Author's Note

Sorry for the late upload, forgot that this was the second week haha

Oh please don't hate Pipp after this chapter...I lowkey didn't remember how emotional she gets this chapter 😢, she does make up for it I promise.

Chapter 5

“Well, before I say this, do know that I don’t mean to spoil the celebration, nor do I want to make your relationship with your parents sour, Zipp and Pipp, but I saw something when the guards were taking us to your room. Something that I think should be brought up.” Sunny nervously states,

Zipp glances at Hitch, who in turn looks back at her as well, each seeming to be guessing what might have happened.

Pipp stares at Sunny innocently, causing Sunny to feel even more guilty. “Well…when we were planning to run off after you we were stopped by the guards since we couldn’t enter the area due to us not having an authorized presence or something like that. So in response, I showed them that badge Zipp gifted me that one time we hung out a few weeks ago, which thanks by the way! That saved our flanks…well for a second at the very least.”

Zipp says a quick it’s fine and then urges her to continue,

“We were about to go in, that is until your dad stopped us saying that we caused you, Pipp, enough pain and that we should go. Which was totally reasonable since like we were in the crowd when that whole fiasco was happening so his conclusion made sense. Immediately your mother showed up behind him and told them to let us in, and they kept on going back and forth until Izzy made them shut up, which thanks Izzy also for that as well.”

When Izzy hears her name she does a mini cheer that brightens the mood inside the room a little with everyone chuckling at her notion.

Sunny clears her throat then continues, “After Izzy did that he said that your mom won that time? I don’t know, I was honestly confused about that, but after that, he would supposedly fly away. The thing is when I turned my head around a couple of moments after there I saw that your dad was next to your mom again, but this time he whispered something to her which...well it made her basically turn into a ghost in a sense.”

Once Sunny says everything, she lets out a sigh of relief and looks up nervous.

“So?” Pipp comments a little confused. This made everypony look at her shocked,

“I mean aren’t you worried about your mom?” Izzy asks,

“My mom is a grown pony, if she has problems she will deal with it as she sees fit. She also would not put up with anyone berating her and put them down in their place if that ever happened, my dad is no exception. You probably misunderstood what happened, I mean did you hear what my dad said to my mom?”

"W-well no...but it just felt weird. Plus added with what happened in the throne room earlier-"

"I appreciate your concern Sunny, but my mom and dad's relationship is none of your business. My dad came back from a long and grueling war to a world that is completely different than the one he left to protect, he's very tense and on edge right now. So yes, his recent actions might seem weird but they aren't completely unjustified. He just needs some time to rest, something that we haven't been able to give to him because of all the stupid events building up upon one another until we have this mess we are jumbled up in." Pipp's voice begins to rise a little at the end but she manages to keep her cool, not wanting to scream at Sunny.

Zipp hearing Pipp's perspective lower her ears not wanting to be the one to break the news but knowing that it eventually had to be done. She shakes her head and shakily opens her mouth about to say something, but Hitch puts his hoof on her shoulder and speaks up on her behalf,

“Sometimes the ponies we think we know can be the ones to surprise us, and the things we think wouldn’t at all bother them is actually the thing that makes them shatter emotionally."

"I don't get what you're trying to say, Hitch..." Pipp's irritation starts to build again,

"What I'm saying is...ugh, Pipp, you can’t tell us that you haven’t seen the way your father addresses your mother or even how she acts around him. Does she really seem happy? ” Hitch ends before covering his mouth, widening his eyes, knowing his words didn't come out the way he wanted them to.

“What I CAN say is that you need to put your snout away from where it’s not supposed to be and learn your place! You honestly can't be someone to question my parents, when your parents never even bothered to raise you!”

Sunny and Izzy whip their heads to Pipp with wide eyes after hearing the last thing she shouted.

“I’m sorry I-I was just trying to help…” Hitch mutters and leaves the room on the verge of tears.

“Pipp that was uncalled for and you shouting at him did not help.” Displeased, Zipp glares at her.

“It was completely called for, he shouldn’t have put his snout where it didn’t belong and just stated his opinion. But no~ he ended up insulting mom and talked about dad as if he knew him past the two encounters he's had with him. The very least he can do now is share how I feel right now.” Pipp waves off her sister's concern.

Zipp opens her mouth to respond then closes it knowing it was useless to try and argue with her. She then gets up to leave the room,

“Go ahead and leave me to console your colt-friend! All that talk about you changing, and never leave me alone again I guess was fake! I should have known you’d always think about me last...”

Izzy and Sunny, who were just sitting on the sidelines watching the whole thing blow out, grow worried looks on their faces. They glance toward Zipp who could be seen very visibly fuming.

“Be quiet, you don’t know what you are talking about…” She says through clenched teeth.

Honestly, at that point, Pipp should’ve backed down, but apparently, she didn’t know better and kept on going.

“Oh, I don’t? You've done more to help him than help me our whole fillyhoods! Its the way you pathetically chase after him like some lovesick puppy. But you couldn't have granted me one measly second just to chat. Some kind of sister you are” She ends with a bitter note.

“Ever since you were a foal all I’ve been doing is protecting you! I've never willingly abandoned you! All those times you've been playing around I was busy learning how to rule this whole kingdom so that stupid burden doesn't fall on your hooves. But there are times when you need to be on your own, and now seems to be as good of a time as any other.” With that she leaves Pipp’s room, not forgetting to close the door carefully.

Sunny and Izzy gets up and trots to Pipp. Looking down at her, disapproval dripping from their faces. Pipp looks up at the both of them feeling instant regret. The realization finally dawning on her that she screwed up big time,

“Great going princess, you really screwed up this one. Sunny and Izzy, could you guys help me with making an apology? Please...”

“Sure! The good thing is that you recognized and owned up to your mistake. That and you regretting everything is all you needed to get us on board.” Sunny shrugs and the trio get into work on crafting up an apology immediately.

Zipp trots down the halls looking around for Hitch only to overhear shouting coming from an upcoming room. Curious, she goes into her sneaky mode and sneaks close to the door frame to better understand what the two ponies were arguing about.

“What is with you Thunder?!? The first thing you are supposed to do when you come back from a very long war is obviously to relax, but no! Ever since you stepped foot inside Zephyr Heights you have been seeking problem after problem with any pony you are given the chance to.”

“It’s not my fault that my supposed wife doesn’t know how to properly mediate any distractions before an important event”

“What does that even mean???”

“Nothing, what I want to know is how you were able to screw up so badly that you and both our girls were kicked from their social standings and lowered to outcasts.”

“Like I told you before it was an accident that was necessary to have happened or else the pegasi wouldn’t have been able to fly. In our kingdom we have to prioritize the now instead of the past, so can you please stop bringing that up and forget about it?”

“How can I just forget about it? Our youngest was just publicly bullied and humiliated! It probably formed a kind of trauma for her where she can’t even trust others around her!”

“...I admit some fault in that. I should have thought of the possibility of this happening and discouraged Pipp from performing publicly then this whole fiasco wouldn’t have happened...but it did and if I could shoulder half the burden Pipp had to have gone through don’t you honestly think I would’ve by now Thunder! WHAT KIND OF MOTHER WOULD THAT MAKE ME?!?”

A sniffle could be heard after the outburst and some shifting could be heard, so Zipp sneaks a little peek and sees her father put a feathered wing around her mother. Squeezing Haven’s shoulder a little with it.

Thunder would put in a deep breath and then exhale before looking away a slight blush present, “I’m sorry….”

Queen Haven's ears would perk up at this, snorting finding the situation amusing, “I don’t know if you’ve noticed Thunder, but it’s too late for apologies and your behavior today reinforces it.”

“Can you just shut up and take the apology!" Thunder shouts frustrated and glares at her. Queen Haven raises her eyebrow as if to signify he proved her point.

"Look...I might have been looking for a fight or whatever this whole day. It's just, ever since I got into that war and was brought up with the reality that I might not be able to return to you all, it had me thinking about how much I’ve wronged you, and not really set the best example nor be there for both our daughters. The longer I stayed, the bigger the resentment toward myself came. I should have led with an iron fist and been more involved in the training of young cadets..."

Queen Haven when listening at first became a little hopeful, but then her hope immediately plummeted down. The bastard still hasn't recognized his wrongs.

"I should have planned out their futures so they could easily follow that plan and have a surefire future, while also being safe. I should have also been more generous with you and accepted that proposal for a royal council. Then maybe our kingdom wouldn't be in the shambles it is right now, and that’s why the least I could do is apologize to you even if it wouldn’t amount to the years of pain you had to go through due to my failings. I fell back into old habits today, so for that, I’m sorry too.”

Queen Haven sighs and looks up a Thunder with a small smile on her face deciding to trust his words this once, “I appreciate the apology, but like I said before it’s too late. The only reason I'm still with you is to spread a stable environment for our girls. Don't confuse it for any nonexistent affection I have for you. I don’t think we can go back to how we were when it was just us three...”

Thunder hearing her blatant rejection wears an ugly scowl, but quickly masks it with a saddened smile, “Well then if there is a new stallion in your life just tell me and I'll make sure to measure him up to see if he's good enough for you. I’ll make sure to give them a lesson or two”

To show his point he flexes his hooves a little and Haven laughs at the gesture now in a better mood. Thunder seeing this puts on a wistful smile until Haven looks directly at him. Clearing his throat he switched to the next topic, “There is something you should know. It’s about the war.”

When Thunder says this Queen Haven looks up now confused, “What about it?”

He awkwardly twiddles his hooves, “We never really won it, and when magic came back both sides were very unsure of the outcome that at least one pegasus would come out alive, so we struck a treaty deal. There is just one term that I insisted be optional but I am unsure if it would not be seen as an insult if not gone through by our party…”

Haven now getting an idea about what the term clings to him desperately, “...please don’t tell me you did what I think you did…”

“The term that we agreed to was for the princess of Hoofili, Ebony Aura, to be arranged in marriage to the princess of Zephyr Heights, Zipp Storm. Each pony named in this arrangement will be required to go on a date and associate with one another before agreeing if they would like to accept and go through with the marriage.”

Zipp immediately comes out from her hiding spot and shouts alongside her mother, “YOU DID WHAT?!?”

After hearing Zipp both Haven and Thunder would turn their heads towards where she was, both completely in shock.

“Zipp this is not how I wanted you to know, I was going to discuss it with your mother first before telling you-”

“Telling me what? That you used me as a political bargain? Honestly, how did you think I was going to react, huh? Having to be queen is already ridiculous enough and now you have me engaged to our enemy? How pathetic can you get! And to think after hearing all that, that maybe you have changed…but I guess you are still the same bastard that would always belittle mom and put all of your frustrations on to her.”

Queen Haven turns pale and asks, “Y-you knew?”

Zipp, completely fed up, glares at her, “Yes! It was honestly pretty obvious. The guards noticed but said nothing, except silently usher me away from the area saying you both were just discussing political stuff. Every single day I saw what he did, what he said, to you! Every single time thinking to myself that you would one day be the courageous queen I always see in public and stand up for yourself and say that you’d had enough and kick him out. Except you stayed, and continued to endure it... Why did you think I was dancing around like a filly on hearth's warming eve when I heard he had gone to war against the pegasi of the north!”

Thunder, hurt at her words, glances at Haven silently asking her if Zipp actually did that to which she responded in kind with an annoyed eye roll.

“Look Zipp, you may disapprove with how I used to treat your mother, but this was a hard decision, as our future queen you have to know that sometimes when in power you have to make serious sacrifices for the greater good of your kingdom. Those pegasi that looked to me as their leader depended on me to be able to get them through that war safely so they can get back home to their families after 650 long moons of having to be stuck in that war. We lost some courageous cadets, if I didn’t take this deal then how would that make me look towards their loved ones? How would that get your mother to look? You have to know I do care about you and Pipp. I mean you are my daughters. Why would I ever give one of you away willingly unless my hooves were tied?” Thunder tries to reconcile with his daughter, but it would fall on deaf ears.

“I’d rather you have died in that war instead of making me do this! Mom when did you become so pathetic!?!” With that outburst, she flys out of the room (or zips out?? 🥁)

Queen Haven chases after her shouting desperately at her “Zipp! Zipp! Zephyrina Storm, you better stop flying and apologize to your father this instant!”

She eventually stops out of breath and looks behind her glaring at Thunder

"Look what you did!"