The party had lasted long into the night.
All around her, earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi danced together in the streets of Maretime Bay, celebrating the return of magic and of unity. Izzy and Sunny had pulled out all the stops last night and decorated the whole place for a real shindig, and everypony had been enjoying themselves since dawn.
It had been a time of celebration, and of discovery and exploration, in more ways than one. Ponies of all tribes huddled together in small groups, testing out the limits of their abilities and causing more than one crash or explosion in the process. Others were engaged in lively chats, sharing their favourite foods, movies, songs, and anything else that helped them find common ground and realize that they were more similar than different.
And then there were those who were taking Sunny's message of love quite literally.
Zipp smiled as she watched her mother and Alphabittle staring lovingly into each other's eyes, their earlier bickering having dissolved into passionate kissing at some point in the evening. Good for her. For all their disagreements, Zipp loved her mom very much, and wanted her to be happy.
Sunny and Izzy had also been making eyes at each other all day, and had slipped away together at some point, giggling to themselves in a very unsubtle way. Zipp was happy for them too. Both of them had been alone for way too long, and now they had each other.
As for Zipp, finding love wasn't really on her to-do list. After all, she had no need to find what she already had. Speaking of which...
"Hey Pippsqueaks, hope you're all enjoying being able to fly as much as I am!" Pipp looked so adorable as she flitted about in the air, holding her phone out in front of her. "I am so, so sorry about the whole lying thing, but we got our flight back, so we're all cool, right? I'll have an apology video out real soon so look forward to that!"
Zipp flew over towards her, still revelling in her ability to do so. "Hey Pipp," she said, nudging her sister. "How's it going?"
"Oh hey, my sister's here!" Pipp grabbed Zipp with a strength that always surprised her and pulled her into the shot. "Say hi, Zipp!"
"Hey, everypony," Zipp said, waving awkwardly. She'd never been comfortable in front of a crowd like her sister and mother were. "We're having a great time here in Maretime Bay with the earth ponies and unicorns, and we can't wait to come back to Zephyr Heights with our new friends." There, that was a good political statement, right?
Either way, Pipp knew how to play off of someone. "Hashtag diversity, am I right? Alright, I love you lots, gotta go make plans for a huge bash when we get back. Bye everypony!"
Zipp waited until she put away her phone to wrap a wing around her withers. "So," she said, letting her voice drop low and sultry. "Now that you've got the vids for your followers, how about we go back to our hotel room and do some backroom politics?"
Pipp tensed at their little code phrase, her smile turning brittle. "Yes, I think we have a lot to discuss." She waved towards the small crowd of fillies who had begun to follow her. "I'll see you all around! Be good and remember to like and subscribe!" Turning back to Zipp, she nodded resolutely. "Let's fly."
They took off, flying straight towards the only hotel in town. Maretime Bay didn't get a lot of visitors, so a lot of the unicorns and pegasi were rooming with the new friends they'd made here, but the Royal Family's status still afforded them some privileges, including exclusive use of the penthouse suites. Queen Haven had taken one of the suites, and Zipp and Pipp had taken the other.
It took about five minutes before they made it to the balcony of their suite. The other big advantage of flight was that they didn't have to bother with stairs or main entrances, which was a huge advantage given how eager they both were to be alone.
The moment they landed, Pipp pulled Zipp into a passionate kiss, pressing their lips together with a ferocity that Zipp hadn't experienced in months. "I've missed this," her sister said, her voice husky. "I've missed you."
"Me too," Zipp said, gently stroking Pipp's barrel with her forelegs. "Stars, I'd forgotten how soft you were."
Pipp let out a delighted, throaty purr at the touch. "And you know just where to touch me to get me all excited. C'mon, let's get over to the bed so that we can get the real party started." She turned around, flicking her tail at Zipp playfully before walking inside, her hips swaying the entire time.
Zipp followed dutifully, trying not to drool at the sight of her sister's backside. She at least needed to pretend to have some composure here.
Pipp climbed up onto the bed, rolling over and spreading her hindlegs to expose her glistening folds. "Look at how much I need you, Zipp."
"Oh, I'm looking alright," Zipp replied, feeling her own nethers growing even more damp as she stared at her sister's most private treasure. "And I'm loving what I'm seeing. You're still the prettiest mare I've ever seen, sis."
"Aww, you say the sweetest things." Pipp placed a hoof between her thighs. "Now, come over here, lover."
It took Zipp a single bound to reach the bed and pounce on top of Pipp, pinning her down as her sister let out a startled gasp. "Stars, I've missed this so much. It feels like it's been forever since we've been together."
"And who's fault is that?" The bitterness in Pipp's voice shocked them both, and Pipp immediately covered her mouth with a hoof. "Sorry!" she gasped out. "Sorry, I didn't mean that!"
Zipp had frozen on top of her, her forehoof hovering right above Pipp's nethers. "It's... it's fine," she stammered out. "You're right," she added quickly, trying to soothe her sister. "I was way too caught up in trying to get magic and flight back."
Pipp shook her head. "Nononono, you did the right thing," she argued back. "You brought magic back in the end and united the three tribes."
"Yeah, and I totally ignored you for... way too long while I was doing my research." Zipp sighed. "I was a shitty sister and a shitty marefriend."
"You were doing important work, I see that now." Despite her words, Pipp had pressed her hindlegs back together, no longer presenting herself to Zipp.
"I left you hanging," Zipp said simply.
The words silenced Pipp, her reassurances dying in her throat. A tense silence reigned over them for a moment.
Then, Pipp spoke up. "I thought I'd lost my sister," she said, so quietly that Zipp had to strain to hear her. "When I saw you running away, while I was stuck up there with everypony looking at me, I thought I was never going to see you again. And that hurt so much." Tears were welling up in her eyes now.
"I'm so sorry," Zipp whispered back, her own eyes stinging with tears. "I should have stayed, should have trusted Sunny and Izzy to bring magic and gone back to support you."
"It shouldn't even have come to that." Pipp brushed away a tear with her hoof. "I should have paid more attention to you, should have listened all those times you tried to talk to me about flying instead of just blowing you off. You were right to run away from me."
Anger flared up in Zipp's heart. "No, I wasn't," she said firmly, staring Pipp straight in the eyes. "I abandoned my royal duties to you, forced you to spend more time doing public relations stuff so that I could have more time to hide in my little world."
Hot, wet droplets were falling in Pipp's chest, but neither of them cared. "I— I think we could both work on communicating our feelings better," Pipp said, forcing a smile. "I'm just glad you're still here, and that we still have each other."
"Me too." The urge was overwhelming, and Zipp couldn't fight it anymore. She lowered herself onto Pipp and wrapped her up in a crushing hug.
Pipp returned the hug, and the two of them cried their hearts out as they revelled in the sensation of being one again. "I love you, Zipp."
"I love you, Pipp." They ended the hug so they could look each other in the eyes again. Zipp smiled. "So, do you just wanna cuddle, or are you feeling the same burn that I am right now?" She punctuated that statement with a gentle thrust of her hips.
Pipp stared back at Zipp with a smouldering glare. "Take me now, lover," she commanded, spreading her hindlegs once again.
Zipp's grin grew wider. "Yes, ma'am!" Her hoof trailed lower, tracing downward spirals across Pipp's belly as she leaned in for a kiss. It was wet, and salty with their tears, and Pipp had never tasted sweeter on Zipp's tongue.
Her hoof reached the junction between Pipp's hind legs, and she felt her sister moan into her mouth. And as her hoof slipped between her folds, Zipp felt like she had finally come home after her long journey.
"I'm never leaving you again," Zipp promised as she slid deeper into her sister. "I'll be looking out for you, just like I should've from the start."
"And be right by your side, no matter what." Pipp let out another pleasured moan. "Please, Zipp, let me show you how much I love you too."
Zipp nodded and shifted her position, turning around until she could see her sister's delicate flower beneath her. She felt a tongue pressing against her own folds, and let out a coo as she finally felt some relief from the tension that had been building up in her core.
With practised skill, she leaned down and stuck her tongue deep inside Pipp, swirling it across all of her most sensitive spots as she savoured the taste of her sister's arousal. Old memories returned to her, driving her forward and making her regret every moment she had spent neglecting her sister. Stars, but she was such an idiot for giving this up.
That sentiment was reinforced when Pipp really began to get going on Zipp's nethers. She had a much more delicate touch, giving her older sister loving little nibbles on her outer folds and she lightly nipped at her bud, causing Zipp's legs to twitch in response.
On and on they went, pouring their love into each other and being freely vocal about the pleasure they received in turn. Pipp had a beautiful voice, and her moans and gasps were music to Zipp's ears, driving her on and making her eat her sister out with increasing ferocity.
Meanwhile, Pipp was absolutely merciless with her own, gentler ministrations. Her lighter touch was no less insistent, however, as she built Zipp's lust up to a fever pitch with practised ease. Soon enough, Zipp felt her own thighs beginning to clench as she felt her pleasure approaching its peak.
She pulled her own tongue away as she felt Pipp's nether's begin to quiver at around the same time, leaving her sister mewling in need. "Wait," she said, flipping back around. "I want to look you in the eyes when I finally make you come."
The annoyance in Pipp's expression quickly faded as understanding dawned on her. "I'd love that too."
Pipp lifted up one hindleg so that Zipp could slide one of her own under it as they pressed their slits against one another. "Heh, remember that time when mom walked in on us like this?" Zipp asked, chuckling lightly.
The vibrations from Pipp's giggling sent a pleasant chill from Zipp's nethers and up her spin. "What was it she said? 'We really are a royal family, it seems.'"
"And then she told us not to be late to dinner." A pleasant warmth settled into Zipp's heart as she recalled the memory. "Stars, you feel so good, Pipp."
"You too, sis." It seemed Pipp was getting impatient, as she began to rock her hips back and forth, creating delicious friction between them. "Oh, oh, that feels so good. Gosh, I wish I was recording this so I could enjoy watching it later." Her hoof instinctively reached for her phone before she pulled it back.
"Don't worry, we can always do this again, and again, and again, whenever you want," Zipp promised as she thrust forward, drawing out a gasp from Pipp.
They were getting close, now, their motions becoming less coordinated and precise and more just humping one another as they sought their climaxes. Zipp could feel herself reaching the edge of an orgasm, as she stared deep into Pipp's beautiful green eyes and saw the endless wellspring of love and desire in them, she cried out, ecstasy flooding her senses as the tension in her body came to a head.
"I'm coming!" she screamed as her thighs began to spasm, wave after wave of pleasure rocking her body as she pressed herself deeper against Pipp's soft fur.
"M-Me too!" Her sister replied, and Zipp felt her thrusting back madly as they both rode out their orgasms, their gazes locked onto one another as they watched each other's eyes cloud over with a blissful haze.
Zipp lost all sense of time and space, her entire world becoming the bond she shared with her sister, both physical and spiritual. In this moment, they were one soul in two bodies, born of the same loins and destined to share the same fate, now and forever. There was no Zipp without Pipp, and no Pipp without Zipp, and Zipp had been an idiot to have forgotten that.
Eventually, the fires of lust began to subside, and the world returned to focus as their motions slowed down. As they finally came to a stop, Zipp collapsed onto Pipp, smothering her in a crushing hug. Even now that she was spent, she still didn't want to let go of her beloved sister.
"Wow, I really needed that," Zipp said when she'd finally recovered some of her energy.
"Me too," Pipp replied, panting heavily. "This is definitely a way better rejuvenation ritual than anything they have at the spa." She raised up one, sticky hoof and frowned at it. "Though, I think we might need a spa trip anyways."
"That sounds like fun," Zipp agreed. "I haven't been pampered like that in a long time." She shook her head. "I've really been neglecting a lot because of my research, huh?"
Pipp stroked her mane as she pressed a kiss against her cheek. "It'll be nice to have you back. It's not the same being out there in the crowd without you."
"And it never realized how much I missed you at the station too," Zipp replied, enjoying the feeling of having her mane stroked. "You know, I don't think I ever invited you over? There's some beautiful stained glass windows that would make for some great pictures to send your followers."
"Ooh, that sounds fun!" Pipp pulled Zipp in close for a hug. "We need to catch up in the morning, and figure out what else we've been missing out on during these moons."
"Definitely." Zipp settled in next to her sister, yawning. "But for now, I think I just want to fall asleep in your hooves."
"Sure thing, sis," she heard Pipp say as she began to drift off to sleep. "Welcome home."
"It's good to be back," Zipp murmured before darkness claimed her, and she fell asleep feeling peaceful and content once again.
