“And after that, my mother declared my sentence and I was led away. The whole time, ponies were yelling at me, calling things like ‘an outrage’ or ‘a disgrace’ and throwing whatever that had on hoof at me.” Zipp finished recapping her most recent nightmare as she laid on the couch of her therapist’s office.
“I see.” The Therapist said as she wrote down some notes. Ever since Zipp’s breakdown months ago, she had been coming to therapy at least twice a week, which was an improvement from her previous every day of the week visits. “And do you know how your sister passed exactly?”
Zipp shook her head. “The dream started and ended in the courtroom. I was never given any details other than ‘I killed her’ so I don’t know if this is related to the cave in incident or my jealousy winning this time.” Zipp sighed and rolled onto her side before giving a crude chuckle. “If it’s the latter then that at least I’d know I was getting my comeuppance.”
The Therapist nodded again and wrote down more details before beginning to ask Zipp the regular questions. “Have you been eating regularly?”
“Yes.”
“Any thoughts of depression or hopelessness?”
“No.”
“Any thoughts of running away again?”
“No.”
“Any thoughts of harming yourself?”
“No.” Zipp gave the same answers she usually gave. She felt that this routine was pointless by now, but she didn’t want to come off as disrespectful.
“And what about your medicine? Do you think we need to up the prescription?”
Zipp pondered this. She had been taking medicine prescribed by The Therapist since these sessions started to hopefully lower her stress. Despite her recent dream, it seemed to be effective during her waking hours, when they would be most effective anyway. “No, I think keeping it at 60 should be enough.” She told The Therapist.
“Very well.” The Therapist said as she finished jotting down the rest of her notes. “Anything else you want to talk about?”
Zipp shook her head as she got up from the couch. “No, I’m good. Thanks again, Doc.”
The Therapist smiled. “Think nothing of it, Zipp. Remember, my door is always open.”
Zipp smiled back and left the room and went into the lobby where she picked up her recent refill of medicine. As she left the counter, she was greeting by Hitch and Sparky waiting for her. The baby dragon cooed happily when he saw Zipp appear and ran over to hug his unofficial stepmom’s foreleg. “Hehe. Hey, kiddo.” Zipp greeted him as she rubbed his head with her free hoof before she gently moved him aside and greeted Hitch with a brief kiss. “Hi, honey.”
“Hey, Zipp.” Hitch said back as they hugged. “How did it go?” He asked once they broke off.
“Same old, same old.” Zipp replied. “I take it you’re going to be my bodyguard for today?” She asked with a smirk. One thing that resulted from the breakdown was that Zipp now rarely went off on her own, out of fear of corrupt or negative thoughts returning to her. She was almost always with one of her friends nowadays to keep her mind on other things, usually Pipp or Hitch.
“I guess so.” Hitch shrugged with a smile before gaining a teasing look. “Unless you’d rather go flying with your sister.”
Zipp faked a gasp. “And give up time spent with my handsome coltfriend? I think not.” She replied teasingly as she nudged his side and the two of them walked out the door with Sparky climbing onto Zipp’s back.
As the three of them made their way through the streets of Maretime Bay, Zipp found herself leaning against Hitch, nuzzling his coat. In the months prior, she would never display this much PDA, no doubt feeling it would make her look soft and mushy. But nowadays she had seemed to find great enjoyment in it. Perhaps it was because she enjoyed Hitch’s reactions to every surprise kiss or nuzzle, even though she did that so often they might as well not be surprises anymore. Or maybe it was because it made her feel safer. That none of her dark thoughts could come after her when she was by the side of the brave sheriff.
Really she felt that way whenever she was with any of her friends. Whether it was skating with Sunny or helping her with the smoothie stand, to crafting with Izzy, to doing detective work or couples things with Hitch, to flying or cuddling with her sister, Zipp felt she was able to let her guard down with them. And after the recent conflict with Opaline that ended with her defeat and Misty leaving the evil alicorn, the pegasus felt like a massive weight was lifted off her shoulders. She no longer had any suspicions of Misty or had to worry how her friends would react to such suspicions. Although she hasn’t had many chances to interact with the unicorn. Whenever she tried to, Pipp would show up and lead her away to do something else. Zipp didn’t know why Pipp kept doing this, but shrugged it off as her little sister wanting to be with her.
She might not have been out of the woods yet, but Zipp couldn’t be happier with her life right now.
The family trio continued on their way to the Brighthouse, partaking in the occasional small talk or giving brief romantic gestures to each other while Sparky just napped on Zipp’s head. When they reached the Brighthouse and opened the front doors, Zipp was expecting to see the warm and welcoming faces of her friends. Instead, what she got was Sunny, Izzy, and Pipp sitting on the couch watching the TV with Izzy in tears, Sunny comforting her friend, Pipp with a surprised look on her face, and Misty nowhere to be seen.
“What’s going on?” Zipp asked, her detective side immediately springing to action.
The response she got from Izzy surprised her. “MISTY’S BEEN ARRESTED!” She sobbed before blowing into a handkerchief Sunny provided.
“What?!” Both Hitch and Zipp said at the same time, the noise waking Sparky from his nap.
“Just look.” Sunny told them as she pointed at the TV.
Zipp and Hitch walked over to the couch and saw Skye and Dazzle reporting the latest news from Zephyr Heights. “And this just in, Maretime Bay resident Misty Brightdawn has recently turned herself over to ZH authorities, confessing to crimes including, but not limited to, attempted assassination on Princess Zephyrina Storm.” Skye announced to the viewing world.
Hearing that made Zipp stop breathing. ”She did what?!” The pegasus wasn’t unaware of what they were talking about. Misty had confessed everything to her and her friends not long after moving in with them, which included the trapping of her and Pipp in the cave. But Zipp forgave her for all that, and so did the rest of her friends. So what in Equestria possessed Misty to go and say such things to her mother; the Queen of Zephyr Heights?
Zipp’s thoughts came to a halt when she heard her mother on TV addressing a crowd of ponies. “As a mother, I can say that I have never been more furious to hear that somepony is single-handedly responsible for putting my daughter through so much misery. If I have my way with her, I’ll-“ Queen Haven stopped herself mid sentence and took a deep breath. Now wasn’t the time for her to lose her cool. “I’m sorry, I need a moment.”
Zipp couldn’t even remember the last time she saw her mother look so furious. Against her initial wishes, her friends convinced her to tell her mother about everything that had been troubling her as of late, namely pointing out that it would be impossible to explain her clipped wings off as something else. As she expected, when she came clean, Queen Haven became hysterical and embraced her daughter tightly, crying into her mane and whispering much needed words of assurance for the both of them. She was able to convince her mother to let her stay in Maretime Bay with Pipp and her friends, letting her know they have been helping her greatly with her recovery. But in return, she promised to give her mother updates every day about her condition.
Now seeing how angry her mother was, close to declaring threats for all of Equestria to hear, Zipp was beginning to worry about what Misty said to her.
The screen switched back to the reporters as Dazzle took over. “The Queen has already declared that the prisoner be escorted to the deepest dungeons of Zephyr Heights until her trial can commence.” She said as she screen cut to Misty being escorted away by Zoom and Thunder past a crowd of angry ponies. Chains were placed on each of her legs and linked together to prevent her from escaping. The unicorn had a look of utter defeat on her face. Her now brightly colored mane dropping to the point her eyes were covered. “However.” Dazzle spoke over the footage. “As you can see, it is going to be a very short trial with nopony in Zephyr heights offering support to this criminal.” She said as her voice indicated her own displeasure with Misty as audio from the scene began to play.
Zipp and the others could only watch as ponies yelled at Misty, throwing any insult they could at her, along with any objects they had. “You’re a disgrace!”
“An outrage!”
“A scandal!”
“We don’t want you!”
“Judgement day is here!”
“Yes, your day is here!”
“Judgement! Judgement!”
As Zipp watched Misty getting pelted both physically and verbally, her mind began to replay the dream she had the pervious night. This was exactly how it was in her nightmare, right down to the exact same insults being thrown. And as more harsh words were played, Zipp began to not see Misty there any more. Instead she was seeing herself in Misty’s place with the same look of shame on her face, receiving all those hurtful words.
“Outsider!”
“Witch!”
“How dare you!”
“Hate filled bitch!”
“Liar!”
“Shame on you!”
“Coward!”
“Trouble maker!”
“Evil incarnate!”
“Go away!”
“Deceiver!”
“Pathetic child!”
“You’re getting what you deserve!”
“I hope you burn!”
“Failure!”
“Agitator!”
“Murderer!”
“Banish her!”
“We won’t forget this!”
“Get lost!”
“You’ll never be trusted again!”
“Alone forever!”
“Good riddance!”
“Disaster bringer!”
“Black sheep!”
“Never show your face again!”
“Your days of bringing sadness are over!”
“This is what your kind deserve!”
“We’re not blind to your lies anymore!”
“Vengeance will be ours!”
“This is what you get!”
“You’ll never be one of us!”
“Never!”
“Never!”
“Never!”
Everything was playing so fast in Zipp’s head. Her breathing increased heavily as her heart rate skyrocketed. She couldn’t keep her footing and fell to the floor. Immediately her friends were at her side. “Zipp!” Pipp cried as she flew over to her.
“What’s wrong?!” Sunny fearfully asked.
“She’s having a panic attack!” Izzy quickly realized.
“Zipp!? Zipp!? Say something!” Hitch pleaded with her as he shook her. But Zipp couldn’t hear them. She couldn’t hear anything outside of the continuous words of hate, her beating heart, her deep breaths, and the defending pitch that blocked all else. She was essentially trapped in her own head.
“You don’t belong here!”
“Everything you say is a lie!”
“No one trusts you!”
“You’re not wanted anywhere!”
“Damn troublemaker!”
“Disappear forever, why don’t you?!”
Her friends began to freak out. They were constantly calling to Zipp, shaking her, anything to snap her out of her trance. They didn’t know what else to do. They had seen Zipp break down into tears a few times since she ran away, but this was the first time she had an outright panic attack. The first time she was completely unresponsive.
Sparky saw his stepmom’s distress and quickly ran over to her to comfort her, as he had done many times in the past when she had nightmares. He climbed onto her stomach and gave a concerned coo before he laid down and hugged her. Hitch saw this and quickly ushered everypony else back. “Give them some space!” He told them.
“But, Hitch!” Pipp tried to counter, not wanting to leave her sister’s side.
“No, wait, Pipp. Look.” Izzy assured her as she pointed out the change in Zipp’s behavior.
The gentle feeling of Sparky’s touch seemed to be working as Zipp raised the hoof off her chest and rested it on the dragon’s head. Her breathing and heart rate started to slow down as the noise and voices in her head quieted down. Once she stopped panting to the point she could speak again, she looked at Sparky and weakly smiled. “Thank you, Sparky.” To which the young dragon smiled in response and hugged her face.
Seeing that Zipp was receptive to the outside world again, the rest of her friends immediately approached her. “Zipp!” Pipp exclaimed as she pulled her sister into a hug while Hitch examined her.
“Are you all right?!” He asked frantically. “Is your body temperature normal?! Do you have a flu?! Fever?!”
“Whoa, ponies, calm down.” Sunny interjected, lightly pushing the two of them away from Zipp. “Let’s not overwhelm her.”
Despite not wanting to be any distance away from Zipp right now, Hitch and Pipp reluctantly agreed and backed away so Zipp could shakily stand back up on her feet. Once the white pegasus seemed to have found her footing, Sunny spoke. “Zipp? Are you feeling all right? That was a very bad panic attack.”
“I’m fine, Sunny.” Zipp assured her, her voice shaky. “I think I just need to lie down for a bit.”
“Then that’s what you’ll do.” Pipp said as she was back at Zipp’s side, allowing herself to be leverage for her big sister.
“Thank you, Pipp.” Zipp said as she leaned into Pipp, unable to keep herself balanced, while they went up the stairs to the bedroom.
“Do you need anything else, Zipperdoodle?” Izzy asked.
“Maybe a glass of water or two.” Zipp weakly replied.
“On it!” Izzy saluted and immediately went to get some beverages.
As the two sisters ascended the stairs, Pipp looked back at the TV, still showing Misty, and glared at it. “Damn you, Misty.”
Once upstairs, Zipp immediately collapsed onto her bed. Pipp soon crawled in beside her, embracing her sister with her soft wings and pulled the blanket over the both of them while Zipp buried her head into Pipp’s chest. The sound of Pipp’s breathing and heartbeat were able to allow Zipp to quickly fall asleep.
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself not in the Brighthouse anymore. She instead found herself in her mother’s throne room. At least, it appeared like that, only it was so dark it was hard to tell. “What the?” Zipp wondered and tried to move before she found that she couldn’t. Looking down, she saw that she was chained, one linking each of her legs together and one around her neck attached to the floor. “Huh? What’s going on?” She asked as she struggled to free herself.
Suddenly, the rest of the lights in the room throne turned on, and Zipp was greeted with an unwelcome sight. The entire room was filled with ponies, all giving her looks of pure hatred, even her friends were among them. Zipp’s eyes widened as she recognized the dream she was in. “No! No! No!” She pleaded. This was the last thing she needed to experience right now.
But she couldn’t stop the dream as the trumpets signaling the arrival of the queen played. Zipp looked up and saw the silhouette of a pegasus descending from the sky. She was expecting it to be her mother, looking at her oldest daughter with a look of disappointment no child could bear to witness. But instead she found her jaw dropping to the floor as it wasn’t her mother flying down. It was herself. Only there were some big differences. The most obvious being the horn on her forehead, right above that accursed crown. The same crown she smashed to pieces the first chance she had. She also noticed that around the queen’s neck was another object that should’ve been destroyed; Misty’s necklace.
When the other her landed, one of the guards announced. “All bow before Queen Zipp! Ruler of Equestria!” And like that, everypony else in the room was immediately on their knees.
Queen Zipp opened her eyes, showing her dark red pupils, and looked at her chained opposite before smiling and addressing the crowd present. “Ponies of Equestria. We have gathered today to witness the trial of the pegasus who dares to call herself Zipp Storm.”
Several ponies in the crowd booed at Zipp, the most hurtful ones coming from her friends. Still, Zipp kept her feeling bottled up. Now was not the time to show any signs of weakness. “And what exactly am I on trial for?” She asked her other self, attempting to sound brave.
But Queen Zipp saw right through this and laughed. “Ha! You mean you haven’t figured it out?” She said before he looked turned serious. “For being a failure. All this time and you still live a life of insecurities, letting the opportunities to fix that go flying by. Pathetic!”
The Queen looked off to the side and Zipp followed her gaze. What she saw horrified her. There were two giant stained glass windows showcasing events she assumed the queen her did. One window showed Queen Zipp towering over the destroyed Unity Crystals. The other showed Queen Zipp standing proudly over the body of a pony with blooded hooves. At first Zipp feared the worst out of that image, but she was given the slightest possible relief when she saw it was Opaline who was slain, not her sister or mother.
“You see that?” Queen Zipp asked her prisoner. “That is how a real ruler acts. They don’t hesitate. They take what is rightfully there’s the first chance they have, no questions or compromises.”
“And what? Betray all of their friends along the way?!” Zipp shot back with the first counter argument she thought of.
“Friends?” Queen Zipp repeated before laughing again. “Ha! Don’t make me laugh. What have friends ever done for us? Need I remind you that it was their doubt in you that lead to your first breakdown? And what happened in the end? You were right about Misty and they didn’t believe you until it was almost too late! But I didn’t let some petty guilt get the better of me! I made that slime of a unicorn talk! I took the magic of the Unity Crystals to become an alicorn myself! I killed Opaline all by myself! Had you just taken matters into your own hooves like I did, you’d find yourself where you belong. At the top, beyond even the mightiest!” She declared as the ponies in the room cheered.
“You tell that imposter, Sister!” Zipp heard Pipp call out.
“No one is more worthy of magic than you!” Sunny said after.
“We’re lost without you!” Izzy said next.
“Truly the greatest there has ever been!” Hitch added.
Hearing those words come out of her friends mouths, even if this was all a dream, made Zipp cringe. She had no doubt that queen her did something to them, to everypony, as there would be no way they’d just sit by and accept her becoming this. “But don’t you see? By doing what you did, you’ve become just like Opaline!” She yelled at the queen.
This seemed to get to Queen Zipp as she frowned and walked right up to Zipp and looked her dead in the eyes. “And that right there is what I despise about you the most, Zephyrhina. You are a coward.”
“W-what?”
“You heard me loud and clear. You’re a coward. You can’t make any decisions for yourself anymore. You can’t even do anything by yourself anymore. You always need one of your friends with you so you can keep ‘the dark thoughts at bay’.” Queen Zipp said the last part mockingly, earning harsh laughs from some of the other ponies before she sent them a glare that shut them up before continuing, her anger building with every word. “You plan on hiding behind your friends for the rest of your miserable life! Continuing to live on in a lie about the pony you really are. About who you can really be. If that isn’t the description of a coward, then it might as well become the new definition.”
“Still.” Queen Zipp paused and lifted Zipp’s chin so she was looking directly into her eyes. “You have the chance to make up for it. One more opportunity to prove yourself. So answer me this, Zipp Storm. Are you going to finally stop cowering like a scared filly, or are you going to continue to disappoint us all? You abomination.”
“Abomination!”
“Abomination!”
“Abomination!” Ponies shouted at Zipp as she felt the whole world was spinning around her. She tried to block out the shouts by closing her eyes, but it did no good.
It seemed to be another repeat of her panic attack, only now there was nopony there to snap her out of it. “Zipp?” Zipp’s eyes snapped open when she heard her name being called out in a nonvenomous tone. “Zipp?” The voice called out again, becoming louder every time.
“Abomination!”
“Zipp?”
“Abomination!”
“Zipp, wake up!”
“Abomination!”
“ZIPP!”
The pegasus’ eyes snapped opened again. Looking around frantically, she saw that she was back in her bed at the Brighthouse. She looked down and saw that she was unchained. Feeling immense relief, she felt a hoof on her and looked to see Sunny sitting across from her with Sparky. “Sunny?” Zipp said weakly.
“Here.” Sunny reached over to Zipp’s nightstand and grabbed a glass of water. “Drink this.”
Zipp didn’t need to be told twice as she grabbed the glass and chugged it down as fast as she could. When finished, she placed the glass down and looked at her friend. “Where’s Pipp?” She asked the earthpony mare.
“She needed to talk with Hitch about something, so I volunteered to keep an eye on you so you didn’t get any nightmares.” Sunny answered before looking down sadly. “Though it seems I didn’t do a good job, did I?”
“Don’t blame yourself.” Zipp assured her. “None of you can stop the nightmares from happening.”
Seeing how tired Zipp still looked, Sunny debated whether or not if she should ask. “Do you wanna talk about it?”
At first Zipp wanted to say no, not wanting to relive the dream again. But the pegasus mare knew from recent experience that keeping such things bottled up would only end up hurting her in the long run. She sighed and began telling Sunny everything, her friend just listening in silence. When Zipp finished, she rolled onto her side away from Sunny. “I thought I was getting better. That I finally was feeling happy again. Now I’m getting panic attacks and more nightmares. It just seems that I’m back where I started.” She admitted.
“Oh, Zipp.” Sunny said sadly as she pulled her friend into a hug with Sparky joining in.
“Sunny?” Zipp asked, looking up at her hugger. “Be honest with me. Am I a burden to you? Do you ever get annoyed with constantly having to watch over me like a foal?”
Sunny was taken aback by this question. “Wh-what? No! Of course not! Zipp, I enjoy the time I spend with you. We all do. You mean so much to all of us, and none of that is because you’re a princess. It’s because you are an amazing pony. You’re like the big sister I never had. So please, don’t start thinking that you don’t deserve our help. You deserve it completely.” Sunny’s hoof began rubbing along Zipp’s mane, and the pegasus seemed to calm down. “Listen, I’m going downstairs to see how everypony else is doing. You stay here until you feel ready to join us. Sparky will keep you company. Won’t you, Sparky?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Sparky said, or rather tried to say with a cute little salute that made both mares chuckle.
“Heh, you’re basically becoming my emotional support dragon at this point.” Zipp said as she pulled the dragon into a hug.
Sunny smiled at the scene before getting off the bed and headed downstairs. “Don’t be afraid to call for any of us if you need anything.” She told Zipp as she went down the stairs.
“Yes, Mom.” Zipp said jokingly, to which Sunny couldn’t help but laugh at.
Once she was down far enough, Sunny was greeted with Hitch, Pipp, and Izzy in the middle of a conversation. “They can’t really be that bad, right?” Izzy asked fearfully. “I mean, I thought the dungeons were all stylish and luxury.”
“That’s just where we keep ponies we’re not entirely sure what to do with yet.” Pipp explained. “They’re only like that to keep them from wanting to escape. But if a pony commits a crime akin to what Misty did then they’ll be locked up in the dungeons beneath the city for life.”
“For life?!” Izzy repeated with a horrified look on her face.
“Pipp, I know you’re upset, but surely you can see that such a punishment is too much for Misty.” Hitch tried to reason with her. “Hasn’t she suffered enough under Opaline?”
Pipp frowned and gave Hitch a serious look. “Considering how upset Mother sounded on the phone when I told her about Zipp’s panic attack, there’s no way her punishment would be anything less.”
Sunny listened as they talked and suddenly found herself very glad she didn’t bring Zipp down with her. The last thing she would need right now is more negativity. As she reached the ground, the other ponies finally noticed her presence and Pipp’s expression changed into a worried one. “How is she?” She immediately asked as she ran over to Sunny.
“She had a nightmare.” Sunny answered truthfully. “But other than that, she seems to be doing fine.”
Hearing this made Pipp frown again as she looked back at Hitch. “You see what I mean, Hitch?”
“I can’t say that I do.” Hitch answered with a frown of his own.
“Well, let me put it in simpler words. Mom’s going to be the judge of the trial. There is no defense attorney that is going to go against the Queen, even if they did believe Misty was somehow innocent. With nopony to defend her, Misty is going to get the harshest sentence possible.”
Hearing that made Izzy’s lip quiver. “No.” She whimpered. She looked like she was about to cry herself when an idea suddenly came into her head. “Wait! What about you and Zipp!? You’re princesses! That has to mean you can defend somepony if possible!”
“I haven’t read up on law enough to be a reliable defense.” Pipp answered Izzy’s question sternly. “And if you think I am going to let Zipp go up there in her condition then you-“
“What’s going on?” Pipp’s words caught in her throat as she heard her sister coming down the stairs with Sparky on her back.
“Zipp!” Pipp said in surprise. “What’re you doing up? You should still be in bed.”
“I wanted to know what all the commotion was about.” Zipp answered.
The other ponies didn’t know what to say. They didn’t want to start arguing in front of Zipp under the risk of sending the pegasus into another panic attack. Eventually, Hitch decided to break the ice. “We got off the phone with your mother and she says that she wants you at Zephyr Heights so you can witness the trial in person. We were just talking about how it would probably be best if you don’t make the trip considering your recent troubles and that it would be a very short trial anyway with no defense for-“
“When are we leaving?” Zipp suddenly asked.
This question surprised her friends. “W-what? Zipp, did you not just hear Hitch?” Pipp asked her sister back. “After everything that’s happened in just this past hour alone, it’s best you remain here in Maretime Bay. Let Mom handle the trial.” She tried to convince her sister to change her mind.
But Zipp shook her head. “I have things I want to talk to Misty about, and if the trial is as one sided as you say it is, I might not get another chance.”
“But, Zipp. It’s a long flight from here to Zephyr Heights. You’re probably still too weak to make it.” Pipp tried again to change Zipp’s mind.
“We can take the Marestream. Sunny, you’ve flown it before, right?” Zipp asked her orange coated friend, already knowing her friends would let her pilot it herself due to the recent events.
“I have.” Sunny admitted before quickly adding. “But that was months ago and only once. I’m nowhere near as experienced as you. And with all the stress you’ve been feeling, we don’t want to overwhelm you more.”
It seemed like Zipp was about to say something in response, but stopped herself. Sunny, Hitch, and especially Pipp smiled, thinking they’ve succeeded in keeping Zipp home and away from the stresses the trial would bring. That is until Izzy spoke up. “I can fly it.” The rest of her friends, namely Pipp, shot the purple mare looks telling her to keep quiet, but the unicorn ignored them as she walked over to Zipp. “If going to this is important to you, Zipp, then I’ll help you get there.” She told her pegasus friend as she took her forelegs. “I didn’t do anything when you were first hurting. I’m not going to make that mistake again if it means bringing you closure.”
Hitch and Sunny’s looks of disagreement softened as they realized Izzy had a point. Pipp, however, did not seemed moved by the gesture. “Do you really think you’re up for it?” Zipp asked Izzy. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to? I know you’d have a hard time watching Misty on trial.”
“Zipp, I want to do this because it’s important to you. It’s because of our friendship we were able to build the Marestream. If anypony would know how to pilot it besides you, it’s me.”
“Iz, thank you.” Was all Zipp could say before the two of them hugged. When they separated, Zipp already started heading to the front doors. “Come on, ponies! We’re burning daylight!” She called out to them before leaving to board the Marestream.
The rest of her friends followed suit, but not before Pipp stopped Izzy. “Pipp?” Izzy asked at the sudden move from the pink pegasus.
“Izzy.” Pipp said without looking her in the face. “I trust you as a friend. If you think Zipp needs to see this to get better, I will believe you. However.” She lowered her wing blocking the unicorn and looked Izzy dead in the eye. “If all of this ends up making things worse for my sister, I will never forgive you.” She warned.
Izzy looked at Pipp and nodded seriously. “Trust me, Pipp. Going to see Misty will help Zipp become her old self again.” She assured the princess before going to board the Marestream, leaving a concerned Pipp behind in the Brighthouse.
Worried about everything that could go wrong.
The flight to Zephyr Heights was a relatively smooth one. True to her word, Izzy did know how to fly the Marestream and only really needed Zipp’s coaching to help with the landing. Once they disembarked from the Marestream, the five friends went straight for the palace’s throne room where Queen Haven was waiting for them. Barely even a second after the large doors were opened, Zipp found herself in her mother’s embrace. “Oh, my darling!” Haven cried.
“Mom.” Zipp said softly in reply. Normally she would’ve been embarrassed by this much affection in front of her friends, especially Hitch, but being hugged by her mother helped ease the pegasus’ nerves.
“I heard about your panic attack and expected you to not come.” Haven said as she began to nuzzle her Zipp’s head.
“Mom.” Zipp said again, though this time as a playful groan. “Come on. After everything that I’ve went through, you think that some cold wings would keep me down?” She teased.
“I guess not.” Queen Haven replied as she pulled away slightly to look into her daughter’s eyes. “Oh, my brave warrior princess. I’m so proud of you for how far you’ve come.”
“Thank you, Mom.” Zipp said as they briefly returned to the hug before she asked the important question. “Where’s Misty?”
Queen Haven was taken aback by this. “Why would you want to know where that mare is? Isn’t the fact that she’s locked up and away from you good enough?”
“I want to know because I wish to speak with her.” Zipp answered.
There was a silence in the throne room as Haven took in her daughter’s request. “Why would you want to speak with her? After everything she did to you? The pain she’s responsible for?”
Zipp frowned slightly at her mother’s words. ”Misty, what in Equestria did you say to her?” This couldn’t have been just about the trap. There was more to this. “I have questions for her that I’d like to speak with her about in private.” She told her mother.
Queen Haven looked at her daughter. Despite the seriousness on her face, something she hadn’t seen in a long time, she was still unsure about having Zipp and Misty alone in the same room, even if the unicorn was imprisoned. Seeing that his marefriend was struggling to convince the queen, Hitch decided to step in and help. “Please, Your Majesty. I worry for Zipp just as much as you do. We all do. However, I don’t want to hold her back from something that could help in her recovery. I feel that talking to Misty might be the final step Zipp needs in order to have peace in her life again. I trust Zipp knows what she’s doing. All I ask is that you do the same.”
Haven took in what her daughter’s coltfriend said. How she missed her Zephyrina’s playful attitude, her rebellious nature, her enthusiasm in the air or solving mysteries, and her smile. As a mother, she would give anything to have her be happy again. She gave a long sigh. She just hoped that this was the right thing to give. “Zoom.” The blue pegasus guard stepped forward and saluted the queen. “Take my daughter down to the holding cell.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Zoom saluted.
Smiling that she was going to get her audience, Zipp looked at her mother. “Thank you, Mom.”
“Just be careful, dear.” Queen Haven warned her.
As Zoom led Zipp away, Hitch gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Good luck.”
“Thanks, honey.” Zipp said with a smile before it turned serious. “I feel I’m really going to need it.”
Zipp had almost never come down to the dark dungeons of the palace before. The only time she had beforehoof was when she was a curious filly and ignored her mother’s orders. Coming back down, she realized that it had barely changed since the last time she was there. It was pitch black, as dark as it was when Zipp imprisoned herself that fateful day. A lantern Zoom brought served as their only light source. There wasn’t a sound besides the hoofsteps of herself and Zoom.
Eventually, Zoom came to a stop in front of a cell. “We’re here.” She whispered to Zipp as to not alert the occupant inside.
Zipp nodded. “Thank you, Zoom. You can leave us now.”
Zoom was unsure about this, but knew that she couldn’t disobey the princess’ orders. “Be careful.” She warned as she saluted. “There’s no telling what else she could do to you.” With that, she went back to the throne room, leaving Zipp all alone in the dark.
Once she couldn’t hear the hoofsteps of Zoom anymore, Zipp immediately started to get nervous. Being alone in the dark was something she always feared. Still, she knew that she couldn’t back down now. She had come this far, and everypony else was believing in her. She was not going to let them all down and cower away now. She was going to get the answers she was looking for.
“Misty!” Zipp softly called out. Even with the light of the lantern, she could barely see into the cell, and certainly didn’t see Misty. “Misty!” She called out again.
Hearing her name getting called, the unicorn woke up from her nap with a groan. With it being so dark, she had no idea how much time had passed since she had been locked up. Was it time for the trial already? When she lifted her head, she expected to see a guard either prepared to escort her or offering her a meal. But to her horror, she saw on the other side of the bars the last pony she wanted to be near right now. “Zipp?” Misty said fearfully.
“Hey, Misty.” Zipp softly greeted.
Realizing it was Zipp in front of her, Misty immediately began to panic. “W-why are you here? You shouldn’t be here!” She said as she backed away as far as she could, making sure the pegasus had no chance of seeing her face.
“St-stay away! Please, don’t come any closer.”
Zipp briefly shook her head to remove the memory of her own imprisonment. “I wanted to talk to you.” She told Misty.
“Why would you want to talk to me? Wouldn’t you rather avoid me as much as possible?” Misty asked back.
“After hearing that you turn yourself in for a crime I already forgave you for, how could l not want to see you?”
“You don’t understand, Zipp. I have to do this. I didn’t realize it before, but I’ve been hurting you more than I ever realized.”
”If I stay around you all, I’ll soon lose control of myself and hurt you all. That’s why I need to stay here.”
“Misty.” Zipp said with concern in her voice.
“I didn’t know at first, I swear.” Misty said as it sounded like she was about to cry. “But when I found out what I had done, I knew that staying with you would only end up making your recovery worse. And after hearing just seeing me gave you a panic attack, I knew it was right of me to turn myself in.”
”The important thing is that you all would be safe from me!”
Hearing what Misty said made Zipp frown. The mention of her recovery could only mean one thing. Lifting the lantern, she was finally able to see Misty cowering in the very back of the cell. “Misty, what were you told?” She asked the unicorn. “Please, I need to know this.”
Misty didn’t want to continue talking with Zipp out of fear of hurting her more. But at the same time, telling her what she wanted would get her to leave and hopefully never see her again once her trial was done. Sighing, Misty began to tell the story. “Well, it all started one morning Pipp and I were alone in the Brighthouse kitchen.”
To Be Continued
Author's Note
Would you believe me if I said I started writing this not even a day after my previous story was posted? Seriously, I don’t know where this urge to write came from, but I’m hoping it stays.
Anyway, here we are. The culmination of Zipp’s arc of angst. Boy was there a lot in just this first part alone. We see how thing’s have changed for Zipp, how her relationship with Hitch is progressing, the direction her therapy is going (inspiration of that scene taken from my own therapist) and how it seems everything is started to look better for her.
Only for it all to come crashing down in the most dramatic way possible. Having a panic attack while hearing several insults thrown at her. Seriously, I think I might have went a little overheard there.
Fun fact: All of those insults were taken from different versions of Not One Of Us from The Lion King 2. Honestly, if I wasn’t afraid of the site mods, I would’ve probably put the song itself in the previous fic while Zipp was running away. I mean, I even referenced it in this chapter’s title. Maybe I’ll do it on another account.
And then we have the dream sequence where Zipp is now literally being confronted by her ‘True Self’ in the form of an alicorn queen that all of Equestria worships for destroying Opaline and wielding all the magic.
The idea with Queen Zipp is that now both sides of Zipp’s insecurities are attacking her together. Her fear of becoming too powerful and evil combining with her fear of being worthless. However, I also wanted to try a different approach. Instead of going outright villainous, Queen Zipp tries to use a more logical approach. Showing Zipp how her suffering could be avoided and hardships could’ve never happened.
(Just a quick note that this part was written in its entirety before the release of chapter 4, so there may or may not be some inconsistencies or important moments in that chapter glossed over aside from Misty leaving Opaline)
Anyway, the question remains. What will Zipp do? Well, you’re going to have to wait till tomorrow for that answer.
Run From It or Learn From It
Pipp Petals hummed to herself as she prepared her breakfast, as well as Zipp’s to surprise her with breakfast in bed. After everything they went through recently, especially the battle with Opaline, she felt her sister would appreciate the gesture. The pegasus smiled as she thought about the improvements to Zipp’s mental health. No longer was her sister afraid of herself, afraid to be near her friends and family, afraid of hurting her own sister. Zipp still needed much support throughout her day, but compared to how she was when they found her in the cave Pipp couldn’t ask for anything more.
The pink pegasus was adding the finishing touches to her meal when she heard somepony coming down the stairs. Believing it to be one of her friends, though hoping it wasn’t Zipp so the surprise wasn’t ruined, she turned around with a smile and was about to greet them until she saw who it was and her smile disappeared. Standing across from her was the last pony she wanted to see right now; Misty. “Hi, Pipp.” The unicorn greeted her with a smile.
Not wanting to come off as rude, Pipp mustered up a smile of her own. “Hello, Misty. Are you here for breakfast?” She asked her.
Misty nodded. “Yeah, don’t mind me. I’m just grabbing a quick bite to eat.” She told Pipp.
Satisfied with the answer, Pipp nodded in understanding and went back to preparing food for her sister.
Misty went over to the fridge and looked at the variety of options, more than she was used to when living with Opaline. It was hard picking anything so she turned to Pipp to ask for her opinion on what tasted best. When she turned around, she saw Pipp about to fly up the stairs with two trays of food in hoof. “Whoa, you seem really hungry this morning.” Misty joked, assuming both trays were for Pipp.
Pipp didn’t find the joke funny and frowned. “One of these is for Zipp.” She told Misty.
“Oh, right.” Misty chuckled at her foolishness and allowed Pipp to fly upstairs with her trays. As she watched the pegasus head into the bedroom, Misty couldn’t help but wonder something. After everything calmed down following Opaline’s defeat, she noticed that Pipp seemed to gain some kind of resentment towards her that she never seemed to have before.
When she confessed to her new friends everything she had done, she expected some anger towards her. From Sunny for taking her lantern. From Izzy for taking advantage of her kindness. From Hitch for stealing Sparky more than once. From Zipp for constantly being suspicious. However, surprisingly, they all forgave her. Misty didn’t know why they did, but none of them seemed to hold a grudge against her for all the horrible things she did while serving Opaline.
But Pipp, despite saying she forgave Misty too, seemed to have gained an immense dislike for the unicorn. And despite her best efforts to cover it up, it was beginning to show. Pipp would rarely talk to Misty, and when she did it was with as few words as possible and she would try to end the conversation as quickly as possible. But she really seemed to get upset whenever the unicorn would approach Zipp for whatever reason, always getting in between them and leading Zipp away while sending looks to Misty she thought the unicorn didn’t notice, but she did. And it stung.
Misty didn’t know why Pipp was upset with her, but she wanted to fix it. Not for her own satisfaction of being forgiven, but for Pipp’s sake so she wouldn’t be causing the pegasus so much strife. And when Pipp finally came down after having breakfast with Zipp, that seemed like as best a time as any. “Hey, Pipp? Can I ask you something?” Misty requested..
Once again, hearing Misty’s voice made Pipp’s smile disappear and was replaced with a neutral look. “What is it?” She asked, unintentionally coming off as annoyed.
Misty winced slightly at the tone, but continued. “Why do you hate me?” She timidly asked.
Hearing that question made Pipp’s eyes widen and she dropped her trays to the floor. “W-what?! Misty, don’t be silly. I don’t hate you.” She said with a forced smile as she flew down to pick up the trays.
“You don’t have to lie to me, Pipp. I can see the signs.” Misty told her.
“I’m not lying to you, Misty. I said I forgave you and I meant it. Please, just forget about it.” Pipp tried to convince the unicorn. Misty’s pestering was starting to get on her nerves.
But Misty wasn’t done asking questions. “Is it because I trapped you in that cave? That I’ve been lying to you for months? Please, I need to know what I did to you.” She pleaded.
That did it. “What you did to me?” Pipp repeated what Misty said before she looked at her with pure anger in her eyes, frightening the unicorn. “It’s not what you did to me.” She told her before yelling. “IT’S WHAT YOU DID TO ZIPP!”
The outburst made Misty fall on her haunches. “Wh-what do you mean?” She stammered out.
“You mean you don’t know?” Pipp rhetorically asked before giving a cruel laugh. “Ha! That’s to be expected. You never once thought about the consequences your actions might have on other ponies, did you?”
“P-Pipp, I-“
“You know what happened after you trapped us in that cave?” Pipp asked another rhetorical question before shouting the answer with her wings flared. “You gave my sister nightmares about how she was responsible for my death in there!”
“But you didn’t die.” Misty tried to remind Pipp, but it did little good.
“That wasn’t good enough for Zipp. She kept getting thoughts about how she failed me as a sister. And then you decided to go and steal the lantern and Sparky, making her doubt if she even has the skills of a true detective!” She stomped her hoof at the last part before she seemed to calm down. “But, I could forgive you for that. I had a late night talk with Zipp and she seemed to feel better the next day. She even got to prove herself as a detective when she figured out why it was snowing so much everywhere.”
Thinking Pipp was done yelling, Misty slowly got back onto her hooves. But Pipp wasn’t finished yet. In fact, she had barely begun. “BUT THAT WASN’T THE END OF IT, WAS IT?!”
The outburst once again sent Misty to the floor. The unicorn looked up in fear at the furious pegasus flying above her, looking down on her like she was an annoying insect about to be crushed. “Your little necklace corrupted Zipp, and started driving her mad! She kept getting unwelcome thoughts in her head that she couldn’t tell if they were real or your influence. Like if she could take all the magic for herself, or forcing ponies to do things for her. OR KILLING ME!”
Misty could not believe what she just heard come out of Pipp’s mouth. “Zipp really tried to-“
“Oh, yeah.” Pipp interrupted with a nod. “That’s how bad you messed her up. She eventually realized what she was doing, but all that did was lead her to trapping herself in that same cave you trapped us in before. No food. No light. No air. If we never found her, she would’ve died. Do you hear what I’m saying, Brightdawn?! YOU NEARLY DROVE ZIPP TO SUICIDE!!”
Pipp paused to land, her outbursts taking away a lot of the energy she needed to stay airborne. She once again looked Misty dead in the eyes, tears now coming out of them. “Do you know what it feels like to have your own sister afraid to be near you? To not be able to see her at all due to her own fears of killing you? To have her be so afraid of flying, the thing she’s been dreaming of nearly her whole life, that she’d clip her own wings? To have her think about doing it again when the feathers grew back? To see her lose so much weight? To have to take her to therapy everyday? To have her need medicine to keep her stress levels down? To walk in on her in tears? To have her afraid to be alone for even a minute? To have to hold her while she cried herself to sleep every night? To never get sleep yourself since you worry that she might freak out again and disappear? To worry that if that did happen you might lose your sister for good? To have her say that Equestria might be safer without her?! TO JUST WANT TO SEE HER HAPPY AGAIN?!” Pipp finished as she began to break down. “NO, YOU WOULDN’T! BECAUSE YOU NEVER HAD A FAMILY BEFORE!”
Despite wanting to cry right now, to go back upstairs and hug her sister, Pipp kept herself as composed as she could. Misty needed to know exactly what she did. “I have no idea what everypony else saw in you to forgive you, but I don’t see it.” She told Misty as she walked up to her until their snouts were basically touching. “You want me to forgive you? Here’s what you do. Stay away from my sister. You’ve hurt her well beyond enough, and I’ll be dammed before I let you damage her again after how much she’s recovered since that fateful day.” She finished before leaving Misty alone with a look of absolute devastation on her face.
Misty never realized just how much Zipp was hurting. She knew the pegasus was going through a lot of stress from what brief things her friends told her. She even noticed something seemed off about her when at the Manesquerade Ball. But she had assumed that it was from the stress of trying to find information on Opaline, to which the unicorn was happy to help her, not from depression and fear brought on by her necklace. When all was said and done, only one thought was going through her head at the time. ”What have I done?”
“I knew that if I stayed with you in the Brighthouse that I’d just keep reminding you of the darkness I caused. So I went to Zephyr Heights and confessed everything to the Queen, and here we are now.” Misty finished her story.
Zipp’s face was now reflecting the one Misty made when she heard all of this coming from the unicorn. “Misty, I-“ Zipp struggled to find the right words. “It wasn’t your fault. I-“
“No, Zipp. It was my fault.” Misty stopped the pegasus from blaming herself again. “Had I never shown up, none of this would’ve happened to you. You never would’ve doubted, hated, or feared yourself. You only ever got thoughts like those in your head because of things I did to you. Directly or not.”
”That doesn’t mean anything when thoughts like this have always been going through my head.”
“That’s why I had to come here. You’ll never feel safe if I’m somewhere free in Equestria, lurking around to fill you with more dread. So, please, Zipp. Just make it easy for yourself and hate me. Forget about me and live your life without thinking of me again. It’s better this way.”
”Just make it easy for yourselves and hate me. Leave me here to rot and never think of me as your friend or sister again. It’s better this way.”
After saying that, Misty retreated back into the darkness of her cell, leaving Zipp alone with her thoughts. She stayed like that for a few minutes before she was finally able to muster up the strength to get back onto her feet and walked back up to the palace.
Upstairs, Pipp and the others waited by the door anxiously. It had been hours since Zipp had gone down there, and she still hasn’t returned. And with it starting to get dark outside, they were beginning to worry. “What do you suppose they’re talking about down there?” Izzy asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine, Izzy.” Sunny answered. “I just hope she’ll be back up soon.”
“Don’t worry. Zipp will be coming through that door any second now.” Hitch said as he paced around the hall with Sparky on his back.
“Hitch, that’s the hundredth time you said that.” Sunny pointed out.
“And every time I do say it, I keep worrying more!” Hitch shouted, nearly throwing Sparky from his back.
Pipp hadn’t moved from her spot at the front of the door since Zipp went down there. No matter what she tried to do to distract herself with her phone, she just couldn’t get the worries out of her mind. And with Hitch panicking, that only made her concerns even worse. She made a promise, and she was going to keep it. “I’m going down there to see what’s going on.” She told her friends.
But just as she was about to open the door, it opened itself and Zipp stepped into the light. “Uh, hey, everypony.” She said awkwardly.
Before she could even blink, Zipp found herself being hugged from all sides by her friends. “Zipp!” They exclaimed with relief. “I was so worried.” Pipp whispered into her sister’s coat.
“I’m fine, Pipp. I’m right here.” Zipp assured her little sister, rubbing her mane.
“I wasn’t. I knew you’d be OK. I kept telling them.” Hitch said.
Zipp rolled her eyes and nuzzled his cheek. “I’m sure you did.” She teased.
Once the group broke off the hug, Izzy asked the question they were all thinking. “How’d it go with Misty?”
Hearing that question made Zipp frown and that immediately got Pipp worried. “She didn’t do anything to you, did she?” She asked in a panicked tone.
“No.” Zipp assured her. “It’s just…….Nevermind. I think I’ll just go to bed.” She looked at Hitch, blushing at what she was about to ask. “Hitch, will you-“
“Of course.” Hitch already knew the answer before she even asked the question.
Zipp smiled and nuzzled into him as the stallion led her to her bedroom. As they left, Pipp frowned. “Zipp.” She said with concern in her voice.
When the couple arrived in Zipp’s bedroom, the mare in question immediately collapsed onto her bed. Like always, Hitch and Sparky were instantly at her side. “Are you feeling okay?” Hitch asked her.
“I……..can’t say for sure.” Zipp answered truthfully.
Hitch and Sparky shared a serious look. The stallion could gather that there was more going on behind Misty’s charges than what the unicorn, at least to his knowledge, actually committed in terms of offense. Pipp’s disdain towards Misty was proof enough, but seeing Zipp like this after talking with her increased his suspicions tenfold. “What did she say?” He asked Zipp as he started to massage her wings, a technique they discovered that helped calm the pegasus down, while she talked.
“She thinks she’s responsible for everything, Hitch.” Zipp told him. “All my pain, my nightmares, my depression, my panicking, my suffering. She thinks she’s the cause behind all of it.”
Hitch slowly nodded. He was afraid of that. “And what do you think?”
“I don’t know. I mean, she’s right in that if she never showed up that I never would’ve had these feelings of worthlessness and fear. But on the other hoof, she came to us and confessed everything she did, including taking Sparky, and helped us stop Opaline from harming him or anypony else for good. Talking with her, it was like……….it was like I was looking in a mirror. I just don’t know what to think about all of this, Hitch. Is it her fault that I’m like this, or is it my own?” She lifted her head and looked up at her coltfriend.
Hitch pondered what she said, making sure to choose his answer carefully. After a few minutes, he gave her his advice. “You know, Grandma Figgy once told me that hatred can be like a two-headed viper. While your enemy suffers, you end up getting poisoned yourself. At first I didn’t know what she meant. But after seeing everything that’s happened here, I think I do now.”
Zipp didn’t say anything. She just took in what Hitch said and nodded. “I know you still worry about how you’ll mess up terribly and become this horrible pony. But like I said back then, I trust you, Zipp. Whatever you decide to do going forward, you know you’ll always have my support.”
Zipp sniffled as she rubbed her eyes before giving Hitch a big hug. “Thank you, Hitch.” She said softly before yawning.
Hitch chuckled at her adorable yawn. “I think somepony’s ready for bed.”
Zipp smirked at him. “Whatever gave you that idea?” She teased.
“Call it a hunch.” Hitch joked back before he turned off the lights and joined Zipp in bed, Sparky hopping off to give them room.
“What? No goodnight kiss?” Zipp feigned disappointment, or rather feigned more than she was actually feeling. “How will I have good dreams if I don’t get one?”
Hitch chuckled again. “All right, Princess.” He said before giving her a quick peck on the lips. “Good night.” He said once they broke off.
“Good night.” Zipp said back as she already began to doze off.
Zipp found herself in a black void with nothing and nopony else there besides her queen self standing across from her. “Well, things seemed to have gotten interesting. Haven’t they?” Queen Zipp asked her counterpart.
Zipp said nothing so Queen Zipp continued.
“I mean, who would’ve thought that all of this pain could be so simply traced back to Misty?”
Zipp still said nothing, just kept looking at her counterpart with a neutral expression.
“And now you sit on the crossroads of decisions. I told you this would happen.” Queen Zipp smiled at being right in her guess.
Zipp continued to say nothing.
Now Queen Zipp was starting to get a little annoyed, but kept it hidden while she played around with her victim. “So, Zipp Storm.” She said as she approached her pegasus self. “Who is the guilty one here? Misty or yourself?”
“…………………..”
The silence was now starting to get infuriating for Queen Zipp as she scolded the pegasus while keeping her cool as best as she could. “Did you not hear me, abomination!? I said who do you choose?!”
“……………………”
“Hmph!” Queen Zipp seemed to have enough of waiting around and decided not to waste her time. “Figures. Even after everything I’ve told you, you’re still a-“
“Coward.” Zipp finally spoke.
This sudden response surprised Queen Zipp. “What?”
“You called me a coward because I kept hiding behind my friends. Because I kept acting like the victim. And, you are right. I have been acting pathetic these past few months.”
“That’s very good.” Queen Zipp said with a nod. “It seems you finally started to accept which of us is the real-“
“But looking at you, I’d say you’re more of a coward than I ever was.”
“……………………….WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME!?” The queen yelled furiously, but Zipp remained unfazed.
“You know what I said. You’re literally nothing more than a manifestation of my own insecurities. You scold me for blaming myself for my troubles.” As Zipp spoke, light started to shine into the void.
Light that began to burn Queen Zipp when making contact. “Aah!” She hissed in pain.
“However your solution is to do nothing more than simply change the name of the one who is blamed.” The more Zipp spoke, the more light shone in. The more light shone in, the more damage the queen her took. “Honestly, I’d say that’s more cowardly than anything I’ve ever done. At least I had the consideration of others in mind. All you’ve talked about is yourself. And it’s frankly getting annoying. I’m done listening to you.”
“Errr!” Queen Zipp growled as now all the light shining down on her was making her body melt away. “You need to listen to me! I am the real you! I am-“
“Friends don’t look for the real sides of ourselves. We become friends because of the best sides of ourselves. And starting tomorrow, that’s what I’m going to start doing.” Zipp declared as the light shined brighter than before.
“AAAH!” Queen Zipp yelled in pain as her body had melted away and now all that was left as her head, along with the necklace and crown, in a white puddle. “You can’t get rid of me! I will always be a part of you!”
“I know that.” Zipp said with a smile that scared the queen before she walked over until she was standing above her. “And as long as you do exist in my head, I will always do this when you rear your ugly face.” She said as she raised her hooves and brought them down upon her queen self.
Back in the real world, a sleeping Zipp had the biggest smile on her face she had while sleeping in a long time.
Next morning was the day of the trial. The courtroom was filled well beyond capacity with witnesses, and still there were ponies gathering outside the doors or watching on whatever screen they had available. This was no doubt going to be the biggest event of the year.
In the courtroom stands, Pipp, Hitch, Sunny, and Izzy all sat, waiting anxiously for both the trial to start and for Zipp to show up. “Where is she?” Sunny asked as she looked around but couldn’t make out the white pegasus in the huge crowd.
“I don’t know.” Hitch answered. “All she said when we woke up was that she needed to do something before the trial started.”
“Whatever it is, it must be something awfully long, because the trial’s about to start.” Izzy said worryingly.
“Probably for the best.” Pipp commented before giving Izzy a stink eye. “With how she was when coming up last night, I think she realized she made a mistake coming here.” She then looked over at Misty, standing in the center of the room with Zoom and Thunder keeping her from running. ”I told you never to hurt my sister again.” She thought hatefully at the accused unicorn.
“All rise!” The bailiff said as everypony in the room that was sitting down rose to their feet. “The honorable Queen Haven is now presiding.”
Queen Haven took her place at the podium as everypony sat back down. Haven cleared her throat and began to speak. “Ponies of Equestria, we have gathered here today regarding the case of Misty Brightdawn against Princess Zephyrina Storm.”
Hearing that sent ponies in the room into an uproar. “Give her what she deserves!”
“She doesn’t belong here!”
“Exile her!”
“Judgement day is here!”
“That’s right!”
As ponies verbally attacked Misty, all the unicorn did was lower her head and accept the attacks. Her friends in the stands looked on with very concerned looks. Pipp looked away. Wether she felt any sympathy or not for Misty, she just couldn’t look at her right now.
“Order! Order!” Queen Haven shouted as she slammed her gavel, bringing silence back to the courtroom. “Now then, Misty.” She glared down at the unicorn. “Do you have anything to say for yourself.”
Misty slowly shook her head. “No, Your Honor. I have no defense.”
“Well I do!”
Everypony gasped as the doors to the courtroom flung open, revealing Zipp on the other side. “Zipp!” Her friends exclaimed at her sudden appearance.
“Zipp?” Misty looked up in confusion, not understanding why Zipp would show up at all.
“Zipp Storm, where have you been?” Queen Haven asked her daughter. “We barely started the trial without you.”
“I’m sorry, Mom. I mean, Your Honor.” Zipp apologized as she walked down the steps to the center of the room. “My research took me longer than I had anticipated.”
“Research? For what?”
Zipp reached the center of the room and stood proudly. “For defending Misty Brightdawn.”
Everypony watching, not just those in the courtroom, gasped at Zipp’s declaration. Immediately whispers and shouts began to fill the air. “She’s joking, right?”
“There’s no way she’s actually going to defend her?”
“Has she forgotten what that unicorn put her through?”
“Open up your eyes, lady!”
“She’s obviously guilty!”
From their spot in the stands, Zipp’s friends shared the same surprise. “She’s going to WHAT?!” Pipp exclaimed.
“She said she’s going to defend, Misty.” Izzy said with a relieved smile on her face.
“That’s good to hear.” Sunny said before her smile turned into a serious look. “But with everything Misty is accused of, will it be enough?”
“Have faith in her, Sunny. Zipp is a lot tougher than we think.” Hitch assured her.
“And we already think she’s very tough.” Izzy added.
“That is true.” Sunny admitted as a smile returned to her face, albeit a cautious one.
Seeing his friend’s worries put to rest, Hitch looked back up at Zipp. ”Good luck, Zipp. You’re going to need every little bit of it to change this crowd’s minds.”
After a few minutes of more talking, Queen Haven finally banged her gavel for silence. “Order! Order!” She yelled as ponies hushed up and allowed the trial to resume. “Zephyrina Storm." Haven said to her daughter, looking down at her with a very serious look. "Do you not understand what you just declared?"
"I do." Zipp nodded calmly. "And as a Princess of Zephyr Heights, I also understand I am well within authority to be Misty's defense attorney."
"Even after everything you've been through?" Haven asked. "All she put you through."
"She's right, Zipp." Misty spoke up. "I told you to just forget about me. Why are you doing this? Tell them you changed your mind." She pleaded.
Zipp looked back at Misty, giving her a gentle smile. "Misty, you should know by now that I'm not so easy to deter." She said before looking up at her mother. "And to answer your question, Mother, it is because of what I have been through which is why I have to do this."
Before giving Queen Haven or Misty the chance to object, Zipp turned around again and addressed those watching. "Everypony, for the past few months, I have not been well. I have suffered from nightmares and depression almost every day. The fear and hatred I had for one pony drove me to the point of near insanity that I even clipped my wings. That pony was myself."
Hearing this made ponies, especially Zipp's friends and family who never expected her to reveal this to the world, so shocked that they couldn't even gasp. "I began to get unwelcome thoughts into my head.” Zipp continued. "Thoughts I have always had somewhere, but now were starting to make me think of things that would be considered full out treason. Including harming my own family. When I started to realize the pony I was becoming, I felt disgusted with myself. I ran and would've probably never been heard from again had my friends not found me when they did. They stood by me. Helped me with every step. Stayed with me through the highs and lows of my recovery."
"And now, as I feel that my recovery has started to steady out and reach its end, I am told that there is a different pony I should direct my negative emotions towards. At first I thought about it. All of my self doubt stemmed from events that this pony was a major part of. Had they never gotten involved in my life, perhaps none of my suffering would have happened.”
“I had a choice to make today. A choice on who I declare the guilty pony.” Zipp stopped her speech and walked over to Misty. The unicorn in question closed her eyes and cowered away, unable to look Zipp in the eyes. “Misty.” Zipp said softly as she put her hoof under the unicorn’s chin. “I do not blame you.”
Misty’s breathing stopped when she heard those words come out of the pegasus’ mouth. Opening her eyes, she saw Zipp smiling down at her. “Y-you what?” She softly repeated.
“I said I do not blame you for all that has happened to me. I said I forgave you when you originally confessed, and that is something I am sticking with.”
“Zipp, no!” Pipp said as she flew out of her seat and landed by her sister. “Don’t do this to yourself!” She desperately pleaded with her. “It’s not your fault you’ve been hurting! It’s-“
“I am not blaming myself either, Pipp.” Zipp stopped her, leaving the pink pegasus speechless at her statement. “I have been spending all of this time hating myself, and it has brought me nothing but misery. While it might seem easy to just shift the grudge to Misty; the truth is all that will do is bring me misery in a new way.” She paused to look up at Hitch, and the stallion smiled at seeing his advice from the night before being put into full effect. “It is time that I accept the past for what has happened, without holding anypony accountable.”
“But there is somepony that should be held accountable.” Pipp tried to convince Zipp. “Don’t you understand that if Misty had never-“ Pipp was cut off again. But this time it was by Zipp pulling her into a hug. “Z-Zipp?” She said quietly.
“It’s okay, Pipp.” Her big sister calmly said. “I understand.”
“Understand what?” Pipp softly asked back.
“I understand why you’ve been feeling like this. You’re angry, Pipp. Not at Misty, but at yourself. You feel that you’ve failed me as a sister. That you are the cause of everything that has happened. You didn’t believe my initial suspicions of Misty. And because of that, not only did that lead to me doubting myself, it also was what allowed me to get corrupted in the first place. The others also may not have shared my suspicions, but you’re my sister. You’re supposed to always have my back, and you didn’t.” Zipp wasn’t accusing Pipp when she spoke, but instead gently said what she believed to be going through her younger sister’s head.
“Zipp.” Pipp whimpered as tears started to form in her eyes from all the shame she was feeling right now, knowing everything Zipp was saying was true.
“You didn’t want to hate yourself like I did, and you ended up directing your frustrations at the first pony you could. But I know you don’t blame Misty for everything. You don’t really hate her. You just didn’t know what else to do with your anger.”
“Zipp.” Pipp whispered again before she lost control of herself and buried her head into her sister’s coat while she began to cry. “You’re right, Zipp! I’ve been such a horrible pony! I should have defended you, but I didn’t! I feel like all of this was my fault, and I don’t know what to do!”
“But I do.” Zipp said as she gently pulled back and looked Pipp in the eyes. “It’s time to move on, Pipp. We’ve both seen what holding grudges can do. If we really want to be happy, we need to forgive. I forgive you. Actually, I don’t even blame you. Now the question is, can you do the same?”
Pipp sniffed and wiped her eyes before nodding. “Yes, I can.” Said before she broke off the hug and walked straight over to Misty. “Misty, words can not even begin to express how sorry I am for everything I said that day. You are an amazing pony, and you didn’t deserve to be berated by me like that. You’ve already felt guilty enough for all you did for Opaline, and all I did was make things worse.” The Pegasus shakily offered her hoof to the unicorn. “I know it’s probably a lot to ask for, but………do you forgive me?”
Misty didn’t even hesitate and took the hoof. “Like Zipp said, I never blamed you.” She said before the two shared a hug.
For all the ponies watching, there wasn’t a dry eye after watching that scene. Seeing that her point was made, Zipp then turned to her mother. “Your Honor. Mom. I don’t hold Misty accountable for anything she’s accused of doing to me. Please, can we let her go?” She pleaded.
“Zipp.” Queen Haven said with tears of her own. “I wish I could, sweetheart. I really do. But sadly Misty is still guilty of crimes against the Royal Family by trapping you in that cave. And no matter how much I want to, I can’t just let her go with an offense as serious as that.”
Zipp frowned. She expected that might still have come up. “In that case, give her to me.” She requested.
“Pardon? Give her to you?”
Zipp nodded. “If Misty is guilty of trying to harm me, then let her make up for that by now protecting me. She can be my lady-in-waiting. In an age of forgiveness and redemption, I feel this sentence is only the most appropriate.”
Queen Haven pondered Zipp’s request. It was most unusual of her oldest daughter to request having a servant. But she knew that Zipp was only doing this to give Misty as much freedom as she could. She knew her daughter would not take advantage of Misty. “Very well, dear.” She said before looking directly at Misty. “Misty Brightdawn, for your crimes against the Royal Family, I hear you sentence you to serve my daughter Zipp as her lady-in-waiting. You are to cater to her every need when she asks of it. Is that understood?”
“Yes, Your Honor.” Misty nodded in acceptance.
“Very well. Then I hearby consider this case closed.” Queen Haven declared as she slammed her gavel once last time.
Immediately the room went into another uproar as ponies now cheered and celebrated. Hitch, Sunny, and Izzy immediately ran over to their friends and hugged them, Izzy maybe being a little too relieved that Misty would be coming home with them if her hug was anything to go by.
Hitch and Zipp wasted no time and immediately kissed when their lips could touch. “I’m so proud of you.” Hitch whispered.
“I have you and everypony else to thank for it.” Zipp whispered back before Sparky flopped onto her mane. “Yes, everydragon too, Sparky.” She chuckled.
Feeling the need to commemorate the occasion, Pipp pulled out her phone and held it above the group. “Everypony say besties!” She beamed.
“Besties!” Everypony said together as the photo was taken.
A few days later, on a bright and sunny day, Zipp was making her way to another therapy session. If she was honest, she didn’t really need to go this time. She hadn’t had any nightmares, and dark thoughts were at an all time low. However, she was bringing somepony else with her today. Somepony who she knew would benefit from the support.
“Are we almost there, Princess Zipp?” Misty asked.
“Misty.” Zipp chuckled. “What have I told you? You can just call me Zipp. You’re not here on any royal orders.”
“Yeah, but we’re in public. Have to keep up appearances, right?” Misty asked sheepishly.
“Oh, Misty.” Zipp playfully rolled her eyes. As expected, she never asked for anything much from Misty. But that didn’t stop the unicorn from still doing favors for Zipp whenever she could. Especially out in public where she felt she had to be shown doing her new job, despite how many times Zipp told her she didn’t have to. Eventually, the two of them found themselves outside of the therapy center. “Well, looks like we are here.”
“Allow me to get the door, Princess.” Misty said as she quickly ran to open it, only to realize they were automatic. “Oh.” She said and chuckled in embarrassment. “Hehe. After you.”
Zipp couldn’t help but laugh and walked into the waiting room before stopping at the door of her therapist and knocked. The door opened, and The Therapist greeted Zipp with a smile. “Ah, Zipp. I take it you have something to want to talk about.”
“Hey, Doc. I do, but I’m more here for a friend of mine.” Zipp said as she gestured Misty to come over with a wing.
“H-hello.” Misty greeted The Therapist. “I am-“
“Misty Brightdawn.” The Therapist recognized the unicorn from the trial. “I have heard many things about you from Zipp.”
“You have?”
“I have. And I believe that she was right to invite your to our sessions. Now come in, both of you. I really want to hear how things between you have been going.” The Therapist moved aside and allowed the two mares in before closing the door behind them.
Once inside, Misty began to talk about what her life was like under Opaline, and how much it pained her. Whenever the unicorn seemed to get emotional, Zipp unfurled a wing and wrapped it around Misty. A gesture she greatly appreciated.
Zipp had gone through much ever since that fateful day she ran off, or the night she broke down in front of Pipp. But now here she was, offering support for those who needed it, just as it had been for her.
Author's Note
OK, so now chapter 4 has been released, and with it came certain…..events that would probably not fully fit into the timeline of this story.
Well, it’s labeled Alternate Universe for a reason. And I have considered doing an anthology story about Zipp’s recovery containing scenes mentioned here that I think would look good written down, so maybe I can answer the questions there if I feel they need to be.
In actuality, this story was conceived before In the Dark of the Night to some extent. By that I mean ever since the infamous Spanish audio leak, (actually long before then) I had an idea for a sequel to Not Good Enough following what would happen when Misty was revealed. One idea was having Pipp, and probably the rest of Zipp’s friends, feeling guilty about not believing her. The other one was Misty in trial for trapping Pipp and Zipp in a cave and Zipp would be the defendant.
But then after writing in the Dark of the Night, I came to the realization that I need to give Zipp some time to not play the victim, but the hero. And this story seemed to be the perfect way to cap off the WumpZipp trilogy (at least until the anthologies are written where we see more angst) with Zipp confronting her past choices and making peace with herself. (There is another story I have been meaning to post sooner that would also show this, but I haven’t gotten much out of that)
Speaking of Pipp, if there’s one aspect of this story I’m worried about, well worried about the most, it’s how I handled her character. I fear I may have made her too unlikeable, which wasn’t my intention. I was trying to go for protective sister, and also guilty sister, so I’m hoping I got that right and didn’t make her too much of a B.
Anyway. I hope you all enjoyed my story again and I hope to see you all again soon. Though probably not this soon again as I’ve got Dinosaur King to write.
