> A Perfect Pitch
>  by Willow NightSong24
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Glowin Up; Lovey Dove
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first time Hitch Trailblazer saw the pink pegasus, he thought she was beautiful. He had galloped into the throne room, and as soon as he saw her, his eyes widened, and he stopped in his tracks. Her voice...it was so melodic. It was breathtaking. And the way she sang, it was her passion, he could tell. She didn't just love to sing. She loved to use her music to make others feel as good as she did when she sang. Safe. Protected. Happy. Loved. That was something familiar to him. It was how he felt when he was protecting Maretime Bay. It was how he felt when he got his cutie mark. 

His flank began moving in rhythm to the music. That, surprisingly, had snapped him out of his stupor. He shook his head in disdain. None of these thoughts, none of these feelings were his. This must all be a ploy. Some kind of hypnosis trick. It had to be. He couldn't feel this way about a pegasus. He was an earth pony. Pegasi were dangerous and sly and vicious, just waiting to take advantage of the weakest link.

He pushed all these unwelcome thoughts away. He needed to look for Sunny and that unicorn so that he could bring them back to Maretime Bay to face the full force of the law. Besides, he needed to question the unicorn as soon as possible to see if he should be expecting any more 'guests' at Maretime Bay.

As he searched the crowd looking for Sunny and her new unicorn friend, his eyes kept drifting to the singing pegasus. He told himself it was because he was at a tactical disadvantage. While he certainly never believed the nonsense stories Phyllis Cloverleaf spouted about pegasi swooping down and snatching you up, mostly because they were the same size, he did believe that flying around in the air, having a bird view of everything below, gave the pegasus the ability to see that he didn't belong. That he was an earth pony in a pegasus city. He had to keep an eye on her, in case she figured that out and sounded the alarm. She was his biggest threat. 

After a bit of searching, he finally happened upon Sunny and her friend. However, as soon as they saw him, they quickly backed up into a curtained room in hopes of escaping him. For a moment, he was torn with indecision. It was clear nopony was supposed to be back there. Following them into unauthorized areas would only lead to more suspicion, casting attention upon himself that he didn't need. His plan, if the whole thing didn't fall apart, was to get in and out without even being noticed. But at the same time, he couldn't lose Sunny again. It was hard enough tracking her here all the way here to Zephyr Heights. If there was another exit from the curtained room, he'd have to start all over.

After a moment, however, he decided that he should stay in the throne room, and hope that she'd come back out. After all, that's probably how Sunny got all the way here without killing herself. Through dumb luck. Equestria knows Sunny didn't plan any of this before she took off to a pegasus city. That was how she got through life without being thrown in jail. Simple dumb luck that Hitch was able to find technicalities and loopholes to use so that she wasn't technically breaking the law. 

As he waited, however, the spotlight suddenly flickered on and off before finally landing on him. He froze, unsure what to do. The flying pegasus stopped in her tracks, looking completely confused. It wasn't that he had stage fright, or was scared of all the watching ponies. He was used to that. He often had to give unscripted and scripted speeches to the ponies of Maretime Bay. It was all just part of the job. He also had to be confident enough to penalize anypony who broke the law, even if they were his friends. Well, anypony except for Sunny it seemed. For some reason, to those who knew her, Sunny seemed to have this aura around her that made it near impossible to want to penalize her for breaking laws. Probably because her intentions were always pure, always wanting to put ponykind's well-being over everything else, including herself. Like what Hitch was willing to do for Maretime Bay. It was hard to find that nowadays, and it was even harder to punish somepony for it. 

No, it wasn't the spotlight that made Hitch terrified. It was the pressure on him that made him freeze in fear. If he didn't play this off, if he gave the pegasi any reason to suspect he wasn't one of them, it was all over. He wasn't just your average, everyday, run-of-the-mill earth pony. He was the sheriff. A pillar in his community. Ponies in Maretime Bay looked up to him. They relied on him to uphold the law. In times of fear, it was him they looked up to to have all the answers. If there was anypony they'd want to capture most in hopes of finding a weakness in Maretime Bay to infiltrate, it would be him. He had to keep his disguise intact. It was imperative for the safety of Maretime Bay. 

After racking his brain a bit, he decided to continue the song. He had to admit, he was a worse singer than he was a dancer. And he was even worse at creative improvisation. Seriously, what even were these lyrics?  Throwin' up, find a glove? You're like why, I'm like what? Crisp and dry, eat some mud? He made a mental note to himself that he had to work on his improvisation after this was all over.

Luckily, however, this torturous scene of horrible song lyric writing didn't last long. Next thing he knew, the mysterious mare began screaming as she was pulled through the air by some mysterious force. Everypony, including him, gasped and watched her, wondering what was going on. His instincts urged him to help her, the ones that urged him to help any creature, no matter what or who they were. But he had to put Maretime Bay first, and that meant finding Sunny. 

He scanned the crowd, ignoring the pegasus's screams. Everypony was frozen in shock, which made spotting them easy since they were the only ones moving. 

"Freeze!" He yelled, causing them to freeze in their tracks. Everypony turned to see what he was yelling at and that was when the panic started. 

"It's the prisoners!" He heard somepony yell before the screaming began. Prisoners? Oh Sunny, what did she get herself into now?

He didn't have long to dwell on that though when the flailing pegasus whizzed by, pulling his disguised wings with her. As she did, he could see that she was being pulled by some kind of wire she was connected to. Why was she connected to that? Could she not fly? He couldn't think about that now as he stood frozen, everypony beginning to realize that he was an earth pony. What should he do? He can't get captured. Maretime Bay needed him. He sure as hell couldn't rely on Sprout to keep order in Maretime Bay for long. Hell, he barely trusted Sprout to keep order for as long as he's been gone. 

Fortunately, however, all eyes weren't on him for long as the screaming pegasus finally came to a stop upside down in the middle of the throne room. It was clear she couldn't fly, but everypony seemed more shocked and alarmed by this revelation than they did when they discovered the earth ponies and the unicorn in Zephyr Heights. As one, the crowd began to murmur in panic and pull out their phones and snap pictures of the upside-down pegasus as she hung there stuck. He felt disgust well up in him. This mare clearly needed help and instead of putting their phones down, they were snapping pictures and just staring at her. 

"Zipp?" She muttered, staring at a pegasus behind him. 

He turned around in time to see Sunny bump into a white pegasus mare with a pink and blue mane, urging her to hurry. The mare was frozen in panic and horror, indecision tearing her up if the expression on her face was anything to go by. But, she seemed to make up her mind as she and Sunny sprinted towards the exit. 

Hitch felt bad for the pink pegasus, but he didn't let his feelings stop him from following Sunny and bolting toward the exit. The pegasus's unwilling reveal gave Hitch the perfect opportunity to escape and he was going to take full advantage of it. He wasn't going to risk his safety, Sunny's safety, and the safety of Maretime Bay for some pegasus he didn't even know. 

Despite all that though, he did hope she'd be okay when all this was done and over with.





"What am I even doing here?" Hitch muttered to himself, shaking his head and rolling his eyes in exasperation. "Hoofing it across daisy fields looking for a magical crystal that DOESN'T EVEN EXIST!" He yelled, hoping Sunny heard him and understood how idiotic this whole mission was, though, he seriously doubted it. The only reason he followed her was to keep her safe and make sure she didn't do or say anything that would put Maretime Bay in more trouble than it already was. And perhaps a small part of him was following her so he could be there when she failed or it completely blew up in her face. Just a small part though. 

"It was supposed to be my best show ever," The pink pegasus from the show in the Zephyr Heights castle whose name he learned was Pipp, sorry, Princess Pipp, muttered to herself. He had forgotten she was there, and while he still didn't trust her, he was glad to know she was just as suspicious and pissed off as he was. Though, he had to admit that he was glad she was okay after that whole fiasco in the throne room, not that he'd ever admit that to anypony else. "And now it's over. I'm...a criminal. And it's all because—"

"Of them." They finished together, Hitch finishing a thought he was thinking out loud. 

"And that is so not cool," Pipp finished with malice in her voice, walking ahead of him and jogging to her older sister Zipp. 

"No, it is not." He agreed, thinking of the way Zipp had just left Pipp hanging there in front of everypony, completely humiliated and embarrassed. She was lucky that Pipp was okay, but what if she hadn't been? How could her sister leave her like that? He stopped in his tracks. "Did I just agree with a pegasus?" He asked himself. He told himself it was just that they agreed about how ridiculous this escapade was, but he couldn't ignore how protective he felt over the fact that Zipp just left Pipp hanging there. No, he could. And he would. Because it meant nothing. Absolutely nothing.



  

"Hey, you hear that, Sunny?" Pipp began dancing to the music where she stood as Sunny turned her head to look at her. "Feel the rhythm take you over. You feelin' it?"

"Oh, I'm feelin' it," Sunny responded with a smile. She chuckled a bit before declaring, "I'm feelin' it!"

"Ya, you are, Sunny!" Pipp responded with equal vigor. "Yeah, you do this, Sunny! Whoo!" Pipp cheered as Sunny began dancing on the just prance game again. 

"Yes! She's doin' it, she's doin' it!" Hitch said in shock as he watched Sunny play and actually start to win. 

He was dumbfounded. He's never seen anypony except her father encourage Sunny like Pipp just did. Hell, nopony's ever encouraged him to the point where even he believed they could do this. Not even Sunny. Her confidence...it was different from arrogance. It was different than what Hitch had ever seen. It could make anypony, even the most spiteful, believe in themselves no matter how insecure they felt or how much they doubted themselves. It was a gift. One she probably didn't even know she had. One that only made her more beautiful. Er...she'd be beautiful to anypony. 

Imagine his surprise when Sunny did win. He couldn't be more proud of her. After everything she's been through, after everything they've all been through, they were going to bring magic and ponykind back together. They were really going to do this. He couldn't help but cheer right along with them. 

That is until Sunny's 'horn' flew off her head. As the unicorns around them gasped, the five of them froze automatically, knowing this couldn't possibly end well. 

"An earth pony," Alphabittle muttered with absolute menace in his voice. 

By then, however, both Pipp and Zipp had already taken off their capes and horns. Hitch had too, not wanting the ponies he had actually come to know as his friends go through this alone.

"And pegasi," Zipp declared, standing defensively next to her sister.

"And a unicorn...which, you knew already," Izzy proclaimed, standing next to her friends. 

Sunny stepped forward to stand in front of them all, and all eyes went to her, including Hitch's, whose heart seemed to race. "I know it doesn't look like it, but we're here to help—"

"Help?" Alphabittle repeated, taking a step forward. "We don't need help." Another step forward. "Especially from ponies like you." Another step. "Give me the crystal."

Now Sunny took a step back, her ears flattening. "But we won." Sunny's voice trembled as Alphabittle continuously walked closer to them, not just one step at a time. Hitch glanced at Pipp before looking back at the altercation between Alphabittle and Sunny.

"You tricked me. The crystal." He responded, leaning towards the five of them imposingly. 

Hitch racked his brain, trying to come up with some sort of escape. Surprisingly, the pony his gaze first flicked to wasn't Sunny, his foalhood friend, like he thought, but it was instead Pipp, who was cowering by her sister Zipp, holding the green pegasus crystal. That was what made him truly panic. He told himself it was sheriff's instincts kicking in, to protect the most vulnerable. Zipp could handle herself, he knew that much about her, and to make the trek from Briddlewood to Maretime Bay all by herself, he had no qualms about whether or not Izzy could handle herself, and he has definitely seen Sunny handle herself in close call situations. Pipp, on the other hand, seemed the most vulnerable, seemed to be the one who had no idea how to defend herself against manic crowds. He had to think of something. Anything.

"Now!"

Then he remembered something. A mistake he first made here in Briddlewood. It was time to learn from it. "Uh...uh magic! Wing! Feather! MAYONNAISE!!!" Hitch yelled like his life depended on it, which, if he thought about it, it did. 

There was a pause where everything seemed to freeze as though time stopped and then Hitch heard the first "Bing" and then "Bong".

Sunny recognized the distraction for what it was, thank hoofness, and urged them all to go. Hitch did not need to be told twice. He hoofed it to the door, trusting the rest of them to follow. The only pony he made sure was right behind them, and momentarily paused so that she was in front of him was Pipp Petals.





The climatic moment had everypony at the edge of their hooves, including Hitch himself. He glanced over at Pipp, who had spread out her wings, quickly looking at Zipp, before looking back at Sunny and Izzy, who were slowly bringing the crystals together, to make himself feel better. What would their relationship be after they brought magic back? Would they see each other again? Would they continue to be friends? Hitch surprised himself by hoping they'd still be friends. 

Everypony seemed to grow, standing straighter, their smiles growing as the crystals came closer, including Hitch's. Finally, things were going to go back to how they were meant to be. Finally, Sunny's dream was going to come true. Everything Hitch had watched her work for was for this moment, right now. He could see her smile and hopeful expression grow. Hitch's heart raced as the crystals were just a couple of centimeters apart. 

And then...nothing. The crystals connected but nothing happened. His smile slowly fell as he realized what had happened. Pipp furled her wings back at her side, her smile fading along with everypony else's. It was like he had been punched in the gut. Like everypony had been punched in the gut. 

Sunny looked at the crystals in confusion. "It...it..."

"Why didn't it work, Daddy?" Hitch heard a young foal ask.

"Cause it was all just make-believe."  The worst part of it was that Hitch couldn't decide if he agreed with the foal's father or not.

"We can try it again," Sunny reasoned. "Maybe...maybe w-we did it wrong somehow..." 

Hitch couldn't listen anymore. He couldn't watch Sunny's heart break like that, not after she got all her hopes up only to have them crushed. The crowd started to disperse until it was only the five of them, Alphabittle, Queen Haven, and her guards left. Sunny, desperate for anything, took both the crystals and began fitting them together again and again, begging for them to work. Hitch knew if he didn't do something now, Sunny would be there all day and night, repeatedly in vain trying to get them to work. 

He took a glance at Pipp as though making sure she was okay before slowly walking up to Sunny, his hooves feeling as though they were ten-pound weights. He dreaded this moment since he found out she had it in her head that she could bring back magic. Now, it was time to do his job as sheriff, and as a friend.

"Sunny," He started softly, walking up behind Sunny who was sitting on the ground. "It's okay. You did everything you could."

She turned her head to look at him, the look in her eyes breaking his heart. It was pleading, begging him to make it all okay. To make it work. As though he could fix everything. "I...I thought it would work." She looked back down at the ground and the crystals in front of her. "I was so,  so sure of it." 

Hitch knew she didn't just mean the crystals or magic. She was so sure she could bring ponykind together. She was so sure she could make her father's lifelong dream come true. She was so sure everything she fought for in life wasn't for nothing. 

He glanced at Pipp again. Perhaps she didn't bring all of ponykind together, but she did change some hearts. She did bring him and the rest of their friends together. And, perhaps one day, it'll be enough. Perhaps, one day, their friendship can serve as a beacon for others, and show them that interponykind friendship is possible. Today, however, it's just not meant to be. 

Sunny swallowed and Hitch could see her face harden and become a mask hiding all of her emotions. His heart broke seeing this, wishing he could bring back his bubbly, hopeful, persistent, encouraging friend again. Sunny stood up and walked towards Alphabittle and Queen Haven. 

She gave them back their crystals, apologizing for all the trouble she caused, unable to look any of them in the eye. The four of them watched this in horror, unable to believe the very pony who brought them all together, was giving up. 

"Sunny! We can't give up!" Pipp spoke up. Hitch silently begged Pipp to work her magic, to bring Sunny back from this dark place.

"I thought that I could make a difference," Sunny muttered, staring after the retreating unicorns. "But, everywhere I go, I just make things worse."

"That's not true," Izzy argued as they all walked up to Sunny. "We're all in this together, right?" Izzy looked to the rest of them in confirmation, and all of them, including Hitch, agreed. All of them except Sunny. 

"I'm so sorry I let you all down," Sunny said before turning and walking away. 

Hitch didn't want to leave, but he knew he had to follow Sunny back home to Maretime Bay. That was his first and foremost responsibility. To protect Maretime Bay. But, suddenly, that didn't seem so important anymore. Not as he originally thought. 

He followed her, pausing to look back at the four of them. Specifically Pipp. "I guess this is goodbye...friends."

"Better hurry...sheriff." 

He stared at Pipp a little longer, before turning to finally leave.





Damn it! He knew it! He knew Sprout was going to do something like this. Okay, perhaps not this specifically, but he knew Sprout was going to start something. What was the one thing Hitch told Sprout not to do before he left after Sunny? Hitch's last words to Sprout rang through his head. Who am I kidding? Just try not to start a war while I'm gone, okay? He was being dramatic at the time, but now Sprout was actually trying to start a war. When they figured out how to stop this, Sprout was so fired from the police force. 

He skidded to a stop, turning to look at the huge stupid robot. He had to stop that thing, before Pipp...er anypony got hurt. He shook his head. What was the point? He couldn't deny it anymore. He cared for Pipp. A lot. More than as a friend. Though, there was no way Pipp liked him back that way though. Still, he didn't care if Pipp liked him that way or not. As long as Pipp was happy, so was he. He just had to make sure she was alive long enough to be happy. And if that meant stopping a huge robot Sprout 2.0, then that's what it meant.

"I've got to reign that thing in," He told the others.

Zipp came to a stop next to him. "I've got your back Hitch."

They ran to the robot thing, both of them jumping on top of the lowest level. He hated leaving Pipp's side but knew Izzy and Sunny would keep her safe. They'd look out for each other. The best thing he could do right now was to keep this robot thing from reaching the lighthouse. At least until they brought back magic. 

Both Zipp and Hitch looked around for some kind of off switch, but unable to find one, they looked for something, anything, they could use to slow it down. They found nothing though, and just began fruitlessly hammering against the damn thing. They stopped as they watched it approach the lighthouse, and Hitch's breath caught in his lungs. Two ponies he cared very deeply for, more than life itself, were in there. And this robot thing that was five times his height and a hundred times his weight was about to go crashing into it, and there was nothing he could do. 

Zipp and Hitch braced themselves as the machine rammed itself against the lighthouse, causing massive cracks to appear in it, making it tip over slightly. Hitch clung onto the machine for dear life, looking around desperately for some way to stop it, still finding none.

"Sprout! Stop!" Hitch yelled desperately, hoping to reach the colt he's known since foalhood. He climbed up to the windshield, using all of his strength. Once he did, he put both his hooves on the windshield glaring at Sprout. "This...ends...now!" Hitched yelled through the windshield. He was not going to let anypony, especially somepony like Sprout, hurt the two mares he lo...cared for.

"What? And let them have magic? Never!"

Hitch's heart stopped as long metal rods with a hooked end, placed around a circular wheel, as though spokes on a tire, came out of each side. Hitch's heart raced as the Splat-a-pults began to whir to life. Below, ponies began running around, trying to dodge the balls of green goo that would cause them to be immobile. 

Suddenly, the robot machine jerked forward, causing Hitch to lose his balance. He began to fall over the edge before Zipp grabbed his hoof, pulling him back onto the machine, just in time to save him from getting his head chopped off. The robot then crashed into the lighthouse again, causing it to shake and tip over even more.

All of a sudden, Hitch heard screaming that seemed to be an awful lot like Pipp's voice. Hitch's heart stopped as he looked towards the lighthouse, relieved that it didn't tip over completely, but worried as to why Pipp would be screaming. Zipp seemed to hear it too as her gaze followed Hitch's. 

Then, as quickly as it started, the screaming stopped. Hitch had to believe it was because Pipp was okay and not because she was dead. He had to focus on the task at hand. He couldn't let Sprout bring down the lighthouse while Sunny and Pipp were still in there. While anypony was still in there.

He just prayed to anypony who listened that Pipp wasn't hurt, or worse, dead. He couldn't lose her, even if she didn't love him back, he just couldn't lose her. 





"Hey."

Hitch turned around to see Sunny walking up to stand beside him. She was still in her alicorn form, though they weren't sure if it was permanent or temporary, since if it were temporary, Sunny hadn't yet figured out how to get out of it. Everypony was helping to clean up the mess caused by Sprout's robot, but, after a couple of hours of cleaning up and having the unicorns and pegasi help too, there wasn't too much left to clean up.

Before he oversaw any remaining cleaning that needed to be done, Hitch first forced Sprout to apologize to everypony, especially the pegasi and unicorns. He then made Sprout personally apologize to Queen Haven and Alphabittle, as well as Izzy, Pipp, Zipp, and Sunny. Especially Sunny. Sprout was then forced to pay for the labor and the resources it would take to build Sunny a new home after the lighthouse was destroyed. The second thing Hitch did was force Sprout to hand over his deputy badge, for obvious reasons.

He gave her a small smile. "Hey."

She cleared her throat and lifted her hoof. Hitch looked around, glanced down at his badge, then smiled, shaking his head as he too held up his hoof. Funny thing was, Hitch was no longer embarrassed to do this in public anymore, even if he was on duty. But then again, Hitch was no longer a lot of things anymore. None of them were. After that kind of adventure, there's no way it wouldn't change anypony. 

"Up high, down low, hitch it to a post! Flipp it sunny-side up and on a piece of toast!" They chanted together, before chuckling.

"You know," He said after a while of silence as he watched the ponies interact and play with each other. "Your father would be really proud of you."

"He'd be proud of you too."

Hitch looked at Sunny in surprise, not sure why she'd say something like that. He wouldn't be proud of him. It was Sunny who'd brought everypony together. All he did was tag along for the ride. Hell, he even tried to stop Sunny from doing so. Not to mention the years he spent trying to talk Sunny out of this whole pony unity thing after Argyle died. Argyle wouldn't just not be proud. He'd be disappointed. 

"Proud of what? All I did was chase you around Equestria to try and arrest you."

"That may have been your agenda at first, but when it mattered most, you put your prejudice aside and inspired ponies to do the same. That's big."

Hitch shrugged. "I never would have done it if it weren't for you."

Sunny and Hitch were quiet for a bit, just watching the ponies in Maretime Bay settle in. He wasn't sure if he'd ever get used to seeing pegasi and unicorns walking casually down the streets of Maretime Bay, without anypony panicking. It was ironic really. His whole life he was taught by everypony around him that unicorns and pegasi were evil, vicious, and mean, and now, here he was, in love with one.

Hitch then looked at Sunny. "What's going to happen now?" 

Sunny looked at Hitch, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I know that Maretime Bay and the other cities are open to all kinds of ponies and now anypony can go anywhere, but, what about the five of us? I mean, you and I already live here in Maretime Bay, but the rest of them have lives in their own cities. I mean, Pipp and Zipp are Princesses of Zephyr Heights, for goodness sake. We can't just ask them to uproot all their lives just to move here to Maretime Bay so we can see them more. Can we?"

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. Izzy is talking about this to Alphabittle since he seems to be seen as a leader among the unicorns of Briddlewood and Pipp and Zipp are talking to Queen Haven. Zipp, Izzy, Pipp, and I were talking, and we were thinking that we should maybe build a lighthouse."

"Like the one you grew up in?" Hitch asked, a little confused.

"Kind of. But instead of a normal lighthouse, this lighthouse will be a lighthouse for friendship, where we'll all live. We don't know what we'll call it yet, but we do know that we think that's where the crystals should be kept." Sunny took a deep breath before continuing. "Hitch, those crystals are the source of all of Equestrian magic. I don't know how magic in Equestria worked before, but this isn't the same Equestria. If something happened to those crystals, if they're separated again, we might lose magic..." Sunny paused, looking at Hitch. "For good."

"That'd be bad."

Sunny nodded. "It would. Which means the crystals need to be kept in a safe and neutral place. I don't want the responsibility of keeping all of the Equestrian magic safe but..."

"What safer place than in the protection of the alicorn?" Hitch finished.

Sunny nodded, looking down at the ground.

Hitch thought about it, before smiling. "I think that's a great idea." Hitch leaned down and whispered in Sunny's ear, "And I think you'll be the perfect protector." Before nuzzling against Sunny. 

Sunny smiled up at him, already looking a tad less stressed. 

"I just hope you have building permits for this 'lighthouse'," Hitch joked and they both laughed before settling down and staring at each other, neither of them saying a word.

As they did so, Pipp, Izzy, and Zipp came running up. Well, Izzy was running. Pipp and Zipp were flying. All, however, had happy looks on their faces. 

"Mom said yes!" Zipp exclaimed. 

"So did Alphabittle!" Izzy exclaimed, jumping up and down. "Now we never have to be apart!" 

Hitch glanced at Pipp before putting his hoof in the middle with the rest of them before they all yelled together, "Hooves to hearts!" 

They all laughed, Hitch closing his eyes momentarily so he could really absorb Pipp's beautiful laugh. 

After chatting for a while, Pipp, Izzy, and Zipp left, chatting excitedly, leaving Sunny and Hitch alone again. 

"You know, you're welcome to live with us," Sunny offered, leading them to a bench that faced the street of Maretime Bay. 

Hitch thought about it, before quickly shooting down the idea. "Nah, I think I'd rather stay at the sheriff's station. Maretime Bay has grown in population and I need to be available at all hours. Anyway," Hitch glanced down at Sunny, casting her a sly smile. "The law is the law, Sunny, and I'm here to uphold it and keep everypony safe."

Sunny smiled back warmly. "Aha! You just said 'everypony'. That includes pegasi and unicorns."

They both laughed, before sitting in silence. Hitch just watched as Pipp began dragging an irritated Zipp in the air to force her to take a selfie with a group of foals. Zipp acted annoyed, but there was a small smile on her lips as she touched down and spread her wings far and wide. Once Pipp finished, a group of three fillies bombarded Pipp with what looked like questions, something that'd cause Hitch to freeze up and stutter a bit, but Pipp handled it with ease, answering all their questions, as well as asking her own, making the fillies blush and giggle in response. A small smile grew on Hitch's face.

"You really care for her, don't you?"

Hitch froze in worry. He wasn't too concerned that Sunny knew, but he was concerned about how. If it was that obvious, then did Pipp know? Did Zipp know? Was she okay with it? Did everypony know? Did Sunny really know, or simply suspect and was just guessing to get an answer out of him?

He sighed in resignation. "That obvious?" 

"No, but I have known you since we were foals. I've never seen you look at anypony the way you look at Pipp." Sunny paused, watching Izzy lift a knocked-over tram with her newly acquired magic with a group of other unicorns, before setting it gently back on the tracks. "When did you know?" Sunny asked softly. 

Hitch thought for a moment about all his interactions with her and then shrugged. "I guess I've always known. I just stopped denying it when I saw she was in danger of being injured by the Sprout robot."

There was a moment of silence before Sunny bumped her shoulder playfully against Hitch. "You should totally go for it." 

Hitch shook his head. "Nah...she probably doesn't even like me back. Besides, things'll get awkward, and I don't wanna risk our friendship like that."

"I'm sure she does. Anyway, how will you get anything in life if you don't take a couple of risks?"

"I think I've taken enough risks for awh—"

"And have things turned out okay?" Sunny interrupted, raising an eyebrow. 

Hitch scoffed. "I'm still not sure..." Sunny elbowed him playfully and Hitch chuckled. "Okay, okay, yes, they have. But I don't want to push it." 

"I think you guys would make a beautiful couple," Sunny commented, looking from Izzy to Pipp, who was now chatting animatedly to a blue earth pony with a pink mane and a cream pegasus with a red and yellow mane.

"Oh, I don't know..."

"Don't you trust me?"

"I do but—"

"Then go for it!"

"Okay, okay, just give me a moment to process and think okay. This is pretty new to me too." 

"Fine. Can you imagine what a relationship between a pegasus and earth pony will do for friendship between the ponykinds?" Sunny gasped. "If you two marry, bonds between earth ponies and pegasi will almost be unbreakable! Especially since Pipp is a pegasus Princess!"

"M-marriage?" Hitch stuttered. Asking Pipp out was nearly impossible enough, and that was before adding the possibility of marriage into the mix. And then hearing Sunny list all the ways a union between them can strengthen pony bonds, it was too much.

"Imagine how amazing and cute that'd be! Former enemies, falling in love. Ohh, that'd be the perfect headline."

"H-headline?" Hitch stuttered, his eyes widening.

"Imagine the possibilities that'll open up for future relations between all three kinds! This new Equestria is full of new possibilities! And marriage between the kinds is just the beginning!"

"Sunny—"

"Although, do you think this will weaken the bond between the earth ponies/pegasi and the unicorns? Hmm...we need a unicorn to marry and an earth pony or pegasus. Who should we set up together?" Sunny gasped again. "Do you think Onyx is a good option? Or...or maybe Alphabittle?" A louder and longer gasp. "What about Queen Haven and Alphabittle? Oh my hoofness, that'd be so cra..."

As Sunny continued on her excitable babbling about how a marriage between Queen Haven and Alphabittle would not only be beneficial but also if it would be possible or not, then listing both their qualities to see if they'd be a good match, Hitch thought about what Sunny said and he had to agree. This new Equestria was full of new possibilities. Possibilities Hitch wouldn't've even thought to consider a week ago. And, who knows? Maybe things will work out in the end for him and Pipp.
> Used To Care What They'd Say; Let 'Em Into My Brain
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pipp stared at the ceiling above her bed in the dark, the sounds of the three other mares sleeping, specifically Izzy's snoring, filling the silence in the air. Pipp wanted to go back to sleep—she was so tired—but all she could do was stare at the ceiling. She wasn't surprised. This wasn't the first time in the past three weeks she's woken up from some weird dream that made her...uncomfortable wasn't the right word. Confused? Yeah, that was it. Confused. 

Her mother's words rang through Pipp's head, not for the first time:

"We didn't realize how much we needed each other. How wonderful it can be when we're...all together..."

"With the girls away now, I feel so...alone sometimes..."

"You've flown the nest and started living your lives. But I still have a life too..."

"You're not alone..."

While she wasn't exactly thrilled about her mother's relationship with Alphabittle, she was happy her mother had somepony. 

But, what Pipp was scared to admit was that sometimes...sometimes she felt alone too. She loved living with her friends and wouldn't have it any other way. It's just that...back at Zephyr Heights, she had a pony who understood her. Her mother understood her life on social media, seemed to be the only pony who did sometimes, and how much it meant to her. Yes, she had her sister, but Zipp didn't understand her the way her mother did. Zipp didn't care much about social media, or at all really, and didn't understand all the impact being on it could have on Equestria. All she understood was what was right in front of her. 

But, there seemed to be one other pony here in Maretime Bay who understood. And while he didn't exactly understand social media itself—okay, if she's being completely honest, he was about as good with technology as her mother was, which wasn't saying much—he understood the impact it left. He understood why she was on it so much. Why it was so important to her. It was the same reason he worked so hard to protect Maretime Bay.

Love. They did what they did for love. Pipp wanted her pipsqueaks to feel loved. To feel safe, accepted, and seen. And, in all reality, she truly did love her pipsqueaks. They were her family. It was one similarity she and him had in common. Hitch protected Maretime Bay because it wasn't only his home, it wasn't only because he was good at it, and it wasn't even because he loved doing it. There were times Hitch confided in Pipp that he didn't always love being sheriff, especially after Sunny's father died and Sunny began her activist work. No, he did it because he loved the ponies of Maretime Bay. They were his family, especially since his dad died when he was such a young foal. 

But that wasn't all that Pipp liked about Hitch. Pipp has been known to be...impulsive sometimes, her failed all-natural beauty projects proof. She tended to do things without completely thinking them through, she supposed that was one thing she had in common with her sister. Though, hers was on a much smaller scale. She cleared her throat aloud. Clearly.

Hitch, on the other hand, was balanced, and stable. He brought stability to her life. He helped her think things through. Not to mention he was a music lover. Every time music would come on, he'd suddenly be unable to control his own body. It made her giggle every time, even when she was just thinking about it.

She sobered up. Why did she have this reaction whenever she thought about him? How did he make her laugh when he wasn't even around? He was just a friend, right? Nothing more. Nothing less. So, why did she feel this way? Why was she up late thinking about him? Dreaming about him? It made no sense. She's never felt this way for anypony before.

She climbed out of bed and flew over to the elevator that led to the top of the Brighthouse, where the crystals were kept. She normally didn't use her wings to go short distances like this since even after a year of being able to fly, it wasn't her natural reaction. One year didn't take away eighteen years of flightlessness. But she didn't want to wake up her friends and sister with her hoofsteps.

Once she was at the elevator, she put her hoof on the hoof scanner and flew in, landing as soon as the door closed and she was in the clear. The elevator rose and deposited her on the roof of the Crystal Brighthouse, where her eyes widened in surprise. On the floor, sitting with a hot mug of something, leaning over dozens of papers and books was her sister Zipp, muttering to herself. 

When she heard the elevator open, Zipp looked up, seeing her sister slowly walking out and examining the papers.

"Couldn't sleep either?" Pipp asked, sitting down across from Zipp.

"Sorry, did I wake you? I tried to be as quiet as possible to get my notes and research out but...well let's say I'm not Izzy," Zipp said with a small chuckle.

"No...you didn't wake me," Pipp let out a heavy sigh.

"Izzy?"

Pipp didn't say anything, just shaking her head. She'd hoped she'd have some time by herself in the fresh air, to sort things out. And, if anypony had to be out here, she wished it would've been Sunny. Sunny somehow always knew what to say, not to mention Sunny knew Hitch since foalhood. Surely she'd know what to do. But Zipp? Zipp'd just laugh at her and make fun of her about it. Hell, she wasn't even sure of her feelings. She couldn't take having her sister make fun of her about it. She wasn't even close to being ready for it. 

"Pipp? Are you okay?" Zipp asked, concern filling her voice.

"Oh, I'm fine. So, uh...why are you up?" Pipp already knew the answer, but she wanted to steer the conversation away from herself. 

"Oh, I just couldn't stop thinking about the evil alicorn Princess Twilight was trying to warn us about. I mean, they could be anypony or anywhere. We don't even know their name. I mean, we know they're an alicorn but, are they like Sunny? Can they change into their alicorn form? Or are they like the alicorns of ancient Equestria? I mean, we don't know much about alicorns as it is, and—" Zipp stopped her explanation when she realized Pipp wasn't even listening to her. "Pipp, are you even listening to me?" Zipp only received silence for a reply. Pipp seemed to be zoned out in her own world, which wasn't like her at all. "Pipp?" Zipp reached out a hoof to touch her sister's shoulder. "Pipp?"

Pipp felt a hoof on her shoulder and gasped, startled. She looked up at Zipp, who had a concerned look on her face. Pipp bit her lower lip, knowing that Zipp knew something was wrong and that she couldn't hide it from her anymore. Figures. She should've known she couldn't hide anything from her sister of all ponies. She's a detective for crying out loud.

"Pipp, are you sure you're okay?"

Pipp hesitated, before answering with a smile, "Yeah, of course I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be okay? I just came up here for some fresh air and to...admire the view! Yes. It's so...beautiful at night. I wanted to take some beautiful selfies for my ponygram page." Pipp lied, taking out her phone and taking some quick photos to keep up her facade, keeping her fake smile plastered on her face without fail. She was good at the fake smile. She mastered it. She could do it.

Zipp wasn't convinced. She knew her sister better than that. "You don't look okay."

"I'm fine, Zi—"

"You're wearing your social media smile. I'm not stupid."

Pipp scoffed, that reaction genuine. "How in Equestria can you even tell? You couldn't even tell Mom's real laugh apart from the phony laugh she does in public."

"Oh come on, that's not fair. Mom's public laugh changes like Sunny changing into her alicorn form. It's impossible to keep track of every time it happens."

Pipp groaned a bit, knowing her sister was right, but not wanting to admit it.  

"So, you going to tell me what's wrong or am I going to have to keep talking about Princess Twilight's message and all my thoughts on it until you tell me just to shut me up? I'm good with either," Zipp said with a shrug.

"Ugh, I hate how I can't hide anything from you," Pipp said with a small groan. She stood up, slowly walking over to the balcony, resting her hooves on it, and looking down at Maretime Bay. Specifically at the sheriff's station. 

Zipp followed her sister's gaze and furrowed her brows, confused. "Is this about Hitch?"

Pipp's eyes widened slightly, before quickly looking away from the sheriff's station, and looking at the rest of the town, but Zipp caught Pipp's small reaction. She couldn't hide anything from her. Zipp was about to say something about it when she noticed the small blush on Pipp's face. Zipp's own eyes widened in surprise, staring at Pipp before glancing at the sheriff's station and back again, doing this multiple times before finally being able to say something. 

"Wow," She said, shocked. Pipp looked at her, her eyes panicked. Zipp tried to play it cool, her way of reassuring her sister there was no reason to panic over it, but she didn't do so well. "Well, I've got to say, you've surprised the detective. Wasn't what I was expecting."

Pipp rolled her eyes, scoffing at Zipp's attempt to play it cool. "How'd you guess, oh mighty detective?"

"You couldn't hide that blush on your cheeks."

Immediately, Pipp raised her hooves to her face, only causing her blush to deepen. She looked back down at the sheriff's station, not sure what to say about all this. Hell, she could barely explain it to herself, let alone another pony. 

"It doesn't have to make sense, sis." Zipp wrapped Pipp with her wing like a blanket, and pulled her in close, like they used to do when they were fillies. "All that matters is that you love each other and that's that."

Pipp let out a light chuckle. "Since when have you become the romantic," Pipp leaned in closer, a sly smile on her face. "Is there somepony special in your life I should know about?"

"N-no!" Zipp said with a blush, rubbing the back of her neck with her hoof, and looking down at the ground. She took a deep breath and looked down at her hooves on the ground. "I guess I started being more open to it when Mom and Alphabittle, you know..." Zipp trailed off, looking at Pipp who was looking at the balcony railing, before asking, "That's when it occurred to you, wasn't it?"

"Hitch is our friend. We play board games with him! We're not like...like...like..." Pipp began using the same argument she used with her mom, but soon trailed off, losing her fight.

"And why not?" Zipp sighed and put her hoof under Pipp's chin, forcing Pipp to look up at her. Zipp stared into her sister's eyes with sincere ones of her own. "Look Pipp, I gotta be honest, it'll be a bit weird at first if things...you know...I mean, my best friend and my sister...dating...it'll take some getting used to. But, as your older sister, your happiness is more important than what makes me uncomfortable. I want you to be happy. If there's anything that day at the unicorn's crazy impossible-to-win Jinxie games taught me, it's that everypony deserves to be happy, even if you don't fully understand it. I guess that's why Mom and Alphabittle bothered me so much. I just didn't understand it. No matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn't wrap my mind around it. It was an enigma. It made no sense, and, I guess on some subconscious level, that made it wrong. If I couldn't understand something, then it's wrong, you know. I mean, think about it. Mom and Alphabittle hated each other. I mean, Alphabittle was threatening to blast Mom with his nonexistent magic!"

Pipp chuckled along with Zipp. "And Mom, being Mom, was all like 'I'd like to see you try!'" Pipp mimicked their mother surprisingly well, making the sisters laugh harder.

"The point, Pipp, is that even though it made no sense, that didn't mean it was wrong. It meant I was wrong for thinking that. I guess what I'm trying to say in this very long and awkward speech is that even if I don't understand it, hell, even if you don't understand it, you should go for it anyway. I don't think love's supposed to be understood. That's what makes it so...great?" Zipp shook her head. "Just...go for it. Take a risk. Don't let me, or anypony, and more importantly, yourself stop you from getting out there and getting your stallion."

There was a moment of silence while the two sisters stared at each other, each of them at a loss for words. Until Pipp broke the silence. "Wow...that was...long and...deep and...long..." Pipp said, not used to seeing this side of Zipp.

Zipp chuckled nervously, looking away from Pipp. "Yeah, that was a bit of a speech and...whatnot but...uh..."

"Thanks, Zipp." Zipp looked at Pipp with wide eyes. "I needed to hear that. While most of what you said was a bit sappy, you're right about two things: I am holding myself back and I don't understand it. I'm letting my lack of understanding hold me back. I...I'll think about confessing. I'm not sure I'm ready to do that yet."

Zipp playfully bumped Pipp's shoulder. "What? Are you kidding me? You talk to thousands of ponies via social media every day, documenting everything through livestreaming and you're telling me you're scared about confessing your feelings with your best friend?"

"Hey! Speaking into a camera is so different than one on one conversation. Especially when that conversation can make the rest of our friendship all awkward and everything if Hitch doesn't like me back. I mean, what if he doesn't? I'd never be able to look him in the eye again!" Pipp said dramatically, grabbing Zipp's shoulders.

"Well, if you want, I can always—" Zipp pulled down her spyglasses dramatically. "—do a little detective work for you. A little investigation on whether or not he likes you."

"While that'd be great, it'd also be wrong. I'd feel incredibly guilty invading his privacy like that."

Zipp chuckled a bit. "You? Feeling guilty about invading privacy? Do you even know what that means?"

Pipp playfully hit Zipp on the chest with her hoof. "Okay okay, I get it. I should lay off the phone a bit and not record everything. What can I say? The pipsqueaks need me. But, before I do anything else, I should probably talk to Sunny about it. I mean, she has known him since they were foals."

"Yeah," Zipp muttered, putting her hoof to her chin and narrowing her eyes. "You're right. If anypony knows if he likes you, it'd be her..." Zipp trailed off, an idea forming in her head.

"No no no no, Zipp, turn your detective mind off. This is something I don't want you to investigate. Pleassse do not meddle in this. Get me back for sending you on a wild goose chase for Sunny's lantern some other time. Let me handle this. Okay?"

Zipp hesitated, thinking about it for a moment before saying, "Fine. I promise I won't meddle. Too much. Hoof to heart." Pipp gave Zipp a grateful smile. "So, if you're not fishing for info, why talk to Sunny about it."

"Well, Hitch and Sunny are like family. They grew up together. They're like us, you know. I just wanna make sure Sunny's a-okay with it. I mean, imagine if Hitch started dating me and you weren't okay with it. You'd hate him for it. I don't want to come in between their friendship, and I don't want to gain a coltfriend if it means ruining mine with Sunny in the process."

Zipp shrugged, agreeing with her sister. If Hitch dated Pipp without Zipp's approval or support, Zipp would be furious. It'd be a big F U to Zipp, and that was something Zipp did not respond well to. "I guess that makes sense. Alright, talk to Sunny, though I'm pretty sure she'll be okay with it."

"Me too, but...I just want to give her that respect first, you know? It hurts that Mom didn't trust us enough to be supportive of her relationship with Alphabittle that she didn't even tell us. And it hurts even more that we proved her right. I just don't want to put Sunny in that position, you know?"

"Ya, I do..."





Pipp stood at the entrance to the kitchen, the wall hiding her a bit. She took a deep breath, suddenly feeling uncertain. Her wings felt so empty without her phone. Earlier, she had done a live stream saying she was going to be completely offline today due to some personal business. This was one of those rare moments where she needed to be completely and fully present. 

She took another deep breath. The sound of Sunny cleaning up the breakfast mess in the kitchen was the only thing that broke the silence. Swallowing nervously, she stepped in. She had to do it now. The Brighthouse was empty except for her and Sunny and she wasn't sure when she'd get an opportunity like this again. 

"Oh! Hey Pipp, I didn't know you were here." Sunny said when she saw Pipp walking into the kitchen.

Pipp chuckled nervously. "Um...yeah. I...uh...just got done doing a livestream."

"Oh, okay," Sunny said with a smile, resuming her cleaning. Pipp just stood there, silent, not sure what to say or how to start this conversation. Sunny noticed Pipp staring, just standing there, and Sunny quickly became a little uncomfortable. "Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?" Sunny asked, putting the pan she just cleaned away. 

Pipp took a deep breath, walking up to sit behind the counter. While she was 95% sure...okay 85% sure that Sunny would be okay with her and Hitch, Pipp wasn't completely sure. There was a small part of her that worried Sunny wouldn't be okay with it. Pipp didn't know what she'd do then. Pipp wanted to respect Sunny's wishes, but the more Pipp thought about it, the more she realized she loved Hitch. Whenever she thought about him, she'd have butterflies in her stomach, her heart would race, and she'd smile. She just hoped Sunny would understand.

"So...uh...you've known Hitch for a while, right? Since you were foals. Uh... how long have you guys... you know..." Pipp trailed off, watching Sunny. 

"Oh, we met the first day of kindergarten, during recess. We've been best friends ever since. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, umm....uh...no reason. Just...curious..." Pipp started to stand up to walk away. She couldn't do this. She just couldn't. She wasn't as courageous as her sister was. She wasn't as brave. This was going to blow up in her face. She just knew it. 

She had just turned around and was facing the living room when she saw her sister Zipp standing in the entryway. Where in Equestria did she come from? When did she get here? And how did she get inside without either Sunny or her noticing? 

But that wasn't important. What was important was that right now, Zipp was motioning with her hooves toward Sunny. Pipp stared at Zipp with incomprehension, unsure as to what Zipp was trying to tell her. Zipp then raised her eyebrows and motioned her head to Sunny, with a knowing expression on her face. Then Pipp understood. Zipp was telling her sister to go and do what she came here to do. Pipp could practically hear Zipp's words. "Don't chicken out on yourself, Pipp. Grow up and do what you came here to do or you're going to regret it." Hmph, easy for her to say. She wasn't the one who had to do this. 

Then Zipp did something that terrified Pipp. She took a step forward, threateningly. Pipp recognized the threat for what it was. If she didn't do it, Zipp would. And she couldn't let Zipp do that. Zipp would just screw it up. 

Glaring at Zipp's satisfied smirk, she took a deep breath and turned back around to face Sunny. "Actually, Sunny..." She paused, took a deep breath, and steeled herself. "There's more to it than that..." 

"Shoot," Sunny turned around to face Pipp and upon seeing her struggling face, sat down and looked at Pipp with sympathy. "Everything okay, Pipp?"

"Umm..." Pipp paused, really uncertain as to how to say this. Actually, she was uncertain about telling her at all. "You might want to sit down for this..."

Seeing as Sunny was already sitting, Pipp sat on the other side of the counter, across from her. After another deep breath, knowing it was now or never, Pipp launched into something resembling an explanation. "So...uhm...you know...umm..." 

What was Pipp doing? She'd never stuttered this much in her life. She's never been at a loss for words. She was Princess Pipp Petals. She live-streamed her life every day, talked to millions across Equestria on social media, and talked with fans multiple times a day. She was better than this. She would do this. 

"So...remember when Hitch competed in the Jinxie Games and we followed him because we were worried about our mom because she missed our mother-daughter brunch and...and we found out she was seeing Alphabittle?"

"Yeah, I felt really bad for Hitch. He worked so hard preparing for those games only to lose on every single one of them."

"Yeah, he did, didn't he." Pipp widened her eyes before stumbling on. "A-anyway, remember how uh...Zipp and I reacted.  How we weren't happy about it at first but then we realized how...happy mom was and...and with us gone from home how...how alone she felt and...and we didn't...understand how much we...we needed each other. How...wonderful it could be when...when we're all together. When...we're together..." Pipp trailed off. 

She thought about how if Sunny hadn't brought them all together, she never would've met Hitch. She couldn't help but think, would she have found somepony else? Or would she have ended up like her mother? Forced into an arranged marriage to keep the familial line going. She didn't want to think about that, but her mother was right. They didn't understand how much they needed each other and if it weren't for Sunny, they probably would've gone the rest of their lives blind to the potential relationships, friendship or otherwise, that could have been forged if they simply put their pride aside and took the first step.

"Pipp?" Sunny asked when Pipp trailed off and didn't say anything else, seeming to be lost in a world of her own. Sunny didn't know what Pipp was trying to tell her, but clearly, it was something important. It was starting to worry Sunny a bit. "Pipp? Is everything okay?"

Pipp looked up at Sunny, looking startled, eyes wide. "W-what?"

"What's wrong? You seem...out of it today."

"I...umm...I'm fine. Um...what...what was I talking about?"

"Well, you asked me how long I knew Hitch. Then you started talking about the Jinxie Games and your mom and Alphabittle and..." Sunny stopped, the mention of Queen Haven and Alphabittle being together forming a memory in her mind. One she almost completely forgot about. A memory from about a year ago. On the day they brought back magic. Sunny's eyes widened in surprise and understanding as her jaw dropped. "Oh. My. Hoofness."

Pipp read the expression on Sunny's face and braced herself for the blow she knew was coming. "Uh-oh."

"Oh my hoofness! Pipp, do you like Hitch?!" Sunny exclaimed, a broad smile on her face.

"Well, I uh...I do care for him I guess...I..." Pipp sighed in resignation. "Yes, I do. But, if you're totally not okay with it, then I'll—" Pipp stopped, not sure how to continue that sentence and not lie to Sunny. She'll what? Stop liking Hitch? She couldn't do that. Not pursue him? She wasn't sure she could do that either. She would certainly try, that's for sure. But, she wasn't sure how long she could keep that up until she couldn't stand it anymore.

Luckily, however, she didn't need to. Sunny was already on her hooves, practically jumping up and down, nearly as energetic as Izzy. "Okay with it?! Of course, I'm okay with it! Oh, my hoofness! Just wait until Hitch finds—" Sunny stopped herself, her whole body suddenly freezing up. 

She wanted to tell Pipp so badly. She wanted to tell her everything Hitch told her that day they brought back magic. How he thought he always knew he liked her, but just stopped denying it when he saw she was in danger. For the love of Twilight, she wanted to tell her so badly. But, Hitch confided those things in her under the impression that she'd keep it to herself. It wasn't her place to confess Hitch's feelings towards her. That was something Hitch had to do for himself, even if they were both too scared to say anything, and Sunny knew both of them liked each other. No, Sunny couldn't say anything. She had to slow her roll and let them sort it out themselves.

"I mean..." She finally said, trying to play it off cool. "That's...really amazing. I'm really...happy for you." Ugh, she was so bad at suppressing her emotions.

Pipp read Sunny's reaction, jumping to a different conclusion. "Oh no. I knew it!" Pipp groaned, dropping her head on the counter. "Hitch already likes somepony else. I should've known. I waited too long."

"What? No, he do—"

"It's fine, Sunny. No need to spare my feelings. I'm just the one who waited too long to do something. Ugh, I'm such an idiot! Is it another pegasus? No, don't tell me. I don't wanna know. Just tell me, am I going to see them trotting down the street together, holding hooves? Do I need to prepare myse—"

"He doesn't like anypony, Pipp!" Sunny yelled, panicking, hating how much Pipp was getting herself worked up over nothing.

There was a moment of silence where the sound of a pin drop could be heard. Both mares were frozen in place just staring at each other with wide eyes. As soon as Sunny saw Pipp's widened tear-filled eyes, she knew she screwed up. Royally. Of course, Pipp was freaking out. She thought the stallion she loved was in love with somepony else. She didn't know he already liked her. Only Sunny knew that. Now she basically just admitted that Hitch didn't like anypony, including her. Not in that way at least. She really messed up. 

"Wait, Pipp, I—"

"N-no, it's...it's f-fine," Pipp stuttered, her voice shaking and wavering, her bottom lip trembling. "I should've known he...he didn't...like anypony. I mean, Sparky alone takes up over half of his life. And...and whatever time isn't devoted to Sparky is devoted to M-maretime Bay!" Pipp sniffed, trying for a shaky smile and a light chuckle like this was all just some silly misunderstanding. 

Tears streamed down her cheeks though, breaking her facade. But Pipp held on to that facade like her life depended on it. "You're right. He...he doesn't have time in his life for...for that kind of...of relationship. I mean, that was stupid of me to think that he had time for...for me of all ponies. I-I mean, I foalsat Sparky. I-I know how much of a hoofful he is." Pipp quickly wiped her tears away, and sniffed, trying to hide how heartbroken she was. 

Pipp was surprised by how much her chest ached, knowing now that Hitch didn't like her back. But this was better though, wasn't it? At least now, Pipp didn't have to go confess her feelings to Hitch and make their friendship all awkward. At least now, Hitch didn't have to try and spare her feelings, trying to find the nicest way to tell her that he didn't like that way. Cause, that'd just be the kind of thing he'd do. Because he's just that kind. That's something she loved most about him. 

And little Sparky. He somehow made her feel so much better about herself by just putting together some embarrassing video of herself. And he was so cute. And Hitch was such an amazing dragon dad. He really loved Sparky. More than life itself. When Sparky went missing, he searched all over Maretime Bay for him. To be fair, Operation Glitter Bomb was a bit ridiculous, but who was she to judge? When her mother didn't show up for their mother-daughter brunch, she thought her mother had been ponynapped. She even begged Zipp to start an official investigation. If anything, Operation Glitter Bomb just showed how much he cared for Sparky. How he'd do anything for him. That was just how Hitch loved. When he loved somepony, he loved them with his whole heart. He put them first, before himself. Pipp should've done that before she selfishly started spouting out her feelings like an idiot. Hitch always was better than her.

"I uh...I-I got to uh...I gotta go," Pipp sniffed, quickly wiping away the tears with her hoof, trying to grasp any excuse that would get her out of there. "I-I uh...f-forgot...I have...something important I uh...need to get done...s-so I should go and...and do that." Pipp finished, standing up.

"Pipp, please, listen. It's not what you think—"

"Th-thank you for...uh...clearing things up. You s-saved me from acting like a complete f-fool out there, you know?" Pipp chuckled nervously, already starting to walk towards the exit, wiping more tears from her eyes. They wouldn't stop coming. Why wouldn't they stop coming? She needed to get out of there. She was rambling like an idiot and she needed to stop. She needed to get out of there. "I-I'll see you um...later. B-bye!"

Sunny started to run around the counter to chase after Pipp. "Wait! Pipp, stop! Please! Just let me explain!" 

But Pipp was already gone, bursting through the doors of the Crystal Brighthouse, taking to the air, tears now flowing down her face uncontrollably, sobbing into her hooves, her heart broken into a million pieces. She was such a fool. Such an idiot. Of course, he didn't like her like that. He never did. And it was stupid to think otherwise.





Sunny followed Pipp out of the kitchen, but when she skidded to a halt in the living room to run up the stairs to their shared room, she saw the front doors hanging open. She ran out of the Brighthouse, only to stop a couple of hoofsteps outside the pink doors. Sunny looked up at the sky, but it was void of any pegasi. Pipp was gone, completely heartbroken, and it was all Sunny's fault.
> We Take What We've Been Through; And We Can Feel Brand New
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sunny!" Zipp called, flying down and landing in front of Sunny, who was still standing at the entrance to the Crystal Brighthouse with the doors open. "Is everything okay? I saw Pipp fly out of here crying. What happened?"

"You did? Did you see where she went?" Sunny asked desperately, hoping to make things right. She felt horrible for just blurting that Hitch didn't like anypony in that way, especially since it broke Pipp's heart. Not to mention, Hitch would never forgive her if she didn't clear up this misunderstanding.

Zipp shook her head. "No. I just knew she wanted to talk to you, so I stuck around in case things went south. Did Hitch walk in on you while you were talking?"

"No, I—" Sunny paused, what Zipp said hitting her. "Wait, you knew?!"

"Of course, I knew. I'm her sister. What happened?"

Sunny hesitated, biting her lower lip. She felt guilty enough as it was. She certainly didn't need Zipp to bash her head in. But, she also needed to tell her. Maybe Zipp would have an idea about where Pipp went so that Sunny could explain what happened. 

Sunny was about to tell Zipp this when she paused. Explaining what happened means telling her Hitch liked her in that way. While Sunny was totally for the idea of Pipp finding this out, she also knew she shouldn't be the one to do this. It had to be Hitch who told her this, not Sunny. But at the same time, who knows what it'll do to Pipp if things aren't cleared up soon? Which left only one option. Hitch had to be the one to find Pipp. But, Sunny couldn't just tell Hitch outright what happened. That would mean telling Hitch what Pipp confided in Sunny, defeating the whole purpose. She might as well tell Pipp that Hitch liked her. Which means they needed a plan. And potentially some outside help. But first, Sunny needed to tell Zipp everything

So, that's what Sunny did. She explained the whole situation to Zipp, who listened with a blank expression. Once Sunny was finished, Zipp was silent for a moment before finally saying something. 

"I think I know where Pipp is, but I'll have to call my mom to find out. If what you say is true, Pipp won't answer her phone for anypony. Do you have any idea how to make it so Hitch is the one to find her?"

"I don't..." Sunny paused, racking her brain before a small smile spread on her face, the image of a purple unicorn with a blue mane popping into her head. "But I might have an idea of who does..."





Hitch chased Sparky around the sheriff's station, which was a complete and utter disaster. It looked like a tornado had gone through there. One did—a Sparknado. Hitch chuckled at his own ingenious, shaking his head.A sparknado. He really was a genius sometimes.

Suddenly, the doors to the sheriff's station burst open. Hitch skidded to a stop and looked up to find Sunny standing in the doorway, a panicked look on her face. Hitch's heart stopped in his chest. He didn't see that look on Sunny often, and when he did, it usually meant something really bad happened.

"Hitch, have you seen Pipp?" Sunny asked with no preamble. 

Hitch shook his head, his heart racing. Could they not find Pipp? Of course, they couldn't. If they could, they wouldn't ask if he'd seen her. Hitch clenched his jaw, preparing for the worst. 

"No. Why?" He said simply, his voice low and dangerous. 

"Umm...well...I went to the Crystal Brighthouse because I forgot something for my...smoothie cart. But when I got there...she wasn't there," Sunny paused, looking down as though trying hard to think. "And I uh...found her phone in her room." 

Sunny pulled something out of her blue bag. Something gold. It was Pipp's phone. He'd recognize that shiny gold phone case anywhere. He'd always joke with her about how bright it was when the sun hit it just right. In those moments, he almost said it was as bright as her cutie mark when she sang and it glowed and she was at her most beautiful. He did once, though thank hoofness Pipp didn't hear him. 

At seeing the phone, Hitch's heart stopped. Pipp never went anywhere without her phone. She always had it on her. She made it very clear that she'd always be available for her pipsqueaks when they needed her. She truly loved them. When they'd DM, she'd answer right away. She'd never leave her pipsqueaks stranded unless something horrible happened. 

Swallowing nervously, he took a deep breath before answering Sunny. "Alright, I have a few things here I need to take care of before we leave to go look. Why don't you head back to the Brighthouse and start coming up with a plan until I get there."

Sunny nodded before bolting from the sheriff's station. He stared after Sunny for a bit before turning to the phone. He had work to do.





Pipp sobbed as she flew high in the sky. No doubt her sister would know where she'd gone, but she didn't care. She just wanted to be alone. If she had to, she'd put royal guards at the entrance of her room to bar anypony access. She reached out for her phone in hopes of playing sad music on her way to Zephyr Heights, only to realize she left it on her nightstand in the Crystal Brighthouse. She wanted to have no distractions while she talked to Sunny and eventually, later on, confessed her love to Hitch. Only, things didn't go to plan. Clearly. 

Pipp wiped away tears as she entered Zephyr Heights. Ponies crowded in the streets, taking out their phone and snapping pictures of her. She didn't want anypony to see her tears, least of all her fans. She wanted to be strong for the pipsqueaks, to be a role model, a shoulder to lean on. You can't lean on something weak without breaking it. And she felt ready to crumble into a million pieces. 

She didn't even know she'd felt this much love towards Hitch. Who knew it'd take losing the potential of him as a coltfriend to finally realize how much she loved him? She just wished there was a better way to learn that lesson. 

She landed in front of the entrance to the castle, the royal guards bowing to her and opening the doors. She walked in, head drooped down, just looking at the floor, only a shell of the confident princess she used to be. The guards followed her, always staying just the right distance away to not seem rude or as though it's obvious they're eavesdropping, but also close enough to hear the conversation in case a threat or any signs of potential violence is made and be able to react quickly enough. There must be some royal event going on, one where guests are in the castle. Figures. 

Every once in a while, on the way to her room, a tear would escape her tight determination to hold it in, which was fraying at the edges, and she'd harshly swipe at it with her hoof as if it was the tear's fault she's so heartbroken and she's in this mess. There were a multitude of ponies Pipp wanted to blame for her predicament. Sparky, for taking 80% of Hitch's time. The citizens for taking the remaining 40%. Sunny for telling her the truth instead of going straight to Hitch herself. Zipp for giving her the idea that maybe, just maybe, it might all work out. Hitch himself for being so selfish as to have much in his life to consume him that he didn't have room for anypony else, even if it broke their heart. But she knew the only pony she could blame was herself. She was stupid enough to fall for a colt who already had so much in his life and dedicated 120% of his life to those around him. It was her fault for nurturing feelings of longing for a life she did not fit. 

Not paying attention to where she was walking, just the memorized route she'd walked so many times she could do it with her eyes closed, she ran into the one pony she wanted to avoid the most. Her mother. For a multitude of reasons.

"Oh my hoofness! Pipp, my darling! My baby! What happened?! Are you okay? Why are you crying? Did you hurt yourself? Did somepony do this to you? Who was it? No need to be afraid to tell me..." This was one of them.

Just as Queen Haven was about to turn her tirade to the guards for ignoring the "very obvious fact" that her daughter, their princess, was clearly in distress, Pipp interrupted, trying to look as...well, there were no good words except for not as crummy as she felt. 

"Mom, Mom, it's fine. It's nothing. I just...had a bad day and needed to let out some steam. I just came here to...be alone and...get away from all that." Pipp waved a dismissive hoof towards the door, trying for a smile that only seemed to make her mother more concerned. 

Queen Haven stared at her daughter for a silent moment before..."Where's Zephyrina? She's supposed to be looking out for you. That's one of the reasons she's in Maretime Bay and not here, learning from me how to be Queen when she inherits the throne. That was our deal. I really ought to talk with her—"

"No, Mom, it's nothing. Really. It's not Zipp's fault, it—"

"Well, I sure hope it's not Zephyrina's fault her little sister has come home in tears or we're going to have bigger problems, starting with her being grounded for the rest of her life. I'll find somepony else to take over as queen." 

"Mom, no, don't be dramatic. It's not Zipp's fault." Okay, if Pipp was being honest, this was the only reason she didn't want to run into her mother. Well, one out of two. "Zipp couldn't do anything about it, trust me." 

She definitely couldn't make Hitch love her, which was the only way to fix the situation. Either that, her taking her love away forever. Pipp shivered at the thought. Definitely not. 

"Look, Mom, don't worry about me. Just a rough day. Once I get some sleep, I'll feel so much better. Honestly, I think it's just a little homesickness." It was a lie, and they both knew it. Pipp visited Zephyr Heights enough that she couldn't get homesick, unlike Zipp, who seemed to avoid this place as much as she could. 

Looking like she's going to argue at first, Queen Haven eventually just sighs in resignation. "Alright, dear. Whatever you need to feel better."

Pipp gave her mother a soft smile, this one genuine. "Thanks, Mom."

"No problem dear. Now, I have to go speak with some royal dignitaries about searching Equestria for some...potential off-the-grid pegasi villages that may be out there and perhaps start a trade alliance of sorts. The work of a queen is never over. Are you sure you'll be alright by yourself?" 

The depth of that question was deep, even if Queen Haven didn't know it and Pipp couldn't help but answer honestly, even if her mother couldn't hear the whole thing. "Eventually." 

Queen Haven hugged her daughter one last time before briskly walking off to her next meeting. "I hope," Pipp muttered when her mother was gone, sighing heavily, another tear falling from her face. 





By the time Hitch got to the Crystal Brighthouse, Zipp, Sunny, and Izzy were already there, huddled in a tight circle, whispering about something. Suddenly, Izzy gasped, exclaiming "Oh my hoofness!" before putting her hooves to her mouth and mumbling a nearly incoherent "Sorry," at Sunny's and Zipp's warning glare.

"Uhh...guys?" Hitch asked cautiously, having no idea what they were planning. With Sunny, anything was possible.

They jumped, startled, and quickly separated. Sunny smiled at him "Oh! Hey Hitch! It's just...you."

Hitch narrowed his eyes on her. He wasn't fooled. And he wasn't stupid. Hitch has been best friends with Sunny since kindergarten. He grew up with her. He knows everything about her. And he knew that smile. That was her "I'm not up to anything and I'm totally not planning on breaking any laws or anything" smile. Which only made Hitch all the more suspicious. He stared intently into Sunny's eyes. Sunny could never lie to him while looking him in the eyes. 

"Am I...missing something?"  He asked, his eyes never leaving Sunny, making it clear he already knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it from Sunny. 

Sunny bit her lower lip and tried to look away, but her eyes would be drawn back to Hitch's intense stare. She stuttered a bit, but before she could give in, Zipp was suddenly standing directly in front of Hitch, a glare of her own in her eyes, blocking Sunny from view. Seeing the cover for what it was, Sunny happily blocked herself from Hitch as much as she could, standing a bit in front of Izzy. 

"Ya, you missed something," Zipp said, a bit of bitterness in her voice. "We've been busting our flank on putting together a plan to find my sister for the past forty-five minutes, while you've been off doing who knows what. What took you so long? I thought you said you were right behind Sunny."

Hitch paused for a moment, not quite sure how to respond. These mares were obviously up to something, but Hitch's main goal was to find Pipp. He swore to Maretime Bay itself that if something bad happened or anypony hurt her, he'd kill them. They thought Operation Glitterbomb was bad? They had no idea who they were up against.

"I said to go ahead to the Brighthouse to come up with a plan and I'd catch up but I have some things I needed to do first." He said, giving Sunny an "if you're going to relay a message at least relay it correctly" look. Sunny chuckled nervously, looking exhausted. Hitch looked back at Zipp. "Things like Sparky."

"Oh yeah, where is that cute little guy? I'm sure that guy would love to run around Zephyr Heights castle." Izzy said, before crouching down and narrowing her eyes with a smile. "He's playing hide and seek, isn't he?"

"No, he's not coming along on this one. If something bad happened to Pipp, if somepony did something...I don't want him to be caught in the middle. It's already bad enough that Pipp is." 

He also didn't want him there if he found the pony who hurt Pipp. He was glad Sparky wasn't there to see him with Operation Glitterbomb, but if he was face to face with the pony who hurt Pipp, he didn't think he'd be able to control himself or that his friends would be able to laugh off his reaction. It wouldn't be pretty. It'll be bad enough if his friends saw him like that, if Pipp saw him like that, but Sparky? He couldn't take his little deputy being disappointed in him, or worse, scared of him. 

Hitch had come to love Sparky like his own son, and the funny thing was, Sparky seemed to love Pipp too. It was like she was already a part of their little family of two. If Pipp was hurt, he didn't want Sparky to have to see that. It'd break his little heart. Heck, seeing Pipp hurt would break Hitch's heart. 

"So, where is he?" Izzy asked, tilting her head, a concerned look on her face. 

"Eh, I left him at the station. I called Grandma Figgy and asked if she could watch Sparky while we're gone. She's on her way right now."

"G-grandma Figgy? I-is on her way? R-right now?" Sunny asked, a worried look on her face. That was odd, she loved Grandma Figgy. 

"Where is he now?" Zipp asked, looking more curious than worried like Sunny was. "I know you don't trust him to be by himself at the sheriff's station if he barely behaves while you're there."

"I asked Rose Dust to grow him some poppy flowers from Earth Pony Magic. He's out like a light right now. Should be until Grandma Figgy gets there. So, what's the plan?"

There was a moment of silence before Zipp took a breath and finally spoke. "Um...Sunny and Izzy are going to head to Mane Melody to look for clues of where she might've gone or who might've taken her. Hitch, you and me are taking the Marestream to Zephyr Heights to do the same thing."

Hitch nodded, wishing Izzy and Sunny good luck. Izzy and Sunny did the same, Sunny hugging Hitch and saying that she hoped everything went okay. With that, Zipp and Hitch boarded the Marestream and took off. 

Sunny and Izzy stared up as the Marestream flew away, standing there for a moment as though not sure what to do. Then, without looking away from the retreating Marestream in the sky, Izzy said, "We should probably go intercept Grandma Figgy before she comes all the way here for nothing. Especially since we're not going to check Mane Melody since we already know where she is."

Sunny continued to look up at the sky. "Yeah, we probably should."





Pipp laid on her bed, and just stared at the ceiling, reprimanding herself for being so stupid as to leave her phone at the Crystal Brighthouse. Seriously. She takes that thing everywhere. Right now, she wished she had it so she could stare at a picture of Hitch with tears streaming down her cheeks. Oh well, that was fine. She'd have to settle for eating the weight of her grief in ice cream, the best friend of every mare who has ever been dumped. 

Pipp was just about to drag herself out of bed to ask one of the two guards standing in front of her room to get her some ice cream when there was a knock on her door. She froze, not making a single sound. She told the guards that nopony was to disturb her, which meant it was her mother. Only her mother could exceed her word, with her being the Queen and all. Twilight dammit. Pipp paused as she realized what she just thought. Damn, Sunny was rubbing off on her. 

"Pipp, darling, are you alright? It's Mom. I just came to check if you were alright."

Pipp chuckled nervously. There was no point in pretending that she wasn't there, not when there were two guards posted at her door.  "I'm fine, Mom. No need to worry. Just...laying down." 

"Pipp, darling, may I come in?"

Pipp's eyes widened and she quickly flew over to her vanity mirror.  "Uh...ya, one...one sec."

Pipp looked at her reflection. She was a mess: her eyes puffy and red from crying, her hair tangled, and her golden crown off center, bags under her eyes. How long has she been here crying? This was just ridiculous. All this over a colt? Because he didn't feel the same way she did. It's not like it was his fault. He couldn't control how he felt. He's just some other stallion that shouldn't cause such a...pathetic reaction. That's what it was: pathetic. Over some, handsome, loving, kind, sweet, funny, music-loving...she shook her head. She was hopeless. 

"Pipp? Is everything alright in there?" Queen Haven asked, knocking again. 

"Y-yeah, I'm just...tidying up in here. This place is a pigsty, you know?" Pipp looked around her pristine room. She needed to find better excuses. 

"Honey, we have servants and you haven't slept in here for a year. Do you...do you not...want me around?" Queen Haven didn't say it, but they could both hear the unspoken word anymore. 

Pipp hated how she was making her mother feel. And, it wouldn't hurt to get some things off her chest, right? That's why her mother was there. She smiled to herself. Sure, her pride might be wounded if her mother did the whole told you so thing, but her mother and she were close. She needed to stop shutting her out. 

"No, that's not it," Pipp said genuinely. "I just have to...spruce up a bit. I'm a mess." 

There was only silence. Pipp brushed her mane and straightened her crown. She wiped her eyes and looked at her face in the mirror. She flew into her bathroom and splashed her face with cold water. She looked at her face again. Well, it didn't do much, but it'd have to do. She then flew back into her room and opened the door, seeing her mother standing there with a concerned look on her face.

"Okay, Mom, c'mon in," Pipp said, opening the door wider, with a smile that was fooling nopony.

"Pipp, darling," Queen Haven started, walking into her room, Pipp closing the door behind her. "I know that whatever happened, you say it's nothing, but...it's clearly not nothing if it's bothering you this much. I just want you to know that if you want to talk, you can always come to me, and I'll listen. And who knows, perhaps I'll even have some advice. I mean, I was a teenager once. I'm sure I've been in similar situations as you were. I just want to try and fix things."

"I know you do, but..." Pipp looked down, blinking back tears. "I don't think you can fix this. You may be Queen of Zephyr Heights, but even you can't make somepony feel something they don't."

"Oh, colt trouble. Yes, I've definitely had my fair share of that." Queen Haven said with a light chuckle. 

"Mom!" Pipp said, appalled. "I so don't want to hear about that." 

"Pipp!" Queen Haven scolded, before sighing. "Honey, look. I may not be able to fix things the way you want, but I do know a listening ear can do wonders. And I might have advice for you. I have lived through this before." 

Pipp also let out a sigh, resigning to the fact that perhaps her mother was right. It might do some good to let it off her chest. And perhaps her mother would have some advice. Some magical cure-all for a broken heart.

"Fine." Pipp walked over and sat on her bed, Queen Haven following her and sitting at the end, waiting patiently for her to continue. "There's this colt I like who lives in Maretime Bay. We became good friends and I started having feelings for him around the time of the Jinxie Games..." Pipp sighed. She didn't want to tell Haven Hitch was the colt she liked, but with that little tidbit, she probably already figured it out. "I went to talk with his best friend, who's known him since they were foals, since we were friends too and I didn't want to lose her if this colt and I were together—"

"Oh, heavens. It isn't that Cloverleaf boy, is it?" Queen Haven said, sounding appalled, but trying to hide it for her daughter. 

"What? Eww, no. Mom, that's just...not if he was the last colt on earth. For the love of...he almost killed me. And my friends. And Zipp and you. He destroyed Sunny's home. He..." Pipp shivered, revulsion rolling through her. "We're not even friends, let alone...that." She shivered again in disgust. 

She couldn't even picture being around him that long to form feelings, and that's if she could even form feelings for him at all. Sure, she forgave him, but that was for her benefit and not his. They say holding a grudge only hurts you more than the pony the grudge is being held against. But she couldn't bring herself to be friends with him, or even talk to him more than necessary, and even that was a struggle. He might not admit it, but he tried to kill not just injure actually kill her family and friends a year ago. Her sister. Her mother. Herself. Sprout's lucky Hitch was kind and understanding enough to only make him give them all a sincere apology, make him pay for building the Crystal Brighthouse since he destroyed Sunny's old home, and force him to turn over his deputy badge, and not be charged for attempted mass murder like he would have been in Zephyr Heights. 

"Well, that's good. Otherwise, you, me, and your sister would be having a very long talk." Queen Haven said, obviously relieved.

Pipp chose to ignore that comment. "No, I...it's a different colt. A much better one, though that's not hard to do. Anyway, she seemed fine with it but..." Pipp paused, not wanting to continue. It was bad enough hearing it from Sunny and hearing it said in her head, but having to say it to herself, she wasn't sure she could do that.

Luckily, she didn't have to. "But he doesn't like you back." Queen Haven finished, not as a question but as a statement.  Pipp only nodded. "Does he like somepony else?" Pipp shook her head. Queen Haven nodded, as though she understood.

"It's not his fault." Pipp quickly defended, as if her mother would be mad that he doesn't have feelings for anypony. "I should've known he didn't. His life is so busy. Somepony he loves needs his constant care and on top of it he...needs to...work, so any free time he has when he's not taking care of his loved one is spent working. I should've known I wouldn't fit into his life." Pipp looked down at her hooves, a tear streaming down her face. 

Queen Haven was silent as she stared at her sullen daughter. Growing up, Pipp reminded her so much of herself, they're personalities were so much alike, and, yet, somehow, Pipp was so much better than she was. So much of a better pony than she ever was. Pipp, unlike her, was able to put aside her pride for the greater good and do something Haven was too scared to do herself. And she couldn't be more proud of her daughter for that. 

A long time ago, when her two daughters were born, she closed off the idea of loving anypony else but her daughters and her kingdom. Being queen made such a social life difficult, only adding more stress to juggle that she didn't need. And then she met her Alphie and he seemed to click into place. He was happy to be wherever she could fit him, understanding how hard her job was. Sure, it wasn't easy—nothing good in life ever is—but everything seemed to click for them. They found a way to work it out. 

And now here was Pipp, experiencing something seemingly similar. Except, this time, she seemed to be in the same position Alphibittle was in when he first realized he loved her. He was scared to admit his feelings because he wasn't sure if he'd fit into her life. He didn't want to cause her more stress than she already had. But when he couldn't hide it anymore, when they both decided to confess at the same time, he found small ways, little ways, to fit himself into her daily life, without causing her more stress. Like sending a flower bouquet with a sweet message every day. Sending audio messages about himself she could listen to as she worked. Facetiming her as they ate dinner as a date. Queen Haven had faith it would work out for Pipp as it did her; that one day, Pipp and this colt would be together. She could see how much Pipp loved this colt, and Queen Haven could only hope this colt would love her back just as much. 

"Pipp, dear, may I ask you a question?" Pipp nodded and, hesitating for only a second, Queen Haven continued. "If you met your friends early in life, met them perhaps a year before you did, do you think you would've been friends with them?"

Pipp hesitated, not sure how to answer. She thought about her life a year before she met Sunny, Hitch, and Izzy, and about who she was then. She remembered how much she had changed in that year. She still loved her pipsqueaks, and that would never change, but during the time she met her friends, she had already begun to feel...unfulfilled in life. Her whole life, she had been content, happy, and sure of who she was and what she wanted in life. But that year, she began to question things. Questioned if she wanted to be who she was now her whole life. If she didn't want things to change. She felt more open to the possibility that there might be more out there in Equestria than castle walls, spa treatments, social media fame, and royal life. 

The night she was caught upside down in the middle of the party in the throne room, in front of everypony in Zephyr Heights, when she overheard her sister bringing up the possibility of bringing back magic and that the unicorns might be able to help, she felt some small part of her excite at the idea. Of going to unknown lands—well, unknown to the pegasi—and bringing back something that had been lost for generations. Something thought to be a myth. Something no pegasi had been able to do. But, she wasn't as courageous as her sister. The idea of leaving home to go who knows where, in hopes of asking for help from who knows who, who would do who knows what to her upon seeing her. She wasn't stupid. She didn't think that just because she was a teenage princess with great charisma, they'd restrain from capturing her and holding her prisoner for trespassing. Travel between pony territories was forbidden. She didn't want to go missing in some foreign land full of foreign ponies. Her subjects needed her. They needed their subjects. 

So when every pegasus in Zephyr Heights found out the royals couldn't fly and they became criminals, it was just the push Pipp needed to do exactly what her sister wanted to do, that thing that had excited some small part of her. She was more willing. The seeds had already been planted during the year that led to that day and it slowly opened her mind to the idea. A year before, however, she was already so happy, her life was so perfect, she would've gone along with her mother to spin the story so they'd love her again. She hadn't begun to question her whole life. Her life felt fulfilled. 

"No." Pipp finally said. "I wouldn't have. I would've done what you wanted and spun the story so they'd love us again. But, during the year that led up to that day, the love of everypony didn't feel like it was the most important thing in the world. It didn't feel...enough. I had begun to want more in life. But, before that, it had been. I was happy. I had no reason to be friends with ponies I believed to be my enemies."

"You weren't the same pony the day you met your friends as the one you were a year before. Your life had changed, you had changed, and somehow, everything just clicked and now you and your friends are closer than you ever would've been had you met earlier. Perhaps your life would be different had you met them earlier. It's the same thing when it comes to your special somepony."

Pipp looked up at her mom, confused. "What do you mean?" 

"When I first met Alphabittle—"

"Ew! Mom! Look, I'm glad you found somepony to spend your life with, but I don't wanna hear your love story. I'll live without hearing the—"

"Pipp Petals! Please, grow up. You're nineteen now. You'll live. I'm trying to give you advice and you're being incredibly immature!" 

Pipp silenced herself and nodded. Her mother always was good at giving advice and it was her advice that helped her navigate through life. She needed her mother's advice to navigate through this because she had no idea what to do. She wanted to hear what her mother had to say, even if some of those things grossed her out. 

"Now, as I was saying when Alphabittle and I first met, we hated each other. Even after your friend Sunny Starscout convinced us to come together in friendship, we were both much too prideful to have more than a professional relationship with each other. And even when Alphie realized he loved me, if he confessed his love then, it still wouldn't have worked out."

"Because you didn't love him?"

"No. Then, I knew I cared about him, more than just a friend, feelings you don't typically feel with a friend. Had he confessed his love, I would've realized what those feelings were and confessed back. But, it wouldn't have worked out because I wasn't ready to be in a relationship yet, even though I didn't know that until now, looking back. Then, I was still so worried about you girls. Worried about how you were settling into your new home. Worried about whether or not Zephyrina would come back to train to be queen. Worried about whether we'd drift apart. Worried about if you girls would..." Queen Haven trailed off, not wanting to make her daughter feel worse than she already did. 

"About if we would approve?" Pipp finished, feeling herself wilt in shame. She hated how she and her sister reacted when she found out their mother and Alphabittle were seeing each other. And she hated that her mother knew they'd react that way, despite how happy Alphabittle made their mother. 

Queen Haven sighed. "Yes. But, eventually, I realized I didn't care what other ponies thought. I realized that you girls would be fine, that you could take care of yourselves, and that if you ever needed anything, you'd come home. And I realized that when Zephyrina was ready, she'd come back to train. She wouldn't leave Zephyr Heights to fend for itself. It was around that time Alphabittle asked me out. 

"What I'm trying to say is that sometimes, when you meet the pony you're meant to spend the rest of your life with, the timing just isn't right. Sometimes, you're both not ready to be with each other. But, perhaps, in the future, you'll both be in a position in life to be open to that kind of relationship. Yes, this colt you like doesn't like anypony right now, but maybe that's because his life is too full for anypony else right now. Perhaps when his life dies down, when he settles down, he'll realize his feelings for you. You ponies are just so young right now and you both have your whole lives in front of you. You're only nineteen, Pipp. Give it time. Don't give up yet. Doesn't mean he's not ready for you now, doesn't mean he won't ever be." 

"Your Majesty?" A voice called from the doorway, a small knock coming. There was a stallion in a guard uniform, standing in the doorway, giving a small bow. He stood up, pulling a phone from his wing feathers. "Your daughter, Princess Zephyrina Storm, is calling you. She said it's urgent."

"It's probably about me," Pipp guessed with a shrug. "Just tell her I'm okay and that she doesn't need to worry about me. I'm here safe. I just need some time to think about things."

Queen Haven nodded, hugging her daughter, before walking out, grabbing her phone from the guard, and closing the door behind her. Pipp stayed on her bed, staring down at her hooves, thinking about everything her mother just said. 





Hitch and Zipp bolted into the throne room, both of them out of breath. They panted as they looked around, looking for Queen Haven. She was supposed to meet them there. She needed to do so, lest Hitch gets suspicious and the whole plan turns to dust. 

Suddenly, Zipp and Hitch heard footsteps behind them, and despite knowing that Pipp wasn't missing and everything was okay, Zipp still tensed. But, fortunately, it was just a serious-looking guard. Zipp didn't recognize him, but, to be fair, she hadn't been here very often in a year and when she did live here, she didn't exactly pay attention to who was who when it came to the guards. If she's pretty honest, Zipp was pretty much only focused on herself and her own thing when she lived here. She didn't pay attention to anypony else but herself, like how much she didn't want to be Queen, how she wished she could fly, and how to get as close to that feeling as possible. She practically ignored her sister. Her mother. It was a realization that hit her like a punch in the gut. She really was self-centered when she lived here. She'd always get after Pipp for being so self-centered with her social media, but Zipp was no better. At least Pipp was focusing on her subjects and her pipsqueaks. She shook her head. She'll worry about that later on. Now, she just had to continue with the plan. 

"What are you doing here? Where's my mom?" Zipp asked, trying to sound accusatory for Hitch's sake, but the guard hardly even blinked at her charade, making her wonder how good of an actress she really was.

"Your mother wanted me to give you this, your majesty." The guard said dully after a quick bow to her. This guard's personality was so different from Zoom's and Thunder's. Actually, she felt more intimidated than he did when she tried to be intimidating and he was the one who served her. 

The guard walked up to them and gave Zipp an envelope. She opened it and looked it over:

'Dear Zephyrina,

I'm so sorry I couldn't be there to greet you. I've missed you and was looking forward to seeing you after so long, but I'm afraid something came up. Some important meetings with my financial advisors of the city or some sort. I just wanted to let you know that the stage is set, and everything is ready for Hitch to find her and confess their love for each other. Yes, dear, I know. While Pipp didn't tell me his name, she did tell me she liked a colt who she was friends with and that another one of her friends had known him since they were foals. After your call about Hitch, it wasn't that hard to put the pieces together. Anyway, good luck and I sincerely hope everything goes as planned, for your sister's sake. She's a wreck and it's breaking my heart to see her so heartbroken. Mommy loves you. —Mom'

Zipp rolled her eyes, putting the letter back in the envelope. Of course, she figured it out. Her mother wasn't an idiot. Maybe Zipp was betting on Pipp not venting her feelings and what happened. Anyway, it didn't matter that their mother knew. What mattered was getting Hitch to Pipp. Zipp never thought in a million years she'd be playing matchmaker, but here she was. Well, stranger things have happened, maybe. Zipp just couldn't think of them at the moment.  

"Here's the key, Princess." The guard said, giving her a gold key with Pipp's cutie mark on it. "Her Majesty didn't want the room disturbed until you or your friend had a chance to look at it." Haven must've told the guard the plan too. Makes sense.

Zipp dismissed the guard before turning to Hitch, handing out the key. "Alright, Hitch. You check Pipp's room, I'll check the rest of the castle."

"M-me? W-why? Don't you think that's a tad bit inappropriate? Shouldn't it be you?" Hitch's face blushed a bright red and his forehead began to sweat. His heart raced and pounded out the thought of being in the room of the mare he loved alone. 

Zipp rolled her eyes, trying to go for annoyed, while inside she prayed it'd work. "No, because I know this castle best. If you search the castle you'll get lost not to mention you don't even know where to look or what to look for. At least in Pipp's room, you can narrow it down."

"T-then shouldn't we look together? Don't you think it'll be a bit weird if I went in there..." Hitch looked around before leaning into Zipp and whispering like it was some big secret, "Alone?" 

"It'll be faster if we split. And we want to find her as quickly as possible. Right?"

Hitch sighed in defeat and nodded. He took the key from Zipp, put it in his bag, and walked down the hall, exiting the throne room to follow the guard waiting outside. The guard led him silently to Pipp's room, all the while Hitch's stomach was in knots. It was one thing to hang around the mare he loved every day, practically all day, but a whole other to be snooping around her room by himself. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and went into sheriff mode. A state in mind he often went into when he couldn't let emotions interfere with his job. A state where he'd suppress all emotions so he could do what needed to be done. 

Finally, they arrived in front of a pink magnificent door with Pipp's cutie mark discreetly carved all over the wood. Two guards were posted in front of it. The guard nodded to the two of them, and the three guards walked away in formation, leaving Hitch alone. That's odd. Shouldn't they wait outside in case something were to happen? Who knows, the pony who took Pipp might be lying in wait in her room. Or, what if Hitch found something? Shouldn't a guard be ready to confiscate it or go find Zipp? Or what about when he was done? Shouldn't they wait to escort him to wherever he needs to go next so he doesn't get lost? 

Hitch shrugged it off. They were clearly given their orders and they were simply following them. Hitch trusted that the queen, or Zipp, or whoever gave the orders, knew what they were doing. He took another deep breath, closed his eyes, and stuck the key into the keyhole. He then slowly, quietly, as though scared to disturb a pony who probably isn't even in there, turned the key, and then slowly, but surely before he could talk himself out of it, opened the door, stepping in. 

The lights were off and the curtains were closed, the added empty look of it almost making it look abandoned. He looked around, his eyes passing the bed before locking on it. There was a form. A small form was lying on the bed. It was too dark to see who it was, but Hitch's heart stopped. The form looked familiar. He quickly found the light and switched it on, gasping in shock, before relief overwhelmed him.

"Pipp! Thank hoofness you're okay. We were so worried about you!"

Pipp groaned slightly. "Tell my mother that I'm fi...wait!" Pipp sat up, looking at the intruder with wide eyes. "H-Hitch?!"





Sunny and Izzy were chasing Sparky around the office. Correction, Sunny was chasing him around the office. Izzy was encouraging him to mess up the office as much as he could, chasing him around with her phone to videotape the whole thing, claiming Hitch would want these for the memories. Yeah, Izzy was no help at all.

"Izzy! Can you help me out here?!" Sunny yelled after yet again, falling on her face after being very close to catching Sparky.

Izzy scoffed. "You'll never catch him like that. Just let him keep going. Trust me, he'll run out of energy soon and pass out. Let his creativity run wild!" Izzy exclaimed, raising her hoof. 

"Wild? Try utter disaster!" Sunny stood tall, trying to look around desperately. Sparky just disappeared. "Or gone!"

"He's not gone," Izzy said, pulling a little dragon out from under the desk by the foot with her magic. "He's right he—oof!" 

Sparky had accidentally hit her horn with his clawed hands while he was squirming, causing her magic to dissipate and him to go crashing to the floor. Sunny gasped, starting to gallop towards him, but skidded to a stop when he stood up, giggling again. Sunny grunted and resumed the chase all over again, but this time, not only did Izzy encourage him, but she was helping him!

"Ugh! Izzy! Stop!" Sunny shouted, running into a wall. She tried to stand up, only to stumble backward and land on her flank, the world looking like it's been tilted on its side. "Ugh, Hitch is going to kill us." Sunny's voice sounded as wobbly as she felt. 

Suddenly, she heard a ringtone and she instantly stood up, stumbling a bit. She saw Sparky running to her phone and galloped. Not the phone. Not the phone! She ran as fast as she could, adrenaline only making her faster. She got there before him and scooped up the phone before Sparky's dragon fire could touch it. She smirked smugly, only for him to laugh and giggle and blow a puff of fire right at her hoof. The one holding the phone. It transformed into a chocolate chip cookie, which he promptly jumped up to grab and took a huge bite out of. Sunny stared at him, speechless, when the entire office grew silent. Well, apart from Izzy's quiet "uh oh". 

Suddenly, another ringtone rang. Sunny recognized it as one of Pipp's songs and saw her phone on the desk. "Izzy! Grab it before Sparky does!" Laughing and gurgling, Sparky stood up with cookie in hand and started running for the desk. "Don't let him have it! Pipp is going to kill us if Sparky gets ahold of that thing!"

That seemed to spur her into action, her horn lighting up and a magical aura surrounding the phone. It flew up into the air just before Sparky's claws wrapped around it. It slowly floated over to Sunny, landing on her hoof as she breathed a sigh of relief. Sparky pouted, grabbing his clawed feet with his clawed hand. Izzy consoled Sparky, floating over with her magic paper, crayons, scissors, and a piece of cardboard and crafting a fake phone, giving him it to replace the one he wanted to steal. Sparky smiled up at her as he grabbed it, and used his dragon fire magic to transform it into a piece of cake, which he also promptly ate.

Sunny shook her head with a smile, before looking down at Pipp's phone to see who was calling. The caller I.D. simply said 'Sis'. That must be Zip. She quickly answered, giving her a shaky hello, her entire body tingling with nerves as she glanced around the office. Hitch was going to kill her when he came back. 

"Hey, Sunny. Everything's going to plan and the stage is set. Hitch just went into her room and the targets are secured." Zipp said her face and a key with Pipp's cutie mark appearing on the screen. "How're things on your end?" Zipp asked, 

"Uhmm..." Sunny let out a nervous chuckle, looking around the station again. "Well...the office is a disaster, the furniture's been made into an obstacle course, my phone is in the stomach of a baby dragon in the form of a cookie, and right now..." Sunny glanced around the office, funding Sparky and Izzy drawing with a bunch of crayons. On the wall.  "Sparky and Izzy are drawing on the walls. Other than that, umm...everything's great!"





"Hitch?!" Pipp asked incredulously, staring at Hitch in shock. What in the hay was he doing in her room? "What are you doing here?!"

"Looking for you!" Hitch answered, almost accusingly, as if she did anything wrong. Like he's not in her room without permission. "What are you doing here?!"

"Umm...this is my room! What do you mean what am I doing here?! Get out of my room!"

"I'm not leaving until you explain things! What in the hay is going on?!" He blinked, taking a closer look at Pipp. Specifically her eyes. "Have...have you been crying?" Hitch's face quickly morphed from embarrassment to concern at seeing her cry.

Pipp quickly looked away, swiping a hoof at her face to wipe away the tears. "No. I'm not. Get out." Pipp said in a low and dangerous voice. 

"My pleasure. Zipp, Sunny, Izzy, and I are going to have a few words when I get back to Maretime Bay." Hitch grumbled under his breath, stalking to the door. He reached out a hoof, grabbed the handle, and turned it, only for it to catch. He turned again only for it to stay stubbornly fixed in place. "What the hay?" Hitch muttered.

"What did I tell you? Get. Out. Of. My—" Pipp paused when she turned to look at Hitch, trying to turn a stubborn knob, pushing himself against a door that stubbornly stayed in place. Oh no. This wasn't good.

"I...can't..." He said, gritting his teeth as he repeatedly rammed his whole body against the door. "It's...locked. Ugh!" He threw himself against it. When that didn't work, he then turned around, stood on his forelegs, and used his rear ones to buck at the door. "C'mon....budge!" He said in between kicks, but the door didn't even crack, let alone break open.

Pipp froze, watching Hitch buck at the door in vain. "It won't. It's a special door. One that's used to either keep an intruder trapped or keep one out. A safety thing...in case somepony were to break into the castle."

Hitch groaned, giving up and turning to look back at Pipp. "Okay, what's the deal here? Why are you trying to lure me here?"

"Lure you?!" Pipp was taken aback that he'd accuse her of something like this when he was here in her room for no reason and all she wanted to do was wallow in her sorrow as far away from him as possible. "You're the one who came into my room uninvited!" Pipp paused before asking. "How did you get in here anyway?"

"Zipp...she told me to search in here while she searches the castle. She gave me a...key..." Realization dawned on Hitch, his eyes widening. "You don't think..."

"Oh yeah, she totally did. And she is so totally dead! Gimme your phone." Pipp held out her hoof, her face blushing a bright crimson.

She didn't understand why Zipp would stoop so low. Zipp loved her, didn't she? Why would she trap Pipp with a stallion she loved who didn't love her back? Was she just trying to humiliate her? Why in Equestria would she do this? Was her sister this stupid?

Hitch hesitantly handed Pipp his phone after seeing the look on her face. Pipp dialed the number and it rang, only for it to go straight to voicemail. Ugh. Zipp was so dead. 

"Umm...may I ask...if you weren't trying to lure me...why did you leave your phone at the Brighthouse?"

Pipp rolled her eyes. "Because I didn't want any distractions while I talked with Sunny abou—" Pipp stopped abruptly, realizing she was about to spill her guts and completely humiliate herself.

"About...?" Hitch asked, waving his hoof for Pipp to continue. 

Another tear rolled down Pipp's face. She turned her head away, putting Hitch's phone on her bed. "Nothing. It doesn't matter. We sorted everything out." Pipp said dismissively, wiping away yet another tear.

Hitch slowly approached Pipp, sitting on the bed next to her, seeing a tear roll down her face. Something was clearly wrong, and he couldn't shake the feeling that Sunny may have had something to do with it. He may have known Sunny her whole life, but he felt a certain connection to Pipp. He wasn't sure if Pipp felt it, but he felt like he knew her. Like all they needed were each other and everything would be okay. And the way she responded when he asked what she talked to Sunny about, he knew it wasn't all sorted.

"Pipp, you know you can talk to me, right?"

"I said it's nothing and I said I'm fine! Why do you keep asking me if I'm okay after I clearly said I am?!" Pipp snapped, turning to look at Hitch, forgetting about her tear-stained face, the emotions she'd been suppressing all day exploding out of her. This was exactly why Pipp didn't want to be around Hitch. Because she didn't know if she could control herself or not.

"Because you're clearly not fine if you've been here the whole time crying! And since we're locked in here as some sick prank from your sister and Sunny, I thought I'd check in on you!"

"Well, I'm fine! Why can't you just leave me alone?!" Pipp jumped off the bed, glaring daggers at Hitch.

"Why won't you trust enough to tell what in the hay is going on?!" Hitch yelled back, also jumping off the bed. 

He didn't know why he was so insistent that Pipp told him what was going on. Pipp clearly didn't want to talk about it, but something kept trying to dig it out of her. He felt it was important, and the way she looked at him, with tears in her eyes, like it hurt just to be in the same room with him, broke his heart. He loved her and he wanted to fix whatever was hurting her, but he couldn't shake the feeling that it was him who had made her so upset. He just didn't know what he did to make her hate him so much.

"Because I just need time to sort it out! And you're the last pony I want to be around right now!"

"Why?! Why do you hate me so much right now?! What did I do to you?! How can I fix it?!"

"You can love me back, dammit!" 

Pipp's eyes widened as what she just blurted out sunk in. Hitch was staring at her with wide eyes and Pipp's cheeks blushed a crimson red. No, she didn't want to say that. She didn't want to tell him until she was sure he liked her back. Now...now everything was ruined. Their friendship. Their easygoingness. Maybe even their future. All because of her. Because she couldn't keep her damn mouth shut. 

She made a small noise that almost sounded like a whimper and dashed into the bathroom, slamming and locking the door behind her. She fell to the floor, leaning against the door, and sobbed into her hooves, knowing she screwed everything up because she was such a stupid idiot. 

Hitch just stared at the spot Pipp had stood in shock, not believing any of it. But her words rang through his head. "You can love me back, dammit!" Did...did she love him? He turned and slowly walked up to the bathroom door, hesitating for a couple of seconds before softly knocking on the door with his hoof. Silence was his only answer. He waited for a while before knocking again. 

"Go away, Hitch! Please! Just go away." Pipp begged, unable to even think of him without crumbling in modification.

Hitch took a deep breath and leaned against the bathroom door, sitting against it. He looked down at the floor, staying silent, not sure what to say. How can he start this kind of conversation? He wasn't even sure she liked him like that. Yes, she said it, but...was it true? Or did she mean it in some other way? 

Luckily, he didn't need to think about it long. "It's fine, Hitch!" Pipp's voice called through the door. "You don't have to like me back. I know how full your life is. I'm sure these feelings will go away...at some point. You don't have to pity me. I don't want to cause you any more stress. I don't want you to have to worry about me." Pipp gasped when she realized she sounded exactly like her mom said Alphabittle felt when he realized he had feelings for her mom she didn't know whether to be grossed out that she was turning out like her mother, or hopeful that like her mother's relationship, things for her and Hitch would work out.

"Why do you think I don't like you back?" Hitch asked.

"Because Sunny...I had talked to her about it...she said you didn't like anypony and..."

Hitch softly chuckled to himself, everything clicking together. That's why Sunny planned this whole thing. She was playing matchmaker. Oh, Hitch was so going to get her back for this good. 

"Pipp, she only said that because she knew I liked you." 

Pipp's head shot up, her eyes wide. "W-what?"

"Yeah. I told her the day we brought back magic. Well, she actually sort of figured it out on her own. She probably panicked and told you to keep my secret."

Pipp scooted back and unlocked the door. Hitch heard the lock click and he slowly reached up, grabbed the handle, and slowly pushed the door open. Pipp was sitting there, staring back at him, her face tear-stained, her heart racing. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Hitch liked her back all this time and didn't say anything? She couldn't believe her ears. 

"Y-you had feelings for me for a year and you didn't say anything? Why?"

Hitch rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a light chuckle. "I wasn't sure if you liked me back. I was still too shy and I didn't want to ruin our friendship."

Pipp looked down, for some reason feeling bad that all that time, she didn't like him back, not until about a month ago, even though she couldn't control how she felt. "I...I didn't. Not until the Jinxie Games. After I saw the way you risked what you worked so hard to get just to save Sparky like that, I realized that...that you're the kind of stallion I've been dreaming about being with my whole life. The way you protect Maretime Bay, and how much you care about the citizens, reminds me of how much I care about Zephyr Heights and my pipsqueaks. I know it doesn't make much sense, but..."

Hitch grabbed her hooves, putting them to his chest, dropping his forehead onto hers. "Hey, it doesn't have to make sense. As long as we love each other, we'll get through anything. Hoof to heart."

"Hoof to heart..." Pipp repeated, before she and Hitch kissed, no words needed to express their love. They fit together like puzzle pieces. Like the harmony and melody in a song, creating a perfect pitch.