Bonus Tip: Always Make Hugs Seem Like Her Idea, Even When She's Onto You
Later that week...
"Move over, Zipp."
"Say 'please'."
Pipp rolled her eyes. Even when veiled in the dull light of her 4K UHD TV, her sister's smug look vexed her.
"Seriously? I was only gone for like two minutes."
"Say it."
"Fine. Please move over. You're such a pain sometimes."
"They say it takes one to know one, Pipp."
"Oh, real mature, Zipp. Who's the older sister here again? Spoiler alert: it's clearly not you."
Zipp laughed. "Uh-oh, here come the threats to the sister hierarchy. Guess I better get my act together."
Shuffling beneath layers of blankets, Zipp repositioned and allowed Pipp to reinsert herself beneath the same mound of fabric. Pipp sighed contentedly, and pulled a small side table littered with snacks closer to her. Zipp smiled.
"So are you adequately tucked in this time, princess? I've already memorized this movie's main menu pattern."
Pipp frowned through a mouthful of popcorn.
"Don't rush me. Snacks are a part of the experience, and I'm a grazer."
"No rush." Zipp stretched out her hooves. She let her chin sink into her sister's mattress. "Just don't get upset when I inevitably fall asleep halfway through the movie."
"I'll just poke you if you do."
"Yeah, that'll work. Do it too much, though, and I might just poke you back harder."
Pipp scoffed.
"Um, no you won't. You remember our truce—no phones, no roughhousing."
"Darn. Foiled again," Zipp muttered, smiling. She rolled onto her side. "That's alright. I probably won't get any time to sleep anyway. Hitch was telling me about this movie. Apparently, it's a doozy. By the time we get to the first jump scare I bet you'll already be freaking out."
"I will not!" Pipp insisted. A slow head turn and knowing look made her blush. "I don't get spooked that easily, Zipp. I'm not a filly."
"If you say so. Still can't help but think that I'm essentially cuddle fodder. I mean, this 'scary sister movie night' thing isn't really your style, is it?"
"Well maybe I was trying out something new. Something you might like, too."
"Aw, that's sweet of you. Thing is, I know you know that I prefer action and drama, sis. Why go for horror?"
"Because I could, and because the Pippsqueaks recommended I try it. Now shut up, we're missing dialogue."
Zipp smirked, but she kept to herself, for now.
"No, don't go in there! Why would you go in there?! Ugh, these ponies are so stupid!"
Zipp watched her sister rant and rave from beneath a cocoon of safety blankets. What had begun as a single comforter had evolved into several, each folded tight over her body. Only her hair and snout were visible.
"I dunno, Pipp, for all you know there could be something worthwhile in there. Food, water, a spare wheel for Little Spring's wagon..."
Zipp trailed off purposefully, awaiting that incredulous stare.
"Are you insane? Obviously Slenderhoof's in there, waiting for them to stumble in and split up. He'll go after Beaten Path first because he's the strongest among them. After that, it's game over. Ponies will start tripping over branches and doing dumb things one after the other. You'll see."
"You sure do get scared easily by things you can pick apart in a few sentences."
"I'm not scared, Zipp."
"Yeah, alright, blanket queen. You're not scared."
Pipp's emerald eyes flared.
"I'm not scared, Zipp! I'm just getting cozy."
Zipp snorted. "I don't think those are mutually exclusive."
"What's that supposed to mean—"
Without warning, Zipp gripped a section of blanket with her teeth and pulled. Like clockwork, Pipp scrambled to pull it back.
"Hey, quit it! What are you doing? Those are mine!"
Casting half her face in shadow, Zipp put on a disturbing smile. "Come on out, little Pipp. The darkness misses you."
Pipp's eyes went wide. It took all of Zipp's willpower to not fall into hysterics then and there.
There was a scream on screen, and it transferred to Pipp in an instant. Tumbling forward, she snowballed into a sentient mass of fabric, bowling over Zipp in the process. The lower half of the bed became a sprawling mass of hooves and wings sticking out from a shifting comforter.
"Zipp, you're not funny!" chided Pipp, finally breaching the surface. Zipp's muffled laughter only steamed her further. She lightly punched the twitching comforter. "You're such a jerk!"
Zipp pulled herself free from the blankets and tossed back her head, combing a hoof through her frazzled mane. She grinned again.
"It's alright, Pipp. I think I know exactly what's going on here. 'Cozy' must be chat lingo for 'scared.' You know what, that's my bad, sis. As we've already established, I'm pretty bad with that stuff."
Pipp rolled her eyes.
"Are you done?"
"Yeah, I think I'm good now. Thanks for asking."
"Like I said, you're a jerk. You deliberately tried to get me on edge. That's why the jump scare got me."
"Look, I was being good. A model big sister, in fact. But then you started cowering under the covers and I just couldn't resist. It's just too cute, Pipp."
Pipp opened her mouth, but the movie answered for her. Another scream, the loudest one yet, made her go rigid, but not before she sought out her sister's snowy coat.
There was no going back, this time.
"And there's my cue," Zipp cooed triumphantly, ensnaring the pink pegasus in a fluffy trap of wings and hooves. "Don't worry, sis, I'll protect you from the low budget CGI. Oh, and wouldn't you know it, this is perfect timing. I was just wondering where my chin rest had gone. Thanks for finding it, Pipp."
Pipp giggled as she was kneaded like dough into place, her sister's chin vigorously rubbing along her head.
"What are you, a venus flytrap for ponies?"
"I guess that'd make you the fly that should’ve known better," Zipp replied, letting herself fall back against the plush collection of blankets. "You can't fool me, though. This was all by design."
Pipp huffed, shifting her head to a more comfortable angle. "Can't say I know what you mean," she muttered. "You're the reason the jump scare caught me off guard again."
Her smile betrayed her.
It was quiet for a time. Even the movie had reached a lull in action. A welcoming fatigue fell over the both of them, and their bodies grew heavier from it. The next time a jump scare occurred, a high-pitched squeak was all that Pipp could muster.
Of course, even this was enough to relight the fire in her sister's smile.
"'Oh no, it's so scary, Zipp!'" Zipp mocked playfully, gently shaking the smaller pegasus back and forth. "'I totally didn't invite you over to be cuddle fodder from the start, honest! Please don't go or the Slenderpony might eat me!'"
"Slenderhoof doesn't eat ponies, Zipp," Pipp giggled. "You'd know that if you'd actually watched the movie at all! You've done nothing but tease me this whole time!"
Pipp glanced at the TV, listening to patches of dialogue filter through the bouts of teasing coming from behind her ear. All of her sister's shenanigans made the movie seem so trivial, now.
She didn't mind it one bit.
Pipp woke up. This was all she could gather. Rational thought wasn't quite so rational yet.
The moon shone through her balcony door and lit up her bedroom, allowing her eyes to adjust. A familiar gray box, titled 'No Input,' sat in the middle of her TV.
When a gentle squeeze identified hooves and wings curled around her, the night before came rushing back.
"Zipp?"
"..."
"Zipp."
"Mmm."
"Do you know what time it is?"
"I think it's half-past too early for you to be asking," Zipp mumbled, her voice gravelly and slurred. "Go back to sleep, Pipp."
"Wow, okay, mom. Sorry to impede your beauty rest."
"...I'll remember that snark when I'm awake enough to care about it."
Pipp closed her eyes again. She raised her head, and in doing so, wedged herself ever tighter under her sister's chin. Zipp chuckled.
"I imagine this is what living with a cat is like. You got food, attention, and now a warm sleeping spot all on your terms."
"I'm sorry, the flytrap pony says what? I'm just trying to get comfortable and make the most of the situation I was forced into, Zipp. You're the one still hugging me."
Zipp sighed, surrendering with a shake of her head. She would never win that argument, even if she did have access to all her brain cells.
"Yeah, I guess I am. You realize Hitch and the girls aren't gonna believe me, by the way."
"About what?"
"When I tell them how crafty you are with getting hugs from me, now."
"Zipp, I will disown you so fast."
The moody pegasus was squeezed again.
"Come on, why can't I brag about how my sister and I have reconciled? Izzy will probably drop to the floor if we hug in front of her. You don't wanna see that?"
"No, Zipp. If I can't hug you on livestream for my fans then you can't gossip about stuff to Izzy, Sunny, and Hitch."
"Alright, alright, that's fair. No bragging, got it. But that comes with a condition attached."
"To Tartarus it does."
Zipp used her wing to pull the heavy comforter over them more completely.
"If you wake me up again before the sun does, I can't be held responsible for what I might let slip to Izzy."
Pipp thought of a counter, but it didn't come out. Instead, she buried her face away in cotton sheets.
"Hey, Zipp?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you. For sort-of-not-really watching the movie with me, I mean. This was really fun."
"No problem. I thought so, too. Compared to dealing with loud, demanding crowds or being put on a screen so thousands of strangers can watch my sister hug me, just holding you while we watch stuff isn't so bad, Pipp. I'd be down for more movie nights in the future if you are."
"Aww, Zipp, of course! I'd love to make this a regular thing with you."
Zipp smirked.
"Maybe next time though you can just ask your sister if she'll hold you during the movie, instead of relying on jump scares?"
"I—I wasn't relying on jump scares! Those were natural reactions, Zipp."
"Were they? I thought you said you weren't spooked that easily."
"I'm not! Both times you had me on edge or distracted, so I got caught off guard."
"Uh-huh, sure. I guess I must be imagining this very obvious ploy, then."
"I guess you must be."
"Am not."
"Are too."
"Am not times infinity."
"You can't multiply by infinity, Zipp."
"When dealing with actual values, you're right. However, I'm not trying to define a specific value, Pipp. All that matters is that 'am not', or an, is infinite. I can write out the expression on a cheat sheet for you if you want."
Pipp groaned. The comforters stretched and shook as she endeavored to throw them off.
"And just where is it you think you're going?"
"To my own end of the bed, away from your antagonizing. Let go of me."
"It's too little too late for that, Pipp. You reap what you sow. You wanted to be held, so now you're locked in for the night."
"Zipp, let go of me!" Pipp demanded. Her giggling betrayed any chance of true dissonance. She squirmed in her sister's grasp to no avail. "You know what, I take it back—you're not a flytrap, you're a bear trap."
"What's the difference?"
"Flytraps are elegant and kinda pretty to look at. And then there's bear traps."
"Oh, that's it, c'mere—you just opted to sleep in and miss your livestream in the morning," Zipp retorted, successfully wrestling the giggling pegasus back beneath her chin. "You're better off saving your sass and energy for another time, sis. Neither of us is getting any sleep at this rate."
Properly contained once more, Pipp tilted her head back and found her sister's neck. She shifted against the snowy hooves and wings holding her, and they tightened. Even her tail was subdued from flicking—coiled around by her sister's.
"And so in the pursuit of getting back to sleep, I'll ask again: are you adequately tucked in, princess?" Zipp asked softly. "Don't think I can hug you any tighter than this, so you can drop the act. This is all you've really wanted all night, isn't it?"
Pipp merely hummed, nestling herself into her sister's coat. It shook with Zipp's laugh.
"I'm sticking with my cat metaphor. You're adorable, if not a little manipulative. I'd say, 'you know that, right?', but I already know the answer."
"It's a gift," Pipp replied with a sigh. "Having a big sister who gives great hugs is a gift, too, when she's not being a math nerd or teasing me."
"If this is your attempt at making up for that bear trap comment, it's pretty lousy," Zipp mused. She closed her eyes and laid her cheek along her sister's mane, holding her tight with every hoof and wing. "Luckily for you, I'm easily swayed when I'm this tired."
My Sister, Loyalty — 2012
How to Hug Your Pegasis — 2022
I haven't crafted a sister relationship from scratch like this since I first joined the brony fandom a decade ago. To start G5 fic writing the same way I began G4 feels nostalgic. 
I consider this my 10th year anniversary as an MLP writer, and my proudest story ever posted after The King of Love Bugs.
Much of the fandom depicts these two as having never gotten along, or focuses on depicting a far more strained relationship between them, and going off the G5 movie, I can't blame them. At the time of this story's publishing, there's little positivity between them to go off of.
But I'm not much of the fandom. I like to depict the potential relationship that sticks out to me when I see a pair of new characters, not what we've seen so far. Zipp and Pipp's detached relationship will almost certainly be built upon somewhere in the flurry of upcoming and future G5 material, and that is what I love to theory craft and write about.
Oh, and hello to any new G5 readers of mine. My name is NavelColt, and I enjoy writing about platonic love, especially between siblings or friends. 
If you enjoyed this, stick around. This won't be the last time I write about these two.
Full Artist Credits:
Cover Art by Luximus
Insert Artwork by JowyB
Author's Note Art by Tomiku
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- NavelColt · 3.5k words · 104 6 · 1.7k views
- Quoterific · 2k words · 116 4 · 2.1k views
- NavelColt · 1.4k words · 116 3 · 1.7k views
- Quoterific · 1.8k words · 122 2 · 2.3k views
- Mica · 2.3k words · 79 1 · 1.6k views
- ILoveSprout · 5.2k words · 74 2 · 3k views
- Admiral Producer · 1.3k words · 84 3 · 2.9k views
- Amereep · 1000 words · 76 4 · 1.3k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.11 seconds
Total duration
1,000 users online
1,719,551 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
This was such an adorable, wholesome story! This would make for a perfect episode! Pipp and Zipp's sisterly playfulness and banter is just too adorable, and I like how supportive and perceptive Hitch was. Then again, I wouldn't expect anything less from the author who brought us the equally wholesome 'My Sister' stories with Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. =)
Great story. I'm loving the sisters' interactions. Adorable as always Navel.
This was adorable.
Even if I was a kid or an adult I still get terrified watching scary movies especially those dang jump-scares
Pretty much that every characters in The Scary Movie in a nutshell
Awww this was a pretty adorable story just seen two sisters hanging out with each other watching movies talkin and everything is that what happens if and I really like that it's really really nice and I do like the picture of Rainbow dash and Scootaloo I should probably read that soon but anyway this was a very nice story keep up the good work
That was a cute story.
What a glorious bit of sisterly fluff to ring in the new spring with. It really is amazing what happens when people just communicate.
I loved this so much, and it reminded me of when me and my sisters were younger, we used to play cuddling games and one of them was called *+"the deathliest trap" in which one would hug the other a tightly as possible in order to prevent them from moving. My sister always won... Especially because I'm the youngest and smallest.
Anywho, it was nice reminiscing while reading this, gotta hug my sisters tomorrow real tight. Thanks for that.
Awesome story, loved it to pieces.
11187518
Aww, that's adorable! I hope you do get the chance to hug them, and I'm so glad this resonated with you. I never had siblings as a kid, though I really wanted some. That's why I enjoy writing about the sibling dynamic so much. Writing sorta became an outlet for my unrealized little brother energy.
I've read a few of your Gen 5 stories too, they're cute! I know you typically write romance, but I'd love to see you do a story about Zipp and Pipp sometime, since you actually have sisters you can relate to.
I bet you could make something just as cute.
I have diabetes now, thanks. To the favs it goes!
yo i gotta ask, aside from the MLP:New Gen movie, what other Gen5 content can I watch? is there already a cartoon about Gen5 that I'm not aware of? so confused
The story's really good tho, I faved it n errything. Wow, you art? so pretty!
imo the characterizations in your story is A+
descriptive abilities were able to paint pictures in my head too, great work!!!
this story's officially a heart-melting faveee
11187943
We're still largely in the pre-content era of Gen 5, so right now, it's just the movie. However, there's two shows and, from what I can tell a comic series coming up later this year. One of the shows is out in a few weeks in April and the other is September.
Thanks for the compliments! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Character interaction has always been my favorite thing to write so it's become a strength over the years.
11187959
thanks for the info and taking the time to reply to me
you're awesome!!!
Aww, this story is sweet. Love how it looks equally into Zipp and Pipp’s character.
Zipp, who does not have access to all her brain cells, is now holding a lecture on the linguistic nature of infinity
11188104
Just goes to show how much more proficient she is with numbers than navigating her sister's manipulative mental gymnastics.
11188095
Thanks! Zipp is my favorite of the two, but I hope we get to see a lot more from Pipp as well. Felt like the first portion of the movie was heavy-handed in the drama queen stereotype, and it started to level out in the later part. Definitely more room for her character to grow.
Awwwwwwwww! Absolutely adorable and precious! I loved seeing how you chose to style the Zipp-Pipp relationship, and adding in Hitch as extra support was a nice touch, along with including Haven briefly enough to not directly impact the character's choices but enough to make it known that she is aware of her daughter's antics! I look forward to more great stories from you, but for now...
Happy 10 years NavelColt
Happy 10 years.
11188734
Glad you're enjoying it!
Never enough wholesome sibling love. That's what I'm here for.
That was such a cute story.
As I said, who knew Zipp/Pipp fluff gave me so much life.
11187523
Oh! I could've sworn you had siblings considering how good the characterizations were in this, that's how good you are I guess. I did hug my sisters real tight, in case you were wondering.
And about writing something other than romance, I have a new multi-chapter story for G5 currently in the writing stage, and one of the main story arcs is Zipp's and Pipp's relationship, so, stay tuned! I hope I deliver on the expectations here haha.
11189234
And now here I am with ponies.
Appreciate the compliment! Lots of practice at it too, of course. Started writing siblings in the early 2000's, with Sonic and Tails.
Very excited then! Can't wait to see what you do with them. If you'd ever like brainstorming help I'd be happy to assist!
What can one say, except, you know, "d-aww". Lol. Cute story and seems in keeping with the general "MLP" theme through out all the generations, thanks for writing it.
(We need some G5 pony shaped emoticons...)
we are the og pegasisters~
This is just really sweet, I love it!
I think you meant Pipp.
This was so cute!
11191778
Hence the single quotations within the regular ones.
Nope, Zipp is referring to herself because she's pretending to be Pipp, in a playful, mocking way.
Glad you enjoyed it!
11191808
Okay, and you're welcome! ☺
Zipp messing with her boyfriend.
Hitch & Zipp New Animation [My Little Pony A New Generation] - YouTube
This was really cute! I loved the entire chase and then the apology. The characters were all spot on. However, I did think the sequences after that went on a bit too long. Thinking about it, those bits probably would have worked fine as another story, but the main conflict of the story was already resolved by that point, so I was expecting the story to end soon.
11197340
The third one was a lot longer because their relationship had years of miscommunication to sort through, so their conversation had to have weight to it, but it felt lopsided by comparison to me.
If anything I felt like the first two chapters went by too quickly.
The fourth chapter...eh, yeah. I wanted to show how Pipp wanted to be emotionally intimate (i.e, cuddle) with her sister again after they reconciled, but needed to end the third chapter because it had already wrapped itself up. Since making a separate 2k story for the fourth chapter would require another cover art (I've spent way too much on ponies lately as is), I opted to have a time skip, slap 'Bonus' on it and be done with it.
Totally get what you mean by the sense of it dragging.
Glad you enjoyed it regardless!
As a fellow ten year connoisseur of pony
I can say with out a doubt that you are a master a fluff
I enjoyed reading My Sister, Loyalty as much as I did this story
11228253
Always love to hear from readers who've read even my oldest works.
I plan on printing a second book this year, one that features the greatest sibling relationship stories I've written, and both My Sister, Loyalty and this story will feature in it. Just have to get my editor to take a run through those older stories and get them up to par with my current writing first.
I like their relationship, It's kinda very cute. Write more storie about these two sisters.
An oddball ghost happened across your fic and read it. Have a review!
Oh that was rather cute
11309169
I just finished the 4 chapters and I loved it! ^u^ Being Zipp and Pipp my second and first favorite characters from G5 respectively, reading wholesome stories about them is so good, and this one was really adorable and well made. ^u^ ^u^
Thanks for making such an amazing story :DD
11309180
Glad you enjoyed it!
I'd also check out The S-Regimen if you like these two.
It's very similar to the fourth chapter of this story, but focuses on a different point of contention that the sisters overcome.
11309534
I'll make sure to do so as soon as I can :33 I'm sure I'm gonna love it too ^w^
Now that was very sweet. And "pink comet of affectionate intent" might be the most inventive phrase I've read here yet.
I know you wrote this back in March when we didn’t have much to go on, but from your author’s notes about the G5 Royal Sisters and how the fandom assumed they had a strained relationship and you wanted to do something different, I’m amazed how you managed to predict what we’d see in Tell Your Tale and the absolutely wholesome relationship Zipp and Pipp have, despite or even because of how opposite they are
This really was wholesome read
11344878
Thanks! It's interesting how TYT and the movie/MYM have a contrasted relationship between them. As I've explained in past lore blogs, I believe Zipp suffers from some manner of anxiety. In MYM and the original movie, Zipp is laser-focused on finding or returning flight because she associates freedom and self expression with it, so she can appear cold, uninterested, and dismissive of her family and friends.
In TYT, flight and magic are back and not in immediate danger, so she's far more relaxed and attentive of her friends and family.