"You know, we never got views like this back home. Ocean view is seriously killer Sunny! You don't know how lucky you have got it being able to see this every day if you want," Zipp said around a breakfast bagel.
"Oh yes, it is gorgeouuuus!" Pipp agreed in a singsong voice, fluttering her wings energetically. It was indeed gorgeous, the bright morning sun filled the entire town of Maretime Bay. Painted in a warm orange glow the plaster houses contrasted beautifully against the bright blue ocean, it's white-capped waves lazily breaking against the shore. After discovering this little outdoor cafe by the ocean the pair insisted on starting every day here.
"Mhmm," Sunny nodded in agreement. Her mouth full of her own breakfast, gulping it down she continued. "It's really great, even though it's just normal to me but when I slow down and appreciate it the view sure is unbeatable." She looked down and frowned a little before speaking again while the other two continued munching their meal. "I just wish I could move in back home though. I know the Canterlogic repair crew is working their hardest to restore the lighthouse, which is nice considering their machine busted it up. I guess I'm just tired of living in a hotel."
Zipp just nodded but Pipp exclaimed "Oh I agree! There's nothing like home and while this hotel is wonderful and everything and while it's just the bestest ever to hang out with you Sunny it is pretty hard to beat the luxury of the castle, ocean view notwithstanding." She emphasized her point by gesturing at the beautiful backdrop to their side.
Sunny looked up sheepishly, her situation was not great but theirs was way worse, "Have you heard anything about that by the way? Are you gonna be able to return to the castle or are you going to have to hide out here forever?"
Pipp looked worried but Zipp just shrugged. "I dunno Sunny," she said. "We haven't heard anything since mom went back home to straighten things out. I could have sworn that everypony back home would forget about the whole 'Royals can't fly' thing once they all could fly. Since we don't get cell reception out here I figure we'll just have to wait for either mom to show up and take us home, or the Royal Guards will come to escort us to jail." Zipp finished nonchalantly.
Pipp smirked at her sister, but her sarcastic smile didn't reach her eyes. Those yellow-green eyes were full of fury. "Funny how that is. Zipp." She bit off the name like she was biting into a carrot. "Whatever happened to 'Oh Pipp don't worry, you'll get your fans back and everypony will be so happy to have magic that no pony will even remember.' Well guess what? They did remember, Zipp. They remembered that their government, the ponies that were supposed to protect them... that we Zipp, you and me. We LIED to them for longer than I've been alive!" She gritted her teeth, stomping her hoof on the table.
Zipp glared back defensively, spreading her wings out in a dominating pose. "But that wasn't supposed to happen sis! Everypony got their magic back and now everypony can fly, that should be a dream come true for all of them! Why can't they see that and learn to forgive and forget?" She angrily gestured. Sunny took a step back, ears flattened at the tension filling the air as she looked between the two.
"Not every pegasus cares about flying as much as you do Zipp! Some of us we're perfectly happy with the way things were!" Pipp asserted, her voice cracking from the intensity of her emotions. Taking a threatening step closer to Zipp she jabbed a hoof angrily in her direction. Zipp took a step back from the intensity radiating from the soft small pony. Pipp jabbed her hoof at Zipp again, "If I could trade the ability to fly to get my fans back I would in a wingbeat! My life was fine before we could fly and now, I guess I can just fly around in a jail cell the rest of my life! Am I supposed to be happy about that? Huh? Some dream Zipp, some dream." Pipp choked sarcastically, tears starting to well up in her eyes.
"Girls!" Sunny interjected, putting herself in between the two arguing sisters. Her hooves spread out to hold them back. "I know things didn't turn out the way you wanted. Pipp, you didn't get your fans back even though I said that's what would happen. I'm sorry but we can make this right though! Together we can do this, that's what friends are for." She insisted, giving Pipp her trademark sunny smile.
With a sniffle Pipp wiped her eyes clean with a hoof before snorting and giving Sunny a derisive look. "You don't know the first thing when it comes to being famous, to having fans, or any of it. That's not how any of this works. I'm on my own out there." She ranted, pacing back and forth now. "If you or Zipp try to help in the slightest they'll just think I'm a coward and that I'm hiding behind you two. I'm the only pony they care about Sunny, they could care less about what you, or Zipp have to think or say. To them you're just some semi famous rando that I probably paid to say whatever you'll say. You can't help and I'm the only one that can fix YOUR mess. That is if we're even allowed back in the kingdom ever again." She finished, glaring daggers at Zipp.
Zipp just shook her head and looked annoyed while Sunny sat down hard with a shocked look on her face. "I... I didn't know Pipp. You're right, I don't know the first thing when it comes to being famous, if it's that hard then why do you do it?" Sunny asked.
Before Pipp could say anything Zipp said flatly "Cause she likes being famous that's why." Pipp made a strange noise in her throat and before anypony could blink, she stepped over to Zipp and slapped her across the face, hard.
"That has nothing to do with it, I was born famous, you were too! You haven't got a clue why I do what I do, all you see is the fame obsessed pretty girl who is cringy and fake! That's all you've ever seen and that's the furthest from the truth! I've had enough of it! Ughhhhh!" Pipp spun around and hopping over the fence she stormed off down the beachfront.
"Zipp! Was that necessary?" Sunny angrily asked, a frown of disappointment and anger across her face.
Rubbing her muzzle with one hoof Zipp looked determined as she replied to Sunny, watching her sister walk down the beach, "Yeah it was." She flatly said. Turning to Sunny she kept explaining. "Even if Pipp doesn't want to admit it, it's true. Ever since we were foals she always did everything she could to make ponies like her. She told little lies, made sure to spend forever getting all dressed up every day. As soon as she got her cutie mark in music she has done nothing but market the crap out of every one of her songs, using every connection she has to make sure they get as far and wide as possible. She presents a fake persona to the public and to her fans and do you know what she gets out of it Sunny? She gets fame, she gets fame and love and her face on every billboard and every advertisement. She has become more intense with it over the years, live streaming everything and taking hundreds of staged photos every single day to share with her fans. She ignores her friends and her family because to her the adoring fans are all she's ever cared about." Zipp finished ranting, a resigned look on her face.
"Wow Zipp, I had no idea she was like that, she always seemed nice to me when we were restoring magic to Equestria, she was nothing but supportive and nice. It made me happy to be around her." Sunny stated, a confused look on her face.
Zipp replied casually, "Yeah, she's like that. That's what she does and she played you too, she probably didn't even do it on purpose because it's so habitual. What you saw earlier is the real Pipp."
"I don't know what to say Zipp, that's crazy... Are you gonna go check on her?" Sunny asked, pointing to the beach.
Zipp snorted, "No, if I get close to her when she's like this she's probably gonna attack me. I'll just wait till she calms down and her mask is back up. You're welcome to go see how she's doing though." She said dismissively.
Shaking her head in disbelief Sunny went after Pipp, chasing her down the warm sun-bathed beach. Getting close she called out to her friend over the sound of crashing waves, "Hey Pipp wait up!"
Glancing behind her Pipp turned away but stopped walking and waited. Sunny trotted up to her and placed a hoof on her shoulder. Struggling to find something to say Sunny awkwardly said, "Hey."
"Hey Sunny." Pipp said uncooperatively. Sunny didn't give up though and tried again.
"Pipp... what was that back there? I've never seen you like this. Are you gonna be ok?"
Pipp shook her head, idly playing with the sand she replied morosely, "No Sunny, I'm not. Everything I ever cared about is gone and it's all because of my friends. Yes, you're still my friend but that doesn't mean it's not our fault." Pipp added after Sunny looked surprised. After a second she continued. "Even though you ruined everything you didn't mean to and I understand that. Doesn't mean I have to be happy about the whole thing though."
Sunny gave Pipp a soft hug, "It'll be ok Pipp, surely there's something other than your fans or fame that you care about right? We're your friends, you can stay here and there will always be a place for you with us."
Pipp gave Sunny a piercing look. "Zipp told you about the real 'me' didn't she," Pipp said while doing air quotes with her hooves. "Oh don't give me that look," She continued when Sunny looked startled. "My sister has always hated secrets and I'm a lot more observant than you think, I'm the only one who noticed Izzy horning down that tree when we were stuck at the river remember? She's not right, but she's not wrong either... I don't know. It's complicated Sunny. I don't even know if all I care about is fame and fans and being trendy. All I know is that I don't feel like that's why I do it, I don't know why though. I've always just kinda gone with the flow and did what made me happy and never thought about it much. Geez I'm such a mess, aren't I?" Pipp looked at Sunny curiously, her disheveled hair framing her face.
Sunny sat down in deep thought, pausing a minute before answering. Choosing her words carefully she finally replied. "I don't think you're a mess Pipp. When I was a foal everyone thought I was a mess, a brainwashed product of my dad but I always knew that I just wanted to be friends with everypony. I wanted to make friends and have everypony stop hating each other and for once just be happy instead of scared or lied to. I don't know why you do what you do Pipp, I barely even understand how any of what you do works. I just know that I'm your friend Pipp. No matter what, even if you're some fame addict of a monster who manipulates everypony. Being around you makes me happy and that can't be such a bad thing, can it?"
Pipp gave Sunny a wet look, tears welling up in her eyes. Reaching out to give Sunny a tight hug Pipp said, "Thanks Sunny, I really needed to hear that. I'll be fine, really. You can go back and I'll meet you at the lighthouse later today to check on how things are coming."
With a nod Sunny gave Pipp one last hug and trotted back down the beach back to Zipp to finish breakfast and head to the lighthouse.
Sitting by herself now, Pipp's mind was a whirlwind. Whatever Zipp told Sunny probably wasn't wrong, she did present a fake persona whenever she live streamed. Her streamer personality was way more energetic than her real self, it was more responsive and less sarcastic. She was relatable and sympathetic to problems that she never even experienced and she always did her best to make her viewers or audience feel special. It was like a normal version of her but dialed up to eleven. It was undeniably fake though and that was something she never liked to think about. Most of the photos she shared were staged and thought out, not spontaneous. She always phrased things like 'My 8th most favorite color!' to appear more invested in the audiences interests instead of saying she didn't like it. There was nothing she could hate and she appeared to love everything and everypony. If that wasn't manipulative then Pipp didn't know what was, it was ugly but it was the truth.
Thinking deep and hard she tried to figure out why she did it. Why did she care? Does it even matter why she cared since it ended up with everypony feeling happy and special? She certainly enjoyed being famous but it felt like there was something else. Something more to it than just that. Being royalty, she always got what she wanted. She was always living the glamorous life even before she became super famous. She always had a couple of friends around the castle, even if they were just guards and her sister.
"Am I just greedy, just wanting more than what I was already given. Is that it?" Pipp quietly asked herself, trying to seriously puzzle her way through her motivations. Leaning back, she looked up at the sky and groaned in frustration with her lack of answers. "I don't know!" She said aloud. "Maybe it's true, maybe I just wanted to be the most famous pony so that me and all my friends could be happy." Plopping down in the sand she looked glumly up at the sky. After a couple more minutes of hard thinking a smile slowly crept on her face.
"Could it really be that simple? It explains everything but is it really just that?" Pipp wondered aloud. Thinking it over a few more times her smile became even wider. "Yes, I think that's it, yes!" Pipp laughed to herself. "I'm not a psycho pony after all. I have done some horrible things but that's just not who I am! Sunny you are a genius!" She exclaimed to the heavens. With a warm smile on her face Pipp decided to enjoy this truly wonderful beach a little while longer before heading back to the hotel to freshen up on her way to the lighthouse. She knew what she had to do and she sincerely hoped it would end well.
Trotting up the road to the lighthouse Pipp had a big smile on her face and was humming a cheery tune. Turning down the road to the lighthouse she could see its frame highlighted against the evening sun, its red glow highlighting Sunny's home. Getting closer to the half-rebuilt structure though she saw a couple of pegasus Royal Guards talking to Zipp and Sunny at the base of the lighthouse. Slowing down Pipp calmed her sudden onset of nerves and prepared herself for the worst. Sunny spotted PIpp getting closer and smiled at her while waving her hoof excitedly in the air.
"Good news Pipp! You're not going to jail, come on over!" Sunny yelled.
Smiling Pipp picked up the pace and coming to a stop near the four ponies she smiled and said with a cheerful voice, "Yeah?"
"That's right Princess," one of the guards said curtly, eyeing Pipp. "We've already gone over this with Zipp but to keep it brief, your mother managed to convince the Council that you two are not to blame and is taking the fall for this. She'll be kept inside one of the luxury cells in the castle for now. You two will be under armed escort for the time being until the Council decides to trust you again and then at that time Zipp will take over as Queen and you will be freed up to continue your concerts. You will be allowed to livestream but only from within the confines of the castle and all your communications will be monitored by your cell provider, ZTAT until the Council agrees its fine to stop."
Pipp's cheerful smile dropped just a little but she straightened herself and nodded resolutely at the guards. "That is the best outcome I could have hoped for, thank you. If possible, I will have to visit my mother and thank her but we'll get to that later. When will we be able to go back? I have a lot of making up to do with my fans." Pipp asked.
The guard replied, "Actually we need to leave now. You two have an interview scheduled for tomorrow with the main anchors of ZBS news at noon. The plan is to take you two back to the castle and get you settled in and then you can explain to everypony tomorrow why you two went along with Queen Haven all these years. I would think hard about what you're going to say since it will make a huge difference in the public's perception of you two."
"Now?" Zipp asked, alarmed at the sudden change in pace. "I'm not sure if I'm ready to explain everything that soon, I still have some things in the hotel room too..." She trailed off, realizing that she was just making excuses.
Sunny walked over and gave Zipp a hug. "It'll be ok Zipp I promise, I'll send your things over later but you've got this. Just tell them the truth and everything will work out fine! Besides even if it doesn't you're always welcome to run away and hide out here again." She joked. Zipp laughed at the idea of planning an exile in front of the guards.
"Thanks Sunny, promise to come visit soon ok? I think I'll die if I'm surrounded by that much gold for too long without anypony to really talk to." Zipp quipped back.
Sunny laughed for a minute before sobering up and looked at the other sister who seemed to be impatient to leave. "You gonna be ok, Pipp?" She asked hesitantly.
Pipp smiled and walked over to embrace Sunny before whipping out her phone and snapping a quick photo before Sunny could even react. Letting her go Pipp replied, "Yeah Sunny I'll be fine, you helped me realize something and now I know what I have to do. I'll stay in touch and come visit when I can, later bestie!" She ended with another tight hug and then turned to the guards. "I think I'm ready to go now, right Zipp?"
Zipp nodded so all four of the pegasi jumped up into the sky and started to casually fly towards Zephyr Heights. Sunny watched them go with a worried look on her face. "I hope everything works out for those two." She said before turning to check in with the work foreman and get an update on the repair job.
High above the fields of Equestria the pegasi flew in a group in an easterly direction towards Zephyr Heights. Cupping her hooves over her mouth to be louder than the wind Pipp yelled at one of the guards, "Do you know how long it will take to get there? I'm not that used to flying yet!"
Flying in closer he nodded and replied, "It should only take a couple of hours but let us know if you need to take a break. Even if you can glide a fall from this height could seriously injure you so let us know!". Nodding at him Pipp swung next to Zipp and got her attention.
"Hey Zipp, can I talk to you for a sec? I don't know how much free time we'll have when we get to the castle and there's something I want you to know." Zipp rolled her eyes and replied, "Sure, but make it quick. I'm trying to think about what to tell everypony now that I'm going to be taking over the throne. I need to get them to trust me." Pipp rolled her eyes back and shook her head.
"I just wanted to let you know that I know you never supported this whole lie, you told everypony who knew about it that you hated it. Let THEM know that Zipp. I'll back you up, even if it means throwing myself under the trolly for it. I'll make sure that they know that. So just tell them the truth and I swear I'll back you up. I'd never leave you hanging like that Zipp because I know exactly how that feels and I never want you to go through that, never while in or out of the spotlight. Ever. " She insisted, bringing up that fateful concert last week where the secret was exposed and Zipp left her literally hanging in the spotlight. She'll probably never let Zipp fully live that down.
Zipp looked angry and defensive but this time she didn't try to start an argument. Visibly swallowing back her words she just nodded and replied, "Thanks Pipp, when the time comes, I'll count on you." Pipp smiled encouragingly in return and eased back to her spot in the flying formation, thinking ahead to the ZBS interview and feeling the wind blowing against her face.
Shortly after the sun went down Pipp saw the lights of Zephyr Heights glowing in the distance, they were almost home! Good thing too because Pipp was starting to get sore from all the flying. In the black-blue of early night she saw one of the guards swoop in close to Zipp and felt the other one sidle up next to her.
"Princess! We'll be landing at the castle nice and easy, there shouldn't be any reporters or anything and you'll be escorted to your rooms. Once we get within cell range your phone will probably be vibrating quite a lot but please try to ignore it until we've landed." He said loudly over the wind. Pipp nodded but didn't worry, if anything it felt weird not having her phone go off every few seconds for the last week.
She knew exactly when she was in cell range, her phone felt like it was going to vibrate itself right out of her holder and plummet down to the dark earth below. Pipp didn't mind though, her phone going off felt comforting in a way, it was starting to feel like home. She just hoped that not all of the notifications were bad though. She wasn't delusional, even though she knew all this vibrating was almost guaranteed hate mail she still hoped some ponies were willing to give her a second chance.
Flying over the bustling city full of now flying pegasi going about their evening enjoyments before bed she couldn't help but feel a rush of elation at the view of the night life from up here. She had always seen the city from far up but never from a birds eye view and she couldn't help but think that for all the simple splendor of Maretime Bay and its gorgeous ocean view, nothing beats the city at night.
Touching down on the palace's main front courtyard Pipp and Zipp were quickly handed off to a new pair of guards and escorted to their rooms. Everypony was silent, eyeing the pair with a mixture of emotions on their faces. During the long trot back to their rooms the only noise was Pipp's phone going off but no pony seemed to want to comment on it. Feeling self-conscious Pipp quietly pulled out her phone and silenced it.
Stopping outside their rooms the guards opened the golden doors and gestured them inside. Pausing outside her door Pipp called out to Zipp before her sister stepped inside her own room.
"Zipp, please try to sleep. You'll need it," Pipp said with a knowing look in her eyes. Zipp would need all the sleep she could get. She wasn't used to being in interviews or on city-wide television.
"Yeah, you're right. You try to get some too okay? Night Pipp," Zipp replied nervously before walking into her room and closing the door. Smiling gently at the guard next to her door Pipp fluttered her wings at them and also went into her room. Taking a moment to take a deep breath of the familiar smells she then threw herself on her luxurious bed, sinking deeply into its soft embrace.
"Oh bed how I've missed you!" Pipp announced to the ceiling. Nothing beats your own bed, especially when that bed has silk sheets and is large enough for 10 ponies. Pulling out her phone she left it on silent since she saw her notifications number in the 5 digits and climbing by the second. Looking through a hoof full she saw that yes it was pretty much all hate mail. Her fans felt incredibly betrayed and hurt, and rightfully so. Some of these were really nasty too but she understood.
They spent so much of their time with Pipp and supported her in everything she did, they were truly the best friends anypony could ask for and how did she repay them? By lying to them, keeping a giant secret like the ability to fly from them. That's not all, she constantly was a different version of herself in front of them. They deserve better. With a big sigh she snuggled deeper into her blankets. Thinking long and hard about what she was going to say exactly to her fans tomorrow she slowly drifted off to sleep.
The next day was promising to be another bright and sunny day in Zephyr Heights but Pipp had no time to enjoy it. In between sleeping in from her exhausting flight and getting ready for the most important interview of her life the entire morning was a mad scramble. Makeup and mane, voice warm-ups, practicing a few lines in the mirror, little nervous jogs and wing flutters in the mirror all made for a very busy morning. Soon enough though it was 11 AM and time to head to ZBS news for the interview. A dozen royal guards picked her and her sister up from her room and escorted her out of the castle to fly to the studio. Zipp looked like she hadn't slept at all and with a quick smile of encouragement and a small adjustment to her hair they were good to go. Flying to the studio Pipp couldn't help but notice how different the city looked in the daytime. White and gold and full of life it almost looked alien compared to the mountain it was built on.
Outside of the studio there was a small crowd of ponies waiting to see the Princesses arrive for the widely advertised interview. Seeing the pair land outside the doors they surged toward them, security guards barely holding the line. In between all the shouting and clamoring there were the occasional 'Liar!' 'Go back to Maretime bay!' and other insults hurled at them. Zipp flattened her ears and looked defeated already but Pipp reached over to lift her sisters chin up and loudly said over the clamor,
"Don't pay attention to them! They came here just to yell at you so don't mind them, they're just haters!" Zipp gulped and tried her best to look normal. Pipp was the expert at crowds after all so Zipp wasn't going to fight her sister's advice this time.
Once they were inside the noise died down substantially. Being quickly swept backstage they met up with their interviewers, none other than the main news anchors Dazzle Feather and Skye Silver. Seeing the two princesses come in Skye immediately brightened up and rushed over to give Pipp a warm hug.
"Pipp! So good to see you again! I hope the crowd outside didn't give you too much trouble," he said smiling with perfectly straight white teeth, his silver mane perfect as always.
Pipp returned the smile equally and with a casual wave of her hoof she nonchalantly replied, "Oh it was nothing that I haven't dealt with before. I think they got to poor old Zipp a teensy bit though." She gestured to her older sister, her eyes glinting teasingly. Dazzle rushed over to Zipp with a worried look on her face, offering her a glass of water consolingly. Zipp croaked out a thanks and took the water.
"There there Zipp, I promise those ponies outside are a very small minority. Our polls show that you and Pipp are still on the fence with many and they are just waiting to hear from you before making a decision. I'll help guide you through the whole thing and you can tell them whatever you want. It'll all work out!" Dazzle said, a sparkle in her eyes and a warm smile on her face. She was clearly confident in her ability as an anchor to steer a conversation in any direction.
"That's right Zipp! I'll back you up too just like I promised!" Pipp added brightly.
"I don't know guys," Zipp hesitated. "This is my first time on this channel, I don't know if I'll even remember what I was going to say I'm so nervous."
Dazzle laughed lightheartedly and clapped Zipp on the back, "Oh don't worry about that! That's why we got you in here half an hour early! To go over what you're going to say, just the four of us and we'll have a notes prompter setup for you in the studio case you get too nervous. You can just look at it and remember what you were going to say next."
"Yeah Zipp, they had to do that for my first few times as well, they're really accommodating like that." Pipp laughed at the memory from when she was much younger and much more shy. "You two are being way more helpful than I thought though, you're not mad about everything?" Pipp asked nervously.
They both shared a look and then smiled back and Skye stepped forward. "Of course not Pipp! We've been news anchors for a long long time! Keeping a few old secrets is nothing new, and besides! The better this interview goes then the better our ratings will be!" Skye said mischievously, Dazzle nodding enthusiastically behind him.
Pipp smiled mischievously back and lightly hit Skye on the shoulder. "Oh you sly dog, of course all you care about is your ratings. Wouldn't want to miss out on your yearly car purchase now would you." They both laughed at the half true joke. Skye's relentless pursuit of ever higher ratings and viewer counts did indeed net him a hefty bonus nearly every year.
Zipp looked confused at the exchange between the two ponies until Dazzle leaned in close and whispered, "They've been like this for a long time, teasing each other like old buddies. I'm glad really, Skye doesn't have many ponies he can be loose around like he can with her, she's a good influence on him." Zipp looked startled at this revelation.
"Yeah but doesn't he know that's just an act she puts up?" Zipp whispered back.
"Well sure he know, but we all act differently depending on who we're around. I'd say you act differently to your mom than you do to me or your sister. So what if she's like an old drinking buddy around him? He likes it and doesn't mind it at all, it makes him feel more at home so there's no harm in it." Dazzle replied with a shrug.
Zipp looked thoughtful for a moment, all her nervousness gone. Watching Pipp and Skye laugh and guffaw with each other she mused, "Huh, well I guess if you put it that way then that's not so bad."
Clapping her hooves loudly Dazzle got every ponies attention. "Hate to break up the reunion you two but we really need to get setup and give Zipp as much prep time as we can." She announced.
Pipp's eyes widened with surprise. "Of course! Oh I'm sorry Zipp, I got carried away and took up some of your valuable time. Yes let's go get you ready." her wings fluttered in apology. Zipp just huffed and followed the trio into the interview studio. Bright lights and cameras all pointed right at a couch and desk. Guiding Zipp to the couch Pipp took the seat closest to the desk. Taking their seats behind the desk Skye and Dazzle spun around to Zipp and Pipp and started the short but intense pre interview brainstorming session with note taking.
They mostly focused on Zipp, asking what she was going to talk about and what angle she was going to go. Writing down bullet points they whipped up a very easy to read teleprompter with them and got it setup right next to the camera for easy viewing for Zipp in case she stumbled. After they had Zipp all setup all they did for Pipp was ask her a quick "You good?"
Pipp smiled back confidently, "Yeah I'm good. I know what I'm going to say about the lying thing. I did have a favor to ask of you two though. Mind if I directly address my fans real quick at the end? It'll make for a real heartwarming ending I guarantee it."
As the senior anchor Skye had the final say on this but he looked a little reserved about the idea. "You know that normally I would be perfectly fine with adding that in unregulated and off script Pipp, but I'm gonna need to know a little more about what you're going to say. What with the current political climate that is."
Pipp held a hoof to her chest and looked sympathetic before replying, getting fully into her role by now since they only had 5 minutes left. "Of course! I perfectly understand, though do you mind if we go over it privately? I want the reactions to be as natural as possible so I don't want any camera crew or anypony listening in before. You see this will be something I've never done on live TV before." Skye looked very surprised, and interested to about this as well so he nodded and replied,
"Sure Pipp, lets go over there and whisper about it." He jerked his head to a corner behind the desk where nopony was busying themselves with triple checking camera and sound settings. Zipp watched the two of them over there and after whispering for a few minutes she saw Skye give Pipp a gentle pat on the back and they came back. Dazzle gave them an inquisitive look and asked, "Well?"
Skye nodded and announced to Dazzle and Zipp, "We'll roll with it. I suspect it will be the perfect way to wrap up this interview so she gets her 5 minutes at the very end. If it backfires then we can always take the hit out of my savings but I doubt it'll come to that. Plus I want to see how this turns out." Looking pointedly at Pipp he added, "I'm betting on you girl, don't let me down."
Pipp shook her head and replied confidently "No way! I won't let you down."
The thirty second countdown timer started above the camera and the director announced loudly, "Places everypony! Places! We go live in thirty!" Zipp jumped at the loud noise so Pipp gave her arm a quick encouraging squeeze.
"Just remember to smile Zipp, your nervousness looks like seriousness so that'll work in your favor this time but just remember to smile occasionally, you got this." Pipp added. Zipp nodded but said nothing. The countdown reached zero and a little red light went on above the camera. Skye and Dazzle immediately went into their polished news anchor mode just as fast as if a switch was flipped.
"Aaaand we're live with a special broadcast from ZBS News, I am your head anchor Skye Silver and this is my counterpart Dazzle Feather!" Skye said grandiosely while he waved his hoof in a sweeping gesture towards Dazzle.
"Thank you as always Skye." Dazzle smiled warmly, looking back at the camera she continued. "Now for all you viewers that may be out of the loop we'll do a quick recap of recent events as well as what this broadcast is all about! Now after the Royal scandal last week during which it was discovered that the Royals actually could not fly Queen Haven fled the country and then a couple of days later came back to turn herself in, what a twist!" Dazzle said excitedly.
"That's right Dazzle," Skye picked up the conversation now. "I don't think anypony expected her to flee and then come back right after! I personally believe it was for the benefit of these two young fillies right here but I digress. The Queen turned herself in after claiming that she coerced the two Princesses into going along with the whole charade and is under house arrest pending a full investigation." Without missing a beat Dazzle continued to allow Skye a little break.
"Exactly! Now that Zipp is next in line for the throne and around half of Zephyr heights feeling betrayed by Pipp the purpose of this special broadcast is to hear from the two Princesses themselves about this whole unpleasant affair. This is a chance for all of us to hear if the Queen really did coerce them and a big chance for them to regain a little trust that will go a long way in the future. With that let's get to the Princesses! So Zipp," Dazzle began while Zipps eyes widened a little from nervousness. "Did you agree with the Queens decision to keep the fact that you didn't have the ability to fly a secret?"
Zipp looked down to gather her thoughts and hesitated for a second before looking up at the camera fiercely. "No, I did not. Every chance I got I would complain to mom about how I was tired of the lying and the secrets. Eventually I couldn't be around that all the time and found an abandoned part of Zephyr Heights, from before the schism in ponykind and spent hours nearly every day trying to research how to fly. Not only because flying has always been the most important dream I've ever had, but I thought that if I could figure out the secret of flying and teach it to everypony then there wouldn't need to be a reason for secrets anymore. I've always hated lying and I always try to be as honest as I can so it never sat right with me." She finished, slightly out of breath from the passion in her voice.
Pipp agreed with a serious smile on her face, "I know my word doesn't count for much right now but I personally vouch for Zipp. I even stake my reputation on the fact she's telling the truth. She hated being part of any event where we had to pretend to fly and she always was sneaking out of the castle all the time. I didn't know where she was going but I was also always too busy really to follow her and find out." Zipp smiled at Pipp for keeping her promise to back her up.
"Thanks sis," Zipp said warmly. Pipp smiled back and replied with a courteous "Of course!"
Dazzle looked at the pair and made an 'awww' sound. Quickly adopting a more professional look on her face she then asked, "So Zipp, why didn't you try to speak up. Surely you thought about it many times considering how you were against this thing the whole time. Mind sharing your thoughts on that?"
Zipp turned away from Pipp to address the camera directly. Her hooves gesturing animatedly with her passion, "Of course Dazzle! Though this answer is a little bit more complicated. Ever since I was born any time magic or flying or anything like that was brought up mom would always go on and on about how it was better for everypony to believe that we could fly. My entire life she taught me that as long as everypony believed that we could fly then everypony would feel much safer and that there was no harm in it. She also stamped out any discussions about magic of how to fly or anything like that as soon as I brought them up. It actually caused a bit of a rift between me and mom. I was obsessed with finding out how to fly and she was obsessed with keeping things the way they were. I was just hoping to find a way to fly and make every ponies dream come true and then it wouldn't matter. I didn't want to go against both my mom and my sister and ruin their lives. Not until I had tried everything I could to fix the problem myself."
Dazzle nodded, looking satisfied. "That must have been hard on you, being at odds with the rest of your family. Thank you for trying all these years to figure out how to fly. That was very admirable of you."
Zipp looked over at Dazzle with a jerky motion, unused to being on live TV still. "Thanks Dazzle."
Skye clapped his hooves together to draw attention to himself and announced, "And that's it for Zipp's segment of the broadcast. What did you think viewers? Should we give our Heir another chance, tap on the attached poll now to vote on it! I don't know about you but I am pretty convinced. I can tell when a pony is being genuine and that folks, well was the real deal right there!" Pausing for a moment he then turned to face Pipp, directly to his right. "Pipp, last but not least it's your turn now. I'm sure a lot of folks came to see this for you so let's get right into it. Did you agree with the Queen or were you against it like your older sister?"
Pipp smiled back but didn't say anything for a few moments. "Well Skye, I used to agree but let me explain. Ever since I was a little filly all I've ever wanted to do was make friends with everypony and make them as happy as I could. Mom always told me that everypony was happier if they thought we could fly. Once I got my cutie mark and my music career I tried to incorporate the staged flying as much as I could because I thought it would make everypony happier and more excited during concerts. It was a secret so I couldn't just go asking anypony if they thought I should or shouldn't and I never really questioned it because I always thought mom was right. I just wanted to make everypony happy, that's all." Pipp ended with a sigh, looking down at the floor.
Skye nodded at Pipp, "Well Pipp, not as admirable as your older sister but I think I can safely speak for everypony here at the studio when I say that sounds exactly like you. You were misled by your mother but that doesn't mean that you didn't have good intentions. I think she's learned her lesson viewers and she only did what she thought was best for us. But before we put up a polling for Pipp she would like to have a few words directly to her fans here in this wonderful city. Don't go now because I can say that in all my years of knowing her, I have never seen Pipp pull off a stunt like this. Take it away Pipp!" He ended grandly, gesturing to Pipp and the camera which now zoomed in on her face.
Outside the studio and all around Zephyr Heights Pipps face was on the giant TV's on the sides of buildings, on ponies phones at work, on living room TV sets. Even being transcribed live for the deaf. The majority of the city was definitely paying attention now.
Rubbing her nose a little and looking up with a small sweet smile, Pipp began the speech that she initially had the idea for all the way back at the beach in Maretime Bay.
"Hey there PippSqueaks." She began, talking slow and low as if she was talking to herself. "It's only been what, a week or so? Its felt more like a month to me. What can I say? I'm addicted to my phone, there were so many moments on my adventure to bring back magic that I wish I could have live streamed." She laughed to herself, her smile grew bigger at the joke directed at herself. Looking a little more confidently at the camera she continued.
"I wanted to take this moment to talk directly to you, not just the ponies of Zephyr Heights but to you." She stared deeper into the camera before continuing. "I've realized a few things about myself and I decided a few things needed to change. You see, ever since I was a young filly I always just wanted to make friends. As many friends as I could, I also wanted to make all my friends happy. Maybe I'm selfish but even to this day nothing makes me more happy than to see the ponies around me smile. My whole life I've been like that, after I discovered my passion for music I've tried to spread it as far and wide as I could so I could share that love with you and bring a little more joy to your life."
Pipp's smile disappeared though and her wings fluttered nervously, "The truth is though... I show a different side to everypony. Some ponies who know me really well think I'm just a fake and a manipulator. I'm always more energetic when I'm on stream and most of my photos are staged. You also wouldn't believe how long it takes me to put makeup on." She smiled at that thought. "I also phrase things so that nopony will take offense to me, like if you were to tell me your favorite color was aquamarine I would probably say something like 'aquamarine is like my 8th favorite color'. I've been doing things like that since I was a little filly and by now its part of who I am, a pony with many sides. This is a big part of why I lied about being able to fly, I thought you would be happier if you didn't know the truth which was that no pony could fly." Tears welled up in her eyes a little and with a sniffle she wiped them with one hoof before going on.
"I do all these things because I just want to make ponies around me happy, when you're happy I'm happy. I've been riding that wave of happiness for as long as I can remember. I never really doubted myself before and now I can't stop being a pony pleaser. That's the gist it, the whole truth for who I am. I do these things and at a glance they are pretty sketchy because it's undeniably not the real me but if it makes me and everypony around me happier then what's the harm? Well I realized recently what the harm was." She took a long pause to gather her thoughts while the tension around the whole city grew.
"The harm is... well the harm is that I don't consider your feelings too. I just assumed I always knew what would make you happy, just like I assumed that thinking we could fly would make you happy and I never took your feelings into consideration. For that I'm sorry, I forgot something important and now instead of assuming I know what you'll want I'm leaving the choice up to you. For the poll that's about to show up there will be two choices. Either I continue making content and doing concerts like I have before or..." Her wings fluttered nervously again and she looked terrified to say the next line. "Or I shut it all down. No more streams, no more shows. Nothing. I'll figure something else to do with my life but it won't be as the Pipp you all know."
Everypony except Skye in the studio gasped in surprise. They never saw this coming and the audience could have heard it too if they weren't all gasping as well. Plowing on ahead Pipp continued.
"To close this out, I just want to say that if you'll give me a second chance I promise..." She choked a little on the tears welling up in her eyes again. "I promise that if you give me this chance I'll do a ton of no staged, no filter and no faking it content. You'll get the real me and I promise to include you in my life as well as the choices in my career from here on out. No secrets and no surprises."
Glancing down at the floor and then back up Pipp ended with, "And if you want me to shut it all down then I just want to say since this will be my only chance that the PippSqeaks have been the best thing that has ever happened to me and that you all have a very special place in my heart. I'll never forget you. Oh and for one last times sake... Pipp Pipp Hooray." She said weakly.
"I love you all so so much and I hope from the bottom of my heart that you'll give me a chance. A chance to see the real me." With a nod at Skye she signaled she was done and he picked the interview back up after a second of dabbing at some of the tears in his eyes.
"That was well said Pipp, well said. For the first time in a long while I actually have nothing to add to that." He said, a proud look on his face. Looking back at the camera he continued, "The poll is up viewers! We'll display it live as soon as its closed in a couple of minutes, get your votes in! We'll be right back after this ad break." Skye announced right before the red light above the camera went off.
"Pipp are you crazy?" Zipp blurted out as soon as she could. "You're going to risk everything just like that?" Pipp looked over at Zipps angry face.
"You were right though Zipp. I do all those things and even if it's for a good reason it's not the right way. I feel like this is the right way to do things and no matter what. I'll live with it." She said determinedly, some of her inner fire breaking through her wet eyes. Zipp sat in thought for a little bit before looking at her sister with the same fire in her eyes.
"Okay sis, I still think this is stupid but I'll still support you no matter what." Zipp said, hugging Pipp for the first time in a long while.
"Well you should, I'm the one who supported you when you ruined the whole Royal family to go off chasing some magic crystal that may or may not have even existed." Pipp quipped back, laughing weakly.
"Okay we're live in ten!" The director announced loudly. Nervous tension filled the room. In a few moments everypony would know what the result was and what Pipps future would be.
"Welcome back everypony!" Skye announced with his usual professionalism. "So I know you all are dying to know the results and believe me when I say that everypony here in the studio is dying to know them as well, you can practically cut the tension in the air here with a knife haha" He laughed weakly at his poorly timed joke. Straightening his tie he continued. "Ahem, the results are in now on my zPad and it is 86%... for Pipp! You're staying in the biz!" He said, a relieved look on his face.
Loud cheering echoed through the studio and the camera was ready to grab Pipp's reaction. For a second it looked like she didn't hear the announcement, her face was just in shock. Very quickly though a dorky smile appeared on her face and her eyes grew as large as they could. With an explosion of energy and relief she jumped up and gave Skye a giant hug and a sloppy kiss on his cheek, much to his surprise.
"Yayyyy! I'm so happy everypony decided to give me a chance. Oh I've got so much to plan and do, I'll relaunch everything in a few days once I figure out how to get it all setup that you all can participate too and get to know the real me. Oooh this is going to be so amaaazing~!" She sang before dashing out of the studio like a bolt of lighting, leaving the other three ponies in a daze. Zipp just chuckled and smirked as she got up to follow Pipp.
Skye stood in shock from the assault of happiness he just got and Dazzle remembered that they were still live so she faced the camera and with a laugh of her own she said, "Well that's Pipp for you all, we'll be ending the broadcast now and as always, thank you for joining us. This has been your hosts Dazzle and Skye." With a nod she signaled the camera crew to shut off the broadcast and then chuckled again at Pipps antics.
Already halfway to the door to fly back to the castle, Pipp was so lost in her own world that the guards were having trouble keeping up with her. A goofy smile plastered itself on her face since she was already planning out streams, fan sleepovers, morning makeup routine vids and to show her appreciation a new song that is going to be titled "The PippSqueaks".
Author's Note
I really didn't like how the movie did Pipp dirty with so little screen time or a nice long character arc and I just really wanted to see Pipp grow a little
