Pegasi of a Father

Pipp was shocked. The small piece of parchment that her sister clutched held so many emotions that she didn’t even realize were relevant. A sharp pain shot through her heart, followed by a beautiful warmth that ebbed and flowed with her constitution. There was a dichotomy there between light and dark which searched for a source but never found one. Instead, the balance was replaced by a severe sense of urgency that had been placed on a mental shelf. It was urgency that Pipp didn’t want to face, because it brought back memories of the father she’d never really known.

“I…I…” She stammered, then sputtered “…I don’t understand.”

“What?”

“How…how do you have this?”

Zipp smiled. “Dad gave it to me a few weeks before you were born. It’s something I’ve always held close to my heart. Nothing in this world, besides you, is as important as this letter.”

“What about our friends?”

Zipp sighed. “Yes, even them. Much as I love each of them, they could never compare to the words written here. They’re straight from our father’s heart, Pipp…and he means each one of them.”

“Did…did he mention anything about…” Pipp ventured, then stopped. She was scared of using any colloquialisms regarding suicide, even ones that could somewhat mask its terrible nature.

“…suicide?” Zipp finished. “No, he didn’t. In fact, this letter is riddled with positivity. Every nook and cranny of it is full of his love for me…and for you, Pipp. Even though you weren’t here yet…he wanted to stress that he’d be a good father to you.”

“He had doubts?” Pipp asked.

Zipp looked down. “No, not really. I just think he wanted to reassure me. After all, I was very protective of you before you were born.”

Pipp gave her sister a playful look. “What’s your excuse now?”

Zipp laughed. It was a deep, full, honest laugh, and one that Pipp had grown to admire and cherish throughout the years. At its core, it represented her sister’s great appreciation for life and the ways and means in which life was put over. But it also showed Zipp’s terrific desire to shelter and defend Pipp. The young pink Pegasus thought that Zipp only offered that laugh when she said something humorous. It was as if a direct link existed between her, her sister, and her sister’s laugh. If any element of any pony were considered perfect, Zipp’s joyous trill would be such.

When Zipp finished her laugh, she looked at her sister with eyes shining, presenting that special kind of love that only one sibling can offer another. “I don’t need one anymore,” she said. “Protecting you is my way of telling our father that his mission is mine…and that I love you just as much as he did.”

Pipp smiled and wiped a tear away. “So…what does the letter say?”

Zipp gently took a hoof and broke the seal. When she did, it was like ghosts from an unknown past slowly rose from their graves, desperate to reveal their stories. Zipp knew what the letter contained, but she had yet to show it to her sister. Her reasons lay beyond the fact that King Thunderbolt had asked her to keep the letter a secret until Pipp was ready to hear it. No, it was those same ghosts that haunted her…ghosts of a father that had disappeared, almost without a trace. Ghosts of the small piece of paper that she and the entirety of Zephyr Heights had accepted as his suicide note. But the most frightening of all the apparitions were those in her emotional backlog that continued to torment her. Now, she would confront all of those with her sister present. Truth be told, she’d never been more scared in her life.

My dearest Zephyrina Storm,

You, my filly, are the future of Pegasi everywhere. I have no doubt of that. There’s a reason you are meant to ascend the throne and ascertain the most powerful position in all of winged pony-dom. I just hope that I am alive to see it. Darling, I know not where our hooves may go. I know not where our lives may end. But, there is one thing I do know. If somepony were to gift all Pegasi the ability to soar through the heavens with a care free abandon, it would be you. You’re someone with the foresight, the knowledge, and the courage to accomplish such a task. I hereby give it to you. For our family, for the sake of Pegasi everywhere, I beg of you to find a cure for this dreadful disease of flightlessness.

We who are born with wings are meant to be skyward, not bound to this regrettable terra firma. Our dear city may be set in a tall position, but as long as its inhabitants remain confined to the straightforward, dreary, dull world beneath, we shall never survive. I have sought a cure, but have been unable to find one. I am tired of living your mother’s lie…I am tired of faking our flight to please the unwashed masses. We are individuals, Zephyrina, gifted with the same wings, yet meant to chart our own courses. Flight is freedom and freedom is flight, my love. Don’t ever forget this. While my research into the matter has hit more than its fair share of dead ends, I have no doubt that you could push our kind into new realms.

Rest assured, I won’t stop trying to find a cure. But, my dear filly, life has an expiration date. I hope that mine is still far from us, but if not, then I ask that you carry on my work. Find a cure…put the Pegasi back in the air again, Zephyrina. It is not for my legacy that I give you this task. Rather, it is for the good of the winged equine and his natural progression. My heart and my life have been bottled into this quest, so much so that I feel your mother thinks I’ve abandoned her. Nothing could be further from the truth. My great hope, love, is that our entire family may one day take to the skies in an honest showing, flying at the head of a great Pegasi nation. Take up the mantle, darling. It is your destiny.

All my love and more besides,

Father