Hitch Trailblazer gave a huff as he dragged himself up a tall, grassy hill. He shook his head with a grimace, though not due to the exertion but due to the audacity of the pony he was doing it for. Ahead of him, a moderately-sized house loomed at the summit of this short mountain—home of Maretime Bay’s resident persona non grata: Sprout.
Well, really, Sprout’s mother, Phyllis Cloverleaf, owned the house. Sprout was just living there until he could get back on his hooves.
This was a process that had taken more than a few years and, despite the frequent passive-aggressive prodding of Ms. Cloverleaf, showed no sign of ending.
It had been a month since Sprout had tried to take over the town, and the only step he had taken to regaining a bit of normalcy was taking care of the garden in front of his (mother’s) house. This was where Sprout stood now, a stern look on his face as he carefully poured water upon those happy little plants.
Sprout’s focus faltered for just a moment, his attention brought down to the silver bracelet tightly wrapped around his right foreleg. At first, it seemed as if he was distracted by the two red lights that blinked obnoxiously upon it, but instead Sprout stared deeper with a grimace.
He pawed uselessly at the bracelet for a few moments, attempting to scratch his ankle through it before giving up with a loud grumble. He then returned to his watering with a large, uncomfortable pout.
“Sprout!” Hitch shouted as he finally reached the summit of the hill. This immediately had the effect of startling Sprout and making him nearly jump out of his fur, dropping his watering can down onto the grass below him.
As Hitch continued to approach, both stallions stared at the puddle that was quickly forming between them, slowly getting absorbed by the dirt.
“Dude, what the H?” Sprout shouted back, stomping his hooves with a very muddy splash. He quickly scrambled to right the watering can and attempt to stop what little water left from escaping. He only managed to dirty his hooves further in the process. “You’re gonna make me overwater my kumquats!” He continued with a grumble, trying to ineffectively splash the water away.
“The ‘H’ is that,” Hitch began as he wiped some splattered mud from his coat, “I’ve been getting some complaints about you again. Something about tomatoes thrown in the middle of the market? That ring any bells?” He forced a pointed, stern stare at his friend as he asked this.
With a sigh, Sprout rolled his eyes and returned to tending to his plants. “Well yeah, I went into town to sell some of the best tomates I’ve ever grown. You know, to make money like I used to? Before… everything.” His mood visibly darkened as he said this, shaking his head. “I didn’t really think they’d just toss them back at me, but I guess that’s just my fault.”
“You know, I did think those Sprout-sized holes in the splatter were a bit suspicious.” Hitch then blinked, thinking for a moment before tilting his head. “Well, at least they paid for the veggies, right?”
“No.” Sprout said dryly. “They didn’t, Hitch. They threw them at me without paying.”
“Well that’s not right. That’s stealing!” Hitch said indignantly. With a swiftness that could only come from Maretime Bay’s best, and at the moment only, police pony, he whipped out a notebook and pen from his police sash. “Do you remember the names of any of these miscreants? I could probably get them to pay you back, at the very least.”
Sprout let out another sigh, setting aside his plant prodding to look Hitch over. “Well, let’s see, other than you, Sunny, and my mom, I’d say it was probably a good 80% of Maretime Bay.”
Hitch quickly jotted that down, nodding in kind. “80% of Maretime Bay.” He repeated as he wrote before his eyes widened in realization. “Whew, this is gonna be a lot of paperwork. If only I had a deputy of some sort to help me out.”
“Yeah, right. I’m sure you can handle it, Mr. Sheriff.” Sprout turned away from Hitch’s pointed look, slowly trotting off to another patch, this one of nearly-ripened pepper plants.
Hitch followed behind indignantly as Sprout returned to his pruning and prodding. “Hey, don’t just walk away, I’m trying to help!”
“Then why don’t you ‘help’ by doing what everyone around here should and leave me alone!” Sprout scowled, stomping his hooves angrily yet again, though this time with an audible huff.
The shock was visible on Hitch’s face for several seconds before he responded, eyeing his former friend cautiously before letting out a sigh. He slowly moved to turn away. “Alright, I guess I’ll-”
“Wait.”
Hitch waited.
Sprout shifted nervously on his hooves, pawing at the ground as he tried to force up the words.“I’m… sorry.” He said with no small amount of struggle. “My mommy told me I need to stop lashing out when I’m mad, but I can’t help it when like-”
Suddenly, Hitch drew closer to Sprout, making him flinch and lose whatever he was saying. For a moment, Sprout was sure he was about to lose at least a few teeth. Maybe more than a few considering the chiseledness of Hitch’s abs.
“No worries, Sprout.” Hitch said as he placed a hoof onto his friend’s shoulder. “It’s gonna be hard going for a while, but you’ve just gotta keep at it. Maretime Bay wasn’t built in a day, after all.”
Sprout pursed his lips, looking between the hoof on his shoulder and Hitch’s smiling face. All of the anger he was feeling subsided for now, and he was simply left confused. With a sigh, he gestured behind himself towards a set of plastic deck chairs facing each other and the small table between them. “Wanna sit down?” He asked tiredly.
Hitch gave a small, breathy laugh through his nose and offered a nod as his answer.
Without another word, the two made their way over to the chairs, Sprout taking the further chair out of habit as both sat down.
“So,” Hitch began awkwardly a few seconds after sitting down, “how are the plants doing?” He asked noncommittally, though not uncaringly.
The noncommittal nature of his question was immediately lost on Sprout, whose eyes lit up due to it. “Well, aside from the epic fail of those tomatoes, my carrots and potatoes are finally coming in, and those peppers I was breeding are finally, you know, actually breeding.” He grinned widely, clearly proud of himself.
“Hey, that’s great!” Hitch said with his own, somewhat milder smile. “I hope I’ll get to try one of those peppers one of these days.”
Sprout snickered with a mixture of mirth and menace. “Hah, yeah, duh! They’re basically only for you anyway. If I bred ‘em right, they’re gonna be the hottest thing you’ve ever had.” He rubbed his hooves together, his grin taking on a more sinister tone.
Hitch raised an eyebrow. “Hotter than the Reaper?”
Sprout nodded, his grin growing wider. “Eeyup! Dunno what I’m gonna name it yet but I can’t wait to see it burn your face off.”
Hitch gave a short, confident laugh as he puffed out his chest. “Hah! As if. If they’re anything like your last crop, I’m not even gonna break a sweat!” He continued his boastful pose for just a few more moments, then relaxed back into his seat with a sigh. He slowly traced his hoof along one of the many water rings embedded in the wooden table. “You know, all this talk of spice is starting to get me thirsty. Do you think I could borrow a drink?”
Sprout hesitated, looking away from Hitch. “Well… right now all I’ve got to offer is some water.” He said as he bashfully gestured towards the single water spout in the center of the garden.
Hitch didn’t even have to look back at what he was gesturing at, instead shooting Sprout a knowing glance. “You locked yourself out of your house again, didn’t you?”
Sprout didn’t even have to say anything. Between the folded-back ears, averted gaze, and heavy blush that shone through his already red coat, Hitch knew all that he needed to.
“I lost my keys in the grass.” Sprout admitted after a few moments of basking in his shame. “I’m gonna have to wait until mommy-” His voice briefly caught in his throat, forcing him to cough and sputter as he interrupted himself. “I mean, my mom. I have to wait until my mom gets back.”
“She’s… helping with the lighthouse rebuild?” Hitch guessed, briefly tapping his hoof against his chin as he did so.
“Close! She’s actually at that Unicorn forest thing.” Sprout corrected. “She wanted to go see that big buff guy to talk diplomacy. I’d have joined her but, you know...” He lifted his hoof briefly, yet again showing off his snazzy magic anklet.
Hitch rolled his eyes. “You know, I could take that thing offa you if you really wanted to go. In fact…” He reached a hoof across the table, aiming to press it against the anklet and get it over with already.
But, as quick as Hitch reached over, Sprout pulled his hoof back and held it close to his chest. He protected the anklet with his other hoof, shaking his head. “Don’t you dare. I’ve gotta pay the price for what I did, and this is how I’m gonna do it.”
“By forcing yourself to stay in town instead of exploring the great big wild world outside?” Hitch gestured widely outward to demonstrate his point, though he ended up defeating his point by gesturing towards Maretime Bay itself. He then gave Sprout a very serious look in the eye. “As your Sheriff, I hereby suspend your sentence and order you to hang out with the Unicorns for a while. Trust me, they’re great.”
Sprout shook his head again, still cradling his accessorized hoof. “I don’t think so. I put it on to be punished, so I’m gonna get punished. As your Deputy, I say this sentence stands. And is gonna stand for a long time.”
Hitch blinked. He tilted his head questioningly as he narrowed his eyes at Sprout. “I don’t need to tell you why that doesn’t work, right?” He asked. “I mean you quit, so you can’t even deputize anymore.”
“The point still stands.” Sprout said as he crossed his hooves with a huff. “So can we just move on?”
“Well how about your ma. Is she really chilling with Alphabittle?” Hitch asked with a light chuckle, giving Sprout a cheeky little grin. “Well I guess it’s a shame you can’t meet your new dad just yet huh?”
Sprout narrowed his stare at Hitch, tilting his head in confusion. “What? New dad? As if!” He quickly waved Hitch’s dumb comment away with a hoof. “You’ve got no idea what you’re talking about, dude.”
“What, is he not her type?” Hitch continued with an even cheekier grin.
Sprout rolled his eyes. “More like the opposite, am I right?” He waited for a moment to let Hitch banter back, but all he did was shoot him a confused look. “I mean, like, ‘cause my mom’s not a dude. And that Alphabetty guy is totally into dudes. I can tell.”
“Alphabittle.” Hitch corrected briefly, then shook his head. “And you’ve never even talked to him! How can you even possibly tell?”
“With. A. Glance.” Sprout said seriously, planting both his hooves onto the table between them to show his sheer seriocity. “Hitchy, sweetheart, ponies like us can just tell sometimes. Contact isn’t necessary when you Know.”
“Well if you’d made contact then you’d know that he’s totally bi.” As if to solidify his response, he leaned back and crossed his hooves across his chest. “Your gaydar may be impressive, but my Bi-Spy™ is absolutely immaculate.” Once again, his hooves slammed upon the table as Hitch made a point to stare directly into Sprout’s eyes. “Alphabittle is hella bi and you better be ready to call him daddy.”
“Oh shut up!” Sprout shouted as his face lit up with a blush, turning away from his former friend’s visage. “You literally know nothing about my mommy and her personal life.” He crossed his hooves, letting out a small huff as he did so.
“Well, speaking of Bridlewood,” Hitch brought his hooves together with a smirk,“I didn’t just come here to make sure you weren’t committing vandalism upon our sleepy little town. I have a small proposition for you.”
Sprout held his crossed hooves pose for a few more seconds before sighing and looking towards Hitch with a small sadness. “Dude, you’re hot and everything, but I’m not gonna go on a date with you. I just don’t think it’d be fair to Sunny.”
It was now Hitch’s turn to flush red, his eyes widening as he shook his head. “No, no. Absolutely not. Nothing like that. I mean, unless…” He narrowed his eyes at Sprout briefly, then waved his hoof to remove the very notion. “No, absolutely not. Sunny and Izzy are too good for each other. However, Izzy and The Girls want to meet you.”
“Even after I tried to hurt them? And, like, bring a whole war to their doorsteps?” Sprout asked.
“Strangely, it’s exactly because of that!” Hitch said with a shrug. “Zipp and Pipp want to interview you for Pipp’s Hoofstagram, and Izzy was really into that huge robot guy you built.”
“Sprouticus Maximus.” Sprout corrected.
“Right, yeah, your big Sportacus guy.” Hitch nodded to himself. “Izzy wants to pick your brain on what you did to even make that dude. He was pretty cool, even if he fell apart at the end.”
Sprout slammed his hooves upon the table yet again, standing up from his chair to scowl right in Hitch’s face. “His name is Sprouticus and he is my son! You will respect him.” And, just as Sprout’s fire was ignited, it died down as he sighed and returned to his seat. “But yeah, I guess she can take a look at the blueprints if she wants.”
“Aaaaalright!” Hitch said with a big, cheerful grin. “Well, Sunny and I are heading to Bridlewood to have a lunch with the girls, and I figure they won’t mind if you tag along. That is, if you’re interested?”
Sprout blinked, pausing for a moment to fully process Hitch’s offer. He then shot up from his seat again, leaving the table and taking a few steps back towards his garden to overlook it. “Ugh, dude, you coulda given me more notice than that!” He said as he began to pace the stoney garden paths, anxiously looking the flora over. “Now I’ve gotta figure what I’m gonna bring. Like, as a peace offering or something.”
With a sigh and an eye roll, Hitch dragged himself up from his seat and walked to follow behind Sprout. “Dude, you’re gonna be fine. You don’t even need to worry because Sunny has us covered. She’s bringing cupcakes.”
Sprout hesitated again as he spun to face Hitch, angling up to look him in the eyes seriously. “Alicorn cupcakes?” He asked simply, his gaze narrowing.
“Yeah, probably?” Hitch said as he shifted uncomfortably under Sprout’s gaze. “I mean, it’s her dad’s old recipe so…”
Sprout stomped his hooves, though the loudness of the stomp was muted by the dirt, then began to roam his garden again with more anxiety. “Aaalright, now it’s serious. Now I’ve gotta show off!”
Sprout continued to search for another few moments, checking his plants as he passed them by before finally reaching his crop of tomatoes. He inspected them briefly, then plucked one from the vine and, in an act that horrified Hitch, bit a whole chunk out of it. While the crunch was terrifying, the true horror was found from Sprout just nodding and smiling in approval.
“Yeah, this’ll work.” He said as he discarded the bitten tomato onto the patch of dirt. “Carrots, lettuce, tomatoes. These girls are gonna cry when they eat one of my sandwiches. But like, in a good way. I just need…” Sprout tapped his chin as he thought deeply for moments before finally deciding: “Eggs. I need eggs.”
“Eggs?” Hitch asked, trying his hardest to distract himself from the Tomato Travesty he had just witnessed.
“Eggs.” Sprout repeated with a nod. “If I had eggs, I could make my Special Mayo and really blow their brains outta their heads.”
Hitch paused for a few seconds, debating in his mind whether to let the funniest possibility of this scenario come to pass, but ultimately decided against it with a short shake of his head. “Yeaaaah, maybe pass on the mayo for now. Unicorns kinda have a weird reaction to it.”
“What, like they’re allergic?” Sprout asked.
“Not exactly. They’re just really weird about it.” Hitch said, then scratched the back of his head with a hoof. “I mean, go ahead if you want to give it a try. Just put it on the side or something.”
Not following, Sprout simply nodded. “Well I’m still gonna give it a try. If they wanna get weird, whatever weird is, I’m still gonna have some mayo for my own purposes.”
“But first you need eggs.” Hitch said.
“Can’t make a good mayo without ‘em.” Sprout said with a small shrug. “I mean, what’s the worst those big mean unicorns could do? Kill me? Spear me with those horns of theirs?”
“Nah, I’m sure the worst they’ll do is yell at you.” Hitch said after a moment of deliberation. And he deliberated once again, gently tossing his head back and forth slightly as he thought. “Heck, if you shout it loud enough you might get the whole town to hate you.”
“Well that’s two outta three. Any ideas on how to make the Pegapalace hate me too? Take a bad selfie?” Sprout beamed snarkily for a short few seconds before his face fell, the realization finally reaching him. “So, there’s no way I can go into town and make it out alive huh?”
“Well, there is one way.” Hitch said with a kind smile. He took a few steps toward Sprout, hooking a hoof around his shoulder without any hesitation. “All you need is your trusty Sheriff Trailblazer and you’ll be all set. No need to worry about any dumb tomatoes.”
While offended at the jab at his unofficially prized tomatoes, Sprout was rendered speechless by the sudden intrusion of Hitch’s warmth. That isn’t to say it was uncomfortable, of course. If anything, it was more comfortable than anything he’d felt in the longest time. Even his own mommy’s hugs, as warm as a mother’s love could make one, paled in comparison to how he felt currently.
As if moving on their own, Sprout’s hooves wrapped themselves tightly around Hitch as Sprout himself drew in even closer to the tall drink of water before him. His chin found itself a very comfortable position against the side of his neck, and he sure couldn’t resist the urge to nuzzle and nestle against the comfortable stallion he had attached himself to.
“Wha-hey, what’s this all of a sudden?” Hitch asked, his smile continuing undeterred.
Sprout flinched, immediately considering this a bad sign. “Sorry.” He mumbled, mostly to himself, before attempting to pull back.
Attempting, as Hitch immediately wrapped his hooves around Sprout in much the same way that the other had done to him. He held tight and fast, even as Sprout gave a middling effort to pull himself away. For all five seconds.
“Hey now, I never said I wasn’t cool with it.” Hitch said, pulling Sprout closer against his chest. He moved a hoof up to give Sprout’s mane a little ruffle. “You’re not gonna get away from me that easy.”
Sprout melted against Hitch for a brief moment, sighing in the embrace of the larger stallion before catching himself and, while not pulling back exactly, loosening his grip considerably.
Hitch took this sigh as a sign to relent, pulling back with another ruffle to Sprout’s already mussed mane. “See? Wasn’t so bad, was it?” As he pulled himself away, he let his hoof trail down Sprout’s right foreleg.
Sprout shivered under Hitch’s touch. He let out a gentle sigh, negating Hitch’s parting by lifting his stroked hoof and pressing himself deeper against Hitch’s chest.
He didn’t even notice Hitch pressing his hoof hard against his anklet. The lights on the accessory quickly turned from the obnoxiously blinking red to a solid green as it slowly unhitched itself from Sprout’s body. The silver anklet fell to the ground with an underwhelming thud, making Sprout jump and back away from Hitch.
Sprout first looked down at the anklet just chilling lazily down on the ground, then at his newly naked ankle, then finally at Hitch’s face. “Dude… what the heck?” He asked before getting down on the ground and attempting to, with one hoof, reattach the anklet to himself. “C’mon, this thing took me, like, an hour to get on last time!”
“And it’s not even gonna go back on this time.” Hitch said with a smile, gently reaching over and taking the arrest bracelet away from his friend. “Y’ain’t an officer anymore, dude, so looks like I’m the only one who can do it now.”
Still on the ground, Sprout looked up at Hitch with a pitiful, pleading stare.
To this, Hitch simply shook his head. “Sprout, if you’re still arrested then how are you gonna help make amends with the girls?” He sat himself down on the ground beside Sprout, yet again wrapping a hoof around his shoulder. “Let’s face it, babe, you’re free to go wherever you wanna go now. So, do you wanna go to Bridlewood with us?”
“I do!” Sprout decided immediately. And then, immediately after, his face fell and he turned his head away from Hitch. “Just… not now. I can’t just show up and act like a jar of mayo is gonna fix everything. I hurt people, Hitch. I’m a creep.”
“You’re a weirdo.” Hitch agreed, then pulled Sprout in for an even tighter hug. “Buuuuut running and hiding away isn’t the way to fix this. If you wanna make amends, you’ve gotta actually make ‘em. Not just wait for them to make themselves.”
“Then what do I do?” Sprout asked softly, basking in Hitch’s warm glow.
Hitch shrugged. “Just play it by ear, dude. Don’t rush it. Make peace wherever you can, and talk to me whenever you get overwhelmed.” He leaned in towards Sprout, sighing softly as he gently nuzzled Sprout’s cheek. “Sorry to say, but you’re stuck with me. And my door is always open.”
Sprout shied back from Hitch’s touch. “But what if-”
“Stop.” Hitch said harshly, pulling Sprout in yet again. “Stop beating yourself up like this, or I’m gonna stick around and keep protecting you from yourself.”
“So that’s all I need to do for more of this?” Sprout asked with a smirk. He leaned into Hitch again, pressing his lips against his neck for a short, brief peck. “Well then sign me up, Mr. Sheriff. I basically have a doctorate in beating myself up and I’m gonna use it.”
“Or you could just ask?” Hitch sighed, shaking his head. “You don’t have to beat yourself up for it. I’ll just foist this upon you when you do.” He raised a hoof, placing it upon Sprout’s head to ruffle his mane again and, as he did so, planted a smooch directly on Sprout’s forehead. “So none of that, you dork.”
Sprout’s face flushed a deep red, and he resisted his urge to shy away again. Instead, he pressed into Hitch even deeper, angling his head up to look him in the eyes again. “So… what does this make us then?”
“I dunno yet!” Hitch said with a grin. “Feels like something we’re gonna have to figure out on our own, huh?”
“Tomorrow.” Sprout immediately decided. “Let’s just talk about it tomorrow.”
Hitch hummed softly in agreement. “It’s a date then.”
There was a few moments of silence between the boys, both relaxing against the other, before Sprout shifted and looked to Hitch again. “Trailblazer.”
Hitch blinked, looking down to Sprout with a curious grin and tilt of his head. “Uh… yeah?”
“No, uh,” Sprout shook his head, his face flushing red again as he tried to hide himself against Hitch’s buff chest, “That’s… that’s what I was gonna name my new pepper. I thought it was fitting ‘cause you’re gonna be the first one to try it and all.”
Hitch laughed brightly as he nestled his muzzle against Sprout’s mane, nuzzling him gently. “Oh you’re so gay. And I love that about you, Sprout.”
