> Rebirth of Magic: Find your Voice
>  by JimmyHook19
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> I've been Running High when you're Screamin' my Name
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It is said that in times of danger, heroes will come together to face the rising tide of evil, and fight back to preserve the light. These heroes can come from the strangest of places.

This is the story of one such hero. Although she appears to be Pipp Petals, you may be surprised to learn her true origins...

Good morning Pippsqueaks! This is going out to all my fans on my socials. I know I seem pretty busy, but-

Hang on, got somepony at the door! See you in a moment, Pipp Pipp Hooray!"

Oh, you're the reporter who wanted to interview me. Totally. I'm certainly up for that. I was just finishing up a stream, is all.

Now, what was it you wanted to ask about?

Ohh, the strange things that happened a few months ago! Of course! Totes telling you all about that. But- oh, wait, a new follower! Isn't that great? Seashell is such a sweetie.

But I think you're more interested in my story than who's following me. My story begins somewhere else far from here.

I imagine for a pegasus it's quite hard to imagine what living by the sea was like. But that was my life, next to the water. It was pretty fun being able to just dip in and head about the local waves without getting sucked into the sea.

And the ocean sure was super nice that morning as I made my way down to the local park. Not as a pony, you understand. One of these odd things called... what was it? A hoo-man? Wait, got it! Human! I think one might live in the forest where that big battle happened a long time ago.

I was heading along down this pathway to the park, as a super special summer event had been planned. It was music in the park, an effective way of persuading people to come out of their houses and enjoy the sun and some fun.

Hang on, let me answer that... OK, done! Let's continue.

I was now nearly there, as I was keen to hear a local band perform. They were called the Thunder Bay Rockets, a rock band (so TOTALLY not me these days, but YOLO), but when I arrived something awful had happened!

There were lots of people standing about looking very annoyed. They were asking where the band was.

The organizer spoke to them. "Terribly sorry," she said, "but the band had to cancel at the last minute. Something about sardines in the tank. But we do have a brass band instead!"

The people were quite upset at this news, but there was little they could do. I, however, had spotted something shiny in the field nearby.

And I still have the shiny thing now! Pretty, isn't it?

Anyway, I was totally keen not to overdrama on the situation and simply went around the back to look at it. I picked it up.

"Hey, not every day you find a coronet out here," I said, looking closely at it.

Suddenly, it began to heat up. No, seriously, I dropped it because it would have burned my skin off!

"Arise, brave hero!" said a voice. "Take her place!"

It seems the coronet had transferred some sort of energy to me, as in the moments given I began to change. It began by causing me to shrink through my clothes. Hey, at least somebody else would be able to wear them, and it disguised something else that was going on.

The first thing of note was fur. Lots of it. Pink fuzzy stuff all over the place, so I looked like a slightly wierd teddy bear. There was that. It wasn't too bad, all things considered.

Seconds later I felt a tail emerging as my gender inverted. Oh, I forgot to mention I was a guy during that time. Sorry for any confusion.

My teeth were flattened down as my mouth and nose were pushed forward to create a muzzle, and my eyes changed colour to a distinctly emerald green that seemed to glow in the darkness. I was mostly getting clues as to what was going on from the sensations I was feeling, rather than any light.

A quick feel confirmed my former facial hair had been recycled as fur. Not long after I saw something shiny within the mass of clothes. I brought it up. It was a hoof! And a golden hoof at that! I'm pretty certain that's not an evolutionary feature.

There was no time for horsing about, though, amiright?

My hair was pulled up into a purple mane atop my head, and the bulk of it dropped down one side of my face, mainly on the right hoof side. Curiously, my vision didn't seem to be particularly impaired.

My body had already been reshaped into a distinctly equine form, and my arms and legs were converted to pony limbs, complete with hoofs. It was then I realised operating a phone would be rather difficult in these circumstances.

More bits were added after that. Two pony ears appeared, replacing my old ones which resulted in drastically improved hearing. One small lock of my mane ran down the side of my left ear. Moments after that, the most notable feature of my biology joined the fun.

Two wings emerged from my sides, though I could feel something wasn't quite right. They felt oddly... fluffy. Almost downy in feel, rather than the feathers most pegasi have. Perhaps it was a strange genetic defect? Only one way to find out.

It was time to try and sneak my way out of the clothing. I shifted backwards to get the shirt free, and the jeans came loose with a little shaking. Come to think of it, my hips were wider now. I pulled my way out, and noticed a few other changes that had been added whilst I was in there. The coronet was now in place atop my head, and the other bits all seemed to be there as well.

I looked in the personal camera on my phone. "O- M- GORGEOUS!"

I was pretty confused when it all ended, but I soon was able to get my bearings and wander across the field to try and find where I was meant to be. It was then I heard voices.

"Mom, look!" said a voice. It was a child. Children are like fillies or colts. "It's Pipp Petals!"

So that's what it was all about? Crafty people, huh?

His dad was less impressed. "It's probably just an animatronic," he said. "Hate to break it to ya kid, but Pipp's not real."

I was wondering what was going on here. Social media connected to bronies had been completely lit up by footage recorded by a person in England claiming to show Zipp Storm in the real world. Now I knew how they connected.

I trotted over to the kid. "Hello!" I said. "Are you a Pippsqueak?"

The kid grinned. "Totally!" they looked over to the organizer. "We have a performer here!" She indicated to me.

The organizer looked baffled. "That's a statue."

I huffed. "I am TOTES not a statue!" I said, as I cantered over. "Would a statue walk?"

The organizer blinked again. "So, it's not a statue," he said. "Just some really convincing robot. Can you perform at all?"

"How about YES?" I replied, and headed for the stage to warm up. I only hoped they had the backing tracks for one of my hits. They probably didn't but that was less of an issue at that moment.

Minutes later, the mic was rigged up and adjusted, and I'd suggested a backing track to the operator, so I spoke up. "Good morning, everypony!" I called.

"Everypony?" somebody asked. "We're people. I didn't come to see a Vocaloid performance!"

"Shhhhhhh!" said somebody else.

"So, I imagine you want to hear some music, right? Well, luckily, I got just the song for you!"

I turned to the turntable operator. "Hit it!"

They nodded, and I started to sing. It was a song only 2011 kids would get, but I doubted the crowd would mind.

"There- is a place/
Where the grass is what's for dinner!
Charmed, fun, and wild!
There must be something in the water!"

"Sippin' rainbow juice!
Talking Elements of Harmony!
Our bronies/
Hang out too!
'Cause they know we're awesome fillies!"

"You could travel the world!
(You could travel the world)
But no one can groove like/
the girls with the hooves!
Once you party with ponies/
You'll be seeing Rainbooms!
O-oh o-oh o-ooh!"

"Equestria girls/
We're kinda magical!
Boots on hooves, hats are on top!
Furry coats, so cute/
We'll blow your mind!
Aoaoah oh, aoaoaoh!

"Equestria girls!
We're pony-fabulous!
Fast, fine, fierce, we trot 'til we drop!
Cutie marks represent/
Now put your hooves up!
Aoaoah oh, aoaoaoh!"

Then things went a bit weird. A void seemingly opened up below me, and I feel downwards into a tunnel consisting entirely of rainbow light.

It seemed as though my adventure was just beginning. Things were gonna get wild!
> All my Friends have Off Switches
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now, where was I? Oh, yes, I remember now. I had fallen through the floor and was now falling through some form of vortex. I think it was white in colour, but it was SO BRIGHT! I literally had to shield my eyes in order to be able to see where I was going. No use being an influencer who can't see, right?

Eventually, things began to change as I dropped down through the tunnel of light. The light began to shift from white to rainbow shades as I continued to drop. I grabbed my phone and began filming.

"Check it out, guys!" I said. "This tunnel is super amazing! Cool vibes in this stream!"

Eventually, the rainbow tunnel came to an end, and it seemed as though I had landed in a bedroom. The same room we're in now, incidentally. The walls were white marble and lined with a series of golden plates and fittings, and the windows were really big and letting loads of light in. The two back walls had mirrors on them. The back wall was lined with personal items such as a chest of drawers, a wardrobe, and a bookshelf (which mostly had sheet music on it- I am a singer, after all).

The next wall had a desk below it, and this desk had a screen sitting on it- a gold plated screen at that. A jumble of cables ran behind it and connected to various objects down below, so I took a look at the objects down there.

The objects in question amazed me. The primary object down there was a white games console, which closely resembled something called an XBOX 1. Two controllers sat next to it, with larger buttons than ones back in the other world. This was presumably to allow a pony to manipulate the relevant buttons whilst playing- playing games on a human controller would have been impossible!

Next to it was a set of headphones, and these again seemed to be designed to be worn by a pony. The earpieces sat higher up, and the microphone was clearly designed to fit over the muzzle of a pony. Handy, that?

Further back from that was a large desk, itself framed in white marble, and a gold plated laptop sat on it, currently not plugged in. The occupant of this room sure liked things plated in gold. How much did all of this stuff cost the taxpayer, anyway?

A large circular bed lay nearby, with white bed sheets and a pair of musical notes on the blanket that sat atop the bed. I checked my sides and saw it was my cutie mark. Which was only on one side. Curious, I thought.

So, if Pipp is still living in Zephyr Heights (and this room very much looked lived in, rather than being maintained as a room where somepony only lived every now and then), when were these events?

I glanced at my wings. Perfect! I thought. Easy way of establishing when we are. I quickly started flapping them furiously to try and get off the ground.

I gained about half an inch off the ground before landing again. Well, that was disappointing. I can't get into the air and fly! No magic then. Bummer.

I had another check to try to get a true sense of when things were, although the lack of flight was a bit of a clue. I cleared my throat and started to speak. "Hello, everypony! How is everything? Are you all vibin'? 'Cause it's a beautiful day here in Zephyr Heights!"

I stopped and quickly slipped my headphones on. I had recorded what I had just said on my phone, and so plugged the headphones into said phone and played the audio back.

The sound was an exact confirmation of what I had suspected at the time. The audio I was hearing was the voice that Sofia Carson used for Pipp Petals. So that confirmed that this was at some point before Tell your Tale or Make your Mark, which was a useful reference point for the future.

I glanced about, amazed at how fancy this place was. The Royal Family was totes LOADED. This one bedroom was bigger than most apartments where I lived! I peered out of one of the windows and saw I was inside one of the upper levels of the Palace, with an incredible view down towards the city.

I bounced across the room towards the laptop. Time to see what Pipp was up to before I arrived.

I popped the laptop open, and was immediately hit with a problem. There was a login screen. With a PIN. Obviously, I didn't know the pin, which would cause some problems if I tried to log in without knowing it.

"Think, Pipp," I thought to myself. "What would Pipp set as her password?"

That was a sentence that I actually said, by the way. Funny things, eh?

I was soon looking around the room for any clues, before I quickly hit upon a brainwave. People, or ponies in this case, often use a number of great significance to themselves as a PIN number, so I tried to think of any numbers which might have special meaning to Pipp.

I glanced about the room for any obvious numbers, before suddenly spotting something curious in the arrangements of books nearby. Some volumes were arranged to create the number 1 9 9 3.

"That's worth a try," I said, and punched that into the keypad. The system accepted the number and logged me in, soon bringing me up on the home menu. All sorts of apps were in position, such as the access pages for my DewDrop, Clip Trot, Ponygram, and YouHoof accounts. I probably had BILLIONS of notifications to deal with, so I decided to check what else was on here.

To my complete lack of surprise, there was music mixing software on there. Well, naturally. Pipp was a singer, and presumably put together and mixed her own songs.

I took a look in the files and found a couple of finished and unfinished mixes. One of them was something called 'Celebration Song'.

I gave it a listen, and heard it was an unfinished version of 'Glowin' Up'. Obviously I'd need to finish that before the Celebration, or else things might go bad! I might lose subscribers! And that is the worst! Possible! THING!

I got to work on finishing the song, looking through the various differing versions of the lyrics Pipp had penned before I had arrived. I simply got lost in the music and sounds, trying to select the words that would fit the sequence best.

I eventually got it down to the lyrics I wanted, but then a clock went off. I glanced up at a calendar, and saw it was time for a stream. I opened YouHoof to start streaming.

After that was done, there was a knock at the door. I jumped out of my seat and sped over to the door to open it. On the other side was Zipp Storm. My sister. My somewhat taller sister.

What? I totally don't have a Napoleon complex!

"Hey, Pipp," Zipp said. "You busy?"

"Yeah," I replied. I had to give a response which sounded like something Pipp would say. "I've been working super hard on the new song I'll be showcasing at the Celebration later on! I think it'll sound great!"

Zipp nodded. "OK. I got you your microphone, by the way." She handed me a golden microphone with wings on it.

"My lucky mic!" I said, recognizing it from Make your Mark. "How'd you get this?"

Zipp smiled. "I can be pretty sneaky when I wanna be. Besides, it's dinner now." She yawned. "A full day of princess things does give you an appetite."

We headed out of the door and walked down the corridors of the Palace. It was pretty stunning seeing these corridors for the first time, as the movie doesn't really elaborate on these layers of the structure much. "You might want to slow down, Zipp! You're gonna crash!"

Zipp laughed. "Come on, slowpoke! You could use the exercise!"

That was it. "I can keep up with you, Zipp!" I blasted down the corridors, having to move at quite a bit of speed to keep up. Zipp, on the other hand, was barely breaking a sweat.

"Doesn't look like it."

I pouted. "It's not fair! You have longer legs than me!"

At last, we reached our destination, the dining room. This was quite a bit larger than I'd anticipated. I thought there were only three of us, and yet for some reason there were loads of chairs and a table that felt like it was miles long.

Queen Haven looked up from her newspaper and smiled. "Evening, girls," she said. "You can sit next to me if you want."

I nodded, my mane dripping in sweat. "That... was... quite the... race!"

"We raced each other down the corridors," Zipp explained.

Queen Haven nodded. "I'd suggest being more careful in future. What if somepony had been coming the other way? It's not as if we can just float off the ground."

I nodded as I took a seat. Well, that wasn't the worst day ever.
> Everytime you're Down, I can Make it Right
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ugh! That was TOTALLY the WORST. DAY. EVER!

There is no way any other day could possibly be more worse than that, at least I thought at the time. Me and Zipp had gone out into town to visit the shopping district (they had discounts on sunglasses at Maretime Sunware), and whilst there I peered in the windows of Crandall's to see what they were doing. Crandall's is a department store, in case you're wondering. With internet shopping a thing I have no clue how they stay in business, but it seems in person shopping is an in-thing in Zephyr Heights these days!

And you would NOT believe what was in the windows. IT WAS A SUMMER DISPLAY OF STUFF I'D SPONSORED! No wonder they like us so much! Seriously, they send me so much stuff for unboxing videos!

Zipp didn't seem to be so impressed. "Pipp, you are aware you can just buy that online, right?"

"Urgh," I said. "Do you always have to be so antisocial?"

"Look, just because I don't feel like engaging in consumerism for one day doesn't make me a grinch, OK?"

"Whatever," I replied, as I bounced along the ground. The place was pretty packed. People were taking advantage of the early morning day to shop before it got too hot. Sensible ponies.

I stopped in the square to suddenly see a huge crowd assembled. This was why we were really here.

I heard Zipp groan behind me as we got further forward. "Do we really have to do this, Pipp? I don't really do this whole 'meet and greet' thing. You know I'm useless with kids."

"Zephyrina Storm!" I said.

I saw Zipp visibly flinch when I said this. Clearly the old trick of 'say somepony's full name and they'll do as they tell you' worked here. "Fine," she grumbled.

"Hey, let me sweeten the deal. You do this, I'll get us lunch at Outingdale's, OK?"

That cheered Zipp up. Seems bribing people with food often does the trick as well.

I'm happy to say the meet and greet went well. It's really amazing seeing the Pippsqueak's smiling faces and getting to talk face to face. Normally we only interact on opposite ends of a stream. Naturally, I did sign some stuff for them, and they treated the signatures as if they were made of solid gold.

I could have done solid gold signatures if I wanted, but they would have taken SOOO LONG to dry.

Zipp seemed to get into it as well, even if her statement about being bad with kids was holding up. She preferred to talk with ponies her own age, which I guess is understandable.

After all of that, which went great, I'd say, we headed off for Outingdale's. It was Zipp's favourite place to eat if she had time to spare- otherwise she liked going to McWing's. The former had a varied menu, which was always nice, seeing as I liked variety in my diet. Did you know fish used to be super expensive around here? Zipp usually had something from the hayburger section of the menu.

But when we were on our way, something terrible happened! Some idiot left a banana skin out in the road, and Zipp slipped on it. She slid across the ground and crashed into a lamp post!

"Zipp!" I shouted, and dashed over, checking her over. It was bad. The impact had seemingly left her in a delirious state, and her eyes looked glazed over as she looked about. "Zipp, can you hear me?"

"My butterfly went dancing in the pantry," she said randomly, and then seemingly slipped off into unconsciousness.

I started to panic. I grabbed my phone and dialed 911, waiting for the connection to complete. "Hello?"

"Zephyr Heights Emergency Service, how can I help you?"

"This is Pipp, as in Petals. My sister's just crashed into a lamp post and is unconscious."

"Where are you, over? Please give street names."

I glanced up and spotted a road sign. "I'm at the confluence of 52nd and Berrow."

"52nd and Berrow, roger. An ambulance will be with you shortly."

A crowd had gathered around us as I kept a close eye on Zipp. When the ambulance arrived, I asked if I could ride with them in the ambulance. They said no as they had to do some treatment, but stated she would be shipped to the Royal Suite at Zephyr Heights General Hospital.

I thanked them, and checked my phone to find where that was. OK, so it was part of the plateau that the Palace sits on. Obvious place to put a hospital. As the ambulance thundered away, I called a private Sky Cab and was flown there tout de suite.

That means very quickly, by the way.

When I got there Zipp was already being treated by doctors. Mom arrived a few seconds later. "I'm sorry I couldn't be here sooner!" she said, seemingly trying to apologise to the doctors. "I dropped everything when I heard the news and travelled as quickly as I could!"

"It's not a worry, Your Majesty," the doctor said. "Princess Zephyrina is stable. Now all we need to do is wait for her to regain consciousness."

Mom and I took position next to the bed Zipp was in. Seeing her wired up to all this stuff was surreal. Obviously I was pretty worried, but mom seemed to be taking it the worst. "Faust let her be OK," she repeated over and over again.

A few minutes passed, and then I heard some noises coming from Zipp's direction. Her head was slowly moving as she began to vocalize some sounds.

"Mom! She's waking up!" I said.

Mom looked at Zipp as well, and a look of relief passed over her face.

"Where am I..." Zipp began to say, as she looked at us. She then stopped speaking, and her eyes narrowed as if in fear. She then brought one of her forelegs up and looked at it.

What happened next caused me to jump. Zipp started to thrash about uncontrollably whilst screaming so loudly she could have woken the dead!

I was totes scared. "Mom, what's going on?"

"I don't know," mom replied, "but I suggest we let the doctors handle this." Something in her response felt... off. I was soon unable to process it as Zipp suddenly leaped out of the bed and was out through the doors before anypony could react.

"Zipp!" I cried, and chased after her down the corridors. It wasn't hard to follow her trail. She'd bucked the doors so hard several had dents in them.

"To all assets! Princess Zephyrina has escaped the Royal Ward! Intercept her immediately and return her for further treatment!"

I continued to follow the trail of clues until I arrived outside the hospital. Zipp was looking out over Zephyr Heights, her face locked in that same expression of terror she'd had a few moments ago.

"Zipp?" I said, trying to get her attention.

Zipp wheeled around so suddenly I backed up slightly. "Pipp?"

I nodded. "Yes. That's me. I'm glad you seem to be at least physically OK, Zipp. Do you need any help? Is there a problem?"

Zipp then asked me a question that seemed very odd. "Pipp, have you heard anything from Sunny recently?"

Sunny? Why would Zipp know who Sunny is? Neither of them have met yet. I had to maintain my cover story, as I didn't feel I could reveal the truth yet. "What? Who's Sunny? I don't know a Sunny. Zipp, that bang to the head must have been pretty bad for you to be hallucinating friends of mine!"

We talked for a bit longer about things concerning us, before the doctor from earlier came back and asked us to go back inside.





After Zipp was cleared to leave, mom decided we should do a city tour to get some light relief and perhaps jog Zipp's memory. Flying over the city was still pretty remarkable, and I soon got more clues that Zipp wasn't entirely herself when her muzzle was squished up against the glass.

She also seemed annoyed about me posting she was OK on social media. What, I had like gazillions of ponies asking me about her! I wasn't going to ignore that!

After we returned from the trip and had dinner, I was still worried. I knew Zipp might struggle if this place was totally alien to her, but at the same time I couldn't reveal who I was either. It wouldn't help anypony if both of us ended up on the funny farm. I went to her door as she went to turn in.

"Zipp, if ever you need anything, just let me know, Kay? Sisters and all that?" I said.

She turned and the faintest of smiles flashed across her face. "Sure. Thanks Pipp."

As she went in, I popped into my room as well. It helped all the doors were together in one place. I had to find a way to help her get up to speed around here. But if she was also a former human as I suspected, how many more would there be?
> Party in Zephyr Heights
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zipp was still behaving oddly. I know, that seems like a strange observation given I was hardly in my native element, but I had to keep some form of low profile to avoid going to the nuthouse. As a result, I knew I had to disguise my concerns as well as possible. Breakfast the next day was the first chance to observe what was going on.

In order to ensure I had a valid excuse for taking notes, I decided to try a new style of shampoo for the day. After a shower in my personal bathroom (seriously, it had golden fixtures and white marble! How much money do we have?), I went and dried myself off before heading into the unknown alongside my sister.

Breakfast went pretty much as normal for our household, and I noticed almost immediately that something wasn't quite right with Zipp. She seemed to be largely lost in thought, seemingly soaking up all the ponies and members of household staff who were trotting about and going about their day. We certainly had a huge army of staff in this place! There were also a lot of ponies outside. I also spotted mom looking out of the window and glancing at the garden. Most do a stream in there someday.

I headed to my notes and observed what I had seen with Zipp. Her plate was fairly untouched, whereas she would often work her way through it. Yeah, she thinks I eat too much, which is a bit rich coming from her. I believe the human expression was 'they could eat a horse', but I'm not really in the mood to promote cannibalism.

It was rather awkward. The band were still playing behind us, accompanying the meal with jaunty tunes. Queen Haven later looked over her shoulder. "Could we hold the music for a moment please?" she said. The band stopped playing at that moment as I jotted down the fact that Zipp was still staring off into space.

Mom then spoke. "Is everything OK, Zephyrina? You've barely touched your food."

I dived into mine to avoid any suspicion whilst Zipp looked around in surprise.

"Sorry. I was thinking, that's all."

Mom nodded, seemingly in approval. "Well, that's always a healthy mindset to encourage. Anything in particular?"

What Zipp said next was both surprising and not surprising at the same time. "The past, mainly. I was thinking of going to the museum to do some research, if that's OK."

I quickly jotted that down. Sudden desire to learn about the place. Suggests lack of familiarity with customs.

Mom speaking jolted me out of my thoughts. "Of course. I'll go with you."

"Really?" Zipp asked.

"It just so happens there's an exhibit on our music industry I'm interested in seeing, and the current paperwork can easily be handled by the staff. Today's a Parliamentary recess, and the few bills coming through can be easily dealt with later."

Of course mom would be interested in music. With a pair of pipes like hers it was only natural. I guess I know where I inherited my singing skills from. As that was being worked out I took a few more notes.

"Anything you're noting down in particular, Pipp?" mom asked suddenly.

I glanced up. "I'm trying a new brand of shampoo that was sent by a sponsor, and I'm taking notes on how it sits in my mane. I can hardly endorse a product I haven't tried, can I?"

Mom smiled, and nodded. "Of course. I haven't endorsed anything in a very long time. Rather comes with the job, I'm afraid." She paused. "Have fun with the filming later today."

My eyes widened. What filming?





Well, turns out I had two bits of filming to do today. The first of these two things was a movie cameo, and the second was for an advert.

On my way, I passed through the same square as yesterday, and noticed my fans were there. I glanced back to my entourage. I'd decided to bring the backup dancers and singers with me in case we were needed for another show here.

And it seemed that the conditions were perfect. We marked out a space to let us perform, and I called out to the crowd. "Hello, Pippsqueaks!" I called, as I checked my microphone to ensure it was configured properly.

The crowd cheered back, clearly delighted to see me.

"WE LOVE YOU PIPP!" a fan screamed from the back.

"Aww, thanks," I replied. "You guys are two kind. Anyway, are you ready to rock?"

The crowd cheered, indicating they were ready to go. I glanced back. "HIT IT!"

The backing track blazed in, and the performers launched off into their established routine. The melody was one I knew well from the old days.

"I may run and hide/
When you're screamin' my name, alright?
But let me tell you now/
There are prices to fame, alright?
All of our time spent in flashes of light!"

"All you ponies, can't you see, can't you see?
How your love's affecting our reality?
Every time we're down/
You can make it right!
And that makes you larger than life!"





I imagine you don't want your article filled full of song lyrics, so I'll leave it at that and move on to the filming. I had a cameo to film in the new Mission Impossible film! Basically, it's the newest film, Pegasus Protocol, though someponies may find its depictions of the other races a bit insensitive. The plot concerns Ethan Trott, the protagonist, having to defeat the latest threat to Zephyr Heights- an Earth Pony who has built war machines to overrun the city.

Seems almost ripped from the headlines, doesn't it? I know. I had a cameo near the start of the film, in which I appeared in full secret agent attire as an IMF agent in training. That's Impossible Missions Force, by the way.

What? The movie's a sponsor on my social media! I had to fit the plug in somewhere!

The filming went really smoothly, I'd say, and afterwards I got to spend some time backstage, including a showcase of some of the special effects. I was particularly impressed with how they pulled off the effect of Trott climbing the ZBS building, as they wouldn't let the actor climb the real thing.

I even got to interview Tom Hooves! I know they say his persona is faked, but he really is just a super chill guy when you get to know him. I've never known a guy who just loves doing what he does. Well, I suppose that I love doing what I do, but then again I'm not a guy, am I?

After all that was done, I was to report to another soundstage for some more filming. It seemed that the manufacturers of Perfum la Pipp wanted a new commercial to replace the one currently in circulation as someponies had complained about 'anti Royal family content'. Well, yeah! Of course it should have been pulled! The narrator said I smelled!

Well, OK, I did, but the smell was from the perfume. Not from any other source! I wash properly, every day!

Anyway, enough of that. The director just wanted some shots of me cantering down a beach set with some nice background lighting. Easy enough. I was then directed to head the other way, as he wasn't completely happy with the lighting in the shot.

Thankfully, he was happy with the second take. Thanks for that. I then had another shot to film, and this required a bit of lying on my part. The shot he was looking for was me flying past a huge bottle of the stuff before landing on it. Simple enough- provided you can fly. Which I couldn't at the time.

I explained my wings were a bit tired, and so the solution was to use guide cables to haul me between the relevant locations. The cable system was nowhere near as secure as the one used at the Palace. It only had two sets of guide supports instead of three, but at least the shoot was over relatively fast.

Once out of the studio, my very busy day was still going strong. I went outdoors and stood in the sun, overlooking the cloud layer below. A train rattled past below, with the horn blaring. The city has its own rail network, apparently.

I then checked my phone for notifications, and smiled when I saw what had arrived. Several of the fans had clubbed together to help another get surgery for a health problem (I'd done a charity stream to help raise money for one of the city nurseries- being the daughter of a working mom I knew what it felt like). Nice to see them living up to the standards I was promoting in my streams.

I then got another notification, and noticed that Hoofington's were doing something special. Looks like that was where I was headed next!
> Ain't Nothin' but a Heartache.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sure enough, I entered Hoofington's through the front door, as that was where most ponies entered. After a short pause to familiarize myself with the store layout, I headed to the new items section, to see what was in stock and trending. After all, I spent most of my time as an influencer. It made sense that I learn what was big in the world, and the only way to do that was to look at shelves and similar.

The interior of the store was similar to other buildings I had been inside. The walls were white, presumably to help ward off the heat, and there was gold lining on many objects. The walls were also populated with some metal plates. I could only assume this building had been built before air conditioning was built, so the design was presumably to ward off any heat. It wasn't that hot in this place, as we were pretty high up, but still the cool air was greatly appreciated.

I made my way through the aisles, looking at various different things. The stands had a lot of new shoes on display, in addition to the usual ranges of sunwear and some suntan lotion. If ponies have fur, why do they need stuff like sunblock? It didn't make much sense to me.

I spotted a familiar looking set of sunglasses nearby. They were the black, square rimmed sets we had in our collections! And it seemed that was a known fact. As worn by Princess Pipp Petals! said the text box below, with an image of me modelling them as I stood there.

Sure looks like royalty and celebrity culture around here are meshed very tightly. I checked my phone, and noticed the time. I trotted onwards looking through the store, finding myself amongst more clothes, scarves, and hats. A lot of hats.

Well, with all the sun they probably get through a lot of hats. Come to think of it, I can't think of any case where I've seen it rain around here. No wonder we grow all our food artificially in large greenhouses.

I glanced about for some more clues as to what was popular. I had looked at my subscriber count and noticed most of my followers were fillies and colts, so I figured I would head to the place I would be most likely to find such ponies.

As I made my way through, easy listening jazz music flowed over the speakers. I don't know enough about jazz to identify different genres too well, so you'll need to ask Jazz for specifics. She's a stylist from Maretime Bay. Really nice pony when you get to know her.

I continued onwards into the store, soon finding what I was looking for. Up ahead was a shop section which largely focused on toys and popular media. This would help me connect with Pippsqueaks a bit more. After all, I am young at heart, right? Always a good thing if you ask me.

I went in, and saw most of the stuff was based around popular franchises that were big in Zephyr Heights. There was stuff from Mission: Impossible, a few items from what looked like a pony version of Transformers, and on one wall Power Ponies! Power Ponies had somehow survived the fall? I dashed over to take a look. To my disappointment all of them were pegasi in this version. Seeing as unicorns and earth ponies were our enemies I knew why all of them were pegasi, but to see the franchise like this showed how things had changed. Presumably this was some sort of reboot.

I also found some Daring Do merch. Nice to see that had survived, although I suspect heavily edited from Yearling's original. It made sense they'd turn up here. Gillian Berrow wrote both the Daring Do books and the movie, after all.

It was while I was glancing about I suddenly heard a voice. "It's Princess Pipp!"

I backed up to give the kid a bit more room. "Hi! I'm just seeing what's popular with my followers! Gotta stay up to date, right?"

The kid seemed to be in awe that his idol was in front of him, and he dashed over to me. I dropped back to my haunches so I could take him in a hug. It's OK, I'm CRB checked!

Soon after, his father came round the corner. "Astral, what did I tell you about run-"

He trailed off as he saw the scene, with plenty of colts and fillies crowded around me. "Oh! Your Highness! I wasn't expecting to see you here. Please do excuse my interruption."

"It's fine," I replied. "There's nothing I love more than spending time with my fans. Then there's manicures, spooky stories, and selfies!" I switched my streaming gear on. "That is right guys, I'm here, live from Hoofington's with my fans, the Pippsqueaks! This goes out to all of you, because you guys give so much meaning and purpose to my life!"

Just then, I got a message in my inbox. "Queen Haven and Princess Zephyrina sighted at museum cafeteria?" I took a quick look, and saw a video of Mom and Zipp in the museum, whilst the crowd cheered. They were really excited to see them, it seems.

After a short pause, I continued with the impromptu meet and greet. It was during this session I came to a critical realisation.

I wasn't born Pipp, as you know. I had lived a rather bland life in the middle of nowhere, the sort of person nopony would have thought to look at. And now, here I was, living the high life of luxury as part of the ruling family of an entire nation. This meant that I was in good standing with my fans.

Not only that, I was loving every second of it. So much so, I wasn't certain I wanted to risk it. I'd had to get used to being female, of course, but once I'd gotten over that I was loving this. If asked if I wanted to go back to the old world, I'd probably have said no.





After a while, I got a notification that mom and Zipp had returned to the palace. So I did to, with the sky transport I took arriving only a few moments after theirs did. There was an organ playing for some reason. I was unable to catch up before they went their separate ways, so I decided to follow Zipp down the path she was taking. I had very strong suspicions as to where she was from, so I needed something conclusive to answer my questions. I went along behind her, keeping a plausible distance from her, and watching her move. We shuffled past the prison cells (which were currently empty), and then into another corridor where a gold panel looked slightly out of place. Zipp slid it out of place and dropped down inside before continuing downwards.

I waited a bit, and heard a pulley system engaging as Zipp rode the basket down to the bottom of the chamber. I needed to find another way down there, so looked inside the panel and spotted some ladders, presumably part of an old maintenance system for the room.

I dropped onto that and slowly made my way down the steps, climbing slowly to avoid slipping and chipping my hooves. Luckily, Zipp seemed to be preoccupied. I looked round and stopped, seeing her staring intently at a chalkboard covered in numbers and equations. So this was where she was trying to figure out how to fly! What a strange thing to try if she was indeed who I thought she was.

I slowly trotted over, trying to make as little noise as possible as I approached the target location. Zipp was waging her own battle, with numbers moving across the board at speed. She really was a determined scholar if she was concentrating so intently on what she was doing. Then again, she took the whole thing of no flying incredibly seriously, which I understood. After all, it's like if an athlete is rendered unable to run through means beyond their control. They'll go to any lengths to be able to run again and figure out a solution to the challenge.

I stopped for a moment as she seemed to glance round, sticking to the shadows as she continued writing. After a while, she seemed to be finished, with her expression shifting from one of confusion and frustration to one of excitement. "Yeah!" she said, punching the air in triumph. "That's how you figure it out!"

Moments later, I decided to speak up. I trotted up behind her and spoke up. "Zipp? What are you doing down here?"

I could tell she wasn't expecting visitors, as she wheeled around in complete shock and surprise. "Pipp? What are you doing down here? How do you know where my workshop is?"

I sighed as I stepped forward. "I have a secret to tell..."
> My Independence Seems to Vanish in the Haze!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The silence was deafening. I know that sounds cliché, but it seemed to really fit the moment. We both stood there, just looking awkwardly at each other. Zipp looked pretty scared. I'm not sure why, but it seemed to have something to do with the fact I was there. Not a surprise, really. I know if something I valued but wanted to be kept a secret was suddenly found I'd be pretty surprised. Like the fact we can't fly. I know, that's pretty standard and we know the truth now, but only the Royal Family and their close retainers and staff knew the truth.

I simply continued looking. Zipp still seemed to be frozen in place. She was like a statue, only she was definitely breathing. I sat there, waiting for one of us to speak, the tension boiling over like a gunfight in one of those old frontier movies Zipp watches every now and then.

Finally, Zipp spoke. "H- how do you know what's down here?" she stammered, apparently mostly baffled by what was happening in front of her. "This place is meant to be a secret!"

Oh, yeah. I'm not supposed to know this place exists, which is totally my bad, but anyway. She deserved an answer so I gave it. "I might have followed you through the corridors whilst you were sneaking about," I replied. "You really don't need to sneak about like you're a spy in a Tom Hooves movie, Zipp. This is literally our house!"

"I suppose it is in the middle of the street."

I should probably let you know that before I ended up here I had dabbled in British music, specifically the 1980s scene. Having said that, the reference Zipp had made was really obscure. She'd quoted a line from a Madness song, for Luna's Sake! Very few ponies would get that reference. She'd blown her own cover, really.

"Now I know something's truly going on. You're quoting Madness? That's a really obscure reference for most peo- ponies." Oops! Made my own slip as well it seems. But Zipp didn't seem to notice.

In fact, she'd seemingly entered pleading mode, based on her facial expression. "Pipp," she pleaded, "please don't tell mom. This place contains so much stuff vital to bringing the magic back, and if it were to be destroyed we may never be able to fly again. Keep this a secret, please?"

Now that I could do. "Err, I kinda know this place is important, Zipp," I said, with a small smile on my face. "Besides, where else would you have a place to write numbers on a chalkboard? Nowhere, that's where." I knew she liked writing numbers on chalkboards. She's a curious mix of athlete and academic in that regard. What one of the Guardians of old would have termed 'egghead'. And athletic egghead. That has a nice ring to it. Must use it in a stream someday. Anyway, I had more important things to focus on in that moment in time.

"That's true," Zipp replied. "It beats being stuck in a boring princess lesson. Now, do I have your promise or not?"

I paused, and then decided to select something they'd likely recognise. If they were this invested in this place, the chances they were a brony or pegasister before ending up here was pretty high. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." I finished it off with a wing flourish, quickly moving them back and forth. The previous generation of the show had often had a joke about wings flaring out at innapropriate moments, or what the fanbase called wingboners. I hadn't noticed it here, although Pegasi do seem to use their wings to indicate their mood.

"Thanks," Zipp said. "Now, can I ask you something?"

"Sure!" I replied, before noticing Zipp staring at me oddly for my wing exercises. "Sorry, had some wing cramp there. Helps to keep them moving about a bit."

Zipp then dropped a pretty big question. "This is going to sound odd, but this is the million dollar-"

"Pound."

"Excuse me?"

Time to demonstrate that I had been paying attention. As seemed to be the norm for us Royals I produced a pound note from nowhere. "Zephyr Heights uses pounds and pennies, not dollars and cents. Seems each of the three tribes have their own currency." I mean, it made sense. All those years in isolation and no interaction would render the bit rather pointless, don'tchathink?

Zipp took a second to process this. "Well, let's rephrase that then. This is going to sound odd, but this is the million pound question, which is- where are you originally from, and who were you?"

I half knew where this was going, so decided to jump in right at the deep end and answer Zipp's question directly. "If you're asking what I think you're asking then I'm not from around here. I'm originally from another world, and wasn't originally a pegasus. Hopefully that doesn't sound too crazy."

Zipp audibly sighed in relief. Seems she'd been expecting a different answer. Having said that, I had been blending in remarkably well. "Looks like I need to tell the truth as well. I'm in the same boat myself. I'm from a long way from here in a different body that wasn't originally my own."

I clicked what she meant almost instantly, seeing as I'd been in the same position as her. It wasn't too bad a transformation, I guess, but getting the other set of equipment wasn't exactly fun. "Genderswap? Yeah, I can tell you that's not fun."

I saw Zipp wince. I can only assume her transformation and arrival here was fairly traumatic based on her reactions in the hospital. "Well, at least that cleans some stuff up. But I have to ask you something else."

I jokingly snorted. "You're asking a lot of questions today. This is busier than one of my 'ask me anything' streams!"

If Zipp planned on reacting to that, she didn't do so. "If you're not from here, and originally a human as I suspect, how then were you able to blend in so well? Why didn't you arouse any suspicions from anypony?"

I smiled, suppressing a giggle as it probably wouldn't be appropriate. "You'd be amazed how easy it is to go undetected as a younger sibling. Not only that, I learned how to do all the mannerisms and actions pretty well. What can I say? It beats my old life, and having a thorough knowledge of G5 helps me along with the more difficult stuff."

Zipp nodded, seeming to process this and bring it together in her mind. "Brony or pegasister?"

"Brony then, technically pegasister now," I answered. Clearly my comments on genderswapping didn't give the game away. "Same for you?"

"Yeah," she replied. "Can get kinda awkward at times. When exactly did you enter the world?"

I thought to myself, reckoning I could clear up a lot of things at once. "Before you, I think." I pointed to my coronet before resuming speaking. "I was at a concert when I found this. I then fell into this place, did some stuff in my bedroom, then a whole bunch of stuff you'd find boring happened. But you slipped on a banana peel and hurt your head! That was when I think you and the original Zipp switched places, as when you woke up you were totes freaking out!"

There was a short pause. "So, you said you know G5, right?"

I nodded. "Yep! I take it you do too!"

Zipp sighed before resuming speaking. "Mostly, though there are some bits of lore that aren't there, probably because the show hasn't talked about them. That means we need to be on guard. The Royal Celebration is next week, and the program for the Jubilee is already underway. We need to be ready for Sunny and Izzy's arrival next week, or else things could be thrown into chaos which we really don't need right now."

I grinned, having a distinctly Pinkie Pie esque idea. "Great idea! I'll prepare a wel-"

"No!" Zipp said. "Mom mustn't know what we know. If she hears what's going on and that we have information we shouldn't, she'll have us thrown in the loony bin!"

Interesting choice of words. "Were you British or something?" I asked. "And yeah, I can see the problem with that. Act normally, and pretend nothing odd is going on. No different to normal, then."





Later on we left the underground lab and made our way back to the palace. Apparently we were supposed to meet with mom, who was acting a bit weirdly. I sensed something was off- she suddenly seemed to be unaware of the fact there was a parade today (it had been in the calendar for months!), and seemed confused about other things she should have known.

We set off later, a little worried and deciding to keep notes. Perhaps walking into things runs in the family!
> We Live a Life of Ease
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Can I say that military stuff is boring?

I know there's the cliché that whenever anything vaguely military is going on that all the dads in the world suddenly turn into armchair generals and decide they can dictate military strategy, but to be honest that sort of stuff never really appealed to me. I'm not aware of any military service in my family, so I don't really feel a connection towards any of it.

If I had my way, weapons would be made illegal and any form of army banned. But that's not realistic, to be honest.

Which, I guess, brings us onto the parade we had come to watch. After some speeches and watching some soldiers saluting and moving their hats about, we then got to experience the National Anthem. Basically swap some words around and it's the same as the old British one. I thoroughly doubt I'll ever be the subject of those words, though. Rather comes with being the Spare (I suspect mom expects Zipp to have kids.)

What's Britain, you ask? It's where the person who was originally Zipp was from. Small place, but quite important.

But anyway. After they were done, some loud march began to play and there was a lot of marching up and down. The square in front of us sounded to the precisely timed steps of hooves and the crash of equipment and drums. There were a lot of soldiers on the move, so I decided for those not watching on ZBS or unable to get there in pony that I would stream the event on my phone.

Unfortunately, the tanks were SOOOO LOUD! There were so many of them driving past you could barely hear yourself think! I have no idea how the ponies who crew those machines are able to hear anything!

And there were lots of them. This was pretty over the top. It felt like one of those Red Square parades taken to ridiculous extremes. If mom had only been on the throne 25 years and this was the scale of parade they picked, what must 50 or 60 look like?

Which brings me back around to my initial point. This was clearly ego stroking. Look at us, haven't we got loads of really big stuff! Not to mention I suspect it sent a hostile message to the other groups out there. Not always the easiest of things to stomach, seeing as it felt like sabre rattling. I believe one guy once said that to avoid war you shouldn't provoke cannon shots? Something to that effect? I can't quite recall the exact quote, but I'll look it up later.

Critically, mom seemed to be enjoying it. The Colonel- the head of our security- was giving her a running narration on what was passing by the box. It was a miracle mom could hear any of what he was saying over all the racket. Not to mention all the diesel fumes we inhaled.

We finally got to the end of that with a massive fly-past. I'd noticed it before, but the Pegasi have figured out ways around the inability to fly.

After all that was over (and I was pretty thankful it was) we returned to the Palace and did some stuff. I did a stream, which was nice with the evening sun, and was sure to thank the Pippsqueaks for wishing mom a happy Jubilee. We then left the stream and had dinner, which was another interesting experience.

Good thing mom promised to keep us safe. If I knew anything of what might be coming (although I wasn't totally sure when I was at that point in time) we could all be in danger. Zipp mentioned at one point she'd tried to persuade mom to recognise what was coming and the potential danger we were in, but mom just dismissed it. I wonder if that would happen now.

I had my doubts, truth be told. There were some elements of Mom's behavior that came across as a bit weird. I know it's a bit rude to call your own mom weird, but she suddenly didn't seem to know her way around the place. I'd had the exact same experience, and no doubt Zipp had as well.

But that evening we planned to go somewhere exciting. A WATER PARK! And you totally must know I totes LOVE water parks! They're so much fun in the hot climate we seem to be having this time of year, and best of all the one we went to had its own super special section specifically for royal use!

And we just got a chance to unwind and be normal ponies for a while, which was great. Mom even did a cannonball in public. Apparently that hadn't happened for a long time. I've still got the photo I took on my phone after she pulled off that stunt. What I remember the most about it is how happy we all looked. The smiles were genuine, not the forced ones we often have to put on for the media.





One day was rather different, though. We were all at the palace. Well, me and Zipp were. Mom had something about a factory- some sort of official opening or demonstration of something or something like that. This left the two of us at home, but we had rather different priorities for what we should be doing.

"I feel we should be investigating more," Zipp said, looking at me with her eyes firmly in detective mode. "The more we can learn about this place and how it functions the better. Of course, if we have as much intel as we can we can more effectively plan for what's coming."

"You really are getting into character!" I joked. "Sleuthing takes rather more than just looking about for clues. I can be looking about online, getting my hooves on the pulse of life here. It's the same sort of thing as what you like to do, just in a different space!"

Zipp sighed. "Very well. I'll check out what the guards are up to and you look about online. Best of luck!"

"You too!" I called as I sped off, resisting the urge to make a music joke. Speaking of music, I still had plenty of music related things to do as I headed off down the pathway. I still hadn't finished off that song I was meant to be singing at the Royal Celebration concert. Getting that done was a pretty high priority, so I headed off in that direction to do precisely that. It was time to get this song finished!

I had the basic track and the lyrics down, so finding the appropriate mixes in the background was all that needed to be done in order to get the song finished and ready to go. I consulted my musical archives and soon settled on a fairly mellow arrangement of backing piano, some bass, a fairly light drum track, and some synthesized brass.

That just left tempo to figure out. Knowing what speed I could go at would be important for performing the song live. Something I make a point of in my shows is that I don't lip sync along to a recording like some pop acts (like- URGH!- Filli Vanilli. That scandal was bad for the music industry). Instead, what you hear in a performance is my actual voice, unfiltered and with no autotune. If people wanted to hear a pre processed voice they would just go and buy the original recording. Not me. I like to spice things up in live performance.

I spent some time following the words along and testing a number of different tempos. I figured out I needed to slow it down if my attempts to keep pace turned into me screaming gibberish. I eventually settled on a relatively relaxed beat with some extra samples to beef up the sound a bit and produced a more rounded texture in the sound.

Time for final mixing. I ran the mix one final time to check everything was perfect, and then saved the resulting file for playback later. It sounded pretty good over my laptop speakers, so I could only imagine what it would sound like when played over the sound system in the Throne Room!

Of course, I'd need to test the song, but once I was done I popped out of my room- and sure enough there was mom.

"Hi mom!" I said, noticing her looking a little confused. "Need something?"

She looked quizzically at me. "Pipp, this is probably just my hoofwriting not being easy to read, but what does 'spa with Pipp' mean?"

Of course! I'd noticed this in my schedule of things to do! All I had to do was explain it and we'd be home free. "Mom, don't you remember? We go to the spa every week! Great way of getting the knots out of the mane, amiright?"

And as they say, a quick run with the brush and some posh shampoo always brightens my day
> Thank you For the Music
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Of course, I knew I had to try the song out. I just needed some technical help and an audience. I quickly switched on the communications unit and spoke into it. "Hey, are there any technicians available? I'd like to practice some new material I've written and see how the lights go."

"Understood, Your Highness," said the voice of the lead technician. "I'll convene my staff down there right away and get to work."

"Thanksies!" I said, before switching the unit off. I then took the chance to switch to another method of calling. It was pretty late in the day now, so hopefully mom was done with whatever work she needed doing. I selected her number on my phone and called it, waiting for her to connect.

There was a few seconds of ringing, but then this strange black void appeared on my screen. "Hello?" said an extremely muffled voice, which I quickly deduced to be that of mom.

I began to suspect the issue she was having almost immediately. A completely black screen suggests that the pony receiving the call is holding it to their ear. And I don't mean to sound mean about mom, but she's not totally up to speed with modern technology.

"Is your camera set correctly?" I asked, hoping to prompt her that this was a video call. "All I can see is darkness." Which was certainly true.

The image suddenly flipped about quite wildly, before the screen finally showed mom's face. Truth be told she looked a little embarrassed. "Ah, sorry Pipp. I didn't realize it was a video call."

I shrugged my shoulders and put on my very best smile for her. "No worries," I said with a smile, as noted before. "My song's ready, if you want to hear it."

Mom's face shifted from one of embarrassment to one of pride. "Of course! I'll get down to the throne room as quickly as possible."

"Sure thing. See you there!" The call was now ended, and I had some things that I needed to do. I popped out of my room with all the gear I needed, having made sure to send the relevant files to the sound and technical team before we were due to start the practice run. I then needed to head for the cable room to get wired up and ready to rehearse for the event. Hopefully it would look good!





After I had been wired up and lowered in, I noticed the throne room was a hive of activity (then again, when wasn't it?). I dropped onto my throne, followed by a pair of dummies to simulate Zipp and mom. This was so they could ensure the cables didn't get snagged or tangled up on one another, which would have led to quite the nasty accident.

I glanced down to see mom sitting in position, looking up at the lighting arrangements. She must have been in some sort of positive phase as she had quite a big smile on her face. Clearly something had cheered her up.

"Are we ready to go?" she called, as the last of the curtains were closed.

"Completing final checks now. Your Highness, you should feel the winding gear taking up the slack now." No sooner had I been lowered down than I was pulled back up again into the cable room. These cables could run pretty fast when they wanted to.

From down below I heard the staff running through their checks.

"Safety checks!" the lead technician called.

"Cables, check!" said the cable operator.

"Lights, check!" added the lighting engineer.

"Winch, check!" was the contribution from the winch engineer. I wasn't sure why we needed a cable operator and a winch engineer, but then again it's possible the engineering skills aren't transferrable. Who am I to second guess professionals?

"Electrical systems, check!" added the electrical engineer, clearly an expert in his role.

"Control surfaces, check!" came the final voice. Not sure what her job was as pegasi don't really have control surfaces, but oh well.

The lead technician then spoke again once more. "We are go for launch. Initiating test run."

And off we went. The three objects (myself and the two dummies) were lowered into the chamber, and as we waited the backing beat launched in, followed by pre recorded vocals and an instrumental track. This was now my chance to show what I had to offer!

"We got the light!
We're comin' in stronger/
We're in it together/
If you want it, it's all inside your mind!
We got the light!
Won't wait any longer/
We'll get it together/
If you want it, then you can paint the sky!" (hey)

I flew and bounced through the air, making the appropriate motions to produce the illusion of flying along through the air. No wonder Pipp- sorry, me- and Zipp were back in the air so quickly after the magic returned. We already knew the motions required to maintain a convincing illusion of flight, so we simply applied that logic to actually flying about.

After running the entire song, I was lowered down onto the ground and looked up at the others as the technicians switched the lighting off. "How was that, mom?" I asked, hoping for a positive response.

Mom applauded, as did the technicians. Which seemed a little self congratulatory seeing as they'd brought this display to life in the first place.

Mom then spoke. "Marvellous, dear! I have two suggestions, however, and that includes to the technicians as well, so if you wouldn't mind gathering around that would be excellent."

We then gathered around to hear Mom's words.

"Firstly, Pipp, excellent song. I see your songwriting skills are still in order. However, I would suggest slowing the tempo a little, as it's a bit fast right now."

I glanced at my phone and started taking notes. "Slow the tempo a bit. I'll ask the staff to slow the recording slightly without shifting the pitch."

Mom then had her second suggestion. "I'd also suggest making some changes to the lighting. Whilst the use of greens and blues was stunning, it also meant the cable harness was visible at points. Possibly shift the light balance to make it less obvious? If the truth were to come out it would be rather inconvenient, what?"

We played with the colours for a bit before the technicians were happy. After that, it was time for gaming!





Seriously, who sets off all the alarms in the middle of the night? Switching alarms on at Tirek's Hour is SOOOOO not funny!

I hopped out of bed, as the siren was calling us to intercept an intruder. I saw Zipp dashing past me. "Whatsh's going on?" I asked, my brain still switching on.

"Something about an intruder," Zipp replied. "We should probably go and look."

I pouted. "Why did they have to intrude at three in the morning?"

We spotted most of the commotion was coming from the cable room, and as such made our way that way towards the cable room. We sped round the corridor and stopped, just as the security forces were dealing with our intruder. They were somewhat tied up, so to speak.

"You, miss, are in a lot of trouble tonight," the Colonel said. "Haul her in."

Mom got her crown back as the thief was reeled back in. She looked cross. "Mine," she said. "We shall deal with you in the morning. In the meantime, place her in the cells. Colonel Opwinden, see to it that this is done."

Eventually, we made our way back to our rooms, not sure what was going on or what this intruder meant for the future. Clearly the crown had some importance to them, but apart from that I don't really know. It's all rather confusing really.





OK... what is happening?

The next morning we finally learned who our intruder was. And boy was that a shock! It was Misty, the unicorn who shouldn't have appeared yet! One noble somehow didn't notice her horn despite it being a rather prominent feature of unicorn biology. Her explanation didn't exactly help her case, and trying to make sense of her logic was difficult, to say the least.

Mom at least had orders for us. "Zephyrina, ensure that the equipment in the cells is in order. Pipp, I want you to monitor communications. No news of this must get out, understand?"

That was our cue to leave. I headed for my room pretty quickly and went to check social media. Luckily, there was no discussion of the incident in the palace, presumably because nopony knew it had happened.

And I had to keep it that way. So a distraction was in order. I decided to do the thing that I do best- a livestream. That would distract ponies from the panic in the palace. I must try doing this alliteration stuff more often!

As I spoke to the Pippsqueaks, I knew things were about to change. What I didn't know was how and by how much.
> Our Friends are All Aboard!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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..."
> For the Benefit of Queen Haven
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, turns out that mom did have some empathy for travelers in her after all!

Apparently Zipp had suggested to her that some sort of kindness towards our new visitors would help our friends very much (although she had been careful not to call them such- she wouldn't want to risk being put in, as she put it, 'the loony bin', would she?). And mom had taken this idea to heart, having planned an incredibly elaborate party for them, not to mention a pretty huge meal for them to enjoy.

I won't spend much time going into detail about the meal, as you'd probably find it boring (and your article is probably already pretty long as it is with all these facts and information, right?). Still, it was fun. I think they enjoyed the food, and I got something out of it too.

I got to wear a pretty dress!

This may seem like a weird observation, but somehow becoming a pony finally allowed me to try on these sorts of things, which was great! The medals were less good, but you have to take the good with the bad, amiright?

The end results were also positive. As they were now free to roam about the palace, I had a proper chance to bond with them and learn who they were! This was pretty cool, as you can guess, as actually getting to talk with other characters I admired was absolutely amazing, all within a fictional world most bronies and pegasisters would do anything to visit.

During the week I spent with them, I was able to get some really handy tips and tricks from them in various different fields. For example, I was able to get some new manestyling tips from Izzy, although I didn't have much of a chance to put them into practice.

But the one I arguably got to know the best was Misty. The poor dear seemed so down when I came across her in the gardens one day. She was crying her heart out, convinced that nopony exists who would ever love her.

So, I took her out to look out over the city and into the sky. "That's the world out there," I said. "And I can tell you for a fact that nopony will ever care about you is a lie. There's an old saying that every bread has its cheese."

"What's cheese got to do with this?" Misty asked.

"It means that no matter who we are, there's a pony out there for us, whether a friend or something more," I replied.

"Really?"

"Yes!" I said. "Sometimes it just takes time."

But upon learning she felt she didn't have any friends, I decided to do something about it. I decided then and there to be her friend. A decision I don't regret to this day.

What did it matter that I was a pegasus and she was a unicorn? Friendship is blind, and when we parted that day it was clear Misty was feeling a lot better.





Another day, I was out in town doing a stream when I suddenly got notified of something from Crystal Wonder, Jewelers Royal. Mom gave them a Royal Patronage a while back because they supply us with so much useful stuff in the jewelry department (one of my favorite necklaces came from them). And this links to a cunning plan I had cooked up.

After mom's crown had been stolen, the security had been increased. But what if another thief came along and tried the same trick and got through the defenses and took the crown?

Sorry, that was a long sentence. But it conveys my concerns. My brilliant idea was this; have a fake crown made, stick this fake crown in the vault in mom's bedroom, and put the real one in a place where nopony would think to look. That way, the potential thief would head straight for the vault and take a fake crown home, whilst the real thing is still in the palace! Enemy foiled!

So, I temporarily stopped the stream and headed in with my disguise on to pick it up. I undoubtedly have fans that go to places like Crystal Wonder, Jewelers Royal, so not being recognized was kinda a big deal.

I picked it up, remarkably easily and quickly may I add, and then got on my way back to the palace to start my operation. Once certain mom was away from the room, I popped into her bedroom, opened the vault, and popped the new crown in. I then closed it and put the real crown in a secure place where nopony would look for it. Except those who knew where to look, of course.

That was another task succesfully completed. Another day of sleuthing over, now to move onto the next job!





Mom and I were sharing tea a while later when I decided to decided to reveal something to her.

"You know Zipp, right?"

"Of course I do!" Mom said. "She is your sister, after all. I feel I know her very well."

"I noticed she's spending a lot of time with the others. Almost like... they're her true friends," I said.

Mom nodded, but looked a tiny bit concerned. "Tell nopony else, but I have my doubts about them," she admitted. "The timing of their arrival is a bit odd, to say the least, and as such I want to keep more of an eye on them. If you see anything odd or remotely strange from them, report it to me at once. Understand?"

"Gotcha!" I said, before dipping into some tea. This stuff always helped me relax and stay calm no matter what was going on in the world. We truly did exist in a paradise up on our little rock.

Once this task was completed, I was sure to return to doing what I do best- giving back to my fans and all who support the Royal Family. Which at the time, I thought, was most ponies.





At long last, the great day arrived. The evening of the Royal Celebration was finally upon us, and we were all in a state of readiness for the grand festivities that were to await us. We'd already got our manes and tails done, and I must say mine looked absolutely fab. We then spent much of the day at events, speeches, and we even got to watch a fly-past courtesy of the Air Force! Zipp will be able to fill you in on the specifics of the aircraft and the fly-past. Wait a moment, I forgot. She's in Maretime Bay right now, so won't be back for a while.

So, back to me. I started the evening with my vocal exercises, determined not to strain my voice or go out of tune at the worst possible moment. Luckily it all seemed to be working fine on that front. It was the usual- the 'me me mes', the tongue twisters (I'd gotten pretty good at 'red feather, yellow feather'), and a couple of other ones designed to ensure I was simply in the best condition I could possibly be in for tonight, doing what I do best.

I then made my way for stage makeup. Apart from looking great, it reduces the effect of harsh lighting on the skin and fur which would otherwise make my body look like it was made of pancake batter. Hmm, must have pancakes again some day. Sunny does some pretty nice ones.

Concentrate, Pipp!

I certainly looked a good deal better than I would without it, so it was off to the other rooms for wiring and fitting. The harness was soon in place, and the cables were all fitted and I was good to go. Oddly, though, the engineers decided to lift me up and move me over to where the others were while still suspended. Apparently this was to check the horizontal transit motors or something like that. OK.

I was moved slowly into position, with the equipment stopping me over the pit briefly, before moving me again to one side where Zipp and mom were.

"Ah, there she is!" Mom beamed, with a big grin on her face. "Your sister understands the importance of maintaining the status quo."

"Me me me meeee!" I replied, before being put down on the ground. "I'm good to go!"

"Excellent!" Mom replied, before trotting over to a control panel. She then hit the go button. "Showtime!"

My headset whirred into life as the winding gear engaged. "We are go for launch. Your Highness, the movement patterns have been programmed in and the lighting is set up. Your performance is good to go. Have a nice flight."

"Thanks!" I said. "Break a leg!"

As the cables continued to lower us down, I saw a cheering crowd down below. They were cheering at and for us, which was pretty amazing.

After all, this sort of thing doesn't come around very often. Time to give them the performance of a lifetime!
> Victim of a Revolution
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I quickly checked over my equipment as we were lowered in. I smiled at the cheering crowd, who were waving, clearly excited to see their idol.

"Hello, Zephyr Heights!" I called. "You ready for a party?"

The crowd cheered loudly, with many holding signs and looking very excited indeed.

My radio buzzed loudly. "Equipment is locked and good to go. Prepare for action. Good luck, Your Highness!"

As mom and Zipp were dropped into position below me and onto the thrones, it was time to get going with the show. Boy was I looking forward to this! The cables drew me forward as we had rehearsed, and as I had already prepped my lungs and vocal chords for action, I launched off into the vocals.

"We got the light, we're comin' in stronger, we're in it together!
If you want it, it's all inside your mind!
We got the light, won't wait any longer, we'll get it together!
If you want it, then you can paint the sky!" (hey!)

I flew over the crowd, watching their happy faces as they saw a pegasus soaring over them. True, it was wires and stuff, but don't bust me on a technicality, kay?

I stopped, and hovered in front of one colt, before moving into the verse.

"Used to care what they'd say, let 'em into my brain/
But I found a new way!" (ooh-ooh-ooh)

I then lifted off into the air, the fan looking utterly starstruck. I mean, his favourite popstar had just interacted with him!

I was now much higher up, and shifted into the next bit of the vocals through some acrobatic sections of the choreography.

"Every time I fall down, I pick it up like rebound/
Gotta get through somehow!"

I suddenly saw some running, but paid it no heed. It was probably somepony going to the bathroom after downing too much fruit punch. I know the hard way that's not fun.

I shifted to the next section of words.

"We don't fly like we used to, we take what we've been through/
And we can feel brand new! (ooh-ooh-ooh)
I know I am a fighter, I feel the fire/
I'm shining brighter!" (ooh-ooh-ooh)

And yes, the irony of those words was not lost on me as I tumbled and rolled through the skies. But who cared? It was all the same to them. The cheering suggested as much, and the cameras stayed trained on me as I kept moving.

As you probably know already, I was a complete nobody in the human world. Or nopony, I guess. The sort of being nopony noticed or properly acknowledged. In a way I was somewhat invisible on that front.

And yet here, it was different. I was flying and soaring through the skies, with legions of adoring fans cheering me on, surrounded by supportive folks, and a true family. That sorta makes me a real life Cinderella of sorts.

I'll explain who that is later, but it's a really old rags to riches story.

Things were rolling along as normal, but then I realised something odd. I hadn't seen Sunny or Izzy in the crowd. Or even Misty for that matter. I hadn't really seen them the whole day as I'd been busy getting ready for the performance and watching all the stuff for mom's jubilee, but apart from that I'd been on relatively good terms with them. Perhaps they were being kept away to avoid scaring any pegasi in the room?

Yeah, that made sense.

As I was flying along, I suddenly heard my radio cut in.

"-don't think he likes us very much."

"You think? It's OK, we're not going to hurt you."

Wait a second. Those were Sunny and Izzy's voices. But how was I hearing them through my headset? My headset was currently tuned to the control room, so unless they were in the control room-

Wait. They were in the control room?

There was some incoherent speech over the speakers as the line struggled to pick their voices up, and then I heard Izzy's voice again. "-re not gonna fry your brain or anything!"

"PLEASE SPARE ME! I HAVE A WIFE AND KIDS!"

That was the technician's voice! He was in some sort of trouble!

Before I could send a message the lights above me suddenly began to flicker, and the sound began to jump and distort. "Wait, what the?"

I was brought to a sudden stop, and glanced down to see the light beams had gone down to the floor, and were focused on... Hitch? What was he doing here?

Hitch, in case you don't know, is a friend of mine from Maretime Bay. But what was he doing here, and disguised as a pegasus of all things? The cameras were focused on him, and in the spotlight he looked very awkward.

And then he started to sing. Oh boy, was it bad.

"Throwin' up, find a glove/
Fly around, up above/
Doin' stuff that I love/
You're like, "Why?", I'm like, "What?"

Seriously, he needs to take some improv classes if he's going to try freestyling. OK, I'm not really into rap myself, but even I could do better than that! Equestria is THE land of characters bursting into song for no readily obvious reason!

He even kept going!

"Crisp and dry, eat some mud/
Glowing up, lovey-dove..."

I shook my head. "What is happening?"

It wouldn't be long until I found out, as I heard more voices over the radio. "NO! DON'T MOVE THAT LEVER!"

I knew exactly where this was going, and in doing so reached for the emergency harness release that would let me drop to the floor in the event of an accident.

Unfortunately, I was slightly too slow. The machinery went haywire! I was pulled backwards with such extreme force my lungs were nearly forced out of my mouth! I continued to scrabble around for the harness release, but I was being subjected to such extreme G Forces moving was difficult. I felt like I weighed at least ten times my normal weight! And no, Zipp, that doesn't give you the right to make lipophobic jokes.

OK, that's enough big words for one day. It was like being on a rollercoaster, only without the safety featured. I was hurled up, down, side to side, and flipped over repeatedly. All the time I kept pulling at the harness to try and release it, but it seemed to be stuck.

"I'M GONNA BE SICK!" I screamed, as the machinery continued to malfunction. It finally seemed to stop over the center of the chamber.

I was held there by a few wires, upside down, with my head dangerously close to the ground. And a crowd of ponies, all of whom looked cross. "Err, hi?" I said, trying to break the tension.

Then there was a loud bang. I looked up, and saw a cable had given way. "Oh no."

A succession of bangs revealed the cables holding me in place were breaking, and the last one went, depositing me onto the floor. Surrounded by soldiers.

"EXECUTE OMEGA PROTOCOL!"

Before I knew what was happening a furious flurry of blows began raining down on me. I tried to bring my wings up to cover me, but a group of guards held them down. I covered my face with my hooves as best as I could whilst they kept on beating me.

"REMEMBER! THE GENERAL WANTS HER ALIVE!"

I knew there was only one way out of this. I lacked the strength to get these monsters off me, so I called out as best I could. "MOM! HELP ME!"

The soldier next to my head laughed. "Nice try, but that lardbucket isn't going to save yo-"

He stopped mid sentence as mom leaped onto him and smashed him to the floor. She swung round and began slamming into each of them in turn. "Get your dirty hooves off my daughter!"

Once they were pushed back, I rolled out and retreated back with mom. No sooner had we started discussing an escape plan than a gunshot rang out, and mom was on the floor.

"Take her out!"

A horde of soldiers jumped on top of mom, using their implements to attack her. I was frozen in fright. Should I step in or should I save myself? I had no idea what to do!

Suddenly, mom's crown slid out from underneath the mass of bodies and stopped in front of me. I picked it up.

And then I heard her voice. "Pipp! Run! Save yourself!"

I turned and ran as quickly as I could, checking over my shoulder to see if I was being chased. Alarms and sirens were blaring loudly as I dashed down the corridors and tried to escape.

Soldiers were everywhere, so to escape I hid in a laundry cart and waited for some to pass. I then leaped out and got on my way again.

The same words were playing over the speakers. "DEATH TO THE FALSE FAMILY!"

I shook my head in fright, and kept on running. These were our subjects. They had loved us just moments ago?

What had I done to deserve this?
> Tartarus Hath no Fury
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I knew I had to keep going, and that the palace wasn't safe. I looked around, sensing all sorts of things going wrong. Alarms were blaring in the corridors, and doors were being opened and closed constantly by soldiers. I stopped in one corridor seeing a soldier coming the other way.

"Visual on the Princess!" he shouted.

Oh no.

I was about to turn and run, when suddenly a member of household staff sped past.

The soldier looked at him. "Royalist scum!" he shouted, and took off after them.

That was my chance. It was my time to go. I sped off down the corridor he had come from and listened carefully for any other audio clues as I galloped along.

I soon got my warning on that front. Doors were being opened, and guns were being fired into the rooms they sat before. The soldiers were shooting whomever happened to be inside the rooms!

I stopped, and then saw a way out. A window was there, and I headed towards it. As I reached it a voice shouted out.

"STOP RIGHT THERE! COME QUIETLY UNDER THE LAW AND NO HARM SHALL COME TO YOU!"

I looked at her. She looked at me. We seemed to hold still for what felt like hours. But I decided on the course of action then and there.

I reached back and flipped the window open, then jumped out of it, sliding down the rooftop towards the guttering. As I saw the end of the space flying towards me, I then had an idea. We pegasi might not have been able to fly, but we could glide- Zipp showed me how it worked when we were in her workshop. Speaking of Zipp, I intended to give her a piece of my mind when we next crossed paths.

I reached the edge, spread my wings, and jumped. I managed to catch some sort of wind as I flew along, and turned down and along the landscape along the side of the palace. I flew downwards, seeing a city in a state of chaos!

There were explosions all over the place, and gunfire could be heard all over the place! The land below didn't seem too safe to land, and as if I didn't have enough to think about somepony was shooting at me.

A chopper thundered past, several soldiers onboard. It seemed they didn't spot me, or else I'd have been mincemeat before long. I was now able to get my bearings, and suddenly spotted Misty running along. My eyes narrowed as I saw her. That mare had a lot to answer for.

Avoiding a roadblock, I touched down in a crash landing, rolling in a heap until I came to a very undignified stop. I untangled myself and tried to shift my mane out of my eyes. The dirt and muck could be dealt with later. I headed into a nearby pathway, and looked around.

Sure enough, there they were. And I heard Misty speaking. "The army's hunting the princesses."

I stepped forward, kicking a can to get their attention. I had hidden the crystal under my wing, and opened it to take it out, before stomping over to them. "Which one of you is going to explain to me why that damn piece of metal is so important you had to ruin my whole show over it!?" I grabbed my phone and showed it to the others. "The army's arrested her! I saw them beating her before I ran!"

Sunny looked at Izzy. "Wait, Zipp didn't tell Pipp the plan?"

"Was she meant to?" I heard Misty ask. So she was in on this as well? Just goes to show she had chronic backstabbing syndrome.

"Yes," Izzy said. "And that means we're one princess down. But at least we have one! Her mom's the queen. The one they arrested."

Hitch looked at me. "If Pipp's mom is the queen, that makes her a princess."

Well obviously, dodo brain! Before I could provide a longer form response, my phone suddenly buzzed, and I looked at it again. Dazzle, the morning news host from ZBS, was on a podium, addressing us. "And now, at the request of the New Government, General Gulfstream addresses the nation."

A pony in military uniform stepped forward and looked down at us. I was getting distinct dictator vibes from his clothing choices alone. And when he spoke, I realised he was the voice I had heard in the throne room!

"My fellow pegasi, you have all overseen the complete farce that befell our country tonight. The very foundations of our society, on which our glorious nation was founded, were shown to be nothing but lies, convenient props for a false leadership. The former Queen was exposed as a consulate threat to our future, a weak and pathetic leader. During her twenty five years on that throne, she transformed our nation from a feared global power to the laughing stock of inferior races. This cannot do."

So, he was an enormous bigot on top of being nuts? Plus ca Change. That's a shorthand for the more things change, the more they stay the same.

"Your former monarch, to whom you dedicated so much of your affection and time, is a traitor. She has agreed to confess to her crimes."

The camera turned to mom, who was looking awful! They'd beaten her! "Mom!"

Mom began to speak, coughing badly from what I suspected were internal injuries. "I, Queen Haven, of the House of Cornuequus, do hereby confess to crimes against the State. I conspired to defraud the Bank of Zephyr Heights, spied for foreign powers, committed High Treason, and the worst charge of all- I was a phoney pony full of baloney. I humbly apologise for wronging you all, and sincerely hope you can forgive me."

No way she made that confession of her own free will. Was somepony holding a gun to her head?

She suddenly looked back at the camera. "Pipp! Run! Save yourself!"

As she was attacked again, I tuned the rest of the broadcast out. Those were the same words she'd shouted to me in the throne room. But something troubled me. She'd only mentioned my name, not Zipp. And in the movie she says both their names. So that meant-

Those bastards had Zipp!

"He's turned himself into a dictator!" Izzy said, which brought me back to reality.

I looked at them, still struggling to process that any of this was actually happening. The new life I had been given by whatever this magic did was disintegrating before my very eyes. "We have to go back!" I yelled. "We can't just leave mom and Zipp with those pigs! Who knows what they'll do to them!"

"We can't!" Sunny said.

Oh, really? Who are you to decide what we do or don't do given you got us into this mess, huh? I walked over to her, and got my face as close to hers as I could, to the point I could see the hairs in her nostrils. "And why is that?"

Sunny calmly pushed my face back before she started speaking again. "Because if we do, then we might get killed and all of this will have been for nothing! We have to move on and get to Bridlewood!"

Izzy then spoke. "She is right, you know."

Oh, of course she'd take Sunny's side. It's not as if she's the reason everything's such a mess right now! If metaphor works, Sunny was like the bulldozer knocking our lives into pieces, and for what, exactly?

Before I could say anything, Izzy continued. "We can bring back magic, but we need the crystal. We get magic back, we save your folks. Deal?"

Looks like Izzy was filling Zipp's role here, but we still had the party of six with Misty on our side. Speaking of Misty, she spoke again. "Uh, guys? Soldiers over there! We can't go back!"

Running them into gunfire would have been tempting- but on the other hoof those crystals could allow us to reverse this mess. I glanced back, then forward. "Fine! I know a way out. Follow me."

We set off on our way into the wilderness of Equestria, beyond the shining city that was now turned into a place of utter madness. I led them along a path and down to the lowlands, with only the vaguest sense of where we were going.

Make no mistake, this was an alliance of convenience. Given how those ponies had messed things up, it was a miracle I hadn't strangled them then and there. In hindsight, it was a good thing I didn't, huh?

But as we pushed on into the terrain, we eventually stopped for the night, and I slept in a tent. A TENT! Only mules do that!

I listened in the night, my hooves shining in the light, and briefly heard screaming from Sunny's tent. No doubt a nightmare.

Well, she deserved it, I thought to myself. Punishment for messing everything up.

I know bitterness towards others isn't a good emotion to hold, but in the circumstances it was hard to see the positive side of anything. I was lost, alone, scared, out in the wilderness of an alien world.

And two ponies I loved were in danger. And there was nothing I could do.
> I Won't be Coming Home
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"AARGH! BESTIE! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO PACK IN ON ME NOW?!"

This place absolutely sucked. I was stuck in the middle of nowhere with a group of idiots who had made a mess of things and were constantly goofing off to do other things. I had no signal, and we'd left in such a hurry I'd had no chance to pack a charger. Then again there was no guarantee the plug would fit in unicorn sockets, and I thoroughly doubt anypony had thought to make adapters. And I didn't trust Izzy to make an adapter, as I was pretty certain she'd only succeed in blowing herself up. Not only that, her constant cheeriness was really getting on my nerves.

I looked about and snarled in anger. All this stuff for apparently nothing! "I HATE THIS STUPID PLACE!"

I narrowed my eyes at the tree we were near. It looked kinda familiar. I thought I had seen it somewhere before. Was it the Crystal Tree from the ninth season of Friendship is Magic?

Before I could think further, I heard a voice behind me. "Hey, are you OK?"

I turned to see Sunny, looking at me. You have no idea how badly I wanted to punch her, seeing as she was the one who got us into this mess. Not only that, she clearly couldn't see the steam coming out of my nostrils. Honestly, the nerve of some ponies! "What do you think? Does my face look OK to you? Does anything look OK to you?"

Sunny tilted her head. "There's no need to be-"

I was sick of hearing her voice by that point. I was so angry I didn't care what I said. "No, Sunny, you've done quite enough talking for today, so how about trying something you find hard- listening?"

Sunny jumped backwards like somebody had flashed a camera in her face, and simply looked shocked as I went on with my complaints.

"Absolutely everything has gone wrong! My mane and coat have mud in them, my hooves are scuffed from all this damned walking, and we're living like primitives! I had to relieve myself in a bush earlier today! Do you have any idea how dirty that felt?"

That really was a pet peeve. Why would anypony choose to relieve themselves in the bushes when we have toilets? Sometimes ponykind seems to be evolving backwards!

"Not only that, the stunt you pulled? You left me hanging- literally! In that spotlight!" I moved forward and shoved my face into Sunny's, to the point she could probably see down my nostrils. "I know what type of friend leaves somepony out to dry like that! A REALLY SHITTY ONE!"

Sunny's eyes widened in shock. But I didn't give her a chance to reply.

"I had to watch them beating mom up as I escaped! Now mom and Zipp are probably dead or in a crummy jail cell with only cheddar and bread to eat... and it's all your fault. So I think at the very least you need to say sorry to me, instead of being all high and mighty and constantly throwing your problems our way."

Yeah, I know that may seem insensitive considering what we know now, but at the time a few bad dreams was small potatoes compared to your own mom being imprisoned by nutcases.

Sunny stammered a few words, clearly still in shock. "P- Pipp, I know this'll sound hollow, but I truly am sorry for the mess I've caused. I've been a terrible friend, and I've only made things worse. But I promise that I'll make things up to you, no matter what happens. We'll fix this world, save your family, and get things back on track- just not necessarily in that order."

She turned away from me. And before I could react she started sobbing.

All the anger I felt towards her melted away in an instant, and I realised what I was seeing. Sunny wasn't a monster who drove like a bulldozer through other pony's problems. She was insecure, broken, clearly struggling with how much was going wrong.

I trotted over and pulled her into a hug. "Sunny, if you're suffering, just let us know. We can fix this together, but we need to have a common baseline for our decisions or else chaos will result. And if we can bring magic back like you say we can, I think I can find it in my heart to forgive you."

I knew she was truly sorry. A pony who is just saying that to get what she wants doesn't react the way Sunny was. I helped her dry her eyes, and then we were back on the road to our next campsite.





I was certainly feeling a lot better when we arrived at our next stop. Izzy had calmed down a bit, and we got to talking.

"Aquamarine?" I said, with a smile. "That's my sixth favourite colour! Of course, you'd know that from having watched the movie!"

And yes, I had revealed to them I was in fact a former human. It was gonna become known eventually!

Hitch eventually joined us, after an attempt to go his own way, but we were soon sitting around discussing the game plan. Our next stop was Bridlewood, but Izzy was concerned. I sensed the person she had once been had experienced some sort of misery or possibly dysphoria when in their old life, as the line about being comfortable in her own skin really struck a chord with me. Even if that skin had a lot of fur over it.

Not to mention all the things that have gone wrong.

Sunny spoke to encourage us in these difficult times. "Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Izzy, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something."

"What was that?" Izzy asked.

"That there’s some good in this world, Izzy… and it’s worth fighting for.”

I think I may have misunderstood her after all. She's not dumb at all. Behind those eyes is a surprising amount of wisdom. That, naturally, had me wondering precisely who Sunny had been before all this began.

As we retired to our tents for the night, I checked my phone- Izzy had somehow produced a power bank and a USB cable from nowhere to let me charge my phone- and I still had no signal. Not even data worked out here. I was just a little pony far from home. A home I may never see again.

I looked up at the sky, and saw the moon hanging over the terrain, casting its light across the landscape and bathing our little campsite in its light. It was then I remembered something Zipp had said to me long ago.

"Even if we're apart, we can always find each other. Find the moon, and look up. It's the same moon we can both see."

I sighed, and sat down. "Please let them be OK," I whispered.

"Pipp," said a voice.

I looked around with a start. "Who's there?" I asked.

Suddenly, a white formless spirit appeared over the campfire, and stopped. "Pipp, I know things seem hard for you right now, but all things shall be well."

"How can I when so much has gone wrong?" I asked. "I miss my family. This was a chance for me to start again with my life, and it's all gone wrong!"

The spirit spoke again. "I assure you they are safe, but your mission is vital to the future of ponykind. There is an evil one out there, one who seeks to bring about the end of the world and all who live in it."

Great. I was hoping we wouldn't have to deal with Opaline until Make your Mark. "Great. What's Opaline up to?"

The voice was still there, and I suddenly recognized it. It was the exact same voice that had told me to take her place!

"You are the one who sent me here!" I realised.

"Yes, Pipp," the voice replied. "I brought you to this land for a very special purpose. Now that purpose is soon to be fulfilled. There is always the dream of a better tomorrow to fight for, and that means working alongside your friends. Soon, others will join you in your quest to save Equestria, and unlikely foes will become allies."

I didn't like where this was going. "So, who are you?"

"I'm afraid that's a mystery to be solved another time, Pipp," the voice replied. "Now you had best be off to bed. You and your friends have a long road ahead of you."

With that, the spirit vanished, and I went to my tent to sleep. I dropped off like a rock quickly. Turns out being visited by strange spirits really does a number on you!
> Things are Never Quite the Way they Seem
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When I awoke the next morning, my nose was suddenly alerted to things being slightly different. As my brain fired up and my body decided to try and move, I suddenly sensed something wafting into my nostrils.

I sat up and yawned, stretching as best as I could within the small tent I currently called home. I sighed and looked about, trying to find some way to at least sort my mane out. Even if I was travelling across an empty wasteland it simply wouldn't do to have a single hair out of place.

Once I was done arranging myself (or as Zipp would have called it, 'preening'), I unzipped the tent and stepped outside into the morning air. It was cool, and the landscape opened up before us in its stunning beauty, weaving away from us as it did so. It was enough to take my breath away for a moment, before my nose was suddenly activated again by a rather distinct and familiar smell.

And boy did it bring back memories. I looked over and saw a small grill set up roughly where the fire had once been, and sitting on it were all sorts of cooking implements. In one of the pans was a selection of pancakes, with the bottom of the pan lined with butter to ensure they didn't get stuck.

Somepony was cooking pancakes! Only my favorite breakfast!

I trotted over to look at it, and noticed they were delightfully browned to my tastes! Whomever was cooking these clearly knew me well!

"Morning, Pipp!" called a familiar voice, and Sunny suddenly appeared from behind a bush. "Sleep well?"

"As well as I could," I replied, as I looked at the meal. "Say, what's this?"

"Breakfast's on me today," Sunny smiled. "And what better way to get fired up then pancakes, butter, and maple syrup?"

"My favorite breakfast!" I said. "How did you know?"

"Zipp told me," Sunny answered, as she checked the pancakes. "And... flip!" She quickly flipped them over with the skill of a master artist, then continued to conversation as if nothing had happened. "I even got some Outingdale's maple syrup to sweeten the deal, but unfortunately there wasn't enough space in Izzy's cool bag for ice cream."

I still hadn't gotten my head round how Izzy's storage space worked. Some things simply made no sense, like her ability to produce tents from nowhere. "That's only my favorite weekend breakfast! So what gave you the idea to cook this, huh?"

Sunny looked up. "After yesterday, I realised I have a lot of making up to do for all of you, but especially you, Pipp. I had no right to flip your life upside down, and for that I know I have to regain your trust. This is part of that process- I know this reminds you of home, and as such it seemed like a good place to start."

I was touched by this. Sunny really did care! "That's really sweet of you, Sunny," I said. "So, how long until it's ready?"

"Should only be a few minutes," Sunny replied. "Izzy? Can you get the plates out of hammerspace?"

"Sure thing! Do you want stainless steel or silver cutlery?"

We then ate together, our first true meal as friends, as the previous morning's breakfast had been very tense indeed. And it was just as delicious as I remembered it! The pancakes just melted in the mouth, and the butter really added to the flavor. The syrup was the proverbial cherry on top, though Izzy somehow produced a cherry from nowhere to put on hers.

Once we were done eating, we began to discuss our forward progress. But this was where we encountered a disagreement of sorts.

Hitch outlined the two routes we could take from here. "The map gives us two options. One route takes us through Ghastly Gorge whilst another takes us over the mountains. Based on the scale of this map, the route over the mountains and into the next valley is shorter."

But Sunny had her own thoughts about which route was best. "The Ghastly Gorge route is considerably better layed out, and has fewer changes of altitude."

This did not sit well with Hitch. At all. "But my route is faster because the journey is shorter. Frankly, we've wasted enough time already, and we need to speed up."

I was game with that. "I second that. I haven't had a shower in a while, and need a wash. I'm probably starting to smell."

So, that was that settled. Our fellowship was split into two, effectively. One half went down, and the other went up. Which made four. Which was strange, as I was certain there were five of us.

As we proceeded through the region, things soon began to get strange. Along our route, we began to walk into a creepy forest. This forest was a very strange place. Normally, forests are absolutely full of life, and seem to be teeming with creatures.

But this one wasn't. It was oddly empty. And felt almost... dead, as if nopony was here. They might not have been, for all I know now. But I didn't know that then.

We were partway into the forest when I noticed something very odd. The trees were changing color. Several of the trees were green, whilst others had oddly orangey leaves. But it wasn't autumn. It was still summer, according to the calendar back at home. So why were some trees a completely different color?

There was also no sound apart from us. Hitch stepped on a twig once, and the sound echoed for miles all around, which I found creepy. "Hitch, this place is creepy," I said. "And not the good kind of creepy."

"Is there a good kind of creepy?" Hitch asked.

"Yes!" I said. "The type with fun scares, not the overwhelming sense of dread and with no clue as to what happened here!" The place was beginning to feel oddly familiar somehow. But how could that be?

Suddenly, a device that Hitch was carrying went off, producing a series of loud crackles. I jumped in the air. "What was that?" I asked.

Hitch stopped, and raised a hoof to call a halt. He then took out a small box and pointed it at the area to check what was going on. "This is bad," he said.

"What's happening?" I asked.

"Radiation reading," Hitch replied. "It's coming back as 7mSv."

"What's that?"

"Millisieverts," Hitch replied. He pulled two things out of his bag. "Put this on. No arguing."

It was some sort of yellow suit, which I slipped into without complaint as Hitch had asked. Or ordered. He helped me zip it up, and then helped me fit the gas mask and hood. He then pulled on another one, and I helped him with the same.

"How did you find these?" I asked over the radio. "Radiation suits aren't usual kit for a policeman!"

"It's a long story and I'll explain later," Hitch replied. "Right now these suits will keep us alive, and the rebreather will filter out the worst of the radioactive particles."

"Radiation? As in grow extra limbs?" I asked.

"No, as in lung cancer or your body falling apart," Hitch answered. "If the readings are this high here, when what in Equestria is releasing all these readings?"

We pushed onwards into the forest, looking about for anything that might help us acquaint ourselves with our bearings. But the forest seemed to stretch endlessly for miles. Just endless rows of dead trees.

Suddenly, we came across what looked like a long abandoned military checkpoint. The building was caving in, and the walls were wonky. I then noticed a sign and pointed to it. The sign had partially fallen apart, but some text was still readable.

EXCLUSION ZONE

ALL UNAUTHORISED PERSONNEL KEEP OUT

AUTHORISED VISITORS MUST HAVE PAPERWORK AND DOSAGE PAPERS READY FOR INSPECTION

BY ORDER

UNION OF FEDERAL UNICORN REPUBLICS

"Something tells me we're not supposed to go in," I said. I was pretty scared now. This place was giving me the creeps.

"If we turn back now we'll have wasted a whole day," Hitch replied. "We need to keep going. Use the geiger counter I gave you and avoid the spots with high levels. We should be save."

I nodded nervously, knowing the alternative was to be stuck on my own out here. We stepped through the ruined gate and into this 'exclusion zone'. I was beginning to suspect this zone wasn't to keep ponies out. It was to stop something from escaping.

But what?

We kept on going, the geiger counters serving as background noise to our journey. Before long the path began to climb, and we were soon on a hill overlooking a valley.

I looked down and just then saw a huge building sitting in the middle of an abandoned town. It had a massive chimney extending into the air, and a lot of damage to the walls.

It looked a lot like a building from the world I had left behind. One connected to a terrible disaster.
> A Great Star from Heaven
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"How can we be here?" I asked.

"Where?" Hitch asked, looking at me.

I pointed down below. "Does that building not look familiar to you?"

Hitch looked closer. "I guess to a degree it does. But how can the Chernobyl nuclear plant be here in Equestria?"

I had a horrifying thought. What if the magic that had pulled me here and turned me into a pony had also pulled bits of the world in with us?

I had to stay focused. "Come on, Hitch. We need to stay focused and continue through here. We started, so we might as well finish."

Hitch nodded. "Agreed. I'm guessing we'll be walking through pony Pripyat next."

We began to make our way down the hill and gently dropped down the slopes and terrain of the area, seeing the trees gradually vanish. To one side stood a series of graveyards. These graveyards were full of gravestones, many faded and weather beaten with age.

I stopped and took a look at one. All of the dates of death were within a few days of one another. They had all perished in something terrible. I moved onwards, sensing I was stepping into a place that the unicorns desperately wanted to forget.

The pathway began to weave towards a small town, and outside it stood a sign.

WELCOME TO GOLDEN HILLS

HOME OF THE UFUR EXPERIMENTAL ENERGY PROGRAM

TO A BETTER FUTURE FOR ALL UNICORNS.

Hitch looked to one side. "Sure seems that didn't end well for them," he said. "Come on. There's a street this way."

We stepped onwards into the streets of Golden Hills, and I found the place creepy. But not in the fun creepy sort of way. The sort where your skin itches and you really just want to leave.

The geiger counters we carried were still beeping as we walked along. Radiation levels were everywhere. Just what had happened to result in these sorts of levels? I'm no nuclear scientist, but radiation levels are usually not good, right? I didn't fancy growing an extra ear, because who wants that, amiright?

We turned a bend and saw a huge sculpture standing in the center of the town. We stopped and looked at it, slowly reading the text on it as we stood there.

THIS MEMORIAL STANDS TO THE HEROES OF GOLDEN VALLEY, WHO CONTAINED THE AFTERMATH OF THE MAYONNAISE BLAST OF 986.

THEIR NAMES LIVE FOREVER IN THE PAGES OF HISTORY.

I looked at Hitch. "So this is why unicorns fear the word mayonnaise!" I said. "It was the cause of a disaster!"

Hitch nodded. "That was not what I was expecting. Based on something Izzy said unicorns find mayo toxic, so there's probably a double meaning there." He indicated ahead. "There's a path going that way."

I was beginning to think Hitch didn't have a clue where he was going, but I would much rather be with somepony else than lost on my own in such an awful environment.

As we continued on our way, the large station loomed into view before us. It seemed very ominous, especially with the angular lines and vast amounts of concrete that was plastered on top of the structure and made it seem like an alien city had been dumped in the middle of the countryside.

We continued getting closer, before suddenly the ground started to shift! "Is that an earthquake?" I asked.

"No!" said a voice. "But it is your end!"

I looked around to see who had spoken, before suddenly there was a heavy impact on the back of my head. The next few moments are something of a blur, I'm afraid, but I do recall some strange shapes moving about in the distance.





Once I had regained my consciousness, I looked about to find myself stuck in a room. "Hitch?" I called out. Luckily I was still in my gas mask and HAZMAT suit (without it I wouldn't be here to tell you my story), so there was that. I looked at my geiger counter and noticed a changed reading.

"I'm OK, Pipp!" Hitch called, and trotted over to me. "I'm getting a reading of 3.6. Not great, not terrible."

"Are we inside the plant?" I asked.

Suddenly, one of the screens on the plant wall started up, and I saw a face of a human looking at us. He had a very mean look on his face. "Of course you are, you vapid airhead," he said, cruelly.

"You take that back!" I said. "I am not vapid! And I'm not an airhead!"

The figure laughed. "Just keep telling yourself that, Rarity clone. The same goes to the diet Fluttershy over there."

"Hitch and Fluttershy actually don't have particularly similar personalities," Hitch answered. "Both can talk to animals, but one is a confident local leader whilst the other can be, well, shy."

"Wrong," the figure said. "But none of that matters as I have you here now. Do you know where you are?"

"Golden Valley Power Station?" I ventured. "It doesn't seem like a nice place at all."

"Correct, much like this dystopian world that should be scrubbed off the boot of history," the figure said. "This place was the site of an accident, where mayo resulted in the deaths of thousands and the region had to be sealed off. They estimate it will still be contaminated for thousands of years.

"But both of you are trapped here. The other one keeps meddling in the world and constantly revives the characters, no matter how many of them I seem to kill. Hopefully this time I can permanently finish them off before they can replace them yet again."

What?

That was alarming. Somehow I was beginning to think that voice I heard at the campsite was connected to all this. Had that voice brought be here because this person had killed the original Pipp? And given most of the ponies I had met were transformed humans, had he killed them too?

This guy had one chip on his shoulder!

"Know that this time you were bested by the great and powerful Chris Chan!" He laughed loudly as the feed shut off.

I looked at Hitch. "We have to figure out a way out of here."

"Sounds good to me," Hitch said. "Provided it doesn't involve walking past an exposed reactor core, as that would be fatal."

We stepped up to the door and looked for traps, and as we opened it we saw an access corridor towards the light. One section had a sign saying 'exit'. "That seems like an obvious way to go," Hitch said.

"What if that Chris guy swapped the signs about?" I suggested.

"Good point," Hitch replied. "Walk slowly and we should be fine."

We stepped out of the room and headed along the corridor, with only creaking corridors and the occasional dripping of water from overhead interrupting our thoughts. The lights had gone out a long time ago, and the pathways below us continued to wobble and shift as we trotted along.

"This is seriously spooky," I said quietly.

"No wonder people often think places like this are haunted," Hitch replied. "But that's not our concern right now. Keep an eye out, and make sure to use the torches."

I stepped round the bend and soon found another door, which opened without too much difficulty. Though I soon found out why. The floor beyond had collapsed, and simply fell into a bottomless pit below. I didn't fancy breaking my neck, so I stepped back and shut the door, turning back. "Hole in the floor," I replied. "We need to find another route."

Hitch nodded. "Should we try the next door?"

I nodded, so we did. This door led out onto an open walkway, and we stepped along it along the outside of the building. This, at least, was leading away from the disaster zone and towards an escape platform, which we were soon off and out on our way.

Somehow, we had escaped after what felt like hours. Clearly that place wasn't as inescapable as we had thought. Once we were well clear and the geiger counters had stopped beeping, we removed our masks and continued on our way. You have no idea how glad I would be to finally take that thing off. Not only did my wings get really cramped under all that fabric, I smelled once I had it off! My fur was full of sweat!

But that bonding experience had other positive effects. Hitch had really helped me out there. So it was an honor to consider him a friend, considering what he had done.

We were soon on a mountaintop, and saw Bridlewood ahead of us. Our friends were there, too. Sunny and Izzy looked like they'd fought hard, whilst Misty had a new friend- Sprout, the last pony I'd been expecting to see.

But our quest was nearly at an end. Finally! I could have a shower and put some conditioner in my mane! That motivated me as we set off for Bridlewood, and Izzy's house. Here's hoping she has running water- though I was only wanting a shower. I only do bubble baths on Saturdays!