Hitch Trailblazer

Sheriff Hitch Trailblazer is a male Earth pony and one of the main characters of the fifth generation of My Little Pony. He is the grandson of Grandma Figgy and the adoptive father of Sparky Sparkeroni. Like Fluttershy, he represents the element of kindness. As the sheriff of Maretime Bay, Hitch is dedicated to helping everypony and always remembers to follow all the rules. As a result, he is very popular and respected among the Earth ponies of Maretime Bay. However, as he takes his responsibilities seriously, sometimes to the point of arrogance and overconfidence, it has led Hitch to have some moments of being self-absorbed. Whenever his orders are not adhered or even when he is not listened to, as he is not used to following others, Hitch tends to lose composure, leading to moments of panicking or ultimately following Sunny when he had no other choice. Though good-natured and having a strong sense of integrity, Hitch regrettably grew up believing the bigoted beliefs earth ponies have against unicorns and pegasi. He's a stickler for rules and quite stubborn, but his foalhood friendship with Sunny helped him maintain his sense of compassion and fairness and was what eventually convinced him to lower his guard and get to know Izzy, Zipp and Pipp and form a strong and true friendship with them. After the appearance of the earth pony magic, his role as sheriff was put to a test. Despite having earth-based magic, besides his ability to talk to animals, Hitch has come to fear it because of how unpredictable and unstable it was and the lack of knowledge of it, which reflected on how he addressed it. Seeing how his fellow earth ponies were struggling to control their magic and the potential dangers it could cause, Hitch decided to prohibit earth pony magic. Even with Sunny's advice about letting earth ponies learn about their magic naturally (calling it "growing pains"), Hitch was very strict about it. He was even willing to separate the earth pony crystal from the others to put an end to all the earth pony magic. Fortunately, he was able to see the error of his actions just in time, causing him to wonder if he was right for his job. But after helping the other earth ponies take control of their magic and saving some fillies with the help of his friends, Hitch was able to regain his confidence and become more open to the possibilities brought by earth pony magic. However, despite having opened up to new possibilities regarding earth pony magic and experiencing the unicorn and pegasus culture, Hitch is still very attached to tradition, something that comes from when he was still a little colt. During the Winter Wishday celebrations, when Hitch took his friends to visit his grandmother, Figgy, he became a little uncomfortable with all the changes in all the traditions he used to do with her, despite he kept insisting that all that was because he was worried about her, when in reality he was the one attached to those traditions, and not her. He is also very caring and nurturing, especially towards the cute animals and critters of Equestria who often follow him around (which baffled and annoyed him for a time). In fact, Hitch, even if unintentionally, seems to be a critter magnet, as all little critters that come to meet him feel themselves compelled to follow him and listen to him, seen as Hitch was able to befriend a bunch of rabbits that he had just met, and they applauded him and how Cloudpuff, Queen Haven's flying pet Pomeranian, instantly became enamored with him as soon he saw him. This caring nature is also reflected on his paternal side of his, as shown when he took in an abandoned egg, ready to watch over it until it hatched. After the egg hatched into a baby dragon, Hitch instantly became like a father to him. As a parent, Hitch is shown to be relentlessly overprotective with Sparky. He keeps his baby dragon on a strict schedule and rules and is always running after him to make sure he is always safe or is not being mischievous, like taking things that are not is or use his fire magic. Nevertheless, Hitch loves taking care of Sparky and playing with him. Despite his overprotective attitude, he is willing to let others take care of him whenever he wants time for himself, as long as they follow the schedule and rules he had settled. However, he can let his parental instincts take over his entire behavior whenever he feels Sparky is in danger. After the little dragon went missing, Hitch became progressively obsessed in finding Sparky that he went full vigilante. After Sparky disappeared for a second time, Hitch is shown to be more in control. Despite still freaking out about it, he can now control his parental instincts better, so he doesn't lose control. Despite his great attachment to Sparky, Hitch knew that there was the possibility that he would need to let him go. That only became more real when they reached the Isle of Scaly so they could help Sparky regain his energy. Seeing how happy Sparky was being close to his kind, Hitch came to notice the moment he would need to separate from Sparky was closer than he expected. Even with that, he became determined to look after Sparky for whatever time they had left and enjoy their time together as much as he could. After they encountered awakened the Dragons, including the Dragon Lord, Spike, Hitch became even more anxious about having to let Sparky go, even confiding with Spike about it, with the Dragon Lord telling him that his best memories were with his pony family and that, at that moment, the two of them belonged to each other. After defeating Opaline, Hitch came to realize perhaps it was time to say goodbye to Sparky, but Spike, relating to the situation, let the baby dragon take that decision, with Sparky choosing Hitch and his pony family, much for the earth pony's joy. Having once been a brave authority figure who ventured solo into hostile lands in A New Generation, he gradually becomes much more easily scared and crying as time went on, with Lost in Translation and Sparky being the likely biggest factors in it. Hitch is a well-built, slightly muscular golden-amber-coated Earth stallion with white fetlocks, underbelly and blaze. He has amber eyes, light brown eyebrows, chocolate-brown hooves and a sleek aqua-green mane and tail, with his mane being short. His cutie mark consists of a golden shield with a blue horseshoe in the center, with two teal hearts on the bottom of each side of the shield. Being the only stallion; Hitch is the tallest member in the Mane 6, slightly taller then the tallest mare Izzy. While Hitch does not wear any clothing, he wears a brown and hale-navy belt-like sash strapped on his shoulder, which consists of golden features and his sheriff's badge which is silver and horseshoe-shaped, followed by a star. In My Little Pony: Tell Your Tale, his appearance has some noticeable changes; his blaze does not appear, his fetlocks and chest are now colored in a paler shade of yellow, and his mane and tail now sport paler aqua-green streaks. In addition, his sash is now fully brown, and his badge is now rounder with the star design still in it due to the more simple art style.Hitch begins as a young colt playing "Guardians of Friendship" with his friends Sunny and Sprout. When Sprout disapproves of Sunny playing as if all the kinds are friends, Sunny asks Hitch to tell Sprout that she's playing the historically accurate way. He says that he did learn in classes that all the kinds were enemies, but is happy to play Sunny's way. He leaves the lighthouse when Phyllis comes to pick Sprout up. Now an adult, Hitch is next seen stopping Sunny from entering the Canterlogic factory, as he is now sheriff of the town. He is followed by seagulls and crabs all over town for an inexplicable reason. Hitch reminds Sunny that today is the annual presentation and tries to dissuade Sunny from entering. He and Sunny do their special handshake. It is revealed that Hitch had gotten Sprout, the deputy, to follow Sunny during her travels that morning. Hitch asks Sunny to stay out of the factory and keep a low profile that day, and then runs off to scold someone for littering. Hitch and Sprout watch the show together, and Hitch remarks that he thinks he has finally gotten Sunny to understand his concerns. He is shocked when he sees Sunny appear on stage. As the show goes on and Sunny seems to be in danger thanks to the fully automated demonstration, he orders the show to be shut down. Unable to stop the cycle, Hitch unplugs the power. After Sunny is booed off the stage, Hitch escorts her out to her smoothie stand. Hitch expresses his frustrations with wanting to be her friend while she breaks rules. He tells Sunny that the "Pony Unity" stories Sunny's father stuff told her were all fake and that she needs to accept that all the kinds will continue to live in turmoil. He threatens that he is her only friend in the town, and she may lose him if she continues to break rules. Once Izzy Moonbow arrives in the town, Hitch sounds the alarm and runs around, saving a lost-looking child and starts commanding ponies to set up the Unicorn traps around town. Izzy walks into a trap, and Hitch loudly proclaims that the Unicorn threat has been neutralized. He sees Sunny approaching the trap to set Izzy free and scolds her. Despite this, Izzy is let free and Hitch sets off (with a reluctant Sprout) to follow Sunny and Izzy. Now outside the lighthouse, Hitch uses a megaphone to threaten Sunny to surrender and give Izzy up, telling her she is under arrest. Hitch is distracted by Izzy and Sprout and fails to arrest Sunny. In the sheriff's station, Hitch is venting to Sprout about how he had tried to stop Sunny but failed. Hitch originally plans to go capture Sunny alongside Sprout, but Sprout tricks him into leaving alone (much to Sprout's relief). As Hitch leaves, he tells Sprout to not "start a war" while he is gone. We next see Hitch in the same canyons Sunny and Izzy had traveled in search of Zephyr Heights. He is followed by a slew of fluffy bunnies as he finds clues that hint to their whereabouts. He monologues about how he is determined to find them, and is alerted by the bunnies that Sunny and Izzy's mugshot photos are displayed on buildings behind him. Disguised with fake pegasus wings and a mustache, he finds Sunny and tells her she is under arrest, but gets a door thrown into his face. He enters Pipp's concert in search of the duo. He is initially entranced by the music, but sets off on his goal. Cloudpuff runs into Hitch's leg during this and is instantly enamored by him. Sunny and Izzy's mishaps cause the spotlight to be focused on him, and he begins to sing a botched version of Glowin' Up in panic. He spots Sunny alongside Izzy and now Zipp, but Pipp's flying around causes his fake wings to fall off, and he leaves with the others as the flying lie is revealed. Now with Sunny, Izzy, and Zipp, he runs with them into a Zephyr Heights alleyway where he is hugged by a pegamouse. Sunny asks why he's there, and he explains that he's both arresting and saving her. He and Zipp share a bit of banter as he learns that she is the princess. Upon seeing the news report seeking the arrest of Zipp and Pipp, he asks for an explanation. When Pipp brings the previously lost Pegasus crystal and everyone follows her, Hitch is upset that he is being ignored ("But I'm a sheriff!"). Hitch and Pipp share some vents about how upset they are with the day's events. He is surprised that he has agreed with a pegasus. Hitch tells Sunny that right after the traveling is done, he will arrest Sunny. He realizes that his badge is missing from his sash. He accuses Izzy of stealing it, to which she responds that she did see something shiny on the ground many hours ago and that the badge was creating "an unhealthy power dynamic". Coming upon a broken bridge, Hitch tells Sunny it's time to go home. Sunny interrupts everyone's arguing and assures Hitch that will have her in custody after the journey is done. He is disappointed when Izzy knocks over a tree to use as a bridge. At night, he initially stays away from the group and tries to start his own fire. Hitch tells Sunny he is concerned that giving Pegasi and Unicorns magic back will put them in danger. He considers going back to Maretime Bay by himself, but Sunny assures that she's glad he's there. He finally sits next to everyone else by the fire. Hitch is the one to ask Izzy why she wanted to come to Maretime Bay. After hearing Izzy's story, he finally decides that he will help out with the efforts. He suggests that the Unicorn forest sounds magical, only to see that the outskirts of it have signs barring Pegasi and Earth ponies from entering. He follows everyone to Izzy's house. During Fit Right In, he voices his hangups with their plan to disguise everyone as unicorns and explains how his upbringing taught him that Unicorns are carnivorous and scary. He is shown a bit out of time with the rest of the group, but as the song goes on, he becomes more comfortable and starts to fit in to the group. As the group travels to find the Unicorn crystal, he mentions the word "magic". This causes the surrounding Unicorns to perform their "Bing Bong" superstitious ritual. He learns the other forbidden words, and narrowly avoids mentioning a second one. During the It's Alright sequence, he acts as part of the collective until the other Unicorns figure out that Sunny is an Earth pony. As the fate of the Unicorn crystal becomes threatened, Hitch shouts out the forbidden words and is able to help the group escape while the rest of the Unicorns perform their ritual. When Queen Haven finds Zipp and Izzy in the forest, Hitch is bowled over by a very excited Cloudpuff, who has found his badge. Despite his previous hangups with restoring magic, he appears hopeful when the crystals are brought together, and saddened when they fail to work. Hitch comes forward and comforts Sunny, travelling home with her somberly. He does not arrest her, but instead lets her go to her home free. When Sunny runs back into town, now knowing there's a third crystal, she finds him in the town and begins to tell him. They are interrupted by a firework coming from the Canterlogic factory and they go to investigate. Upon seeing the town's citizens walking around with strange hats, he asks what they're doing, but due to the "Official Sprout Act", no one will tell him anything. He sees Sprout is now the Emperor of Maretime Bay and asks him what he's doing. He explains that the Unicorns and Pegasi don't have magic and there's no reason to seek them out and fight. Sprout continues to sway the crowd to be on his side, despite Sunny and Hitch's efforts. Hitch and Sunny follow Sprout and come across the other ponies who have come back to the town to find their new friends. Sprout rolls up and threatens them. Hitch follows Sunny and her friends to the lighthouse to try to bring back magic one more time. Hitch and Zipp both peel off from the group to try to keep Sprout off their tail. Once Sprout activates the splat-a-paults on his mech, he works with Zipp to detatch them from the mech, although it backfires and almost hits Sunny and Izzy. He is knocked off the mech by Sprout's swerving into the lighthouse. He looks on sadly as the lighthouse is destroyed, but is cheered up a bit by Sunny's speech. Once the crystals work together and restore magic despite the failure, he looks at the Unicorns and Pegasi in awe. Hitch tells Sunny she did it, to which she points out that they all did it together. Hitch lives in the sheriff station alongside Sparky. He still works as a Sheriff in Maretime Bay.