Redemption for a Cloverleaf

“Oh Celestia Zipp, your eye.” Pipp emotionally said, placing a wet dish cloth over her older sisters left eye. She even shed a few tears, seeing her in this condition. Sunny also looked worried for her friends condition. She saw the punch Zipp took. It was indeed a very hard one.

When the five of them made it back to the Sheriff’s office, Sprout was put in an interview room. He would be asked questions by Hitch in a little bit. However, what was currently the main priority, was finding out just what the hell happened in the town square just now.

By now, Zipp’s eye had started to blacken. She was still in pain from the punch to the face she received from Sprout. She was honestly surprised at just how hard a punch he could throw. Even on the ground.

“Zipp, you need to go to the hospital. This looks serious.” Pipp pleaded with her big sister.

She just groaned. Both in annoyance and in pain. “Ugh, I’ll be fine, okay? I just wanna interview, Sprout.” Zipp said, standing up.

As she proceeded to trot past her little sister, she loudly muttered. “And punch HIM in the face for good measure.”

After that was said, The Sheriff stood in front of her, blocking her way. His face showing how unhappy he was right now.

“You’re not doing anything.” Hitch said, sounding very pissed off at her.

Zipp was surprised to hear this. “And why not?” She asked, with offensiveness in her tone.

“One, your sister is right. Your eye needs to be looked at. And two, I’m not letting you ANYWHERE near Sprout after what I’m pretty sure YOU started.” Hitch shouted at her.

Zipp winced in pain from the swelling pain in her face. But that didn’t stop her from getting in Hitch’s face.

“What do you mean I started? That fucker hit me.” Zipp yelled.

Sunny and Pipp looked scared at the argument going on right now. This felt like the first real, big time fight that this little group had ever had. And this was serious. Because, it involved law enforcement. Somepony could get in trouble here.

Hitch glared daggers at Zipp. “I have a pretty good idea about what happened. You went and accused Sprout. Then you tried to take him by force, didn’t you? Explains why he punched you in the eye, right?” He asked her.

He then looked at Sunny. She had never seen Hitch look this mad before in his life. In all the years she’s known him, she had NEVER seen him look as angry as he looked now. And the worse part is, he was looking at her. Was he angry at her too? She felt scared looking into his eyes.

“Am I right, Sunny? You were there.” Hitch asked her.

All Sunny could do was look at Hitch and then at Zipp with nervousness on her face. She didn’t know what to do to.

Hitch walked closer to Sunny’s face. Her fear levels rose up.

“Listen Sunny. I know we’ve been friends for years now. But, this isn’t your longtime friend talking to you. This is the Sheriff of Maretime Bay talking. So, tell me right now: Was what I just said what actually happened?” He asked her in an intense tone.

Scared witless, Sunny looked at Zipp and then at Pipp. The way they looked back at her, she felt Zipp wanted her to lie to him. Because she saw literally everything that went down.

Then, she looked over at the Interview Room where Sprout was. She couldn’t believe she was in this situation. Zipp and Hitch in a pretty serious argument about another one of her old friends. And it looked like there would be consequences either way about what happened. If she lies or tells the truth, somepony wasn’t gonna be happy.

“Sunny.” Hitch said, getting her attention. “You need to tell the truth. If I find out you lied to me, I’m going to arrest you. Plain and simple. Now tell me.”

She saw that look. She knew Hitch wasn’t fucking around. He was as serious as ever. She didn’t want to go to jail. Regardless if it involved staying loyal to a friend.

So, with a huge sigh, she told Hitch what was up.

“Yes.” Sunny said, looking down in shame.

“Sunny, what the hell?” Zipp asked out loud.

“YOU ASSAULTED SOMEPONY, ZIPP!” She shouted. Tears were now running down her face. Hitch didn’t like to see Sunny cry, but it was necessary here.

“You flat out accused somepony you don’t like, without getting all the facts together, and then you tackled him to the ground because he wouldn’t come with you.” She said, now turning away from Zipp, a few sniffles being heard from her.

It was then that Zipp felt a little remorse for Sunny here. She didn’t like seeing her friend cry. She didn’t want her to be in this type of situation here. This was between her, Hitch and Sprout.

“What the fuck were you thinking, Zipp?!” Hitch asked out loud, startling Zipp and Pipp.

With her attention back on him, Hitch continued. “He was just wanted for questioning. Besides the partial DNA match, there is literally NO evidence that he did this crime at all. You assaulted somepony for no fucking reason at all. That is NOT what a good detective does.” He yelled in her face, looking as angry as he’s ever been. But he wasn’t done yet.

“Not to mention, you also had no authorization to do that. I NEVER deputized you. You, basically, committed a crime, Zipp. I should arrest your ass right now for aggravated assault.”

Pipp felt scared too. In all the time she’s known him, she has NEVER seen Hitch look this pissed off. Especially AT somepony. It was honestly frightening to see.

As for Zipp, she just couldn’t believe what she had heard. Her sister had basically committed aggravated assault. Without really even thinking clearly. She started to think maybe she should’ve talked more with Zipp about what happened at the beach yesterday.

Pipp and Sunny continued to look on at the ensuing argument that was going on between Hitch and Zipp. And she wasn’t backing down at all. Even if she was surprised at what Hitch said to her.

“Why are you even defending that loser? He disobeyed you and started a war and, oh yeah, almost killed us with that stupid giant machine of doom. You should be on my side for this.” Zipp yelled in Hitch’s face, before turning to Sunny. Making her look scared again.

“And you. Why are you defending him? He’s the one who destroyed your home. If anything Sunny, you should be on my side more than anything.” She exclaimed.

“Leave her outta this!” Hitch yelled.

“Fuck you!” Zipp screamed.

The two then literally got in each other’s faces. Looking so angry at each other. It was as if the two were about to throw hooves at each other.

Sunny and Pipp knew this looked bad. They weren’t gonna stand around anymore. They needed to stop this.

So, the two of them got in between them and pulled each other back. Pipp pulled Zipp back, while Sunny did the same with Hitch.

“STOP THIS!” Sunny screamed out loud. “You two fighting isn’t gonna solve anything.”

“Zipp, stop it! You need to go to the hospital.” She pleaded with her.

“You don’t know shit, Zipp! You don’t know ANYTHING about Sprout! He’s my friend!” Hitch yelled at Zipp.

This surprised them, Sunny included. They all stared at Hitch in disbelief. They just couldn’t believe he said this.

Hitch attempted to calm himself down a little bit. He took a deep breath.

“I’ve known Sprout since I was a little colt. He’s been my friend for years. Hell, even longer than Sunny. You’ve never personally met Sprout. You have NO right to talk shit about his Mom and Dad like you did last night before I left. You know nothing about him.” He ranted at her. As he did this, he was starting to feel something. Something that ACTUALLY felt…good. Relieving.

He felt like he was getting all this shit he was feeling off his chest. It felt good to not have to bottle up these feelings now.

Zipp looked confused. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. What did I say?”

“When you made that little comment about “I wonder what his Dad would think”. Hitch mockingly impersonated Zipp. “That’s what made me leave last night. You pissed me off real good talking shit about a dead stallion.”

Now Zipp and Pipp both looked surprised. They really didn’t see that coming. “Wait…Sprout’s Dad is dead?” Zipp asked in a low tone.

“Yeah. When he was only 8 years old. Me and Sunny were there when it happened.” Hitch angrily told her.

Now, it was Sunny’s turn to look at Zipp in disbelief. “You made fun of a pony’s dead Dad?” She asked, now sounding a bit pissed off herself.

“I-I-I didn’t know he was dead. It was just a joke.” Zipp stuttered.

“Joke? How do you think I’d feel if somepony made a joke about MY Dad? And what about your Dad too? How would you feel?” Sunny asked, sounding emotional.

“Don’t bring him up, Sunny.” Zipp said in an almost threatening tone. No pony speaks ill about the late King of Zephyr Heights while she was around.

“Well, you brought up Sprout’s Dad, so now you know.” Hitch said, having Sunny’s back.

Zipp was almost ready to attack both of them, before Pipp got in front of her and in between Sunny and Hitch.

“THAT IS ENOUGH!” Pipp shouted at the top of her lungs. It was so loud, it almost shook the entire Sheriff’s Department. All three of them were surprised at how loud she could go. Well, she was a famous singer, so they probably shouldn’t be.

“Listen every pony.” She said, now getting their attention. “This isn’t how friends act toward each other.”

After a brief silence, she continued. “We need to talk about this later when our minds are all clear. Right now, Zipp-“ she turned to her sister. “-you NEED a hospital. Your eye could get worse. So stop yelling at everypony and let’s go. Now.”

Zipp saw that desperate and pleading look on her face. She knew that she was worried sick about her. About her physical well-being. Maybe, if her eye gets worse, it could lead to vision loss or something. Of course, it was just a punch. A very hard punch. But, still just a punch. It’s not like she had a concussion or anything.

….right?

She knew Pipp wouldn’t stop telling her to do this. So, she decided to relent and give in to her little sister’s demand.

“Fine. I’ll get my eye looked at.” She told her begrudgingly with a grumble in her voice.

Pipp nodded in approval. “Thank you. Yes.” She said, now guiding Zipp out of the Sheriff’s Department.

As she did this, there was a bit of a stare down between Zipp and Sunny & Hitch. But, mostly between Zipp and Hitch. There was certain some tension between them now. Both Sunny and Pipp saw it in their eyes.

What could this mean for their friendship? Could it be repaired? Or was it all over after this really bad argument?

As the door closed, with Pipp and Zipp leaving to go to the hospital, silence filled the air of the Sheriff’s Department. After so many loud, angry, and hurtful words said between them, it felt heavy to say the very least.

However, Hitch knew he had a job to do. So, with that, he put himself back together, got some papers from his desk, and proceeded to head toward Sprout’s interrogation room. Not before looking back at Sunny.

“I think you should leave, Sunny. I’ll handle Sprout.” He said.

“Are you sure?” She asked concernedly.

He nodded. “Yeah. To be honest, I’ve been wanting to talk with Sprout for a while now. It just took me a while to figure it out in my head.” He said with a sad look.

“You should head home. I’m really sorry you had to see all that, Sunny.”

Sunny nodded sadly. “Okay. But, can you promise me something?”

“What?” He asked.

“When you get done with Sprout, I wanna talk to him too. I think I’ve wanted too for a while now as well.” She said.

Hitch nodded in approval. “Okay. It’ll just be between you and him. I promise.”

She gave him a warm smile. “Thank you. And good luck Hitch.” She said, now turning around and leaving herself.

Hitch then walked a couple of feet away, and there he stood. Outside of Sprout’s interrogation room. It was in this room where he would speak to somepony he’s known longer than he can remember. And somepony he hasn’t spoken too in a very long time.

What would he ask him? What would he say? What words would come out of his mouth?

What Sprout say to him? What would Sprout say? What words would come out of Sprout’s mouth?

In all the years he’s been Sheriff, Hitch had never felt anxiety like this. Had never felt as nerve wracking as this. As uncomfortable as this.

But, he had to do it.

He had a job to do. He knew had to talk with his old friend. He knew if he didn’t sit down and talk with Sprout right here and right now, it would be on his conscience for the rest of his life.

So, after a huge breath of air, Hitch opened the door.

Sprout had never felt so scared in his life. He was in the interrogation room that he and Hitch used to use when interviewing ponies about various crimes committed over Maretime Bay. Only now, HE was the one being interviewed, and for a crime he was accused of committing.

He couldn’t believe what he had just done. All he wanted was to get Zipp off of him. He had been tackled by a pretty well in shape pony, that could take him in a fight. So, he had no choice. He HAD to fight back. Even if it meant physically striking her in the face.

He knew it was wrong to lay a hoof on a mare. Especially after he knocked that little filly on her ass when he was a colt, and his mother gave him a massive earful. When he punched Zipp, he almost instantly felt guilty for doing it.

However, he was scared and in a troubling situation. He wondered what anypony else would’ve done. Would they have done the same thing?

Now, he was just waiting. Waiting to be talked to by somepony he’s known all his life. An old friend who he used to work for. Before he fucked it all up.

He was nervous and scared as hell to ACTUALLY have a conversation with Hitch. He was equally scared if Zipp was gonna be with him too. Would she try to lunge at him and give him a receipt? Would Hitch even hold her back?

All his nerves stopped for a brief moment when the door opened.

There he stood. Hitch Trailblazer. The Sheriff of Maretime Bay. One of his foalhood friends.

For the next two minutes or less, all the two could do was just stare at each other. No words. No expression. No nothing. Just a silent stare.

That was until Hitch walked a few more steps and then sat in the chair in front of Sprout.

“How’re you feeling?” Hitch asked, regarding the assault that took place.

Sprout didn’t know what to say. He had a hard time making eye contact with Hitch. He had trouble finding the words. So, what else could he say except:

“Fine.” He softly said, barely audible.

It was quiet again for a minute. Just awkward silence again.

“Where’s Zipp?” Sprout hesitantly asked.

“She’s going to the hospital to get her eye looked at. Hopefully, she’s not concussed or anything.” Hitch answered.

“Oh.”

“Mmhmm.”

Another awkward moment of silence between them.

“Sunny told me everything.” Hitch said. He also had a hard time making eye contact with his old buddy.

“So, you know I didn’t mean to hurt her, right?” Sprout asked, sounding very afraid.

“Yeah. I know.” Hitch muttered.

Another minute of silence passed them again. Hitch now felt tired of the awkwardness. He decided to get down to business.

“Look Sprout.” Hitch said, getting his attention. “I need you to be honest with me here, okay? Because if you don’t, I can’t help you.”

“I didn’t kill anypony. I swear.” Sprout pleaded with Hitch.

“I need to know why there was a partial DNA match of yours at Lilac Summers’ murder scene.” He said, now looking at Sprout in the face.

“I don’t know. I’m just as confused as you are. I’ve never heard of Lilac Summers. I don’t know what she looks like. Hell, I don’t even know what it was that killed her. Hitch, please, you gotta believe me.” He pleaded with him again.

Hitch looked surprised to hear this. In all the years of them being friends, he’s known when Sprout was being sincere and when he was full of shit. He knew Sprout’s sarcastic nature from him being totally honest.

And this was one of those moments of him being honest. That’s what it came across as to him.

“You seriously don’t know? No pony has said anything to you?” He asked him.

“I only found out last night when I visited Bella and Vinny. They told me about the body when we sat down for a pizza together.”

“So, you never heard anything else?”

Sprout shook his head. “No, all Vinny told me was the discovery of the body. That’s it. Hitch, how bad was it?”

Hitch raised his eyebrow in question.

“If that crazy bitch Zipp attacked me and accused me, then something really bad must’ve happened to her. What happened?” Sprout asked.

Hitch thought for a moment. Should he tell him? Was it really his business?

The more he thought about it, he felt if Sprout didn’t do this, maybe it would be wise to tell him to let him know why Zipp and possibly every pony in Maretime Bay would probably want his head now.

He shuttered, which didn’t go unnoticed by Sprout.

“The mare was beaten. Had her neck snapped in half.”

Sprout looked shook. “Oh Celestia.”

“Oh, it gets better.” Hitch sarcastically said. “There was a huge chunk of fur with blood in her mouth after she apparently bit her attacker. I had to pry open her mouth to see it.”

After he said that, he saw as if Sprout’s face and coat had just turned white. He looked sick. Sick to his stomach.

“Shit.” Sprout shuttered. He even shivered a little too.

Hitch did the same. He was also still shook up after the crime scene.

“But, strangely enough, that’s not the worst part.” He told Sprout.

“What could be even worse than that?” Sprout asked.

Hitch paused for a quick second, remembering when he saw the thing that made him lose his lunch and Zipp cry emotionally.

“Her marehood was completely mutilated. She was raped with a sharp knife.”

Sprout couldn’t even….he was just stunned. Now he kinda has a feeling as to why Zipp acted so crazy. If he saw what she saw, he probably would be traumatized too. Just hearing what Hitch said sent a chill down his spine.

He couldn’t say anything. Really, how could anypony after hearing that? All he could do was shiver and put his hooves in his face.

“So, you see why Zipp acted like that?” Hitch asked him.

Sprout could only nod his head.

“I think I already know the answer, but I have to ask anyway: Have you ever traveled to Clopton or Trotville before or recently?”

Sprout put his hooves away from his face, and just looked at Hitch in disbelief.

“No. Are you fucking crazy? My Mom told me to NEVER to go there. Hell, I don’t even know what the town looks like, but I’ve heard about all the crime and shit that goes down there. Why are you even asking me that, Hitch?” He asked him, now starting to feel angry.

“Lilac Summers was from Clopton. According to Charnelle, she was carried over 30 miles from Clopton to the beach of Maretime Bay. I’m still having a hard time believing it myself.” Hitch said.

“And you HONESTLY think I would carry a body for over 30 miles to bury it on the beach?” Sprout asked, his anger and fear rising.

Hitch took notice of his old friends behavior. He didn’t know what to do. Take advantage of it, or aggravate it more?

His thoughts stopped after Sprout said something to him. Something that just made Hitch not believe that he would ACTUALLY say something like this.

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

As minute that sentence left Sprout’s mouth, Hitch stopped thinking. Stopped talking. Stopped asking questions. All he did was just listen to his old friend.

“You ACTUALLY are enjoying interrogating me, aren’t you? Intimidating me. Making me scared. You like seeing me like this, don’t you? Because you fucking hate me, right?”

That….that right there…it did something to Hitch. That last sentence that Sprout just said…it felt like he literally attacked him with those words. It felt like he used those words as a weapon.

What Sprout just said…it HURT Hitch. It hurt him to hear that.

“You and Sunny and Pipp and ESPECIALLY Zipp. You all hate me. You even gave Zipp my old job. She’s your new deputy. I can tell you like working with her more than you EVER did working with me. That’s how it is, right?” Sprout angrily asked him, while he breathed hard. He even shuttered a little bit emotionally.

Hitch just couldn’t believe Sprout was saying all this. He wanted to interrupt him. Tell him to shut the fuck up and listen to him. But, Sprout wasn’t done yet. And what he would say next, would be something that Hitch didn’t think Sprout would EVER do. Would never think he was capable of.

What he said next actually OFFENDED Hitch.

Sprout gave a sarcastic smirk. “Well, you and your new friends can hate me all you want. But, honestly, I hate myself more than all of you and your new friends combined. My self hatred is even higher than ANY of what you guys could have.”

Now it was Hitch’s turn to look on in disbelief.

“And I know why. I get it. I guess I deserve it. I guess I don’t deserve to have you as a friend anymore. I deserve to be friendless. I deserve to have every pony hate me and wish me dead. I deserve to live the life I’m living now. I mean, that’s what you wanna hear right? You will always better than me. You will always be the better Sheriff than I could ever be. You will always be ahead of me at everything. I’m inferior to you. How about that, huh? You want me to say that, well I did.” Sprout poured his heart out at Hitch about his self loathing and insecurities. Tears started to run down his face. There were sniffles as well.

Hitch couldn’t believe what he was seeing and hearing. He had NEVER seen a side of Sprout like this before. Him just saying all these things…this wasn’t the same Sprout he grew up with all those years ago.

And truthfully, Hitch started to get uncomfortable. Not just that, but what he felt earlier.

Offended.

Sprout shuttered in sadness with a depressing smile on his face. More tears streaming. More sniffles being heard.

“What was I thinking, huh? Thinking I could be a good Sheriff? Thinking I’m worth a damn? Thinking I could ACTUALLY be on your level? No wonder I’ve always been so jealous of you. No wonder I wish I could be just a LITTLE BIT like you. No wonder I wish I was somepony else every fucking day I look in the mirror.”

Hitch was starting to get pissed off. Even if he was mad at Sprout for what he did, he didn’t like hearing this. He didn’t like ponies talking badly about themselves. And in such a horrible way.

However, before Hitch could say anything, Sprout said one last thing. One last thing that made Hitch just not take hearing all this anymore.

After Sprout wiped away the tears on his face, he said, loud enough for Hitch to hear:

“No wonder I’ve thought about ending it all.”

That did it.

That one little sentence did it.

Now…Hitch was pissed off.

SLAM went the table the two were sitting in, as he struck the very surface with his right hoof.

“Ah.” Sprout yelped in surprise. He didn’t see that coming. He also didn’t see what he was now looking at coming either.

Hitch was staring…no…no, not staring, that’s too nice of a word. Hitch was now GLARING at Sprout. A seriously ANGRY glare.

Sprout couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The last time he saw Hitch look angry was when he fired him all that time ago. How could he ever forget that moment?

Here, it was WAY different. This didn’t look like Hitch was angry. He didn’t look furious. Hitch looked flat out enraged.

“HOW FUCKING DARE YOU!!!” Hitch bellowed at the top of his lungs, while standing up from his chair.

If Sprout had felt scared before, now it intensified. Because Sprout was now flat out terrified. Zipp accusing him outta nowhere was bad, but this was on a whole other level.

He was frankly shocked at seeing Hitch like this. He had never seen him like this before. Not once in his whole entire life.

Hitch walked around the table and was now standing over Sprout. Huffing and Puffing. Angry eyes piercing their gaze upon his old friend in front of him.

Sprout couldn’t move. He was frozen in fear. Shaking like a leaf. Lip quivering. Looking up at a seriously pissed off Hitch Trailblazer.

“How Dare You!” He yelled again, though this time not as loud as before.

“Do you HONESTLY think I’m that heartless?! Do you think I’m that cruel?! Do you think I would EVER think things like that?!” He asked him. As he asked his old friend these questions, Sprout began to notice something. Something off about Hitch right now.

As his huffing and puffing continued, he swore he saw pricks of tears in the corner of Hitch’s eyes. Now THAT caught Sprout off guard too. He couldn’t believe what he was witnessing.

Was Hitch Trailblazer….crying?

“I can’t believe my best friend would think terrible things like this. Even if I was mad at you for a long time, I would NEVER want you to FUCKING KILL YOURSELF!” Hitch screamed literally inches in Sprout’s face.

It was then that Sprout saw the pricks in his eyes from a moment ago start to fall from Hitch’s eyes. It was a stream falling. He was full on crying now.

“Do you have any idea how that makes me feel? Do you know what kinda pain I’d be in if I found out my best friend decided to take his own life? Do you?!” Hitch exclaimed on that last part.

Seeing Hitch’s crying was starting to take an affect on Sprout. Because he felt tears start to well up in his face. He felt a choked sob come up his throat. He couldn’t feel the words come out.

“H-H-Hitch, I-I-I’m…I-“ He tried to say but couldn’t.

“Why would you think that, huh?” Hitch asked him.

Sprout was having trouble finding the right words, until Hitch raised his voice one more time.

“ANSWER ME!”

“Because I’m ashamed, okay?!” Sprout loudly answers him, while standing up from his seat. The tears had now fully fallen down his face.

As the two stallions with tears in their eyes looked at each other in silence again, they knew know there was nowhere to go from here but just tell the truth. About everything.

Sprout choked on a sob. “I’m ashamed of everything, okay? The giant machine of doom, the prejudice I felt for Unicorns and Pegasi, my bad attitude, all of that.” He said, emotionally pouring his heart out to his best friend.

Hitch sniffled a little bit emotionally, listening to his friend’s tale.

“But, most of all, I’m ashamed that I betrayed the trust of my two best friends in the whole world. The only two ponies who ACTUALLY give a fuck about me.” Sprout said, following a few sobs. More tears ran down his face.

Hitch had no idea Sprout felt so much remorse for his actions. He had no idea that the idea of losing him and Sunny affected him so much. It clearly had a mental impact on him.

He felt selfish for being bitter all those months. Never checking in on him. Never asking about him to his mother, Phyllis. Never wanting to think about him, because he got bitterly angry at him for the giant machine of doom.

Hitch had never felt so selfish. He felt like he was a terrible friend. Especially, to somepony he grew up with.

“And I was scared too.” Sprout continued, causing Hitch to continue listening to him.

“I was scared to approach you and Sunny and your new friends. Because…” He paused, his lip quivering again.

“What?” Hitch said, while wiping tears away.

“That you hated me. And that…that you don’t wanna see me ever again.” Sprout whimpered. “I wish I could take it all back. I’m so sorry, Hitch.”

Hitch regretted everything that happened during the past months. He wished he would’ve sat down and talked with Sprout. Like Tap Shot said, ask him why he did it. What he was thinking.

He felt like shit now. And he probably deserved to feel that way.

He gave a big sigh, looking at the ground in shame. “This all my fault.”

Sprout looked on in surprise. What did he say?

“I never should’ve avoided you. I never should’ve stopped thinking about you altogether. I never should’ve treated you like that.” Hitch said with deep regret and remorse.

Sprout couldn’t believe what he just heard. It was truly stunning to say the least.

“I wish I could take it all back too. I should’ve sat you down and talked with you, man to man. But it was my pride, my ego and my arrogance that kept me from doing it.” Hitch said, before looking back up at Sprout.

“I was bitter. I was bitter at you for disobeying me. That’s what made me not wanna speak to you anymore. But, I was wrong. I was wrong for thinking that.” He said, now putting a hoof on Sprout’s shoulder, surprising him.

“I’m so sorry…buddy.” Hitch said emotionally, which then followed something Sprout NEVER thought Hitch would ever do.

Hitch embraced Sprout in a hug. And cried on his shoulder.

“I’m so sorry.” He sobbed.

As Sprout felt Hitch’s tears on his shoulder, he felt his come back again. He then wrapped his hooves around Hitch as well.

“Me too. Me too.” Sprout sobbed.

Then, for the next 10 minutes, all Hitch and Sprout did was hug each other while crying their eyes out, and repeatedly apologizing to each other for their behaviors.

After their emotional apologies, Sprout and Hitch finally calmed down. The tears they shed were finally done. Even if they had extremely red eyes and puffy looking cheeks, they felt a lot better now.

“Your cheeks look about as bright as your coat.” Hitch jokingly said, sniffling. Happy sniffles this time.

“I hope you mean my face, cause I don’t swing that way.” Sprout said in his old smartass way with a smirk on his face.

“Screw you, man.” Hitch said, slightly laughing at his buddy’s joke. Sprout laughing in tow.

It was silent again for a minute before Hitch realized he still had a job to do.

“Listen to me, Sprout.” Hitch said to him in a serious tone, which got his attention.

“I KNOW you didn’t do this. I’ve known from the start. I know you to well.” He said, causing Sprout to give him an appreciative smile.

“But, after what happened in town with Zipp, the townsfolk are gonna believe it, no matter what we say. Even if I give the best speech ever, they won’t leave you alone. I’m just telling you.” Hitch said.

Sprout groaned. He knew Hitch was right. Especially after he struck Zipp in the face. They’d be after his head now.

“So, what do I do?” He asked.

“There’s only one thing you can do: Consent to a DNA test.” Hitch said.

Sprout looked at Hitch. “Seriously?” He asked. Not in a rude way, but in a “Is this truly the only way?” way.

Hitch nodded. “Charnelle told me that DNA tests never lie. Your match at the crime scene was only partial. If you wanna prove you didn’t do it, then prove it by agreeing to this. It’ll come up negative, and you’ll be in the clear.”

Sprout gave him a look that said he doesn’t know if that’ll work or not.

“Just trust me, please. It’s the only way. Please Sprout. I’m not just asking you as the Sheriff. I’m asking you as your best friend.” Hitch told him.

Sprout thought a moment. He wanted more than anything for all this to just go away. If that meant he had to take a full DNA test, then he guessed he had no choice. So, he made up his mind.

He nodded his head. “Okay Hitch. I’ll do it.”

Hitch nodded in agreement. “Thank you, I’m glad you made the smart choice.” He said, heading for the exit to the interview room.

He looked back at Sprout. “Follow me. I’m gonna help clear your name, pal.” He said, motioning for him to come with him.

Sprout agreed and followed Hitch out the door to take the DNA test.

Hitch just hoped that everything would be okay after everything that went down with him and Zipp. Hopefully, after the DNA test, they could all see the real Sprout right now. And, possibly, maybe they could be friends with him too.

By Celestia, he truly hoped.