna go to the local shoemakers to see if anyone can help construct a little kitty pool for us!” Izzy chirped, flying out of her seat before trotting to the door.
All said their goodbyes, waving off.
This left only the two newly colt and filly friend couple to themselves in the Brighthouse. “Well, Hitch, what do you want to do?” Pipp asked, turning towards Hitch, walking up to stand next to him.
“Well first let me say that I’m happy that you want to take things slow. It’s very mature of you.” Pipp blushed, ears slightly lowering with a smile on her face. “And by the way, I know this isn’t slow but, I’ve already made my mind up, you can stay with me whenever you want, and whenever you are ready to permanently move in with me, just let me know.”
They stood there, happily looking into the other’s eyes.
“As for what we should do now… I’m not too sure, but whatever we decide, we’re gonna have fun doing it together.” Hitch concluded, making a move and leaning down to tenderly kiss her, who welcomed the kiss without a single notch of hesitation.