The Mane Issue

by Omegathyst

Café Conversations

Author's Note:

Yes, this fic is going to be biased based on my personal feelings about Pipp and Zipp. I like both of them, but clearly like one a lot more than the other. Hope y'all enjoy, and let me know what you think about Pipp and Zipp as characters! And if any of you would be interested in a sequel 😃

Zipp flew to the small café called Oatstanding Coffee, a small coffee shop right across from Sunny’s Smoothie Truck. Zipp looked over her shoulder, waving at Sunny before turning around and walking inside. She saw a tall coffee brown earth pony with a long dark brown mane and white markings on her face at the cash register, conversing with her sister Pipp. Pipp had her phone out, showing videos to the barista while they were talking. Zipp rolled her eyes as she walked towards the two mares, clearing her throat before smiling at them.

“Showing her some Clip Trot videos?” Zipp asked her sister.

“Oh no, I’m actually showing her some videos of my performances!” Pipp grinned from ear to ear. “Milky Way was thinking of trying out singing, y’know, since she doesn’t have a cutie mark yet.”

“Oh wow,” the words slipped out of Zipp’s mouth without thinking. “S-Sorry, I don’t think I’ve met a full-grown mare that doesn’t have one.”

“Zipp!” Pipp hissed underneath her breath.

“It’s fine,” Zipp’s ears perked up at the mare’s deep yet feminine voice, looking at her. “This is my parents’ café, so you may understand that this isn’t my calling, per se.”

“Yeah, of course,” Zipp nodded.

“So,” Pipp tucked her phone underneath her wing, looking away from Zipp and smiling at Milky Way. “I’ll have a cookies and cream frappe with whipped cream, and what do you want, Zipp?”

“Er, just a black coffee with two sugars is fine,” Zipp shrugged. “Thank you.”

“Alright, that’ll be eight bits!” Milky told Pipp, who gave her the bits as she continued. “And those drinks will be at the counter when they’re ready.”

“Thank you~” Pipp said in a sing-song voice, giving Milky two additional bits as she smiled and turned to the two couch chairs and coffee table in front of them. “This looks like a great spot!”

Jumping onto the right couch chair, Pipp got comfortable in her seat as Zipp jumped onto the left chair.

“I’m so glad we can finally talk after everything that happened during Maretime Bay Day,” Pipp sighed. “What with my work at Mane Melody, and your detective work, I’m glad we can be here. I just wanted to thank you, Sis, for helping us find out how to keep magic alive in Equestria. And helping everypony when that awful void showed up. Thank you.”

“Y-Yeah! No problem,” Zipp smiled. “And I forgive you of course.”

“Forgive me?” Pipp frowned.

“Yeah! You thought I was being paranoid about the magic, didn’t you apologize that day everything happened?” Zipp tilted her head at her sister.

“Um, no? Sunny apologized to you that day, but I didn’t,” Pipp shook her head. “Frankly, I didn’t see anything that she needed to apologize for, but that’s just the kind of pony she is.”

“Nothing to apologize for?” Zipp’s ears flattened. “Pipp, you did a whole musical number about how paranoid I was!”

“No, I called you paranoid, but the song was about destressing and knowing that everything’s going to be okay,” Pipp explained. “And would you look at that! Nothing is falling apart, now is it? We’re all safe and magic is still here! Friendship was always going to save the day, we just had to believe it and act on it. And even though you helped us out with figuring out the problem, it wasn’t exactly like you spent any time with us.”

“What do you mean?” Zipp asked.

“Well, you were basically ignoring all of us when we tried to include you in Maretime Bay Day preparations,” Pipp pointed out. “Don’t you think it would’ve been more helpful to be with us and, I don’t know, share a laugh? Enjoy each other’s company so we could keep friendship and magic alive? You could’ve done your research and spent time with us! Hitch even told me that he offered to hang out with you, and you just dismissed him and left! Do you know how rude that is?”

“Hey, I didn’t just-”

“And don’t get me started on how you’ve been treating our Mom,” Pipp narrowed her eyes on her sister.

“Wait, how do you know about that?” Zipp snapped.

“We’ve been talking over the phone since Maretime Bay Day,” Pipp told her. “Not to mention how I saw you were hiding from her the whole time. What did she even do to you?”

“She’s been trying to get me back to Zephyr Heights, away from you guys!” Zipp threw her hooves up in the air. “And I wasn’t ready to leave just yet, I wanted to figure out who I am.”

“I get that, I really do,” Pipp reached her hoof out to touch Zipp’s shoulder, and Zipp glanced at her sister’s hoof as she continued. “I never would’ve discovered my passion for styling ponies’ manes had we stayed at Zephyr Heights. But I still think you could’ve given our activities a chance, don’t you think? I’ve missed spending time just with you, and ever since you left me hanging in the spotlight…”

Zipp winced, before looking down at the coffee table and nodding.

“...we haven’t gotten to spend a lot of one-on-one time together,” Pipp concluded. “You keep getting carried away with different missions, and sometimes it doesn’t even feel like you’re worried about me half the time. There’s more to life than just figuring out magic. There’s friendship and family. And our Mom was really understanding about you taking your time to figure everything out…I just don’t understand why you were so worked up about her.”

“It just felt like I had to be an heir-to-throne princess right away, and I was wrong about that,” Zipp sighed. “Oh for the love of Equestria, you’re right. I shouldn’t have been pushing you both away. I’m really sorry.”

“I forgive you, Zipp,” Pipp smiled. “Bring it in?”

Both sisters got out of their chairs and embraced in a firm hug.

“And trust me, both me and Mom want to be there for you,” Pipp insisted. “You just need to let us be there for you, okay?”

“Yeah, of course,” Zipp agreed.

“And you can start making some more friends too!” Pipp grinned as they separated from their hug. “Y’know, instead of investigating on your lonesome all the time.”

“Totally,” Zipp grinned. “Being a detective is going to be a lot of fun, but keeping the magic alive would be impossible without friends beside me.”

“You could start right now,” Pipp nodded her head in the direction of the counter nearby. “Our drinks are ready! Go make a new friend, I’ll wait here.”

Pipp sat back on her chair, winking at Zipp before the white pegasus took a deep breath and walked towards the counter where Milky Way was waiting.

“Cookies and cream frappe and the black coffee with two sugars, right?” Milky repeated the order, her bright honey yellow eyes staring at Zipp. Zipp smiled and nodded.

“That’s me,” Zipp brought the drinks closer to her with her wings, and just as Milky Way started turning away, she spoke up. “Say, do you want to hang out sometime?”

“Oh?” Milky turned around, her ears flattening as she grinned, looking past Zipp but not at her. “Just as friends, right? Because, um, between you and me…I think your sister is really cute. Oh, but please don’t tell anypony!”

“I won’t,” Zipp smirked. “But, if you want, I can definitely help you out! We can all hang out together, and I’ll see how interested my sister is in you. Does that sound good to you?”

“You’d do that?” Milky gasped. “Yes! I’d love to spend more time with her, oh my hoofness, you’re the best!”

“No problem,” Zipp winked, taking the drinks with her wings and setting them down at the coffee table.

“How did it go?” Pipp asked.

“It went great! She’d love to hang out with the both of us sometime!” Zipp told her.

“Oh good, because she seems like a lovely pony to spend time with,” Pipp wiggled in her seat, and Zipp chuckled, taking a sip of her coffee.

Looks like I don’t have to just be a detective, I can help set up ponies together! But what would you even call somepony who does that? Wait, I know what to call it…

…a wingpony!

Comments

[NavelColt]

Nice character analysis, and very cute interactions! I actually did something similar to this in blog form. The MYM Special did a lot for Zipp's character, but above all it gave her major character flaw consistency from the film. Zipp is largely introverted and motivated to achieve her goals, and this is a combo that can make her seem or act unsympathetic, distant, and even brash or cold towards those she cares about when she's fixated on pursing something. When she's 'figuring things out', in her own words.

This is contrasted by the fact that, in TYT, Zipp is far more attentive with her sister and her friends, because there isn't some great problem or threat to magic hanging over her, demanding her attention, like in the film and in the special. So far the comics seem to be following this characterization as well.

Anyway, cute stuff! Good luck with the contest!

[Sunset_Shimmer83]

That was cute, I'd love to see pipp and milkyway on a date

[Flora Blossom]

This is a nice fiction and a well done too.

[Myrkin]

Nice story. Zipp needs to stop from time to time her pursuit of answers and spend time with ponies she cares about. :)

[Jade Dawn]

This brings up some nice points. Zipp is probably my favorite character of the new cast, but I like that there's some acknowledgement of her character flaws here, and without making her out to be too much of a jerk or coming off as an accusation fic. Nice work.