Author's Note

CONTENT WARNING: PHYSICAL VIOLENCE/ASSAULT, DESCRIPTION OF INJURY

I am sorry for the long hiatus after the previous chapter. I had seen a number of people explain that the Sprout x Hitch ship is apparently toxic, and I felt too miserable to continue writing as I don't want to offend anyone. While my passion for Spritch has definitely dwindled out of guilt, I will try to finish this story for the sake of the people who do like it.

Also, I realize most of the chapters have been redundant, but I promise this is the last chapter with a failed confession haha.

Takes the Cake

Sprout opened his eyes as the blissful refuge of sleep released its hold on him, and he found himself in unfamiliar surroundings. He was staring at a sleek white wall and a neatly organized shelf, there were no empty pizza boxes or discarded smoothie cups in sight, and the bed he was on was way more comfortable than his own--lacking the loose springs that usually poked his side every night. This wasn't his room! But he calmed down as he gradually recalled the fact that he had fallen asleep at Hitch's house the prior night. The only thing that needed explaining now was the feeling of... a foreleg around his torso!?

He jolted as he realized somepony was right behind him, all snuggled against his back. He glanced down at the hoof resting on his midsection... It was brown, and undoubtedly belonged to Hitch. Immediately, Sprout's heartbeat and breathing quickened as he lay still with wide eyes. He was certain Hitch had left to sleep on the sofa! What's he doing here!?

Sprout's fight-or-flight instinct told him to jump out of bed and run away screaming, but he didn't want to risk waking Hitch up. Trying his best to swallow his panic and ignore the blush burning his cheeks, he awkwardly broke free of Hitch's unconscious embrace and stepped out of bed. He let his gaze rest on Hitch for a moment. He thankfully hadn't stirred, but the blanket had mostly slipped off of him. Sprout walked around to the other side of the bed and tenderly drew the blanket back over Hitch. A small, soft smile subconsciously crossed Sprout's face as he observed the love of his life sleeping peacefully.

I better get out of here... He might wake up soon, and I DON'T feel like talking to him right now!

After watching Hitch sleep for a few seconds longer, he turned away and trotted out the room...

Sprout managed to sneak back home before Phyllis woke up, and later that morning, they had breakfast together--deliciously fluffy pancakes topped with maple syrup and, in Sprout's case, tons of whipped cream. He loved his mom's pancakes as they always put him in a good mood, at least for a little while. But his pleasant mood was cut short when his mom started interrogating him as soon as they had finished eating.

"By the way, where were you last night? I was so worried!"

Sprout's nervous gaze darted about before finally meeting his mom's. For whatever reason, he didn't want to admit to his mom he was getting closer to Hitch. "Uh... I was at Hitch's house. Fulfilling my duties as his assistant, that is."

Phyllis narrowed her eyes skeptically. "All night?"

He responded with a fervent nod. "Yep! I had to um... vacuum his ceiling and uh... dust his underwear. It was a lot of work."

Before Phyllis could say anything else on the matter, there was a knock at the door. "I'll get it!" Sprout exclaimed, scrambling out of the dining chair in his eagerness to escape his mother's prying questions. He trotted up to the front door and swung it open, only to turn into stone when he was confronted by Hitch.

"Sprout! You dare leave without saying goodbye? And after we slept together, no less!"

"AH! W-what are you doing here? And you really need to learn how to word things better!" Sprout glanced over his shoulder at Phyllis, who was peeking out of the kitchen with a suspicious expression.

Hitch tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean? In any case, I'm here because I have an important favor to ask of you. I'm in a bit of a rush right now, but could you bake a cake?"

"A cake? But I suck at baking," Sprout responded with a perplexed frown.

"You suck at being leader, but that didn't stop you from trying to be sheriff and then an emperor," Hitch pointed out in a lighthearted tone. "Anyway, I will be back to pick up the cake at around noon. Got it?"

He knew it was said in jest, but Sprout still winced in response to Hitch's jab. "Uh, okay then."

Hitch was swiftly on his way, and Sprout shut the door. He had no idea why Hitch wanted him to make a cake, but maybe it was some kind of test. And he hated tests. Whatever the reason, I'm not doing it! And nothing could change my mind.

Phyllis came trotting up behind him. "Now that you've finished talking with Hitch, sugarcube, could you help out with the chores? I need you to wash the dishes and do the laundry and scrub the shower and--"

"I can't!" Sprout loudly interjected. "Hitch asked me to make a cake. Very important."

"A cake?" Phyllis was just as baffled as her son was. "Is it as important as vacuuming his ceiling?"

Sprout groaned and trotted back to the kitchen. "Just let me do this! We shouldn't disappoint the sheriff, right?"

While Sprout set about making all the preparations for baking the cake, including seeking out a recipe in one of his mom's cookbooks and gathering all the necessary ingredients, his desire to confess to Hitch filled his mind again. He had been trying his best to stomp out his feelings, believing them to be a lost cause, but the time he had spent with Hitch the previous day made him more lovesick than ever. Hold on... What if he used the cake to tell Hitch how he felt?

It was the perfect plan. All he had to do was write his feelings on the cake with icing, and all his dreams would come true from there!

Some time later, the entire kitchen was a mess of flour, broken egg shells, and spilled sugar. But the cake was done and baked to completion! Well, perhaps it was baked beyond completion, because it was a little burnt, to say the least. No matter. Sprout hid away its crispy appearance by covering it in vanilla frosting, and then he filled a piping bag with red icing. Sticking his tongue out as he concentrated, he carefully wrote "I LUV HICTH" on the top of the cake. His heart pitter-pattered just by writing those words!

He let out a startled yelp when he heard knocking at the door again. It was almost noon! He rushed to the door to answer it, and sure enough, Hitch was waiting on the other side. He was pulling a cart filled with white boxes of assorted sizes. Sprout stared, momentarily distracted by his own curiosity.

"Did you bake a cake like I asked?" Hitch questioned.

"Oh! Uh... Y-yeah, I did! I'll go get it." Sprout tried his hardest to not stumble over his words, but it was difficult knowing he was mere minutes away from presenting his confession to Hitch.

While Hitch waited on the doorstep, Sprout went to fetch his cake from the kitchen. He felt jittery with excitement, but he was oh-so nervous too. He told himself if Hitch was too dumb to understand this confession, he would never make any attempt ever again! He was exhausted from trying only to get his heart broken each time. He carefully held onto the plate with the cake using a foreleg and made his way back to Hitch.

While Sprout approached, Hitch shot him a friendly smile, and Sprout's gaze quickly fell to the floor as his nerves felt like they were going on the fritz.

"H-h-here's the cake..." he said in a meek voice.

Hitch peered at the cake and then squinted as he struggled to read the iced-on words. "Does that say 'I love Hitch'?"

Sprout turned his head to the side and slowly nodded, too shy to face him.

There were a few consecutive moments of silence. Hitch's ears flattened before twitching as if he was trying to process how to react. Then he exclaimed, "That's a great idea! Everypony in town loves me, so I'm sure somepony at the bake sale will be dying to get their hooves on this!"

Now Sprout was staring at Hitch. "Huh?"

"Oh right! Let me explain. The school's holding a bake sale right now, but they couldn't make enough treats and the students are really struggling to meet their goal. So I asked some citizens to pitch in and offer up cakes for the sale! Isn't that great?"

"Oh. I didn't know..." Sprout's head and ears and tail all drooped with despair. He should have known things wouldn't go his way! He was too much of a failure and Hitch was too dumb and the universe hated him far too much.

Hitch glanced at the cake again before his gaze seemed to latch onto Sprout. "You didn't?"

"Nope."

There was another moment of silence, and then Hitch swished his tail. "Hm. Anyway, I better bring all these cakes and pastries to the bake sale now. See if there's a box you can put your cake into, and then I want you to come with me so you can help me sell them," Hitch said.

"Come to the bake sale? But everypony hates me! Nopony's gonna buy anything from me," Sprout retaliated.

Hitch stepped forward and gently nudged Sprout's cheek with his muzzle, causing his distress to be temporarily extinguished in favor of a welcome, fuzzy sensation that warmed his heart. "It'll be okay, Sprout. I'll be there with you, so there's nothing to worry about."

The school bake sale was taking place at the park. Hitch loaded a stall with all the baked goods he had collected from the kind citizens of Maretime Bay, including Sprout's "I LUV HICTH" cake... which was now unfortunately unreadable due to how the icing had melted and oozed down the cake. Naturally, many of the attending ponies were delighted to see their beloved sheriff running a stall, and his supply of sweets was soon selling like hotcakes. Sprout was helping out just like Hitch had asked him to, though it was mostly by stocking up the stall with more supply from the cart whenever they began to run out.

"This is going great, isn't it?" Hitch said with a joyful smile.

"Yeah, yeah..." Sprout muttered moodily. He stared at the cake he had put all his time and care into. It looked just as miserable and useless as he felt. Nopony had bought it yet, and there were a couple of flies buzzing around it at this point. Looks like nopony's "dying to get their hooves on this" after all. The only thing that's dying around here is my soul.

A light-furred mare with a red and white mane came trotting up to Hitch's stall. "Hi there, sheriff! It's so kind of you to help the foals out with their fundraiser. I always knew you were the most noble pony ever born!"

"Oh hi Sugar Moonlight! Well, I do what I can!" Hitch replied with a proud grin. He gestured to the assortment of baked goods laid out on the table of the stall. "So, care to purchase any of these treats today?"

Sugar Moonlight quickly browsed over the goods before fixating her gaze on Hitch instead. "Hm... The sweetest treat I see is you, sheriff. Can't I just buy you instead?" Her mouth curled into a flirty smile as she lowered her eyelids.

Hitch snorted. "Sorry, but I'm afraid I'm priceless!"

The two of them shared a laugh. While Sugar Moonlight selected some cookies and coconut jam drops to buy instead, Sprout rolled his eyes from where he loitered behind Hitch. The sheer nerve of that mare hitting on his precious Hitch! Sugar Moonlight? More like Sugar Loonlight! As he watched her walk away with a paper bag full of her purchases, he discreetly stuck his tongue out at her in disgust.

"Sprout!"

The red stallion snapped out of his sulking as Hitch addressed him. "I'm gonna take a walk around to see how everypony else is doing. Can you hold the fort while I'm gone?"

Sprout's eyes widened in horror. "But... but! You said you'd stay here with me!"

"I'll only be gone for a few minutes," Hitch assured in a tone so tender, Sprout couldn't help but to give in.

"All right... but I'm not gonna like it."

After Hitch set off to check on all the foals selling their own creations, Sprout stood rigidly at the stall and hoped with every fiber of his being that nopony would pay any attention to him. He wasn't in the mood for social interaction--not helped by the fact that Hitch was the bluntest tool in any shed in the whole wide world. Why had he ever even tried in the first place? It hurt too much. He would have to destroy his feelings for Hitch by any means possible... His emotional struggles made him want to stress-eat. He glanced at all the delicious treats laid out on the table. Surely Hitch wouldn't notice if he took a few for himself... After glancing around to make sure nopony was paying attention, he stuffed a few cookies into his mouth while he waited for his partner to return.

Unfortunately, Sprout's wish to be left alone did not come true. A short while later, he spotted a sturdy unicorn, significantly taller than him, making their way directly towards the stall he was watching. Their eyebrows were lowered and they appeared to be scowling for whatever reason. Maybe this guy REALLY hates my cake.

Sprout attempted to force a smile as the pony approached, but it came off as more of a cringe. "Hello... What brings you here today?"

The veridian, bronze-maned unicorn huffed. "I couldn't help noticing you from across the park. Not many ponies in this town look like a giant misshapen tomato."

"Um... OK?" Sprout's expression grew into even more of a cringe as his anxiety spiked. What did this pony have against him? Aside from looking like a giant misshapen tomato, of course.

"You're Sprout, aren't you?" the stranger asked, practically spitting out the name as if it were a swear word.

Sprout, for some reason, got the impression that this pony didn't like him at all. He fidgeted nervously, scuffing his hooves on the ground. "Uh, no...? Never heard of this 'Sprout' pony."

The unicorn walked around to the other side of the table and grabbed Sprout's flank, causing him to flinch and let out a yelp. "Hey!"

"Yep, that's a turnip all right," the unicorn noted, glaring at Sprout's cutie mark before proceeding to harshly smack their hoof against Sprout's ribs, causing him to stumble to his knees. "You liar!"

"Th-that hurt!" Sprout exclaimed in a high-pitched whine, ashamed to realize that he was beginning to tear up from the pain in his side. His mind was whirling with shock at the fact he had just been hit. He knew now that he was in danger, but he didn't know exactly how much--and that was what scared him.

"Why are you here, huh?" the larger pony demanded. "You trying to poison unicorns and pegasi or something? Or scope out Earth pony foals to kidnap and turn into your mindless followers?"

Sprout shook his head and brought himself to stand upright again. "What? None of that, no! And I promise I have nothing against the other pony breeds now that I know they aren't a danger. This is just part of my community service, honest!"

"Yeah, the only danger there's ever been is you. You should still be locked up in jail for what you tried to do! I don't get why the sheriff gave you such a light sentence, and is allowing you to sell poisoned food to unsuspecting pegasi and unicorns in your determination to get rid of them all!"

The unicorn took a menacing step closer. There was just no reasoning with this pony. Sprout turned tail and began to flee, but he couldn't get very far before he felt himself being lifted in the air against his will, his hooves no longer able to touch the ground.

"Wh-what's happening?" Sprout asked in a panic, noticing a shimmery aura surrounding his body as he lost control of his legs.

He glanced back at the unicorn who was now storming up to him, their horn aglow with the same type of aura that was enveloping him. That insufferable pony was holding him up using their magic! He barely had time to process the thought before he was suddenly slammed against the ground, causing the breath to be knocked out of his lungs. Dazed, he blinked a few times before fearfully staring up at his attacker. Resentment burned in the unicorn's eyes, and they clenched their teeth as they magically lifted him up again.

He squinted his eyes shut and braced himself, but it did nothing to lessen the extra wave of pain as he was smashed to the ground again. Being controlled by another pony just felt wrong, but he thought deep inside that maybe he deserved this after how he had tried to start a war against the unicorns. But no matter how much he hated himself, he was desperate to get away. He frantically looked to the surrounding ponies, hoping for some kind of intervention.

"Help, help! Please save me!" Sprout cried out. The young foals working at their stalls watched on with wide eyes and open mouths, but they were too scared to help--not that he expected them to in the first place. He wanted help from the adult ponies. But they simply stared at him, or backed away from the whole ordeal, or completely ignored what was happening. One mare even pulled out her phone and evidently took a few photos as he was lifted up a third time. Yet nopony, nopony at all, helped him.

Nopony wanted to help him.

His heart seemed to crack into a thousand little pieces at this realization, and the misery was soon followed by a fresh surge of fear as he felt himself being levitated higher. He stared at the enraged unicorn with pleading eyes that were now pouring tears of pain and terror, but he was offered no pity. He collided with the ground again with a loud thud, his face being forced into the dirt and his brain seemingly rattling in his skull.

"STOP!!!"

Sprout didn't have the willpower to look up, but his ears twitched at the sound of Hitch's shout. Suddenly he felt himself regain control of the muscles in his legs and torso, but it hardly mattered as he lacked the energy to move anyway. He lay still, his face still buried in the dirt as he listened to Hitch scold and berate the pony who had attacked him.

"How could you use your magic against another pony? That's awful!"

"You know what's awful? Letting that maniac run loose after he tried to kill unicorns and pegasi. What if he tries it again?"

"Are you serious?! He never ended up hurting anypony, and he knows better now..."

The shouting match continued on, but Sprout stopped paying attention as his senses felt murky. It didn't last long however, and the unicorn presumably had the sense to quit arguing. Sprout heard approaching hoofsteps as Hitch rushed to his side. He then felt Hitch place a gentle hoof on his shoulder before gently jostling him, unintentionally heightening his pain.

"Sprout? Are you okay?"

Hitch's voice was tense with concern. Sprout weakly lifted his head, wincing slightly from the pain of moving. He felt sore all over. He looked to Hitch, whose eyes were wide and panicked.

"Oh my hoofness, I'm so sorry!" Hitch cried, throwing himself to the ground and wrapping a foreleg around Sprout. Sprout gritted his teeth from a sharp sting of pain in his side as Hitch pressed against him, but couldn't bring himself to protest. Hitch continued, "I didn't know this would happen! I shouldn't have left you alone..."

"It's not your fault," Sprout mumbled. His head was absolutely throbbing and his ears were ringing. He felt warm liquid trickling down his muzzle, and he licked his lips only to be met with the unpleasantly metallic taste of blood. He hated pain, and he hated blood. But at least Hitch was next to him...

"We should get you to the hospital," Hitch stated with sudden urgency. "Can you walk?"

The thought of walking, or even getting up, seemed to drain what little strength Sprout had left. His vision blurred as he was swamped by an influx of lethargy and vertigo... His eyes drifted shut, and his head drooped, and the last thing he heard before succumbing to darkness was Hitch crying out his name in distress.

"Sprout. Can you hear me?"

"Ugh... huh...?" Sprout found himself regaining consciousness in unaccustomed surroundings for the second time that day. But this time he wasn't in Hitch's room. He was in a hospital, which he knew not only by the distinct hospital scent penetrating his nose, but also by the fact that everything was white. His bed was white, the walls were white, the ceiling was white. And the nurse pony hovering by him was clothed in white.

"Good, you're awake," the nurse noted with a satisfied nod. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel like the fires of Hell are consuming me from the inside out," Sprout muttered in response as he stared up at the bright ceiling.

The nurse paid no heed to his dramatic answer. She informed him, "You got a concussion, a nosebleed, and a couple of fractured ribs. We will monitor you for two weeks, but you'll be fine."

That didn't sound very fine, but it could have been worse. As he scanned the minimalistic room, his attention was captured by a flash of color. There on the white bedside table was a pale blue vase, and inside it was a red flower--a carnation, to be exact.

"Oh nice, somepony left me a flower."

He was being sarcastic, but the nurse then said, "Yes, the pony who called us to you left it for you. Sheriff Hitch. Right now, I think he's busy tracking down the pony who did this to you."

"Really? Huh..." Sprout murmured. He wasn't sure why Hitch had given him a flower, but he supposed it was meant to be some compensation for getting beaten up.

Then his heart stopped for a second.

A red carnation.

He remembered the secret message he had left for Hitch a while back, the one where he asked Hitch to give him a carnation should he realize who the letter was from. And Hitch had tried to single out the deliverer of the message by giving a red carnation to almost everypony in Equestria--except for Sprout, naturally. Sprout had been crushed, as that was his first attempt of trying to admit his feelings for Hitch...

But here was a red carnation now, right by his side, left for him by Hitch himself. It could be a coincidence, yes. Perhaps Hitch had chosen any random flower and had completely forgotten about the letter. But on the other hoof...

Could it be that Hitch finally realized how he felt?