Zipporwhill P.I. and the Show Stopper

by Hopeful_Ink_Hoof

Captured

As the former princess's horn lit up, and Zerrin prepared herself, Zipporwhill reached out with one wing, wrapping it around Shadow and pulling him close.

"It'll be okay," she whispered softly to the dog. She gave him a gentle stroke, trying to to assure him and keep him calm.

There was a flash of golden yellow light, a feeling of a warm breeze passing through them (which was strange, feeling air rushing through things that could not be touched), and then, it was over. In an instant, they had gone from the ventilation control room to The Civic Center's elevated walkways.

There, a short distance away, stood a silver and white zebra mare dressed in a work shirt and cap.

"ZAHARA!" Zerrin bellowed as she charged toward the other zebra. She then started yelling something that at the other zebra which Zipporwhill did not understand. It did sound similar to the Zebrican that she had heard from Zecora, a zebra shaman that lived not far from where she grew up, but Zipporwhill had never learned enough to find out a single syllable. Not that it would have mattered: Zerrin was talking so fast, that it was impossible where one word would have potentially ended and another began.

Reaching up, the silver zebra pulled off her cap and threw it over the railing as she turned to face Zerrin. The silver mare pointed a hoof and started yelling back. Very excitedly.

From the way Zerrin threw her head back and rolled her eyes, she obviously did not agree with something that was said. She moved closer as she resumed speaking, poking at the other mare with one golden hoof.

Silver swatted at the hoof, then stomped her own as she leaned in, yelling at the other mare.

Zipporwhill got the impression that it was very close to getting physical. She tensed, ready to step in and assist her employer if she needed to.

A hoof pressed gently against her shoulder, and she had to stop herself from jumping at the unexpected physical touch. Technically, Zipporwhill had not forgotten that Celestia was there, just that she had gotten so caught up in the discussion between the two zebras, that she did not entirely remember it.

"There is no need for you to interfere," the former princess assured her. She gave a small smile as her pink eyes shifted from the pegasus to the pair of bickering zebras. "In fact, I think it would be best if we leave the two of them to discuss the matter in private."

Zipporwhill's gaze drifted from the giant white alicorn to the two zebras. The suspect must not have been worried about being attacked, because she had actually turned her back to them, waving a hoof around at the building. She was not entirely sure what Zerrin was doing, but it looked like she was waving a hoof and opening and shutting her mouth without saying anything. Like she was mocking the other mare.

The pegasus then returned her attention to the alicorn. A part of her mind started whirling as puzzle pieces started to shift and fall together.

Celestia was a princess. She used to rule over Equestria. More relevant to this moment, that meant she would also have to be the one to speak to other countries: allies and enemies alike. That would mean actually being able to speak with the other nations, and it seemed unlikely that they all spoke Equestrian. So...

"Do you know what they're saying?" asked Zipporwhill.

Celestia's eyes twinkled as she let out a faint laugh.

"I have learned Zebrican, but have never been fluent." She turned to look at the pair. "Plus, they have been speaking very quickly." Her smirk grew wider. "Still, I was able to catch a few words. Including two that very much explained quite a bit of what was going on."

Her gaze then returned to Zipporwhill.

"Do you want to know what those word were?"

Zipporwhill nodded, eyes wide and ears perked forward.

"Zerrin called the other mare 'dada mdogo,'" Celestia stated. "Which means 'little sister.'"

"'Little sister,'" Zipporwhill repeated in a whisper. She turned back to the zebras, and caught sight of Zerrin sitting on the other mare and pinning her to the walkway.

Growing up, Zipporwhill had been an only child. No big brothers to look out for her, or little sisters looking up to and wanting to be just like her. As such, her experience when it comes to sibling relationships is from the outside, mostly from watching her classmates who had them. It gave her quite a lot to take in about such relationships, good and bad.

However, while it did give her quite a wide range of experiences to watch, it was not one she had always paid attention to. Most of the time it was for a short while around events like The Sisterhooves Social, or when something made her wish she had a brother or sister of some kind. Plus, there were times when no amount of observation could substitute for direct experience. Such as how ponies acted in public versus how they acted when alone.

At the present, Zipporwhill was torn. In a way, she could see it now. The way the two of them were acting toward each other gave the impression that they knew each other very well. At the same time though... would one sibling sabotage another's entire career just to get what the first wanted?

The golden glow of Celestia's magic gently encompassed her and Shadow.

"Let us leave them be," the former princess declared. "I do still have a competition to judge, and you should probably have security investigate the ventilation."

"Right," Zipporwhill agreed. She shifted, allowing herself to be levitated, and keeping Shadow calm as he was as well. As they made their way to the ground, she thought about the former princess, her sister, and what happened between them centuries ago, as well as about a decade ago.

Maybe the idea of sabotaging an entire career did not seem so outrageous after all.

Author's Note: