Chapter 33: Digital Detox
In the Brighthouse, the mares are in the kitchen having breakfast as Pipp's phone then starts beeping as Zipp picks it up. "Here you go, sis." Zipp said as she checked Pipp's phone, and what she saw made her eyes widened. "Only 1,436 messages this… morning." She said uncomfortably at the amount as the other mares looked in shock while Pipp just gave a smile.
"Oooh, not too bad." Pipp said while sipping her drink.
"Not too bad?!" Sunny asked in surprise. "Pipp, that is a ridiculous amount of messages!"
"Way more messages than the amount of scrolls I had over the years." Twilight said in disbelief.
"And that's a lot coming from you." Sunset commented as Pipp's phone beeped again, which flipped around as Zipp quickly caught it.
"And what's with the 'ping-ping-ping'?" Misty questioned while waving her hooves around her head after the phone started beeping. "Ugh! That would drive me crazy!" She said as Sunny, Sunset, and Twilight nodded in agreement.
"I don't know, I kinda like it." Izzy said with a smile as the phone kept vibrating and beeping as Izzy then scatted and beatboxing as she did a dance and shook her mane. "Drop the beat. Oh, yeah! Oh, yeah! Feel that beat! Come on ponies, dance, dance, woooop, wooop!" She cheered as her friends gave her amusing looks as Zipp caught the phone. "Just me? Okay, but you are definitely missing out!" She cheerfully as she continued dancing.
Zipp spun around to her sister after catching her sister's phone. "Pipp, your phone is out of control! Maybe you should just put it away for a day." She suggested as Pipp's phone kept beeping. "Have a break?"
"O.M.P., Zipp. Be serious, okay." Pipp shrugged off with a smile as she took her phone back. "I can totally handle it. Don't worry about me." She said with a flick of her mane as she pressed on her phone as it kept beeping.
"How long do you think it's gonna be before Pipp breaks down from the stress of her phone?" Twilight whispered to Sunset's ear.
"Knowing Pipp, I say in a matter of minutes or so." Sunset said with a shrug. "She has a thing with her monogram, she even worries about her phone." She added. "Kinda like you with books." She teased with a smirk.
"Good point." Twilight said with a sheepish giggle.
A bit later, Pipp was taking a shower as she hummed happily to herself. But then her phone started ringing as she poked her head out of the curtains and looked at her phone on the counter as she answered it. "Call you back in a sec." Pipp said to the caller with a smile.
Then a bit later, Pipp was in the bedroom as she opened up her drawer and chose her accessories with a smile with sparkling eyes. "Oooh this is nice… or maybe that-" She tried to pick before her phone beeped as she turned to it on her bed.
"Schedule live stream begins in two minutes." The phone spoke, which made Pipp panic.
"Aaaahh!" Pipp cried out while searching through her options. "Uh, okay!" She cried out as she picked up her glasses, a rainbow beard, devil ears, and a raccoon tail. "These will be fine." She said with a nervous smile as she shook her fake tail.
A bit later, Pipp then started practicing her song. "The party is just be-" She stopped when she heard her phone beeped as she stopped and turned to it as she gave a small chuckle before she cleared her throat. "The party's just begun." She repeated as her phone beeped again, which made her give a slight stressed look with a stressed chuckle as her eyes have a bit of veins showing and her mane unkempt. "The party's just begun!" Her phone beeped again. "Ah!" She yelled in frustration as her phone kept beeping.
Pipp gave a stressed chuckle as her right eye twitched as she turned to her phone. "Zipp might be right." She said as her phone kept beeping as Pipp turned to it in irritation as it kept going as she covered her ears and gave a stressed look while pulling her mane. "I can't live like that!" She cried out.
Pipp then rushed outside and look around for anything to help her mind off her phone before she saw Hitch and Sparky exiting the Marestream while wearing his vacation gear while Sparky was in a kangaroo bag that Sparky was on. "Hitch! Have you seen Zipp?!" Pipp asked as she flew towards him and searched around for her sister as her phone kept beeping nonstop, which got her even more stressed as she quickly checked it.
"Sorry, Pipp. Me and Sparkerino here are just coming back from a few days relaxing in the Dragonlands. I asked Sunny to go, but she said she have to watch over things here in Maretime Bay while also running her smoothie stands." Hitch said as Pipp kept checking her phone while getting even more overwhelmed. "Phew! I tell ya, there is nothing quite like a digital detox." He commented.
Sparky babbled in agreement with a smile. "Whoo!" He cheered.
Pipp then stopped when she heard Hitch say. "Detox?" She then gasped with a smile as she had sparkles in her eyes with her hooves on her cheeks. "Like in a dragonspa? Hitch, YESSSSSSSS! A luxury dragon spa treatment! That is exactly what I need! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" She said while squishing Hitch's cheeks with a smile as Hitch finds it uncomfortable since Pipp is doing it and not Sunny. "Dragonlands, here I come!" She called as she flew towards the Marestream.
"Oh well, it's not really a spa. It's more like outdoorsy relaxation, very nature-y…" Hitch tried to say before he saw that Pipp already entered the Marestream and powered it up as the wings spread and she took to the air. "With absolutely no phone service!" He added as the Marestream took off until it was far enough he couldn't see it as he gave a sigh. "That's gonna be a fun surprise for her, hey, buddy?" He asked Sparky with a small smile.
"Wuh-oh." Sparky babbled, knowing that Pipp won't like it as well.
"Let's hope Spike and the others can try and calm her down when she arrives." Hitch added.
After a bit of flying, the Marestream made it to the Dragonlands as Pipp landed it as she exited and took out her phone as she flew out and tapped on it, but she got no service as she looked around. "No service?!" Pipp questioned as she looked around and gave a chuckle. "What do you mean no service?! That's impossible!" She exclaimed as she tapped her phone repeatedly, having been so stressed, she forgot there's no cell reception in the Dragonlands.
Then she heard flapping as she turned and saw Blaize, Tumble, and Spike flying in, which made Pipp smile. "Phew! Spike! Blaize! Tumble! Thank goodness I found you." She said with a smile.
"Nice seeing her here, Pipp. This is a surprise." Spike said with a smile.
"I would've called, but I wanted to be a surprise." Pipp said as she looked around. "I'm looking for the dragonspa."
The three dragons looked at Pipp in confusion when she asked that. "Uh, the what?" Tumble asked in confusion.
"The dragonspa." Pipp repeated. "Hitch said it was amazing but it's not coming up on my phone. Actually nothing is coming up on my phone…" She said as she tapped her phone repeatedly as Spike, Tumble, and Blaize looked at each other strangely before Spike spoke up.
"Uh, Pipp, we don't have a dragonspa in the Dragonlands. There really isn't. You must've misheard what Hitch said." Spike said, which made Pipp freeze in shock as she landed on the ground while looking in shock.
"And I hate to remind you, Pipp, but phones don't really work in the Dragonlands." Blaize reminded her, which made Pipp drop her phone.
Pipp turned to them with a horrified expression. "No spa? And no… phones?!" She asked in shock as her voice cracked a bit.
"Yeah, but who needs a phone when you are surrounded by all this natural beauty!" Tumble said to her while showing the Dragonlands environment around them.
"And listen to that…" Blaize said as she raised a paw over her ears with a smile, which Pipp tried to listen in.
"I don't hear anything." Pipp said with a frown.
"Exactly, Pipp." Spike said with a smile, which Blaize and Tumble shared.
Pipp then realizes what they meant. "Wait. I don't hear, anything." She said as she looked around. "Like nothing at all. No calls, no schedules, no 'ping, ping, ping, ping, ping.' She said while shaking her head while intimating her phone rings.
"Um, could you not ping like that?" Tumble asked with a small smile. "That's awful."
"And a bit weird." Spike said with a chuckle. "And nature can be its own spa. I've learned that many times."
Pipp looked around with a smile as some birds flew around her. "I can hear the birds." She said fondly as the birds chirped as she flew up. "And I can see the beautiful misty mountains." She added as she took a breath. "I think this might be exactly what I need." She added as she turned to her dragon friends. "Spike, will you show me how to live like a dragon?" She asked.
Spike gave a chuckle. "I thought you'd never ask, Pipp. I've always wanted to show a pony how to live like a dragon." He added as Blaize and Tumble gave smiles.
A bit later, Pipp and the dragons are flying past the mountains while Pipp is flying like a dragon before they stop and huddle for a picture. "Say, 'Dragonlands'!" She cheered as she took the picture and was about to post it, but it showed no signal as she gave a sheepish chuckle to her dragon friends. "I forgot. No service. Oh well. I can always save them for future content, right?" She shrugged with a smile.
"For what?" Tumble asked with a curious smile.
"It's not important." Pipp waved off with a smile. "What's next?" She asked as she flew off.
"Wait up, Pipp." Spike said with a chuckle as he, Blaize, and Tumble followed her.
The four were then flying over a river where fishes were jumping as Pipp flew close with a smile at the fishes as Spike flew next to her and lowered his claw and touched the water, which Pipp did the same as the four flew off to where the sun is.
The next thing they did was swimming in the lake, which Pipp resurface and spit some water off as Blaize came out from underneath it as the two smiled before Pipp flew off and slid down Tumble's back and swim below water with Spike in it as well as the two saw the fishes swam by.
The two resurfaced as they shared a laugh as they circled each other while laying on their backs in the water.
A bit later, after a nice and relaxing fun time, the four are sitting down on land close to the lake as they watch the sunset of the Dragonlands. "What a beautiful sunset." Pipp said before she sighed and wiped her wet main. "Aaahh, thanks, Spike." She said as Spike gave a light blush from the compliment. "This is a day I will never forget." She then brought her hooves together in front of the sunset. "I'm taking a picture with my heart." She started off as her Cutie Mark glowed. "When my Cutie Mark comes to life, confidence is my song!"
Her Cutie Mark glowed brightly as the four watched as the magic shot into the sky and gave off fireworks and a shooting star. "Oooooohhh. Awwww." The three dragons said in unison at the fireworks and shooting star.
"Pipp, you are amazing." Spike complimented, which made Pipp giggled as Spike smiled fondly, seeing much of Rarity in Pipp as she reminded him of his old unicorn crush from back in the day.
Soon, Pipp was ready to leave as she began to say her goodbye to the dragons. "You know, you're welcome here anytime you want, Pipp." Spike said with a smile.
"Yeah. The fresh air and no phone seems to have really suited you." Blaize said with a smirk as Tumble nodded in agreement.
"Thank you!" Pipp said with a smile as she flew in the air with a twirl. "Who knew a digital detox could make me feel so great!" She said with sparkling eyes before she flew in and hugged Spike and Blaize, which they returned and shared a hoof/claw bump with Tumble. "I will definitely be back soon! And often!" She added as she flew into the Marestream and started it up. "Bye!" She waved as the three dragons waved back as Pipp took off back to Maretime Bay as the three dragons watched with smiles.
"She reminds me of a certain Unicorn I knew." Spike said with a fond smile.
"It is Rarity, your highness?" Blaize asked with a teasing smirk, which made Spike's eyes widened.
"Sunset, Discord, and Twilight told you all, didn't they?" Spike asked dully as Blaize giggled as Tumble gave a small chuckle as Spike rolled his eyes with a sigh. "Yeah, they did." He added, already used to that tease.
Back at the Brighthouse, Pipp returns as she and the rest of her friends are gathered in the kitchen as Pipp begins to tell them about her day at the dragonlands. "And then we dove into this crystal-like blue lake! And the water was so cold, but like totally refreshing." Pipp said with a smile and sparkling eyes.
"Sounds like you, Spike, and the other dragons had a great time." Sunset said with a smile.
"A very relaxing great time to be exact." Twilight added with a hoof raised.
"Oh, you have no idea." Pipp said with a smile.
"I gotta say, I feel relieved!" Hitch said as he wiped his brow in relief before putting a hoof on Sparky. "Sparky and I were worried that the Dragonlands wasn't going to be what you were hoping for."
"Hmmhmm." Sparky hummed in agreement.
"It was perfect, Hitch!" Pipp said with a smile and hooves on her cheeks.
"Never doubt the Dragonlands. They are full of surprises, especially Spike." Twilight said with a smile.
"That lake sounds amazing, Pipp." Sunny said with an interesting smile. "Can we see the pictures?!" She asked in excitement as the others nodded in agreement, knowing Pipp would take pictures of her activities.
Pipp, however, gave an uncertain look. "Oh...well, actually, I didn't take a picture of the lake." She admitted with a smirk, which shocked the others from that.
"Wait, you didn't?" Sunset asked in surprise, knowing that Pipp wouldn't stop taking pictures or videos of her activities.
"Nope. None at all." Pipp said with a smirk.
"I'm sorry, did you just say that you didn't take a picture?" Zipp questioned her sister in surprise as Pipp just gave her sister a smirk. "Are you feeling okay?" She asked as she touched her sister's head to see if she got a fever since she knows it's not like her sister to not take a picture.
"You're the one who said I needed a break from my phone, remember?" Pipp reminded her sister with a smirk.
Zipp returned the smirk. "I gotta say, sis, I'm impressed!" She said with a proud look, but just when Zipp said it after going back to her seat, Pipp's phone started beeping again as Pipp took it out as the others looked in surprise by the timing.
"And the pings back." Sunset said dully.
"Oh, yeah! The beats back!" Izzy cheered as she stood up and did a beatboxing dance. "Party hard!" She added with her hoof raised as Misty gave a giggle from what Izzy did.
"Bet you didn't miss that, Pipp." Misty said in amusement.
"Considering you just had a relaxing day without it." Twilight added with a small smile.
"You're both right, Misty, Twilight." Pipp said with a smirk as her phone keep beeping. "I did learn one thing though, watch." She said as she turned off her phone and puts it away, which made the others gasped in surprise and got up to Pipp and started chatting to her friends with a smile of what she just did as she responded back by their compliments with a smirk.
"Anyway, where was I?" Pipp asked as she continue her story. "Oh yeah and then we roasted carrots around the fire, and watched the most beautiful sunset…" She went on and on.
While Pipp continued her story, the Crystal Brighthouse continued to shot rainbow in the sky on a nice peaceful day after Pipp had a nice detox time at the Dragonlands and having a great time without her phone.
End of chapter 33.