"Come on, come on."
Pipp pushed herself as hard as she could, straining her wings to flap harder. She just needed to go a little faster…
But once again she bounced off the cloud on contact instead of bursting through it. It was fluffy so it didn't hurt. Physically. Emotionally was another matter entirely.
"Ughhh!" Pipp half shouted, half groaned. "Stupid cloud!" She kicked at it with one of her hooves. To think she used to think clouds were pretty. Well, they still were, but they were really annoying her at the moment.
What was she doing wrong? She was flapping her wings fast, she was putting her front hooves forwards, she was leaning into it. What else was there? Why couldn't she do this? Why was she a slower flyer than almost any other pegasi? She could never keep up with Zipp at top speed. Or even medium speed. Pipp was a pegasus princess, she couldn't be a bad flyer. Especially after faking being able to fly for so long. Her whole life.
She sighed, poking at the cloud she'd brought down to the forest floor. Would doing it in the sky make a difference? It didn't seem to. And ponies would be able to see her failing up there.
"Alright, Pipp," Pipp tried to hype herself up. "Just do it again. It's a practice thing. You just need to practice. Even though every other pegasus has had the same amount of practice you've had and they're still better, it just means you need to practice more."
She didn't have much more time to spend on this. Izzy was throwing a sleepover for one of her unicorn friends at the Brighthouse tonight and Pipp needed to update all her socials before it started.
Sighing, Pipp trotted back to her starting point. After taking a deep breath, she fluttered into the air then charged at the cloud. Wind blew past her as she flew. She felt fast.
This time when she bounced off she landed on a stick.
"Ow," she winced, deflating. This was the last straw. She was done for today.
Pipp pushed herself up from the ground. How had a stick gotten there anyway? She'd cleared this area before starting for this exact reason. Maybe she'd blown it over with her flying, it was a small stick.
Pipp's head whipped upwards as a rustling sound came from very nearby. Before she could react further, a blue unicorn mare with a butterfly cutie mark burst out of a bush. "Are you oka-?" the unicorn started to ask before freezing for a second, then continuing. "Um, you didn't hurt yourself, did you?"
Embarrassment made Pipp's cheeks flush. Somepony had seen that? Well, at least it wasn't another pegasus. "Oh, no, no, I'm fine," she assured, standing quickly. "Totally fine. Just a little poke from a stick. Um, how much of that did you see?" Had she recorded that? She didn't have her phone out.
"Oh, um, just what happened, just now," the unicorn told her, fiddling with her mane nervously. "I just got here just now."
"Please don't tell anypony about this," Pipp pleaded. The unicorn still hadn't taken her phone out so that was a good sign.
"Oh, um, yeah, sure," the unicorn agreed. She seemed a little shy, but not because she recognized who Pipp was. Interesting.
"What are you doing out here?" Pipp asked. "Nopony else is around right? No one else saw?" What if this mare was part of a hiking group or something like that?
"Oh, um, I don't think so," the unicorn said. "As for me I was, um-" she tapped her pink hoof on the ground in what seemed to be a habitual movement for her. "-I got invited to a party, but I, um, got here, there, earlier than I thought I would. And I, um, y'know, showing up early seemed rude, so I've kind of just been, wandering around nearby."
"Oh, you're Misty?" Pipp asked, surprised. That would explain why a unicorn with what looked like a fully packed satchel was so close to the Brighthouse. Pipp totally understood not wanting to arrive before the host was done setting up. She knew Izzy was still getting things ready, though that was kinda her fault for making this a thing so last minute.
"Oh, um, yes, I am. Misty," Misty nodded. "I guess you're one of Izzy' friends then, probably. Um, what's your name?"
Wow. When was the last time a pony had asked her that question? Pipp couldn't even remember. All pegasi already knew who she was. And here in Maretime Bay with the few new ponies she had properly met she'd introduced herself before they'd asked. She wasn't surprised a unicorn didn't recognize her.
As for the answer to that question… Should she lie? No, what would the point of that be, Misty was coming to the Brighthouse later and would find out right away.
"I'm Pipp Petals," she introduced herself. "And yes, I am one of Izzy's friends." Should she mention she was a princess as well? Did that come off as braggy? But surely that was something one told someone. She'd never had to inform ponies she was a princess, pegasi just knew.
Misty inched forward a little to examine the cloud. "Were you… trying to bust the cloud?"
"Bust?" Pipp asked. Oh no, had she fallen behind on the current slang?! Did she sound off trend?!
"Y'know," Misty said, putting her front hooves together then pulling them apart. "burst it, dissipate it, make it go poof."
"Oh," Pipp nodded, pushing a stray hair back from her forehead. "Yes, that is what I was trying to do. I didn't know that was what ponies were calling it."
"Oh, um, that's just what I've heard ponies, pegasi, call it," Misty told her hurriedly, fidgeting. "Some of them. It might not be an official term." Hm, even if it wasn't 'official' right now, Pipp did like it. Way better than cloud kicking. Her fans would like it too.
Misty circled around the cloud then glanced upwards. "Why are you doing that down here instead of the sky? Were you afraid of falling or…?"
Pipp cringed a little. She knew she must look weird with a cloud down on the ground like this. "No, it's not that. I just want to practice in private. I don't want anypony seeing how bad I am at this."
Misty tilted her head. "Bad? You seemed fine to me. Well, I mean, you didn't bust the cloud, but I assume lots of pegasi still can't. Most unicorns can't do much magic yet either."
"That's sweet of you to say," Pipp thanked her. "But, I'm, well, kinda one of the pegasi princesses so I really should be better at this stuff. I have a lot of ponies who look up to me, I should be an example." Her fans and her subjects would be embarrassed to have a bad flyer as their princess/role model.
"Oh, um," Misty's eyes widened. "Princess? I, er-"
"Don't worry about it," Pipp waved off. "You don't have to bow or anything. Just treat me normally."
"Oh, um, okay."
Pipp sighed, sitting down. "I just don't get what I'm doing wrong. Why can't I fly as fast as the others?" Why was she unloading all this onto a stranger? Maybe because she was a stranger? And it felt easier to tell all of this to a unicorn rather than another pegasus.
"Hmm," Misty hummed, trotting closer and leaning in to examine Pipp's wings. "Your wings do seem less aerodynamic than other pegasi."
"What?" Pipp startled, glancing back at her wings. She hadn't been expecting an actual answer. It had been a rhetorical 'oh woe is me' question. "What's wrong with them?" They looked the same as ever. She took very good care of her wings.
"Oh, nothing's wrong with them," Misty assured her. "They're just fluffier than most pegasi wings, er, um, at least of the pegasi I've seen. They'll have more drag than sleeker feathers. Don't think the airfoil should be too affected though."
Pipp's heart sank like a rock. She didn't totally understand what Misty was saying, but she got the gist and it made sense. She'd always loved her wings. They were pretty and unique. Ponies complimented her on them all the time, saying they looked like clouds. But now that she could fly she finds out they are… bad? "Well, how do I fix that?"
Misty blinked. "Fix it? They're… naturally like that, right? There's nothing wrong with them, they'll work fine. You just probably won't be able to match the top speeds of other pegasi." The unicorn bit her bottom lip. "What's your current wing power?"
"Wing power?" Pipp repeated, utterly confused and trying to hide that her world was falling apart.
"It's a measurement of how fast you are and how much wind you create when you fly," Misty explained. "It's a way to measure wing strength."
"I have no idea," Pipp admitted, humiliated. How did a unicorn know all this stuff and she didn't? "You seem to know a lot about all this."
Misty's ears twitched. "Oh, um, well, this is all stuff from, um, birds, and other flying creatures. Not pegasi. I don't know much about pegasi specifically. How could I? Hehe. But, I, um, do think it all should still apply."
Wait. There, a glimmer of hope. This might be the solution Pipp had been praying for. "You seem very knowledgeable on all this. Could you coach me?"
"Me?" Misty startled. "But, um, I'm a unicorn. So I can't fly and, um, you said you're a princess too, and there, uh, there must be some other pegasus who could help you."
"You don't need to be able to fly to coach," Pipp argued. "You clearly know a lot more about this than me. I'd really like to avoid other pegasus finding out about this, so you'd be a perfect choice! I'll pay you for your help. Bits, gala invitations, whatever. Please help. Even if you can help me improve just a little it will be worth it." Pipp just wasn't good at science-y or physical sporty athletic type stuff. She needed help.
"Oh, well," Misty stammered hesitantly. "I guess I could maybe try at least, er, once."
"Oh thank you!" Pipp squealed, zipping over to hug the unicorn, who froze at the contact. Pipp let go almost immediately. "I promise I'll be a very good pupil. And like I said, no major pressure, any improvement will make me happy."
"Okay…"
"Great!" Pipp cheered. "Well, now that that's settled we should probably start heading to the Brighthouse. Izzy's been super excited for your visit."
"Oh, yeah," Misty nodded. "If you think so."
Pipp quickly grabbed the cloud and returned it to the sky. When she returned to the ground she turned to Misty and asked, "Oh, hey, what's your phone number?" A unicorn probably didn't have a Glider account.
"Oh, um," Misty stuttered, ears flattening. "I'm… not sure. I kinda forgot my phone at home and I don't remember my number."
"I can never remember my own number either," Pipp sympathized. She couldn't remember her personal number off the top of her head at least. Forgetting your phone though? Pipp had lost her phone for a whole day one time. Horrible experience. One hopefully never to be repeated. Ever.
"You can, uh, give me yours and then I can use it when I get my phone back," Misty suggested.
"Sure," Pipp agreed. "I'll write it down when we get to the Brighthouse. I'm really excited to see all these unicorn traditions and games and stuff you and Izzy have. Izzy's gone all out with this, it'll be a lot of fun."
Misty gave a nervous smile. "Mmhum, I'm looking forward to it too…"
