//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: A Zipp in Time // by TankFBI //------------------------------// Zipp planted her silver hooves firmly onto the brown rock, staring out into the vastness that lay before her… just waiting to be conquered. She closed her eyes and inhaled, taking in the peace of the landscape, the sounds of wind blowing all around her. She opened her wings and jumped. Zipp darted into the ravine, landing softly on the rocks below before swiftly starting up again. The vegetation seemed to almost fly by as Zipp imagined herself speeding through the canyon, the wonderbolts at her side. Each and every leap she took was carefully calculated because if she got hurt, no pony would ever find her. She enjoyed the feeling of the wind flying past her feathers, every second felt like she was living a whole different life, a life with magic, with flight.  Zipp continued her journey through the ravine, her focus not faltering, even for a second. But it wasn’t long before she saw what she was here for, the end of the ravine. She smiled and charged, pushing ever harder with her hooves, dust filling the space behind her. She landed on all four hooves, and jumped, flapping her wings along the way. She bounded back and forth between the ever-narrowing wall of the ravine, the top getting closer and closer. She took one last jump… only for her hoof to slip, causing all of her momentum to stop. “Woah!” She yelped in surprise as she lost her footing and began the long descent back down. This was the only thing Zipp was truly worried about on this run, but she had practiced her landings. And with the grace of an earth pony, she landed on the ground, hard. “Ow ow ow ow…” She cried as she lay on the ground, her back throbbing with pain. She clenched her teeth, fighting back tears, but just as quickly as the pain set in, it started to recede. As Zipp continued to lay on the ground, taking heavy breaths she contemplated how she was going to explain to her mother why she was so dirty, a white coat wasn’t the best and hiding dirt after all. “Ugh, moms going to kill me… again…” Zipp sighed as she pondered angrily as to why she wasn’t allowed outside of the city while Pipp got to do basically whatever she wanted. Granted she never left the city… which caused Zipp to sigh, splaying her arms outward in despair. She looked to her right as she heard her hoof hit something… glass? With a pained expression, Zipp tediously got to her hooves, the pain still presents in her back the whole time. After a few more breaths, Zipp looked at the ground where her hoof was and saw something that didn’t belong. Rather than the dull red sand and rocks that seemed to cover the entire landscape, a bright vibrant red fleck stood out as the sun’s rays glinted off of it. Zipp stared at the spot in surprise to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating. After the sun glinted off the shiny surface once again, Zipp reached out and hesitantly poked at it with her hoof. After staring at it for a few more moments to make sure it didn’t explode or something, she began sweeping away the red sand covering it. After a few moments of brushing away the dust, it became evident that this was some kind of red crystal. This heightened her curiosity even more as she picked up the pace but still was cautious. Her eyes widened more and more as the crystal began to take shape, its beauty stunning even Zipp of all ponies. Finally, after a few minutes of careful digging, Zipp held a lightning bolt-shaped crystal in her hoof, her turquoise eyes scanning every inch of it. As she did this, her mind filled with more and more questions, primarily why is this here and how is it in such a flawless condition? She just stared at the crystal, not really sure what to do with it. For all, she knew it could be some secret unicorn trap, or it could just be a random stone. She contemplated in her mind, she knew that her mom might yell at her and just take it and give it to Pipp, or maybe she would just put it on her nightstand. It was also at this time that Zipp noticed that the sun was no longer in sight, which meant she was late. Zipp thought about it for a few more seconds, “it’s just a rock, what’s the worst that could happen?” she said as she placed it in between her wing and her body, breaking into a sprint a moment later intent on not being late… again. As the elevator doors opened, Zipp hesitantly peaked outside looking for any sign of her mother or sister. But with neither insight, Zipp broke into a hasty, yet stealthy sprint across the courtyard and towards the castle entrance. Once she crossed the distance, she planted herself firmly on the door, her ear listening for any activity on the other side. Content that nopony was on the other side, she cracked the door open, once again making sure nopony was in sight, before cracking it just enough to fit herself through. She turned around and inched the door shut, every squeak of the hinges making her cringe. “Zephyrina!” Came the voice of her mother. “Ugh!” Zipp groaned in frustration as she turned around to face her not-so-happy mother. “And where were you?” She asked to which Zipp responded with another roll of her eyes. “I was just out messing around, okay?”  “Let me guess, you were outside the city… again.” “Yeah, and why does it matter?” “Zipp, do I have to explain this to you again?” She sighed. “No, I remember the last hundred times you told me, I’ll be in my room.” And with that, Zipp stormed off into the depths of her bedroom. Why does it even matter? Even if a unicorn or an earth pony saw me I could take them! Zipp thought as she continued down that vast corridor of the Zephyr Heights castle.  The guards paid her no mind as always, especially with the current expression plastered on her face. Though one pony paid some attention and began following her. After a little while longer, Zipp walked into her room, kicking the door closed behind herself, and jumped onto her fluffy queen-sized bed, just letting herself sink into its soft embrace, letting out a frustrated, yet relieved sigh as she continued to sink. She knew she could never be mad in this bed, it was the comfiest darn thing she had ever rested her royal self on. A moment later she unfolded her wing and took out the crystal, holding it in her hoof. At least I got this she thought while examining and getting lost in its vibrant color and perfection once again. She was brought out of her daze by the sound of her door opening and the sound of hooves entering the room. She quickly hid the crystal back under her wing just in case it was her mother. “Zipp, are you alright?” Pipp asked, inching her way into the room, a worried expression adorning her face. “I’m fine Pipp.” “No your not, you always say that.” She walked over towards Zipp’s bed, “Did you leave the city again?” “Why do you want to know?” Zipp snapped a bit harshly causing Pipp to recoil a bit, instantly feeling a little remorse. “I’m sorry Pipp, I shouldn’t have done that, but yes I did leave the city again.” “It’s alright sis, everyone gets a little upset.” “I’m going to take a shower,” Zipp said as she hoisted herself out of the warm embrace of her bed and began making her way towards her bathroom. “Well, alright, later Zipp,” Pipp said, waving her wing. “Bye,” Zipp responded, instinctively waving her own wing back, only to realize a second too late what she just did. Pipp’s attention was immediately brought to the red crystal that just fell out of Zipp’s wing, her face portraying that of many questions. “Um, what’s that?” Pipp asked, making her way over to the crystal. “It’s um, nothing. I just uh… bought it the other day!” Zipp stuttered as she quickly picked up the crystal and put it back in her wing. “Zipp… yesterday we were both stuck in day court with mom all day.” Pipp started to advance a bit, Zipp just keeping an uneasy smile trying to hide her panic. “Okay fine…” Zipp sighed defeated, she was not in the mood for any more of this today. She hoped that Pipp wouldn’t pry too much more. She unfurled her wing and showed Pipp, Pipp instantly getting lost in the crystal just like she had. “Where did you find this?” She asked, her eyes never leaving the crystal. “Just outside the city in some random ravine.”  “How do you know it’s not dangerous?” Pipp asked, coming back to her senses and taking a step back. “I… just know it’s not dangerous.” From the moment Zipp touched the stone, something felt different, something… soothing. As if the stone was reassuring her of itself. “Well, I’m getting mom, we can’t just not tell her about this. What if something happened? Then what?” She question, Zipp started to respond, but nothing came. Her sister did have a point after all. Zipp, having realized that if anything happened it would be pinned on her because of the stone decided to show her mother after all. She knew that she’d rather not spend another month stuck in the castle losing her sanity. “So how did you find this again?” Pipp asked her hoof steps echoing throughout the empty hallway, her gaze remaining on the stone, seeming to never have left it. “I told you I found it in a ravine just outside of the city,” Zipp responded, the stone held firmly in her left hoof. “Can I hold it again?” She asked, already reaching for it. “What? No, go find your own.” “C’mon Zipp, I just want to hold it.” She pleaded. “No, I found it. Unless mom takes it, it’s mine.” The moment she finished that sentence, however, Pipp made a grab for the stone. Zipp recoiled backward, tripping over herself in the process with Pipp landing on top of her. “The Stone!” Zipp cried as it fell from her grip, flying through the air. She watched it fly through the air, it was seemingly falling at a comically slow rate, making the moment of impact that much more painful. She watched as the tip of the stone landed on the hard marble flooring, chipping of so slightly. She noticed that Pipp stopped wrestling with her and used the moment to push her off and get up. She walked over, examining the stone, relieved that it didn’t completely shatter, yet peeved that Pipp had essentially ruined yet another one of her things. “Great, you happy now Pipp!?” Zipp remarked with an edge, turning around toward Pipp only to receive a blank stare back. “Why are you looking at me like that?” “Umm Zipp, did it always glow like that?” Pipp questioned, her face showing concern as she pointed toward the stone. “It never glowed, wha-” Her words died in her throat as she turned back around to see the stone very much glowing, and beginning to shake. Pipp, broken from her daze, got up and began running down the hall, most likely to find her mother. Zipp, however, began to panic. And in her panic-stricken state picked up the stone and began running back towards her room. “Oh, how do I get it to stop!?” She cried as she kicked the door to her room closed behind her. She threw the stone on the bed and examined it, her mind filling with possible answers, most of which involved the unicorns. She noticed that it kept getting brighter, though the more she looked at it, the more it seemed to be calling to her. She resisted at first, snapping herself out of it and trying to think rationally. But every time she looked at the stone, it became harder and harder to look away from. She thought she could hear it saying something, though the words were so distant. Eventually, the stone started to float, though this didn’t seem to scare her. Soon after, she began to feel her hooves moving her toward the bed, every step inching her closer until she was within arms reach. She couldn’t stop herself anymore as she mindlessly reached out and touched it, her mind going dark the second she made contact.