Two earth ponies were shown reaching for their bags in the hallway of a school building. One was an orange filly with a lavender mane, while the other was a light amber-colored colt, as the former was upset.
“I can’t believe our teacher made me sit in the corner. I only said that unicorns don’t eat earth pony brains,” complained the filly. “If my dad were here, he’d say the same thing—that all three tribes of ponykind lived in harmony and got along, spreading love and friendship among each other.”
“But he’s not,” said the colt to his best friend after putting on his saddle bags.
“Well, I wish he was!” said the filly as she fumed and sat down with a pouting look.
The colt saw that his friend was upset as he approached and sat beside her. He then pulled her in for a quick side hug as the filly felt her friend’s embrace.
“Feel better, " asked the colt, knowing that whenever he was down, she’d often hug him to take away some of his sadness. Here, he was hoping to do the same.
“Yeah. Thanks, Hitch,” said the filly as she looked at her friend.
“That’s why I’m here,” said the colt as he removed his foreleg and walked out with his friend.
The two little ponies were marching through their quaint town of Maritime Bay when they saw other ponies doing their business. They passed by several TVs in a window as they showed off the latest inventions from Canterlogic as the mare in charge began to spew out some information.
“Introducing the latest defense to protect ourselves. Meet the Sky Slinger!” said the mare as she stepped out of frame to reveal her latest contraption. One of her workers loaded up the giant mechanical slingshot with some fruit as it was automatically pulled back, flung the stuff forward to a bullseye, and splat in the center. “All those evil pegasus will think twice about invading our airspace when they get a look at this powerful baby. And our latest product we’ve been pushing out is the Containment Box!”
The CEO signaled to her employees as they pushed one of their coworkers into the space with an X on the floor. He complained about why his buddies were pushing him as he was on break. It wasn’t until he looked down to see the symbol that it was too late; the contraption began to fold up, creating a sealed box around the pony trapped inside with an alarm on top of it.
“These unicorn trap boxes will prove handy when those physic blood-thirsty barbarians decide they want to run over our beloved town. Never fear, these will put them in their place!” said Phyllis Cloverleaf as, in the background, an earth pony pushed the release button to free his coworker, who was a nervous wreck and shaking in his hooves.
“It was dark…” said the stallion as he fell to the floor and groveled at his coworker’s legs with a scared tone. He didn’t like the experience he had just undergone.
“Shut it off!” shouted Phyllis as she made a motion with her hoof to signal the camera to cut and avoid ponies seeing that.
“It’s not fair!”
“What is?” asked the colt as he looked at his friend.
“Ms. Cloverleaf saying all that stuff. It’s not true. Ponies used to live in harmony with each other. No fighting, no arguing. They all lived in unity.” said the orange filly as she galloped around her friend. The thought of friendship between the three tribes filled her eyes with sparkles.
“I mean, you heard what our teacher said today in history,” said Hitch.
“But it’s not true. You believe me, right, Hitch?” asked Sunny as she looked at her friend with a pleading smile.
“Um, well…” the colt struggled with his response. All he’d heard growing up was that Pegasus and Unicorns were their enemies, but Sunny was his best friend, and he didn’t want to make her feel any sadder than she was after today’s latest debacle with their teacher.
“Hitch.…”
“Well, if you want me to believe you, then I will,” smiled the colt, giving an answer he hoped would satisfy his best friend.
Sunny sighed as she put her head down. The filly knew that Hitch just said that so she wouldn’t feel sad. She appreciated that he didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but she just wished he would believe what she was saying. The colt could see his response affect Sunny as he sighed and followed her. Sunny was so distracted by her feelings that she didn’t pay attention in front of her. The small filly was walking past the movie theatre when she failed to see a spot with an X on it, as it was one of the traps that Maretime Bay had installed.
“Sunny! Sunny!” called out Hitch as he realized his friend was heading right for it. Out of instinct, he began to sprint forward.
“I get it, Hitch! I…” the filly placed a hoof on the X as it triggered the mechanism.
Everything happened slowly as Hitch sprinted forward as fast as his legs could carry him. Sunny turned to look at her friend, wondering why she was running at him when she turned to see the sides of the containment box coming up and looking to trap the small earth pony. Soon, she felt her best friend collide with her as both ponies moved out of the way at the last second, with the trap coming together and sealing itself. The two fillies landed on the ground as they lifted their heads to see the trap before looking at themselves to see if they were okay.
“Are you okay, Sunny?” asked Hitch as he stood up and offered his hoof to his friend.
“Yeah, I’m good,” said the filly as she accepted her friend’s hoof and stood up while shaking her body. “Thanks.”
After the two ponies collected themselves, the pair continued to the lighthouse on the hill overlooking the town. The lighthouse belonged to the home of the orange filly as the pair made their way up the path and arrived at the door.
“Dad! Dad!” called out Sunny.
“I’ll be down in a bit, sweetie!” said a voice.
“Phew!” exhaled Hitch as he and Sunny entered the filly’s living room, and he sat down on his hind. “Carrying all those heavy books better give me some muscles.” Sunny just rolled her eyes at hearing Hitch’s complaint about how much reading their teacher assigned them as she thoroughly enjoyed reading.
“Alright, Sunny bunny!” said Sunny’s father as he descended the steps.
“Dad!” said the filly as she rushed at her father and hugged him.
“Thanks for making sure she got home safe, Hitch. Hope you two didn’t run into any trouble,” said Argyle as he looked at the colt.
“No trouble at all, sir!” responded the colt to his best friend’s parent.
“You two hungry? I made some freshly baked cupcakes,” said Sunny’s father as he walked over to the kitchen counter and presented a plate of delicious sweet treats as they were decorated with unicorn horns.
“Ooh, unicorns!” said Sunny as she grabbed a cupcake and ate it. “Thanks, Dad.”
“Tasty! Thanks, sir!” said Hitch as he enjoyed the dessert.
“So, what did you kids learn today?” asked Argyle as he set the plate down.
“Our teacher said that unicorns zap our brains and fry them to eat,” complained Sunny.
“Is that so?” chuckled the filly’s father.
“But it’s not, right, Dad? You said all tribes lived in harmony.”
“That I did, my dear. That I did.”
“See!” said Sunny as she looked at her friend.
After the two ponies finished eating their cupcakes, they began to play with each other as they engaged in one of Sunny’s favorite games. The filly had small figures that her father made, and she imagined they worked together and went on great adventures while learning lessons about friendships. For Hitch, he still had doubts, but seeing how Sunny’s face lit up, he’d decided to play along and listen to her to make her happy. The pair played with each other well into the afternoon as the sun soon began to set. A knock at the door was heard as Argyle opened it, and Hitch’s grandmother stood as the mare came to pick up her grandson.
“Ah, good evening, Argyle!”
“Evening, Figgy!” said the stallion as he allowed the older mare to enter before closing the door behind her.
“I do hope Hitch didn’t cause too much trouble.”
“He’s no trouble at all, Figgy. He’s a good kid. Sunny! Hitch!” called out Argyle.
“Coming!” responded Sunny as she and Hitch were midway through their latest game.
The two ponies decided to pick their game up later as they got on the lift; Sunny flipped the switch, and it began to descend to the main floor of the house, where the two older ponies awaited the kids.
“Granny!” said Hitch as he galloped toward his grandmother.
“There’s my little Hitchy!” said the mare as she hugged her grandson. “Did you enjoy yourself?”
“Yup,” nodded the small colt as his grandmother rubbed his head.
“That’s my boy.”
“So, Granny, are we going to see that new movie this weekend?” asked Hitch as the latest film in the Harry Trotter franchise just hit the theaters, and the young colt was looking forward to seeing it with his grandmother.
“I’m sorry, Hitchy. But my book reading club has to move next week’s meeting to this one,” said the old mare, as she knew Hitch was looking forward to going to the movies.
“Aw,” said the colt as he looked at her sadly before looking away.
Sunny was also sad as she knew how badly Hitch wanted to see the new film.
“If you want, Figgy… I don’t mind taking Hitch to see the film,” suggested Argyle as he stood aside from the pair.
“Really?” said Hitch as he perked up.
“Argyle, I can’t…”
“It’s no trouble at all. Really. I’ve been meaning to check it out to see how realistic they show magic from unicorns. Plus… if Sunny doesn’t mind, perhaps Hitch can sleep the night over before we see the film?” said the stallion as he looked at his daughter.
“YES!” responded Sunny immediately, as she loved her father’s idea. “Sleepover!”
The little filly jumped on her dad’s back and hugged his neck as she thanked her father for suggesting such an idea. The stallion chuckled at his daughter’s antics before looking at the old mare.
“Can I, Grandma? Please?” pleaded Hitch as he looked at her innocently.
“I suppose,” sighed the old mare before smiling.
“Yes!” said the colt as he danced around.
“But… you have to promise to be on your best behavior and listen to Mr. Argyle’s rules, understood?” the mare said.
“Understood,” saluted the young colt as she hugged her grandson.
“Then I guess it’s official,” said Argyle as he approached the pair, with Sunny still holding onto him.
“Sleepover with my best friend!” squealed Sunny as the idea excited her. The little filly couldn’t wait till tomorrow.
Tomorrow came faster than expected. All day in school, the only thing Sunny could think about was her sleepover with her best friend and then, the following day, her father taking them both to the movies. While the filly was riding a rainbow of emotions, Hitch was a different story. While he was glad Sunny’s father agreed to take him and Sunny to see the new film, he still had some worries. The main one was the sleepover itself. This was the colt’s first sleepover, as he’d never been at a friend’s house for more than just a simple playdate. He’d never been away from his grandma for an extended period, such as this one; the small pony feared Sunny’s father. The colt knew Sunny’s father was a good pony from the short times he made them snacks during his and Sunny’s playdates and how Sunny loved her old man to death. He was lucky that his best friend had someone like that for a parent, as he hoped nothing bad would ever happen to him. However, he was still afraid of what Sunny’s father might think of him during their extended time.
The bell rang to signal the end of the school day and the start of the weekend. Many ponies rushed out and couldn’t wait to start their weekend. One of them was Sunny as the filly raced out and jumped down the steps before turning to see her best friend join her.
“Aren’t you excited, Hitch? We get to have a sleepover!” said the filly, as she had always dreamed of having one with her friends.
“Y-Yeah,” responded the colt as his doubts and worries began.
“Is everything okay?” asked Sunny as she leaned to look at her friend.
“Y-Yeah. Everything’s okay,” responded the young colt as he gave his filly friend a fake smile as Sunny bought it.
“Oh, I can’t wait for tonight. I’m gonna make sure everything is set up. I’ll see you later!” said Sunny as she rushed to prepare for her sleepover.
“Yeah, later…” said Hitch nervously before setting off to his grandma’s house.
Upon reaching his grandmother’s home, Hitch started packing his saddlebags for his sleepover with Sunny. The young colt grabbed his toothbrush and other necessities while packing his stuff. He looked out of the window of his room as the sun was slowly setting, reminding the young pony what he was about to embark on.
“Hitch! Are you ready?!” called out Grandma Figgy.
The young colt grabbed his saddle bags with his mouth as he put them on and opened the door to walk out, but not before giving one last look at his room. The old mare was in the kitchen drinking some tea when she saw her grandson coming down the stairs.
“All set, Hitchy?” asked the mare to her grandson.
“Y-Yeah,” responded the colt as he kept his head down and swayed his right front hoof in front of his left.
“What’s the matter, Hitchy? Are you nervous about the sleepover?”
The colt didn’t try to deny his grandmother’s claims as he nodded at her.
“Oh, Hitchy…” smiled Grandma Figgy as she approached her grandson and pulled him in. “It’s okay to be nervous. It’s not easy sleeping in a place other than home, even a friend’s house. But just remember to have fun and be your cute self. You’ll be okay.”
“Promise?” asked the colt to his grandmother.
“I promise,” smiled the old mare as she fully embraced her grandson. Hitch nuzzled into his grandmother’s hooves as a small smile formed on his face. “Do you still want to go through with this?”
“Yeah,” responded the colt, this time giving a confident response.
Sunny was getting things ready at the lighthouse as she made a list of fun activities for tonight that she couldn’t wait to complete with Hitch. While the filly was upstairs in her room, Argyle was at his work-study, looking over some books. Just then, a knock on the door was heard as he approached it; he opened it, and there stood Grandma Figgy and Hitch by her side.
“Now, Hitchy, remember what I said. Have fun, but more importantly, be on your best behavior and listen to Mr. Argyle, okay?”
“Yes, grandma,” nodded the colt.
“Thank you again, Argyle. I hope he won’t cause you too much trouble.”
“Please. He won’t be trouble at all. We’ll have fun this weekend. Isn’t that right, son?” said the stallion to Hitch as he nodded out of obedience.
“Well, goodbye, Hitchy. I love you.”
“I love you too, grandma!” said the colt as he gave his grandmother one final hug and waved at her along with Argyle as she trotted down the path.
Once she was out of sight, Sunny’s father gestured for the colt to enter, and he stepped in, the door closing behind him. As the stallion approached the kitchen, Hitch looked around the home. He’d been here several times but never stopped to take it all in. Now standing by the door, he looked about his surroundings. The home looked rather cozy, in his opinion. For a lighthouse, the young colt felt a sense of comfort as he could feel it was filled with tons of tender love and care. Hitch’s thoughts were interrupted by a shout.
“Sunny!”
“Coming!”
The filly heard her father’s call and descended the stairs as she spotted her friend.
“Hitch!” called out the filly as she approached her friend to give him a welcoming hug before stepping back. “Ready for the most fun night ever?”
“Um, yeah,” said the colt, as his doubts still weighed on his mind.
“Sunny, take Hitch up to your room. Help him settle in. Dinner is almost ready.”
“Ok, Dad. Come on!” said the filly as she gestured for her friend to follow her.
Hitch followed Sunny as they headed up the stairs. The pair soon found themselves in Sunny’s room as the girl’s father had set up a spare sleeping cot beside Sunny’s bed. Hitch approached the cot as he set his saddles bags on it; the young colt took a moment to glance about his best friend’s room. He had it committed to memory from the many playdates they had here and the many drawings, figures, glow-up stickers, books, and other toys that Sunny’s father made for her.
“So, are you excited?” asked Sunny as she stood on her hind legs and leaned against the cot, facing Hitch.
“Y-Yeah,” said the colt as he began to unpack.
“I spent all afternoon making a list of fun activities for us tonight. How do you feel about Safari?” asked the orange filly.
“What’s Safari?” the colt asked, as he was unfamiliar with his best friend's proposal.
“Kids! Time for dinner!”
“Coming, Dad!” said Sunny as she returned her list to her nightstand. “I’ll tell you later. Come on, I’m hungry!”
It wasn’t long before the two ponies arrived downstairs. Hitch hoped to eat his food silently, but that was far from the case as Sunny kept telling her father about her latest disagreement today in class with their teacher, involving ponykind and the idea of them living in harmony.
“It’s just not fair, Dad. Ponies used to live in harmony. But nobody, not even my teacher, believed me. She says I should stop making fairytales and accept what she says as reality.”
“Did she now?” said Argyle as he could see how upset his daughter was.
“She kept saying that unicorns and pegasus are our enemies and that earth ponies don’t get along with them.”
“I see. What else did your teacher say?” asked the stallion.
“I should stop interrupting her and the class to tell others about it. That I’m wrong, and she’s right. But I know I'm right, and I'm not trying to brag!” said the filly as her appetite faded. Even Hitch could see his best friend's upset as he stared at his half-finished food.
“Kids, let me ask you a question. Have you ever heard of the term double thinking?” asked Argyle as he sipped his mug.
“No, sir,” responded Hitch as Sunny also shook her head.
“Of course, my bad. You’re just kids, after all,” chuckled Argyle as he took another sip. "Well, anyway. It’s the idea of having two opposing beliefs simultaneously and believing both are true—to deliberately believe in lies while knowing they’re false. For example, ponies must feel pretty to be happy. I need surgery to be pretty. I need to feel thin. Famous, fashionable…”
“Huh?” said Hitch as he didn’t fully grasp what Sunny’s father was saying.
“Alright, let me ask you kids this: Do you have any clue what assimilate means?” the stallion asked.
“Uh.…”
“It means… it means… I don’t know,” confessed Sunny as she failed to answer her father’s question.
“It means to take something in, to absorb, like information. A primary example of that would be reading. Now, do you have any idea what the word ubiquitous might mean?” the stallion asked. Once again, the kids' confused looks told him his answer: “It means everywhere, all the time.”
“Dad. What are you saying?” asked Sunny as she and Hitch had no clue what point her father was trying to make.
“My point, Sunny Bunny, is that the phrase ubiquitous assimilation means to absorb everything everywhere all the time.”
“Dad!” groaned the filly.
“Just bear with me, Sunny. How can you imagine anything… if the images were always provided for you? Every day… for the rest of your lives… the powers that be are hard at work, trying to dumb us down to death. It’s a marketing cataclysm. 24 hours a day for the rest of our lives. So, to defend ourselves and fight against assimilating this dullness into our thought processes. We must learn to read, stimulate our imaginations, and cultivate our consciousness. Our own belief systems. We all need these skills to defend and preserve our minds.”
“Dad… what does that mean?” Sunny asked bluntly, as what Argyle said went over the kids’ young minds.
“To put it plainly, Sunny. You shouldn’t let what others say get you down. Stand up for your ideals because if you don’t, no one will. Never let anybody else tell you differently. Do you understand?”
“Yeah, I understand, Dad!” said Sunny with a nod and smile. The small filly approached her father to hug him as he picked up his daughter.
Watching the happy pair was Hitch as the colt took in what Sunny’s father had preached. The whole idea behind the double thinking and how he applied it, struggling with his own ideals and the ideals of his best friend concerning ponykind. The young colt was filled with thoughts as he tried to wrap his brain around them.
After dinner, Sunny went to fetch the first item on their list of activities. Meanwhile, Hitch was with Argyle as the pair were cleaning the dishes. The stallion handed the colt a wet dish as he grabbed a cloth to dry them. It was silence for a few minutes as Hitch said nothing. However, it didn’t last long.
“Can I ask you something, Hitch?”
“Um… o-okay,” said the colt.
“First off, I want to say thank you for saving Sunny from being trapped in that box,” stated Argyle, as Hitch was surprised that the stallion knew about Sunny’s incident the day before. "She told me. She mentioned how you pushed her out of the way and saved her from entrapment.”
“She… did?” said the colt.
“Do you like my daughter?”
Hitch nearly dropped the plate he was holding but managed to catch it. The colt placed it on the counter before looking at the stallion.
“What?” repeated the colt.
“Do you like my daughter?” asked Argyle.
“I… I like her as my friend. I mean, I’m not trying to impress her or anything. I’m just trying to be a good and supportive friend and look out for her. I know I care about her.” answered Hitch.
“Do you think she’s pretty?” asked Sunny’s father, as if fishing for some answer.
“I mean, she’s beautiful,” said Hitch as he admitted his best friend was a pretty filly.
“I see. I can tell you’re not like other colts, Hitch.”
“Is… that a good thing, sir?” said Hitch with an uncertain tone.
“That depends. In my expertise, being different means you’re special,” responded Argyle as he handed the last of the dishes to the young colt. “Hitch, can you promise me you’ll look after my little girl?”
“Hmm.”
“Sunny is a rather ambitious filly. I see her growing up and developing crazy schemes to spread the word about unity and ponykind. But that could lead her into danger. Which is why… she’s going to need someone by her side. Somepony to look after her… somepony to help her when needed... somepony who could remind her not to go overboard, somepony to be there for her when she’s going through it, somepony she can call a friend…”
“Sir?” said Hitch as the filly’s father looked at him.
“Promise me, Hitch. If anything happens to me and I’m not there for my daughter, you will look after her in my place. Can you do that?”
“Yes,” said the colt as he didn’t fully grasp what the stallion said.
“That’s a good lad,” said Argyle as he patted Hitch’s head. “Sunny’s in good hooves with you. She’s lucky to have somepony like you in her life.”
“Really?” said Hitch.
At that moment, Sunny returned as she brought some stuff down.
The first activities on the list that Sunny had created involved using a handful of letters one picked out and trying to come up with words to score points on the board. Depending on how many letters and the length of the word, as well as if any of the squares you placed your letters on determined how many points you got, and after all letters had been drawn out, the pony with the highest total points won.
In the beginning, Hitch struggled understanding the game and coming up with words using the letters he drew. But with some occasional help from Sunny, the colt scored decently against his friend and her father despite them playing the game several times. Eventually, Hitch started to get the hang of it as Sunny turned up her competitiveness and began to showcase her skills.
“And the last letter is S. Which spells diaphanous!” stated Sunny.
“Oh, c’mon!” said Hitch as Sunny scored another word to get even more points. “How do you keep doing this? Are you cheating?”
“You know I never cheat, Hitch,” said the filly as she couldn’t believe her best friend was blaming her for cheating due to his lack of skill and vocabulary.
“You have to? There’s no way that’s possible. I bet that’s not even a word!” said the colt.
“Oh, yeah!” said Sunny as she walked over to the bookshelf in the living room and pulled out one before trotting back to her friend and father.
The filly dropped the book on the ground and flipped through the pages rapidly as she searched for what she was looking for. Once she found it, she stopped and turned the book around for Hitch to see.
“See! Right there! Diaphanous. It means almost completely transparent or translucent! Read it and weep!” said Sunny, pointing at the word to prove her point to her friend for being a sore loser.
“B-b-b-b-b-but,” shuttered Hitch as he read the word and its definition. “That’s not fair. You’re more well-read than me!”
“Well, not my fault. You need to read more!” responded Sunny with a smug smile as Hitch stomped his hoof in defiance at his friend getting the best of him.
After their game, the trio moved to their next activity for the night. A board game that Argyle had recreated from scratch from one of his records he read called Dragon Pit. After explaining the rules to her best friend, the trio began to engage in the board game. Suffice to say, this was more of Hitch’s speed.
“I win!” shouted Hitch as he cried excitedly.
“No way!” said Sunny as she gave a pout. The colt had won the last five games in a row as it upset the filly.
“You cheated!” said Sunny, pointing at her best friend. The filly was clearly upset about losing.
“You know I never cheat, Sunny,” said the colt as he used his best friend's words right back at her face, but he stuck his tongue out at her. Sunny returned the gesture and stuck her tongue at him. Watching the two kids, Argyle couldn’t help but laugh as he could see the bond between the two was indeed strong.
After some more playful debacle from the two friends, the next activity was one of Sunny’s favorites, as the pair were upstairs in her room.
“So, what’s this game?” asked Hitch as Sunny put on her safari hat from her closet.
“We must hunt down a mythical creature or a monster and try to catch it. But they’re not easy. So, you’re gonna need to be on your best game.” said the filly as she got into it. “For today’s adventure, we’re hunting down the Ursa Minor.”
“Um, this game is safe, right?” said Hitch, worried about his safety, especially after hearing they were going to try to hunt down an Ursa Minor, of all things.
“Totally! Now, pick a hat so we can start?” said Sunny as Hitch approached her side to look at her assortment of hats.
The colt looked at the many options, but neither seemed to stand out. That was until he spotted something that caught his eye. Hitch selected and put on a cowboy hat as he felt it matched him to a tee. Upon putting the thing on, it covered his eyes momentarily, filling the young colt with a sense of pride and duty, like wanting to keep ponies safe.
“Well?” said Hitch as he looked at his best friend.
“The idea is to blend in to avoid being seen, but it’ll do,” said Sunny, willing to let it slide since it was Hitch’s first time. “C’mon, sheriff. We got an Ursa Minor to catch!”
“Sheriff… Sheriff… Sheriff Hitch,” said the colt, finding that nickname catchy.
“Hitch!” shouted Sunny.
“Coming!” said the colt as he finished daydreaming.
The two ponies left Sunny’s room and entered the hallway to find that it was decorated to match that of a jungle. One thing, Sunny loved about this game was her father went out of his way to make the atmosphere feel real. Dense handmade trees and bushes littered the hallway; Hitch was impressed by how much effort Sunny’s father made, and it felt like he was actually in a jungle. Soon, Sunny’s father appeared behind the pair as they turned to look at him.
“You kids ready to hunt the fierce Ursa Minor?!” said Sunny’s father in a dramatic and over-the-top tone.
“Ready, willing, and able!” said Sunny as she got on her father’s back.
“Um, this is all safe, right?” said Hitch as he feared this game might get dangerous.
“Absolutely. All you need is your imagination,” said Sunny to her best friend.
Hitch approached Argyle’s back. He got on and sat behind Sunny as the stallion began to march into the makeshift jungle. Using their imagination, the three ponies began to imagine their environment changing as they were in a jungle traversing the dense forest. After passing through some bushes and looking at the book she held that contained a map, Sunny pointed in the direction they needed to go. Eventually, they came to a stream as Argyle informed the two ponies to hang on while he looked to get them to the other side. The trip was a treacherous one as the rapid water proved difficult to navigate, but eventually, the stallion managed to carry both little ponies across as they continued on their trek.
“We’re hunting the dangerous Usra Minor. According to the encyclopedia, it’s said to go on a destructive path when angered. Our mission is to find and capture it.” Sunny said as she got into the role-playing.
“So, where is this thing?” asked Hitch, who was scared of coming face to face with one.
“In there!” said Argyle, pointing to a dark nearby cave.
“We’re not thinking of going in there… are we?” said Hitch as his nerves kicked in.
“Of course, I'm not afraid of anything!” said Sunny as she hopped off her father’s back.
“Great,” responded Hitch in a worried tone as he, too, got off.
The trio then entered the dark cave, slowly watching their steps. Sunny stood beside her father while Hitch remained close behind. The ponies kept a close eye out for their target, knowing it could leap out at any moment.
“Um, maybe we should just leave? After all, we are invading its home,” said Hitch nervously.
“Don’t be a scaredy-cat, Hitch!” said Sunny, as she wasn’t showing any fear. “Right, Dad?”
“Exactly, Sunny. Always…”
The stallion was tackled to the floor as he rolled into the shadows.
“Dad!” shouted Sunny as Hitch began to shake.
“Run!” said the stallion before being dragged back into the shadows.
Just then, an Ursa Minor appeared as it growled at the two tiny ponies. Hitch was about to drop dead right on the spot as Sunny looked at the creature and started to feel a bit of nerves seep in. The Ursa Minor reared its teeth and roared as it echoed throughout the cave.
“S-Sunny… what do we do?” asked Hitch as he hid behind his friend.
“RUN!” yelled the filly as she took off and abandoned her best friend by shoving him out of the way.
Hitch pulled his face off the cave floor and met with the creature who roared directly at him. The young colt bolted upward and ran as fast as his legs could carry him with the creature hot on his tail.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” screamed the two little ponies as they exited the cave with the creature looking to chase them down.
“Thanks a lot for leaving me!” said Hitch to the filly. The roar was heard as they turned to see it still coming at them. “What’s the plan?”
“As long as I run faster than you,” confessed Sunny, knowing whoever was slower in these situations would be the one not to make it.
“What?” said Hitch, unable to believe his best friend was going to leave him to be mauled by the Ursa Minor to save her own skin.
“Just keep running!” shouted Sunny as they picked up speed.
“I could have thought of that,” said the colt as a thought soon crossed his mind. “Hey, wait a minute. I was right. You are scared.”
“Not now, Hitch!” yelled Sunny.
“I wanna hear you say it!”
“Later!”
“Say it!”
“I said not now, Hitch!”
“Say it!”
“Let’s talk about it later!”
“Say it, or I’ll trip you!” threatened Hitch as he would do it and sacrifice the filly to save his own skin after what she tried to do to him earlier.
"You wouldn't dare!" said Sunny with a look.
"Want to find out?" responded Hitch.
“Alright, fine. I was wrong. There, you happy!” shouted the filly.
“Yes,” responded the colt smugly as his attention was turned back to the Ursa Minor still chasing them as they continued to scream.
The pair were coming up on a crossroads that split into two paths.
“Which way, Sunny?!” asked Hitch.
“Split up!” said the filly as she went left while he went right, with the Ursa Minor going after the girl. Sunny turned to see the creature had decided to chase her. “Oh, come on!” The filly felt this was karma for abandoning Hitch to save her hind.
The filly then noticed a vine above her and a chasm coming up. With the Ursa Minor closing in, she had but a few seconds to time her escape. She picked up speed, leaped as high as she could into the air, and grabbed the vine with her hooves. The orange filly swung on the vine as she managed to make it to the other side of the chasm, where she let go, dropped on the other side, and continued running. Sunny turned to see the Ursa Minor had stopped as it growled at its prey that escaped.
“Hahaha!” laughed Sunny, taunting the creature as she didn’t pay attention in front of her.
The filly then crashed into something hard. The small earth pony had crashed into a cliff as it shook, and several rocks began to fall toward her. In reality, Sunny had bumped into a bookshelf. The bookshelf began to topple, and several books came tumbling out of it. However, it was still a danger, as Sunny initially avoided the first few books before the entire bookshelf was shown coming down. The filly was so shocked that she couldn’t move her body to get out of the way.
“Sunny, look out!” shouted Argyle as he removed his make-shift Ursa Minor head to warn his daughter to move.
The little filly didn’t hear her father’s pleas as she was still in shock. The stallion wouldn’t be able to make it in time to push his daughter out of harm’s way. It seemed Sunny was about to be crushed by the bookshelf’s weight when suddenly, something happened. Hitch appeared from out of nowhere as he dashed toward his friend and pushed her out of the way just as the shelf came crashing down. Like with the trap the day before, Hitch arrived in the nick of time to save his best friend from a terrible fate. Sunny’s father ran toward the kids as he looked to check on them, especially his daughter.
“Kids, are you okay?” asked the earth pony as it seemed their game had been taken a bit too far.
The two little ponies were shown holding each other tightly as Hitch opened his eyes. He looked and was relieved to see that he had saved his best friend from certain doom as Sunny opened her eyes to see if she was still alive.
“Are you okay?” asked Hitch as he worried Sunny might have gotten hurt by him shoving her to the floor.
“I’m fine,” said the filly as she looked at her friend’s face, staring into his eyes.
The orange filly was glad that she wasn’t hurt and that Hitch had managed to save her from danger. Despite leaving him behind to ensure her own safety, she was amazed he was willing to come back and rescue her despite how she treated him. Sunny could see that Hitch had a deep care for her, as the sight of her best friend being brave kind of stirred something in her. Her heart beated a tad bit faster, and she felt a warm feeling washing over.
He saved me... You know… he's actually kinda cute…
The filly couldn’t believe what she was thinking as her cheeks turned slightly pink. Hitch remained puzzled until he realized he was still holding onto his best friend. He quickly let go of her and allowed Sunny to get off of him. The colt took some steps back as he felt like giving his best friend some space and not making things weird.
“S-s-sorry,” said Hitch as he took his sheriff hat off and held it in his hoof. "I didn’t mean to."
“No, it’s okay,” responded Sunny bashfully, “You saved me. You’re my hero, Hitch!”
The colt chuckled slightly after hearing his best friend address him as that, “Well… I don’t know about being your hero. But… no worries, Sunny. I’m always here for you. That’s what friends do.”
The filly giggled happily as she approached her friend and gave him a hug. The filly’s actions took aback Hitch before he wrapped his hoof, holding his hat around her to return the gesture. At that moment, the hug meant more. Usually, in the past, whenever Sunny gave him a hug, it was a nice and simple gesture; usually one meant to lift his spirits. But this one… this one had a different vibe. For one, it was filled with more emotion than before. Feeling his best friend’s fur against his, sent a tingly feeling throughout his body as it felt nice. Like he didn’t want to let go of Sunny, all he wanted to do was make sure she was safe and protected.
“I’m glad you’re okay, Sunny!” said Argyle as he approached the pair and hugged his daughter.
“I’m sorry, Dad,” the filly apologized for not noticing where she was running.
“It’s alright. The important thing is that you’re safe. And nopony got hurt.” said the stallion as he held his daughter tighter. He then lifted his head to look at Hitch as he smiled at the colt.
“Thank you,” whispered Argyle as he appreciated Hitch swooping in to save Sunny.
Hitch merely smiled as he put his cowboy hat on and gave a tip of it to Sunny’s father.
After that, the trio thought they best turn in for the night. So, after brushing their teeth and getting all cozy in their beds, Sunny’s father arrived and walked to a bookshelf in his daughter’s room. He pulled out a book to read the two little ponies.
“Together, they showed everypony the Magic of Friendship and how to live in harmony.”
“I always love that story,” said Sunny with a yawn as she started to feel the effects of sleep.
Argyle smiled as he closed the book and turned off his daughter’s lamp before turning on the special star stickers he made that lit up the room. As Hitch was preparing to tuck in, Sunny’s father stopped by his cot.
“So, Hitch. Tell me. What are your thoughts about ponykind?” asked the historian.
“To be honest… I don’t know,” confessed the young colt. It’s like you said. I have two different views, and I think both are true—the ones I’ve been told about and the ones Sunny talks about. I don’t know which one is right.”
“That’s okay. I’m sure one day you’ll find out which one you believe in,” smiled the stallion at the colt. “Thank you again. You kept your promise to me. I can rest easy knowing my daughter is in good hooves with you. Continue to look after her for me, will you?”
“Yes, sir,” nodded Hitch.
“Get some rest. Don’t want to be too tired when we see the movie tomorrow,” said Argyle as he got up and proceeded toward the door.
With a silent closing, Hitch turned to look at Sunny, facing away from him. The colt took a few moments to think about what the filly’s father said regarding his beliefs. After silent thinking and gazing at the glow-up stickers, Hitch started to feel his eyes getting heavy. He was about to go to sleep when…
“Hitch.”
The colt turned at his best friend as she still turned her back to him.
“Hitch. Are you sleeping?” asked Sunny.
“I was about to,” responded the colt.
“Sorry. Go back to sleep.”
“No, it’s okay. What’s wrong?”
The small filly got out of her bed and walked toward her friend. Hitch sat up as Sunny stood on her hind legs and placed her front hooves on the cot to look at him.
“I just want to say thank you again for saving me.”
“It’s no problem, Sunny. We’re friends. And friends stick together no matter what. They support each other, right?” said the colt.
“Right. Hoof to heart,” said the filly as she extended her hoof toward Hitch. The colt looked at it before knowing what to do.
“Hoof to heart,” responded Hitch as he extended his hoof to touch Sunny’s before they broke apart.
The filly giggled at her friend as felt a sense of happiness. Then she did something unexpected as she leaned in and kissed Hitch’s cheek for a quick peck before trotting to her bed. The young colt was left stunned for a bit as he lifted a hoof to his cheek; he was caught off guard by Sunny’s action but soon sprouted a smile with his cheeks turning a bit red. The colt then laid back on his bed as he began to recount the day he had. From what started out as him being nervous to now having some of the best fun of his life, Hitch could say that today was indeed a great day.
Promise me you’ll look after her.
“I promise, sir,” muttered Hitch, intending to keep the agreement he had made to Sunny’s father about always being there for her as a friend.
