//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: Livestream // by bahatumay //------------------------------// “Pipp Pipp Hooray!” Pipp cheerfully signed off. She flopped back into her chair and sighed. That had been a great stream. Engagement was high, as usual, and the stream of happy emoji reactions tickled her tummy like nothing else.  Almost casually, she checked the numbers.  Her mouth tightened.  Zipp flew past Pipp in the hallway. “Hey, Pipp,” she said, but then quickly stopped midair and turned around, moving fast enough to make her amulet bounce off her barrel. “You doing ok?” Pipp shook her head. “I’m fine,” she said.  Blue eyes met green as Zipp gave her a sideways look. “Ok,” she said, clearly not believing her. “If you say so.” “Where are you headed, anyway?” Pipp asked, hoping for a distraction. “I’m heading down to Maretime Bay. Mom said we could play buckball for the opening if we get it figured out by then. We’re testing one team with a pegasus on defense and one with the pegasus on offense, just to see which one works better.” “Enjoy,” Pipp said.  Zipp looked like she was about to say something else, but decided not to press her sister, and took off. The filly swiped irritably away from Pipp’s stream. Her streams were great for singing and dancing and sparkly new things, but she was mad right now! She didn’t want to watch Perfect Princess Pipp Petals having a good time. She wanted somepony to commiserate with her. She scrolled down the list and saw another upcoming streamer, Sage Wisdom. Was it just her talking on camera? Curious, she joined with a quick tap. “That does seem like quite a few chores,” Sage said empathetically, clearly in the middle of a conversation. “I bet it feels like you’re drowning in them, like you can’t even flap your wings to get out of the downburst.” Her ears pricked. This was relevant to her interests. “Here’s the thing,” Sage continued. “Parents don’t give you chores so you have chores. They give you chores to teach you responsibility. Can you imagine bringing a date home, you open the door and your room is a mess? Your date will take one look and spin around and leave.  “But if you really want your afternoons back, you could pawn it off on your younger brother. Start doing it in front of him, preferably while he’s doing something fun. He’ll try to get a rise out of you about you being stuck doing that. Ignore him. He’ll push for a reaction. Blow him off. He’ll get frustrated. You can’t pay attention to him. You’re doing something even better. And he won’t be able to handle it. If whatever you’re doing is more fun than he is, he won’t be able to stand it. He’ll want in. Deny him again. Pretty soon, he’ll be demanding to help. And what a helpful big sister you are, you couldn’t possibly turn him down.” She grinned. “Enjoy.” The filly nodded to herself and tapped Subscribe. She liked where this was going. Pipp knocked on Zipp’s door and then pushed it open. “Hey, Zipp? Have you seen-?” But that’s as far as she got before a pillow hit her in the head.  “Pipp! Get out of my room!” Zipp nearly shouted.  “Geez,” Pipp said irritably, tossing her head and fixing her tiara. “It’s just your room. You barely have anything in here, anyway.” “That doesn’t mean you can just barge in,” Zipp said irritably. “What do you want?” “Ok, rude. I was just wondering if my tea sampler got delivered to your room by accident.” “Nope. Out.” Pipp snorted and walked out.  Once she was in the hallway and out of sight, she exhaled slowly. Her numbers weren’t growing quite as fast as they used to, and she was really hoping there would be something new to give them a little bump.  This was a new feeling, and she didn’t like it. She pulled out her phone to respond to comments for a little natural engagement, and this made her feel a little better. But even at dinner, it was weighing on Pipp’s mind. “Pipp?” Pipp jumped at having been called out.  Haven gestured at the table. “Care to join us?”  Pipp nodded, hoping it didn’t look like she was blushing. Usually it was Zipp getting pulled back into the conversation. She looked over to see what Zipp was doing, wondering why she wasn’t Haven’s target.  Zipp was eating daintily, in small bites, and she was even using the right fork.  A flicker of annoyance crossed Pipp’s face, but she quickly suppressed it.  Once dinner was over, she made her way over to Haven. “Hey, Mom? Have you ever felt… unpopular?” “Of course not,” Haven tittered. “The queen has always been popular. I am beloved of all my subjects.”  “You did get arrested once,” Pipp pointed out.  “Nuance, dear,” Haven said dismissively. “What’s bringing this on?” Pipp shrugged. It seemed like a silly reason to be concerned, now that she was thinking about it. “It’s nothing. My numbers aren’t as good as they used to be,” she said. “I hardly think that’s a concern. Pipp, you’re the brightest little streamer in the vast sky that is the canternet,” she reassured her. “You’ll be back on top like the star you are in no time.” “Thanks, mom,” Pipp said, feeling a little bit better. And then she noticed that she was walking away. “Where are you going?” “I’ve got another meeting scheduled with Zephyrina.” Haven laughed lightly. “Meeting,” she repeated fondly. “Her training, I mean. It’s a delight, now, really. She’s actually paying attention to her lessons. It’s such a welcome change.” “Oh, that’s… great,” Pipp said. With an affectionate gesture, Haven made her way down the hall. Pipp shook her head. This was fine. It was just a little funk. She’d be out of it in no time. In fact, by next week, she’d probably even forget this had happened.