Strike A Pose

by Quoterific

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, Izzy Moonbow, Pipp Petals, Comedy, My Little Pony: A New Generation, Sunny Starscout, Zipp Storm, Hitch Trailblazer
Length: 2125

Pipp shows off her photography skills, but Zipp has other ideas

Inspired by the fanart Meme (smol)
By artist ShadowReindeer

Pipp decides to enlist the help of her friends and sister for a live stream displaying the many ways of taking pictures on a phone. The rest of them seem happy to help, but Zipp would rather not help at all.

Thank you to StraightToThePointStudio for another amazing reading
Strike A Pose by StraightToThePointStudio

Published 2022-04-10 22:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2022-04-10 22:00:01 UTC

What A Picture

“So, er, why are we all here again?” Sunny asked her four friends as they made their way to the gates of the great pegasus city in the mountains.

“No idea,” Hitch shrugged as he glanced around at the towering buildings that were a far cry from Maretime Bay, “She was lucky that this coincidentally fitted in nicely with my break time.”

“Did Pipp say anything to you about what she’s planning, Zipp?” Izzy asked the white pegasus.

“Even I have no idea what’s going on,” Zipp sighed and looked down at the glittered invitation that they have all received. It didn’t say much. It just said in Pipp’s fancy calligraphic writing to come over to the main plaza of Zephyr Heights for a surprise. All of them arrived at the same time as instructed.

“Yeah,” Zipp huffed, “Me and my sister have very different definitions when it comes to the word ‘surprise’.”

“Aw, don’t be like that,” Izzy chimed in from behind them, “This could be fun.”

“And there’s another word that we have different opinions about,” Zipp rolled her eyes.

“Well,” Sunny chuckled at Zipp’s ‘enthusiasm’, “We’re about to find out. Here comes Pipp right now.” She pointed towards the sky and the rest of them looked up to see Pipp fluttering down as fast as her fluffy wings could carry her. Glinting in the sunlight, the four of them could just make out the shape of her phone being held in one hoof. Zipp began getting nervous at the sight of the device in her hoof.

Her fears were confirmed when Pipp landed in front of the group with the cursed device held high and the camera directed at her younger sister’s face.

“Oh no…” Zipp wheezed.

“How’s it going Pipp-Squeaks, and welcome to a very special live stream in the big city of Zephyr Heights! With me are my very best friends and sister, so say ‘hi’ everypony!”

Pipp turned the camera to the five ponies. Sunny and Hitch had no hesitations in waving at the camera. Zipp so wanted to get away from the camera’s view, but Izzy was hugging her too tightly to let her escape as she waved frantically at the camera. Zipp could do nothing but put on a strained smile, ignore the sweat accumulating on her forehead and give a dainty wave. Luckily, the camera didn’t linger on the group for too long and Pipp turned the camera back to her.

“I have enlisted my trusty friends here today to help with a special stream. With the unification of all three tribes, it will mean that we will be exchanging our technology and knowledge as a sign of friendship in these changing times. This will mean that many unicorns and earth ponies will be able to get their hooves on new phones in the not-so-far future,” Pipp began her explanation.

“That’s so thoughtful,” Sunny beamed.

“Thank you, Sunny,” Pipp smiled, “Mother has her neck above a sea of paperwork, trying to finalise external business trade plans, but she predicted that all you ponies will be able to get new phones in a month.”

“Wow, that’s good to know,” Hitch said, “I can definitely help with business plans in Maretime Bay now that Canter-Logic is being taken down.”

“Which is why,” Pipp quickly said before somepony else came in, “I was thinking of doing a live stream on how to use your new phones in the future to take the best pictures. There are many different types of photos you can do with a simple smartphone, like mine.”

“Wait,” Izzy raised a hoof, “A picture isn’t just a picture on a phone?”

“Oh no, no, no, Izzy, there’s more to it than that,” Pipp shook her head, “With the help of my friends, I’ll be showing you the different types of pictures you can take on your smartphone.” She turned to her three excited friends and one not-so-excited sister. “Everypony ready to help out?”

Everpony in the group nodded with enthusiasm, except for Zipp. She wanted to be anywhere but here.

“I should have seen this coming,” She muttered under her breath.

“First up, the simple portraiture. It just involves the phone’s back camera and a pony. The direction of the light is important as you don’t want a face that’s caught in a shadow or has one half of the face shaded and one in the light. Hitch, care to do the first example for me?”

Hitch, looked at the others, who shrugged, shrugged back and trotted to where Pipp instructed him to stand.

“That’s the perfect spot,” Pipp complimented as she turned the phone’s setting’s to ‘share mode’, “You can see that the light of the sun show’s this handsome stallion’s face and… er… features well and capture the Sheriff of Maretime Bay wonderfully.”

A small blush spread across Hitch’s face. It didn’t help that the others were giggling from the side.

“Now Hitch, give us, and the Pipp-Squeaks, your best Sheriff’s pose.”

It wasn’t difficult for the stallion, who flicked his mane and give a teeth-filled smile at the camera, the sunlight even capturing the shine of his teeth.

“Very nice!” Pipp complimented, she then looked down to see hearts floating up the screen, “And the Pipp-Squeaks think so too.”

Sunny was glad that she nor Hitch got out a certain calendar for this particular event.

“Okay, next is the famous selfie photo and all that requires is one more ponies with the front camera facing you and your friend.” She then tapped her phone to have the other camera on.

“Izzy, care to join me? This type of photo is perfect for you.”

Izzy gasped and squeed in glee. “Would I?!” She rhetorically asked and bounced over to Pipp. Pipp and Izzy hugged as Pipp had her phone in a hoof outstretched and with the front camera facing them.

“Say B.F.Fs!” Pipp smiled.

“B.F.Fs!” Izzy replied with a wider smile to match Pipp's. Then Pipp pressed the camera button and a click could be heard.

“Wonderful!” Pipp smiled as she showed the captured image to Izzy who had her eyes glued to the screen. Thumbs up floated from the corner of the phone. “And it seems my fellow Pipp-Squeaks like it too!”

Stars appeared in Izzy’s eyes.

“Yay! I’m likeable!” Izzy chuckled as she quickly rejoined the group.

“Now let’s play with the camera’s setting and go to greyscale!” Pipp tapped her phone several times and went for a black and white filter.

“This is good for photos that you want a certain mood for. The brightness indicates something warm and friendly, whilst the darker side takes more to the mysterious and sometimes sad mood. With my friends, of course, I’m going to go with bright! Hitch? Will you be so kind as to take a picture of me and Sunny?”

“Um, sure?” Hitch walked over to her, “Be warned though. This is my first time using one of these things and it may turn out wonky."

“I don’t mind at all. In fact, the wonkiness of the photo can create a mood of its own,” Pipp smiled as she handed over the phone to Hitch who fiddled around with it in his hooves. Getting acquainted with this new piece of gear, he managed to figure out how it works and pointed the right camera toward the two girls.

“Alright, say ‘cheese’.”

“Cheese!” Both Sunny and Pipp said, hooves wrapped around each other. There was another sound and the picture was taken. Pipp fluttered over to see Hitch’s work.

“Very nice Hitch. I may be able to make a photographer out of you yet,” Pipp semi-teased. Hitch chuckled sheepishly whilst rubbing the back of his head.

“Next is the panoramic effect or the simple one where the pony is to one side and the camera focuses on the views behind them. I know that my dear sister, Zipp, is quite camera-shy so I will let her off with her to the side and I’ll be focusing more on the views of Zephyr Heights.”

“No way,” Zipp said firmly, “No pictures for me, you or the fans.”

“Just one picture. Come one, Zipp, it’ll be fun,” Her younger sister started to whine. She suddenly turned the phone’s camera on her sister and Zipp had had enough.

The rest of the ponies smiled at the two siblings’ antics, with Zipp flying around the square and Pipp clicking the button as fast as she can whenever she can.

“Leave it, Pipp!” Zipp shouted from the air, “You’re not getting my picture!”

“Try me!” Pipp said as she held the phone in her hoof.

It was then that Zipp had an idea form in her head. In one big surprise attack, Zipp swooped down and grabbed her hoof. Pipp trashed her front hooves around, but Zipp pinned her down with a hoof on her head.

“How about I try something new? I may actually make a new trend for once,” Zipp said with a wicked smile, but Pipp was too busy trying to get her phone back to notice. “I think I’ll call it illusion photography.”

“That doesn’t make any sense!” Pipp argued back as she continued to struggle, “How can you create an illusion with photography?”

“Then I suggest you watch and learn, little sis,” Zipp teased as she forced her sister to sit on the floor with Pipp complaining that the ground was dust-ridden.

She then walked a couple of distances back until she was satisfied. The others, including Pipp, noticed how she would hold her hooves up in some strange gesture. Once she was satisfied, she turned to Sunny.

“Sunny? Mind giving me a hoof?” She called over her shoulder. Pipp just stared blankly in the far-off distance, wondering what her sister’s got up her hoof.

Sunny looked back at the others, shrugged and trotted over to her friend.

“Right then, just take the picture and you’ll get it when it’s taken,” Zipp motioned to the phone in her hoof.

Sunny looked down at the device, then back at Zipp. The finally made up her mind and gingerly picked up Pipp’s phone.

When realised what Zipp had planned whilst taking a look at the screen, a smile crept up her face as Zipp positioned where her hooves needed to be.

“Okay. Three, two one-“

“Pipp is the small sister,” Zipp giggled at her own words.

The click indicated that the photo was taken and the others, Pipp included, went to see what Zipp had down.

At the sight of the final picture, everypony burst out laughing. All except one. Pipp was horrified at the picture on display.

“Now you really are the smaller sister,” Zipp said triumphantly, happy to get some payback.

“What have you done?!” Pipp shrieked, “Those photos go instantly to my social media!”

“Congratulations… you set a new trend with your big sister's help?” Was all Zipp could muster before she shot up into the air. Pipp followed closely behind her.

“You may have made a new trend by yourself for once, but I didn’t want you to show my Pipp-Squeaks this example!” Pipp’s angered voice carried through the air to everypony’s ears. The three of them on the ground had their eyes following the two of them until they were nothing more than tiny specks in the distance.

“Well, that was something,” Sunny managed to find her words.

“You could say that again,” Hitch nodded in agreement.

“Now I want a phone for myself!” Izzy said excitedly, “The creativity that comes from it is mind-blowing.”

“Should we go?” Hitch asked.

“Since they’re siblings, I think we just got caught in their sibling antics today,” Sunny sighed, “They’ll come down… eventually.”

“So… what now?” Izzy asked the two earth ponies.

“I don’t know about you, but I really want to look around Zephyr Heights. A lot has changed now and I want to see what’s new,” Sunny smiled, “Want to grab a bite?”

“Sure,” Hitch shrugged.

“I’m in,” Izzy raised a hoof.

The three of them then turned and headed towards the pegasus city as two particularly fast specks continued to fly around the city.

Author's Note

So, sorry about the week off. Wanted to spend time browsing DeviantArt for writing inspiration.

Anyways, I watched Tell Your Tale and... it wasn't as bad as I and others thought it would be. Sisters Take Flight (E3) would be my favourite out of the four so far (I won't do spoilers for those who haven't seen it yet.)

Shame I don't have Netflix to watch the specials soon... :raritycry:

Anyways, enjoy this fic which I released a little later than usual for my time in the UK