Litter. Litter everywhere.

And trash. The whole beach was an absolute mess.

Hitch zipped around the beach picking up napkins, plates, and other various pieces of trash. The branches would need to be moved off the beach. Clumps of seaweed had also washed up but those weren't as big a deal. Ugh, the beach had looked so nice before…

"Trash," he said, throwing away a plastic bag.

"Trash." He tossed some dirty paper plates into the increasingly full trash bag.

"Recyclable trash." He flung a couple of empty cans into a different bag.

"Lost and found." He darted over and more carefully placed the ball in a box.

Ace was digging up a large stick out of the sand and dragging it to the growing pile. "Good work, Ace. If we keep up this pace, we should have all this cleaned up by the end of the day." The dog gave a confirming bark.

"Yeah, Hitch, you're right," Pipp agreed. She was his cleaning buddy for this section of beach. The pegasus had put on gloves and was mostly sticking to the smaller pieces of trash. "So no need to stress."

"I'm not stressed," Hitch corrected, not stopping his cleanup efforts. "We're on schedule, progress is steady."

"You do seem a teeny tiny bit stressed," Pipp noted lightly. "You're going to tire yourself out running around like that. Lots of ponies are helping, you don't have to try to clean the whole beach by yourself."

"I'm not going to get tired," Hitch waved off. "I'm just being efficient."

"Mmhm, if you say so," Pipp took out her phone and started recording herself. "Update on the beach cleanup, pipsqueaks. We've made a lot of progress. Soon the beach is going to look as gorrrrgeouss as it did before."

Hitch moved farther up the beach, not wanting to get roped into Pipp's video.

An excited squeal caught Hitch's attention. He glanced over to see Ruby and the two fillies from the party excitedly huddled around a wentletrap shell. "The ocean washed up the last shell we needed!" Artsy cheered. "We can get our badges now!"

Well, at least one good thing had come from this storm.

He noticed Misty's bags were getting full. She was working fast with her magic to help her. "Wow, Misty, you're really good at magic. I don't think I've seen another unicorn who could carry a bag that full with magic."

"Oh," Misty mumbled, brushing her hair back. "I'm not that good. The stuff in that bag isn't very heavy."

"Well, I think it's impressive," Hitch said. She was only lifting it when she was moving spots, but it was still more than he'd seen any unicorn ever manage.

"Hey, Misty!"

The unicorn startled, dropping the can she'd been levitating. Ruby, Artsy, and the pegasus filly had run over to them. Artsy was the one who had shouted the greeting. "We found the last shell we needed. It's pretty, huh? So we don't need anymore shells. Thanks for helping us look."

"Oh, no problem," Misty stuttered, and the fillies dashed away, chatting eagerly amongst themselves.

Hitch went to grab the can Misty had dropped, which had rolled over towards the cliff. He picked up the can but paused when he noticed something. The big bush by the cliff wall had been damaged during the storm. Was that-? He peered closer. A cave behind there? One he didn't know about? Wow, he'd thought he knew all the caves around here.

He poked his head through the hole. Huh, it was a pretty big cave. The hole was plenty big to fit through if he wiggled a bit and pushed the remaining bush branches down a bit more…

"Hitch? What are you doing?" Misty was behind him.

"There's a cave here I never knew about," he explained. "I'm going to check it out."

Misty peeked over his shoulder. "Spooky. And dark. What if there's, like, slingtails or maulwurfs or something in there?"

"One of the reasons to check it out," Hitch shrugged. "Could also have dangerous spots in there, sudden drops or places where ponies could get stuck. We'll have to block it off if that's the case, don't want any kids wandering in and getting hurt." And Hitch was curious. He'd explored this beach so much as a colt, to find something new now- it was exciting.

He managed to get all the way into the cave. Glancing around, it appeared to be a pretty average cave. Nothing crazy. Decent size though. Little Hitch would have loved it as a secret base.

Light suddenly illuminated the cave. He turned to see Misty had followed him in and lit up her horn with pink magic. "You shouldn't be walking around in the dark," she cautioned. "I think I can keep this up?"

"Oh cool, thanks, that's actually really helpful." With Misty's magic brightening the previously darker parts of the cave, he could see there was only one path. No obvious safety hazards. "I don't think this goes too deep. We'll just take a quick look around then head back to the cleanup."

"Sure," Misty nodded, the light bouncing with her head movement.

They'd only been walking for a little bit when they turned a corner, and a flash of green caught his eyes. "What's that?"

They both approached the round object. "Looks like an egg," Misty observed.

She was right. It was an egg. A big egg, green with bluish green spots. It was just… laying in some rocks. It wasn't in a nest. "Yeah. Hm, I've never seen one like this before." What kind of creature could be in there? Way too big to be a bird or turtle egg.

Misty tilted her head, leaning down to examine it closer. "Gosh, it's the biggest egg I've ever seen." She glanced around nervously. "Do you think it's the egg of a big scary monster who will come to check on its baby any second?"

Hitch considered this. "I don't think so. This is the back of the cave, and we went through the only entrance. Nothing could have gotten in here without disturbing that bush. Not if it was big. And I've never heard anypony even claim to have seen any monsters around here. Ponies come to this beach all the time, somepony would have noticed something." The poor egg looked so… alone. A single egg seemingly just abandoned in a pile of rocks. "I think this egg has been on its own for a long time."

Misty frowned, biting her lip. "In that case, do you think it's…"

Oh… Hitch put his ear up to the shell. He swore he could hear movement. "I think whatever is in there is moving." A light scratching noise right at the spot where Hitch's ear was pressed against the egg sent him startling back. "Definitely still alive in there. Hmm…" What to do? Usually he wouldn't take a baby animal from its natural home, but Hitch wasn't even convinced this was the egg's home. And there was no evidence of parents being around. It felt wrong to leave the egg here. What if it hatched and then starved to death on the cave floor because there was nothing to eat and no one to care for it?

Misty shuffled on her hooves. "I could… try to check on it with my magic."

That perked Hitch's ears up. "Do you know how to do that? Can magic do that?"

"Sort of," Misty said hesitantly. "In a way. But- I'm not really supposed to- er… Well, um, I know a lot of earth ponies are uncomfortable with magic…"

"It's okay," Hitch assured her. "There's no rule against magic use. And no pony else is around to see anyways."

"Well." The unicorn tapped her hoof nervously glancing around like she was worried somepony else could somehow be watching them. "There might be a life on the line, I guess. So… well… okay."

Misty's eyes narrowed in concentration and the pink magical glow around her horn intensified. The same glow appeared around the egg. Hitch watched on in curiosity and a little nervousness. He hadn't realized some unicorns could do this sort of thing. A tiny voice in the back of his mind fearfully wondered what else unicorns were capable of and he immediately felt guilty about it. He knew Misty was fine, she was a friend. And as for his concerns for the egg, he didn't think Misty would offer to do this magic if she didn't believe she could do it.

The unicorn's eyes widened. "It… wants to get out." Her eyes suddenly glowed white and magic burst from her horn, lifting her into the air for a few seconds.

Before Hitch could really react (he wasn't sure if he would have run towards Misty or away), there was a loud cracking sound. The egg split in half and something came tumbling out.

Misty looked as stunned as Hitch. He didn't think either of them understood what had just happened. But…

The unicorn backed away, but Hitch stepped forward for a closer look at the creature. Purple slitted eyes stared up at him. The little creature was sea green and scaly with almost freckle-like what scales on its cheeks. It had a very light green underbelly and stubby dark blue spines down its body and tail. On its head there were two sets of darker green horns, small pointy ones right above the ears and bigger curled ones on the top of its head.

The lizard(?) stared up at him, blinked once and then let out a very foal sounding giggle.

"It's a… big lizard?" Hitch concluded. He gently picked the lizard up. It was huge for a lizard but so small he could hold it in one hoof. The little guy was pretty warm, he'd thought lizards were cold blooded.

Misty was staring at the lizard. "I think… that's a dragon."

"What?" Hitch half laughed. "No, it's not. What would a baby dragon be doing in Maretime Bay? Nopony's seen a dragon anywhere in Equestria in ages." Even knowing that though, doubt started to leak in. The horns were very dragon-like. "And it hasn't got wings." And it wasn't scary. Dragons were supposed to be huge too, right? The babies had to be bigger than this.

"Dragons aren't born with wings," Misty stated confidently. "And, well, what else could it be?" She crept closer, examining the creature thoroughly. "He's a boy. And he matches the descriptions I've read about."

Huh. Well, dragon was the leading theory. Hitch knew nothing about dragons really. The baby made more babbling noises and Hitch put him down. The dragon(?) toddled over on four unsteady legs and burrowed into the fur on Hitch's leg. Hitch's heart melted at the action. Dragon or not, the little guy was cute.

"I don't think anypony in town's a dragon expert," Hitch mused. "And I can't understand what he's saying. I've never tried talking to baby animals though. I guess they have to learn to talk just like every creature."

Misty gave him an odd look. "Dragons aren't animals. They're high intelligence creatures, just like ponies, with compatible vocal cords. When he learns to talk, anypony will be able to talk with him."

"Really?" Huh. Actually, thinking back he did think Sunny had mentioned talking dragons in a few of her stories. He'd always thought it was just another fantastical part of her dad's made-up foal's tales so he hadn't paid it much attention. "Oh, hey, y'know, that Twilight pony Sunny always goes on about had a dragon, I think. Sunny might know more." What did dragons eat? What were the health concerns? How did the fire breathing work? Where were the little guy's parents? There hadn't been any dragons in Maretime Bay- ever, to Hitch's knowledge.

"Maybe…?" Misty said uncertainly.

"Sunny's dad might even have a book on dragons," Hitch considered. "He had a lot of weird stuff. I think she'll still be by the surf stand."

"Okay," Misty nodded, and Hitch scooped up the baby dragon and turned to leave but stopped when the unicorn continued talking. "Er, Hitch, could you not tell ponies I used that, um, hatching magic? I don't… please don't tell."

"Um, sure," Hitch shrugged. A bit of an odd request but not a big deal. "If you don't want me to. But why?"

"It's, um, er, I don't like attention," Misty stumbled to explain. "And, well, I'm living in Maretime Bay now, so I don't want the earth ponies to be- nervous- around me. Seriously, don't even tell Sugar Spice."

Not even Sugar Spice? Was she worried about losing her job? But Sugar Spice seemed very okay with magic when Hitch talked to her. A fan of magic even. And her openness to the other tribes, even during her fillyhood, was only rivaled by Sunny (and maybe Zipp). Hitch could not see Sugar firing Misty over using magic. Maybe Misty just wanted to avoid causing problems? And she did seem fairly shy. He supposed keeping this a secret wasn't a big deal. "Alright, I won't tell anypony."

"Promise?" Misty asked with wide, nervous eyes.

"Promise," Hitch assured her.

The unicorn relaxed. "Thanks." When they exited the cave a couple minutes later, the baby dragon squinted at the sunlight. Hitch paused to shield the light with his other hoof to give the dragon time to adjust. Once the dragon got used to the light, he stared around at his surroundings.

"We're on a beach," Hitch told him, even though logically he knew the dragon wouldn't understand what he was saying. "That's the ocean. We're going to take you to see my friend, Sunny. She might know more about you."

They hurried to the surf stand, where Sunny thankfully still was. "Sunny!" Hitch called out.

Pipp came trotting up behind them. "Hey, Hitch, where were you?" She tilted her head down at the dragon. "What's that?"

At the moment, Sunny turned around, her eyes immediately landing on the dragon in Hitch's hold. She eagerly raced forward. "Oh my gosh, is that a dragon?! Hitch, where-?! how-?!" Well, that settled it. If Sunny also thought the little guy was a dragon, he probably was.

"A dragon?!" Zipp landed next to the group, Izzy following behind her from the ground. "For real?!"

"No, way," Pipp denied. "It's too cute to be a dragon. And where are its wings? Dragons are supposed to have wings." The pegasus got closer to the baby dragon to examine him more critically. As she turned back around, her wing feathers tickled the baby's nose and he let out a sneeze, purple sparks (but no fire) shooting out of his mouth.

"Wow, it really is a dragon!" Zipp exclaimed.

"That's crazy!" Sunny gushed. "No pony's seen a dragon in generations. Where'd you find him, Hitch?"

"The storm damaged a bush by the cliff," Hitch told her. "I noticed there was a cave behind it. When Misty and I went in and poked around, we found this big egg, not in a nest or anything, it was just sitting on the floor, and this little guy hatched from it."

"There was a dragon egg in some random cave?" Zipp questioned, raising an eyebrow. "And it just happened to hatch when you guys went in there?"

Hitch could feel Misty's nervous gaze boring into him. "I have no idea how the egg got there, but I think it had been there for a long time. There was no sign of any creature having been in that cave anytime recently. Maybe he was ready to hatch for a while now and was just waiting for some other creature to be around?"

Zipp looked skeptical but Sunny plowed forward, absolutely gleeful. "A dragon in Maretime Bay! I can't believe it!" Then she paused, excitement deflating. "So there was no sign of his family?"

"No," Hitch sighed, shaking his head. "I'll take care of him for now." He didn't know exactly when he'd decided the baby dragon was his responsibility or when he'd gotten so attached, but he had. "Did your dad have any books on dragons, Sunny? Like, what do they eat?" Not ponies he hoped.

"He has some stuff on dragons, yeah," Sunny confirmed. "I think dragons just eat normal pony food. And gems."

"Gems?" Hitch startled. How did a creature eat rocks? His teeth hurt just thinking about it.

"Gems?" Izzy gasped, horrified. "Do they eat crystals too?!" No doubt thinking of her own crystal collection.

"Um… I don't remember," Sunny shrugged. "But if they do, we'll just make sure he doesn't eat anything he'd not supposed to."

"Doesn't anypony think its weird that a freak storm happens and then suddenly there are dragons in Maretime Bay?" Zipp remarked, tone suspicious.

Pipp rolled her eyes. "The two aren't connected, Zipp. You're such a conspiracy theorist sometimes. It was just the weather being weird at a bad time for us. It happens. There's no mystery, there's no culprit, sometimes weird, unfortunate things just happen."

"The storm broke the bush which led to me finding the cave," Hitch agreed. "But there's no more connection past that."

"Yeah," Zipp mumbled. "Maybe the dragon's not involved. It's an awfully big coincidence though. But who would even be capable of something like that…"

"The storm was sort of a good thing at the end of the day," Misty timidly observed. "The slight trauma bonding seemed to make ponies friendlier at the Brighthouse. And it led us to save this little guy." The unicorn stroked the baby dragon's spines.

"A positive attitude," Izzy chirped. "I like it." To Hitch she said, "I'll totally help watch him if you need me to. I'm great with kids!"

"Babies are a bit different from kids," Hitch pointed out. "But, yeah, I'll take any help I can get."

"I doubt Sugar will let me keep him at the bakery for anything long term," Misty said. "But I'll help watch him if you ever need it."

"We'll all help," Sunny assured. "At least one of us should always be available. Just drop him off at the Brighthouse whenever you need to go on patrol or anything. Oh, we'll probably need to buy supplies for him. We'll need a bed, a crib actually, some toys, food, diapers, not sure how long it takes dragons to potty train…"

"Oh, I know a great place for all that baby stuff," Pipp told them. "I can totally hook you up."

"Thanks everypony," Hitch said gratefully. He was glad to have such supportive friends.