What to do when you only want to help
“Tag, you’re it!” Sunny yelled.
“Aw, no fair, I thought we weren’t playing with tag-backs!” Sprout complained back.
“You know playing without them is super boring with only three ponies.” Hitch chimed in from the top of the lighthouse.
“Well, when I become sheriff, I’m gonna make tag-backs illegal, hah.” Sprout said, smugly.
“Right now, you seem to be struggling with tagging anyone at all, I bet you couldn’t even tag my dad,” Sunny said with a giggle, teasing him.
“Hmph,” Sprout made his way to their lift to try and get a tag on Hitch at the top.
Today had been a good day in Hitch’s eyes. He was having a great time at Sunny’s, they were all getting along and having fun, and Sprout and Sunny hadn’t had a single argument about unicorns and pegasuses. Or was it pegasi, he could never remember?
“Time, I call timeout,” Sprout gasped out just before he was about to tag him.
“You, okay?” Hitch asked, concerned for his friend, “you look a little out of breath.”
“Oh yeah, I’ll never understand why you don’t try out for buckball, though,” Sprout commented.
“I hate to say it, but I agree with Sprout on this one,” Sunny said, “you’re, like, the most athletic kid in town.”
“I know, I just don’t want to get sucked in when I’m still deciding what I want to do,” Hitch said, a little dejected, “you both already have goals and I barely know what I like.”
“I wouldn’t put Sunny’s baby dream up there with my dream of becoming sheriff,” Sprout said, boasting a little, “but you’ll figure it out, I know you will.”
“Thanks, Sprout,” Hitch said with a small smile.
“Hey, when I’m sheriff, I could even make you, my deputy!” Sprout said, trying to motivate him, “we would be an unstoppable duo and could keep troublemakers like Sunny in line!”
Sunny pouted at him for this, “I’m not a troublemaker, you’re the dumb one that misbehaves.”
“Oh, I’m not too sure about that,” Argyle said, rounding the corner with some treats, “who got into my sugar cookies when she wasn’t supposed to and ended up with a tummy ache?”
“Daaaaaad, you promised not to tell them about that.” Sunny complained, with a slight blush on her cheeks.
“Now where’s the fun in that?” Argyle playfully teased, handing us all some treats, before coughing a bit, “you all better be behaving in here.”
“Of course, Mr. Starshine, and thank you for the treats,” Hitch said, expressing his gratitude.
“Yeah, this tastes great, thanks,” Sprout added.
That cough was a little worrying. He knew Mr. Starshine was sick and not getting much better. Though it wasn’t contagious, he was still worried about his health. He was in higher spirits than normal, so Hitch wasn’t too worried. He was certain today's sleepover would go off without a hitch. Hah, he never understood why the other two didn’t like that joke, it was hilarious every time. Before he could amuse himself more, there was a knock at the door that Argyle went to answer.
“What an unexpected surprise, how can I help you, Phyllis?” Argyle greeted.
He noticed Sprout's ears perk up at his mom’s name and his head hung a little lower. We all went quiet and tried to listen in on their conversation from the other room.
Phyllis proceeded to go on a long rant to him.
“You know exactly why I’m here, Argyle. I don’t want my child in your presence any longer. It’s bad enough you try to brainwash him with your silly little tales that go against our entire community's values. Now you’re trying to get him infected with your sickness as well. Have you no shame on the poison you seep into our town!”
Argyle responded in a polite tone, but Hitch could practically hear his eyes rolling with the sarcasm.
“Oh, I do apologize. I completely forgot you didn’t want your child to be exposed to any other culture or idea and only live through your propaganda. We both know I’m not contagious, though, so I don’t know why you keep bringing it up.”
Sprout gave a small sign, he had to assume that Sprout knew what was coming next, though, it wasn’t hard to predict.
“Sprout! Get out here! We’re going home!” Phyllis yelled into the home.
“See you around you two.” Sprout said, very downtrodden.
As Sprout walked by and out the door to his mom, he heard Argyle give a sigh before heading out the door after them, saying, “Now Phyllis, please reconsider.”
“Come on, I wanna hear what they talk about,” Sunny said, leading him to their lift to the top of the lighthouse.
Once up there, they sat sitting next to the railing. They could just barely make out what the two were saying from up there, but it was enough.
“I won’t let him be corrupted by your radical ideas anymore!” Phyllis stated firmly.
“Please,” Argyle pleaded, coughing even more, “Sunny and Sprout are starting to get along well, and I’d hate for her to lose a friend.”
“That filly of yours is even worse!” Phyllis said, “I bet she’s the one filling his head with these beliefs the most!”
“They are just kids playing and having fun,” Argyle reasoned.
“You’ve been a blight on our community for a while now, Argyle. I expected your daughter to, sadly, follow in your footsteps. I won’t let Sprout’s dreams and life be crushed by you and your daughter’s influence!” Phyllis yelled to him.
“Come now Sprout, we are going home” She ordered.
“Goodbye, Mr. Starshine,” Sprout said, following his mom back to town.
“Can you believe her?” Hitch said, turning to talk to sunny, only to see her in tears.
He was unsure of what to do or say in order to comfort her. He hated when others cried and wished they could all just be happy. No amount of willful wishing would bring her Sprout back. On instinct, he pulled her into a hug wishing above all else for everything to go back to earlier.
As Sunny’s tears slowed, she asked him, “Am I a monster?”
“What?” Hitch said, a little surprised and perplexed, “Sunny you’re an amazing filly.”
She sobbed more, “Then why would she say those things and take Sprout away, I bet he hates me.”
“Adults are dumb, you’re a bright and joyful filly with amazing dreams of friendship,” Hitch reassured, “I’m honored to be your friend.”
“Thanks, Hitch,” Sunny said, hugging him even tighter before pulling away.
Sunny started to calm down some and just sat there looking down. He hated all of this. Why did she have to keep taking Sprout away and making Sunny cry? Why couldn’t everyone be kinder? He wished he could just keep them all safe. For now, he just wanted to get her mind off all this.
“Hey, do you wanna go down and start the sleepover?” Hitch asked, “We can even read some of those friendship stories your dad keeps around.”
Sunny still had a pained look on her face, but she was able to smile a tiny bit at this, saying, “Mhm, I’d like that.”
On their way to her room, Argyle called out to them, as he had just come back in with a solemn expression on his face.
“Hey Sunny, may I borrow Hitch for a second? I need to talk to him.”
“Sure dad, don’t take too long!” Sunny said, somewhat excited.
He was glad at how easily she could bounce back, but he knew a lot of it was just a farce to seem stronger. She had always been like that and never wanted to let things keep her down. He only wished he was half as strong.
“Hey buddy, I’m guessing you both heard our talk?” Argyle asked.
Hitch just gave a small nod in return.
“Thanks for watching over her for me,” Argyle said, expressing his sincerest gratitude.
“You’re welcome, but I would’ve done it either way. I hate seeing ponies sad like that,” he said.
“Listen, Hitch, I hate to say this, but I need to ask a favor-,” Argyle tried to say before being interrupted by a coughing fit.
“Are you okay, Mr. Starshine?” he asked, concerned for him.
“Truthfully, no,” Argyle said with a sadness that was filled with sorrow and loss, “that’s why I needed this favor.”
“I don’t think I’ll be able to get over this sickness, Hitch,” Argyle said.
“W-Wuh, what do you mean? You seemed so much better today than usual!” He exclaimed.
“Yes, well, today has been my only good day in weeks. It’s getting harder and harder to keep up. I’ve already spoken with Sunny. She’s remaining strong and optimistic, but I know it’s hurting her a lot. She can take care of herself, I know, but I need to be sure she’ll have someone looking out for her.”
“Is that what the favor is?” Hitch asked.
Argyle gave a nod and a reassuring smile.
“Yeah, I know she’ll be fine. She’s started helping at that smoothie cart and it’ll be enough for her to get by when she starts working there. I’m worried about Phyllis, though. When Sprout becomes sheriff, she might be able to convince him to kick her out of town eventually. He wouldn't do it for no reason, but that mare hates us enough, I'm afraid of what she's capable of."
"Can you promise me you'll watch over her when I'm gone?" He asked with as much sincerity as he could give.
Hitch barely thought about it for a second, stating firmly, "You can count on me!"
"Thank you, from the bottom of my heart," Argyle said, expressing the utmost relief and gratitude, "now go and enjoy your sleepover little colt."
He gave a quick nod before trotting down the hall back to Sunny's room.
He could not help but be a little nervous about the promise he just made. Hitch knew what to do, though. In order to achieve his goal of protecting Sunny and keeping everyone in Maretime Bay happy he would need to become the sheriff. Sprout might resent him for taking his dream, but he couldn't risk it with that witch of a mom he had.
Upon entering her room, he found Sunny fast asleep in the pillow fort they had constructed to all sleep in. He moved to the opposite end and laid down to get some sleep, himself.
Looking towards the sleeping filly he stated, "Don't worry, Sunny, I won't let you down."
He saw her face shift into a soft smile after he said that, and they quietly drifted to sleep.
Author's Note
This is a short one-shot I wrote in a day. It's more my own headcanon on how Hitch ends up with the motivation to be sheriff. At least he doesn't appear to have it in the flashback compared to Sprout at least, but he does want to make Sunny happy and make sure they got along. Thanks for giving it a read! Make sure to rate if you liked it or not.
P.S. Argyle Starshine needs a character tag, best dad.
