The new Mane 6 have been studying historical records to learn more about ancient Equestria. After learning about Pride Month, a month long celebration of the LGBT community, they decide to bring it back.
And with this celebration underway the atmosphere is perfect for secrets to come out, romantic secrets of course.
When Zipp woke up it was very quiet. This was surprising, considering she lived under the same roof as Sunny, Izzy, Pipp and now Misty too. Of the other four mares Misty was the only one Zipp could classify as quiet. When she lifted her head and glanced at her alarm clock she learned why it was so quiet.
“Ah, I overslept” Zipp cried as she leaped out of bed. She and the others had agreed to get up at eight so they could be in town for half eight to oversee the start of the celebrations. It was now half twelve. The festivities would be well underway by now.
Pipp isn’t going to be happy with me, Zipp thought as she bolted out the door. She was really looking forward to this and now I’ve gone and overslept. Zipp took flight and started flying towards Maretime Bay. From her elevated position she could see rainbow banners and streamers decorating every street. Vendors were selling different pride flags and Sunny and Izzy had even repainted the former’s smoothie stand with a rainbow colour scheme. The Earth Pony liked the finished product so much she was considering making the change permanent.
Well everything seems to have gone off without a hitch, Zipp observed, before spotting a familiar stallion walking along. Speaking of…
“Hey sheriff” Zipp called as she flew down to meet him.
“Zipp. There you are,” Hitch greeted. “I was worried when you didn’t show up with the others, but they said you were just sleeping in.” Hitch looked at her, concerned. “You seem to be doing that a lot lately. Are you alright?”
Zipp sighed as she landed beside Hitch. After the group’s recent encounter with Opaline, Zipp had doubled her efforts to investigate magic and the unity crystals, but she still wasn’t making any progress. She had been staying up later as a result, turning night into day as Misty put it.
“I’m fine,” Zipp muttered. “My sleep pattern is just messed up. I’ll get it back on track.”
Hitch nodded as Zipp took the opportunity to look at the celebration from ground level.
“So, everything running smoothly?” Zipp asked.
“So far,” Hitch answered. “A few local residents have been sticks in the mud about the whole thing but overall everything is going well. Posey’s organising a parade from half two to half five and Sprout’s setting up a firework display for the evening.”
Zipp nodded, then noticed the lack of a baby dragon on the stallion’s back.
“Hey, where’s Sparky?” she asked.
“Your mom offered to take care of him for the day,” Hitch responded. “And it’s just as well. I was watching over everything by myself until you showed up.”
“Really? Where are the others?”
“Sunny and Izzy are in Bridlewood. Apparently there’s some problem with the festivities there. And Pipp took Misty to see the pride celebrations at Zephyr Heights.”
While Hitch was talking Zipp saw several foals standing around some plants. More specifically two Earth Pony colts seemed to be trying to grow rainbow coloured flowers while two Unicorn fillies and two Pegasi colts watched on in amazement. On one go the Earth Pony colts appeared to put too much magic into one of the flowers as it grew huge and collapsed under its own weight. It nearly fell on the Pegasi colts, but fortunately Zipp flew over quick as a flash and pulled them out of the way.
“Sorry” the Earth Pony colts cried as Zipp gently dropped the Pegasi colts back on the ground.
“It’s okay. No one got hurt,” Zipp said as she landed, before spotting a crude sign one of the Unicorn fillies was holding in her magic. “Pride plants,” she read. “That’s pretty clever.”
The Unicorn filly gave a smile that strongly reminded Zipp of the one Izzy gave the night around the camp fire while the group were travelling to Bridlewood for the first time.
“Thank you, Princess Zipp” the filly said quietly.
Zipp’s own smile faltered slightly.
“It’s just Zipp” she corrected before turning tail and diving into the nearby sheriff station.
Hitch, who had been watching the interaction, decided to check on his friend. It wasn’t like Zipp to just take off like that during a conversation, especially since Zipp loved talking to foals.
When Hitch entered the sheriff station Zipp was busy unpacking stuff at her desk. Despite having been appointed detective of Maretime Bay ages ago Zipp had initially refused to have a desk in the sheriff station, insisting that her work space in her room at the Brighthouse was enough. Pipp and Misty were eventually able to get Zipp to accept Hitch’s offer of a workplace desk by pointing out that Zipp was often visiting the station so having her own personal space there would be beneficial. Even though the desk had been installed and Zipp had brought some of her belongings from the Brighthouse to the station she had been dragging her hooves over setting her desk up. Now though she seemed laser focused on the task.
Zipp looked up briefly when Hitch opened the door, then went back to what she was doing. Hitch sighed. He could see what she was doing, avoiding eye contact. Whatever was bothering her she wasn’t ready to talk about yet. Deciding to wait it out Hitch walked over to his own desk, sat down and pulled out a jigsaw puzzle.
“Hitch?” Zipp said suddenly.
“Hum?” Hitch looked up from the half finished jigsaw to see that Zipp had finished organising her desk. The two had been sitting in silence for the past twenty minutes and it seemed Zipp was finally ready to talk. “What’s up, Zipp?”
Zipp sighed before speaking. “Do you think I’m ever going to be free of it?”
“Free of what?” Hitch asked.
“Of being a princess? Of being the future queen?” Zipp answered.
“Aren’t you already free of it?” Hitch pointed out. “I mean, your mom doesn’t seem to be trying to make you a queen anymore. She let you move to Maretime Bay. She let you become a detective.”
“Because she thinks this is all temporary!” Zipp yelled. “She thinks I’m just scared of the pressure of becoming queen someday and that I just need some time away to clear my head. She’s convinced I’ll see what my destiny is and return to Zephyr Heights.”
“You just need to give her time,” Hitch said gently. “She’ll come around.”
“No, she won’t,” Zipp whined. “My mom’s made it clear what she expected me to be from the moment I was born. She even named me after the fact.”
Hitch tilted his head in confusion at that statement.
“It’s my name,” Zipp explained. “Zephyrina. It comes from Zephyr, as in Zephyr Heights. My mom named me after the place I was ‘destined’ to rule. Pipp was the one to start calling me ‘Zipp’ because she could see how uncomfortable my name made me feel.”
Hitch took in all he had just been told. This explained why Zipp hated her real name. It was another reminder of the destiny Haven tried to force her daughter into. Said destiny was still clearly an ever present worry on the mare’s mind, despite her now being away from Zephyr Heights.
“Hitch, do you mind if I rant for a little bit?” Zipp asked.
Hitch nodded. “Sure, go ahead. I’m sure the residents of Maretime Bay can look after themselves a little longer.”
Zipp started flying around the room rambling about all she had to put up with growing up with Pipp and their mother. Hitch briefly tried going back to his jigsaw, but he couldn’t take his attention off Zipp.
The mare was quite the enigma. A rather beautiful enigma, Hitch admitted. Most would say Pipp was the better looking of the two sisters, but Hitch disagreed with that statement. While the pop star was indeed pretty, the down to earth sheriff found himself more drawn to Zipp for the lack of effort she put into how she looked. Aside from her mane, which she liked to keep gelled up, Zipp was perfectly comfortable with how she looked naturally.
It wasn’t just her simple looks that made Hitch admire her. Zipp was a joy to be around. She was serious when she needed to be but still fun loving when she was with her friends. She could be very sly when she felt like it, and was very intelligent. During all their time spent together as friends and coworkers Hitch had grown rather fond of her.
Zipp finished her ranting and landed in the centre of the room, trembling slightly. Hitch got up from his seat and walked over to her, pulling her into a hug. Zipp buried her face into Hitch’s neck as he wrapped his fore legs around her. How did I not see this storm brewing inside you? Hitch asked himself.
Hitch wasn’t sure how long they were in that position for, all he was aware of was that Zipp suddenly started laughing out of nowhere.
“What?” he asked as she pulled back slightly to look at him.
“Nothing,” she answered. “Just that making contact with one’s wings during a hug is considered an intimate gesture by Pegasi.”
Hitch swiftly withdrew his hooves, worried he had weirded Zipp out.
“Ah. Sorry” he apologised.
Zipp giggled. “It’s okay, Hitch. If I was uncomfortable I would have tried to wiggle out.”
Hitch stared for a second, then a thought occurred to him. “What if it had been somepony else?”
“Then I would have been uncomfortable” Zipp answered without thinking. Then she realised her mistake and covered her mouth with her hooves. She had just admitted she was alright with Hitch specifically hugging her like that. He gave her a cheeky smile.
“Un huh,” he said. “Zipp is there something you want to tell me?”
“Oh!”
Blushing furiously, Zipp buried her face in Hitch’s chest. “This is embarrassing” she muttered into his fur. Hitch gently pulled her back slightly so she was looking at him again.
“It’s okay, Zipp. You can trust me” he said softly.
Zipp hesitated. In truth, Hitch made her swoon. He was everything she had always been looking for in a stallion; he was brave, charming, loyal, serious, funny and very handsome.
Deciding that if worse came to worse Hitch would let her down gently Zipp finally let it out. “I like you, Hitch. Like like you. A lot.”
“Really? For how long?” Hitch asked, eager to know the full story.
“Since Maretime Bay day.”
“What. That was months ago. Why did you never say anything?”
Zipp looked at the ground, avoiding Hitch’s gaze as she answered. “When I was growing up several of my mom’s friends told me that my tomboyishness would make me seem less attractive to any potential partners and that if I ever wanted a coltfriend I should act more feminine like my sister. I’m not gonna lie, this whole time part of me believed them.”
“Zipp,” Hitch started firmly, lifting her head with his hoof so that their eyes met. “You don’t have to be feminine to attractive. I love you just the way you are in your natural, simple way.”
Zipp started blushing again as Hitch’s words fully registered. “Wait. You like me too?”
Hitch nodded. Zipp’s eyes widened, but then her muzzle adopted a sly smile.
“Well then, you won’t mind if I do this” Zipp said, before leaning in and pressing her lips against Hitch’s. Hitch was caught off guard, but then returned the gesture, wrapping his hooves around Zipp’s neck.
“You sly mare” Hitch muttered as Zipp pulled back and started aggressively nuzzling him.
“I know” Zipp responded as Hitch hugged her close.
“But I wouldn’t have it any other way” Hitch said lovingly.
From outside the sheriff station two ponies were watching the events unfolding inside through the window.
“Haha. Success” Sprout cheered, reaching out his hoof to Posey, who high fived him.
“One down, two to go” she said, taking out her phone and typing in a group chat.
Sunny and Izzy were walking through Bridlewood towards the latter’s old cottage. They had spent the last few hours trying to get the Unicorns of Bridlewood to celebrate Pride Month with no success. Most Unicorns seemed to hold an outdated view on such topics and the two had proved unable to sway them into changing their minds.
“Sunny? Izzy?” Sunny looked back to see Alphabittle approaching them. Izzy gave no sign she had heard the stallion and kept on walking. Sunny turned back to talk to Alphabittle.
“I’m so sorry about this,” he apologised. “I know you girls worked so hard to set all this, but the residents of Bridlewood were stuck in another era before you came along and the sad truth is most of them still are.”
Sunny nodded in silent agreement. Zephyr Heights embraced modern concepts in all aspects, from culture to architecture to technology. Maretime Bay was somewhat outdated in comparison to the Pegasi city in terms of architecture and technology, but could still be considered modern. Bridlewood on the other hoof with the exception of Izzy’s cottage and the Crystal Tearoom felt like it had come out of the previous century. Sadly it seemed the same could be said for the locals. Any Unicorn that was looking for a change had left for Maretime Bay or Zephyr Heights after the tribes reunited, while the Unicorns content with the way things were, stayed.
“It’s okay,” Sunny said. “Give it time. They’ll come round.”
“I hope so,” Alphabittle said, then he glanced up at the departing Izzy. “You better go check on her. From what Haven and I’ve heard you can cheer her up like nothing else.”
Sunny nodded. “I’ll take care of her. Don’t worry.”
Bidding Alphabittle farewell, Sunny ran to catch up to Izzy, reaching her just as they arrived outside Izzy’s cottage. The usually cheerful Unicorn was noticeably down in the dumps.
“Hey. You alright?” Sunny asked.
Izzy didn’t answer. She simply opened the door and trotted inside. Sunny followed her in. There was definitely something wrong with Izzy. She started walking towards the kitchen, then stopped halfway and dropped to the ground.
“Izzy?”
The Unicorn hummed in response, though it sounded more like a grumble. Concerned Sunny walked over to the kitchen to try and find something to cheer Izzy up. After checking all the cupboards she settled on a bag of marshmallows. Izzy looked up as she heard Sunny returning, saw the bag she was holding in her mouth and took it in her magic as she pushed herself into a sitting position. Sunny sat opposite Izzy as she opened the bag and stared at the contents for awhile.
“I thought they could change” she said finally before popping a marshmallow into her mouth.
“The Bridlewood residents?” Sunny asked. Izzy nodded before offering Sunny a marshmallow. Sunny tried to think of a response while she was chewing but she got a bit distracted. Rays of sunshine were shining in through a window on the second floor and hitting Izzy in such a way that it made her mane sparkle like the night sky. Feeling a similar heat rising to her cheeks Sunny looked away before her friend could see her staring.
While Sunny loved all her friends she could safely admit that Izzy was her favourite. The Unicorn’s cheerful, energetic and creative personality always gave Sunny a warm feeling inside when she saw it in action. That and Izzy was stunning, particularly in certain lights which had the aforementioned effect on her mane. Sunny had known for a long time that she was into mares, but with all of Maretime Bay (with the exception of Hitch and his grandmother) treating her with varying levels of hostility most of her life she had never had the chance to pursue a relationship. Until Izzy came along.
At the start Sunny was afraid to say anything for fear of ruining their blossoming friendship but as the two grew closer Sunny began to notice how Izzy acted. Wanting to stand next to her, nuzzling her during even the smallest interactions, stealing glances when she thought Sunny wasn’t looking (even though she was standing in Sunny’s line of sight) and according to the others being extra cheerful whenever Sunny was around. Izzy was anything but subtle.
At first Sunny thought Izzy hadn’t said anything for the same reason she had, but now the pieces were starting to fall into place. Izzy had been raised in a community that held very negative views on same sex couples, meaning the Unicorn probably thought being in love with Sunny was a bad thing. Sunny recalled when she had described the whole thing to Pipp and Hitch during a conversation. ”You’re drawn to each other. The sun and moon coming together to form an eclipse,” that was how Pipp put it.
While Sunny was thinking everything over Izzy was watching Sunny think. She looks cute like that, Izzy thought. Oh, what am I saying, Sunny always looks cute. And Sunny wasn’t just cute either. She was friendly, sweet and gentle, the best friend Izzy could ask for. Of course Izzy saw Sunny as more than just a best friend. She was fully aware of why she had fallen for the Earth Pony, she was her first friend, the first one to not look at her like she was different or weird, ironic considering how they met. Sunny had been the first to welcome Izzy for who she was with open hooves and that simple gesture had been enough to sweep Izzy off her hooves. But after a lifetime growing up in Bridlewood Izzy was afraid. What if this was the one thing that could make Sunny hate her. But as Misty rightly pointed out when the two had talked privately about their feelings, Sunny wasn’t from Bridlewood. She was raised in a town that had far less prejudice. Izzy had seen several same sex couples around Maretime Bay, including a Unicorn friend of hers with an Earth Pony mare. Seeing that gave Izzy a spark of hope.
Realising that keeping her feelings bottled up would probably only hurt her (and possibly Sunny as well) in the long run, Izzy decided to take a leap of faith. She cleared her throat. “Sunny?”
Sunny snapped out of her train of thought and gave Izzy her full attention. “Yeah?”
“I, er… have something to tell you,” Izzy started, tapping her hooves together nervously. She was already second guessing her decision, but she couldn’t stay quiet forever. “So you see, I kinda, sorta…”
Izzy’s face went redder by the second as she started pulling at her mane. Sunny realised what Izzy was trying to do and gave her an encouraging smile.
That gave Izzy the confidence to complete her sentence. “Li… love you.” Izzy squeaked and shut her eyes. She heard Sunny move closer then felt the other mare’s lips connect with hers. Izzy melted into the kiss as Sunny pulled her closer. Sunny’s lips felt soft and sweet, just like Izzy imagined, and the two still having the taste of marshmallows on their breaths was a bonus. Eventually the two pulled apart and Sunny started gently stroking Izzy’s cheek with her hoof.
“Hoof to heart, I promise I’ll always love you too” Sunny whispered softly.
Izzy squealed and started nuzzling her cheek against Sunny’s. Suddenly the Earth Pony felt a familiar feeling and sure enough her Alicorn form activated, her ethereal wings and horn appearing in a flash of light. Izzy heard the flash and stepped back, staring at her.
“Woah. Your sparkle… both our sparkles… wow.”
Sunny looked at her wings for a second, then an idea came to her. “Hey Izzy. What do you think about arriving back in Maretime Bay in style?”
Izzy looked at her curiously. “Oh. I’m listening…”
From outside the cottage, two ponies were watching through one of the windows.
“Yes. I told you it would be worth it leaving Mane Melody unattended for a few hours” Rocky declared.
“Alright, I admit it. You were right,” Jazz rolled her eyes before pulling out her phone. “That’s two down, just one more to go.”
Misty fiddled with her Cutie Mark bracelet as the train rumbled along. After Canterlogic had been brought back as Canterlove, Sprout had been putting the company to surprisingly good use. His first act was to build a train line to connect Maretime Bay, Zephyr Heights and Bridlewood. Said train had been named the “Friendship Express” by Sunny and Misty after they found a book about the railway of ancient Equestria in the Zephyr Heights archives. The new Friendship Express was currently only a single line between Maretime Bay and Zephyr Heights as the track to Bridlewood was still under construction.
Misty looked around the carriage. It was empty except for her and a certain Pink Pegasus Princess next to her. Pipp was oblivious to Misty’s nervousness as she hummed to herself while tapping away at her phone. A glance at the screen showed Pipp was texting her mom to inform her when they’d be arriving.
Pipp was the cause of Misty’s nervousness, not that she knew that. The more Misty hung out with her friends, the more she noticed that whenever they weren’t hanging out as a group Misty found herself alone with Pipp. There were several reasons this kept happening. One was that whenever Sunny wasn’t working at her smoothie cart she and Izzy would go off exploring and come back at sunset covered in mud and twigs. Two was that Zipp and Hitch were nearly always at the sheriff station, them being the only two employees. And three was the two had recently started hosting a tv show together. Despite the disaster that was Sunnyside Up Sprout commissioned three new shows; an arts and crafts show hosted by Sunny and Izzy, a sitcom staring Zipp and Hitch playing fictionalised versions of themselves who were a newly married couple in the force struggling to look after their infant child (played by Sparky of course) and a show in which Pipp and Misty talked about the history of music.
Something Misty noticed during all this alone time with Pipp was that her heartbeat always picked up whenever the Pegasus came close to her. At first she was worried she had caught a disease and could pass it on to Pipp so she described how she felt when she was around Pipp to Sunny and Izzy one day. To Misty’s surprise her fellow Unicorn started rolling around on the floor laughing while Sunny (through giggles) explained that Misty had a ‘celebrity crush’, though not in the usual sense of the term. A celebrity crush normally referred to somepony who had a crush on a celebrity they idolised without having met them in person, while Misty had developed a crush on her friend who happened to be a celebrity.
Pipp looked up from her phone and saw Misty fiddling with her bracelet. “Careful, Misty. You’ll break it if you’re not careful.”
Misty quickly stopped. “Right. Good point,” she turned to face Pipp. “So when will we be arriving?”
Pipp checked her phone. “In about a half hour,” she answered.
Misty nodded, shifting in her seat. While trying to think of a way to spend the next half hour she suddenly felt herself pulled towards her friend.
“Um, Pipp? What are you doing?” Misty asked, realising Pipp had pulled her into a wing hug.
Pipp didn’t answer, instead switching to her phone’s camera. For a second Misty thought Pipp wanted a selfie, then she realised Pipp was using the camera as a mirror, checking the two were presentable. Misty glanced down at her shoulder, which was brushing against Pipp’s. The lack of space between them made Misty blush. Just because she now knew why she reacted this way around Pipp didn’t mean she knew how to approach the situation. After all, the two ponies were practically from different worlds.
A short time later the train pulled into the new Zephyr Heights station. Pipp and Misty disembarked to find Queen Haven waiting on the platform, noticeably without her guards flanking her.
“Mom” Pipp called, jumping into her mother’s waiting embrace. Misty watched the two hug, desperately trying to not think about how Opaline never treated her like that before she found herself being greeted by Sparky and Cloudpuff.
“Careful you two, try not to scare the poor girl” Haven said as she let go of Pipp. Cloudpuff returned to his owner while Sparky climbed onto Misty’s back.
“Hey Misty,” Pipp said. “Can you and mom talk amongst yourselves for a minute. I have something to do real quick.” The young Pegasus flew slightly away from the others and pulled out her phone.
“Livestream?” Misty asked as she walked over to Haven.
“Livestream,” Haven confirmed. The queen glanced around before leaning in and lowering her voice. “I’ve been meaning to ask one of you, are Hitch and Pipp…” she trailed off.
Misty’s body suddenly felt like it was filling with ice. She shook the feeling off before answering in an equally low voice. “No, they aren’t. What gave you that idea?”
Haven waved her hoof around. “Oh, just a video making its way around the Canternet.”
Misty frowned. She knew what video Haven was talking about. It was the one Sparky filmed of Hitch looking after Pipp when she fell ill (the first time). After the video was released a lot of ponies came up to Hitch and Pipp to ask if they were dating. Sunny and Izzy got a kick out of this, but Zipp and (whenever she was with the group) Misty would vanish from sight whenever this happened and only return afterwards. During one such instance the two ended up ducking into the same alley and confided each other’s crushes to the other.
“You guessed the wrong daughter,” Misty found herself saying. “Zipp’s the one with a crush on Hitch.”
Haven gasped. “Really?”
“Really” Pipp said, returning to the group. “But you wouldn’t notice it unless you knew how Zipp normally acts.”
“Or she told you” Misty added.
Haven shook her head. “I need to spend more time in Maretime Bay.”
“There’s a firework display later today if you want to come,” Pipp informed her.
“I bet Alphabittle will be there” Misty teased.
Pipp giggled as her mother’s face turned red.
“Um, yes… well… er, don’t you two have somewhere to be right now?” she stuttered.
Pipp nodded. “Right. There’s a place I want to show Misty that’ll have a great view for the upcoming parade. And since I know she’s not the best with crowds I sent Zoom and Thunder to check the area was clear of ponies” she winked at the shy Unicorn.
“So that’s where those two went” Haven whispered as Sparky jumped from Misty’s back to Haven’s.
“See you later, Queen Haven” Misty called as she and Pipp left the station.
“It’s just Haven, dear” Haven called back.
Pipp and Misty exited the station into the city. The pride celebrations were largely the same as Maretime Bay, but the crowds were bigger due to Zephyr Heights having a larger population. Slightly nervous about being in such a large crowd Misty hung her head low and walked close to Pipp, who draped her wing over the Unicorn’s back.
“Hey,” Pipp said, trying to get Misty to focus on her. “I’m not going to leave your side, okay?”
Misty looked into Pipp’s green eyes. “Promise?”
Pipp smiled at her. “Promise.”
The place Pipp wanted to show Misty was a small public garden with grass and a few trees. Because Zephyr Heights was built on a mountain several of these small gardens ahd been spread across the city so there was some plant life present. And this particular garden near the castle was where Pipp used to come when she wanted to be alone, like how Zipp retreated to the old train station built into the castle.
The two were currently in an elevator ascending to the garden so Pipp decided to strike up a conversation. “So what were you and mom talking about back on the platform?” she asked.
Misty, who was doing better now that she was away from the crowds, didn’t respond at once. “She asked if you and Hitch were dating” she finally answered.
Pipp groaned. “Ah. That video follows us around everywhere.”
“Would you date Hitch?” Misty asked suddenly.
Pipp didn’t even need to think about it. “No,” she answered. “I mean he is kinda handsome, but Zipp already has her eyes on him and besides,” she leaned in and whispered in Misty’s ear. “I prefer mares anyway.”
The elevator reached its destination and the doors opened. Pipp stepped out but Misty didn’t follow as her mind was still trying to process what she had just been told.
Pipp, you’re… bi?” she finally managed to say.
Pipp nodded in response, then started to walk around a tree, but froze halfway. Misty glanced over her shoulder to see what was happening and found that the royal guards, Zoom and Thunder, were in the middle of a kissing session. The Pegasus and the Unicorn quickly hid behind the tree. Pipp shook her head slightly.
“No, we are not interrupting their moment,” she whispered to herself. Then she turned to Misty. “We’ll come back later. I can give you a tour of the shopping district in the meantime.”
Misty nodded her head. “Okay.”
Zoom and Thunder were gone when Pipp and Misty returned twenty minutes later, probably having returned to Queen Haven’s side.
“Remind me that Zipp owes me twenty bits” Pipp said as they approached the guard rail.
“You two had a bet on whether your mom’s guards would start dating?” Misty asked.
No,” Pipp corrected. “We had a bet on when they would start dating.”
Misty rolled her eyes as the two leaned against the guard rail. This, Pipp thought, is why she loved to come here. While you could look over the city from the castle you could only see the tops of buildings and the sound was blocked out. Zephyr Heights seemed more like a separate location than a place you were in. From the garden however you could see the streets and the ponies and hear all the noises of the city.
“Wow!” Misty exclaimed as she took in the view. “This is brilliant.”
Yeah,” Pipp nodded. “I figured we could watch the parade from up here, away from the crowds.”
Misty turned to smile at her. “Hey, thanks.”
Pipp smiled back. “You’re welcome.”
While Misty focused her attention on the crowd below Pipp pulled out her phone and stared at her. Something about Misty drew Pipp to her. The hidden bravery behind the shy exterior, the innocent cluelessness about the modern world (that was admittedly caused by Misty being raised in isolation) and the Unicorn was downright positively cute. Pipp had concocted a plan a week ago but now that she had Misty here she was hesitant to enact it. It’s wasn’t the best approach to take with a timid pony like Misty, but Pipp couldn’t think of anything else. She could scare Misty off if she wasn’t careful. But the image of Zoom and Thunder kissing was stuck in her head.
Choosing to go through with her plan Pipp got Misty’s attention by waving her phone in front of the blue Unicorn’s face. “Hey, before the parade starts, wanna get a selfie?”
Misty’s smile brightened. “Sure.”
Misty stood beside Pipp as the Pegasus held the phone out in front of them. “Little closer” Pipp muttered.
“Like this?” Misty leaned closer so that she was nearly cheek to cheek with Pipp.
Pipp smiled slightly. “Perfect.”
Right before the camera took the photo Pipp closed her eyes, quickly turned her head and pecked Misty on the cheek. As soon as she heard the click Pipp pulled away. Misty had frozen, her expression stunned. Pipp looked at her phone to find to her relief that the image had been taken before Misty’ smile had vanished, just how she wanted it.
Suddenly the phone was lifted out of Pipp’s grasp by Msity’s magic. The Unicorn glanced at the screen, then back at Pipp.
“What just happened?” she asked, clearly confused.
Pipp tapped her hooves together nervously. “Well, you see I really, really wanted to kiss you but wasn’t sure how.”
Misty stared at Pipp blankly for a few seconds. Then to the Pegasus’ shock, she smirked.
“Really? I thought you were confidence personified” Misty teased.
Pipp laughed lightly. “Not at romance,” she admitted. “I’ve beeen in a few relationships before, Misty. None of them ever lasted more then a month.”
“Well,” Misty began, leaning in and kissing Pipp on the lips. “Let’s see if we can’t change that” she finished when she pulled away.
Pipp giggled happily as Misty began tapping furiously at Pipp’s phone. When she was satisfied with her work she showed Pipp what she had done. The Pegasus gasped.
“How did you know what I was going to type?” she asked.
“I know you” Misty simply said.
Pipp smiled at her and hit the ‘upload button’ before the two went back to watching what was happening below.
While the two were watching the Pride parade they were oblivious to a certain duo watching them from behind the tree.
“All right. We’ve got all three” Zoom celebrated.
“Operation firework?” Thunder asked.
“Operation firework” Zoom confirmed as she pulled out her phone.
