a princess and her sheriff

why not sure I'll marry you part 8

It was half past seven, and Hitch and Sprout closed the station for the evening. After they locked the doors, they got smoothies at Sunny's stand before Hitch walked Sprout to Phyllis's house. As they walked down the main street, ponies gave Hitch smirks or encouraging smiles that made him roll his eyes.

Some mares couldn't look him in the eye as though it hurt to see him with his wedding ring still hanging around his neck. Hitch looked at the mares, puzzled as he passed by them. He wondered if they were downcast because they were fans of Presto and were still devastated that he wasn't the pony they thought he was, or perhaps they were one of the very few ponies that preferred Pipp to have married Presto despite what her fiance had done. Whatever it was, Hitch hoped that they would eventually feel better despite whatever was tormenting them.

After Hitch and Sprout grabbed their smoothies, they sipped their drinks as Hitch walked Sprout to Phyllis's house. They said good night, and then Hitch walked to the other side of Maritime Bay, where his house awaited him. If there were only one selfish thing Hitch enjoyed about being a sheriff, it would be him being financially well off. Paid of mortgage and everything. He grilled hay fries and a grass and cheese sandwich.

Hitch ate his dinner and drank the rest of his smoothie in the living room while watching TV. After eating, he reclined his chair as he watched his favorite detective show, Davy Bluecoat: Private Eye. When the show ended, Hitch browsed through channels for something else to watch, but most of them were playing low-budget films and documentaries that didn't interest him.

Finally, Hitch stopped on a talk show. At the center of the stage were two mares, an earth pony, and a unicorn sitting on maroon chairs. On the screen behind the stage was an image of Pipp and Presto looking away from each other with a purple broken heart between them. Hitch raised the volume and leaned closer to the TV screen as the earth pony, the host, began to speak.

"So, Kernel Heartbeat, it's been three days since the wedding, and ponies are still talking about it nonstop," she said.

"Indeed, Glamour, it certainly was a historic moment regardless of how it went down," Kernel, the unicorn, said. "Truth be told, I'm a diehard Prepp fan, so I haven't completely accepted what happened between Presto and Pipp."

"I know what you mean. Do you have any idea who is that mare Presto was with?" Glamour asked.

"Search me. I may have been born and raised in Bridlewood, but I don't know all of my fellow unicorns," Kernel answered. "Whoever that mare is, she better hope Queen Haven doesn't find out who she is if she also lives in Zephyr Heights. She's bound to be banished too if that happens."

"True that. I believe Presto is on his way to Bridlewood as we speak," Glamour said.

"That's right, and I hear he was booed all the way to the outskirts of Zephyr Heights," Kernel said.

"I imagine he's not going to fair much better when he gets back to Bridlewood," Glamour said.

"Actually, not every pony in Bridlewood hates Presto for what he did," Kernel said. "Some hope that he and Pipp will get back together. Maybe there is some misunderstanding, or Presto is going through a tough time and just made one little mistake. And, of course, there's the small minority of unicorns who weren't on board with him marrying a pegasus to begin with. If Presto is lucky, that might be enough for him to at least have a place to settle down and think about what to do with his career."

"That might be very difficult. He can only hope so many ponies still listen to his music on Amplify," Glamour said. "But what about you, Kernel? What are your personal feelings about the whole matter?"