-Yesterday: Maretime Bay Sheriff's Department-

Both Sunny and Hitch sat in silence for a few more minutes after coming to terms with what they discovered about Phyllis Cloverleaf. They felt sick to their stomach, finding out that she was raped and impregnated at 14 years old.

Worse even, that baby she gave birth to, whom she gave up to Lexi Orphanage of Clopton, ended up growing up to be a serial killer. The Mother Mutilator.

As the minutes went by, Hitch remembered something that Reggie said to him before he went to talk with Phyllis. Something that Sunny has to know.

“So, Sprout moved out of Phyllis’ place?” Hitch asked, making Sunny look toward him in surprise. Which then turned to that of a gloomy one.

She sighed. “Yes. He told me when him and Izzy had a little smoothie date a few days ago. And…” She trailed off, not knowing if Hitch would be mad if she told him this.

“And what?” Hitch said, not looking too happy with her.

She sheepishly. “….I told him the name of his brother.” She said, making Hitch groan.

“I felt he had every right to know. Please don’t be mad, Hitch.” She said.

“No, I’m not mad.” Hitch said in a frustrating tone. “I’m just…I don’t know.”

“Should we tell Sprout about all this?” Sunny asked.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea for now, Sunny. I don’t want to make him feel even worse than he probably already feels.”

“He has a right to know, Hitch.” Sunny said. “We shouldn’t keep something like this from him.”

Sunny was about to say something, when they both heard a knock at the front door. After about one second, a mare peaked her head inside.

“Excuse me? Is there somepony here named Hitch Trailblazer?” She asked in a whispering tone, while walking inside.

“That would be me.” Hitch said, standing up from his chair. He wondered why she was whispering. Both he and Sunny froze when he got a better look at this stranger.

The mare looked about in her early twenties. She had a pale peach coat and a light orange mane with an apricot cutie mark.

However, the mare was not alone. Hitch got his answer when he saw what she was carrying on her back. It was a basket. However, it did not contain any foods or drinks.

In this basket….was a baby. Sleeping peacefully, while wrapped in a blue blanket. So, the baby was a boy.

“My name is Amber.” She said, again keeping her voice down, as to not wake up the baby.

“Nice to meet you Amber. This is my friend, Sunny.” He said, shaking her hoof. Sunny shook her hoof as well.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you in town, Amber. Are you and your son new here?”

When she said that, Hitch noticed Amber’s face suddenly look very sullen.

“This isn’t my son. It’s my friend’s son. His name is Bentley.”

Both Hitch and Sunny felt their jaws drop. What did she say?

“My friend Lilac Summers went missing almost a week ago. I’ve been looking after him ever since.” She depressingly said, making Hitch and Sunny feel their nerves rise up.

“And I….I heard that there was a body found here about a few days ago. So I…” Amber tried to finish her sentence, but couldn’t because she was getting emotional.

Sunny felt her heart crack watching this. She looked over at Hitch, who looked so remorseful at what he was about to do.

Just before he could tell her, something stopped from doing so. The doors burst open.

“Sunny! Hitch! Guess what?!” She asked out loud in happiness.

She looked toward Amber and smiled. A new friend to meet for Izzy Moonbow.

“Hi, new friend.” Izzy said, sort of invading Amber’s personal space a little bit. “My name’s Izzy Moonbow. And you are?”

Sunny got between them to separate Izzy from her. “Izzy, this is Amber. And now’s not a good time.”

Feeling confused, Izzy asked, “Why? What’s the matter?” She then saw the little baby and cooed a little bit loudly. Just before she could gush over him, Amber put a hoof to Izzy’s mouth.

“He’s sleeping. Be quiet.” She said, not looking too happy. Which made Izzy look hurt. Thankfully, lil’ Bentley only stirred but was still asleep.

“Sunny,” Hitch said getting her attention. “Why don’t you take Izzy out of here. I’ll handle this.”

“Are you sure?” She said, looking sad, which confused Izzy more. Hitch nodded.

“Okay.” Sunny said. “Come on, Izzy.” She said, walking toward the entrance. Izzy looked back at Hitch and Amber one more time, before following her friend. She only wondered what was going on and why they were acting so sad.

When they left, Hitch breathed a big sigh. Amber looked at him.

“Follow me.” Hitch said, walking toward the downstairs morgue. Amber picked up Bentley and followed the Sheriff.

“So it’s true. Lilac’s really dead.” Amber said, her heart breaking as she said it.

Hitch nodded. “I’m so sorry about your friend, Amber.”

A few tears rolled down her face. “I knew she shouldn’t have gone after that guy. But, she was desperate to find a father for Bentley here.”

This statement perked Hitch’s interest. “So, you saw the guy? As in, you know what he looks like?”

Amber nodded. “He was a big, buff looking guy. Looked like he hit the gym everyday. He had a blonde mane, and his coat looked peach colored. But darkened.”

That’s the exact same description that Sunny just gave him.

“He put on this charming persona, but there was something up with his eyes. It’s like…there was something there, but also…not. It’s hard to explain, Sheriff Hitch.” Amber said.

“I understand.” Hitch said. "And I promise I'm gonna find this guy. Thank you for giving me the description, Amber."

She nodded sadly, with a tear rolling down her face. She looked at the sleeping baby in the basket. "I guess I'm Bentley's Mom now." She said, picking up the basket and putting it on her back.

As she trotted out of the Sheriff's Department, Hitch felt both sad and glad. He was relieved to see that Lilac Summers' baby was still alive. So, Bud didn't kill him. He also felt that, since Bentley was alive, then that must mean that all the other victims' children of Bud Bloomington were alive.

However, he also felt very sad for Amber as well. This mare lost a close friend of hers, and now she was going to take care of her foal. She never ASKED to have a foal. But now, she had one. And she was gonna take care of him as best she could in honor of her friend.

*ring*ring*

Hitch heard the telephone. It was quite early in the morning. A bit odd to have somepony call you. He looked at the caller ID, and was even more surprised. It read that it was somepony from Clopton. Why would somepony from Clopton be calling him? Sure, yesterday Amber had come from Clopton to find out about her friend, Lilac Summers. But, now somepony was calling him from there? This seemed strange.

He picked up the phone. "Hello, this is Sheriff Hitch Trailblazer of Maretime Bay. How may I help you?" He answered.

"Hello Mr. Trailblazer. This is Detective Winthorpe of Clopton. Badge number 7421." He heard the other pony on the line say. His voice sounded a bit low, but not very melancholy. If anything, it sounded very intimidating to him. Though, to be fair, he had no idea that this very pony was actually named Dodd Winchester. One of the pony's responsible for the Lexi Orphanage fire 20 years ago.

"Huh. Never gotten a call from somepony in Clopton. What's going on?" Hitch asked.

"I've heard that the body of a mare from Clopton was found on your beach almost a week ago. Would this pony happen to be named Lilac Summers?" Dodd asked.

Hitch felt his detective instincts kick in here. "How did you know that? I don't believe I've reported anything to you or the Clopton Police Department."

"I saw the video on Cliptrot, and just put two and two together. Lilac Summers was reported missing about 5 days ago." Dodd said. To Hitch, that seemed either understandable or convenient. He didn't know for sure. But, he continued on anyway.

"Well, yes. Me and my partner Zipp Storm found her. And I've been investigating this ever since."

"Yeah, I also saw the video of her accusing this Sprout Cloverleaf. And then a few days later she recanted those statements. Is she there with you now?"

Hitch didn't know if he should be impressed or feeling odd that Winthorp, or Dodd, knew that too. Though, it was all over social media, so he felt that was understandable as well.

"She's coming back tomorrow. She needed to clear her head after finding the body."

"Okay. Well, since Lilac was a Clopton mare, I'd like to discuss the case with you and her tomorrow. Is it alright if I meet up with you?"

Hitch, for some reason, felt like something was off. The last day before Zipp comes back home, he gets this call from a pony he's never met before, asking him for a meeting regarding the murder of Lilac Summers. Now, on one hoof, he felt that maybe it was just weird timing. It happens sometimes. He was probably too busy with other cases in Clopton to worry about the missing Lilac Summers.

On the other hoof, however, the timing was still weird to him. Yes, it happens sometimes, but there's also times where it just feels to perfect of a time. Why didn't this happen a day or two after Lilac was found? And, why is this happening the day before Zipp comes back?

Either way, he felt something was off here. But, being the detective he was, he decided to let it happen. Maybe, once and for all, he can finally get to the bottom of this case and be done with it.

"Okay, Mr. Winthorpe. Maybe come by tomorrow at around Noon or 1 or so."

"That sounds fine. I'll see you tomorrow." Hitch then heard the dial tone, meaning he hung up. When the call ended, he still just had that feeling that something felt funny. He didn't know why, he just did.

He just hoped his feeling was wrong.

Somewhere in Clopton

After he hung up the phone, Dodd quickly called Bud, who was at work right now.

"Well?" Bud asked, answering after only one ring. He was currently cleaning a staff bathroom. Thankfully, no pony was around to hear him.

"It's done. Hitch and I are gonna have a meeting tomorrow." Dodd said, using air quotes on the meeting part.

"Good." Bud said, hanging up and getting back to his job.

Dodd looked at his phone and smiled a shit eating grin. Everything was going according to plan. And if he could keep Hitch, and maybe Zipp, distracted long enough, he'll get to relive what he and his two adoptive siblings did 20 years ago. With different ponies, but he was still looking forward to it. He glanced over at the briefcase he was given a few days ago by some ponies he knew. One's that would not be welcome around Police officers in any town.

Canterlogic. He knew that day was going to be...a blast.

"Izzy, hold still." Sunny said, while giggling slightly. She was currently trying to brush Izzy's mane, while the unicorn rocked side to side in her stool, looking like she was gonna burst.

“Ooh, I’m so excited!” Izzy exclaimed with glee. “But I’m also nervous.” Her expression changed. “I’m…..nervous-cited.”

Sunny raised an eyebrow in confusion. “What?”

“It’s a word I just came up with.” The unicorn said, getting up from her stool. “I’m so excited that I could just burst.” She said, jumping into the air.

“Buuuuutttt…” She then said, while huddling herself to the ground. “I’m also so nervous that I just want to crawl into a shell and hide.” Then, completely randomly, she stood back, while her front and back hooves looked like robot parts. It reminded Sunny of those Transformers movies she saw in the theaters.

She shook that thought out and put a comforting hoof on Izzy’s shoulder. “You shouldn’t be nervous, Izzy. I’m sure you and Sprout are gonna have a great time together.”

Izzy smiled at her friend’s support. “What is it about Sprout that makes you like him, Izzy?” Sunny asked her, which caused Izzy’s smile to turn to a shy one, while her purple face turned pink.

“I-I don’t know. There’s just something about him that I think is…cute.” Making both Sunny and Izzy giggle.

“Well, sweetheart, you look as handsome as ever.” Bella told Sprout, while fixing a tie for him.

While blushing, Sprout was wearing a suit that Vinny had in the closet that didn’t fit him anymore. Thankfully, it fit Sprout very well.

After she was done, Bella looked over Sprout one more time. “Well, how do you feel?” She asked.

Sprout rubbed his foreleg shyly. “Not gonna lie, completely nervous. I just hope I don’t screw anything up.”

“Why do you feel you’ll screw something up?” Bella asked.

“I don’t know. I just…” He wanted to finish his sentence, but couldn’t figure out what to say.

“Does this have anything to do with your past views on Unicorns?” Bella asked, which made Sprout sadly nod his head.

Bella sighed. “Sprout, if you want to truly move on from this, you have to understand that what you used to feel is in the past. The past is just that for a reason. If you want to move on, you have to let it go. That is how you win, honey.”

He heard her words. All the things she said were absolutely true. He didn’t deny that. The problem is, how could he truly move on? How could he let go of the past? He didn’t know. He didn’t know how.

“Sweetheart, how do you feel about Izzy?” Bella asked him.

Another blush appearing on his face, he responded, “I-I don’t know. There’s just something about her that makes me feel…happy. She’s just…really pretty.”

Bella giggled. “Whatever happens, I think you two will make a great couple.”

Sprout was happy for her support. He was lucky to have a mare like Bella in his life. And he hoped she was right with her statement.

Izzy took a deep breath. She still felt “nervous-cited”, but she also felt she looked pretty good. Her mane was clean and well brushed, thanks to Sunny. She had a nice, blue dress, which matched her mane color. She even decided to add just a little bit of eye shadow. She just hoped Sprout thought she looked good as well.

She knocked on Bella and Vinny’s door. After waiting for a few seconds, the door opened and there he stood.

He was wearing a nice looking suit. It kind of looked a bit old-fashioned, but Sprout somehow made it look good. His mane also looked well brushed.

When the two looked at each other, they were both surprised at how good looking they were. With a blush on their faces, they both greeted each other with very shyly.

“H-Hi, Izzy.”

“Hey, Sprouty.”

Bella came up from behind. “Izzy, you look lovely.” She told her.

“Thank you, Miss Bella.” Izzy giggled in a shy tone.

Very gently, Bella pushed Sprout out of the door. “Now, you two have fun. And you tell me all about it when you get back.” Bella told Sprout.

He gave her a nod of approval. As the door closed, Sprout and Izzy continued to stare at each other. Izzy smiled, while Sprout looked ready to throw up with nervousness.

He gulped. “You look great, Izzy.” He said, while starting to walk toward the restaurant’s front doors.

“I think you look great too, Sprouty.” Izzy said, walking right next to him.

The two then walked into the restaurant. Izzy could immediately smell the wonderful aroma.

“Oh, wow.” She said. “It smells so good in here.”

Sprout nodded with a smile. “Just wait till you taste it. Even better.”

Izzy could barely contain her excitement. It was happening. She was on a date with Sprout. And this time, it actually can be called a date.

Zephyr Heights

“I must say Zipp, this feels quite out of nowhere.” Queen Haven said, feeling odd about the situation she was currently in.

Her and her two daughters were currently out and about, having a nice shopping spree. Zipp had just bought a new pair of sunglasses, while Pipp had bought…well a lot of things. Obviously, they were too big to carry, so Zoom and Thunder carried all of her bags back to the castle. Oh, how challenging that must be for the both of them.

“I don’t mind. I like shopping sprees. No matter who it’s with.” Pipp said, having a blast with this situation.

Zipp was having fun too. The sunglasses she bought looked REALLY good on her. Made her feel she looked 20% cooler than she normally was.

However, while she did want to have a nice shopping spree with her sister and mother, there was another reason for this as well. And she felt now was as good a time as any to tell them.

She sighed. “Could we sit down somewhere, you two?” Pipp and Haven looked at her, confused looks on them.

“I need to talk to both of you. It’s kinda why I wanted to do a shopping spree with you today.” She said, looking sort of sad, but not all the way there.

Pipp and Haven looked at each other, and without a word, they agreed to Zipp’s request. They all sat a small bench that faced the clouds to the west. It was a truly beautiful view to look at.

They were all seated. “Zephyrina, is something wrong?” Haven asked.

“I wanted to apologize for everything. For making you guys worry about me so damn much. I’m sorry if I scared you.” She said.

“Zipp, you don’t have to apologize for anything. We’re family. You know that family is always here for each other.” Pipp said, rubbing her older sister’s shoulder.

Zipp smiled at that statement. She felt now was the perfect time to tell them what she wanted to say.

“I had a dream last night.” She said, making Pipp and Haven look worried at first. Another nightmare?

She shook her head. “This time, it was a good dream. It almost felt real.”

“Whatever do you mean, sweetheart?” Haven asked, feeling curious. Pipp did as well.

Zipp felt her lip quiver a little bit. “Daddy came and visited me.”

No words were said, but Pipp and Haven were surprised to hear that.

“He came…because he knew I was going through all this stuff. Because…he’s still watching over us. And he always will.” Zipp said, choking up a little bit. She saw that Pipp and Haven look that way as well.

“I’m not perfect. And I can’t make myself be that. I know I’m gonna mistakes when I take the throne. And, I admit, I’m afraid of the future. But…I’m not gonna dwell on that anymore. I need to be myself. I need to be Zephyrina Storm.” She said.

Haven took a breath, as to not let a few tears out. “That’s good sweetheart. I only wish I could have been there to see your father as well.”

“Me too.” Pipp said.

“Well….” Zipp said, rubbing her hoof. “He actually did tell me to tell you both something.”

Pipp and Haven looked very surprised to hear that.

Zipp waived a wing in front of her eyes. “Mom…I’ll admit, when you and Alphabittle started dating, I felt angry. Because of Daddy. But…I don’t anymore. Because…” she let out a soft sob, making Haven tear up now.

“Because, He told me he’s at peace now. And, for you to be happy with whoever you find. So…when you and Alphabittle get married one day, I’m happy for you. Because Daddy is too, Mom.” Zipp said, choking on a few sobs. Haven put her hoof to her muzzle to also choke on a few sobs, remembering her late husband.

Zipp then turned to Pipp, who also had tears in her eyes now too. “And Pipp? Daddy said…that he’s so proud of you for the career you’ve made. But, don’t let it consume you. Be true to yourself. So, don’t change the way you are, okay?” She told her sister. Both of them were bawling their eyes out now.

Haven embraced her two daughters and all of them cried together. As a family, remembering the late, great Sky Rift.

They both looked to the sky. With tear filled smiles on their faces. Zipp and Pipp were going back to Maretime Bay tomorrow. And they were glad to have at least spent one more day together.

“Your father will always still be here.” Haven whispered to both her girls.

“Definitely.” Pipp said emotionally.

Zipp just looked up to the heavens at her father, who she knew was watching out for her and the rest of her family.

Maretime Bay

“So, Sunny was beating the shit out of both Hitch and I. While we were falling on our asses.” Sprout said, telling Izzy a story about when he, Hitch and Sunny were foals at the Maretime Bay roller rink.

Izzy giggled. “Guess we know where she got her way of transportation into town, huh?”

“Eeyup.”

The two were having a blast together. They had ate a nice pizza together, where they learned that, apparently, they both liked Pepperoni and Mushrooms. They were both certainly shocked that they liked the same toppings.

But, minus the food, they were having a fun time just talking together. Getting to know each other. Another thing they had in common, was they both loved comic books. Which surprised Sprout mostly. Izzy didn’t have that vibe about her that she was into comics. She was into Arachni-colt, while he was into Scare-Devil. They both talked about films based on them that they liked and disliked. Though, Izzy was more upbeat about them, whereas Sprout had issues with a few films.

“This is nice.” Sprout said. “I’m really glad we…had this date, Izzy.”

She blushed a little. “Thank you, Sprouty. I am too.”

The two were silent for a little bit, before Izzy asked a random question.

“Do you think…there could be other dates for us in the future, Sprouty?” She asked, making him look caught off guard.

“Because…I really like you.” She said nervously, fidgeting her hooves. Sprout could feel his mouth becoming dry with nervousness and panic. She said it. She actually said it.

A mare…a very pretty and attractive mare liked him. For him. And for the past week, this mare has been here for him through thick and thin. Regardless if she was criticized for it, she still did it. Because she liked him.

And the truth was….he felt the same way. He liked her too. He wanted to tell her that. But could he even do it?

“Sprouty?” Izzy asked.

He took a deep breath. In and Out. “Izzy, I….you’ve been helping me out a lot this whole week. And I thank you for it. And, these past few days…I admit, I’ve been feeling these feelings you have for me.”

Izzy gasped lightly. He felt the same way as her?

“I…I do….like you, Izzy.” He admitted.

Izzy almost felt like jumping in the air and screaming YES over and over and over again. She was gonna say something, before he spoke again.

“And that’s what scares me.” He said, making Izzy feel confused. What did he say?

“I…I’ve grown up my whole life being told how bad unicorns are. I listened to my Mother and it made me do bad things. Now….Now, I have romantic feelings for one. I just…feel like I don’t deserve you.” He said in a sad tone. The silence between them lasted only 30 seconds before Izzy spoke up again.

“You do.” She said, making him look at her.

“I get you feel tremendous guilt for your past. But that’s what it is. The past is the past for a reason. It’s not who you are anymore. You are a better stallion now than you were back then. And I see that in you, Sprouty. You…You do deserve to be happy. With me.” She said.

“How can you be so sure of that, though?” He asked her.

She then put her hoof on top of his. “Because I’m with you. No matter what.” She said in a determined, yet comforting way.

Sprout couldn’t believe that this mare, this unicorn mare, was this serious about being with him. Damn the looks from ponies, damn the comments he pretended not to hear, and damn the ponies who may hate him, and even her by association.

She liked him. And he liked her. That’s all that mattered and that’s all that needed to matter.

He put his hoof on top of hers now. “Okay. Maybe that’d be great, Izzy.”

She felt super happy to hear him say that. A super, happy Izzy.

The two had gotten down with their meal, and after he payed, the two left. After walking the VERY small distance from the restaurant to Bella and Vinny’s home, the two were now just standing there.

“I had a fun time with you tonight, Sprouty.” Izzy said, shyly looking away. She wondered if she should do it or not.

Sprout smiled. “Yeah. I did too. And I’m looking forward to another.” He said, turning for a split second to see if the door was unlocked. It was.

As he turned back, he was about to say something else, before she was shut up by Izzy planting a quick kiss on Sprout, full on the lips. Blushing as red as his coat, he was utterly silent, and in shock, of the quick act.

Also blushing, she nuzzled him. “Goodnight.” She whispered to him.

As she trotted away, it took a minute for him to regain his composure. He smiled that same giddy smile he did when she kissed him the first time.

He knew he had a story to tell Bella and Vinny.

Somewhere in Clopton

Bud Bloomington looked outside his window at the night sky. Tomorrow. Everything was going to go done tomorrow. Everything was going to change tomorrow.

He was going to be interviewed by his mother, Phyllis Cloverleaf. He couldn’t wait to see her. And he also couldn’t wait to see his little brother.

He knew what he was gonna do. He was going to completely blindside her. She may not believe him at first, but he had something on him that would immediately make her see that what he would tell her is the truth.

After all the pain and suffering he had been through all his life, after all the molestations by his adoptive mother, the brutal beatings by his adoptive father, the neglect and lack of love for him, it was all coming to ahead.

He would make her feel every ounce of pain, suffering and torment he’s felt all his life. And then he’d do something even worse before he ends her horrid life.

He would call his little brother to come to him. He knew that Sprout must be feeling the same as him. They were half brothers after all. And they had the same evil bitch of a mother. He had to have had just as terrible a foalhood as he did. When he and Sprout would meet, he knew Sprout would INSTANTLY jump at the chance to kill their mother together.

Then, they’d run off together. As brothers united. If he wanted to, he’d end Dodd and Sanguine’s lives as well. They weren’t his REAL siblings. He probably had no use for them anymore after tomorrow.

He smiled. He was a hero to the unwanted children of Equestria. He punished bad mothers who didn’t raise their foals good enough. That’s who he is. And that’s who he will be to his little brother.

Sprout and Bud. He liked the sound of that. He couldn’t wait until tomorrow.

Author's Note

Again, yes I know this is late. I apologize. I’ve been having newer interests lately, and admittedly, they’ve gotten in the way of me writing this story. But, I’m glad I got this out for all of you.

As for the next chapter, well guys, this will be the start of the end of this story. Yes. The next chapter is when everything comes to ahead.

Bud Bloomington comes to Maretime Bay. What’s gonna happen to Sprout and Phyllis? Will Izzy and Sprout be happy together? Will Zipp overcome her fears and doubts? Will Hitch finally catch the Mother Mutilator?

All I can say is….stay tuned.

If you liked this chapter, make sure to like, comment , favorite and follow for future updates. Thank you all and goodnight everybody.