Author's Note

Just imagine the intro to the first episode of original "She-Ra: The Princess of Power" but with the narration slightly different:

Where the privilege rules, fights the champion of equity.

Where minorities are oppressed, there rides the Rebellion.

Together, They and their allies stand ready against the hateful bigots of the Patriarchy and their leader, the toxic Patriarch.

The Rebellion, armed with tolerance and diversity powers against the prejudice and unjust hierarchy.

This is the story of those who will lead the world to the social paradise: They-Gay and the Warriors of Social Justice!

Who am I?

“Trigger Warning” - a notice appeared on the screen. A purple alicorn pony, who was sitting in front of it, rolled her eyes and made a long yet quiet sigh. It was the second or maybe even third warning in this recording already, and so far it was followed by nothing more than generic shots of They-Gay and Warriors of Social Justice posing for the camera. Or generic shots of Castle Blood Moon. Or even more generic shots of the lands and forests around it. Just like in other “orientation videos” she was shown earlier.

And even those earlier “orientations” had at least some fun moments. Like the tournament recording where the pony saw quite a few slick martial arts moves. They-Gay was the winner, of course, smashed every opponent with their glowing hammer. But other participants had quite powerful weapons too, some were using magic. Certain spells were quite interesting.

“How are you feeling, horsey?” a soft voice asked from half-darkness of the vision hall.

The hall wasn’t very big. In fact, it was just one of the “wine” cellars, repurposed for meditation and study. And a niche with a holographic projector that, for convenience, everyone called just “screen” was made in a wall to show holo-recordings to the students.

At the moment, there were only two students of magic studies in Castle Blood Moon. And apparently, the pony one wasn’t allowed to watch recordings with “violence, harassment, and other disturbing imagery” without supervision. Of cause not because she was a pony, the headmistress of the magic school made that explicitly clear, but because she had a traumatic experience of coming to this world a few weeks ago and losing her memory.

“I’m fine!” answered ‘horsey’ with mild annoyance, throwing a glance to the left, towards her appointed caretaker. “And I’ve asked you not to call me that.”

“Oh, I’m sorry if I’ve offended you.” A slender hand, so white it sparkled even in dim light, gently stroke pony’s mane.

“Ra-aight..” snorted the alicorn, but only in her head – she didn’t want to be distracted with another argument in case there will finally be something actually interesting on the screen. This wasn’t the first time she was made uncomfortable by the very person who also instructed her how not to be offensive.

It was quite frustrating to see that someone, who scolds others for any ‘insensitivity’ or ‘microaggression’, would constantly slip in that regard. And while the signs of attention from the vampire princess were not entirely unpleasant but at times she could be really creepy, regardless if she identified as a man or a woman at the moment.

The identification part was also quite confusing, as princess Sparkla was very feminine. Especially in her favorite black dress that consisted of a tight top and a knee skirt with a left split so wide that it showed her hip.

Usually, the dress was complemented by a translucent cape that split into two strips down the line, which made it look like two insect wings. Average height, slim (unless after some exceptionally large feast that would make her belly swell and as a result princess looked like a fat moth), with long violet hair and large eyes, attenuated by goth makeup, Sparkla looked like an anime goth teenage girl.

Even the princess’ ‘male armor’ that she donned when training or going on a mission had two metal caps to accommodate C-sized breasts, and a chain-male mini-skirt was even shorter than the dress. No one would mistake her for a boy. And what was even the point in changing identity? It’s not like enemies would ask her if she is a girl or a boy before the fight.

Enemies. The Patriarchy. If it was even half as bad as the pony was told, then fighting it was what Sparkla should have been focusing on. Not on her identity and affection to a pony (from pony’s point of view quite unhealthy affection) that she was assigned to take care for.

They actually had a very heated argument on the subject just a couple of days ago. That time princess came to her “horsey” right when the purple alicorn was learning an especially hard spell from the castle archives. And not a minute passed after Sparkla sat on the grass beside her ward, a vampire girl already started cuddling.

First, Sparkla messed her ‘pet’s’ mane a bit. Then her hands went further back and lower. She continued by massaging pony’s flanks, right where a purple star mark was. The pony already had the idea where princess’ cuddling will end up. But decided to postpone another argument about ‘exploring sexuality’ until after she finishes with the spell.

The spell was supposed to create a storm-cloud that would shoot bolts of lightning precisely on the caster’s command. And for an alicorn pony that would be the most exciting thing she had done since coming to this world. To actually make a hard spell on her own! Everything else could wait...

And right at the very moment when the magical energy blasted from her horn, pony felt a prick on her year. A bite! Sparkla really decided to intensify the foreplay this time, she thought. And that single thought was a distraction that made a spell go astray. The storm cloud appeared right beside one of the castle’s towers, instead of the opposite direction.

The next second cloud burst with lightning bolts blasting in all directions, blinding and deafening. Several bolts hit right into the top of the tower, like it was a giant lightning rod. The roof practically exploded, sending bricks and roof tiles flying in all directions.

Despite her frustration purple alicorn managed to raise a force field just in time. A few bricks had eventually flown at them and hit the glowing dome.

Luckily, the storm cloud dissipated almost immediately. Both princess and her ‘horsey’ stood in complete silence for quite a few long seconds. Then some rumble came from the top of the exploded tower.

A black head popped up from the pile of rubble that roof tiles and bricks turned into.

“Oh, my!” It was Bow – Sparkla’s butler.

Except Bow wasn’t black, he was Asian. Or rather would be Asian in a world where Asia existed. However, his narrow slanting eyes were now round-wide open from the shock of surprise (or maybe just shock as the lightning had hit a metal railing he was holding a moment earlier). And his light skin was now covered with black charred dust.

Apparently, he was going up or down the tower’s stairs when the spell destroyed the top floor. And the remaining charge went down, charring the walls of the stairwell.

By some miracle or more likely protective enchantments, the trap door that had lead to the stairs to the now destroyed room at the top remained intact. And somehow Bow managed to open it, even if it was buried under the rubble.

“Oh, my!” said Bow again with his usual calm tone with a streak of amusement, that somehow was well heard despite the distance. “How did you do that, my Sparkle?” That’s how he and Queen Angelica called princess most of the time. “Or was it our pony’s magic?”

“She is in the process learning,” answered Sparkla before alicorn could muster a word. “There is no big deal.”

“Are you sure?” asked Bow, his voice still calm, as this wasn’t the first ‘incident’ with partial destruction of the castle in his memory. “Your mother...”

“I’ll speak with my mother myself!” shouted Sparkla back. “You better go and wash before someone accuse you of wearing blackface.”

Without much argument, though without haste either, Bow went back down. There wasn’t even an audible rattle among the debris this time - so skillfully he moved. Just the sound of trap door shut, barely heard from afar.

“Oh, horsey!” Sparkla turned to her pony. “You really made a mess.”

This was the final straw.

“Me?!” exclaimed purple alicorn pony. “It was all your… advances!”

“But horsey, I’ve already explained to you, that you should explore...”

“And you always talk about consent,” interrupted angry pony. “But when it comes to me, you never ask! Or brush any of my objections, like they aren’t valid.” And after a bit of thinking “horsey” shouted: “Am I a sex object to you?!”

“Sexual objectification” was another concept Sparkla often talked about. Most parts of her explanations wasn’t very clear or consistent – why would sexual desire of someone else make you an object? Why other desires wouldn’t? Why your appearance even matter? All that was very confusing, but if someone would be a victim of being treated like an object for sex, that would definitely be a pony without memory, who was taken advantage of. At least that’s what a pony without memory felt right now.

Sparkla herself was quite taken aback by the accusation. It was the first time that her pet alicorn lashed at her back so strongly. So, princess of the Blood Moon Castle decided to change her approach.

“I’m just trying my best to care for you,” she sat in front of her pony and raised a hand to gently stroke her mane. But then thought better of it and put her hands on her knees. “You don’t have any memories. And you definitely confused about a lot of things. My little ‘horsey’, you...”

“And stop call me that!” lashed ‘horsey’ anew. “I’ve already told you that I don’t like that name. You constantly lecture me that I should speak non-offensively, so everypon… everyone will feel comfortable and safe. And yet, when it comes to attitude to me, there is nothing that stops you from making me uncomfortable.”

“But I’m just calling you that because you don’t remember your name,” answered Sparkla, her tone being a nanny explaining basic things to a child. “Horsey is a cute and non-offensive...”

“But I feel offended!” Alicorn pony without name stomped her hoof right in front of Sparkla. “I want another, that I wouldn’t feel being degrading.”

The main reason ‘horsey’ nickname felt bad to her was that it was yet another thing that was ‘assigned’ by others. And each time the pony was called that, it was a reminder of her loss of memory, her being alien to this place. One could expect that people who were all about personal identity would understand that but, apparently, they weren’t.

“So, what name do you want?” asked Sparkla.

“I...” The pony stopped, trying to think of something. She didn’t actually expect her caretaker to submit so quickly. Now, as her angry outburst was over, nameless alicorn realized that she never thought about her own name.

And the most embarrassing thing was that the first word that popped into pony’s mind was Sparkla herself. Why would that happen? She really hoped that it wasn’t because of some ‘repressed romantic feelings’ - that would mean… She didn’t want to think about what that would mean.

Or maybe her real name somehow connected to the vampire princess? Some association? Or maybe forgotten name was some sparkling object?

While the amnesiac alicorn pony was following her trail of thoughts, Sparkla decided, yet again, that her little pet wouldn’t make it without her guidance.

“How about Darkness?” she suggested a name, she would like herself. “Or maybe Shade? Or Shadow?” Princess continued, making a little pause before coming up with each suggestion. “Dusk? Midnight?” The last word made a sort of a click in pony’s mind.

“Gloom?”

“Twilight?”

“Yes,” suddenly the pony heard her own voice before realizing that she answered the question. But the next moment she felt a sense of familiarity. Word ‘Twilight’ was indeed the word from her past. Could it indeed be her name? Name ‘Sparkla’ felt familiar too. Could she have two names? Well, one name is better than no name. Sure better than ‘horsey’.

“What?” asked Sparkla, stopping her suggestions.

“Yes. I like the name ‘Twilight’.” answered Twilight. “Call me that, please.”

There was a pause.

“Absolutely!” exclaimed Sparkla and bent forward to hug her little pony. “Twilight—it’s so romantic, especially for vampires. I’m so glad that you’ve chosen that and not some stupid name like ‘Swift Wind’ or something.”

“I see...” exhaled Twilight, feeling girl’s hands around her neck. Hands that had a lot more strength than those of a human teenager. “Personal… Space...”

“Oh, right, right,” Sparkla released her hug and sat back quickly. “Sorry.”