Believe it or not, hanging upside down is not a pleasant experience. At all. Especially when there’s a horde of media ponies flashing cameras in your face and calling you a fake. You might think things couldn’t get worse than that, but things were far, far worse for the youngest of the Pegasi royal family.
Of the three royals, Pipp Petals was caught in the most complicated situation, but also ironically the last one to have a decisive fate. The night started simply enough, the royal celebration and Pipp’s big performance, the biggest and best of her life. Everypony who’s anypony would be there, Pipp would sing, and everything would be perfect.
Unfortunately for Pipp, it seemed her elder sister had other plans. Somehow, someway, the prisoners had broken free from their cell, and stole the crystal off of Queen Haven’s crown. From there, another Earth Pony had shown up, the crowd lost their minds, and in the crossfire of the heist, Pipp was sent reeling like an out of control puppet throughout the room before getting stuck in the center.
Now Pipp was stuck as the center of attention in a way she didn’t want to be, exposed as a fraud and a sham. To top all of that off, her mother had been arrested on the spot, while Zipp had the gall to run off and leave Pipp to hang at the crowd’s mercy.
Well, that’s at least how Pipp felt as she watched her sister run off with her new friends without so much as a shred of effort to save her younger sibling. Pipp wasn’t nearly as sneaky as her sister, but she could put two and two together. It was clear Zipp was responsible for the jailbreak of the prisoners, and the current event she was stuck in. So now here she was, stuck upside down, an angry crowd around her, and her mother was captured. It was only a matter of time before the crowd decided what to do with her.
Numerous emotions swirled through Pipp’s head. Panic, sorrow, betrayal, rage, and desperation all swarmed her mind as the lights continued to flash in her face. How dare Zipp wreck her performance? She knew how important this performance was to Pipp, but still set up some sort of operation to steal her own mother’s crystal, and then left her to hang and take the brunt of the damage in the aftermath.
That being said, it was pretty obvious to Pipp which way Zipp would lead the others. Both sisters knew of a back alley behind the palace that could be a good hiding spot. Knowing Zipp, she likely took the others to hide there. But only Pipp knew that the area also had a route out of the city. Looking for good streaming spots from time to time had its perks, after all.
As it currently stood, saving her mom was not a viable option. As much as Pipp adored her mother, she’d never be able to fight off an angry mob to save her, and that wouldn’t do either of them any good. Zipp was already gone, so that just left Pipp to fend for herself.
Pipp began to struggle on her wires. It was only a matter of time before the crowd wrapped up with Queen Haven and set their sights on her.
The bad news was that Pipp was hanging upside down, so getting a good grip on cords and wires was not easy. Especially when you have hooves. The good news was that Pipp was an abnormally small pony, so reaching her binding wasn’t as difficult as it would be for other ponies. It wasn’t easy, but soon enough, Pipp managed to undo the wires holding her aloft.
And promptly crashed onto the floor head first.
The crowd gasped and reeled back for a moment, not expecting the princess to manage to break free and crash. This was one of the few advantages Pipp had, as she needed a moment to recuperate from hanging upside down and then crashing right onto her skull.
On most occasions, this event would probably put Pipp out of commission for quite a while. An ice pack, maybe a stream to cheer up. And ice cream or a smoothie, those always help.
But this was not most occasions. This was a matter of freedom or imprisonment. And while Pipp was the youngest and seemingly rather shallow, she knew the stakes of the situation. And in a matter of such high stakes, even the seemingly most helpless forces can become frighteningly capable when they want to be. And Pipp very much wanted to not have to face any more of the crowd’s wrath, or possibly be thrown in jail.
Pipp shook her daze off faster than the crowd shook off their shock, and was back on her hooves in an instant. She bolted straight through the crowd, aiming to break through and get through the same exit she knew Zipp would take. To Zipp’s credit, she knew the best exit and routes, so it was no surprise she got out with so little issue.
That, and the whole thing about leaving Pipp to the crowd’s mercy and thus having a lot more time to escape, of course. Pipp wasn’t about to forget about that.
Having a small body comes with other perks. It’s a lot easier to get through crowds for one thing, and also a bit easier to blend in. Generally it’s a bit annoying not being able to reach stuff on the top shelf, but right now, Pipp was grateful for her minimal stature. Now out of that spotlight, the crowd didn’t have quite as easy a time hunting her down, and the general commotion was also a good way to blend in. That being said, Pipp knew she’d still have to be quick. There were a lot of ponies, but Pipp’s general knowledge of the room helped counter her lack of vision as she made her way to the door without too much resistance.
As she neared the exit though, her hoof tapped into something unexpected. Looking down, Pipp let out a small gasp as she realized what it was. The source of her catastrophe, her mother’s crystal crown piece. Zipp must have dropped it in the commotion, Pipp figured. This annoyed Pipp a bit. Zipp went through all that trouble, and then dropped the very item she was trying to steal? Pipp was left to hang for nothing!?
Pipp decided an explanation was in order, as if it wasn’t already in her mind. Scooping up the crystal and tucking it under her rather fluffy wing, Pipp darted out the door as the Pegasi closed in on her and slammed it shut.
That would probably buy her a few seconds as they stumbled over each other to get the door open, Pipp figured. The guards outside would still be a problem though. Thankfully, they were in her palace, her home. Everypony else was merely a guest on Pipp’s home turf.
For once Pipp let a small smirk appear on her face as she ran towards a flight of stairs and began going up. The Pegasi wouldn’t let her go without a fight, but now that she was out of that room, things wouldn’t be so easy for them. They would have to split up the second they got that door open to locate her, putting a massive slash in their numbers advantage. And she knew they wouldn’t expect her to go upstairs, where there seemingly wasn’t an exit.
Zipp would obviously have taken the door in the back to get to the alley. Given her time advantage, she would have had time to cart her companions out before the guards could catch her, and Pipp knew it. Given she wasn’t armed with the same advantage, that door would be blocked by now. Improvisation would be needed.
Halfway up the stairs, Pipp could hear the crowd bursting out of the room. They had taken longer than she expected, so she was now hidden from sight at least. That being said, she knew they’d still send a few ponies upstairs to check the area. They likely figured she’d try to hide or something silly like that, not have the guts to bust out alone. That was a Zipp thing to do, surely Pipp would never force her way out of the palace.
Still, there would be a few guards up there already, so Pipp would have to be quick. Soon she’d be sandwiched both from the front and from behind. She got up the stairs faster than usual and bolted left down the hall, passing by a door just as a guard exited it.
Unfortunately, he saw exactly who just passed him, and began to pursue. Having a two second head start doesn’t do much good. You see, while being a very little pony has its perks, it also comes with downsides. Pipp had stubby little legs, and a full sized stallion was hotly pursuing her down the hall at a growing pace. Not an ideal situation.
Pipp huffed and gasped for breath as she ran as fast as her little legs could carry her, turning a corner right as she made it to the last hall she needed to go through. At the end of the hall sat a window, a nice large one that little ponies would hypothetically be able jump through.
Pipp might not have been able to fly, but she could glide. And her practice might not have been true flight, but she still had knowledge of how the motions went, better than anypony else in the kingdom. She could glide straight to her destination once she was through the window, and there was no way the guard would be able to keep up. While there are disadvantages to being a little pony, there are also perks. A small one like herself could probably get some good gliding distance. That stallion would drop like a rock, and Pipp knew it. It was all just a matter of reaching that window.
Unfortunately, there was one last surprise waiting for Pipp. With the guard practically in range to grab her at any moment, two more guards suddenly came from around the corner at the end of the hall, right in front of the window.
Both Pipp and the guard behind her realized the situation, to the delight of one and the absolute horror of the other. Both guards up ahead quickly saw the approach, and heard the sudden order from the pursuing guard to cut Pipp off. In response, the two took position and spread their wings wide to block sight and range of paths Pipp could take.
You would be forgiven for thinking they might run towards Pipp. But Pegasus guards were not so stupid as to engage in a cartoon shenanigan where their target somehow evades and they all bump heads with the pursuing guard. They opted to stand their ground, and pluck her up the moment she reached them.
With all lines of escape cut off, Pipp used the last of her energy to make one last sprint towards the window. Just stopping would be foolish, perhaps she could still get through with a little finesse. Spreading her wings, Pipp leaped towards the guards, as they raised their own wings in response to block her leap.
Now you might not know this, but there are disadvantages to being a little pony. However, there are also several perks. For example, in the strictly hypothetical situation that you just baited your enemies to raise their blockade higher than usual, you might just be able to squeeze through the tiny opening below that they foolishly just made. Of course, this would require you to be a little pony, for such an opening would not be large.
Fortunately, Princess Pipp Petals was a very little pony.
Pipp’s wings folded as a confident grin suddenly replaced the look of terror, and she dropped down to the floor. Being caught by surprise, the guards were unable to catch her in time as she squeezed through the very small opening, and then leaped through the window behind them as the pursuing guard crashed into their wing blockade instead. As a result, their efforts to not wind up bashing into each other completely failed, and they all found themselves sprawling in the hall in a daze as a small crowd of ponies came onto the scene to hunt down the missing princess. Glass was all over the room, three stunned guards sat in a heap on the floor, and it was clear to the crowd that their target had outmatched them. The youngest princess had managed to evade their grasp.
Freedom is a very nice feeling. Especially when you just broke through a blockade and an angry mob to get it. Pipp finally caught her breath and relaxed her muscles as she glided safely to the ground, nearby the alley she was searching for. Obviously the guards and crowd would have at least some idea where she was going, but it would take quite a while before they got a chance to get to her. It helped that the alley system was surprisingly dark, and it was late now. Pipp finally had time to play with, and a crystal to confront Zipp with.
Pipp landed softly on the alley ground, and began walking towards her destination. She knew Zipp would be there, and likely the prisoners as well. Soon enough, she could hear their discussion. While Pipp had been distracted by her escape, her anger soon resurfaced in her mind. Zipp left her hanging, the entire escape wouldn’t have been needed if she hadn’t pulled that heist stunt! Clutching the crystal, Pipp prepared to confront her older sister and her new friends, and give them a piece of her mind.
As Zipp and her new friends realized and discussed the loss of the Pegasus Crystal, a tin can could be heard being knocked over nearby. Somepony was near and approaching. As they all looked behind them, it became crystal clear that somepony had managed to track them down, far faster than Zipp had expected. From the shadows, an angry Princess Pipp emerged, nearing the group.
Pipp wanted an explanation, and it was time to figure out what these ponies were trying to do.
Author's Note
Just something I made on a whim. It was fun doing something with Generation Five, though. This was always something I wish the film addressed, since we have no idea how exactly Pipp managed to escape the mob with her freedom and get the Pegasus Crystal on top of that. So I admittedly got a little creative, but I'm still pleased with the result. Hope you enjoyed!
