Pegasi of a Father

After the letter was read, a certain pang shot through Pipp’s heart. It was like a small fireball, which burned for a moment but got progressively larger as the seconds ticked away. Soon, her entire being was ablaze with its horrid intentions. Yet, somehow, she welcomed them. She’d never dug so deeply into her psyche and subconscious before, and she didn’t know just how much she missed her father…or how angry she was with him. Zipp had received a special memento from him, just before she was born. She considered this a grave injustice and sought to remedy it, even if it meant harsh words with her sibling.

Her eyebrows furrowed and she swore she felt puffs of steam being released with each breath. Temperament had always been tantamount to her successes in the social media realms. After all, she needed to be happy, whether she wanted to or not. Now, in the private recesses of this collective home, she felt free enough to let her true self show. Anger and stark disappointment were the orders of the day. Her mind felt caged by these emotions, and the only path to freedom was one full of potential pitfalls. But she soldiered ahead anyway. Suddenly, she yanked the letter from Zipp’s hooves and aggressively began scanning through it.

“He…he doesn’t even mention me!”

“Well…” Zipp said, rubbing the back of her neck nervously.

“I thought you said he gave you this letter right before I was born!”

“He did, but-“

“-and that he said he’d be a good father to me and that this was supposed to be some kind of reassurance!”

“I mean, I-“

Pipp stepped up to Zipp, challenging her visage. “Well?”

Zipp didn’t know what to do. She’d wanted the letter to be a source of inspiration to Pipp. The gesture was supposed to be one of friendliness, tenderly nurturing the bond that she and her sibling shared. But the exact opposite had been achieved. Now, Pipp was furious and Zipp couldn’t figure out the reasons why. Her sister’s mane was standing at attention, much like her own, and the small tiara that adorned it almost seemed to glow with Pipp’s fiery rage. Zipp had never seen Pipp in this way, and it frightened her a bit. However, she was still the elder sister, so she stood her ground and cleared her throat.

“I wanted this to bring us closer and help in our new case,” Zipp said firmly.

“Closer? How could this ever bring us closer?” Pipp asked incredulously, shaking the letter in Zipp’s face.

“I thought it would serve as Dad’s voice to us,” Zipp said, “and, perhaps, give us some clues as to his whereabouts.”

Pipp slowly shook her head. “…or is it that you wanted to show off how he gave you a letter and left nothing for me?”

“Look, Pipp,” Zipp said sensibly, “Dad would’ve written you if he’d been able to. But, he disappeared-“

“He disappeared long after I’d been born,” Pipp said in a huff. “He had plenty of time to write me something.”

“Come now, Pipp,” Zipp said, “you’re being unreasonable.”

Pipp rolled her eyes. “Perhaps you think so, but I think I’m perfectly justified. I mean, Dad not writing me something is bad enough, but you keeping this a secret for my entire existence? Really?!”

Zipp shut her eyes as she thought of how to respond to this particular inquiry. She knew that someday she’d have to. Her mind twisted and turned as she tried to come up with an answer to what was, ostensibly, unanswerable. All she knew was that King Thunderbolt had commanded her to keep the letter a secret until the time was right and, as with all orders from her father, she took it to heart. Her love for her father knew no bounds, and she definitely understood what it was to be an obedient daughter. She didn’t want to risk the tightly knit relationship between them. So, she’d fulfilled his every request.

“I…Dad told me to keep it from you.”

Her sister’s eyes, which had been burning with anger, suddenly filled with a deep hurt. “He…told you to keep it from me?”

Zipp nodded. “Yes, he did, Pipp…and, believe me, it wasn’t just you. He told me to keep it from Mom, from the guards, from the castle staff…from everypony that we had daily contact with.”

“But, why…why would he…?”

“I don’t know,” Zipp said, “I have no idea why he asked me to keep this letter a secret. It’s haunted me for years now…ever since his disappearance, really. It’s like these were words from somepony that I knew so well…and now, it’s an imprint that’s speaking to me…an apparition, really.”

“A ghost?” Pipp asked.

“Yeah…a ghost,” Zipp said.

Pipp looked down. “So…keeping the letter from me wasn’t your decision?”

“Not at all,” Zipp said. “If I’d known what kind of damage this might bring, I’d have shown you right away. But, I was sworn to secrecy by our father and I had to keep to those orders. I couldn’t have lived with myself if I hadn’t.”

“I guess I understand,” Pipp said, “but it doesn’t make me feel any better.”

“This might,” Zipp said.

She then used a gentle wing to pull Pipp close, feeling her sister take shelter and nuzzle deeply. It was a very warm, ginger moment between the two, with each seeking some kind of protection from the outside elements. For Zipp, the protection she sought was against the growing feelings of doubt surrounding her father’s absence. Meanwhile, Pipp wanted protection against her own doubts. But these were about her father’s love for her. His leaving of the letter and swearing Zipp to absolute secrecy tore through her soul. What in Equestria could he possibly have been thinking in doing so; and, more importantly, why hadn’t she been let in on things?

Zipp felt her sister’s tears staining her coat. “Hey…it’s gonna be okay,” she said.

“I can’t help but feel that it won’t,” Pipp said in a voice that was shaky, yet mature in its confession.

Zipp used a hoof to turn her sister’s face towards her own. “It will, Pipp…I don’t know how, but it will.”

“I want to believe you…but until I see Dad again…I’m not sure I can.”