It was only when they started to near the Brighthouse that Pipp and Zipp began to feel deja vu, something that amused the two of them. Said funny feeling briefly distracted them from potentially revealing their secret to their friends.
They came up with several ideas for how to explain their behavior, but both agreed that if all the evidence pointed to them being romantically involved, then they would come clean.
By the time they arrived at the Brighthouse and stopped at the front door, it was already dark and the stars were out.
She knew she should be opening the door, but all Zipp could do at the moment was let out a deep sigh.
"What's the matter?" Pipp inquired.
"What do you think is the matter?" Zipp pointed out. "Not only are we gonna have to answer some really awkward questions, but a lot of them are gonna have to do with how late we're coming back. It's just gonna make us even more suspicious."
Pipp shrugged with a cheeky little grin. "Well… it's kind of your own fault," she pointed out.
"Huh?"
"I mean you were the one who took so long to make me…"
"Sssh! Not so close to the door!"
"Ok, ok! Still, you should be, like, totes glad that you're not a stallion. Because all that trouble you had back up there in the sky? That would be a major blow to your self-esteem and…"
"Shut up…!" Zipp practically whined in embarrassment, her cheeks bright red. Pipp just giggled, even while her sister/lover gave her a semi-annoyed hip bump. Zipp turned her attention back to the door and sighed again. "I know… We're already here, so we might as well get the interrogation over with."
"Not to mention the apology you owe them for your little outburst and storming off the way you did." Pipp reminded her.
"Yes, 'Mother'." Zipp playfully replied, prompting Pipp to hip bump her back.
Zipp raised her hoof, gulped, then pushed the doors open before stepping in with Pipp.
Once again, the royal sisters stepped into the Brighthouse and froze in place when they saw their friends gathered together ahead of them. Unlike last time though, their friends all had welcoming smiles on their faces. Still, both Zipp and Pipp were surprised and confused.
"Uh… hello?" Zipp spoke up.
"Hey guys! Welcome back! Again!" Izzy beamed.
"Glad you're back, we were starting to get worried." Sunny said.
"Any trouble flying?" Hitch asked.
"Nope, no trouble at all!" Pipp replied. "Right, Zipp?"
"Yeah… Hey, listen, guys… I'm really sorry about… what I said and… leaving like that." Zipp said regretfully. "I was… upset. But that's no excuse. Again, I'm sorry."
"Oh, there's nothing to forgive!" Izzy assured her.
"Really?" Zipp responded, surprised.
"Really! I mean, we were the ones who pushed too hard." Sunny said before glancing at Hitch. "Or rather somepony did."
Hitch sighed. "Yeah… I did," he apologized. "Sorry for treating you both like a couple of perps. You guys aren't criminals, you're my friends."
"And you're the sheriff, so it's hard for you to turn that 'be suspicious of everypony' mind set off." Zipp reasoned.
"Yeah…Very hard." Hitch admitted.
"Exactly. So, it's all good." Zipp stated. "Right, Pipp?"
"Totes!" Pipp agreed. "By the way… do you ponies think we can all… talk about something in the living room?"
"Uh-oh." Izzy commented, though she was still smiling.
The Mane Five once again made their way over to the living room and seated themselves in the exact same spots they were in when they had their little 'intervention'. Though this time, only the royal sisters were tense while the rest smiled and looked casual.
After exchanging looks, Zipp and Pipp turned to their friends with knitted brows.
"Listen, ponies… Earlier… you talked about how the two of us have been… too friendly with each other…" Zipp began.
"And admittedly… we have." Pipp continued.
"I know we brushed it off as typical sister stuff… But the truth is…" Zipp started to say before Hitch raised a hoof.
"Ah, ah, ah, say no more," he said.
"What?" Zipp responded.
"Listen, guys, I don't know exactly what's going on between you two and I think it should stay that way." The sheriff stated.
Both sisters looked at Hitch with wide eyes. "Huh?" The younger one remarked in surprise.
"All you really have to do is make sure I'm not looking or tell me to look away, that way I won't have to lie when somepony asks what's going on between you two." Hitch explained before giving them a little knowing smirk. "But just remember; Grandpa Figgy didn't raise no fool."
It only took Zipp a second to realize what Hitch meant. She quickly smirked back at him. "Understood, Sheriff," she said with a wink.
"Uh… understood what exactly?" Pipp asked, confused. Zipp quickly whispered something in her ear before her eyes widened. "Oh! Ok, gotcha!"
"And also, know that, whatever's going on between you two? We support it wholeheartedly." Sunny said earnestly.
The sisters exchanged looks and smiled "Thanks." Zipp said.
"And you know we'd never judge either of you two if you really were involved in something… strange." Sunny added.
"Define 'strange'." Zipp said with a raised brow.
"Just… stuff… stuff most ponies wouldn't look favorably upon." Sunny replied slowly.
"Well… we're not!" Pipp stated before covering her mouth and realizing that she raised her voice a little too much. She smiled nervously as she spoke slower. "I mean… we're not, just FYI."
"Oh, we know, we know!" Sunny assured them. "Just know that even if you were, we would never turn our backs on you. We shouldn't shun you or kick you out, and we'd definitely never stop being friends either. Right, everypony?"
"Of course!" Hitch answered.
"Absolutely!" Izzy added.
"Thanks ponies, that means a lot." Zipp said sincerely.
"Totes." Pipp smiled as she leaned against Zipp.
"I support this too!" Izzy piped up with a bright smile. "Whatever this is!"
"And… we support you too, weirdo." Zipp replied with an amused smirk while Pipp laughed. "And… about what you said about our… sparkle's?"
Izzy waved her hoof. "Oh, those were just sparkle's," she assured them. "Yeah, normal sparkle's her mistake for romantic sparkle's all the time. Boy, you cannot imagine how often."
"Oh, well, that's… interesting to hear." Zipp said slowly.
"Sorry I made that same mistake with you guys." Izzy said. "I think my sparkle detector might be on the fritz."
"Oh, it's ok, Izzy! Ponies make mistakes like that, like, all the time." Pipp assured her. "Well… maybe not exactly like that, but I think you get the point, right?"
"Kinda sorta!" Izzy smiled.
"Alright, well… Not saying we are involved in something… shady. But if we were, we want you all to know that a part of us really wants to tell you ponies everything." Zipp expressed. "I mean… this thing we may or may not be involved in… we'd like nothing more than to share it with all of you. Because that's how much you mean to us. Almost as much as we mean to each other, really."
"But we can't. Not just because Hitch still needs real deniability, but because we don't wanna get our friends into as much trouble as we would be." Pipp continued sadly.
"Aw, thanks! But you know, you guys are worth the trouble!" Izzy stated proudly.
"But we still understand that you want to tell us as little as possible." Sunny added.
"Thanks, ponies." Zipp smiled. "Really appreciate it."
"Totes." Pipp nodded.
Hitch sighed deeply and got off his chair. "Well, glad we got all that straight," he said. "Now, not to be rude, but I gotta get going. Sparky's gonna be waking up soon and crime waits for nopony!"
"Oh! I'm picking up what you're putting down there, Hitchy!" Izzy winked as she hopped off her chair and started leaving also. "Wanna give PippZipp some alone time, if you know what I mean. Huh? Huh?"
"No, I don't know what you mean and I don't plan to." Hitch stated, raising his nose as walked.
"Right! Plausible deniability!" Izzy recalled.
"Exactly! Have a good time doing… whatever-it-is-you-two-do." Hitch said, which made Izzy giggle.
Sunny sat up as well. "I'll uh… just be in my room," she said. "Zipp, you're in charge of making dinner tonight, right?"
"Uh… yeah." Zipp responded.
"Great! Let me know when it's ready, and then I'll tell Izzy." Sunny told her. "Oh, and you might wanna tell me personally because I'll probably be listening to some loud music to drown you… I mean… Because your music is so great, Pipp!"
"Aw, thanks!" Pipp smiles gratefully.
"You're welcome! Ok, bye now!" Sunny said quickly before galloping away, leaving the twins alone.
A moment passed before either of the royal sisters said anything.
"Wow. You know, that actually went better than I thought." Pipp admitted.
"I'll say." Zipp agreed.
"It feels like they know though… does it?" Pipp wondered.
"I'm not sure. I mean, they probably have some strong suspicions. But I don't think we should press them any further about it." Zipp said. "Don't wanna push our luck, you know?"
"You sure?" Pipp questioned.
Zipp nodded. "Yeah. Besides, I think we got the message, don't you?" she inquired. "As long as we stay private about it and don't do anything in front of them, then Hitch won't arrest us and they'll all have real deniability."
"And it sounds like, if we were to tell them, they'd support us." Pipp added before sighing in relief. "Thank goodness… I don't know what I'd do if our own friends hated us."
Zipp put her hoof around her sister/lover. "Ah, I'm sure they wouldn't 'hate us'. Worst case scenario is that they'd be too uncomfortable to be around us," she surmised. "But even if that did happen, you know who would never leave your side?"
"You." Pipp beamed. She and her girlfriend/sister nuzzled with rosy cheeks before staring into each other's eyes.
"Tell me something, little lady. Who's your best friend?"
"You are."
"Who knows you better than anypony?"
"You do."
"And who would do whatever she can to make you happy?"
"Um… You would?" Pipp inquired with a little smile and a raised brow that made Zipp giggle. "Hey! Wanna do something crazy?"
"Oh? Well, whatcha have in mind?" Zipp asked with interest.
"You know that photo of Mom's we just hung up?" Pipp responded, briefly tilting her head towards a picture of Queen Haven inside a frame hanging on the wall almost directly across from them.
"Yeah…?" The older sister responded, slowly and clearly not getting it.
"Let's scooch over so we're directly in front of the picture and then make out." Pipp said in a sultry tone.
Zipp widened her eyes, turned to their picture of their mother and then to her kinky little sister. "You really are a dirty filly," she remarked as she scooched over until she's directly in front of the picture, then laid down so her sister could lay down on top of her.
Pipp giggled. "I know," she said proudly before she and Zipp locked lips as they wrapped their forelegs around each other.
Not two seconds after they started making out, the ringing of a phone abruptly ended the moment and made them separate with equally agitated faces.
"Oh, what now?" An irked Zipp asked.
Pipp quickly realized that it was coming from her phone and took it out, she blushed and giggled in embarrassment. "Whoops. Sorry… That's my fault. Next time I'll have it on vibrate."
"I would hope so." Zipp frowned. "Who is it anyway?"
The chunky princess quickly checked and widened her eyes. "It's Mom!"
"Mom?!" Zipp repeated in shock.
Both sisters glanced at the still ringing phone, then at the picture of their mother, then at the phone again.
"Ok… Now that is, like, way too eerie." Pipp commented, disturbed. "So… wanna talk to her."
Zipp raised her hooves. "Oh no, I talked to her last time, it's your turn now."
"Ugh, fine." The younger sister sighed before answering her phone. Queen Haven quickly appeared on the screen.
"Hello, Pipp!" The queen smiled.
"Hi, Mom! How are you?" Pipp responded, trying her best to look cheery.
"Oh, swell. I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
"Oh, no! Not at all!"
"Speak for yourself…"
Pipp shot her grumbling sister an annoyed glare before turning to her mother with a smile.
"Is that Zipp I here? Tell her to come closer, I have something I want to talk to you both about." Queen Haven requested.
"Ok! You hear that, sis? Mom wants to talk to you too. Get over here, please." Pipp said through her smile.
Zipp sighed, moved closer to press herself against Pipp and smiled at her Mom alongside her. "Hey, Mom,"
"Hello Zipp! Oh, it's so good to see my daughter's being so close and getting along." Queen Haven expressed, happily. At that moment, Zipp could have sworn she saw her mother's eye twitch but quickly brushed it off.
"Yeah, so… what did you want to talk to us about?" Zipp inquired, slowly.
"Oh, it's something very important. So important that it simply cannot be discussed over the phone. Do you think the two of you could swing over to Zephyr Heights for a quick visit?" Queen Haven requested. "And if you can, please come immediately."
"Right now?" Zipp asked in surprise. "But uh…"
"Is there something wrong?" Queen Haen inquired.
"No, uh, just… surprised you want to see us so soon. I mean… we just visited two weeks ago." Zipp pointed out.
"Well, yes, but that was Mare's Day, a special event between her mother and children. This is more of an… urgent gettogether." Queen Haven stated.
"Urgent?" Pipp repeated in surprise.
"Yes, but don't worry, it has nothing to do with magic or relations between ponies." Queen Haven assured them.
"Then… What is it about?" Zipp questioned, confused.
"As I said, dear, it is something that cannot be discussed over the phone. " The Queen stated. "Now, I hope to you both in Zephyr Heights and in my throne room promptly. Ta-ta, darlings!"
Queen Haven hung up and dread was slowly filling up inside the two princesses as they turned to each other with wide eyes.
"Zipp… I don't think I like this…" Pipp muttered, nervously.
"Yeah… I'm getting a bad feeling too…" Zipp said with a gulp.
Izzy then popped up from behind the couch, startling them. "Really? Because I am loving this! So juicy!"
While rolling their eyes at Izzy being Izzy, Pipp and Zipp exchange worried looks with each other, both possessing a sinking feeling concerning what their mother wanted to talk to them about and hoping beyond hope that they were wrong.
Per their mother's request and a quick goodbye to their friends, the royal sisters took off and flew all the way to their hometown of Zephyr Heights. Unfortunately, the jittery feeling in the pits of their stomachs did not go away during their flight over there, in fact it had steadily gotten worse.
Zipp turned to her younger sister after she made a loud enough gulp. "You ok there, sis?"
"No… What do you think Mom wants to talk to us about?" she questioned her big sister.
"I have no idea…" Zipp sighed, uneasily.
"You don't think that she could've…" Pipp began.
"No! There's no way she could have found out!"
"But she could have!"
"There isn't!"
"But if she did…!"
"If she does, then how could she have found out?"
"I don't know! I mean… our friends pretty much know, and that's mainly because neither of us have exactly been subtle."
"Yeah… We have been pushing it a little…" Zipp admitted.
"Right?! I told you, Mom isn't dumb, if she thinks we're up to something that's not…" Pipp started to say before Zipp cut in again.
"Look, all in all, it doesn't matter if Mom suspects anything or not." Zipp said.
"It doesn't?" Pipp responded in shock.
"No. Because regardless of what she knows or suspects… We should tell her." Zipp finally said.
"What?! No way!" Pipp exclaimed, completely freaked.
"Come on, Pipp, be real. Do you really think Mom's never gonna find out?" Zipp questioned. "Even we're old maids that haven't gotten married yet or produced an heir to the throne?"
"Well… If you had daughters and they told you that they were in a romantic relationship, how would you react? What would you do?" Pipp asked with a raised brow.
"Dunno… I'd probably think I did something wrong. That I failed as a parent so badly my daughters are in an incestuous relationship." Zipp admitted.
"Exactly. But… is that what you really think about us?" Pipp asked, hurt.
Zipp shook her head in response. "No. Sister or not, there's nopony I wanna be with besides you," she expressed warmly.
"Aw, Zipp!" Pipp cooed, touched. "The same goes for me. Still though… Is that what Mom would think?"
"Knowing her? Probably not." Zipp sighed.
"Yep. No matter how much she loves us, if Mom found out she'd totally beat herself over her apparent 'failure'." Pipp said. "And that's why we can't tell her."
"I understand, sis. But still, I really think we should tell her." Zipp stated. "I don't know if I can keep this from her any longer, you know?"
"But…"
"I know you're scared. I'm scared too. Maybe she'll take away our princess status', but she'd never stop calling us her daughters."
"Maybe…"
"I just want this bad feeling inside to go away, you know? But more than that, I want you to feel better."
"I feel the same." Pipp expressed softly.
"Even if it's morally and legally wrong for us to be together. Nothing will tear us apart, not even our own mother." The older sister stated firmly to her lover/sister.
Pipp smiled sweetly. "Totes," she said. "This is our path. The path we chose together. You're the only one who can make me feel this giddy inside."
Zipp nodded. "Right. We chose this because we love each other over everypony."
The younger sister smirked. "And because we love how good it feels to touch each other's glutes," she said as she and Zipp bumped flanks and laughed together before continuing on towards the castle while holding hooves.