Just like that, it was over. The golems had all fallen over. They lay unmoving in heaps upon the floor. The doors had been opened. The terrible old creeper was dead. Both worlds were no doubt a little bit safer and made a better place. Yet, even with an apparent victory, Violetta had trouble celebrating. While she had survived, others had not. Others had died. And as for some, they survived, but there was something wrong with them.

Her captor had gone all out, hoping to accomplish whatever it was that he was doing. She had interrupted him in the middle of whatever it was that he was doing. She had managed to get a part of herself back, but it seemed that others weren’t so lucky. Nineteen little horses survived, but there was something off about them. They did not talk, they did not show signs of intelligence, no, they did very little, but acted like animals.

Sunset Shimmer and the zebra also survived, and seemed to be okay, for the most part. For this, Violetta was relieved in a very selfish sort of way, and she was fully aware of it. To have gone through this traumatic experience and then have no one around afterwards would have been unbearable. Unthinkable.

The cells were checked. The rooms were searched. The strange tower was explored. It was a strange place, with no stairs, just long hallways that defied logic and took one to different places within the tower. Violetta gathered up each and every one of her ponies, put them into a large, nice, comfortable room, and worried about how she was going to look after them.

“So, you don’t understand what has happened to them, at all?” Violetta asked of the zebra, who was staring at the gathered herd. “Let me get this straight, he was in the middle of sucking them dry, drinking them down, and now they might be stuck like this?”

The zebra shrugged as a nearby pony whinnied.

“Well, shit.” Violetta was unable to contain her disappointment. She looked over at the herd, they were dirty, disheveled, and just about half starved. They needed food. They needed a bath. They needed love and affection. And most of all, they needed a way to make them normal again. They were all little horsies through and through with no signs of human-like intelligence.

Just dumb animals.

After a sigh from the zebra, he spoke using his actual voice, and his words seemed both sad and a little reluctant. “This is psychic trauma. I can feel it, but I can’t fix it. It’s like being able to see a wound, but not knowing how to make it better.”

Sunset Shimmer, sitting on a soft cushion, let out a faint sigh that made the pillowcase over her head ripple. Perhaps disturbed by this situation, or maybe just in need of comfort, she wiggled over just a little bit and touched up against the zebra beside her, and he seemed content to be touched.

“I’m fixing these ponies somehow,” said Violetta.

“What has come over you?” Sunset asked.

“I’ve been touched by god,” Violetta replied.

“You keep saying that.” Sunset shook her head beneath the pillowcase.

“She has been touched by ‘god.’ She’s been made like the Royal Pony Sisters. She has been given purpose.” The little zebra focused his soulful greenish eyes upon Violetta. “They defied death with you to prove their power.” Ears drooping, the little zebra’s lips pressed together for a moment as he seemed to be trying to recall something. “I remember stories from when I was young, before I was taken. Many zebras revere the Royal Pony Sisters.”

“Say, can the zebras help fix these ponies?” Violetta asked.

There was no reply. The little zebra sat silent and he refused to look at Violetta. The lack of communication seemed troubling and with a quickness, it grew awkward. Now, perhaps needing some comfort himself, he leaned up against Sunset Shimmer, his eyes dark, flashing, and troubled.

“Hey, I asked you a question.” Violetta’s lips felt thick and rubbery. Her face hurt. Her ass hurt. She was missing a tooth. She leaned forwards and got right up into her zebra friend’s grill. She snorted once, to let him know that she meant business, and then, in as soft and gentle of a voice as she could muster, she added, “If you know something, you need to tell me. I need to help them. I need to make things right. Now, I need to know where these zebras are, how to find them, how to reach them, and I need to know if they can help me.”

“They might,” the zebra replied, “but I can’t go back to them.”

“Why is that?” Violetta jerked her head back and felt a sincere sense of worry, her zebra friend looked troubled. Real troubled. He looked scared and his expression made it clear that he might start crying at any moment.

“I have been touched by evil,” the zebra replied, “and I have no name.”

There was a tug from the muscles on the back of her head and Violetta felt an eyebrow raising. She stopped herself before saying something dumb and hurtful. The zebra had been hurt enough. She chose a more delicate approach. “Help me understand. See, I don’t agree. You had no choice in the matter. That motherfucker, he stole your name. I don’t understand how, but he did. That’s not your fault. Why would the zebras turn you away?”

“Because I am touched by evil.” The zebra sat there, blinking, his whole body trembling. “When I was little… I can remember zebras who were shunned. They did bad things. I’ve done bad things.”

“You didn’t have a lot of choice in the matter.” Reaching out a hoof, Violetta wished that she had hands. She touched the zebra, a light tap, trying to comfort him. She looked over at Sunset, but she seemed to be content to remain silent and lean up against the zebra.

“I can’t go back.”

Violetta sucked in a deep breath and summoned her patience.

The zebra shook his head. “I am evil. Left dirty. I am unclean.”

“Bullshit!” Violetta snapped, causing the zebra’s eyes to go wide as he recoiled.

“But the stories, the lore, I remember—”

“Those are just words!” Violetta poked at the zebra with her hoof, but did so in a gentle way. A real poke with her hoof would crush the little guy now. She was strong now, too strong, and she had no doubts that she could bench press a Jeep. “They are just words and the only meaning they have is what you give them!”

“They are words connected to lore and tradition—”

“No, they are words connected to shame and fear, the two ways that old people and The Man make everything run smoothly.” Peering into the zebra’s eyes, Violetta saw fear and confusion. She needed to explain somehow. “Look, people say stuff. They fill your head full of garbage from a young age hoping to get you to believe the same bullshit they were taught.”

“I don’t understand,” the zebra said.

“It’s like slut shaming in school when we have sex-ed.” Violetta’s face contorted from anger. “They prey on a girl’s self esteem. They want us to behave in a certain way, a way that aligns to their values. What they feel is right. A bunch of creepy old men have decided what we girls should do with our bodies and they tell us how we should feel about it.”

The zebra blinked, confused, and beside him, Sunset Shimmer’s head bobbed up and down in agreement.

“They make up a lot of bullshit and they make you believe it, so that you follow their way, their views, and you end up just as fucked up as they are.” Violetta leaned in and once more, she got right up in the zebra’s grill, her nose inches away from his. In a soft but forceful voice, she continued, “It’s like that chocolate bar bullshit they teach girls in school. They tell us that our bodies, our sexuality, is like a chocolate bar. It has a really pretty wrapper and some sweet, sweet candy inside. You follow?”

The zebra sat there, wide eyed, and Sunset let out a troubled sigh.

“And these moral police, these holier than thou types, they tell the girls that a candy bar can only be unwrapped once. And they get some poor girl to stand up in class, and they give her a candy bar, and they make her go around the classroom, offering up bites of her chocolate bar to the boys. And the first bite is always easy, but after that, the candy bar is nasty. It’s unwrapped and some other boy has bitten some off. After that, it gets harder. Other boys don’t want to eat it. It’s all gross and has bites out of it. And the teacher, well, they keep going on about how disgusting the candy bar is now, how unsanitary, how vile, and how if some boy takes a bite, they’re going to get diseases.”

Shaking his head, the zebra looked troubled.

“And they tell the girls in the class that they are like that candy bar. That they only get one chance to be unwrapped and have a bite taken out of them, and then after that, they are less than perfect. They are no longer desirable. That they are gross, dirty, and disgusting forever. It’s called slut shaming and it’s horrible, and makes girls want to kill themselves.” Violetta thought back to her time spent manning the phone at the receiving end of the suicide hotline.

“What about the boys?” the zebra asked.

“They don’t teach the boys shit, just to be careful of what they bite,” Sunset Shimmer replied in a voice that held more than a little anger. “The more chocolate bars that a boy has a bite of, the better off he is. It’s a double standard. They boys get to brag about how many candy bars they unwrap.”

“The point is, for this to work, the girls and the boys have to believe in it. You have to accept that the words are true for the shame and the guilt to happen. It’s how they control you. You have to believe in their bullshit for it to work.” Reaching out, Violetta gave the zebra another poke. “And that is what childhood is. A long, long period of indoctrination and believing in the bullshit of adults. They give you all sorts of lies for you to believe in. Santa Claus. The Easter Bunny. The Tooth Fairy. And your dumb ass believes in all of this bullshit. They even get you to believe in some invisible sky wizard that will punish you and fuck your shit up if you are a bad person.” Violetta thought about her words and felt troubled—she had met the sky wizard, and she was real. Nothing made any sense any more. Down was up. Up was down. The sky wizard was real, and she was a burning, fiery sun horse.

“You are very wise—”

Exploding with laughter, Violetta almost fell over. It hurt to laugh, it hurt real bad, and she let out a wheeze of pain. Something was wrong with her insides, no doubt. “Nobody has ever told me that I was wise. I’m just some stupid girl that pays attention.”

The zebra’s eyes narrowed. “Then you are wise to pay attention. There is truth in your words.” The zebra looked afraid, hesitant, and curious. “The zebras are to the north, but I do not know how far north. I was very young when I was taken. We’re down near the bottom of the world, the endless ice can be found to the south of us. To the north, there is a vast forest, and beyond that, there is a vast savannah where the zebras are. That is all I know, I’m sorry.”

“So, we need to go north.” Violetta settled back on her plushy horsey haunches. “I have to take the herd north. I’m gonna need some help.”

“I’m blind,” Sunset Shimmer said.

“I know that.” Violetta’s voice was a pained whisper. “And our zebra is touched by evil. Ain’t neither one of ya gonna be any use to me.” She had no idea how she was going to do this, but she felt an overwhelming compulsion to get it done. She stared at the zebra, who looked back at her for a time, but then averted his eyes.

“There is a lot of work to do,” Violetta said. “We need to loot this place and figure out what is useful. We need to find food and then find some way of carrying it with us. We need to find a way to keep the herd together… maybe there’s some rope. They seem content to follow me around—”

“It is because of what you are.” The zebra laid his hoof upon Violetta with a reverent touch. “What you’ve become. They will follow you and remain close to you.”

“That’s good, but I ain’t taking no chances.” Violetta looked around the room at the unicorn survivors. “Some rope or something… we could tie it around their necks. I don’t know how I’m going to make knots without hands. I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“I do not fully understand your candy bar story, but…”—the zebra swallowed and licked his lips—“I do see the wisdom in it. I am responsible for making my own value. I will follow you and help you. Even if they are blank, I can still touch their minds. Calm them if they become spooked. I can control them, if necessary.”

Feeling relieved, Violetta nodded. Nineteen lives, plus Sunset Shimmer and one zebra without a name. She took a deep breath, wondered what she was getting into, and then shook her head. This was a strange world, full of the unknown, and filled with dangers that she had no comprehension of. She had two helpers that she hoped would be her friends. And no doubt, the horse-god was watching her.

“We need to get started as soon as possible. I need some time to recover, because my ass got beat, and we need to gather some supplies. When we go, we should leave early in the morning so we can get a full day of walking. And just so you know, I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“We’re free,” Sunset Shimmer said, “and that’s all that matters.”

Licking her fuzzy horsey lips, Violetta looked at Sunset and felt a pang in her heart. “I don’t know if we can go home again, Sunset. I don’t know if we can go back to where we belong. This journey might be a long one for us.” Violetta took a moment to collect her thoughts, then continued, “I really don’t have a plan, but once these ponies are safe, once they are in a place where they can be looked after and healed, I already know I need to keep going. On the other side of the world, far, far away from here, she’s waiting for me.”

“Who?” Sunset asked.

“The horse-god that kicked my sorry ass outta horsey heaven.”

Sunset let out a giggle.

“No, really, she did. She said I was a bad pony. And then my ass was kicked out.”

Eyes narrowing, the zebra said, “You should show reverence. Princess Celestia gave you a chance to redeem yourself.”

“Yeah, she did, and now she has me on her hands.” Violetta blinked. “Hooves? I don’t know what to say anymore!” It was frustrating, nothing made sense. “Anyhow, I gotta go and see her. I guess I’m going to have to walk around the world until I get there. I don’t know how I’m going to cross the oceans. And I don’t know what is going to happen once I get there.”

“Will you go home?” Sunset asked. “If she has a way to send you back, would you go?”

Sighing, Violetta slumped over, already knowing the answer. “No.”

“No?” Sunset lifted her head.

“Nope, I’m done there. I don’t wanna talk about it.”

Saying it aloud, Violetta found the resolve she needed for acceptance. Even though she was still quite troubled, she felt a little better. She had a purpose now, even if she didn’t understand what it was, or what it meant, or how she would fulfil it. She had become a purposeful creature. She thought about what the horse-god had said—It left him without purpose, without meaning, without direction. For us, that is a terrible state of being. She knew these words to be true now. She had become a purposeful horse, and a purposeful horse she would stay.

Perhaps, with time, Sunset might become a purposeful horse.

“Come on, both of you, we have a lot of work to do. Let’s get to doing it…”

Author's Note

And now, the epilogue.