//------------------------------//
// Our Friends are All Aboard! 
// Story: Rebirth of Magic: Find your Voice 
// by JimmyHook19 
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I was relaxing on a sun lounger when I got the news. It was a lovely day; not many clouds, the sky was blue, and the sun shone in the sky. I had decided to stop streaming for a bit and simply enjoy the weather outdoors for a while. Zipp had popped away from the castle for a bit (I think; she has a habit of doing this as we're relatively safe here), so I kinda had bits of the place to myself. I trotted along out of the palace and stopped outside the main balcony area, which conveniently had a sun lounger set up on it. I already had my sunglasses and a hat on my pony, so to speak, so I simply lay back on it and looked up, the star sided spectacles shielding my eyes from the sun. It was quite nice and warm too, so there was that I guess.

I must have dozed off for a bit, because I was suddenly awoken with a start from a loud noise. I looked about, trying to focus my eyes on what was going on around me. Eventually, I looked to my right and saw the source of all the noise.

To my TOTAL lack of surprise, it was Zipp causing all the commotion. "Hey! Pipp?" she shouted, trying to get my attention.

I looked over and adjusted my sunglasses. No point messing up my eyes for this. "Zipp, what's got you all worked up? I think a spa day would do you good."

Zipp looked utterly horrified at this suggestion. Not that it really surprised me. She is after all a bit of a tomcolt. "No. Way," she said firmly. She then looked confused at me. "And how are you supposed to get a tan? Isn't there fur in the way?"

At no point had I ever said I was trying to get a tan! I made this point quite clear in what I said next. "I am not trying to get a tan!" I said, firmly and to make the point. "I simply like being out in the sun for a bit! Why is that such an issue?"

Zipp dropped her ears and looked a little embarrassed. I still think she deserved it, though. "Oh. Sorry. But I've got some news for you."

That certainly perked me up. "Huh?" I asked. "What news?"

"Sunny and Izzy are here."

First Misty, now Sunny and Izzy? Yay! I can expand my friend group even more than before! "Yay!" I said, hopping off the sun lounger. "I always like making new friends, and we can add three to the roster!"

"Ohh," Zipp said. "You mean Misty. Right. Well, I've not been able to establish if Sunny and Izzy are former humans yes- I only had one interaction with them that was less than a minute long- and I'll need more time to speak with them. In the meantime, we need to stick to the script."

That might be a problem, as I was quick to point out. "Zipp! I can't remember the dialogue exactly! I can't just watch a copy of the movie to refresh my memory! Seeing as we're kinda living in the movie!"

"Well, you don't need to have it 100% off. Just try and recall the gist of it. That's what I've been doing."

"Thanks for the tip," I replied. I would have said more, but suddenly a message began playing over the speakers.

"Could Princesses Pipp Petals and Zephyrina Storm report to the Royal Chambers immediately. Repeat, could Princesses Pipp Petals and Zephyrina Storm report to the Royal Chambers immediately!"

That settled that one, I guess. Zipp got to it before me, though. "Well, that's our cue. Break a leg- not literally."

I grinned as I began to hatch a cunning plan. "I wonder if this would be a good opportunity to test a new filter?"





We got a quick briefing on the situation from mom- apparently some sort of security disturbance in the area that needed our attention for some reason. Even though she said it wasn't something serious, I was able to suppress my laughter at the irony of those words. Members of the unicorn and earth pony tribes turning up here after thousands of years of relative isolation is kinda a big deal. Zipp seemed to be having a harder time not corpsing, though.

"However, I want both of you on your best behaviour. That means no pouting, Zephyrina, and no random musical interludes, Pipp. Understood?"

Well, she couldn't exactly have made it clearer. The gear began to lift us up, and as we were lowered over the barrier and dropped down I swooped over from one side to the other. The cable mechanisms use sliding joints to move operators from one side of the room to the other without tangling the cables or causing us to crash into each other. It's a seriously clever bit of engineering, even if I don't understand all the specifics of how it operates.

Once we touched down, Mom got down to business. If you immediately thought 'to defeat the huns', you have to upvote my next post.

There was some talk about titles and descriptions (By the Way I am Totes cool with you calling me Pipp by the way) but then the true reason for our being there was revealed. And boy was it big news! Zipp was right!

IT WAS SUNNY AND IZZY!

Sunny and Izzy were, as Zipp had told me, here. Mom didn't seem so happy about them being here, though. "A unicorn, and an earth pony, in Zephyr Heights? Why are you here? Who sent you?"

I tuned the conversation out as I went to look at my phone. As I looked at the screen, I had an idea. Zipp had told me to stick to the script. And during this meeting Pipp does take out her phone and film the new arrivals. As it happens in the script, I must do it to!

I pulled my phone out and began recording. "Check it out, guys!" I said, turning my camera to the new figures. "Something that hasn't been seen in millenia! It's a unicorn and Earth Pony!"

No sooner had I started streaming than mom ruined the show as she snatched the phone from me. "There's nothing to fear," she said as she held the device upside down. I can only imagine how many citizens wondered why the Queen was walking on the ceiling. "They are under the custody of the army. We will protect you." She then shot me a death glare. "Shut it off."

I hit some of the buttons to stop the stream before mom threw the device at me. Some more talking happened and then we were taken back up as Sunny and Izzy were led off to the cells.

Once back on top, mom made a bad joke to try and ease the tension. Zipp then set off down the corridor to 'interrogate'. I then got a text.

Keep sticking to the script.

Zipp.

Zipp doesn't need to sign off on her texts! The display tells me who it's from! But I acknowledged it nonetheless.





I hid round the corner with a pair of guards. I was listening closely to what Zipp was saying to the others before I gave the cue. "Now."

The two guards began playing the fanfare from the phone speakers, and I made my way down a red carpet they had laid for me. After all, these gold plates chip easily.

I came to a stop and followed Zipp's instructions. "Zipp!" I hissed. "What are you doing here? Mom told you to stay away!"

Zipp rolled her eyes and glanced at me, with a mildly sarcastic grin. "Right, right. Then what are you doing here?"

I rolled my eyes in response, as if it wasn't obvious. Which it was. How could it not be obvious? "For the content!" I turned and began snapping selfies with Sunny, Izzy, and Misty in the background, all of whom suddenly began smiling. Clearly say cheese is a concept here.

Sunny then spoke. "Princess, why is nopony flying?"

I turned around and looked directly at her. "It's common knowledge that only we Royals can fly." I hopped into the air and flapped my wings for a bit, hoping the movement would disguise the fact I actually couldn't. "And if we could teach it to the populace of the Empire, you know we would in a wingbeat! Right, Zipp?"

"Yeah," Zipp replied flatly. Truth be told keeping this up wasn't easy, but we had to maintain some element of normalcy.

Just then my phone buzzed, which had a reminder on it. Practice for the show. I glanced up. "Oh! Look at the time! Dress rehearsal, gotta go!" I then looked back to Zipp, giving her my best glare. "So should you."

I bounced off down the corridor, switching to my vocal exercises. "Red feather, yellow feather, red feather, yellow feather..."