A Shoe Problem

by EquestrianKnight97

Chapter 4: The Encore

With the final strip of duct tape placed around the box, Izzy backed away from Pipp's bed. The other four ponies stood behind her, waiting to see if the box would move on its own as it did beforehand. There was tension in the air as nopony said a single word for over a minute, making the room adopt the ambiance of a small ghost town. But as time ticked on, everypony began to ease up once they realized that the box remained static, especially Pipp.

"I don't think anything's going to happen," Hitch announced.

PIpp floated over to her bed to get a closer eye on the box. Lifting it up with one hoof, the pegasus used the other one to gently lift up a section of the box top that was not trapped in tape. Though the space inside was dimly lit, Pipp could see the shoes.

"Are they moving?" Sunny asked.

"No," Pipp answered. "They're as still as can be."

"Well, that was definitely a crazy experience," Zipp added in. "I'm guessing you don't want to try them out anymore?"

Pipp looked at a nearby window. "Not even for a livestream."

Clutching the box against her chest, the younger pegasus flew across the room and exited through the opened window. Once she was out of the Crystal Brighthouse, she continued her way over the cliff that was adjacent the vast ocean below. Stopping midair, Pipp gazed down at the huge, serene watery blanket, which had become dark blue as the sun began to rest for the day.

Stretching out her forelegs, Pipp gave a final look to the box.

"It's a shame it had to be like this. You looked so cute, too."

Without a second thought of hesitation, Pipp dropped the box of shoes and watched it plummet towards the sea as an ever-shrinking dot, until she could no longer spot it.

With the deed done, the princess returned back to her home and saw that the others were waiting for her in the bedroom.

"So, what did you do with those freaky shoes?" Izzy asked with a smile.

"Well," Pipp started as she floated down. "I made hard--- okay, not really a hard choice. But I made a sacrifice that was absolutely necessary. We won't be seeing thos---- OWW!"

As soon as Pipp pressed a hoof against the hardwood floor, a terrible pain shot up throughout her leg. It was as if her nerves were on fire and as if her muscles had been pounded into a numbing mush. Immediately retreating her hoof away, Pipp floated over to her bed and rested down on the mattress, rubbing her injured hoof.

"I can't believe I spent nearly four hours just dancing!" she complained. "I think ballet is a good activity and all, but I don't get why those shoes wanted me to be that committed!"

"Phff! Please," Zipp dismissed with a hoof wave. "Your dance routines back when we were at Zephyr Heights took way longer than four hours. You'll be fine, little sis."

The younger princess did not appreciate her sister's lack of consideration. "Well, excuse me, but you got it all wrong," she retorted. "At least my dance routines back home had breaks in between. And furthermore, most of my dancing was in the air suspended by wires, not nonstop hoofwork."

ZIpp shrugged in agreement. "I guess that's true. But I hope we all learned a lesson about messing with magical items that we don't know much about."

"Yeah, sure."

Sunny went over to Pipp's bed. "I guess I can put away the stuff I bought until we know for certain they're safe to have around," she said to Zipp. "So far, Rainbow doesn't think they have much magic in them when she checked them, but after today I don't want to take that chance."

"Definitely with you," Hitch said. "I rather not be tossed around the room like a ragdoll again."

"Does it hurt that bad, Pipp?" Sunny asked.

"It's not too bad," the princess admitted as she rested her head on a pillow. "But I'm so stressed out from everything that happened that I think I'll just stay in bed for most of the day."

"Well, you should definitely do that. Me and the girls will be here if you need anything."

"Thanks. And just in case, I'll be heading over to Mane Melody tomorrow for an emergency hooficure session. I just wish it wasn't on a Sunday of all days."

---

The flight from the Crystal Brighthouse to Mane Melody was a rather short trip for Pipp with her wings. The streets of Maretime Bay were a bit active this day, with ponies going about their business. As she looked down on the denizens below, the princess could not help but envy them, knowing that their weekend was likely not as chaotic as hers was.

Having woken up on such a lovely Sunday morning, Pipp found that her legs still ached and that her hooves were still tender to touch. Luckily for her, she spent the rest of the previous evening simply resting on her bed. Whenever Zipp or the other girls were not around to help her, Pipp used her wings to float around the house to get what she needed with mostly her mouth --- only using her hooves when necessary.

By now, the pain had dulled down, but the event with the cursed shoes definitely left a dent in her usage of her appendages. But hopefully Jazz or Rocky would be able to help Pipp get her mind off her troubles.

The pink pegasus floated down to the front door of the quaint, little building. Opening the doors, Pipp stepped into her prized establishment, where all around her were salon chairs, hair dryers, the runway-stage, and the large musical speakers. She may not have been physically active in building the place, but next to her family, friends, and fans, Mane Melody was Pipp's pride and joy.

She was really surprised with how good business was during the first weeks after its opening. It just goes to show that Maretime Bay really needed a new place for ponies to hang out. But as of right now there were only three ponies in the salon right now, as it still had an hour left before opening hour: Pipp, Rocky, and Jazz.

The latter two were busy setting things up for the incoming customers. Rocky was checking the cabinets to see if they were stocked with what Pipp assumed were the regular beauty and mane-care products, while Jazz cleaned off the chairs with sanitation wipes.

"Hey there, guys!" Pipp announced with a smile.

Both ponies paused there activities to greet Pipp.

"Hey there!" Rocky said.

"Hi, Pipp!" said Jazz. "What are you doing here so early?"

"Well, a little... mishap happened yesterday, so I thought that a nice hooficure would do the trick to ease me up. I hope you don't mind, but I thought it best to come early before we opened up."

Jazz shook her head. "Not at all. Just go ahead and take a seat."

Pipp did just that and sat down on one of the chairs that Jazz had already cleaned off. "Thanks. I really appreciate this."

"No problem. Can I ask what happened? It wasn't too serious, was it?"

Pipp pursed her lips, thinking on what to say to her friend. "No. Nothing bad really happened. I just had an eventful evening is all."

The concern on Jazz's face was replaced by a smile. "Well, I'll go ahead and get the stuff. What design do you want to try?"

"Hmm... I'm thinking Scarlet Moonlight. You know, to help me feel all empowered after the previous day."

"Alright, I'll be right back."

With her friend going to get the beauty materials, Pipp felt comfortable enough to close her eyes and relax on body against the cushions of the chair. She did not know why she did not tell Jazz or Rocky about the incident about the shoes. Perhaps she truly did not think that it was important to share, or maybe she wanted to spare her friends from being anxious over her.

Either way, one thing that Pipp was certain about was putting the matter behind her now that those shoes were gone. But with the simple thought of the shoes came the thought of whether or not she should confront Rainbow. Pipp had no ill will towards the storeowner, but she thought it was rather dangerous for the antique shop to have magical items that might pose a threat to everypony in Maretime Bay.

But Pipp, being a businessmare herself, felt weary about potentially causing Rainbow to close down her shop. Perhaps a compromise could be made were Rainbow would only sell items to ponies once it was made clear which ones still had magic in them and which ones did not. But even that idea made the princess skeptical, as ponies might be more receptive to buying magical artifacts instead of regular antiques.

"Um, Pipp?"

Pipp heard that it was Jazz calling for her. "Yes, girl. Is everything alright?"

"I got the stuff you need, but I need you to take those shoes off."

"Shoes? What sho---"

The second the pink pegasus opened her eyes, they nearly popped out of their sockets like gophers from their holes. Looking down at her body with a shadow of dread over her face, Pipp saw that there were shoes on her fore- and hindhooves. But they were not just any kind of shoes. They were the elegant shoes that she had gotten rid of the day before.

With volumed screams and shrieks, the pegasus scrambled out of the salon chair and fell to the floor. In a hurry, Pipp took her teeth to the bowties of the front shoes, but the ribbons were as tough as factory rubber and barely a dent was made. And when she went to take off the hind shoes, the strength she put into her forehooves was not enough to take them off.

"JAZZ! ROCKY! HELP ME GET THESE OFF!"

Pipp's two friends, who had been observing her breakdown in awkward silence, rushed over to her aid without question. Laying on her back with her legs stretched out, Pipp remained as motionless as possible as the duo went did their best to remove the dancing shoes. Jazz used a combination of both her teeth and hooves to pull at the front shoes, while Rocky lifted up one of her hindlegs to twist the shoe from off of her hoof.

"What kind of shoes are these?" Jazz complained as she tugged more and more.

"Whatever they are, they won't budge!" Rocky stated.

Nearly a minute went by as Rocky and Jazz continued to pull on the shoes, but no progress was being made on either's part. Eventually, the panic that was in Pipp's mind began to dwindle, and memories of the events of yesterday came to the front of her thoughts. And with those memories, an idea came to her mind.

"Guys! GUYS! Stop!" she cried out.

The two ponies paused their activities and looked down at Pipp, who began to get up on her hooves.

"Sorry, guys, but I'm gonna have to cancel that emergency hooficure. I need to take care of this first."

With that short statement, Pipp bolted for the front door of the salon, leaving Rocky and Jazz in a confused stupor.

"Wait!" Rocky shouted. "Can't you tell us what's happening?"

The pink pegasus opened the door. "I'll explain it a bit later! Time is of the essence!"

Closing the door behind her, Pipp raced along the sidewalk and unfurled her wings, ready to fly into the sky. But when she jumped up into the air, her expected flight turned into a simple hop that brought her back down.

"What the---"

Pipp extended her wings once more and ran once more before making a giant leap. Again, her wings failed her and she ended up landing on her hooves.

"You got to be kidding me," she whined and she looked down at her shoes. "Is your guys' magic that strong?"

Up ahead, beyond the town of Maretime Bay, Pipp saw the Crystal Brighthouse sitting atop its usual cliffside. From the distance that she was at, she knew that it would take her a long time to get back home to the others. As it was still morning, she only hoped that the other girls would still be there before they went on with their business.

The pegasus took a breath. "Only, girl. You can do this. Just get there in time. Don't stop for nothing."

---

"Huh.... Huh.... Maybe I went too fast."

Over half an hour had passed by as Pipp made her journey throughout the town. Ponies in the streets that greeted the princess were later faced with confusion when she ran right past them without a single word. An ordinary day would have had Pipp eager to talk to the droves of denizens that sought her temporary company, especially if they were the fellow pippsqueaks. But today sought to turn her schedule upside down.

PIpp knew that she was so close to reaching the Brighthouse. She was only a few blocks away from being outside of the town limits. After that, it was a straight shot home. But her legs were growing weaker with each step that she took. She had made the mistake of putting too much energy into her initial steps, and now she barely had enough strength to keep on moving.

She rested her forehoof and torso against the wall of a building, desperately trying to recollect the air that had escaped from her lungs. With another forehoof, Pipp swiped away at the beads of sweat that formed from her head.

"You're almost there, girl. Just take a little bit of a rest and you'll make it back."

"Alright, everypony! That was a good break! Let's get back to business!"

The noise came from a window just next to Pipp. Inching her way up a bit closer, the pegasus peered inside to see a group of ponies in leotards and colorful leg warmers in what appeared to be a studio. In front of them, and facing the opposite direction, was a mare in similar attire who was standing next to a stereo on a bench.

"It's time to dance!" the mare shouted before turning her back to the crowd and facing the stereo.

With pin-pricked eyes, Pipp rushed to leave the area but ended up tripping on herself. Her heart raced as she laid on the ground and she went to close her ears with her hooves, but that did nothing. The pop music had already reached her senses.

Author's Note:

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please don't forget to give any feedback, especially if you feel like the story was rushed.

Comments

[StarzGecko]

It doesn’t feel rush so far. Pretty good!

[EquestrianKnight97]

11404652
Thanks!

[Mr cold ghost]

Pretty good!

[Starlight Glimmer1]

Those shoes need to be destroyed.

[EquestrianKnight97]

11404681
Thanks!

[EquestrianKnight97]

11404944
I agree

[Cloverleaf]

Hmm, I see two outcomes.

She gets them off and they’re destroyed.

Or

She breaks them in a way that they can’t make her dance anymore, but they continue to reappear and bind to her hooves on occasion

[EquestrianKnight97]

11427969
I guess we'll see soon... :)

[RushingWind-01]

If I didn't know better, I would say that it's a curse. I know that because I once played an adventure video game, forgot the name of it though, and sometimes, an item you find is cursed and you can't remove it once equipped. Same with Pipp's shoes.