Livestream

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 10
Epilogue

Chapter 1

With the reunification of the pony tribes, there came a renewed interest in ancient pony things. Things previously only of interest to historians like Argyle suddenly became the new hot thing, and ponies had started livestreaming about artifacts they found (or, more likely, things they’d made themselves and tried passing off as legitimate for clout and fake internet points).

Of course, when one is a queen, she can ensure that any ancient artifacts found are legitimately ancient artifacts by simply financing an expedition with royal funds.

She descended from her chariot gracefully to the sound of six guards playing trumpets. “Your queen has arrived,” she announced airily.

“Queen Haven!” one of the historian ponies said. “We’re glad you came.”

“I… did,” Haven said, looking around distastefully. “There are so many plants. A thousand years of nopony weeding really did a number on this place. Have you found anything?”

“Oh, this is a treasure trove of history,” he responded enthusiastically, his wings flaring in excitement. “It’s a small village, and it seems to have been abandoned over time, possibly when the magic disappeared the first time and the tribes split up-”

But Haven was in no mood for a history lesson. “Have you found anything of note?” she emphasized.

“Oh, uh, yes. We did find this.” He held up a crystal necklace, with a small chain for hanging around the neck. “It seemed a little out of place among the abandoned houses.”

“Oh, that’s pretty,” Haven said.

“It’s yours, of course,” he said eagerly.

Haven smiled. She knew exactly what she was going to do with this.

Zipp’s phone buzzed. She raised it and her ears lowered as she read the name.

Sunny looked questioningly at her.

“It’s my mom,” Zipp explained, tucking her phone away without answering. “Again. Probably trying to get me back for another manners lesson or something. Ugh.” She let her head fall back and she stuck her tongue out.

“Didn’t you just have one of those?” Izzy asked.

“I did; but I swear, I sit down, I blink, and I get up, and two hours have passed. I don’t even remember learning anything. Not that I’d want to, anyway,” she added under her breath.

“Aw, come on, Zipp,” Sunny said amicably. “I’m sure she’s just trying to help you become a good queen.”

“A good bore is more like it,” Zipp scoffed. “If I was there and present for the whole two hours, I’d go insane.” She glanced around, clearly conflicted, but her sense of duty won out in the end. “Fine, I’ll call her back. But I’m probably going to hate it, whatever it’s about.”

Haven held up the crystal. “Do you like it?”

Zipp cringed. She hated it when she was right. “It’s… shiny,” she said with a forced smile, clearly struggling to find something appreciative to say. Jewelry wasn’t her thing, and she would much rather have not worn anything at all.

But Haven wasn’t going to let a little thing like her daughter’s feelings get in the way of what she wanted, and she held it out expectantly. “Try it on,” she said.

With hesitation in her eyes and hooves, Zipp reached out and took it. With a low, pained groan, she slid it on.

“Oh, that looks lovely,” Haven said.

Zipp suppressed a cringe. “Thanks, mom,” she said.

Zipp made it back to the Crystal Brighthouse in record time. “Ugh. I don’t know,” she said, holding up the necklace. She attempted to peer through the crystal. “It just feels too fancy for me.”

“I think it’s cute,” Pipp said, snapping a quick picture.

“It’s a piece of history,” Sunny added, stealing another look. “I may not know a lot about fashion, but I think it’s pretty cool.”

Zipp rolled her eyes. “You want it?”

Sunny’s ears pricked.

“Mom would notice,” Pipp sang under her breath, not looking up from her phone.

Zipp grunted an agreement and dropped it. “I mean, I get it. She’s always wearing jewelry and such, something about appearances being important.” She blew a quick raspberry. “But that’s just not me. I can be a queen just fine without all that stuff.”

“That crown still has to fit your head,” Pipp interjected airily, as if calling back to a previous conversation.

Zipp grunted. “I haven’t ruled out abdicating and sticking you with everything,” she warned.

Pipp sniffed disinterestedly, still not looking up from her phone. She knew Zipp would never actually go through with it, and she knew Zipp knew it, too.

Sure enough, Zipp exhaled and dropped it. “Egh. I know my mom. I’ll just start taking it off in a couple weeks, she’ll get used to not seeing it, and she’ll forget all about it.” She glanced over at Sunny. “And then it’s all yours,” she promised.

Sunny shrugged, hoping her cheeks weren’t coloring. “I mean, it’s yours, I shouldn’t…”

“Eh, you want it and you know it. It’s yours.” She looked around for a distraction. “Hey, Hitch. Something crazy happened this week with your animal buddies, right? Please say yes and discuss at length.”

Chapter 2

Thunder Flap knew that being a guard was an important responsibility. He had to keep the whole palace safe.

But sometimes, being a guard was so boring! He pulled out his phone and started scrolling.

Princess Pipp wasn’t streaming, which meant she was probably in Maretime Bay with her friends. Good for her; but it was boring here! What was he supposed to do now? Pay attention to his surroundings?

Well, she wasn’t the only streamer around. Maybe he could find another thermal in the sky. He scrolled over to the streamers and scrolled almost down to the bottom.

One seemed to stand out to him. It looked like a newer streamer who didn’t have many watchers.

He squinted at the handle. Sage Wisdom? Maybe a little presumptuous. The thumbnail looked like a pony wearing a blanket or a towel pulled over her eyes, so all that could be seen was the tip of her muzzle.

Out of curiosity (and maybe feeling a little bad at how low her watcher count was), he tapped on the link to check her out.

She responded quickly. “Hey, BuffGuard95! Welcome to the stream!” Her voice was cheerful and cutesy.

He tapped one of the ‘happy’ reactions in response.

Sage continued. “It sounds like your mom’s under a lot of stress right now. She’s got her wings full. And the nice thing to do would be to keep doing the dishes. There aren’t that many, and the least you can do to show your appreciation for taking care of you, feeding you, teaching you how to use a spoon, to help her out in a small way.”

There was a brief pause.

And then one side of her mouth curled up ever so slightly. “But, if you really want your free time back, you need to make it so she asks you to stop. Don’t pretend you don’t know how to do it, or she’s going to sit down and ‘teach’ you, and once you ‘know’, you can’t use that excuse anymore. What you have to do is do it, but in a way that bugs her just enough to push her over that threshold. That’ll get you off the hook, and you won’t even have done anything. You’ve only done what she asked. Try taking it slow. ‘Sorry, mom, just gotta get in between all these tines’. ‘That dish didn’t look clean enough’. ‘I know it’s midnight, but I’ve gotta get this done’. It’ll no longer be your job in no time.”

Thunder looked up, brow furrowed. That didn’t sound quite right to him, but it seemed logically sound.

Sage giggled. “Alright. I think I have time for one more question tonight. PlzLeaveMeAlone775 says, ‘My dad keeps barging into my room, like all the time. I’m not even doing anything wrong, but I’d like a little privacy. But he doesn’t care. He just says stuff like “his house, his rules”. How do I get him to stop?’.” She exhaled, puffing out her cheeks. “Golly, I picked a hard one,” she murmured. “So first of all, you’re completely in the right here. You’re your own pony and you deserve basic respect and boundaries. Unfortunately, if you’ve brought this up and he keeps brushing you off, you might not get that until you actually move out. And when that happens, stay firm. After all, by his logic, your house, your rules.”

There was a brief pause.

Her smile turned slightly devious. “But if that’s not an option anytime soon, you’ll need to get him to stop, while making him think it’s his choice. And the best way to do that is to turn up the awkward. What you’ll need to do is go shopping, and find yourself a toy that has a large base. And I’m not talking about the kinds of toys you can find at the general store. When you know he’s going to barge in, get it inserted. No, not there.” She smirked. “Yes, there. He’s not going to be able to look you in the eyes again, let alone come into your room without knocking and getting explicit permission.” She giggled. “Who’s he going to tell? Or even better, what’s he going to say? You try describing that without sounding like some kind of predator. Just remember, go slow, be gentle with yourself, and use plenty of lube. Except silicone-based toys do not go with silicone-based lube, so…” She let out a soft grunt and rubbed her eye through the towel. “-watch out for that. I think that’s all I’ve got time for tonight. Tune in next time for more Sage Wisdom!”

The stream quickly ended.

Thunder tapped his chin. Interesting…

Sunny squeezed another orange, extracting all the juice. She tossed the orange peel into her mouth and reached for another.

A shadow flashed by overhead. “Hey, Sunny.”

“Hey, Zipp,” Sunny said, slowing to a stop. Zipp looked a little too excited. Something was definitely up.

“Brought you a surprise,” Zipp said, holding up a bag.

Sunny gave her a sideways look. It didn’t seem like a prank, but something was still up.

And then she looked inside. Her ears pricked. “Zipp, you didn’t!”

“Eh,” Zipp said with an easy shrug. “It’s all royal property anyway, right?”

Sunny looked back inside at what was most definitely an ancient journal. “Zipp, you can’t just, just take a piece of history that would provide insight to daily life for ponies in the past, that’s…” She hesitated. “That’s…”

Sunny Starscout pored over the journal. “Amazing,” she breathed for what must have been the tenth time in twenty minutes.

“Yeah, I thought you’d like it.” Zipp peered over her shoulder. She cocked her head. “What’s a rainbow falls?”

“I think it’s a place. I don’t know where it is, but I wish I could have been there. They apparently traded all kinds of things there. All the ponies together in harmony, just being together. It sounds like Maretime Bay Day, but even better. I bet it was incredible.”

“Did they not have money back then?”

“They did, but I think it was just a cool tradition.”

Zipp held up her necklace, her cyan eye reflecting on the surface. “Wonder how much I could have gotten for this,” she said.

Sunny smiled wryly. “She’s still watching for it?”

“Yeah. It’s been a week and it’s like every day, ‘such a good look for you, Zipp’, ‘how beautiful, Zipp’. I’m getting sick of it. Maybe I’ll just make a new law,” Zipp said. “When I’m queen, no more dumb crowns or meetings or anything like that.”

“Well, no matter what you’re wearing, you’ll always be my friend,” Sunny said.

“Aw, you’re just saying that because I bring you cool stuff,” Zipp joked.

Sunny didn’t respond.

“Uh, Sunny?” Zipp prodded.

“Buckball?” Sunny read aloud, confused.

Chapter 3

On the screen, Pipp angled the camera down. “Hey, Pippsqueaks!” she cheered. “We’re here in Maretime Bay, on the bay, ready to clean up. I may not be an earth pony, but I care about the earth, so let’s get started!”

Thunder scrubbed through the stream, checking for any highlights. It didn’t seem like they’d found anything odd or interesting, unless you found trash interesting, which he did not.

The little bird wearing the can as a hat was kinda cute, though.

He backed out of the archived stream and checked to see if she was live.

She wasn’t, but Sage Wisdom was online.

Thunder glanced around, and then opened it. She’d been pretty interesting last time.

She didn’t acknowledge him this time; the chat was so busy with comments and praising Sage that he didn’t even see his name before it got buried under reactions. Ooh. She’d gotten popular.

Sage clearly rolled her eyes under the towel. “Oh, I know that one. I don’t understand what makes old mares think they have the right to pry into stuff like that. You’ll have to be firm. ‘I already gave you the answer. I don’t appreciate you asking after I’ve already answered’. And if she asks again, have her leave. Literally, make her leave your house. Stand firm,” she repeated, emphasizing her words with a tap of her hoof. “This is your boundary, and you must defend it. She’ll learn, or she’ll kick herself out of your life. I repeat: this is her kicking herself out, not you kicking her out. And if it takes going no contact with her, again, that’s her choice, not yours. This is all on her. The only ponies who don’t like boundaries are the ones that stomped on them in the first place.”

There was a brief pause.

She glanced off to the side. “But maybe she’s just trying to embarrass you, or intentionally putting you in an uncomfortable spot. If so, you’ll need to speak her language to actually get her to stop. You have a filly already, right? Rope her into this. Foals love acting. Keep her close whenever she comes by, and the next time she asks when you’re having another, have her scream. ‘What did I do wrong?’ ‘Am I not good enough for you?’ ‘Why don’t you love me?’ The bigger the tantrum, the bigger the reward you give her at the end. Bonus treats for tears. And if she waits until you’re alone, why is she asking again after you told her? Maybe it’s the first sign of dementia? She’s old, after all, and it could happen to anypony. Offer to take her to her appointment. You wouldn’t want her getting lost, after all. What appointment? Remember, you told me you had one scheduled? You forgot?” She clicked her tongue. “Tragic. Can’t believe it happened so young.” She chuckled and leaned forward. “Alright. I’m running out of time, but here’s one last quick tip. If you want something from somepony else, and you don’t know if you’ll be able to get it, ask for something bigger first. Then, when that’s been declined, ask for the smaller thing you actually want. Ponies don’t like saying no, so they’re more likely to agree to the smaller request.”

Thunder considered this. That seemed deceptively simple. Could that work? He supposed it was worth a try.

In an hour, he got his chance. He came across Zoom Zephyrwing, reading a clipboard with the assignment list.

“Hey, Zoom, can I get next week off?”

“What?” she scoffed. “The full week? Are you crazy?”

“Ok. Well, how about the rest of the day?”

She huffed and looked down at the clipboard for a moment before responding. “Fine.”

Wow. It worked! He took off.

And then he slowed to a stop. Wait. It had worked.

Now what was he going to do?

Maybe he hadn’t quite thought this through.

Pipp sang softly to herself as she cleaned up the counters at Mane Melody. Her passion project had grown, but she still wanted to give it her personal touch as long as she was here.

Her ears pricked up as the doors opened. A new pony came in, his eyes glued to his phone.

“And in a compromise, sure, not everypony can always get what they want. But if they’re not willing to even come to the table with you, are they really your friend?”

Pipp hesitated. She wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that. Maybe it was just out of context.

“That’s about all I have time for today, but I’ll leave one last tip for you. If somepony is distracted, you can reach out and they’ll give you whatever they’re holding.”

Pipp thought for a moment. That was odd.

But now she was curious. Did that actually work?

She got her chance to try a little later when Sunny came in. “Sunny! Looking bright like always,” she sang. “Here for a manecut? I can always squeeze you in.”

“Actually, I was looking for Zipp. Have you seen her?”

“She’s getting some one-on-one time with mom.” She sighed. “If she actually paid attention, she’d know which fork goes where by now. There’s no reason she can’t remember which one is the dessert fork.”

Sunny, who would typically use one single fork for the whole meal, nodded, as if she had any idea what Pipp was talking about.

Pipp’s eyes flicked down at the book Sunny held. “Why were you looking for Zipp?” she prompted.

“Oh, we found a reference to buckball in one of the old journals from your mom’s expedition,” Sunny said, brightening. “It’s a sport that seems to require one player from each tribe. There aren’t many rules written down, but it doesn’t seem too hard. I’m thinking we could figure it out together and…” Her voice trailed off and she looked around. “Where did-?”

Pipp held up the book. “Oh, wow! It works!”

Sunny huffed and took it back. “Where did you learn that?”

“Another streamer. One of the ponies who came in was watching her.”

Sunny rolled her eyes.

“But seriously, that definitely sounds like her cup of tea.” There was a beat. “Does that sound natural?” Pipp asked earnestly. “Trying to pick up a tea sponsorship. Haven’t found a flavor I like yet, but they should send me some more samples soon.”

“That’ll be fun. I’m sure Izzy will be thrilled to throw another tea party.”

Pipp exhaled through her nose. “Yeah, but she likes them all, so I can’t exactly get an unbiased answer from her. It makes it hard to figure out which one is the best. When you have a reach like mine, you have to be responsible about what you recommend.”

“Well, if we ever get buckball figured out, would you shout that out?”

“Definitely,” Pipp promised. “I mean, I probably won’t play, but still.”

Sunny shrugged amicably. That was about what she expected from Pipp.

Hitch kicked one of the volleyballs into the air and juggled it. “Ok,” he said. “Do you think I’m supposed to be able to do this, like soccer, or is it more of a just hit the ball once kind of thing, like volleyball?”

“I would assume the second,” Sunny said, squared off next to him, “because I’ve got to be able to take it somehow.”

“Or me,” Zipp interjected from above. “I could dive bomb you. Death from above!”

“I didn’t find any kind of padding mentioned, so I don’t think it was a physical sport,” Sunny said.

“So I probably can’t carry it.”

“Maybe you just can’t tuck it,” Izzy suggested. She was currently wearing the basket as a hat, which was most likely not the intended method, but she was happy.

“Maybe it has to touch one of every tribe before you can score? Like touch limits in volleyball.”

“I could believe that. It’d be hard to keep track of, though. We don’t even know the size of the balls they used,” Sunny said.

“I would assume they’re big enough for ponies to see from far away.”

“The larger they are, the harder they are to control.”

“That might be intentional.”

“Ok, so Hitch prefers large balls,” Zipp said a bit loudly. “Come on. Kick it around. I’m falling asleep up here.”

Hitch gave it a try, bouncing it off the ground. Zipp kicked it back, where it ricocheted off Sunny’s outstretched hooves, off a rock, and right into Hitch’s face.

“Ok, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that isn’t right,” Zipp said.

“Yeah, figured that out myself, actually,” Hitch said, his voice muffled by the sand.

Chapter 4

Posey was many things. Some would call her tenacious. Some, a stickler for the rules. Some might call her stuck in the past. And still others, a complainer.

But she was all about gossip, so when somepony reached out to Sage Wisdom for advice about being cheated on, she quickly sat so she could pay more attention.

Sage clearly grimaced behind the towel. “I’m really sorry to hear that,” she said empathetically. “It’s very tempting to want revenge, to go cheat on him back so you can cause him the same kind of pain he caused you. Don’t do it,” she said firmly. “It won’t do anything. He doesn’t care about you, because if he did, he wouldn’t have cheated on you, and the last thing you want is to catch a disease trying to get revenge on a pony who wouldn’t even care enough to give you the time of day. Take a few moments to center yourself and remember. The best revenge is living well.”

There was a brief pause. Posey felt like she was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“But if you want a slightly less best but more fun kind of revenge, you’re going to need some help. It sounds like you know his exact routine whenever you ‘go on a trip’. So you’re going to have to be patient. Is his birthday coming up? Tell him you’re so sorry but you’ll have to miss it, then talk to his mother. Wouldn't it be nice to surprise him with presents, breakfast in bed, and bring his whole family to celebrate when he thinks you’re going to be gone? Maybe even a nice big cake? What a fun surprise! For everypony involved.” She tittered.

Posey grinned, already imagining that explosive situation and feeling a thrill. She added her own approval emoji to the stream of the laughter and happy emojis in the chat. She’d have to watch this one.

Pipp stretched and yawned. She tousled her mane, rubbed her eyes, and snapped a quick ‘I woke up like this’ picture for posting.

Now at the end of the week, it was time for another of her routines. She scrolled over and looked at the streaming numbers.

Her brow furrowed.

She was not on top of the Growing Streamers list this week.

Instead, somepony named Sage Wisdom was there.

Pipp frowned. That was her spot.

Well, she shouldn’t begrudge anypony’s success. Streaming was hard, but she made it look easy.

Still, it did bother her a little bit. Out of morbid curiosity, she stuck her head out her bedroom door to talk to the nearest guard. “Hey, Thunder, do you know this new streamer, Sage Wisdom?”

Thunder jumped. “What? No. Nope. Never heard of her. Mm-mm. Sorry.”

“Hm,” Pipp said, and she went back in her room.

Thunder exhaled. Did she know he’d skipped her last few streams in favor of Sage’s? He hoped not. He didn’t think you could get fired for that, but he didn’t want to risk it.

Zipp checked her phone and grunted. “Yeah. There is nothing going on today. Hitch? Make something fun happen.”

Before he could respond, there was a knock at the door.

Zipp sat up, intrigued. “Cool. I was joking,” she said incredulously.

Hitch opened the door to see Fifi, holding up a box with Sunny’s face drawn on it. “Sunny, it’s for you,” he called over his shoulder as he took it, only to nearly fall forward. “What’s in this thing? Rocks?” he asked.

Sunny leaped down and tore the box open. “This has to be- yes! Queen Haven’s research team found a few more things and, well, I asked nicely, so they sent some copies to us.”

“They don’t trust you with the originals anymore?” Hitch joked.

“Officially, they don’t know how that came into my possession and it has since been returned,” Sunny said primly. “But we came to an arrangement because, spoilers: Queen Haven is going to found a museum of history, and she wants all the artifacts put on display, including some of mine.”

“The grand opening is already on my schedule,” Pipp confirmed.

Sunny glanced over to the picture of Argyle on the wall. It was just so surreal sometimes. He had believed so firmly in pony unity and the importance of history. Now she had friends of all kinds and they were going to even have a museum of history. Ponies literally from all over Equestria would see his life’s work. Would he ever have believed this was possible?

“You ok?” Hitch asked.

“I’m fine. Just… I can’t believe this is really happening. I’m so happy I found you. I never want to let you go.”

And then Zipp started vibrating, interrupting this tender moment. She let her head fall back, already knowing who it was. “Not again,” she groaned.

“You ok?” Hitch asked.

“She’s been pushing it more. She’s, like, happy to do it. And I mean, she’s my mom, and I don’t want to shut her down, but I really hate it. And is always at the worst time.”

“She’s really been blowing up your phone,” Hitch said.

Zipp tossed her phone onto the couch. “What phone? Come on. Let’s check some of this old stuff out.”

Chapter 5

“Pipp Pipp Hooray!” Pipp cheerfully signed off. She flopped back into her chair and sighed. That had been a great stream. Engagement was high, as usual, and the stream of happy emoji reactions tickled her tummy like nothing else.

Almost casually, she checked the numbers.

Her mouth tightened.

Zipp flew past Pipp in the hallway. “Hey, Pipp,” she said, but then quickly stopped midair and turned around, moving fast enough to make her amulet bounce off her barrel. “You doing ok?”

Pipp shook her head. “I’m fine,” she said.

Blue eyes met green as Zipp gave her a sideways look. “Ok,” she said, clearly not believing her. “If you say so.”

“Where are you headed, anyway?” Pipp asked, hoping for a distraction.

“I’m heading down to Maretime Bay. Mom said we could play buckball for the opening if we get it figured out by then. We’re testing one team with a pegasus on defense and one with the pegasus on offense, just to see which one works better.”

“Enjoy,” Pipp said.

Zipp looked like she was about to say something else, but decided not to press her sister, and took off.

The filly swiped irritably away from Pipp’s stream. Her streams were great for singing and dancing and sparkly new things, but she was mad right now! She didn’t want to watch Perfect Princess Pipp Petals having a good time. She wanted somepony to commiserate with her.

She scrolled down the list and saw another upcoming streamer, Sage Wisdom. Was it just her talking on camera? Curious, she joined with a quick tap.

“That does seem like quite a few chores,” Sage said empathetically, clearly in the middle of a conversation. “I bet it feels like you’re drowning in them, like you can’t even flap your wings to get out of the downburst.”

Her ears pricked. This was relevant to her interests.

“Here’s the thing,” Sage continued. “Parents don’t give you chores so you have chores. They give you chores to teach you responsibility. Can you imagine bringing a date home, you open the door and your room is a mess? Your date will take one look and spin around and leave.

“But if you really want your afternoons back, you could pawn it off on your younger brother. Start doing it in front of him, preferably while he’s doing something fun. He’ll try to get a rise out of you about you being stuck doing that. Ignore him. He’ll push for a reaction. Blow him off. He’ll get frustrated. You can’t pay attention to him. You’re doing something even better. And he won’t be able to handle it. If whatever you’re doing is more fun than he is, he won’t be able to stand it. He’ll want in. Deny him again. Pretty soon, he’ll be demanding to help. And what a helpful big sister you are, you couldn’t possibly turn him down.” She grinned. “Enjoy.”

The filly nodded to herself and tapped Subscribe. She liked where this was going.

Pipp knocked on Zipp’s door and then pushed it open. “Hey, Zipp? Have you seen-?”

But that’s as far as she got before a pillow hit her in the head.

“Pipp! Get out of my room!” Zipp nearly shouted.

“Geez,” Pipp said irritably, tossing her head and fixing her tiara. “It’s just your room. You barely have anything in here, anyway.”

“That doesn’t mean you can just barge in,” Zipp said irritably. “What do you want?”

“Ok, rude. I was just wondering if my tea sampler got delivered to your room by accident.”

“Nope. Out.”

Pipp snorted and walked out.

Once she was in the hallway and out of sight, she exhaled slowly. Her numbers weren’t growing quite as fast as they used to, and she was really hoping there would be something new to give them a little bump.

This was a new feeling, and she didn’t like it.

She pulled out her phone to respond to comments for a little natural engagement, and this made her feel a little better.

But even at dinner, it was weighing on Pipp’s mind.

“Pipp?”

Pipp jumped at having been called out.

Haven gestured at the table. “Care to join us?”

Pipp nodded, hoping it didn’t look like she was blushing. Usually it was Zipp getting pulled back into the conversation. She looked over to see what Zipp was doing, wondering why she wasn’t Haven’s target.

Zipp was eating daintily, in small bites, and she was even using the right fork.

A flicker of annoyance crossed Pipp’s face, but she quickly suppressed it.

Once dinner was over, she made her way over to Haven. “Hey, Mom? Have you ever felt… unpopular?”

“Of course not,” Haven tittered. “The queen has always been popular. I am beloved of all my subjects.”

“You did get arrested once,” Pipp pointed out.

“Nuance, dear,” Haven said dismissively. “What’s bringing this on?”

Pipp shrugged. It seemed like a silly reason to be concerned, now that she was thinking about it. “It’s nothing. My numbers aren’t as good as they used to be,” she said.

“I hardly think that’s a concern. Pipp, you’re the brightest little streamer in the vast sky that is the canternet,” she reassured her. “You’ll be back on top like the star you are in no time.”

“Thanks, mom,” Pipp said, feeling a little bit better.

And then she noticed that she was walking away.

“Where are you going?”

“I’ve got another meeting scheduled with Zephyrina.” Haven laughed lightly. “Meeting,” she repeated fondly. “Her training, I mean. It’s a delight, now, really. She’s actually paying attention to her lessons. It’s such a welcome change.”

“Oh, that’s… great,” Pipp said.

With an affectionate gesture, Haven made her way down the hall.

Pipp shook her head. This was fine. It was just a little funk. She’d be out of it in no time. In fact, by next week, she’d probably even forget this had happened.

Chapter 6

“I am not out of this funk,” Pipp announced to the room at large.

Izzy stood up, only to sit back down. “I thought she needed a funk and I was going to go find one for her,” she whispered to Hitch, who giggled.

“What’s going on, Pipp?” Sunny asked.

“I don’t know,” she said, “but it’s getting worse. Sage Wisdom is climbing the charts and now she’s in the top 50 streamers, and she doesn’t even show her face! I bet she’s hideous.”

“Pipp,” Sunny said.

Pipp blew air out her cheeks. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t nice of me. I just…”

“It’s getting to you, isn’t it?” Zipp said.

“Yes!” Pipp nearly wailed. “I’ve been working my cute little flank off for years to get the numbers I have, and then she comes out of nowhere and just talks and somehow is scooping up all these watchers!” Her lower lip stuck out as she pouted. “She barely engages with her chat and it’s just her in her room and I’m out here checking lights, angles, and-” Pipp brightened and stood up. “I’m going to go take a beach selfie,” she said, and quickly flew out the door.

“I don’t think I know Sage Wisdom,” Sunny said.

“I heard Posey was listening to her, and that kinda drained any interest I had,” Hitch said.

“Well, let’s check it out. Maybe we can help Pipp.” She pulled out her phone and tapped. “Still getting used to this,” she muttered as she navigated.

Before long, they had the stream loaded up. Sage Wisdom chuckled. “Very true! Alright. Here’s another. FedUpWithFeeding says, ‘I have a candy jar on my desk. I like snacking and I like sharing. But I also have a coworker that keeps helping themselves to it, and I mean constantly. It’s getting empty almost every other day. But she’s one of the boss’s favorites, so I have to handle this myself. How do I get her to stop?’ Alright. The nice thing to do would be to talk it out. ‘Hey, I’m glad you like these treats. I bring them to share. But I’d like to make sure there’s enough so everypony can have a little brighter day’.” She paused.

The chat seemed to be expecting something. Most responses were along the lines of ‘here it comes!’.

“But if you really want her to stop, don’t do anything. At first. Then, slowly, start adding more gummy bears. Just the regular kind. Skew the ratio just a bit, then a bit more. As soon as she’s used to the jar being mostly full of those and taking a bunch becomes a habit, fill it with sugar-free gummy bears. Put some regular ones on the top so you can eat them yourself without raising suspicion.”

“What’s wrong with sugar free gummy bears?” Sunny wondered.

She wasn’t alone. The chat repeatedly asked the same question, with confused emojis flying up.

Sage giggled. “Let’s just say that too many sugar-free gummies at once can have an… explosive effect.”

Sunny and Hitch shared an uncertain look.

There came a knock at the door, and they quickly tried turning it off. Hoof after hoof tapped the screen, trying to figure out how to do that. The phone bounced into the air as Sunny and Hitch scrambled to regain control and stop the stream, and finally it bounced on a corner off the table, off of Izzy’s flank, and skidded under a couch.

Deciding that that was as good as they were going to get, Hitch opened the door. “Hey, Pipp,” he started.

But it was not Pipp. Fifi stood there, with a package with Pipp’s picture on it over a logo with a steaming cup of tea.

“Oh, good. She’s been waiting for these,” Izzy said brightly.

Pipp soon returned, and as soon as she crossed the threshold and the door shut behind her, her smile faded.

“Don’t worry,” Izzy said, holding up the box and making Pipp brighten. “I’ve got just the thing.”

But unfortunately for Pipp, this would turn out to be somewhat of a disappointment, too.

“I like it,” Izzy said again.

But Sunny gave her cup a wry look. “Something there at the end is just a little… off.”

“I agree,” Pipp said. She morosely kicked the box over to the ‘reject’ pile with her front hoof. “Izzy, give me the next one.”

Izzy stirred the next cup of tea, her magic spinning the spoon. “Here. This one is the relaxing blend,” she said, gently sliding it over.

Pipp picked it up and sniffed. “That’s strong,” she commented.

“Yeah. I put in three bags,” Izzy said. “You look like you could use that.”

Pipp looked at her askance, looked back at the cup, then looked back at Izzy, then back at her cup, and took a long sip. Her muzzle crinkled. “I don’t know. Still has that same aftertaste.”

“I don’t,” Pipp said, and she finished the cup. “I’m just hoping for a little something.”

Izzy looked askance at her. “Did your beach selfie not go over well?”

“I looked great, like I always do, but engagement is way down. I know, it shouldn’t bother me, but it does,” she said. She sighed. “Izzy, give me the next one.”

Posey settled down for her own cup of tea as she pulled out her phone. She’d gotten the notification and wanted to enjoy this.

And enjoy it she would; Sage was in full form tonight.

“No, no, no!” she said, bumping her hooves on her desk. “Don’t ever get her an appliance unless you want it to be your last anniversary. Here’s a little secret: she doesn’t actually care what you get. As long as her first thought is, ‘aw, he did that for me’, you’re in the clear. If her first thought was, ‘what was he thinking?’, then you’ve got problems.”

Posey nodded. She’d been there.

“And if you don’t know, maybe you should reconsider if you’re even supposed to be in a relationship.”

Emojis flew in the chat. It was going too fast to read, but it looked like she had a few ponies reconsidering their own special someponies.

Sage tittered. “That said, if you want to solve the problem of where you want to eat, there’s a simple solution: ask her. But not upfront, no, not like that. Have her guess. ‘Hey, we’re going to dinner,’ and she’ll say ‘where?’ and you’ll say ‘take a guess’, and whatever she says, wow, right in one! Bam. You now know where you’re going.”

Posey blinked. She quickly typed her own chat message. She’s cracked the code we didn’t even know we had!

Other responses followed. She’s a genius.

Brilliant!

Posey grinned. This was fun.

Chapter 7

Pipp burst into the Crystal Brighthouse. “Ok, everypony. How do we feel about Sage Wisdom?” she demanded.

Sunny inhaled slowly through her teeth.

“Speak,” Pipp ordered, eyes narrowed.

“I just… I don’t know,” Sunny said, uncertain of her words. “I don’t think she’s doing anything ‘wrong’. She’s just… I don’t know. If everypony listening to her just did the first ‘nice’ thing she said, then yeah, that’d be great. But the way she jumps right to the ‘here’s how to manipulate others into getting your way’ is just… It bugs me. She’s clearly very good at it.”

“I really don’t see the appeal,” Hitch admitted. “I don’t even like being alone with my own thoughts, let alone somepony else’s.”

Pipp cocked her head. “Are you… knitting?”

“Winters get cold here on the bay,” Hitch said evenly. He held out the string, and McSnipsalot obligingly snipped it.

“Oh, that’s a good skill, I could…” Pipp shook her head. “See? It’s possessing me. This urge to do something new, something to draw attention to meee, but I know I shouldn’t think that way.”

“Do you think she’d be down with a collaboration?” Sunny suggested.

Pipp scoffed, uninterested in Sage’s content.

But Zipp barked a laugh.

They turned to look at her.

“Come on. She’s clearly a one pony show. Besires, you’re overthinking things, little sis,” Zipp said, raising her sunglasses and letting her red eyes peek out from underneath them at Pipp. “You’re a great streamer. Ponies love watching you! And not just because you’re the cutest pony in Zephyr Heights, or because you’re a princess and a member of the most powerful family in Equestria, or because you were one of the first streamers and ponies stick with you out of habit. You really are good at what you do, and you don’t need to worry so much.”

“Thanks, I think,” Pipp said, hesitantly.

“Oh, Zephyrina,” Haven said brightly. “Ready for our session?”

“Eh,” Zipp said. “I think I’ve learned all I really need to.”

Haven blinked. “Oh,” she said.

“Yep,” Zipp said lightly. “So I’ll just be going now. Bye!” And with that, she took off.

Haven blinked again. She watched her leave. She turned to Zoom. “That was… different, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Zoom said.

Haven tapped a hoof. “This isn’t good,” she mused. “That’s the third time she’s avoided me. I’ll need some good advice.”

Zoom politely cleared her throat. “Well, if you ask me-”

“And I know just where to get it,” Haven said, turning and powerwalking away.

Sage Wisdom giggled. “Alright. Here’s another. LovingMom1 says, ‘I think something is up with my daughter. She used to be so into our mother-daughter time, and now she’s finding excuses to do something else. How do I make her want to stay?’ Ha! You can’t,” she said bluntly. “Forcing her to do something she doesn’t want to do is the best way to make sure you burn that relationship forever. I haven’t spoken to my mother in, like, a thousand years. If you drag her into something she doesn’t want, that’s the future you’re looking forward to.”

There was a brief pause.

Sage shook her head and adjusted her towel again. “Next question. StillHungry114 says, ‘There’s a lunch thief in my building. Lunches keep disappearing and nopony is fessing up. It’s getting crazy. What should we do?’” She pursed her lips. “It’s easy to have your first reaction be anger. But we have to look at every option. It’s possible they’re just hungry. The nice way is to continue making sure there is an extra lunch in the fridge. They could just be incredibly ashamed.”

There was a brief pause.

“But it could be somepony eating others’ food just to be a jerk, and the only way they’ll stop is if the risk outweighs the reward. Now, for some reason, entrapment is against the law, so you can’t booby trap your own food. That said, if something happens to your food accidentally, well, there’s no way you could have known about it, is there? ‘What? I didn’t realize my hay sandwich had gone moldy in the middle. That could have been me puking my guts out!’ ‘The mayo must have gone bad. I’ll have to throw that jar out when I get home’.’ ‘My brother said he was going to prank me back, but that hot sauce in my lunch trick was too far. He’s in for it now’.” You know nothing, you saw nothing, you have no idea how that could have happened, but it’s only by the grace of Celestia that you aren’t in his position now.”

Thunder chortled. “Did you see that stream? That LovingMom thing was kinda sad. How bad do you have to be to have Sage Wisdom not even give you anything?”

Zoom bumped him with her wing. “That’s the queen, genius!”

Thunder froze. “It what?”

“Yeah. Weren’t you paying attention?”

“Yes?” Thunder said.

Zoom shook her head. “She’s trying to do stuff with Zipp. And that-” She quickly stopped and straightened up as she heard the sound of hooves approaching.

Haven walked past, her eyes down on the floor, not even acknowledging them. She didn’t even pause for a fanfare as she made her way back to her room.

Zoom looked at Thunder and raised an eyebrow.

“Huh,” he said.

Bright and early the next morning, Haven gingerly approached Zipp’s door and knocked.

Zipp poked her head out, rubbing her bleary blue eyes. “Hey, mom,” she said.

“Good morning, Zipp,” Haven said. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, just a little tired. What’s up?”

“Oh, nothing,” Haven said airily. “Would you like to have one of our sessions today?”

Zipp inhaled through her teeth. “Not really?” she said honestly.

“Oh, that’s… not a problem,” Haven said with forced brightness. “Forget I said anything.” And she quickly strode off.

Zipp blinked, feeling like she was missing part of a conversation.

Chapter 8

Pipp stared at her phone. The numbers didn’t lie, but right now, she wished they did.

Sage Wisdom was now in the top 15, and she was closing in fast.

She didn’t want it to get to her, but it definitely was.

And she wasn’t sure who to talk to. Sunny would try and help, but she wasn’t a streamer, so she just Didn’t Know. She would need somepony else.

Somepony like…

She chuckled darkly. It was a silly thought.

And yet…

Well, it couldn’t hurt. But how would she do it?

Zipp wouldn’t be caught dead streaming, so if she said it was her sister, it couldn’t be traced back to her. She smirked, proud of herself and her sneaky creativity as she submitted her question.

Sage Wisdom checked the screen. “Alright. WishIWasAnOnlyFoal says, ‘My sister recently took up streaming, and she’s getting numbers-’” She gave the camera a sideways look behind her towel. “Numbers aren’t everything. It’s about the friendships and connections you make. ‘-numbers faster than I am. It bothers me a bit. What should I do?’. That’s a great question. The nice thing would be to be happy for her. Streaming is hard work, and coming up with new ideas is difficult. If I didn’t have all of you, I would have run out of things to say a long time ago.”

There was a brief pause.

The chat seemed to wait with bated breath for the ‘fun’ response.

“But sisterly rivalry is a time-honored tradition dating back to before Celestia and Luna, and there’s no reason to stop now. If you figure out when they stream, you can go live a few minutes before, like a surprise stream. Do something that ponies will be talking about for weeks. A cutie mark reveal? Maybe your first age restricted stream? Did you bring your phone in the shower and ‘accidentally’ tap Go Live? Embarrassing… but what a way to draw attention.” She checked the chat again. “No, I like the towel,” she said with a titter. “I want to be known for my mind and my ability to help other ponies, not my shredded abs and my tight flank.”

Pipp rolled her eyes. Amateur. The chat would not let that go.

Sure enough, the chat stream seemingly doubled in volume immediately, the text flying by.

“Wait, no, stop! You’re flattering little old me,” she giggled. “No, no!” She rubbed her eyes under the towel. “Ok, I love you all, but I think we’ve lost it. Good night, friends. I’ll go live again soon.”

But unlike she’d ever done before, she stood to adjust the camera to turn it off, giving a close look at those abs.

And they could very well be described as ‘shredded’.

Pipp’s ears drooped. Well, that didn’t make her feel better at all.

Every once in a while, there was a new avatar trend. Cutie marks were always popular. Eye closeups for some reason. Manes worn as moustaches. Laser eye effects.

But when Pipp logged on, she noticed that quite a few ponies were using a screenshot of Sage’s abs as a profile picture.

Pipp didn’t have shredded abs or a tight flank. But she did have other options.

Pipp pulled the socks higher up her legs. Her heart pounded. She couldn’t believe she was actually doing this. What would her mother say? Zipp would probably make fun of her, or be supportive, or probably both.

And then the door opened.

Pipp shrieked, covering herself, and without missing a beat, Izzy returned the greeting, shrieking right back.

“You’re good at that, Pipp!” Izzy said brightly, but she slowed to a stop when she saw Pipp’s outfit. Lacy socks pulled up high on her legs, tight straps around her barrel, her tail tied up.

Pipp realized how silly it was to be worried about being seen when she was about to show all of Equestria, and so she straightened up. “Yes, Izzy,” she said. “I’m doing this.”

“Oh. Uh, Pipp, this is just so sudden,” Izzy said hesitantly. “I’m not sure I’m ready for this kind of-”

“It’s not for you,” Pipp said flatly.

“Oh. Ok. Good. Because I had no idea where I was going with that,” Izzy admitted. “But, uh, who is it for?”

“The world. Equestria. I don’t know. Anypony other than Sage Wisdom.”

“Oh,” Izzy said.

Pipp nodded, then raised her phone.

And then her phone kept rising higher into the air, now bathed in a rainbow light. “Intervention!” Izzy yelled, and she started running away with her phone.

“No, no, no, give me back my phone!” Pipp wailed, chasing her.

Izzy dove under a bed and threw the blankets on Pipp, but her outfit had left her wings free, and she leaped over them. Izzy went underneath the mattress while carrying the phone above it, and they reunited when she made it out the other side. She tried to dodge, but Pipp flew into the air and was just as fast.

So, with all the logic she could muster, Izzy jammed the phone in her mouth to hide it.

“Did you just put my phone in your mouth? Izzy, what’s…? And you’re choking,” Pipp said exasperatedly. She pushed Izzy over and hopped on her barrel with all four hooves close together, and with a sound like a cat expelling a hairball, her phone was forced out.

“Yeah, that was a mistake,” Izzy groaned.

“I’ll say,” Pipp said irritably, holding up the dripping phone. “What were you thinking?”

“That you shouldn’t do it?” Izzy offered.

Pipp inhaled… and then broke down. “Oh, you’re right. I can’t do this.”

“Where did you even get this idea, anyway?” Izzy asked.

“I… I submitted a question to Sage Wisdom.”

Izzy blew a raspberry.

“I’m trying not to care. It’s not working.”

Izzy gave her a hug. “This might come out wrong, but I think you’re making a mistake if you’re trying to get your numbers up by doing a gimmick instead of doing your own thing, especially if it came from listening to somepony like Sage Wisdom. And yeah, sometimes you might be alone, like, really alone, but I did, too, and I turned out ok. I found some great friends and I’ve never been happier. It’s kinda like growing a crystal. The solid ones take time, but they’re the shiniest.”

“That was good, Izzy. Why were you worried?”

“Eh. I’m just used to things coming out wrong.”

Pipp had to giggle at that.

“Maybe we can go for a mega gulp smoothie,” Izzy suggested.

“I think I’d like that. But first, could you help me get this off?”

“You got it!”

Fifi approached the Crystal Brighthouse with a package. As she neared the door, she heard voices from within.

“Does that feel better already?” Izzy asked.

“It sure does,” Pipp responded. “You really know how to use that horn.”

“Heh. You’re just saying that.”

“I’m not and you know it. Slowly, gentle, now. Oh, yeah. Thanks for helping me with this.”

“Of course. Anything for a princess.”

Fifi backed away slowly.

Chapter 9

Sunny blended another banana smoothie. For how often she just hung out with her friends, she really did put in the hours at the smoothie stand.

As she passed the completed smoothie to an excited colt, her ears picked up a snatch of heated conversation. “I did; but that storm-”

She glanced back to the next pony in line, and tried to listen over the sound of the blender.

“Or is that a lie?”

She scoffed. “Why would I lie about that? If I don’t sell you the flowers, I don’t get money. Which I need.” Her eyes narrowed. “Unless you’ve been lying to me and that’s why you think I’m lying to you,” she returned.

Sunny had to step in. She scrambled over the counter and made her way between the two. “What’s going on here?” she asked.

Both mares turned to Sunny and started talking at once. She couldn’t keep track of who was saying what.

But they all noticed when the light from the Brighthouse flickered.

They rounded on each other again. “Look what you’re doing!”

“Me? This is all you!”

Sunny grimaced.

“You’ll need to be patient. Bad liars don’t like silence. Stay quiet, and they’ll instinctively try and say something to fill the silence and build up their lie. And the more they say, the more information they’ll give up.”

Sunny dismissed the app with a hoof, though it took her two tries. Sage Wisdom technically wasn’t wrong, but the way she implied that ponies were constantly lying bothered her. And worse, it felt like ponies were taking the wrong advice to heart. The magic had flickered a few more times these past few days, and it was concerning her.

She climbed up the stairs to check on the beam again and then slowed to a stop.

Zipp was sitting there, staring into the beam. It reflected off the amulet she wore.

“Hey, Zipp,” Sunny said, slowly approaching. “You ok?”

“I don’t know,” Zipp admitted. “I think part of me thinks this is my fault, somehow?”

Sunny looked into Zipp’s cyan eyes and felt a surge of compassion. “Zipp, you can’t blame yourself for this.”

“I know. It’s just… I can’t shake the feeling that I’m somehow responsible.”

“Zipp, that’s ridiculous,” Sunny said firmly. “You’re a great friend. I know you’ve been struggling with your relationship with your mom, but this isn’t you. Your doing, I mean,” she quickly amended. “Not your fault. You’re definitely allowed to feel how you feel.”

Zipp cracked a smile, but it faded. “I guess. I mean, I have been…” She shook her head. “No, it’s… never mind. You’re right. It’s probably nothing.”

She stood up and shook her wings out. “Just in my own head, I guess. I’ll go for a quick fly. I bet that’ll help.” She flapped her wings to get into the air.

“Zipp,” Sunny said, making her stop. “You’re going to be just fine. You care so much. And, for what it’s worth, I think you’ll be a great queen one day.”

Zipp grinned, her red eyes crinkling. “You really think so?” she floated.

“I know it,” Sunny assured her.

Zipp chuckled and flew out the door.

Pipp sang softly to herself as she brushed her mane. Sure, the magic was flickering again, and Sage Wisdom’s streams were large enough to put dents in her numbers, but there was no reason she couldn’t keep up her appearance.

Her phone vibrated. Zipp had texted her.

I’m so sorry!

Her brow furrowed. Sorry about what?

And then the picture came through, and her eyes widened. She slumped back, her eyes staring forward and unfocused.

Pipp lay on her stomach, kicking her rear hooves idly, her crown askew, as she stared at the bottom of an empty carton of vanilla oat swirl ice cream. Another was calling her name. But did she really want that going to her hips? She might. It was sounding worth it right about now.

She heard a friendly chuff and rolled over to see Cloudpuff, head cocked questioningly.

“Oh, Cloudpuff, thank you for coming in my time of need. You’re the only one who understands- aaand you’re gone.”

For the puppy had already grown bored with Pipp’s listlessness and scampered off. She sighed at being left alone and made her choice.

As she tore open another carton and shoveled another spoonful into her mouth, she heard a knock on the door.

“Hey, Pipp?” Zipp said. “Are you doing ok?”

“I’m really not up for visitors now,” Pipp said as she dug the spoon in again.

“That’s fine,” Zipp said comfortingly. “Take all the time you need. It’s just numbers and not a reflection of who you are. I’m sure you’ll be back up and at ‘em in no time.”

Pipp grunted her acknowledgment and took a big bite of her ice cream.

Chapter 11

Cozy Glow?

Pipp’s eyes flicked over to the chat. Many question marks and confused reactions streamed upwards. It didn’t seem like anypony recognized her name. “Oh, Cozy Glow,” she said slowly, like she’d recognized her, trying to stall for time.

But Cozy-in-Zipp’s body saw through it. Her attitude switched in an instant. “Don’t lie to me!” she roared, eyes narrowed and teeth bared.
Pipp flinched. This was definitely not her sister.

“You know why?” the pony who was not Zipp asked. “Why nopony knows me? Nopony remembers me? It was Twilight Sparkle. She hid me away. Said my crimes were too great to risk my escape. She tried to bury my memory, cover me up. She even moved my statue deep into the Everfree Forest.”

“She’s a baaaad girl,” Izzy said, watching the screen even as she galloped.

“One pony didn’t think I deserved that fate. That I was just a filly, that maybe I wasn’t beyond help. So he pulled my magical essence out of the statue where I’d been imprisoned, and transferred it into a crystal.” She held up her necklace. “This crystal. He thought he could communicate with me, maybe even get me out, keep me in a mirror or something.” She smirked. “Too bad he didn’t know that when a pony’s magic gets concentrated like this, it can override another pony’s natural magic, since it’s spread out through their whole body.

“I hated being a stallion. But I didn’t have a choice. Magic was fading from the world, and he didn’t always wear it. He suspected, though. When he left the village, he left it behind.

“And then imagine my surprise when I could open my eyes again and I was on a princess. I was missing something,” she said, waving a hoof over where her horn would be, “but I adjusted quickly. This world is amazing. The technology you have is just fantastic.

“But magic had returned, stronger than before. Zipp’s natural magic was strong enough that I couldn’t hold control for very long. Everypony’s was. Unicorn magic used to be geared towards one talent and didn’t glow like a rainbow. Earth ponies couldn’t always make plants burst out of the ground.

“And yet, despite all that… you’re all! So! Stupid!” She glared at the chat and pointed towards the camera. “Every last one of you! So many ponies, desperate for somepony to tell them what to do, what to think. Pipp, pipp, ho-” She blew a derisive raspberry. “Nopony even questioned my methods. Where I came from. Why I was offering advice in the first place. Not a single pony. All you’ve done is prove that you need somepony to lead you, and I don’t mean that airheaded bimbo doing that dumb accent on the throne now. Somepony to tell you what to do because you’re all stupid foals who don’t deserve magic. None of you do! You don’t even know what magic is capable of.”

And then a vine wrapped around her leg and yanked her back against the wall.

“And you don’t know what friendship is capable of,” Sunny said, breathing hard but glaring defiantly.

“Oh, it’s you,” Cozy said, dismissively, kicking herself free. “Sorry, silly filly, sheer dumb luck won’t help you this time.” She tittered. “Come on. I have Zipp’s memories. I know your story. A dumb little foal with her head in the clouds falling into success you don’t deserve.”

“That’s not true,” Pipp defended her.

“Isn’t it?” Cozy asked airily, still looking at Sunny. “You just happened to have the earth pony gem in your house the whole time? Your single insipid flying friendship lantern just happened to wind up with the most mentally deficient unicorn in Bridlewood? You just happened to run into the one pegasus who-?”

But that’s as far as she got, because Izzy had taken this opportunity to light her horn and launch the chair at her.

She torqued her body to dodge it. “I wasn’t done!” she shrieked.

“My bad,” Izzy said darkly, lifting a lamp in preparation to throw it next. “Mental deficiency, you know.”

But Cozy was ready this time. She flapped her wings hard, blowing it out of the air and letting it smash on the ground, all while hovering in place. In the split second where Izzy looked for something else to throw, Cozy swooped down and buzzed by her, kicking her horn as she passed.

Izzy cried out and stumbled backwards, rubbing her horn, which left her open for Cozy to shoulder-check her into Pipp, who couldn’t respond in time. They collided with a shriek, and Pipp found herself pinned under the still-stunned unicorn.

“You are under arrest,” Hitch bellowed, mostly out of instinct than anything else, and he charged at Cozy.

She tucked in her wings and rolled, grabbing him in a chokehold. “You don’t have jurisdiction,” Cozy taunted, and with a beat of her wings, she launched them both into the air. Hitch screamed and struggled as he was suddenly high off the ground.

“Let him go!” Sunny shouted.

Cozy shrugged. “Ok.” And she did.

Sunny gasped. Thinking fast, she grabbed Zipp’s bed and threw it, cushioning Hitch’s fall.

“Idiots,” Cozy repeated scathingly, and she stuck her tongue out. With that final taunt, she smashed through the window and flew off into the distance.

They all looked at Sunny. Even the chat, which was a constant stream of emojis, seemed to be demanding an explanation.

One she did not have.

“That,” she said, sounding and looking like she was about to be sick, “was weird.”

Chapter 12

“Order, order!” Zoom shouted with a stomp, quieting down the crowd gathered in the Zephyr Heights throne room.

“One carrot dog, lightly-” Izzy started, but she was hit by no fewer than three elbows.

Queen Haven looked down. “Sunny Starscout, what do we know about Cozy Glow?”

“Not a lot,” Sunny admitted. “She was right. She’s pretty much been scrubbed from the records. I haven’t found anything even mentioning her, so whatever she did must have been pretty bad.”

“She has my daughter. Anything that could possibly be useful from the expedition is yours.”

“I’ll get right on it,” Sunny promised. “Zipp is our friend, too, and we’ll get her back.”

But even as she and her group of friends studied the artifacts Haven had helpfully provided (and snapped the occasional selfie), another storm was brewing.

Quite literally.

Hail fell from seemingly nowhere unexpectedly. Earth ponies quickly grew leafy plants to use as protection, but the hail tore through like it was tissue paper.

“What is with this weather?” Posey demanded.

“It’s the pegasi!” somepony else answered.

“No way, we can’t do anything like that.”

“Then it must have been the unicorns!”

“The unicorns?”

“Yeah! They’re the ones with all the magic. Does anypony even understand it? They’re a menace!”

They turned to look at the nearest unicorn.

Which happened to be Izzy, blissfully munching on a carrot dog, unconcerned with the hail because she was currently wearing a unicycled umbrella hat.

She looked up and gave a questioning ‘murr?’ at being the center of attention.

The wind picked up and blew harder.

Back in the Crystal Brighthouse, Izzy opened the door. “Ugh,” she said as she lit her horn and shut the door behind her. “You do not want to go out there.”

“Yeah, that storm is nasty,” Hitch said.

“Not just that. Ponies are starting to argue again.”

“And check out the trending videos,” Pipp said. She held up her phone.

Sunny watched… and then flinched. “That’s not a funny prank at all,” she said.

“But it’s spreading,” Pipp said.

“Great. Now we’ve got two criseses to work on. Crisii?” Izzy tried. “Crisen?”

Pipp scrolled through her feed. She looked up resolutely. “I know what I must do,” she said, standing. “Keep looking, everypony. I’ll be back.”

Pipp’s plan involved a livestream, so with lights shining and a little makeup for the camera, she sat.

“What’s your plan?” Izzy asked.

“Hold on. I’ve got to be brave.” Pipp took a steadying breath, blew air out her lips, and tapped the button to start streaming. “Hey, Pippsqueaks,” she said, forcing a smile but still sounding more subdued than usual. “It has literally been the craziest day today. My sister got taken over by a villain from over a thousand years ago, and it’s been… intense. I got to thinking of how things used to be. So I pulled up an old video from the archives, and I think you should see it.”

“Hey, everypony!” the young Pipp said excitedly. “My name is Princess Pipp Petals, and welcome to the stream!”

“Awww,” Izzy cooed, and the chat agreed with hearts flying upwards.

It was a very early stream, with shaky camera work, messy form, and nonexistent editing, but she was clearly excited to try this. For this stream, she talked to some of the guards, just quick interview-like soundbites.

She concluded, “I guess it doesn’t really matter where you’re from. You’re important and you can make a difference. Pipp Petals, out.”

‘Pipp Pipp Hooray’ flooded the chat. This stream was early enough that she hadn’t started that yet, but it was tradition at this point.

“I really like your mane,” Izzy said.

“It was the fashion back then,” Pipp said pointedly. “The point is, the important bits haven’t changed. We are stronger together. Sure, we’ll have our differences, and that’s good! We can’t all be the same thing or the same pony, and we shouldn’t all act like that.”

“Imagine an army of Izzies,” Izzy chortled. “Nothing would ever get done.”

“Maybe, but imagine how dull the Crystal Brighthouse would be without you.”

“Yeah. Wait. Like the glitter thing, or my arts, or my crafts, or my arts and crafts, my unique perspective on things, or-”

“All of that,” Pipp said.

Izzy sniffled. “I said I wouldn’t cry,” she said, who had said no such thing.

“And if you aren’t committed to that, you know where the unsubscribe button is. Pipp Pipp Hooray!” And she ended the stream.

“I think that went well,” Izzy said.

“Maybe. But I’m not looking at my follower count.” Pipp wilted. “I think I have to call it a night.”

“She’s right,” Sunny said, kneading her own eyes. “It has been the weirdest day and my eyes are having trouble focusing. We’ll help Zipp best when we’re alert. Let’s get some good rest, and get back at it tomorrow.”

Chapter 13

But Pipp needn’t have worried.

Bright and early the next morning, Izzy sang tunelessly to herself as she loaded scoop after scoop of sugar into the coffee cup. When it was more sugar by weight than coffee, she stirred it and took a long drink. “Ahh.”

Pipp sat up and, her eyes still closed, blearily reached for it. Izzy, accommodating as always, slid it over.

Her confused panicking woke everypony else up.

Now that everypony was awake, Pipp hesitantly checked the feed. “Check this out,” she said.

The feed was full of ponies talking about their friends.

All while emulating Pipp’s style.

“You’re helping make a difference. You’re amazing, Pipp,” Sunny said.

Pipp giggled.

“I’m not so sure about the leg warmers coming back, though,” Izzy said.

“Yeah, it was a weird time,” Pipp agreed.

Together, they went upstairs to check on the magic stream.

“It’s looking steady. I think it’s working.”

“I’ve got a good feeling about today.”

Sunny let her head fall back. “Nothing,” she said. “We can’t find anything. Nothing about her, where she could be from, what she’s trying to do.”

“It feels like we’re running blind,” Hitch agreed.

Pipp slammed a book shut, sending up a cloud of dust. “If I have to read another word, I’m going to lose my mind. Let’s go out and look for her.”

“Yeah! Hooves on the ground, like a posse!” Izzy agreed. “Deputize me, sheriff!”

Sunny was feeling outvoted, but she had to admit, it couldn’t be worse than how helpless she felt here. “Alright, let’s go. And when we find her…”

“We’ll fart on her pillow and give her pink eye!” Izzy shouted.

“Seeing as how she’s in Zipp’s body, I say we don’t do that,” Hitch said.

“Yeah, uh, me too,” Sunny agreed. “But we will find her!”

“We ride at dawn!” Izzy screeched.

The four ponies trudged back into Pipp’s room and collapsed on the furniture.

“I never realized Zephyr Heights was so big,” Pipp said. “I mean, I always knew, but I didn’t know, you know?”

“I know,” Izzy agreed.

“I just… how?” Sunny asked. “How did nopony see her at all?”

Pipp tapped on her phone and then blanched. “I don’t know, but she saw us,” she breathed.

Zipp’s number had sent a few pictures to her phone. One of them walking, one of them searching, one of their lunch from when they’d taken a break. One of Hitch’s animal friends.

And a selfie with Zipp, now wearing her mane in foalish curls topped with a bow, wearing a cheeky smile… as she hovered barely a foot away from Hitch’s hindquarters.

Hitch whimpered.

“That’s just unnecessary,” Sunny said.

“Maybe she just likes your butt?” Izzy offered.

“Weird. It’s not like it’s that special, right?” Hitch said, hoping to ease the tension a bit.

But this didn’t get a reaction.

Instead, Hitch realized that nopony was meeting his eyes.

“Well,” he said, adjusting his front hoof. “This has been an awkward and enlightening conversation, more of the first than the second.”

“Ok, so we can’t find her,” Sunny said. “But she can find us. And she’s here. And she’s watching us.”

“She’s taunting us,” Pipp said.

“We can’t let her think she’s gotten to us, or she might escalate further.”

“To what?” Izzy wondered.

“I don’t know,” Sunny said, “and I don’t really want to find out.”

“If we can’t find her, maybe we can draw her to us,” Hitch said.

“Like a trap,” Pipp agreed. “Put her on the defensive.”

“Alright,” Sunny said. “What do we know about Cozy Glow that can help us with that?”

“She liked being the center of attention,” Pipp offered.

“Yeah. She was pretty mad at being forgotten,” Izzy agreed.

“Wait,” Pipp said, thinking. “She likes being the center of attention, but she hates being forgotten… you know, I bet she’d really hate being the butt of a joke.”

“So, what, we start a campaign to have everypony make fun of her?” Sunny asked. “That’s not very nice.”

“We don’t have to outright say it. We can just make it like a challenge.”

“A manufactured meme,” Izzy said.

“But for a good cause,” Pipp emphasized.

“Ok. Something that will draw her attention, something to rile her up enough to respond, but targeted enough to her that she’ll respond. Let’s get brainstorming.”

“I am all brainstormed out,” Izzy reported, knocking on the side of her head. “Not even a drizzle in there.”

Hitch grunted his agreement and kicked a wad of paper over towards the basket. Izzy lit her horn and pulled it over to catch it before it hit the ground.

Sunny raised her head as an idea occurred to her. “Hey, Pipp. Do you think your mom would still let us use the buckball field?”

Chapter 14

Sunny bounced in place, shaking her orange jersey. She rolled out her neck one more time and looked over at Pipp. “You ready?”

Pipp flapped her wings, which poked through the orange jersey that should have fit her sister. “Ready or not,” she said.

Sunny glanced at Onyx. “How about you?”

Onyx pushed her orange beret back. “Clear skies, grass cut; I’m here to kick some butt,” she affirmed.

Sunny cracked a smile. “Alright. Let’s do this.”

The opening ceremony was about to begin. With a triumphant fanfare, Queen Haven descended to the temporary podium, flanked by Thunder and Zoom, with Hitch in a striped referee sweater behind her. On one side stood Team Orange (Sunny, Pipp, and Onyx) and on the other, Team Purple (Posey, Fifi, and Izzy).

“Welcome, my little ponies,” she began. “I will admit, the thought of holding this game when Princess Zephyrina is being held captive against her will did alarm me. But I realized, we cannot be held captive by fear. This game is meant to celebrate the differences between us, and so this game must go on.” She hesitated. “That said, Sunny, are you quite certain there’s no new information?”

Sunny looked up and flinched. “Um, nothing I’m willing to share,” she said hesitantly, sliding her saddlebag behind her with a rear leg.

Haven’s eyes narrowed. She looked at Thunder and gestured with a wing, and Thunder flew down. Sunny reluctantly relinquished the book, and he flew it up to Haven.

She pulled out her reading glasses. “What we know about Cozy Glow,” she read aloud. Her brow furrowed. “Had a severe misunderstanding of friendship, was never able to make any of her own? Overcompensated for her looks with deliberately cutesy manestyles?” She peered in closer. “She wet the bed until she was 13?”

Sunny chuckled nervously over the crowd’s laughter. “Our current theory is she’s lashing out because she was such a loser in her time.”

Haven sniffed. “Well, that’s enough of that,” she said firmly, shutting the book. “Hitch! Play ball!”

“Yes, ma’am!” He blew his whistle, calling the players to the field.

Pipp let out a pained grunt as she blocked Posey’s shot with her body. For a friendly game, Posey was really going all out.

This forced her to step up her game, and she was dripping in sweat. She tried not to think about how her Pippsqueaks would react seeing her like th-

“I got her sweat on me! I’m never washing my mane again!”

Ok, maybe she didn’t hate it.

After the logo, Dazzle Feather and Skye Silver came into view.

Skye began. “The biggest story this week is, of course, Princess Zipp’s disappearance.”

“We all saw that livestream,” Dazzle said.

“I’m still sleeping with a nightlight,” Skye said. “But in an effort to show unity, the buckball game went on as scheduled.”

“And the Most Valuable Pony? Our very own Pipp Petals.”

The screen showed a montage of Pipp playing defense. Ball after ball bounced off her body.

“Pipp Pipp Hooray indeed,” Sky said.

“She played so well, especially with her sister being taken over by that scummy Cozy Glow. That’s gotta be hard mentally.”

“Have you seen Sage Wisdom’s streaming numbers? Talk about a mass exodus. All that are left are the bots.”

“She’s just not cool anymore.”

With a frustrated roar, the phone was smashed against the ground.

In the dark of the night, a pony going at maximum sneaky slipped through the hallways. She ducked behind a column as a guard passed by, hovered cleanly overhead as a second patrol passed, and darted down the corridor.

She quickly found her target and pressed a hoof against the scanner, and the door opened with a soft hiss.

Carefully, she crept up on the pony in bed. “Guess who? You really should have updated the biometric scans,” she said coolly.

The pony in bed sat up… and lit her horn. “And you should really pay more attention to your surroundings,” Izzy said.

The lights turned on, revealing her friends. “Smile, Cozy,” Pipp said, holding her phone up. “You’re caught in 4k.”

“Aw, you guys are such good friends,” Cozy said, clasping her hooves together. “Was it hard staying awake for me?”

Izzy glanced over at the empty coffee cups on the floor. “No,” she lied.

“And now what? You bring me down and get Zipp back? What’s your plan for that? Wait, wait, don’t tell me. ‘Work together’.”

“Yeah, something like that,” Sunny said.

While Cozy had been talking, the potted plants that had been strategically placed started to glow.

But Cozy Glow had other plans.

While Sunny was focusing on the plant, she dove down, tackling her. In one move, she took off the necklace and jammed it over her head.

Zipp collapsed.

Sunny’s eyes rolled back in her head, and a second later, she stood up, and nonchalantly kicked Zipp off. She rolled her neck out.

And her eyes opened, now darkened to a familiar scarlet.

“How?” Hitch protested.

Cozy-in-Sunny cocked her head, as if dumbfounded. “I just…” She held up the amulet, then dropped it. “You really know nothing. Ruling over you is going to be too easy.” She looked down at herself. “Ugh. Earth pony,” she said disgustedly. “Hold, please.” She closed her eyes, and her ethereal horn and wings exploded into existence. “That’s more like it.”

“Sunny can’t do that,” Izzy said.

“Of course she can’t,” Cozy spat. “You’re all idiots, remember? You’re no match for me.”

“We might not be,” Pipp conceded, “but I think they are.”

Guards burst into the room.

But Cozy-as-Sunny had no desire to come quietly. She started with a rabbit kick behind her, taking out one. As two others swooped in, she vanished her wings, letting herself fall, only to twist in the air, summon them back, and ram into another, taking out two at once.

“She’s outflying them all,” Pipp realized, horrified.

More guards arrived. Cozy smirked and flapped her wings, creating a mass of glitter to disorient and slow them down. Izzy tried clearing it, but Cozy blasted the ceiling, caving it in and trapping her.

Hitch threw an orange in the ground and sprouted a tree, but Cozy was ready. With a burst of magic, she sliced through.

“If you say Sunny can’t do that, I’m castrating you.”

Hitch gulped.

Her voice turned syrupy sweet. “Hey, could you get the door for me, pretty please?” She kicked out with her hind legs, sending him flying with a strength that seemed almost magical in nature. He crashed through the door.

She gave the trapped guards a mocking salute. “Toodles,” she said, and took off.

“No! We’re right back where we started!” Pipp wailed.

A movement behind her made her jump.

“No, we’re not,” Zipp said angrily, having recovered enough to fly. She shook the curls out of her mane and tore out the bow, spread her wings, and took off.

Cozy looked behind her and laughed. “Let’s try spinning, that’s a good trick!” She bored her way through the clouds, gathering lightning that sparked around her. With a casual toss of her head, she unleashed it, clearly expecting to disorient or disable Zipp while leaving herself unharmed.

But Cozy remembered too late that while she could control clouds with magic, it was the innate pegasus magic that protected her against lightning.

Innate pegasus magic that Sunny Starscout the earth pony didn’t have.

So while Zipp did get the shock of her life, so did she, and the two ponies fell to the ground.

Earth pony stamina recovered first. Cozy pushed herself up and neared the downed Zipp. “You…” she panted as her horn glowed and picked up a rock, “are more trouble than you’re worth. And now-”

Clang!

Pipp hovered behind her, holding a frying pan. She quickly snatched the amulet off Sunny’s neck and kicked it aside, then turned to the camera she still held. “Check it out, ponies. Friendship can overcome anything, and we will never let anything or anypony drive us apart. Pipp, Pipp, hooray!” She tapped the screen. “Alright, is that it? Stream ended? Ok. Good.”

And then she collapsed.

Chapter 10

Sunny wiped down the counter. The lunch rush was over, so she got to take a quick breather and listen to the ponies around her. The magic hadn’t flickered recently, so that was hopeful.

Three fillies at a nearby table checked their phones.

“Aw, Pipp hasn’t uploaded anything recently.”

“You’re still watching Pipp?” another asked incredulously.

“Yeah. She’s grea-ea-eat,” she sang.

“She was,” the third said.

Sunny grimaced. She wanted to defend her friend, but honestly, she hadn’t seen her in a while.

When she got off work, she headed over to Mane Melody. “Hey, Jazz. Have you seen Pipp?”

“Not recently,” Jazz said.

Sunny frowned.

The sun shone through the windows of the Crystal Brighthouse as Sunny slid into her seat. “Thanks for coming,” she said.

“Of course,” Hitch said. “What’s on your mind?”

“I’m getting a little worried about Pipp,” she admitted. “I haven’t seen her in a while, and it’s not like her to just hole up somewhere.”

Behind her, Pipp retrieved a bag of chips from the pantry and walked back to the couch.

Izzy leaned over to look at her, then glanced back at Sunny. “Like, at all?” she prompted.

“Not mane nor feather,” Sunny said. She squinted. “What are you-? Pipp!”

“Hey,” Pipp said, her eyes still glued to her phone.

“How long have you been here?” Sunny asked.

“Not long. Mom said I had to get out of the castle, and she was right. I’m feeling better already.” She climbed onto the couch without taking her eyes off the phone once.

“So,” Hitch said, “what’s going on?”

“I’m watching Sage’s stream.”

“That can’t be good for your mental health,” Izzy observed airily.

“This time it is, because I’m going to figure out who this really is,” Pipp said resolutely. “I’m going to figure out why she’s doing what she’s doing.”

“Then what?” Sunny prompted gently.

“I’m not sure,” Pipp admitted, still in that same tone, “but I will think of something.”

Hitch hesitated. “Is this about that profile picture thing? Because if so-”

“I’ve seen your calendar. Don’t ‘@‘ me.”

“It’s for a good cause,” Hitch said defensively.

“If you say so. I don’t even know what a mortgage is,” Pipp groused.

Sunny poked her head in the Brighthouse. “Hey, Pipp. Still watching?”

“Mm-hm.”

“I brought you a smoothie,” Sunny said, holding it out. “Strawberry ripple, just like you like.”

Pipp took it without taking her eyes off the screen. She took a sip and set it down.

Sunny pursed her lips. She hadn’t really expected that to work, but she had other options. She sat at the table and started speaking a bit louder than usual. “So I found a few mentions of a game called Dragon Pit, and I think I’ve gotten part of the board recreated, but I don’t know exactly how it goes. There’s a mention of being ‘dropped’, but I don’t know if that means the board had two levels, or if it was just a penalty.”

“I’m down! We had a ton of fun figuring out buckball,” Izzy said. “You know, I tried to unicycle my own board game once.”

“How did that go?”

“Not great,” Izzy admitted cheerfully. “When you’ve only got one player, your options are kinda limited.”

Sunny winced. Izzy was certainly chipper, but she’d spent a lot of time alone, and she could empathize.

“Also I kept making the dice into earrings,” she continued. “Made it a little hard to play.”

“At least you didn’t eat them,” Hitch offered.

Izzy’s eyes flicked to one side. “Yeah, right? That’d be something. So, Sunny, Dragon Pit. Talk to me.”

“So I think rubies can only be collected by cards. I don’t think you can trade gold for rubies, like, at all.”

“Like, I know it only has to make sense in the game, but I mean, I think I’d rather have gold than rubies.”

“Really,” Izzy said, curious. “I’d rather have rubies.”

“You do like crystals.”

“Is that a unicorn joke? Maybe I just like red,” Izzy teased.

Before Hitch could come up with a witty retort, Pipp choked on the smoothie.

Sunny looked up. “Pipp? You ok?”

Pipp paused the stream and pinched the screen to zoom in. “No way,” she breathed. Without any other explanation, she took off, her wings beating furiously as she burst out the door and flew away.

“Pipp! Where are you going?” Sunny called after her.

But she was already gone.

Sunny looked between Izzy and Hitch, neither of which had wings. “My phone’s charging. Somepony, pull up the stream,” she said. “Maybe we can figure out what she saw.”

Izzy pulled out her phone, cracks spiderwebbed across the screen, and started scrolling. She found the stream quickly, but didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary right away. “What did she see?” Izzy asked, squinting at her screen. “I’m not-”

And then a door burst open.

But not in the Brighthouse.

On stream.

“You!” Pipp shrieked.

Sage Wisdom jumped at the accusatory cry. The towel slipped off her head, revealing-

“Zephyrina Alabastrine Storm! It’s been you this whole time?!”

“Zipp?” Hitch gasped. He had not seen this coming.

“No,” Sunny breathed. “How could she?”

“Were her eyes always that red?” Izzy wondered aloud.

As gasping emojis, keysmashes, shocked faces, red horseshoes, and broken heart emojis flooded the chat, Zipp stood up, flapping her wings to hover in place. “Well, well. Hey, little sis. Welcome to the stream.”

“Zipp, it was you?” Pipp asked, her ears dropping.

“Since the beginning,” Zipp confirmed with a chuckle. “Streaming just looked like so much fun, and it is!” She gestured at the chat. “Look at all the friends I’m making.”

“Look at how big of a jerk you’re being,” Pipp retorted. “You’re teaching ponies how to be meaner. You’re hurting the magic.”

“Sounds like somepony’s just a sad little Pipp that you’re not top streamer anymore.”

“No I’m not,” Pipp said, but her eyes may have flicked over to one side, and she didn’t sound thoroughly convincing.

Zipp grinned. “Come on. Pipp Petals? What a loser. I barely had to try, and I got so much more popular than you. Maybe sit this one out, like when you sat out the premiere of East Side Tale because you got so excited you peed yourself mid-livestream and you were too embarrassed to leave your room for a week.”

Hitch choked.

Sunny gasped.

And the chat blew up. A new wave of shocked emojis streamed upwards, but now some laughing emojis joined them, along with some foal emojis.

“Wow. That was low,” Izzy murmured around a mouthful of popcorn, disappointed in Zipp’s actions but deeply invested.

Hitch looked at the box of popcorn. “Where did you get that?” he asked.

“Mm-mm-mm,” Izzy said to the cadence of ‘I don’t know’.

Pipp’s face scrunched up and her cheeks burned bright red, but she took a steadying breath. “Who are you?” she asked.

She chuckled. “I’m your older sister, Pipp. And I’m always going to be better than you at anything I do, so-”

“Who are you?” Pipp repeated, more angrily, her wings flaring for emphasis.

“Ugh.” She rolled her eyes. “What is your deal, baby sister?”

Pipp took a breath, shaky but determined. “Zipp did know about that, but she helped me clean up and swore that she’d take that to her grave and never tell another pony. Now, Zipp is loud, she is crass, she is flighty, and she is more than a little bit irresponsible with things she doesn’t personally care about; but she is loyal and she is most certainly not a liar. Who are you?!”

She glanced at the chat, her red eyes flicking over the words there. “Well, the ponies have spoken. I guess it’s time for a name reveal.” She turned to the camera and waved brightly. “Hey, everypony! My name is Cozy Glow.”

Epilogue

It was a victorious but subdued atmosphere in the Crystal Brighthouse. Cozy’s amulet sat in the middle of the table.

Zipp chuckled. “Nice job, Pipp. Nowhere else could you brain the hero of Equestria with a frying pan and gain followers.”

“Y- yeah,” Pipp said. She cast a sheepish glance at Sunny. “Sorry about that. Again.”

“I’m fine,” she insisted, despite the large ice pack on her head. “She knew a lot about history, and she knew how to use my magic. If she’d gotten away, there’s no telling what she might have done. You might never have found her again.”

“That’s a terrifying thought,” Pipp said.

“But really, enough about me. Zipp, are you ok?”

“Nope! I am a terrified bundle of nerves right now and will be sleeping with the light on and under the covers for the foreseeable future.”

Sunny sighed. “I hate to say it, but she was right. We know nothing about magic. We didn’t know any of this was possible.”

“Yeah. I usually just pick stuff up and put it back down,” Izzy agreed. “And then forget where I put it,” she added under her breath.

“She was cold and manipulative. But we made it through. Like we always will,” Pipp said. She looked at the table. “So what do we do with this?”

“We could put it in the museum.”

“I was thinking we could use it in a friendship collage!” Izzy said.

“I think we should hide it deep underground in a secure vault with multiple traps and under constant surveillance,” Zipp said.

“I’m with Zipp,” Hitch said.

“Good night, Pipp.”

“Good night, Zipp,” Pipp returned.

“Good night, Hitch.”

“Y- yeah,” Hitch said uncomfortably.

“Good night, Zoom.”

“Good night, Princess,” Zoom Zephyrwing said professionally, remaining at attention.

“Good night, Thunder.”

“Good night,” he responded.

This continued for a while as Zipp bade goodnight to every single guard around them, and before long, she was out.

But she was the only one.

“This… might take some getting used to,” Hitch muttered, looking up at the posted guards.

“Yeah, I can’t say I’m a fan of this, either,” Sunny said. “But Zipp’s been through a lot, and if it makes her feel better, I think I can handle it. After all, with friendship-”

Zipp let out a loud, rattling snore.

Sunny giggled. “-we can get through anything,” she finished.