48 days after Zipp's breakdown

Zipp's eyes suddenly snapped open as her nightmare came to an abrupt end, finding herself in the waking world again. Though, it wasn't in the Brighthouse this time, and it wasn't her old bedroom in Zephyr Heights either. Thankfully, she didn't have to worry about where she was as she knew immediately by the sleeping stallion in front of her that she was at Hitch's place.

It was a fairly simple reason for why they were sharing a bed again. They were both at the station working on cases, well, Hitch was working on cases while Zipp mostly was playing with Sparky. It was late when he finished, so Zipp decided to spend the night with her coltfriend rather than head back to the Brighthouse alone in the darkness.

That was what lead to this moment, with Zipp waking up from her latest nightmare in Hitch's hooves. However, instead of feeling a sense of comfort being in the embrace of the stallion she loved, the white mare was now feeling the opposite, that she shouldn't be there. But before she could break away from the embrace, she heard Hitch say to her. "Zipp?" Looking up at his face, the pegasus could see the stallion groggily open his eyes.

"Sorry. Did I wake you?" She said quietly.

"Kind of." Hitch admitted. "But more because I felt something was wrong." He said before guessing. "Was it a nightmare?" Zipp said nothing and just looked down and away in shame. That was enough to tell him he was in the ballpark. "Do you...wanna talk about it?" He asked. Again Zipp said nothing and just shook her head. She tried to pulled herself away, but Hitch gently pulled her back in. "Please?" He requested. "I know it's scary. But talking about it can help ease your nerves."

Hitch's gentle touch, now slowly stroking her mane, seemed to help calm Zipp down enough to think rationally. Still, the uncomfortable feeling remained that prevented her from fully calming down. Maybe talking about it would make her feel better. Hitch hasn't judged her yet. "You remember how we first became a couple?" She asked him.

"Yes." Hitch nodded.

"How, in the cave, I admitted I was.....was...." She couldn't say it out loud, it hurt too much.

Thankfully, Hitch seemed to know what she was talking about. "You don't need to say it, Zipp." He assured her.

Hearing that made Zipp sniffle as she then buried her face into Hitch's chest. "I don't understand, Hitch. Why didn't you arrest me?"

"Huh?"

Zipp lifted her face and Hitch's heart ached at seeing her tear filled eyes. "With all I confessed to almost doing. Not just to you, but to Pipp and everypony else, you should’ve arrested me. But you didn’t. Instead, you kissed me and said you also had a crush on me. I just don’t get it. Why did you do that?”

“Well.” Hitch said as a blush grew on his face. “As cheesy as it sounds, I just loved you too much to see you in so much pain. So I took that as the moment to finally confess to you. To finally let you know that I returned your affection and was going to be there for you.”

"Hitch." Zipp said in response to this. "You really loved me for that long?"

"Since the day we first met I've had a crush on you. And the more time we spent together, the more it grew." Hitch confessed. "I just was never able to figure out how to express myself to you, which in turn lead to me never saying anything until after you made the first move."

"Yeah. A first move that nearly ruined everything." Zipp scolded herself.

"That's not true." Hitch told her as he pulled her in more. "Yes, it was surprising, and not the right time to get so intimate with Sparky present. But I know that you would never have done anything unless I agreed to it."

"But how can you be so sure?" Zipp asked. "Why do you keep saying that after everything else I almost did?"

"Because I trust you as much as I love you." Hitch answered.

No matter how many times she heard it, Zipp still couldn't believe it. "Y-You do?"

"Of course. And I love every single inch of you, so that should tell you how much I trust you." Hitch said jokingly.

Zipp couldn't help but giggle at the joke before she had to ask. "Why do you love me?"

Hitch recognized this wasn't Zipp feeling she wasn't good enough for him, but instead just something she wanted to hear so she could go back to sleep easier. "How could I not? With just how beautiful you are, it'd be impossible for me not to."

"Oh, come on, Hitch." Zipp said bashfully with a gentle nudge. "You're just saying that."

But the stallion shook his head. "Oh, no. You are without any question the most beautiful mare in Equestria. Bar absolutely none."

Hearing that made the pegasus blush. "How can you compare me to somepony like Pipp or Sunny?"

Hitch smiled at the question and gave a very detailed explanation to his lover. "As pretty as they are, you have a beauty that's all natural, not requiring make up and the like to look stunning. From your snow white coat, to your colorful mane. I could watch you for hours." He then started to rub her wings. "And then there's your wings. So powerful, yet so elegant and soft. A rainbow that appears whenever they open that carry you flawlessly through the sky. Makes me wish that I had wings myself, so I could fly up there in the sky with you." He admitted with a blush before it deepened when he got to another part. "And I would be lying if I said that I haven't been paying attention to your flank, thinking about all we could do if we were alone."

Zipp blushed even more at that comment and gently punched the sheriff. "Wow. Who knew the noble sheriff was so naughty?" She said teasingly. "Though I probably should've seen that part coming given how often we like to admire each other's rumps."

They both laughed at that joke before they looked into their eyes again. "Honestly, I could go on for hours, but yet I would never be able to explain it properly. I love you, Zipp Storm. With every fiber of my being. With every beat of my heart." Hitch finished with a kiss.

"Uh, what was that?" Zipp asked, picking at her ear like something was in it blocking her hearing.

"I said I love you, Zipp." Hitch repeated, gaining a smirk.

"I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" Zipp requested with her own playful smirk.

Hitch took the hint and began peppering her face with soft kisses. "I love you." He said before giving a kiss on the nose. "I love you." One on each cheek. "I love you." One on the forehead. "I love you." Finally one by her ears. "I'll always love you." He whispered into one before gently nibbling it.

Zipp squealed with laughter at Hitch tickling her ear. "Eheheheheh! Stop it!" She giggled out before Hitch backed away to allow her to speak. "Hitch, I.....I honestly don't even know how to say just how much I love you."

"That's okay." Hitch assured her.

"But I want to tell you so badly." Zipp quietly whined. "To let you know how much you mean to me."

"You don't need to say anything, Zipp." Hitch said as they hugged. "Just knowing you return everything I feel towards you tells me more than enough. And I would never ask for anything more."

"Hitch." Zipp said with tears in her eyes as she nuzzled into the stallion's chest. "You are my world. I love you that much."

Hitch chuckled as he rested his head against his marefriend's. "Same, Zipp. Same." He said as they both fell back asleep and entered dreams of each other and all the happiness to come together.

Because in their hearts, they knew there was always going to be a Hitch and Zipp.

Author's Note

Curse you, Stormblazer!! Your endless wholesome possibilities know no bounds!

That's part of the reason for this chapter. I just had the idea and it would not leave me alone, not matter how much I kept telling myself we didn't need another Stormblazer chapter.

But this chapter did allow me to address a certain elephant in the room (not my OC) that those who've read In The Dark of The Night should remember. Honestly, it was not easy to write this. I was basically walking on a tightrope as my OC. One wrong step and it all could've came crashing down.

Thankfully, I think I was able to come up with a bit that doesn't go too deep into uncomfortable territory, while still not ignoring it. If you think otherwise, don't be afraid to say so.

Regardless, this gave me an excuse for more of Hitch being the perfect coltfriend and referencing one of my favorite Twidash fics, so I call this a victory