//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Livestream // by bahatumay //------------------------------// Posey was many things. Some would call her tenacious. Some, a stickler for the rules. Some might call her stuck in the past. And still others, a complainer.  But she was all about gossip, so when somepony reached out to Sage Wisdom for advice about being cheated on, she quickly sat so she could pay more attention.  Sage clearly grimaced behind the towel. “I’m really sorry to hear that,” she said empathetically. “It’s very tempting to want revenge, to go cheat on him back so you can cause him the same kind of pain he caused you. Don’t do it,” she said firmly. “It won’t do anything. He doesn’t care about you, because if he did, he wouldn’t have cheated on you, and the last thing you want is to catch a disease trying to get revenge on a pony who wouldn’t even care enough to give you the time of day. Take a few moments to center yourself and remember. The best revenge is living well.” There was a brief pause. Posey felt like she was waiting for the other shoe to drop.  “But if you want a slightly less best but more fun kind of revenge, you’re going to need some help. It sounds like you know his exact routine whenever you ‘go on a trip’. So you’re going to have to be patient. Is his birthday coming up? Tell him you’re so sorry but you’ll have to miss it, then talk to his mother. Wouldn't it be nice to surprise him with presents, breakfast in bed, and bring his whole family to celebrate when he thinks you’re going to be gone? Maybe even a nice big cake? What a fun surprise! For everypony involved.” She tittered.  Posey grinned, already imagining that explosive situation and feeling a thrill. She added her own approval emoji to the stream of the laughter and happy emojis in the chat. She’d have to watch this one.  Pipp stretched and yawned. She tousled her mane, rubbed her eyes, and snapped a quick ‘I woke up like this’ picture for posting.  Now at the end of the week, it was time for another of her routines. She scrolled over and looked at the streaming numbers.  Her brow furrowed.  She was not on top of the Growing Streamers list this week.  Instead, somepony named Sage Wisdom was there.  Pipp frowned. That was her spot.  Well, she shouldn’t begrudge anypony’s success. Streaming was hard, but she made it look easy.  Still, it did bother her a little bit. Out of morbid curiosity, she stuck her head out her bedroom door to talk to the nearest guard. “Hey, Thunder, do you know this new streamer, Sage Wisdom?” Thunder jumped. “What? No. Nope. Never heard of her. Mm-mm. Sorry.” “Hm,” Pipp said, and she went back in her room.  Thunder exhaled. Did she know he’d skipped her last few streams in favor of Sage’s? He hoped not. He didn’t think you could get fired for that, but he didn’t want to risk it.  Zipp checked her phone and grunted. “Yeah. There is nothing going on today. Hitch? Make something fun happen.” Before he could respond, there was a knock at the door.  Zipp sat up, intrigued. “Cool. I was joking,” she said incredulously. Hitch opened the door to see Fifi, holding up a box with Sunny’s face drawn on it. “Sunny, it’s for you,” he called over his shoulder as he took it, only to nearly fall forward. “What’s in this thing? Rocks?” he asked.  Sunny leaped down and tore the box open. “This has to be- yes! Queen Haven’s research team found a few more things and, well, I asked nicely, so they sent some copies to us.” “They don’t trust you with the originals anymore?” Hitch joked.  “Officially, they don’t know how that came into my possession and it has since been returned,” Sunny said primly. “But we came to an arrangement because, spoilers: Queen Haven is going to found a museum of history, and she wants all the artifacts put on display, including some of mine.” “The grand opening is already on my schedule,” Pipp confirmed.  Sunny glanced over to the picture of Argyle on the wall. It was just so surreal sometimes. He had believed so firmly in pony unity and the importance of history. Now she had friends of all kinds and they were going to even have a museum of history. Ponies literally from all over Equestria would see his life’s work. Would he ever have believed this was possible?  “You ok?” Hitch asked.  “I’m fine. Just… I can’t believe this is really happening. I’m so happy I found you. I never want to let you go.” And then Zipp started vibrating, interrupting this tender moment. She let her head fall back, already knowing who it was. “Not again,” she groaned. “You ok?” Hitch asked.  “She’s been pushing it more. She’s, like, happy to do it. And I mean, she’s my mom, and I don’t want to shut her down, but I really hate it. And is always at the worst time.” “She’s really been blowing up your phone,” Hitch said.  Zipp tossed her phone onto the couch. “What phone? Come on. Let’s check some of this old stuff out.”