The Tempest tales

by RainbowSlut

Rating: everyone
Tags: Drama, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Other, Tempest Shadow, Profanity, My Little Pony: The Movie, Adventure, Violence, Death, Alternate Universe
Length: 56484

An alternative story about the adventures of Fizzlepop Berrytwist, who became Tempest Shadow following a betrayal that changed her life and vision of the world

After losing faith in her friends, after being disowned, after losing everything that made her special, Fizzlepop decides to embark on a long journey to find her place in the world.
She obviously will face many difficulties and dangers, in order to survive she will have to adapt but without losing sight of her goal.
In this adventure she will not be alone, she will have at her side some accomplice who will help her in the most adverse moments.

AN: This is the very first story I write but I wanted to do it because since the movie was released and Tempest Shadow has become my favorite character in my little pony, I saw that there are some stories on the site but unfortunately they are few, others are left incomplete and never finished.
So I finally decided to write my story, however I must warn the readers that everything you read will be only a short draft and certainly improvements will be needed that it made over time.
I must also warn that I am still a student and therefore I will not be able to update with high frequency, but I will do everything possible to complete this story!

IN ADDITION, MY MAIN LANGUAGE IS NOT ENGLISH AND SO IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THERE ARE SOME ERRORS

I drew inspiration from many other stories so I will link some of them and thank the authors infinitely

Like Fireworks in the Sky : https://www.fimfiction.net/story/402820/like-fireworks-in-the-sky

Scars: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/420348/scars

Alicorn: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/19341/alicorn

Magic with a Pop and a Twist: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/423252/magic-with-a-pop-and-a-twist

The Princess's Captain: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/398264/the-princesss-captain

I will add more story links in the future

Published 2021-03-27 19:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2021-04-27 23:31:55 UTC

Chapter 1 : Birth

Chapter 1 : Birth

In a remote area of a land forgotten by any divinity there was the Kingdom of Hyponia in which many races lived including dragons, hippogriffs, buffaloes, some anthropomorphic races but above all the ponies that made up the vast majority of the population.
Very often there were couplings between these and from this were born hybrids that could have physical or magical characteristics of both parents.

It was a temperate night in April and outside the moon and the stars glowed the royal palace, in the sovereign's room the midwives were around the double bed and on it was the queen who was in tears and crying for the pain while her husband held her hoof and talked to her.

"You can do it my love, you just have to push a little and then everything will be over"
"Your grace, her husband is right, soon you will be a mother and you will have a beautiful foal" even the midwives tried to encourage the poor mare who had sunken eyes and a ruffled mane

"Ahhhh" continued to hear the screams of the ruler who with all the strength that had remained she was trying to give birth

The screams continued until ... .. "weee weeee" you could finally hear the crying of the tiny foal that still stained with blood and with closed eyes emitted the sound of life even if it was shrill and somewhat annoying.

"Your Highness, she is a female!" the midwife said with joy as she cut the umbilical cord.
"You did it Cherry, our daughter was born and she is beautiful" Brisk Berrytwist said as he addressed her beloved of him.
"Yes, we will finally have a new filly in our family" she said in a tired tone to her husband who finally realized what she had been through, "now you can sleep" he told her and so she did.

After the mare fell asleep all the medical personnel cleared the room and the king had moved to another room to allow his wife to have a well-deserved rest; between her hooves he had the little child who was already asleep and wrapped in a soft blanket.
Her fur was a dark orchid color those, her mane it was pink, however you could not see horns and wings as they began to appear a few months after birth to facilitate the exit of the baby from the uterus.
Brisk Berrytwist was rocking her as he sat in an armchair thinking about what was going to happen from now on, he had heard other stallions talking about how difficult it was to look after children for the first few months but certainly this would not have discouraged him, as being a king he had to deal with problematic situations every day and very often the nobles behaved like children.

A few minutes had passed and at a certain point he felt that the newborn was waking up, the first thing he noticed was the awkward movements she was trying to do but then immediately turned her gaze towards him and opened her eyes for the very first time; what he saw, however, made his heart jump and his blood froze in his veins: the girl's irises were beautiful opal but that was not what had upset him, the eyes seemed to shine in the semi-dark room and the pupils did not the usual circular shape but rather they looked like those of a reptile or a feline.

The king had jumped up and the little girl immediately began to cry, not knowing what to do, he began to walk around the room trying to think of something, some theories went through his mind: the baby could have some malformation, maybe a disease, perhaps this is normal and would have settled over time, at worst his wife may have had a relationship with a member of another species but immediately excluded him.
In the end, the only thing to do was to contact someone specialized, so he headed for the medical wing of the building where doctors and even pediatricians had been present since his wife became pregnant.
When he arrived at the clinic, everyone stopped doing what they were doing and bowed respectfully to their sovereign, "What can we do for your Highness?"
Brisk stepped forward and folded what had happened as the medical staff listened intently, at the end of which they had proposed to have blood tests on the child and both of her parents; after having drawn the blood of everyone including the mother, who was still asleep unaware of the situation, they told the king to wait a couple of hours to make the appropriate investigations.

It had been a long time and Brisk had fed the little girl and changed her diaper, following an unfortunate accident, now he was sitting back in the chair and was waiting for the call back to get the results of the tests. The wait was long and he was about to fall asleep, given the lack of rest, were it not for a maid who had come to call him on behalf of the doctors.

When he arrived, a pony in particular showed up who was wearing a white coat and a serious face, "Good evening majesty, I'm Steel Stud and I have been investigating the situation of the princess, I can immediately tell you the child has no disease. or malformation ... ". the pediatrician had stopped talking so that the sovereign could understand clearly and when the other made a sign that he understood he resumed in a serious and professional voice, "from what we have been able to understand apparently in youre family there was some ancestors dragons who have transmitted some characteristics of their race in your genes, however these characteristics do not always appear and remain dormant for some generations, but it happened that in this case they manifested themselves in the newborn ".

After a couple of seconds the king replied: "So there is nothing to worry about?"
"Apparently is correct, but it would still be early to tell since we still don't know if other dragon features such as wings, teeth, tail, and scales might show up," the doctor replied quietly.
Brisk sighed and said, "I understand, we will see in the next few months but in the meantime I will inform the queen of all this."
"Certainly sire, we will try instead to obtain more information about it."
After which the king returned to the room he had been in before he waited for his wife to wake up and tell her about the troubling matter.

The sun was high and illuminated the Kingdom of Hyponia, in the master bedroom the queen had opened her eyes and looked around, she did not see her husband anywhere and for a moment she thought that he might have decided for once to wake up before, so she decided to get ready for the day but as soon as she tried to move she felt a pang of pain in her pubis and had to rest, immediately the memories of the day before came back to her mind and the pain was replaced by the happiness of finally being a mother, in fact she did not see time to have her baby in her arms and hastened to shake the bell placed on the bedside table that she rarely used to call the servants.

She passed a few seconds and then a mare came forward from the door and bowed before the queen, "Good morning your Highness, how can I be of any use to you?"
"Good morning to you, I would like you to please call my husband and I would like to be able to see my daughter"
“Of course, I'll be right back”.
The attendant came out of the door through which she had entered and after a few minutes her husband who seemed to be very tired and unkempt came in, behind him the servant from before her also entered and between her clogs she had the newborn girl who was still asleep.
Cherry Petal immediately stretched out her clogs and let the little girl pass her wrapped in blankets and when she grabbed her she pulled her close to her chest to cuddle her, so she remained silent until her husband cleared his throat, gesturing to the maid to leave the room.
When it was just the two of them left and the newborn Brisk stepped forward and explained everything he had discovered the previous day in the sweetest and most peaceful way possible.

When all was said he fell silent in the room until his wife decides to speak: “I understand, but what does this mean? We certainly won't love her less just because she has some physical traits of a dragon! I have no intention of abandoning her or entrusting her to someone else if that is what you think! " she said accusingly even though she wanted to scream at him but she couldn't for fear of waking the filly.
"No no no, that's not what I meant, I could never do this to our daughter, I'm just saying that problems may arise in the future, you know that most of the nobles are conservative and firmly believe that only ponies have the right to govern, if they learn that our daughter is not quite a pony there may be opposition and they will riot as they barely accept the presence of other breeds in Hyponia. In addition, in recent years there have been conflicts between the houses that try to do everything to take power and this could give them the necessary push to be able to take the throne when it is time for our daughter to ascend. "

“So what can we do? We cannot abandon her just for what she is! " Cherry said in a thin voice as tears began to flow from her eyes.

Brisk spent a few minutes thinking until an idea occurred to him, "we could use some advanced cloaking magic on her, that way she would look completely like a pony."
“I don't know dear, does our daughter really deserve to live a lie? She should have the right to be who she is. " her mother said in a worried voice.
"You're right, maybe we should first see if she will acquire more noticeable dragon characteristics ..." the stallion was silent for a moment but then abruptly straightened up and smiled, "and then we haven't decided what to call her yet!"

Remembering this too the mother smiled and brought her free hoof to her chin and then said in a confident voice, "Fizzlepop ... Fizzlepop Berrytwist."
“It's my grandmother's name, it's beautiful and cute too, why did you choose it,” he asked her.
The queen thought for a moment and said "it is a tradition of my family: usually if you have a child you give him the name of the spouse's grandfather, and if it is a girl the name of the spouse's grandmother ... and I think it is fine with your last name” she explained.

Now that they had given her a name they just had to wait for Fizzlepop to grow up and then consider whether to use the advanced cloaking spell.

As the couple talked about what would happen from now on, they were thrilled to have become parents, they couldn't wait to hear their filly's first words, celebrate birthdays, watch her grow up and become an adult and then have her become queen. Cherry was already thinking about her wedding but her husband immediately stopped her, "My daughter will never get married!" he said anxiously and worriedly, the mare couldn't help but laugh out loud at what she heard and said, “You're already being the 'overprotective father'! She won't be with us forever but until then it will take a long time ”.
Then she looked down and saw that Fizzlepop was waking up and then began to cry, immediately the mother had immediately understood what to do, unlike the king who had spent a few minutes the night before looking for someone who could help him; then the new mother moved the blankets and placed the filly close to the hind legs near the nipples so that she could feed, in fact the filly began sucking milk greedily and the crying stopped to make room for silence.
The two sovereigns remain to observe their little daughter with pride and happiness and hope that everything would turn out for the best.

Author's Note

so here is the first chapter, I hope it is interesting and long enough, I'm sure there will be errors but try at least to interpret.

Chapter 2 : Growth

Although a new filly was added to the royal family, life in the palace continued in a fairly normal way, the king continued the usual administration while the queen took care of less important matters as she spent the time she had left with Fizzlepop.

Even as a child, the little girl seemed to be quite perceptive, she was already able to walk after a couple of months, in the fifth month she was trying to say words and a few weeks later the first signs of the horn and wings began to appear: in fact you could notice a small bump on the forehead , no bigger than a pencil point ,and on the back began to appear what could remotely look like wings.
Her mane and tail were already quite developed and were pink in color, her hooves were a similar hue; in fact she looked like a normal filly if it weren't for her reptilian eyes, her teeth sharper than usual, the random flames that came out of her mouth and her tendency to gnaw on stones, usually precious ones.

The doctors had informed that it was a normal thing since the princess, being in a small part dragon, could have developed some characteristics of their race, in fact the random flames were due to the lack of control of a gland that produces the incendiary gas placed behind the palate, the attraction for stones was due to the fact that every now and then the large reptiles ate the stones to try to get the minerals suitable to strengthen the bones and scales on their body, to solve this problem it was decided to crush some gems up to become a fine powder and then add them to the filly's meals.

All this was a great relief to the rulers who were worried about having to hide the true appearance of their only daughter, in fact a pair of contact lenses enchanted with magic would have been enough to hide the particular eyes and their luminescence in the dark. For the rest it would have been enough to teach the little girl to keep the flames under control and not open her mouth too much in the presence of others.

The little girl, although small, was very lively, she liked to walk around and escape from the nurses, every now and then she would fight with soft toys or pillows until she got tired and fell asleep and then wake up hungry and go in search of her mother.
At times he also seemed to take a quite mature attitude for a girl of her age, she did not scream and cry until she got what she wanted, but instead after a while she stopped and waited, already at nine months she no longer used a diaper and could eat solid foods without getting completely dirty.

Five years had passed and the horn and wings had developed enough to work, every now and then Fizzlepop would move some object with magic such as soft toys or toys, she also happened to randomly move her wings in an uncoordinated way ending up making awkward movements or getting up a few centimeters from the ground and then fall back laughing happily.
Noticing this Cherry and Brisk decided it was time for their little girl to go to school, so a few weeks later they had enrolled her in a nobles families school where they would teach her to use basic magic, to learn flying was necessary a private tutors beacuse there were very few pegasi and practically no land ponies in the Hyponia elite.

Although Fizzlepop was a very lively filly, she still had a lot of interest in calmer things like learning to use magic, studying other subjects such as math, geography, history and languages.
She was fascinated by knowing that in addition to the royal palace there was a whole world to discover with many countries, races and cultures; the only problem is that they lived on a huge island that extended for millions of square kilometers but beyond there were immense oceans to cross to reach the lands she had heard about.
Fizzlepop being curious had gone to ask her father questions about this, "Daddy, why aren't we in communication with other nations overseas?" she asked him curiously.

"Well, we have never had to make alliances with them since we are surrounded by water, in addition our lands are rich in resources and we have no need for products from other countries since we can produce everything at home, our economy is very strong and rich and therefore we are fine with it, ”the king told her in the simplest way possible.
The filly thought about it and then said, "I want to visit those places, the teacher told us that there is a kingdom called Equestria and there is an alicorn like the mother who, however, raises and lowers the sun and the moon; I absolutely want to meet her! " she finished saying excitedly.

Her father could not help but look at the excitement of his little girl with pride and amusement and said, "when you are queen you can do whatever you want,"
"Yes Yes Yes !" The little girl screamed and was about to go in search of her friends but the king stopped her and said: "but to become queen you must follow the rules we told you and behave well", at the warning of his father Fizzlepop rolled her eyes and she nodded.
She honestly did not understand why her parents continued to insist on the use of contact lenses, keep flames at bay and not show their teeth.

Fizzlepop actually had few friends, just two to be honest: Glitter Drops which was a green unicorn, and Spring Rain who was blue and also unicorn.
The reason was not because she was antisocial or apathetic but rather they were the only two who seemed to behave normally around her, everyone else was too haughty and presumptuous, or went out of their way to be attached to her because they absolutely wanted to be the “princess's friends”.
In addition, her parents had also told her to stay away from those who simply wanted to take advantage of her because those people were not very good friends, and then her mother had taught her to be humble to avoid becoming like all the other children of the nobles while her father had made sure she was not too spoiled and had shown her the world outside the palace so that she would be aware of the existence of all social classes.

Time passed and the princess had a lot of fun learning things and being with her only two friends, she was good at what she did and learned everything they explained to her and consequently always got excellent grades, however the other peers began to be jealous and envious of her because it was obvious to them that they treated her better just because she was the king's daughter.
But it was not so, in fact Fizzlepop was dedicated to studying and understanding both because she liked it and because she had begun to realize that one day she would become queen, in addition she had a magical power completely on another level compared to her companions since being a alicorn possessed larger reserves of magic, capillaries and more complex and developed magical veins, she was able to have a broader understanding of magic which for her was like second nature, in fact every now and then she had fun with Glitter Drops to cast spells while Spring Rain, who was a little less good, looked and then decided which were the most beautiful spells.

Over the years, however, these differences between her and her schoolmates had grown bigger and more and what they taught her at school was no longer enough, she had begun to study alone in the royal library and distanced herself more and more from other noble’s childrens because they behaved contemptuously towards her and envy had turned into malice.
But there was something that really bothered her: she had not yet obtained her cutie mark, but it was not a tragedy for her as it was for many of her peers.
“Fizzlepop, haven't you found what you're good at yet? Don't you want a cutie mark too? " Glitter Drops asked her, the alicorn just shrugged and replied "I don't know, I think it's stupid that dictating what you are is just a stupid sign on the hips", Spring Rain thought about it a bit and nodded "I think you're right," and they all laughed together.
Her only constant was that she continued to have her only two friends.

Fizzlepop had now turned seventeen, she was in the fourth year of hight school and today she would go with her class on a trip to the mountains to study the various biomes, flora and fauna; obviously for her these things had become trivial since she had the level of knowledge of an academic professor.
They had left school early in the morning and headed for the railway to catch the train, but near the group there were a couple of royal guards, a unicorn and a pegasus dressed in black armor with gold trim, and a spear resting in a holster placed on the cost.
This had been ordered by the king for the safety of the princess, and minimally that of the other students, as there were lately political tensions between the noble houses, however this was not liked at all by Fizzlepop who knew that the presence of the soldiers it would only make his classmates nervous and emphasize her importance.

On the train during the journey Fizzlepop sat together with Glitter Drops and Spring Rain in the last carriage in the right-hand seats, she sat by the window and was facing the direction of travel and the other two were facing her .
Initially they talked about the usual filly things: school, homework, gossiping about other classmates or talking about frivolous things.
However, Fizzlepop was not actively discussing the subject and about halfway through the journey she had decided to start a conversation about magic, "Do you want to talk about transmutation spells?".
The other two looked at each other for a moment and then said uncertainly, "yes, but we don't really know what it is."
Fizzlepop immediately straightened up and began to explain everything she knew to them and at the end of the speech the two unicorns had a half smile on their face.
"It was very interesting" said Glitter Drops, "it was fun listening to you" added the other
The alicorn, however, had realized that their smiles were fake and that they probably did not understand anything of what she had said, indeed for a few minutes nobody said anything until Spring Rain did not resume arguing with Glitter Drops what they were talking about at the beginning of the trip.
The princess was saddened by realizing that she had almost nothing in common with the others, the only thing she had to do was sleep for the rest of the journey.

An hour and a half had passed and finally they had reached their destination, Fizzlepop was still sleeping until she was abruptly awakened by the sound of the bell alerting the passengers, looked around and when she realized they were stationary she got up and took her saddlebags who got on her back.
Immediately outside in the portico there were a couple of teachers who were making the roll call and the guards had placed themselves on the sidelines, when they were sure that no one was missing they began to walk towards the mountain.
During the trip they occasionally stopped so that the teachers could explain to the students the flora and sometimes the fauna also happened, while when they moved everyone would get in small groups and chat, instead the princess stayed slightly behind and just nodded every time they called her or asked her some questions she wasn't even listening to.

The sun was now beginning to set and her paws ached from the long walk; they had finally stopped in a valley surrounded by forests and had decided to camp there for the night, the professors had already given instructions to everyone, some were already pitching their tents while others were preparing the fire for the night.
The alicorn, on the other hand, had gone in search of wood together with her friends and two other ponies: Smooky Jaster who was a stallion and Ebony Rose who was a mare.

“Hey, how about we take a walk in the woods tonight? It will be fun but also scary and we'll see who has more courage "said the stallion in a mocking tone," it would be a great idea, what do you think? "She added the other mare.
The trio looked at each other for a moment and then Spring Rain immediately said "I'm there, I can't wait!"
Glitter Drops instead thinks about it a bit more but didn't want to look like a coward or a spoiled party so she accepted too" okay I'll join you too, and you Fizzy? " she called her companion in a friendly way.
Fizzlepop was reluctant to accept, she knew that the woods at night could be dangerous and anything could happen, "no, I think it's risky and neither should you" replied seriously.
"But come on, the princess won't be afraid. to get hurt ... or she afraid of ruining that perfect empty side, she would have nothing to fear since she knows everything about magic. " the Ebony Rose said in a haughty tone; the alicorn just did not answer and continued to remain on the sidelines for the rest of the trip while the other four argued animatedly.

By now the sun had gone down and high up in the sky you could see the stars and the moon, Fizzlepop was lying in a duvet looking at the sky although she was slightly disappointed that she could not see the beauty of the night because of the dragon eyes, in fact for her there was not much difference between light and dark.
She was also reflecting on the speech she had made with her father when she was still small, she was thinking of the lands overseas and the creatures that lived there, she really wanted to be able to go there one day.
With these thoughts swirling in her head she began to fall asleep closing her eyes and curling up in the duvet as the fire next to her began to go out.

Author's Note

I went to see the guide to writing stories and I don't really know what to say, I'm really bad at writing stories and I've made a lot of mistakes, however I don't get discouraged and I will try to improve.
For now I will write the first part of the story and then I will make any necessary corrections.

P.S.
i think its stupid that ponies get their cutie mark when they go to elementary school i dont think they are that young they already know what they will do for the rest of their life

Chapter 4 : Healing (part 1)

To get to the palace by train it would take at least three hours but a pegasus could cover the same distance in an hour, perhaps even less if it weren't for the fact that at this moment the royal guard had to carry the unconscious body of the princess on his back.
Fortunately, the training involved similar situations in which a pegasus would have to carry another pony for emergencies like this, by now they were almost there and in the distance he could see the spiers of the royal palace.
She took a look at the pony he had on his shoulders: she was alive but she was breathing very shallow, it was obvious that if he didn't make it in time she would die shortly.
With this he decided to do a last sprint, he did not use the main entrance door but went to the terrace of the throne room which overlooked the whole landscape below.
When the guards who were parked saw the pegasus approaching they got into position to block him but he yelled before they could do anything, "make your way, I'm a royal guard and I'm taking the princess with me, she's badly injured!".
Immediately the guard who was to the right of the entrance door moved to go for help while the other went to warn the rulers.

When the pegasus landed he immediately entered the throne room and began to untie the princess from the back, just a few seconds later a group of doctors with a stretcher came running, following the king and the queen, the latter were shocked at the sight of their little girl being surrounded by doctors.
"Pegasus, what the hell happened ?!" the king yelled at the guard who had brought the princess while hugging his wife with a hoof, who had burst into tears.
The guard bowed and spoke in the clearest and most respectful way possible "I don't know sire, I think she was attacked by a beast during the trip, I tried to heal the most serious wounds to prevent her from bleeding to death".
Brisk evaluated the answer and immediately spoke in an authoritative tone "well done soldier, now rest and then come back to the student group, let them come home safe and sound."
"Yes your majesty," replied the guard and then he left the throne room.

Meanwhile the doctors had checked the princess’s wounds and tied her to a stretcher so that she did not fall or make strange movements during the transport, after which they too left the throne room and went to the medical wing.
In the room there were only the king, the queen and another pony who must have been a doctor seen the white coat, the king turned to him and asked "what can you tell me?".
The doctor bowed and then spoke "the guard was right, there were claw marks on the body, but the most worrying thing is not this", the pony swallowed and then resumed, "the princess's wings have been torn off and her horn it has been damaged, it seems to have been broken ”he finished.

The queen felt sick, Fizzlepop had been injured so brutally, she didn't dare imagine the pain she felt and the fact that she will have to live with these injuries all her life: Cherry Petal was not an expert in anatomy, but she knew when the wings were severed completely there was no longer any way to repair them, as for the horn he did not even know that it could be broken in such a way.
"My colleagues are taking her to the operating room to make a full diagnosis and then try to heal her, at least as much as possible," the doctor added.
"Do everything possible to save our little girl, from now on her life is in your hooves" replied the king in a fatherly voice, and dismissed him.

In the operating room, Fizzlepop's body was lying on a surgery table and around her there was a group of doctors dressed so that they could operate, they had headphones, gowns, slippers, masks and all the necessary equipment.
"Diagnosis," said the head room simply
"The princess is in a coma, she has deep cuts on her legs, abdomen, back and face, her wings have been torn off and her horn has been severed, there are three broken ribs and two cracked , the cut on her face does not seem to have caused any damage to the right eye ”one finished saying.
"Can we do something about the wings?" the foreman asked again.
A morphologist came forward who had been studying the princess's wings for a few minutes, "Apparently no sir, the only thing we have to do is remove the parts of the remaining bones attached to the spine to avoid infection and further damage to the nerves".
The head of the hall eventually began to give orders "first we will take care of the removal of the stumps, then we will arrange the ribs, in the end we will mend the wounds, as for the horn I want someone to go and call a palace magician or someone specialized in the horns ".

The operation to remove the remains of the wings went on very slowly, it was necessary to be careful not to accidentally sever the nerves of the spine, it took over 3 hours for this part but after that the repair of the ribs and stitching of the wounds happened enough quickly, just an hour and a half.
The last thing to take care of was the horn, no one in that room had ever had to deal with a similar case, the horns were made of pure compact bone covered with an enamel that gave even more resistance, in addition was reinforced by all the magical ribs and capillaries.
It had happened very few times that a horn was broken and very often they were simple chips, and in the most serious cases of compound fractures; her was truly an unprecedented case.

After finishing applying the bandages around the abdomen, the head of the hall turned to the court magician who had been called, "What can you tell me about the horn?".
"I don't know, it's the first time that a similar case has happened to me, the horns are very complex parts, they are full of capillaries and ribs that are directly connected to the brain, I think this is the main reason why the princess fell into a coma" he paused and sighed "the only thing we can do is wait for her to wake up and then assess the damage." he finished saying.

The head of the hall was not satisfied with this answer, he would have liked to do more but if this is what the expert had said then he could not do anything about it.
"Take the princess to a room where she can rest," he ordered a couple of his colleagues, "you others set up the operating room, I will go to inform the king and queen."
He left the room and took off all the clothes for the operation and threw them away in a special basket, after which he went in search of the two sovereigns.
As a doctor he had sworn to treat patients in the best possible way, he always wanted to be able to say "everything is fine, the patient has been treated and he is healthy ...." the pony smiled wistfully "these are the expectations of someone who had started studying medicine over twenty years ago, with the illusion of being able to cure everyone ... even those who were already beyond salvation".

It didn't take long to find the monarchs, in fact they were just outside the medical wing, sitting side by side on a sofa, in the atrium that connected all the other sections of the palace.
The doctor came forward and introduced himself: "Hi, I'm Clean Hooves, the operating room head, I witnessed the surgery of yuor daughter"
"Hello, how is Fizzlepop?" asked the king.
Clean Hooves had not noticed that it was now day, outside you could see the first rays of the sun illuminating the atrium with a slight yellowish light, it would have been beautiful if it were not for the current situation.
"Not well your majesty, we had to remove what was left of the wings, it had deep cuts that we stitched up but unfortunately some scars will remain, luckily we were able to treat them with a special drug that allows the regrowth of the hair, even in the points where there was the suture, in this way they will be less unpleasant " he paused but the king said nothing, he was listening carefully "as far as the horn is concerned we could not do any intervention, we do not know how extensive the damage is ... but it is probable that they are the cause that sent the princess into a coma. From now on, the only thing we can do is wait for her to wake up "he finished saying.
For a moment no one said anything, the random sobbing of the queen could be heard.
"I understand, thank you very much to you and her colleagues for doing everything possible, now you can go to rest", the king dismissed him and the doctor left the room leaving the two spouses alone.

“What are we going to do now? How will Fizzlepop overcome this tragedy? " Cherry said in a pained voice to her husband.
“I really don't know, I wish it was just a horrible nightmare, and I don't dare imagine what it was like and what it will be like for our daughter. But as the doctor said, the only thing we can do is wait and hope for the best, "Brisk replied in anguish.

The days had passed and yet Fizzlepop had not yet awakened from the coma, the days had lengthened to weeks and then months.
The wounds were now healed, the bandages and stitches had been removed to leave only for the scars ... witnesses of that fateful night.
Fizzlepop had been moved to her personal room and attached to her paw there was only the drip bag and an electrocardiogram that always sounded regularly and perpetually, just like a metronome.
Every day her parents visited her by turning, every now and then they talked to her and other times they just stood by her bed, in silence while to mark the time there was only the annoying sound of the machine that she had next to her .
A couple of packages and flowers were placed on a small table, gifts from her alleged friends…. they had probably given her these gifts only out of pity or good education.
A daily routine was also planned, every morning a nurse came to air the room, then changed the catheter bag and added liquid to the drip, every three days they washed her and changed the bed linen and in the meantime cleaned the room.

The doctors didn't know why she hadn't woken up yet, her wounds were now closed and she looked healthy, she could breathe on her own and her metabolism was working perfectly.
Scientists came from time to time to study the wound on her horn, after all it was an unprecedented accident that had struck the princess; some had theorized that she did not die on the spot due to the fact that she is an alicorn, in fact they did not know if she could still be considered as such: she had lost her wings and her horn was damaged, probably unusable .

More months passed and the princess had been in a coma for over a year now, the court doctors had suggested that she give a lethal injection, or stop feeding her body and let her die in peace.
Obviously the queen hadn't reacted well to that warning, if it hadn't been for her husband that day a couple of ponies would have gone the same way Fizzlepop.
Luckily Cherry had made the right decision, she had decided not to give up and wait as long as necessary.

BEEP BEEP…. A STARRY SKY AND THE FULL MOON….
BEEP BEEP…. A DENSE WOOD….
BEEP BEEP…. A DARK CAVE….
BEEP BEEP…. “GRRRRR” A FUR COVERED BY THE FIRMAMENT….
BEEP BEEP…. DANGER…
BEEP BEEP .... HER FRIENDS ....
BEEP BEEP .... BETRAYAL ... ..
BEEP BEEP…. ACHE….
BEEP BEEP .... ANGER ....
BEEP BEEP .... DARKNESS ....
BEEP BEEP....

Fizzlepop woke up suddenly, her heart was pounding, her fur was sweaty and she had tears coming out of her eyes.
She had dreamed of that night ... the night she had suffered so much pain, she had lost his wings, but above all the trust she had in her friends.
At the thought of this she felt again the anger she had felt that night but immediately stopped, she began to feel a severe headache starting from her forehead.

A good half hour had passed and she finally managed to calm down, she had not yet realized where she was.
She looked around and noticed that she was in her room, the windows were half open and a light beam of light filtered through them, next to her was the source of the annoying sound and next to it was the pole to which she was attached a drip from which a thread started that ended up under the covers.
"So I'm not dead ..."
Fizzlepop looked at her back, it was difficult as her body was quite weak and numb, she noticed that the wings were gone, there were only scars on which the hair had grown back, however it could not hide as it was of a lighter shade than the rest of the coat.
Seeing this, she felt like crying again, but she tried to restrain herself by squinting and clenching her teeth.
"I should have minded my own business ... but what am I saying?! ... it's their fault ... if only they had made an effort to do something .... but instead they abandoned me in the time of need…. "
Thinking about this she felt the anger and betrayal in her heart again, but again they were interrupted by a severe headache coming from her forehead.
She had been sitting on the bed thinking until her thoughts were interrupted by the door opening and immediately after it came a maid who had a broom in her clogs and was humming a tune.
Fizzlepop frowned, usually staff knocks before entering.
She tried to call the mare but no sound came out of her mouth, her throat was so dry it hurt the moment she swallowed.
This time she tried harder, "Can I have a glass of water?" her voice came out hoarse and thin but it was enough to attract her attention.

When the maid looked up and saw her she froze and dropped the broom to the floor, after which she immediately ran out of the room without saying anything.
Fizzlepop was shocked by the mare's reaction, she certainly hadn't expected it; it had been a couple of minutes until she heard outside the door, which had remained open, a group of ponies running in her direction.
Soon after a couple of individuals, all dressed in white coats, they burst into the room and stood around her bed.
Immediately they asked her questions like "how are you?", "Do you feel pains somewhere?", Fizzlepop tried to answer the barrages of questions.

When they finished asking the questions they were all silent, some were taking notes in notebooks while others were handling machinery and wires, they had removed both the drips and the heart rate sensors, when it was time to remove the catheter she blushed slightly and asked everyone else to turn around as a nurse slowly removed the tube.
They had been silent for a few minutes and there was only the sound of the pens running on the yellowish paper of the notepads.
"Where are my parents?" the princess asked in a low voice.
Immediately those present looked up and a look of surprise appeared on her face, immediately one had run away from the room.
Shortly after he returned and behind him were the king and queen, her mother cried as soon as she saw her and ran to hug Fizzlepop who was lying on the bed, her father instead had whispered in the doctor's ear that nodded and left the room, he was followed by all the other doctors and nurses, they also took the medical equipment with them.

Meanwhile her mother had calmed down and sat down next to the bed that Fizzlepop was on, her father did the same and then they were silent, until Brisk took a deep breath and said the typical question one would ask to someone who is he was awakened from a coma.

"What do you remember?"

Author's Note

here is chapter 4, honestly I am not a surgery expert and therefore I tried to describe the scene of the operating room based on some other similar stories that I had read.
I decided to split this part in two because I didn't want the chapter to be too long, but I already know what to write next.
thanks for reading.

Chapter 5 : Healing (part 2)

"What do you remember?" her father asked kindly.
Fizzlepop turned her gaze to the window, it hurt her to think about that night, in fact she would have preferred to wake up without remembering anything ... in this way the anguish and anger would disappear.
But instead they kept appearing in her mind, like a movie that is played over and over again, and every time it came to the end she had a severe headache.

"I remember everything…." she only said as tears rolled down her cheeks.
Her mother, seeing the sadness on her daughter's face, hugged her to give her comfort and then said to her in the most reassuring tone possible.
"Everything will be fine, Fizzy, the important thing is that you are alive and you woke up ... I don't know what your father and I would have done if you were ..." her mother did not finish speaking, it was too difficult for her to say the words dead and Fizzlepop in the same sentence.

"It would have been better," Fizzlepop replied in a low voice as a tear fell from his chin.
"Why do you say this?!" his father asked worriedly.
"Do you see me? I lost my wings, I'm covered in scars and my only two friends, the ones I thought would never turn their backs on me, left me there to die! " Fizzlepop yelled as his voice broke.
"And now… I've lost what made me special, I'm just a ordinary unicorn," she added as she sniffed.
Her mother felt pain in her heart hearing her daughter's comment “don't say that, what makes you special is only you, we love you the same way as before and nothing can ever change it”.
"My wings were a part of me." Fizzlepop said coldly.

They were silent for a moment, Fizzlepop had forgotten that her throat was dry, the headache and anger had eased the annoyance.
Luckily the maid had brought her a glass of water that she had placed just before on the nightstand next to her bed, she couldn't wait to quench her thirst.
She took a look at the glass and immediately wrapped it with magic…. but something was wrong: the light surrounding the object was not as usual, it was much weaker and it seemed flickering and irregular on the surface, the glass just shook.
She tried again a second time but with more intensity: the same thing happened as before, but this time she began to feel the severe headache again.
"Maybe you should rest, we'll give you the water," her mother said trying to get her daughter to stop.
However Fizzlepop did not listen to her and tried a third time with even more force: the glass began to float and move in her direction, but it was unstable and trembling, in mid-flight the magic dissolved and the glass fell to the ground and shattered.
Fizzlepop felt a pang of pain on her forehead and put a hoof on her horn, however she felt not the usual conical and smooth shape with the helical veins, but the sharp edges.
Fizzlepop was worried, she tried to look as high as possible, she usually could see the tip of the horn, but this time she just see the ceiling.

The purple mare began to feel anguish rising from her stomach.
"It can't be… not even my horn, it must be a joke," she thought as her heart rate increased and her breaths became more frequent and shallower.
"Maybe you should calm down Fizzlepop," her father tried to say as he approached her, but he couldn't because her daughter screamed at them.
"Just tell me dad"
Brisk took a step back in fear of her, her daughter had never spoken to them that way, she was shocking. She took a deep breath and then began to speak.

"As you know when they brought you back to the palace you were seriously injured: your wings were severed and you had deep cuts all over your body" he paused and Fizzlepop just listened "but they weren't the only problems, your horn it was badly damaged, the doctors said there was no way to fix it, and they think that's also why you fell into a coma for over a year, ”her father finished explaining.

Fizzlepop still said nothing, then turned her gaze to her mother.
"Please pass me the mirror." she asked.
Cherry immediately went into the bathroom of the room and took the mirror that was resting on the sink and handed it to her daughter.
Fizzlepop unconsciously tried to grab it with magic, but as soon as she tried she felt pain in her head again, grabbed it with her hooves and brought it in front of her face pointing it upwards, where the horn should have been.

Cherry Petal and Brisk Berrytwist watched as Fizzlepop moved the mirror in various angles and each time she made a movement her breathing became more and more labored.
"It's not a tragedy, maybe…." the king tried to say the first thing that crossed his mind, he wanted to reassure his daughter but he could not because he was interrupted by a reaction that he would never have expected: the mirror that Fizzlepop held between her hooves flew at exorbitant speed against the wall and shattered.
"Aaaaaghhhh" Fizzlepop let out a cry of agony, her face was a mixture of pain and anger, her jaw was clenched and she was breathing fasta and irregular.
"Darling you have to calm down, it hurts you to get upset after waking up" said her mother trying to calm her furious daughter.

Fizzlepop turned her gaze to her mother, saw that her parents were scared and very worried, it made no sense to yell at them, they had no guilt.
Fizzlepop tried to calm the onslaught of anger and pain she felt in her heart.
"Please, I want to be alone," she told her parents.
The couple looked at each other for a moment and then went out of the room dejected.
Fizzlepop was left alone in her room.

The anger she felt had been replaced by the sense of loss, “wings weren't enough…. that cursed beast had to take off my horn too !? "s
Fizzlepop began to cry and sob bitterly, tears streaming down his cheeks streaked with earlier tears.

All the images you will see will only serve to help you imagine the situation, try to adapt it to the story

BETRAYAL…..
ACHE….
ANGER….

It happened again, the memory of that night haunting Fizzlepop's mind.
She had woken up again with a start, sweaty fur, out of breath and headache; there was a smear of saliva on her pillow and the sun was setting.
The remains of the mirror had remained where they were the morning before, she looked at the side of the bed and saw that the glass had also remained there, the water had evaporated.
Noticing this she realized that she hadn't drunk yet, in fact her throat was dry as a desert and she was certainly dehydrated after crying so much.
She decided that she did not want to call the servants, the only option was to go to the bathroom and drink from the sink.
Fizzlepop moved to the side of the bed where there were no fragments, slowly placed her clogs on the ground and stood up; it was difficult to stand upright, a year lying in bed must not have been good for her muscles, which were now thin and weak.
After stabilizing she decided to start moving, but as soon as she moved a hoof she fell with her nose on the ground and her tail in the air.
"All we needed was this, I swear if someone comes in and sees me like this, I'll seriously kill myself."
She got up again and started moving more carefully, every step she took she managed to regain control of her muscles, even if she had to move with extreme caution.
The journey seemed to have lasted forever when she finally arrived in front of the bathroom sink, she tried to turn the knob to run the water but did not move, apparently it would have been difficult to learn to do things without the use of the magic.
She reached out and the water began to flow, Fizzlepop bent down and drank the refreshing liquid greedily.

When she finished quenching she wiped her mouth simply using her paw and then stood upright.
She looked up and what she saw made her shiver: in front of her was the mirror reflecting her from head to chest, she could see scars on her neck and going up to her face there was a long scar that it started from the right eyebrow and ended up on the cheekbone, the eyes were hers but a little pale and devoid of their natural luster, the contact lenses had been removed revealing the unnatural pupils.
But what stood out most was her horn, or what was left of it… .., it had been severed under the middle and little jagged points were left.
Seeing what was once her horn, Fizzlepop felt a wave of anger, sparks appeared from the remnants of her horn, but she didn't have time to admire as she got the annoying headache again.
“This is who I am now, or perhaps what I am no longer…. I have lost everything, I will no longer be what I once was…. now I'm just a cripple. "
She really bothered to see the horn and the scar on her eye, "maybe I can hide them in some way, maybe the mane could be able to cover them"

After some time and swearing, Fizzlepop had finally managed to fix her mane, she had combed it so that it had a fringe that covered her right eye; unfortunately it was of little use, it was enough to move slightly to her left and her scar would be clearly visible, besides her broken horn remained in plain sight.
Fizzlepop sighed and left the bathroom to go to the bedroom; the disorder was still present, the only new thing that she had not yet noticed were the gifts and flowers placed on the table in the center of the room.
She came over and took a note between her hooves, "Get well soon princess", looked at another, "We are all with you princess", Fizzlepop snorted harshly and took one last, "Pray you're okay princess".
Fizzlepop dropped the ticket, she felt like throwing up: none of them had her name written on them, they probably didn't even remember what it was, they had been written by ponies who had never spoken to her until then except to ask eraser or pass tasks.

"Grrrouggrr"
Fizzlepop felt her stomach gurgling, in fact she hadn't eaten for over a year, except for the drips, she looked at herself and noticed that she had really lost a lot of weight, before the accident she was absolutely not fat, she had a slim shape but not too thin to looking undernourished, now her ribs could be seen and her cheekbones stood out in her face; she was also taller than all her companions, but that was due to the fact that she is an alicorn.
“Can I still call myself an alicorn? I have neither wings nor horn. "
"Grrrougggrrr" she heard the growl again in response to her thoughts.
Fizzlepop gave a slight smile, "if you had roared like that that night you might have scared that ursa." , but as soon as she finished saying that phrase all the humor died out, "control Fizzlepop, you're so desperate to talk to your own stomach"

Fizzlepop glanced quickly at the clock attached to the wall, it was already eight in the evening and therefore it was dinner time.
She honestly didn't want to have anything to do with anyone, she wanted to be alone…. but continuing to wallow in her self-pity would not have helped, and certainly it would not have given her back her horn and wings.
"Maybe they cooked something good"
Fizzlepop left the room and walked down the long corridor to the stairs leading to the main hall and then to the dining room, obviously the journey had lasted forever because of the weak legs, it was especially difficult to go down the stairs: if she slipped surely her horn would not have been the only thing broken.
While she walked from time to time she met some guards, usually they remained motionless like statues staring in front of them "Who knows what a bore it must be to stay still for all those hours".
However, before turning a corner, she managed to catch a glimpse of the corner of her eye at the gaze of one of the guards, pointing right at her forehead.
"I hope that from now on they won't all look at me with pity and treat me like a pony on a deathbed"
Unfortunately her expectations were shattered in the moment she met a maid as she was about to go down the stairs.
"Princess, should I help you down the stairs?" the maid asked in a gentle tone.
Fizzlepop did not miss the look of charity printed on the face of the other mare.
"No thanks, I can do it by myself, now you can go" replied the princess, it would have been too humiliating to be carried on the back, or by magic, down the stairs.

When she finally arrived in the dining room she smelled a pleasant scent, Brisk and Cherry were already seated at the table.
“Oh, good morning Fizzy, did you sleep well? You feel better?" asked her mother cheerfully, she seemed to have forgotten the day before; however Fizzlepop didn't want to sadden her parents, they not deserved it.
She smiled the best possible and replied with conviction.
"Yes, I slept well and today I'm better." When she finished speaking she walked to her seat at the table, a waiter had already pulled back her chair.
Fizzlepop jumped on it and sat down, it was strange not having to worry about how to put wings, she had complained since she was a child but now she regretted the lack of them.

A group of waiters followed by the cook entered by the kitchen door, they brought plates with food and two were placed in front of her: one looked like a hamburger and the other contained a soup.
When they finished placing all the dishes, the waiters disappeared into the kitchen, except for the cook who had stopped to explain what was on the plates.
Fizzlepop did not listen to him, the cook had the typical French accent and behaved haughtily, he looked from top to bottom at all the ponies that were not nobles: he just looked like the typical stereotypical court cook.

When the cook finished saying his useless monologue, Fizzlepop looked at the hamburger in front of her, she could lift the cutlery with magic, but she didn't have the strength to cut the dish.
In the end, Fizzlepop decided to put away the elegance and stuck the hamburger in the center and ate it by pulling the pieces off with her mouth.
Seeing this, her father would have reproached her, but given her situation she was justified.
"How the hell do pegasi and land ponies eat ?!"

They were silent for a few minutes while they ate, then her father cleared his mouth and began to speak.
"Fizzlepop, I have to inform you about some stuff" her daughter looked up from her plate but she said nothing.
"From tomorrow you will have to start physiotherapy to regain muscle mass", Fizzlepop just nodded, "you will have to eat enough to gain enough weight", she nodded again, "in addition you will have to visit sometimes the doctors, to make sure you are well "He finished saying.

“And what about the school? Will I have to do again the year? " Fizzlepop asked shortly after.
"The principal knows what has happened and about your coma, she has ascertained that you have been promoted since you were already advanced in your studies, you will be able to go back to school after the end of the summer holidays, and on top of that you will be back in class with your friends, ”his mother said warmly.
However Fizzlepop at the mention of her "friends" felt a surge of anger; suddenly her fork stopped floating and fell to the ground, obviously all was followed by a severe headache.
After calming down for a few minutes, she tried to pick up the fork that had fallen, she grabbed it with magic and made it float on the table, its movements were slow and unstable, the magic flickered.
When Fizzlepop looked up her parents were staring at her, they had looks of concern, and a little bit of pity.
Fizzlepop was starting to hate every time it happened, but she wasn't going to tell her parents' faces, so she tried to pretend nothing had happened.

"I don't know if I want to continue going to school, I could just study on my own in the palace library," continued the speech from before.
"It would be a shame, it has always been a tradition for the children of nobles to attend that school, and you represent the royal family." Brisk said regretfully.
"But if you want you don't have to go there," added her mother, always trying to put her at ease.

They had finished eating and the sun was setting outside, Fizzlepop got up from the chair and greeted his parents, she wanted to go back to her room.
The return trip was more exhausting than the outward journey, especially when she had to climb the stairs to reach the second floor, her legs trembled every time she climbed a step and every now she had to take a break to catch her breath.
When she finally managed to reach her room, the clock on the wall showed it was already half past nine in the evening, in fact she was starting to feel sleepy even though she had slept for over a year and that afternoon.
When she entered the room had been cleaned up, the balconies were left half closed as she liked, the remains of the glass and mirror swept away, even the bed had been completely made up with blankets, sheets and pillows changed.

Fizzlepop went into the bathroom and turned on the shower, waited for the water jet to be hot enough and then threw herself under it.
The water ran all over her body, soaking her mane, tail and fur; however she noticed that her skin was more sensitive, especially where there were scars.
She soaped herself up and then rinsed off, and when she was done she came out of the shower dripping all over the floor. She tried to dry herself as best she could and by the time she finished rubbing her fur was just wet, the mane sticking to her neck and forehead.
She brushed her teeth and finally she lay down in bed after turning off the lights, she had the covers pulled over her body and her face propped up on the pillows.
Gradually she began to feel heavy eyes and within a couple of minutes she fell asleep.

Author's Note

Here is chapter 5!
It took me a while to figure out what to write and the chapter is longer than usual.
I hope you enjoyed it.
I'd like you to leave a comment, you can write whatever you want: appreciation, criticism, advice and ideas for the story.
Thanks for reading!

Chapter 6: Physiotherapy

BETRAYAL….
ACHE….
ANGER…..

Once again Fizzlepop woke up sweating and her heart beating fast.
She felt she could cry, it still hurt her to remember that night, to see her friends abandoning her and that cursed ursa mutilating her to what she was now.
She could swear she still felt the pain in her back, where once there was the conjunction between wings and spine, but she was starting to get used to the frequent headaches that hit her whenever she felt angry or tried to use magic. .

She squinted and looked around her, obviously she was in her room, the sun had risen and the clock struck seven in the morning.
She gave a long yawn and then got out of bed, stretched to remove the numbness of the joints and then began to walk towards the bathroom.
When she arrived she drank some water from the tap and then looked at herself in the mirror, her gaze went directly to the scar on her eye and to her horn.
She had hoped with all her heart that it was all a nightmare, she would wake up in one piece, with her beautiful wings on her back, her precious horn on her forehead, and immaculate fur, free from scars and streaks of fur. clear.
She looked down and noticed the box that contained the contact lenses, apparently yesterday she had completely forgotten about it.
"I hope no one has noticed"
She gave a long sigh and then wet her face with icy water, in this way she would have washed away the sleepiness and she would be prepared for the long day ahead.
"Grrrrougggrr" she heard the familiar gurgling from her stomach again.
"Okay, let's go have breakfast" she looked at herself one last time in the mirror and then left the room.

In the corridor there was still the same guard from the day before…. or so it seemed.
"Everyone looks alike with those armor"
She had reached the end of the corridor and in front of her were her new bitter enemies: THE STAIRS.
She looked around quickly and then began to descend the steps, the steps were slow and clumsy, her legs trembled every now and then and at one point she was afraid of falling and smashing to the ground, certainly it would not have been a good way to start the day.
"I should have taken a room on the ground floor. "

When she arrived in the room where she had eaten the night before she saw her parents had not yet arrived, she went to sit in her place and waited for them to arrive.
From the kitchen she could hear the sound of plates and pans rattling, and by the smell she could tell they were probably cooking pancakes.

It wasn't long before the king and queen appeared, they were already dressed up in crown, tiara, and hoof covers.
Fizzlepop only wore jewels during official events where she was supposed to represent the royal family, at all other times she preferred to be without, she felt freer to move without attracting everyone's attention, which was already difficult being an alicorn .
Thinking about this she almost laughed, it was really ironic.
"If before they looked at me because I had both horn and wings, now they will look at me because I have a broken horn and scars ... .. life is really cruel."

"Good morning Fizzlepop," her mother greeted warmly.
"Good morning to you," Fizzlepop said to both of her parents.
As soon as they were seated at the table the waiters brought the dishes and the cook said the usual things to which no one paid attention.
Apparently she was right, there was a stack of pancakes on the plate and a bowl with cranberry sauce was placed next to it; luckily this time to cut the pancakes it would be enough to separate them with a fork.

The three ate with good taste and in the meantime Fizzlepop spoke.
"So I'm starting physiotherapy today," she asked both of them.
Her father swallowed the bite he was chewing "Exactly, when you have finished eating you can go to the gym of the building, there will be a coach waiting for you who will assist you in your rehabilitation" replied her father.

For a moment no one said anything until her mother decided to change the subject.
"Are you feeling okay, Fizzy?" Cherry asked with maternal concern.
Fizzlepop just didn't know how to answer: when she woke up she felt really bad, but now her pain was replaced by listlessness and sense of loss, she no longer wanted to do anything, not even study magic .
"Anyway, it's no longer of any use, I don't have the horn ...haha, all these years studying magic ... .. not at all."

Cherry noticed that her daughter hadn't answered her question, her gaze was blank and distant.
"Your mother asked you a question," her husband said, he was being stern because he wanted his daughter to learn good manners and respect, not like some nobles who just ridiculously imitated etiquette and looked down on everyone else. .
At the reprimand Fizzlepop looked up suddenly and turned to her mother.
"Yeah, I'm fine, it's nice not to have wings and not to be able to use magic," she replied harshly.

Shortly thereafter, Fizzlepop finished eating and left the room without saying anything.
Now she was walking in the hall but stopped after a few meters, she had just realized what had happened: she did not want to respond in this way to her mother, but she had spoken without think about it.
"Nice way to answer the only two ponies who still love you!"

As scheduled she would have to go to the gym today, she had never been in that room, but she knew where it was…. about.
After looking for it for a while, she finally managed to find the gym, she took a look inside and saw that there was a pony looking at a notepad.
Fizzlepop walked through the double doors and introduced herself.
"Hi, I'm Fizzlepop Berrytwist, I have to do my rehabilitation"
The other mare looked up at her and then approached her and answered in a shrill voice:
"Welcome princess, I'm Saffron Wings: your physiotherapist."
The mare was a pegasus of medium height, her fur was yellow tending to orange, her mane and tail were turquoise.
She seemed to be the always happy and optimistic type of pony with a smile on her face.

"Thank you" Fizzlepop said, the other mare said nothing but remained staring at her, she was probably looking at the horn and the scars "Er ... Shall we start? "
"Oh yes, you're right, I'm going to get the tools." Saffron replied with obvious embarrassment.
Saffron soon returned with small weights, each weighing one kilo.
"To begin we should train your legs so that you can walk again without fatigue, you will have to lift these weights repeatedly with all four hooves." She explained quickly.
When she was ready Fizzlepop started lifting the weights, it was amazing how much effort she would take even though she had more strength than normal ponies.
Every now and then the coach made her stop to rest and then resumed; she went on like this for a couple of hours until she couldn't take it anymore and she dropped the weights to the floor.
"Great job princess, you did great." Saffron complimented her.
Fizzlepop was drinking from her bottle that the coach had provided her.
"Now that we have the legs trained we can move on to the back and belly, for these we will do some simple abs," Saffron said cheerfully.

The training went on for another two hours until Fizzlepop fell to the ground from exhaustion, felt her muscles burn so much that she wanted to lie on the floor for the rest of the day, she could feel the sweat on her fur, too the mane was damp.

"You did great!" Saffron said as she wrote something in a notebook.
"I think we're done for today, I suggest you take a hot bath after you've cooled down, this way you can relax your muscles."

“Thank you very much, it was…. intense. ”Fizzlepop said.
"Oh man, I have to go somewhere else, there are other ponies that need rehabilitation! See you the day after tomorrow princess." Saffron said quickly and soon after she disappeared from the gym leaving behind a cloud of dust.

Fizzlepop was left alone, still sitting on the gym floor, her body had cooled down by now, but she didn't want to move; she shifted her gaze to the large clock in the center of the wall: it was already noon.

"Grrrouggrrrr" she heard the familiar rumbling of her stomach.
"I know, but I can't show up at the table smelling of sweat, I have to wash first." Fizzlepop replied to her noisy and hungry new friend.

After heaving a sigh, she got up from the floor and went back to the hall, it was ironic that her movements were even slower than before, the training should have strengthened her, but instead it had weakened her even more.
When Fizzlepop reached the intersection that led to the other areas of the building instead of going towards the kitchen she turned left, luckily on the ground floor there was the guest bedroom with attached bathroom.

Before opening the door she knocked to make sure no one was inside, it would have been embarrassing to present herself like this.
When no one answered, she lowered the handle and pushed the door, she took a look inside and there were no signs of life or any evidence that the room was occupied.
Fizzlepop went straight to the bathroom and turned on the bathtub faucet, filled it with hot water and poured soap on it.
When the bathtub was full enough Fizzlepop plunged into it up to her neck, it was nice to finally be able to take a warm bath, even if she preferred the shower.

She had stayed for a few minutes enjoying the hot water, every now she rubbed her fur with a brush and in the end she made a last dive putting her head under water.
Wet from mane to tail she slowly got up and came out of the tub dripping on the floor, she took a towel and dried herself as best she could; the air was humid and there was a layer of condensation on the windows.

After the relaxing bath, Fizzlepop tidied everything up and walked out of the guest bedroom, tossing the towel into the dirty laundry basket just outside the door.
She headed for the dining room, although her muscles were more relaxed she was still very weak and her legs were shaking.
When she arrived, her parents were already eating, apparently today there was pasta with cheese.
"Hi Fizzlepop, come to dinner." said her mother, "Where have you been?" her father asked her in addition.
After taking her seat she replied "I finished physiotherapy some time ago, but I wanted to clean myself before eating."
Meanwhile the waiters had brought her plate too.
"I hope you enjoyed it." her mother said warmly as she raised her fork to her mouth.
"Well ... it was exhausting, the physical therapist was pretty eccentric, she made me do some weight lifting and then I did a lot of sit-ups, all my muscles hurt." Fizzlepop said as she concentrated on levitating the fork without accidentally slipping it in her eyes.
"You will see that with training and good will you will be able to regain the strength you have lost." her father reassured her.
"I wish there was a way to go back to being as I was before the accident, it would be enough for me to just get the horn back"
The mood in the room had dropped suddenly, everyone resumed eating, her mother felt really sad for what had happened. Her father was also in pain, but he didn't show it.

They finished eating and the waiters had cleared the table, Fizzlepop was completely full and she was starting to feel very sleepy.
“I think I went to sleep,” Fizzlepop said as she brought a clog to her mouth to yawn.
"Certainly darling, I bet you will be exhausted after doing so much training." her mother replied.
"You have no idea." she said as she gave another yawn.

Now that it was thought her muscles were still sore, she was worried about having to face the stairs to reach the second floor, in fact she doubted that she too would only be able to climb a couple of steps uphill.

As she had predicted, when she reached the stairs and took the first step her paws turned to jelly and she fell forward.
Unfortunately his father passed through the hall at that moment, immediately he ran to her and helped her to get up.
"Fizzlepop, are you okay?" he asked worriedly.
"Yes, I'm fine, it's just that I can't climb the stairs, I can barely walk." his daughter replied.
"No problem, I can take you to your room." suggested her father.
Fizzlepop blushed slightly, it wasn't the first time her father carried her, but it happened when she was a filly, now she was an adult mare since she turned 18 while she was in a coma.
She had to decide, she wanted to keep her dignity, but at the same time she couldn't wait to lie down on her bed and sleep. She chose the second option.
She quickly looked around to check that there was no one to witness the embarrassing event that will happen.
"Okay, thanks dad." she said finally.
"There's no reason why" the stallion said kindly.

Brisk lit the horn and lifted his daughter with magic and then put her on his back and held her with his wings.
“It's weird to fly without wings” Fizzlepop thought after putting her front hooves around her father's neck.
Brisk began walking up the stairs without difficulty, it was due to the fact sometimes he liked to keep fit to work off the immense meals he ate during events with the other nobles.
Fizzlepop had her face buried in her father's thick mane, it was soft and silky, his constant movement was rocking her and his body heat add one more reason to fall asleep in that moment.
She was about to close her eyes when in front of her she saw a guard pass by, she immediately opened her eyes and raised her head “Damn! I forgot the guard guarding the main corridor on the second floor, who knows what he may have thought…. the princess is not only crippled but also disabled, I saw her today being carried away by the king as if she were a filly "
Fizzlepop pictured the guard as he gossiped with colleagues.
"I should have slept in the guest room ... .. but now she has gone like this, I just hope that all Iponia will not find out"
Shortly after, Brisk had finally arrived in front of his daughter's room.
"We arrived, do you want me to take you inside?" he asked her.
"No thanks, from now on I can do it on my own," Fizzlepop replied.
Brisk grabbed her again with his magic and levitated her in front of him and then spoke to her in a fatherly voice:
"Good sleep my dear." Fizzlepop blushed again, her father hadn't spoken to her in a long time.
"Thanks dad." she replied affectionately, turned and then disappeared into her room.

As she made her way to the bed she thought about what had just happened: although it was humiliating she had enjoyed the interaction she had had with her father, it had made her forget for a moment the sense of loss she had felt since waking up from the coma .
"I can always rely on mom and dad," she thought happily as she lay down on the bed.
As soon as she put her face on her pillow she closed her eyes and fell asleep blissfully.

Author's Note

Here is chapter six.
Honestly, there isn't much to say.
I hope you enjoyed it and leave any kind of comment
Thanks for reading

Chapter 7: Whispers (part 1)

The summer holidays passed slowly, gray and monotonous.
When Fizzlepop wasn't training or sleeping she spent her days in the library, she didn't do it with fun: her joy was studying magic, she liked to try to cast spells, understand them and then create others based on it, now she could barely lift a fork.
Not knowing what to do, she decided to spend her time learning other things that did not require magic, not because she was interested but because she wanted to occupy her mind, forget for a moment what she had lost, she tried to plug the holes she had in her soul by filling the brain.
She had studied and read books on everything, from cooking to astronomy, from mathematics to history; she had even begun to study war tactics, she was fascinated by studying the battles that had decided the course of history, she had learned the most famous strategies of many generals and commanders.
In her endless boredom she had begun to study a couple of foreign languages, sometimes she whispered phrases in a low voice, incomprehensible to normal ponies.

One day Fizzlepop had decided she did not want to study, the sun was shining outside and the temperature was mild, in the sky there were some clouds that covered the ground below with huge shadows that moved slowly.
“I could go for a walk in the public library.” Fizzlepop thought as she looked out the window of her room, she hadn't been out of the castle in a long time, she missed the breeze blowing on her fur.
When she had wings she loved take flight during the sunset, she could soar in the air like no unicorn or land pony could, the sight of the land below illuminated by the faint rays of the sun warmed her heart; she really missed her wings.
"Is it possible if I'm not doing something I get depressed right away !?"
Before leaving the room, Fizzlepop went to the bathroom to put on contact lenses and combed her mane, by now it had become a habit to fix it that way, although it did little to hide the scar and the horn.
She went out into the corridor and went down the stairs without any problem, she defeat them a few days earlier, in fact next week there would be her last physiotherapy session.
Over time she had grown slightly fond of Saffron Wings, although she had a tendency to talk too much.

"Are you going out?" she heard her mother's voice as she was about to push down the front door handle.
"Yes, mom, I wanted to take a breath of fresh air and maybe go to visit the public library." Fizzlepop answered.
Cherry smiled broadly "Well, it's time you left the house." she said warmly and then kissed her daughter's cheek.
Fizzlepop returned the gesture of affection and then left the building, closing the door behind her.

It took a few seconds to adapt to the sunlight, after squinting she noticed that there were few ponies in the palace square, usually the citizens came there to meet to talk or do something else.
It was a large square and in the center there was a huge fountain with statues and jets of crystal clear water that cast reflections on everything around.
The statues depicted the first founders of the city and in the center was a large alicorn: the first king of Hyponia who stood tall and proud on his hind legs, turned his gaze to the horizon and had outstretched wings which gave even more grandeur and majesty, finally on the forehead the long and thin horn that pointed towards the sky.
Fizzlepop had always admired the work of art since her father had told her the history of the nation, but now she was envious of that perfect statue, completely intact after centuries, unlike her ...

Fizzlepop shook her head to pull herself together, “No need to think about it now! The only thing you can do is go on. " she thought as she suppressed the sad moments.
Fizzlepop walked the streets observing what was there, the shop windows were open and displayed all kinds of products, there were artisan shops and grocery stores, some luxury boutiques and restaurants of all kinds, shops of all kinds and size to satisfy any pony with extravagant ideas.
There seemed to be few ponies on the streets anyway, and every time she passed by, they took a few steps to the right or left to try to avoid her, obviously Fizzlepop had predicted that someone would be scared or amazed to look at her.
Tall unicorns with broken horns and scars littered the body were not seen every day, but she had counted on the fact that an adult pony would simply ignore her and continue on their way without saying anything: she did not know, however, that the ponies could be more annoying than they seem.

It was a few meters away from the library, everything seemed to be going well until she heard a whisper.
"Hey, have you seen that one? Who knows what a loser she must be, she managed to break her horn! "
“Speak in a low voice! Maybe she can hear us. "
In fact Fizzlepop had clearly heard what those two ponies said, she wanted to turn around and face them but she preferred to leave them alone…. even if those comments had hurt her deep.

Finally she had arrived at the entrance of the library, a sanctuary of knowledge and wisdom handed down for centuries and preserved in books, she was happy to be able to explore the endless shelves.
She pushed the door softly so as not to make a noise, when she entered she saw no one was watching her, she sighed and began to move.
However as soon as she pulled her plinth from the door it closed with a loud, shrill squeak that rang throughout the hall, the ponies that were there looked up from their books and stared at her, “Great, you were doing so well Fizzlepop! ".
Fizzlepop gave an embarrassed smile and then continued walking with her head down.
When she was far enough away she looked up and saw that she had ended up in the literature section, in fact she wasn't looking for anything specific, she had come to see if there was something new she hadn't read yet .
She began to walk slowly among the bookcases, she carefully scrolled through each book reading its title, sometimes she took one and leafed through it, if she liked it she would put it on her back or she would simply put it back.
She had spent over an hour scrolling through the books, she had taken three, one of poetry while the other two of fiction.
She was absorbed in her thoughts until a strange noise coming from the other side of the bookcase attracted her attention: it seemed to be clogs that repeatedly banged on the wooden floor.
She turned to the other side of the bookcase and saw what was the source of the noise: a filly was hovering on her hind hooves as she stretched up as far as possible, her left front hoof leaning against a shelf while the other was pointed to a book she couldn't reach even though she was jumping.

Fizzlepop walked near to her, "Can I help you?" she asked the filly politely.
"Yes, thank you, I have to get that book off the shelf but I can't get there," the land pony said without even looking at her.
Fizzlepop activated her horn and grabbed the book with unstable magic, then levitated it into the child's hooves.
“Thank you very much, who do I have to…. AAAHHHHH ”the filly screamed when she saw Fizzlepop's face.
The little girl fell backwards, releasing the book she had just given her.
Fizzlepop tried to get closer to help her up but as she reached out her hoof she slapped him off.
Fizzlepop immediately retracted her paw "Hey what are you doing ?! I'm trying to help you! " she said in a voice a little too loud.
However the filly did not listen to her and ran away screaming, “HELP! A MONSTER WANTS TO KILL ME!” Her screams echoed throughout the library.

Fizzlepop was shocked by what happened, “Wonderful! I managed to scare a little girl. " she thought as she put back the book that had fallen to the ground.
However, after putting it away, she heard the sound of hooves approaching, in a few moments she was surrounded by a group of ponies and among them was the filly from before.
Fizzlepop looked around her and noticed that both sides of the corridor were blocked by ponies looking at her and whispering to each other.
"Is that the monster that frightened the little girl?"
"It's not a monster, it's a unicorn, but it actually looks like a monster."
"Look at her horn, it's broken!"
"Who knows how she got those scars, it doesn't look good."
"But that's the princess !?"
"She wasn't dead?"
"Is she a zombie ?!"

Their comments rained down on her like hot needles, each of it hurting her deeply; Fizzlepop was trying to make itself smaller under the incessant tide of whispers coming from the ponies.
It really hurt to hear them talk about her, like she wasn't there, she just wanted to disappear. “Why did I come here? Why didn't I stay home? Please stop! " she thought as she began to cry.

As if that weren't enough someone pulled out a camera and took a picture of her blinding her with a flash.
"She is the princess!" said the stallion who had the camera in his hooves.
Hearing this, the ponies approached her and surrounded her, putting her in the corner and asking questions.
"Princess, what happened to you?"
"Princess, where are your wings?"
"Princess, you can still use magic?"
Between one question and another, flashes lit up the mare which had thrown herself on the ground with her hind legs close to her belly and the front ones covered her face.

"I want to get out of here, I want you to stop, let me go!"
Fizzlepop couldn't find an escape from the ponies that were attacking her, she subconsciously lit her horn.
"I want to leave, I want to disappear, I want to go home!" she thought of her intently as she began to feel a severe headache.

The ponies that surrounded her had not noticed her horn that had begun to emit jolts and sparks.
Fizzlepop began to feel sick as she felt the headache increase in intensity, the lights began to flash and the ground shook imperceptibly.
With the same speed of lightning crossing the sky, Fizzlepop detonated her magic from her broken horn, she was enveloped in a ball of energy that knocked all the ponies away.
Stallions and mares flew and crashed into bookshelves, on the floor and on other furniture.
The windows shattered and the light bulbs exploded simultaneously.
Where there was Fizzlepop there was only a smoking crater left.

Fizzlepop had reappeared in the center of her room, suspended at a height of one meter; she didn't have time to realize it that she fell to the ground on her side.
However that didn't interest her because she was crying bitterly, tears flowing like a river as she sobbed and shivered.
From her horn had begun to come out a strange light fluorescent substance that shone with its own light.

The images are only to help you imagine the situation, try to adapt them to the story

The king and queen were having a meeting with diplomats who had come from overseas, they were talking about boring things like the handling of duties on goods, the percentage of earnings that went to the state and so on.
The boring speech was interrupted by a slight flickering of the windows and crystal chandeliers, everyone stopped and stiffened, they expected an earthquake would come but instead the shaking stopped abruptly after a loud thud coming from the floor above.

"I think we should postpone the speech until next time," said the king after rising from his chair.
"Of course, we better go too" said one of the diplomats, they were afraid that something dangerous was happening so it was better to remove the curtains as soon as possible.

They said goodbye and when the guests left, the couple went to the second floor, accompanied by four guards, two on each side.
Apparently the sound seemed to come from Fizzlepop's room.
The king went near the door and put his ear to listen.
He could hear someone crying, sobbing and moaning; he slowly opened the door and what he saw made his eyes widen: his daughter was lying on the ground in tears, her body was twitching and from the horn he could see a fluorescent substance was coming out, the floor on which she was lying was slightly blackened, there didn't seem to be any signs of fire but as if lightning had fallen into the room.

Her wife, who was behind him, ran to her daughter by throwing herself beside her
Brisk instead preferred to look around to see if there were any signs of intrusion, when he was sure he dismissed the guards who disappeared along the corridor.
He turned his gaze to the center of the room where his wife and daughter were hugging each other desperately, his heart broke.
He approached them and in the meantime took a look at Fizzlepop's body to make sure she wasn't hurt.

"Fizzlepop, my love, why are you crying?" he asked softly and gently.
Fizzlepop didn't answer, she remained attached to her mother as she was gently rocked.
"Don't you want to tell us?" Cherry asked again.
Again Fizzlepop didn't answer and continued to soak her shoulder with tears.
Brisk took a deep breath and then wrapped Cherry and Fizzlepop with his wings, "you know you can always count on mom and dad" he whispered in her ear, "we will always love you" added her mother.

The three stayed there for a few minutes until the crying stopped, the couple looked down and saddened at what they saw: Fizzlepop had fallen asleep on her mother's shoulder, her cheeks were streaked with tears and her expression, even if she was unconscious, it gave off pain.
They looked at each other for a second and then they levitated her on the bed, put her under the covers, Cherry took a cloth from the bathroom and wiped the drops of strange substance that had run down her neck, finally left the room.

Cherry and Brisk remained standing in the wide corridor.
"I've never seen her cry like this, what could possibly have happened?" Cherry asked as she approached her husband, seeing Fizzlepop so it saddened them too.
"I really don't know my love, you said she was out to go to the library, something may have happened." Brisk said as he wrapped a wing around her.
"Maybe someone told her something bad or they treated her badly," added her husband.
The discussion was interrupted by the arrival of a butler, "Sire, here is the mayor who wishes to confer with you"
"And why is he here?" asked the king.
"He says something happened in the town library, apparently the princess is involved." answered the butler.
Brisk opened his eyes and swallowed, his face had an expression of concern, if the mayor had come to speak it would not have been any good.

Chapter 8: Whispers (Part 2)

She was again in front of the entrance of the cave, the moon shone in the starry night, behind her there was the dense forest that hid the unknown.
She looked at her body: the wings were there, the horn too, the scars had disappeared.
That could only mean one thing ... "Not again!"
"Grrrrrrrr" she heard the familiar roar of the beast that haunted her nightmares.
Unintentionally, Fizzlepop's legs moved to carry her forward to the cave.
“No no no! I don't want to, I don't care about my friends, they will betray me! " she screamed aloud in hopes that her body would stop.

She was getting closer and closer to the cave, the entrance was getting bigger as if a giant monster was opening its jaws to devour her.
Fizzlepop tried in every way to escape the inevitable fate, "Please, I don't want to suffer, no more pain!"
"Grrrrr" the Ursa appeared in front of her and grabbed her with one paw, then grabbed her wings with the other.
Fizzlepop closed her eyes, she was preparing for the hallucinating pain that was about to come.

She waited a few seconds but nothing happened, she opened her eyes and saw that the setting had changed, this time she was in the public library.
In front of her there was a figure that made her shiver, it seemed to be a filly, but it had no face or mane, it looked like a mannequin.
The filly turned and disappeared behind the bookcase.
"Hey, where are you going?" she asked, but as soon as she took a step forward, from where the figure of the filly had disappeared, a dozen other mannequins appeared in the form of stallions and mares.
Fizzlepop stepped back and looked behind her, even from there a group of figures appeared.
She had been surrounded and the strange beings were approaching. "Stay back!" she tried to drive them away, but they didn't stop.
Fizzlepop tried to light the horn but as soon as she channeled the energy the top exploded and shattered.
"Ahhhhh" Fizzlepop screamed in pain as she slumped to the ground.
She heard the sound of the hoofs very close to her, raised her head and saw that they had surrounded her.
"Look what she has become"
"She's a monster"
"She does not deserve to be among us"
"She is a cripple"
"You are useless"
Fizzlepop began to hear the whispers, the voices did not seem to come directly from the mannequins that had surrounded her, but echoed in the air and every second the volume increased.
"Enough, I want to wake up!" thought Fizzlepop as she lay on the ground with her hooves on her head, the shadows of the ponies looming over her.
"GO AWAY!" Fizzlepop screamed at the strange figures, her horn began to emit strong electric shocks and sparks.
Magic exploded from her horn, flooding everything with white light, and then ... total darkness.

Fizzlepop stood up suddenly, felt a severe headache and fell back on the pillow.
She waited a few seconds until the pain passed, opened her eyes and saw that she was in her room.
"How is it possible? I was in the public library. ”She thought as she calmed down.
She looked at the clock, it showed noon.
"Maybe it was all a dream, a fruit of my subconscious."

She slowly got out of bed and went to the bathroom to drink some water, then looked in the mirror and saw that she already had contact lenses on her.
"I will have forgotten to take them off last night."
She combed her mane and then went down to the dining room.
Her parents were already waiting for her, they were sitting at the table and were already eating.
"Well wake up Fizzlepop, come and eat, there's your favorite dish: lasagna with eggplant and zucchini" said her mother.
Fizzlepop went to sit at the table and a waiter brought her plate.

The three sat eating in silence for a few minutes until her mother spoke.
"So, how did your visit to the public library?"
Fizzlepop stopped eating, "So it wasn't a dream."
"It went fine" she lied, she didn't want to talk about it.
As soon as she finished saying it, her father cleared his throat quite clearly.
"We need to talk, just the three of us, alone." he said aloud, he wasn't talking to Fizzlepop but rather to all the other ponies present.
Immediately the waiters, cooks and guards left the room.
“Fizzlepop, we know what happened, yesterday we found you in your room crying bitterly, your mother and I stayed with you until you fell asleep. Also shortly after the mayor came to visit us, he told us about your explosion of magic in the library ”he said sternly.
"I can explain ..." Fizzlepop was immediately interrupted by her father.
“Let me finish Fizzlepop! It is very serious, over twenty ponies were injured, including a filly, in addition half of the public library was destroyed. What do you have to say in your defense? " he finished saying as he looked hard at her daughter.
"Darling, you shouldn't be so strict" her mother tried to calm him down.
Brisk looked into her eyes and then gave a long sigh, his shoulders slumped and his eyes grew sadder.

"What happened Fizzlepop?" Brisk asked, this time with more calm and kindness.
"Yesterday I went to the library, I was trying to help a filly" Fizzlepop began to say "when she saw me she screamed and ran away, she said a monster wanted to kill her" she paused to take a deep breath, "shortly after the ponies surrounded me, they were whispering to each other, talking about me, my horn, and my scars. ”she said as her voice trailed off.
“I could hear them clearly, they said I was hideous, they talked about my appearance, my body and it hurt me, then someone started screaming and taking pictures, they recognized me. The ponies approached me and started bombarding me with questions, I didn't know what to do, I was in a panic. I just wanted to get out of there but I had no escape. ”she said as she began to sob.
“It hurt me, it reminded me of that night, they were on me, I couldn't understand anything anymore. Then I unconsciously activated the horn and from there I don't remember anything. " now Fizzlepop was crying, her mother had moved beside her to hug her.
"I didn't mean to hurt anyone, I swear to you dad, it wasn't my intention," she finished as she clung to Cherry.
"We know Fizzy, you wouldn't hurt a fly, I'm so sorry," her mother reassured her.

"However, that's not sufficient justification," her father said sternly.
"I know Dad, I didn't want to, the magic slipped out of my hooves," Fizzlepop replied as she emerged from her mother's embrace.
"Fizzlepop, you can't go on living in fear of what happened, it's been months since that night." Cherry whirled around and glared at him.
“Brisk! How can you say this ?! " she scolded him.
"Fizzlepop must understand that she is now an adult, she represents the royal family and soon she will become queen."
Fizzlepop stood up and yelled at them.
"Why do you treat me so?! You cannot understand the pain of losing the horn and wings, you cannot understand the anguish of dreaming every time that night, you cannot understand how the oppressive gaze of the other ponies makes you feel ... the feels of losing your purpose in life "
Fizzlepop ran away crying, left the dining room slamming the door.

"Fizzlepop, where do you think you're going ?!" he tried to call her, but she had already locked herself in her room.
Brisk sat back in his chair and took a deep breath, looked up and saw that his wife was looking at him with anger and disapproval.
“How could you yell at her like that !? You know what she went through, yet you took the liberty of telling her this, you disappoint me. " she told him in a serious voice.
Brisk thought for a few seconds. "What a fool I was, I told her that she could always count on her parents, yet I scolded her for something that was beyond my understanding. I'm a bad father. "
"You're right my love, I'm going to talk to her." he told.
“No, you haven't calmed down yet, first finish eating and then you will go and talk to her properly, if you have not solved it, tonight you will sleep on the sofa. Was I clear? " she replied, when she wanted she really knew how to impose herself on others, it was a side of her that he loved.

Half an hour had passed when Brisk got up from the table and the waiters had returned to clear the table.
He exited the room and then up the stairs to go to Fizzlepop's room, when he reached the door he knocked softly.
"Knock knock ..." Fizzlepop didn't answer, "Knock knock…." again no answer.
"Maybe she'll be asleep again, in fact she's been sleeping a lot lately."
Brisk lowered the handle and slid the door as slowly as possible.
He poked his head inside and looked in the direction of the bed, by that angle he couldn't see if anyone was sleeping there.
He opened the door enough for him to enter, walked over to the bed and saw that it was empty.
"Fizzlepop, are you here?" he said aloud, to answer him there was only the chirping of birds coming from outside.
"Where could she have gone?"

Brisk left the room and went to the guard at the end of the hall.
"Guard, have you seen the princess?"
"Yes your majesty, she went down to the first floor a short time ago." the guard answered quickly.
"Thanks for the information." the king turned one hundred and eighty degrees and went back downstairs.
"Certainly she went to the library."

When he arrived in front of the massive double doors of the library he knocked with a big knocker.
"Knock knock ..." no answer "Knock knock ..." he waited a few seconds.
"Probably she didn't hear me, the library is huge"
Brisk opened the door on the right and entered, he was at the beginning of the huge central corridor, on the sides there were two floors of bookcases, all filled with books, both new and old, sorted by type and name.
The king began to walk forward, looked around and was astonished as every time he went in there.
The library extended for over 500 meters in length and 300 in width, every 20 meters on both sides there were other smaller corridors that crossed perpendicular to the main one.
At the end there was a huge circular room that was called "Chamber of Wisdom". The walls were covered with bookcases, at the center there was a large round table made of marble and surrounding it were chairs made of precious wood, inlaid and stuffed with silk.
The room was illuminated by a dome with a skylight over 10 meters in diameter in the center that let in the sunlight.
Six crystal chandeliers descended from the ceiling and were switched on when there was little light.

The entire library had been built centuries ago when the school did not yet exist.
It was used to prepare and educate the nobles and princes for the role of command, they had to have profound knowledge in politics, diplomacy, geography, history, literature, economics and law.
In addition, it also allowed us to learn other things and satisfy the thirst for knowledge.
However, nowadays the only person to use it was Fizzlepop.

Reference image for the main corridor, imagine that every 20 meters there are openings on both sides, they are the entrance to the side corridors, at the end there is the "Chamber of Wisdom"
As always, the images are only a guide to allow you to imagine the scene in progress, try to adapt them to the story.

"Fizzlepop, are you here?" Brisk yelled.
His voice echoed throughout the library echoing.
"I'm here," he heard Fizzlepop's voice behind him.
"Ahhhh!" Brisk was startled by jumping forward.
"Damn Fizzy, you scared me." he told her as he turned to look at her.
Fizzlepop seemed to stare at him impassively, yet he noticed the slightly red eyes and moist cheeks that she had been crying until recently.

Brisk was about to start talking but his daughter immediately cut him off.
"Dad, I need a favor," she said flatly.
"Certainly my child, tell me too"
Fizzlepop turned and pointed to a book that stood about four meters high.
"I need that book, I would have taken it with magic but it weighs too much, I could have flown and grabbed it with my hooves but I don't even have wings," she explained as she looked down sadly.
Brisk seeing his disconsolate daughter felt chest pain "What a fool I was, she was right, I can't understand."
Brisk lit the horn and grabbed the book with magic, it was pretty light for him, but for Fizzlepop it have been like lifting the marble table in the middle of the room.
He levitated it towards his daughter.
"Put it on my back," Fizzlepop said simply.
Only now did Brisk notice that she had a stack of balanced books on the croup.
"If you want, I'll bring it to you." he proposed her.
"Okay, do as you like." his daughter answered flatly.

Fizzlepop went to the center of the room and unloaded the books on the table, Brisk levitated the large tome next to the others.
He stood for a few seconds watching her as she sat down and opened a book.
"Look Fizzlepop, I wanted to apologize for how I treated you earlier, I was a fool and you were right to yell at me, it's just that we're all anxious lately, your mom and I are really sorry and sorry for what happened." Fizzlepop looked at him.
“It's just that you are now 18 years old, soon there will be your coronation and I am afraid, I am afraid that the other nobles will judge you, I am afraid that you will judge yourself unsuitable. And deep down I fear that with everything you are going through it is not quite the right time for your ascent. " he finished saying.

Fizzlepop sighed.
"I'm sorry too for yelling at you, I know I should forget what happened, but every time I look in the mirror I think about it, and every time people look at me like I'm a monster and a crippled makes me feel bad, makes me feel like maybe I should have died in that cave… that night I lost what made me feel special, what distinguished me, and even my only two friends. I feel as if life no longer makes sense, I spend my days studying and learning things, but nothing can fill the holes in my soul. " Fizzlepop said as a tear ran down her right eye.
"In addition, I remembered only a few months ago that the moment of ascension would soon come, I tried to learn everything possible about how to govern a country, in this way maybe I would have compensated for the fact that I am no longer an alicorn, but certainly the nobles will not allow a cripple like me to ascend the throne. " she added.

Brisk felt his heart break again at his daughter's words, he didn't know what to say.
He sat down and then spread his forelegs. "Hug?" he said with a wistful smile.
Fizzlepop grinned and lunged at her father. "I love you dad," she said as she rubbed her nose on his chest.
Brisk squeezed her tight. "I love you too Fizzy."
They held each other for a few seconds and then Fizzlepop took a step back. "Thanks Dad"
"Not at all my baby," he replied fondly.
Brisk got up and left the library to talk to her wife, it was better not to keep her waiting.

Fizzlepop was left alone in the Chamber of Wisdom.
"I'm glad I made things right with dad." she thought happily.
She read for a few hours until the sun went down

"Knock knock ..." Fizzlepop jerked her head up as she heard someone knock on the library door.
She got up from the chair and stretched quickly, then trotted through the long central corridor, when she opened the door she saw that there was an attendant.
"Yes, what is it?" Fizzlepop asked
"I came to inform you that dinner is ready." said the other mare.
"Oh, I didn't realize it was so late, tell my parents I'm coming soon."
"Certainly princess" replied the servant as she bowed and then disappeared down the corridor.

Fizzlepop closed the door again and went back to where she had been reading before, she put away the books apart from the bigger one and finally left the library to go to the dining room.
When she arrived her parents were seated but the plates hadn't arrived yet, she went to sit in her place.
"I see you've been in the library for a long time," her mother said.
"Yes, I was reading interesting things, I didn't realize the time was passing."
"You remind me a lot of your father," she said fondly as she recalled distant memories, "he spent all day in that library, from morning to night."
“Your mother is right, nothing was moving me from the books, apart a special mare,” Brisk said with a chuckle.

The happy conversation was interrupted by the arrival of the waiters and the cook who brought the dishes, for dinner there was asparagus soup and focaccia with tomatoes and parsley.
The three began to eat in silence until her mother started a new speech.
"So Fizzy, are you getting ready for tomorrow?"
Fizzlepop looked at her puzzled. "Prepared for what?"
"For the school." Cherry answered as if it were obvious.
Fizzlepop froze for a moment, she had completely forgotten about school, the summer had passed so quickly, she had not prepared herself to face her classmates, but above all Glitter Drops and Spring Rain.
What would she tell them? Should she have simply ignored what happened, resumed being friends as before?
No, that possibility has been lost in the moment they abandoned her, the moment they turned their backs on her and ran away without her.
Their friendship was worth nothing.
"Yes, I have already packed the backpack with the books." she answered her uncertainly to her mother.

They didn't show it but Cherry and Brisk were worried about what might happen, and certainly the incident in the public library had made them even more anxious.
The three finished eating and Fizzlepop decided she wanted to go to sleep early, but the king and queen would go to bed later to take care of the chores left unfinished during the day.

When Fizzlepop got to her room she headed for the bathroom to take a shower, then took off the contact lenses and brushed her teeth thoroughly.
However, when she got under the covers, after turning off the lights, she struggled to fall asleep.
She was afraid of what could happen at school, she was afraid of what her peers would tell her, certainly before they were contemptuous of her, who knows how they will react.

With these thoughts in her head Fizzlepop fell asleep in the hope that tomorrow holds a better future ... even if the expectations were quite low.

Chapter 9: School (Part 1)

“Knock knock… knock knock…. princess?" the waitress knocked on Fizzlepop's door.
"Knock knock .... princess? Time to wake up, you have to go to school today. "
Fizzlepop suddenly opened her eyes, looked at the watch and saw that it marked 7 in the morning.
"Damn, I fell asleep late yesterday."
"Yes, I'm awake, I'll be there soon." Fizzlepop replied as she got out of bed and stretched quickly.
"Certainly princess, I'm going to get the wagon prepared." the waitress answered.
Fizzlepop went to the bathroom and did the usual routine: contact lenses, teeth, mane.
She was about to leave the room when she stopped.
"Maybe it's better that I put something on, I don't want it to happen like in the library."
She turned and went to the wardrobe, initially she had decided on a cloak but it was too obvious, she could use a suit, but it would have been ridiculous to go to school, she looked around for a few seconds until she found what she needed.
She had a gray sweatshirt between her hooves large enough to make it difficult to see whether or not she had wings, it had a hood that could have hide the horn, was long enough to cover her front legs to the knee, yet left the rest of her body uncovered starting from the hips, so the hips without cutie marks would remain visible, but she was used to it, and the scars on the leg that had grabbed the ursa.
"Better than nothing."
Fizzlepop took her backpack and put them on her back and then left her room to go to the dining room.

When she arrived her parents were already seated and were drinking tea, on her plates there were slices of bread and strawberry jam.
"Good morning Fizzlepop." said her father.
"Good morning dad, good morning mom" she greeted both parents and sat down after putting down the bag.
"You're going back to school today, aren't you happy?" her mother asked.
Fizzlepop wasn't in the mood to see her classmates again, she would have preferred to live the summer holidays forever, she had gotten used to being completely alone.
"Yeah" she said, lying like the night before.
"Why do you use the sweater?" she asked again.
"I was cold" she tried to come up with an excuse, her father obviously had not fallen for it.
Brisk put the cup down and looked into her eyes.
"Fizzlepop, you put on it to cover your wounds right?" he said softly so as not to be heard by the waiters.
Fizzlepop looked down and nodded.
"I understand, just try to bear if something happen like two days ago."
"Yes Dad, I'll do my best," Fizzlepop replied, she actually didn't know if she could do as she said, she still didn't feel strong enough, and she feared she never would be.

Fizzlepop ate quickly then she prepared to leave, she put the hood on her head and the saddlebags on her back.
When she went out the front door she saw that in front of her there was the royal carriage that she used to go to school, attached to it were two stallions.
Fizzlepop had always been against using that carriage, she would have preferred a simpler one so as not to attract attention.
She sighed and climbed aboard.
"Good morning, you can leave." she said to the two ponies in front of the wagon.
"Good morning height, let's leave immediately." answered the stallion on the right.
As they said they started walking, then they went to a trot and then to a gallop.
Although they moved at high speed, the carriage trembled little, thanks to the special suspensions she had designed a few years earlier, the idea was to use oil-infused suspensions with magic that allowed them to automatically adjust and make them more or less elastic depending on the terrain they were on.
She remembered how proud her father was of her when she presented him the idea.
In fact, Fizzlepop had created many useful inventions that combined technology and magic: lenses that did not fog up, shoes for walking on clouds temporarily, clothes with a built-in deodorant function, automatic lamps and other things that were now used throughout the world.
These memories of it gave her a bitter taste in her mouth.

"We have arrived princess."
Fizzlepop was awakened by her thoughts, she turned her gaze to the right and saw that she was in front of the school.
"Here I am finally." She took a deep breath, "Brace yourself Fizzlepop, you can do it."
Fizzlepop put together all the determination she had and got off the wagon.
"Thanks, you can go back to the palace." she thanked the guards who had brought her.
She began to walk towards the entrance of the school, in front of her there was the gate to the courtyard and above it was written "High school for future leaders".

Reference image for "School for Future Leaders", imagine the name written above the gate.
The images serve only as a reference point for the current scene, adapt them to the story.

When she went through the gate she noticed that there were no other ponies outside the school. "Great, I was late on the first day."
Fizzlepop walked quickly to the school and then walked to her class, when she was in front of the door she paused for a moment.
All the determination had disappeared as she was walking, now she was afraid, afraid of inquiring looks, afraid of whispers, and afraid of facing her "friends".
"Come on! I can't escape right now! "
Fizzlepop slowly lowered the handle and pushed the door, the whole class was in front of her, the teacher was sitting at the desk while she was making roll call, the pupils all sitting at the desks chatting to each other, in the back there they were Glitter Drops and Spring Rain; the only free counter was the one in the corner near the two of them.

"Hello, sorry for the delay." Fizzlepop said shyly, she hoped no one would notice her but in vain.
All the ponies fell silent and looked at her, Fizzlepop was frozen in place in silence.
"Good morning princess, we haven't seen you for a long time, you can go sit down." the professor said flatly.
Fizzlepop moved to the vacant desk, she had her head slightly lowered and kept her gaze below the line of the eyes, she could already hear the inquiring glances and whispers of the students.
"I thought she was dead."
"Why did they promote it?"
“Did you see the scars on the leg? Who knows what he's hiding under the sweatshirt. "
Fizzlepop could already feel the pain creep into her soul.
"Hold on."
When she got to her desk she took the bags off her back and put them on the hook, then she quickly sat down, pulled out the book and kept her head down.

Half an hour had passed since the lesson began, the teacher was explaining on the blackboard the equations of tangents to a curve, although it was a very difficult topic, Fizzlepop was not paying attention, it was something she had already studied on her own.
However, the other pupils were also not very interested, their attention was on something else: the return of the princess.
From that fateful night no one saw her until today, according to many she was dead but it had not been officially said, according to others she had been injured so badly as to make her a vegetable.
Some had tried to ask Smooky Jaster but he lied saying that he had saved the life of the princess and killed the Ursa, obviously no one believed it.
They tried to ask Ebony Rose but she knew next to nothing as she ran away first for help.
Glitter Drops and Spring Rain didn't answer any questions and were reluctant to talk about it.
The only ones who knew what had happened and the current situation of the princesses had been sworn to say absolutely nothing, the penalty would have been the accusation of treason.
Seeing her this morning after a long time had come as a surprise to many, especially because she wore a sweatshirt when it was still hot outside, and because of her visible scars.
The pupils had far-fetched many theories, some of which were close to the truth, while others were far-fetched, like someone saying the princess was a cyborg, or that she was a ghost or a zombie.

“Driiiinggg” the bell rang, marking the end of the lesson.
All the pupils got up and began to leave the class, at the next hour they had a chemistry laboratory.
Fizzlepop, Glitter and Spring came out last.
As Fizzlepop passed near the other two she thought she saw Glitter open her mouth but then she closed it immediately and looked down.
Through the corridors you could see the scarred alicorn walking through the crowd, every now and then someone stopped to look at her, others accelerated their pace or tried to pass her as far as possible, behind her were the two green and blue unicorns talking among them in a low voice.

When she got to the laboratory he saw that almost everyone was wearing a lab coat.
"Damn, I can't put the smock over the sweatshirt." Fizzlepop did not want to reveal what was under the hood, so she did the only thing that came to her mind: she went to one of the less visible positions and hoped that the professor would not notice.
Unfortunately, in the post in front of her they were Spring and Glitter, they could practically look into her eyes, however no one looked up at her.

Counter model of the chemistry laboratory, on one side there is Fizzlepop while on the other Spring and Glitter.
The images serve only as a reference point to imagine the current scene, adapt them to the story.

During the lesson you could only hear the professor's voice, he was very stern and did not want to hear enyone when he spoke.
"You can start." he said after explaining the procedure for the laboratory experience.
Immediately the pupils moved and began to take test tubes and flasks as they talked.
Fizzlepop, had remained silent, both because she had no group mates, and because she was concentrating on the experiment, chemistry was a subject she liked very much.
"Fizzlepop?"
She was being careful not to spill too much.
"Fizzlepop?"
She was just missing a drop.
"Fizzlepop?" said Spring Rain out loud.
Fizzlepop accidentally squeezed the pipette she had in her mouth and sprayed all the contents into the beaker: the experiment was ruined.
"What do you want?!" she screamed aloud as she raised her head, sparks came out of her horn but could not be seen under the hood, it seemed that there was a light that illuminated her face in a mournful way and made the scar on her eye stand out, she had learned to endure frequent headaches.
"Sorry we bothered you, we just wanted to ask you to pass that flask behind you."
Spring and Glitter had their ears down and looked scared.
Fizzlepop looked behind her and saw the flask on the counter, then turned around again.
"Take it by yourself." she spat harshly as she lowered her head again and started the experiment all over again.

"Driiiinggg" the bell rang and as before the pupils cleared the laboratory quickly, even Glitter Drops and Spring Rain went out with the others.
The next hour went in a similar way to the first, Fizzlepop had sat on the sidelines with her head down, the chatter of the students had faded and they paid more attention.

The hour was over and the politics teacher had finished giving homework..
Fizzlepop took from her backpack a bag with dried banana flakes inside, they were her favorite snack.
"Fizzlepop?" called Glitter Drops.
"What do you want?" she replied coldly.
"Spring Rain and I wanted to talk to you, in private."
Fizzlepop saw that there were still some ponies in the classroom, she left the classroom without even checking that they were following her, she went to the back of the school where there was usually no one.
When they arrived Fizzlepop sat down and began to eat dried bananas, Glitter and Spring looked at each other until the green unicorn decided to start the discussion.
"We wanted to know how you are." she asked softly.
"Well, certainly not thanks to you." she replied contemptuously as she chewed and looked away.
"Listen, Spring Rain and I wanted to apologize for what happened that night, we were scared and didn't know what to do." Fizzlepop stopped chewing and turned her head towards them, she had a look of anger.
"You weren't afraid, you were selfish, you abandoned me, you turned your back on me!" she yelled in their face as her horn began to sizzle, "I would never do that to you, that's not how friends behave."
"Sorry Fizzlepop, but really what could we have done ?!" Spring said, raising her voice.
“I don't care what you could have done, but what you didn't do! I've always trusted you, I've always thought you loved me, but apparently I was a fool to think so. You are like everyone else, you only approached to have the favor of the royal family. " she explained as her heart began to beat madly.
"It is not true! We are your friends, we didn't do it on purpose. " she tried to say.
"Hahahaha" Fizzlepop laughed coldly "yet you didn't even look back when I called you, you ignored my screams to the last, all to save your skin." she blamed the two.
Spring Rain took a step forward, of the three she had always been the most irascible.
“What should we have done? Should we have been killed with you ?! Did you want us to shield you? We are not your personal guards! " she answered her in the same tone.
Fizzlepop felt the murderous instinct rising from the depths; she raised her head and straightened her body, at this moment she was towering over both of them, her gaze expressed fury, from under the hood you could see bright flashes.
“Do you know what happened? What did that Ursa do to me while you ran away? " Spring looked at her hind legs.
“They are just a couple of scars! I don't understand why you get so angry. "
"I'll show you!" Fizzlepop said, looked into her eyes and lowered the hood revealing the broken horn and the scar on her eye.
"Oh my, this is awful!" Glitter Drops said without thinking, Fizzlepop glared at her and stepped back with her ears down.
"I didn't know, I'm sorry." Spring Rain tried to justify herself.
"Your apologies are of no use to me, they won't give me back my horn and wings, so you can go fuck yourself." she turned to leave.
"Hey, why are you talking to us like this, we're trying to apologize, you're the selfish one!" yelled Spring Rain, Fizzlepop didn't listen to her and went back to class.
For the rest of the day they didn't talk or look.

"Driiinggg" the bell that marked the end of the last lesson had rang.
The other ponies were eager to get home and therefore hurried out of the school.
Fizzlepop went out last, when she crossed the entrance gates for the second time that day, the same carriage was waiting for her.
She climbed aboard and the stallions began to move quickly.
When she finally got home she quickly got out of the wagon and went inside, as it was half past one she went to the dining room.

She was surprised when she opened the door, her parents were still sitting at the table.
"Hi mom, dad, why did you wait for me?" she asked as she sat down.
"We wanted to know how your return to school went."said her mother.
Fizzlepop didn't answer immediately, even she didn't know what to say.
"It went pretty well." she tried to lie.
Brisk had understood by now when her daughter lied, she had a tendency to move her left ear.
"Are you sure?" he asked her again giving her a dirty look.
Fizzlepop sighed.
"No, it didn't go well, I was late, everyone was looking at me and talking behind my back." she said quickly after looking down at her plate, today there was rice with artichokes and asparagus.
"But I did as you told me, I tried to ignore them, even if it still hurt." she added.
"You did well, Fizzy, you will see that over time they will stop." her mother reassured her.
"There is something else though." Brisk said.
"Well, I also talked to Spring Rain and Glitter Drops, or rather, I had a fight."
"It must have been hard to meet them again, especially after that night." Cherry said.
“Yeah, I don't think I want to go to school anymore, I don't enjoy anymore, I feel oppressed and always out of place, I wish I could just study on my own. I am already ahead with my studies so it would be enough for me to take the final exams. " Fizzlepop suggested.

Brisk and Cherry looked at each other disconsolately.
"I understand your reasons, but as we have already told you it would be a shame, since that school has existed all the nobles and royals have studied there, and then maybe it's a bit early to decide, it's only the first day." her father told her.
“Why can't I be like you and mom? You've studied in the library and yet you are king and queen, ”Fizzlepop pouted.
"Fizzlepop, it's been centuries since your mother and I were your age, times have changed and so have laws and traditions, the Iponia elite expects wealthy ponies to rule them, it would be strange for them that the future queen did not go to school for future leaders. " explained her father.
"It's such a stupid thing, I'm way ahead of my teammates, I've always worked hard, but now it's all gone along with my horn and wings." Fizzlepop paused. "When I am queen the first thing I will do is cancel these useless rules." she finished saying.

For the rest of the meal they said nothing more.
"I think I'll go take a nap and then stay in the library," Fizzlepop announced after a yawn.
"Of course, sleep well." his mother said warmly.
Fizzlepop went to her room, took off her contact lenses and crawled under the covers; in a few minutes she fell asleep.

Chapter 10: School (Part 2)

"Beep beep ... beep beep ... beep beep ..." Fizzlepop slowly opened her eyes and slammed the socket on the alarm clock placed on the bedside table, she had decided to use it so as not to have to be called by the attendants.
She yawned and then got out of bed, stretched and glanced at the alarm clock, it said six thirty in the morning.
SHe went to the bathroom and washed her face with ice water, when she raised her head she stared at herself in the mirror.
"Second day Fizzlepop, you can do it." she sighed and resumed routine as the day before.
SHe put on her contact lenses, combed her mane and took the sweatshirt from the hanger near the door.
This time she took more time to have breakfast, she enjoyed the brioche with vanilla and chocolate cream.
After saying goodbye to her parents and leaving the house, she got on the cart pulled by the usual two stallions, during the journey she thought about what it was waiting for today.
In the first hour there was biology, the second language and then politics, after the break there would be law and history.

In a short time the carriage arrived at destination, they stopped and Fizzlepop got out thanking the stallions; when she turned she felt the anguish was returning.
As she crossed the courtyard she saw some ponies were gathered in groups, it seemed they were minding their own business but Fizzlepop noticed that some were looking at her and motioned for their companions to turn around.
"It will be a long day."
Fizzlepop entered the classroom, luckily today the pupils did not have the scene of the day before and just gave her a dirty look and then went back to discussing each other, she passed near Spring Rain and Glitter Drops, they didn't even say hello.
"I can see how much they wanted to be my friends." she snorted and went to sit in her place.

The first two hours passed quickly enough, she had even fallen asleep in the middle of the second; when the bell rang she got up from the chair to stretch and then sat down again awaiting the arrival of the professor of politics.
Three minutes had already passed, finally someone had arrived, but it was not who she expected.
"Hello, I must inform you that your politics teacher is absent, so today I will be your alternate." a stallion had entered with a whistle hanging from his neck, sweat bracelets on his forehead and paws.
"I'm a physical education teacher, so we're going to go to the gym." he added.
Fizzlepop froze, she hadn't expected to have physical education and she certainly didn't feel like it.
"Curse!"
The pupils got up and followed the teacher, Fizzlepop was left behind in the group thinking of a way to escape the lesson.
“I could say I'm sick, but it wouldn't work, you need a certificate. I could hide, but they would certainly notice my absence." she didn't really know what to come up with.

When they arrived the teacher gave the order to run to the gym, everyone had started except Fizzlepop who had remained on the sidelines in the hope that they would simply ignore her.
"Fizzlepop!" she heard the teacher calling her.
"Yes professor?" she replied as her body tensed.
"Why aren't you running like your teammates?" he asked.
"Well, I'm not feeling very well." she said softly.
"Do you have a certificate?" she asked sternly.
Fizzlepop shook her head to say no.
"Then you better start running."

Reluctantly she began to trot, her companions passed giving her a dirty look before overtaking her.
The warm-up lasted five minutes until the teacher whistled, everyone stopped and were out of breath, Fizzlepop too was tired even though she ran more slowly, but the sweatshirt made her sweat a lot.
"Great, now that you've warmed up for good we're going to play dodgeball, you know the rules, so team up and then get started." explained the instructor.

In a short time the teams had been formed and Fizzlepop was the last choice.
The game consisted of trying to hit the enemy opponents using a ball and throwing it with magic or with the legs and head, the opponent must try not to get caught, the ball can be parried in the same way it is thrown, however it is much easier with magic.

The game had recently started, although she was tall enough Fizzlepop still managed to dodge the balls, this was due to the fact that she had trained during the summer even after the end of rehabilitation, over time she had begun to appreciate physical training.
The number of players was dropping from both teams, but in his they were decreasing faster.
Fizzlepop was starting to get really tired, she could feel the sweat on her fur, her muscles were weakening.
"Come on, only she is missing." Fizzlepop heard a member of the opposing team scream, she looked around her and saw that she was the only survivor of her team.
On the other side of the field there were three ponies: two stallions and a mare.
The one in the center threw the ball at her with the use of magic, Fizzlepop noticed it and was able to send the ball back with one paw going to hit an opponent who left the field sulking, there were two of them left.
"Come on, you can beat her!"
"You can't let her defeat you!"
Some ponies were cheering for the opposing team, Fizzlepop looked back and saw that no one was cheering for her, some were ignoring the match while others seemed to have envious looks, Glitter Drops and Spring Rain were watching her unmoved.

Fizzlepop turned forward again and was shocked by what she saw: an opponent was channeling magic around the balloon to deliver a charged shot.
She quickly realized that if she got a direct hit it would probably hurt her, she saw that the others seemed to have a grin on their face, they were happy to see what would happen.

Fizzlepop tried to move quickly but as soon as she tried to lift one leg she felt that something was holding her back, looked down and noticed that all four hooves were enveloped in a bright glow, looked up and saw the mare had the horn lit, she was holding her.
"Bastards!" she didn't have time to finish the thought that the stallion threw the ball with all his power.
Fizzlepop attempted to block the ball with a magical shield but as soon as she did so she had a severe headache and the shield shattered.
The ball hit Fizzlepop in the face and she fell to the ground dazed, from her position she could see the stares of her teammates, most were trying to hold back laughter, some had looks of disappointment, when she met her gaze with Glitter Drops and Spring Rain these turned their heads with their ears lowered.
At that moment Fizzlepop felt a strong pain, not where she had been hit, but in her soul.

She lay on the ground for a few seconds and then staggered up, when she managed to stabilize she noticed that the ponies were no longer laughing or talking, they were all looking at her, their faces were a mixture of surprise and disgust.
It didn't take Fizzlepop to realize that they were looking at her forehead, she looked up and noticed that her hood had come off showing her horn still sizzling.
She immediately put it back on her head, however the pupils remained motionless looking at her.

The silence was broken by the professor whistling to mark the end of the lesson.
"Okay, the lesson is over, go take a shower and then you are free for the break."
The pupils began to move slowly to go to the showers.
Fizzlepop had been sitting in the middle of the gym, her head down.
"Fizzlepop!" the instructor called her as he approached her.
“Why are you still here? Go take a shower. " he said sternly.
"Professor, I'm not sweaty, I don't need a shower." Fizzlepop looked for an excuse not to have to take the hoodie off.
"I don't care, the rules are clear, and now get moving before the bell rings." he answered her brusquely.

Fizzlepop walked into the locker room, put the sweatshirt on a hanger, and headed for the showers.
She could hear that on the other side the mares were talking to each other.
"Hey, have you seen the princess?"
"Yes, I didn't know she had a broken horn!"
"I can't wait to tell my friends about it."
"Me to my boyfriend."
Fizzlepop stood motionless in front of the door with her paw resting on the handle, she didn't want to go in, right now she just wanted to go home after what happened in the gym.
"Now it makes no sense to continue hiding, they have already seen everything and certainly the whole school will find out." she swallowed the lump in her throat and opened the door.

When she entered all the mares turned and stared at her, Fizzlepop had expected this reaction, certainly the scarred body use was not a lookout.
She moved quickly to one of the free showers trying to ignore the looks of pity and disgust that her companions had.
She reached the shower, she turned the valves grabbing them with her clogs and the water began to flow, it was cold but she didn't care, she didn't like the hot water ran over the scars.
Every moment that passed and dhe felt her probing looks upon her, she felt that her soul was being torn apart, her sadness was devouring her, she felt she could cry but tried to hold back the tears.

Strangely all the others soon finished washing and quickly left her room leaving her alone.
Fizzlepop remained motionless for a few seconds, then sat down slowly and began to cry and sob, she could no longer hold back her feelings. She remained under the cold jet of the shower, maybe it would have washed away the anguish that she felt in her wounded soul.

“Fizzlepop, are you in there? Hurry up." she heard the teacher's voice calling her from outside.
Fizzlepop tried to calm down, she took deep breaths to stop the sobs, the tears were washed away with water.
In a few minutes she was able to calm down, now she felt drained and tired, she really wanted to go home.
She got out of the shower and went to a place to dry off, they were kind of showers but they let out hot air, so she could dry very quickly.
When she was dry she went back to the locker rooms, it was empty and the only thing left was her sweatshirt, being still wet with sweat she decided to go dry it with a hair dryer.
After drying it she put it on, the warmth of the fabric on her fur was comforting, she made her forget for a second what had happened.

Fizzlepop walked out of the gym, now she had a 20 minute break.
"Grrouggrrr." she felt her stomach growl.
"I know, I'm hungry too."
Fizzlepop went back to class to get her snack, in the corridors she kept her head down and tried to walk close to the walls, apparently the voice of her horn was already spreading as she can heard talking only about that.
"And to think that they used to ignore me completely."
When she got to class she went to check her backpack, she rummaged inside it but she couldn't find her bag with dried bananas.
"Perfect, the day is going from good to better." she snorted and sat down.
"Grrouggrrr" her stomach insisted.
She did not want to go to the cafeteria, but she certainly could not remain on an empty stomach, she would have risked being heard during the lessons.
She took a deep breath and began to head towards the cafeteria, on the way she began to think about what would happen, for sure she would receive glances and whispers, but by now she was getting callus even if it hurt.

As soon as she entered the cafeteria what she had expected happened, she moved quickly to get in line.
She had almost reached the counter, the ponies kept glancing at her and those behind her had moved away slightly.
"What do you want?" the cashier asked her.
Fizzlepop turned to look at her but as her eyes met the mare's eyes widened.
"Some dried bananas please." Fizzlepop answered.
The cashier didn't move.
"Dried bananas." she repeated louder.
"Oh yes, sorry, I'll be right back." the mare disappeared behind the counter and returned shortly after with a package of dried bananas.
"Thanks." Fizzlepop said flatly and grabbed the sachet with her unstable magic.

As she was walking to find a free table she heard a pair of clogs following her.
"Hey princess, what happened to you?" she heard the loud voice of a stallion, apparently someone had the courage to ask her openly.
Fizzlepop ignored him and kept walking but after a few steps the stallion stepped in front of her blocking her passage.
"I asked you a question, princess." the way he called her showed no respect, but he said it in a mocking way.
Fizzlepop tried to overtake him but he kept moving left and right so as not to let her pass.
"Move away." she ordered the stallion.
"Otherwise? What do you do?" he provoked her.
"Great, all i needed was the bully." Fizzlepop did not want to respond to the provocation, she did not want to make a scene in the middle of the canteen.
"It's an order." she replied.
The bully laughed.
"You are no longer a princess, you are not even an alicorn."
Fizzlepop tried not to react, but she was beginning to feel annoyed at the words of the pony in front of her, while the students sitting at the tables stopped eating to watch the scene.

Fizzlepop tried to turn to leave but could not, other ponies had placed themselves behind her.
"And where do these come from ?!"
"Why don't you show us what you have under your sweatshirt?" said the conceited bully.
The anger she felt earlier began to intensify, right now she wanted to punch him in the face.
Fizzlepop turned, squared his shoulders, and walked over to him.
"Last warning, move immediately." sparks began to come out of her horn and illuminated her ,underlining her height.
The bully stepped back and then stopped, he wasn't going to look weak.
"You can't do anything to me, FizzlePOOP" he said the last word slowly and loudly.
"Yes that's right, you are worth nothing, you have no horn or wings, you even miss the cutie mark." he added as he took a step forward.
"You better leave now!" on Fizzlepop's face there was murderous rage, the sparks were flaring up.
"You can't do anything to me with that stump on your head, you're like an earth pony: useless." said the stallion, he ignore the warning.
"Who knows what a pain it must be for your parents to have a handicapped pony to keep up with." the bully continued to insult her without realizing what was about to happen.
"You're done." Fizzlepop said as she charged the horn with magic, her headache was intensifying but she didn't care.
When her horn was charged enough she threw the blow at the bully.
The stallion tried to raise a shield but it shattered immediately and was hit by a powerful electric shock.
The stallion fell to the ground writhing, "Ahhhhh! Please forgive me, I won't do it again!" he screamed for safety.
"Pathetic, you don't deserve my pity!" Fizzlepop was surprised by the words that came out of her mouth, but she didn't mind, in fact it was just what she thought of the bastard she had in front of her.
Fizzlepop resumed to strike him with more power than before, she was ecstatic to see the enemy suffer, on her face she had a sadistic smile.
The stallion on the ground kept squirming and screaming begging for mercy until he passed out and lay still.
There was a smell of burnt fur in the air.

The alicorn interrupted the flow of lightning, a fluorescent liquid began to come out of the horn and poured onto her face, Fizzlepop did not notice it and approached the body lying on the ground, put a hoof on the neck to see if there was a beat.
“He is still alive…. Unfortunately."
She looked up and saw that the ponies present were frozen, shocked by what had happened, the princess had electrocuted her bully almost to death.
"What's up!? Do you want some too ?!" she barked at those present.
Immediately all the students resumed what they were doing before, the two ponies behind her ran away with their tails between their legs.

Fizzlepop had calmed down, looked again at the stallion on the ground and noticed that the bag of dried bananas was nearby, she had dropped it without realizing it, she was about to pick it up but saw that the bananas inside were crushed, someone had dunks passing over them.
Fizzlepop felt a bitter taste in her mouth, but she didn't care that much, rather the hunger had been replaced by the satisfaction of having given that bastard a lesson, and above all of having shown others she could still use the magic and impose herself without be an alicorn.
In addition, she no longer felt any fear of being judged, she felt strong and confident.
Today it was a success on all fronts.

Fizzlepop picked up the envelope and threw it away, then went back to class, on the way she kept her head up and her shoulders straight, in this way it made clear her height above the others, she no longer cared about keeping the hood on her head. The passing ponies stepped aside with their ears lowered, the alicorn scared just the sight.

Chapter 11: Choice

The day went on without any other hitches, every now and then someone would glance at her but as soon as Fizzlepop noticed it, she strike them with her eyes turning on the horn.

"Driiiiinngg" the last hour bell rang, the students moved quickly to exit while Fizzlepop was last.
When she went out, as always, she found the carriage ready in front of the entrance to the courtyard, she got on board and the stallions began to tow.
When she got home she went to the dining room, her parents were waiting for her, they were sitting but they weren't eating, they seemed to be upset.
"Hi mom, dad." she greeted them both and went to sit down.
"Welcome back Fizzlepop, how did you go to school?" her mother asked.
"Well." she replied quickly

Brisk and Cherry looked at each other worriedly and then the king took a deep breath before speaking aloud.
"Let us." he only said and all the staff cleared the room, there were only the three alicorns sitting at the table.
"Fizzlepop, we have some troubling news, the principal called us this morning to tell us what happened, would you like to explain?"
Fizzlepop looked down. "So they already know, I didn't expect them to know so soon."
"I just defended myself, that's all." she explained.
Brisk bangs his clog on the table and stood up, he was really angry. "That's all?! You attacked a pony with magic! And on top of that, you continued until he passed out! Why the hell did you do that !? " he asked screaming.
"He provoked me, he insulted me, and I reacted as best I could, with ponies like him you can't think, the only way is to use the hard way!" Fizzlepop explained.
"It's not a good enough reason to hurt someone, in fact, you should never do what you did." Brisk replied.
"I do not care! He was the one who started it and I acted accordingly, and you know what I'm telling you? I enjoyed seeing that bastard suffer, I savored every moment of proving to everyone that I am not as helpless as they think. " Fizzlepop said as she got up to stand at the same height as her father.
“How can you say this? Your father and I didn't teach you that way! " her mother intervened.
"Perhaps it is precisely because you are unwilling to dictate that nobles behave this way, barely respect us, do things only for their own interests and have no loyalty." she answered her.
"This has nothing to do with it." resumed her father.
"Oh yes, this is why they had the courage to make fun of me, this is why I have been wearing these stupid contact lenses ever since I was born, and this is why I have to go to that useless school!" Fizzlepop continued talking as she felt her anger grow.
“Fizzlepop! You're freaking out, your loss is affecting you, you're not thinking clearly. " Brisk said.

"You're wrong, since I lost the horn I opened my eyes, I realized that it is useless to try to be kind or ignore them, you have to make it clear who is in charge or they will do nothing but put their clogs on your head as they have done with me since I was born. They are just fools rooted in their useless beliefs, they are convinced that they are above everything and everyone, they think they can treat others with inferiority just because they are not unicorns. " Fizzlepop paused to breathe. "If only you had bothered to put them in line today I shouldn't have electrocuted that worm."
"Thats enough! You're talking like a dictator or a tyrant. " her mother screamed.
Fizzlepop ignored her and continued to speak "When I am queen I will eradicate all that useless aristocracy, they are just parasites who live on the shoulders of the royal family, in them there is no loyalty but only opportunism, I'm sure that if they could they would turn their backs on us as they did with me! " she yelled as her horn began to sizzle.

Cherry and Brisk looked at each other, they had looks of concern and disappointment.
"Your mother and I have discussed with the others, following what happened in the public library and today's event we have decided that you are not yet ready to be crowned." Brisk said sadly.
Fizzlepop was shocked by the words, but the shock was replaced by insane rage.
"So that's it, just because I don't have a horn and wings ?!"
"That's not it… if you can't control your emotions then you can't control a nation either." Brisk added as he turned to the window.
Fizzlepop let out a scream of rage “You're stupid! Do you prefer to agree with those parasites rather than your daughter !? "
Brisk said nothing, but her mother was grieving at her daughter's words.
"I HATE YOU! I thought I could trust you…. but I was wrong ... as always ... "Fizzlepop felt betrayed, betrayed by the only two ponies she thought still loved her.
In anger she ran out of the room slamming the door and went to her room.

When she arrived she closed the door giving him a kick with her hind paw, inside her she felt a crazy and uncontrollable anger, her horn continued to emit sparks and her heart was beating fast.
She couldn't help herself so she did the only thing that came to her mind, let off the anger by destroying things, kicked movable, tore the paintings with magic, blew the alarm clock with lightning, kept going until there was nothing left to destroy.
When she was done all her anger had subsided, and had been replaced by the pain of her soul, she sat down and began to sob and then cry as she pondered what had happened.
She had been betrayed, once again, not by her friends or companions, but by her parents, the two ponies she loved above all else, the two ponies she thought still loved her but turned their backs on her instead, denying her what was rightfully hers.

Twenty minutes passed and the crying stopped, she Fizzlepop felt tired and depressed, she went to the bathroom to drink some water but when she raised her head, after drinking, she stared at herself in the mirror.
In front of her there was a scarred alicorn, a broken horn, a body covered with scars, a back without wings and a suffering soul; she stood for a few minutes looking in her mirror until she thought she saw the shape of a ursa behind her.
Fizzlepop knew it was just an illusion coming to tease her.
"Ahhahaha .." she laughed bitterly "Not enough for you yet? What else do you want to take away from me? You have already taken my body, you have taken my family, my friends, my title ... I HAVE NOTHING MORE TO GIVE YOU! " she finished saying as she punched the mirror which shattered reflecting a broken and jagged figure .... just like her heart.

Fizzlepop felt drained and tired, she gathered up the blankets and pillows she had thrown away and she lay down in bed to sleep.

"You are not a princess ...."
"You are not ready to be queen ..."
"You are useless…."
"You are undeserving ...."

Fizzlepop woke up, she hadn't had the usual ursa nightmare, but she had dreamed of the events of the day, only now she actually realized what had happened, before she was blinded by anger and pain, but now she was thinking clearly.
"So that's it, everyone rejected me, even my father and mother."
Thinking about it, she still felt a bit of anger and betrayal.
"What am I still doing here?" Fizzlepop had asked herself this question, in fact she didn't make any sense to stay there, she no longer had anyone who loved her, she wouldn't become queen, she had no future here.
"All just for some stupid wings and a horn!"
Fizzlepop got out of bed and looked at the bedside table to check the time, but the clock had been destroyed.
She looked out the window, it was night and the earth was illuminated by the moon and stars.
She had always been fascinated by the night, she loved how everything seemed to change, the world took its time to stop, everything seemed calm and still. For many the night was gloomy and scary, the shadows mingled with each other forming strange figures, but for Fizzlepop it was all clearer.
She remembered the speech she had with her father a long time ago, with the passage of time she had forgotten her dream, she wanted to visit the world, know various cultures and meet the alicorn that move the sun and the moon.
"I don't have to be a queen to do what I want."

Fizzlepop pondered what she had just said, was she really thinking of leaving? Abandon everything she have always known to go on a journey to discover the unknown?
This idea appealed to her a lot, she would have lived her adventure, away from the nobles, away from her companions, and from everything that made her feel bad.
But she couldn't go out like this, she should have planned her trip well so she made a mental list of things to do.

First she had to think about money, in other countries the currency of Iponia was worth nothing, so something that had value all over the world was needed.
The jewels could have been fine, but it would have been difficult to transport them, same thing for the gold bars.
"Grougggrrrrr"
Her stomach interrupted her thoughts, in fact she hadn't had lunch or dinner today.
In Fizzlepop a light bulb went on on her head, she could use the gems, especially the high value ones, in this way she could carry some and then make a change and get the money, it was a brilliant idea.
"Grougggrrrr" her stomach insisted.
"I know, now I'm eating something."
Before leaving the room she took her empty backpack and put it on her back.

Fizzlepop moved silently and went to the kitchen to rummage in the fridge, found plenty of fruit and vegetables, decided to eat a couple of apples and carrots, and to drink she had poured herself a glass of pineapple juice, she also put some fruit in her backpack.
She had sat at the table to eat, the dining room was illuminated by the moon rays that filtered through the window, she really loved the night.
"Now I have to think about where to go."
She finished eating the last apple and went to throw the remains in the dustbin.
"Destination: library."

Fizzlepop moved silently through the dark corridors, she could move smoothly even in total darkness thanks to her draconic eyes. "They will be very useful for my journey."
When she arrived at the library she went to rummage through the books, a few years ago she had found an atlas, it took her a little while to retrieve it thanks to her excellent memory.
She began to leaf through it, most of the maps concerned Iponia and its surroundings, she kept turning the pages until she found what she was interested in: a map of the lands overseas.
She had been fascinated by how vast the world was even if she did not know very well what was outside of Iponia, she had heard about it and had read about the books, but the information was always ambiguous and unclear, sometimes inconsistent or fruit of legends.
Fizzlepop took the page and tore it up, the moment she felt the paper break she felt a strong sense of guilt, it made her feel bad that she was ruining a book, but now nothing mattered as it once did.
She rolled up the page and put it in her backpack.
"Next stop: vault."

map torn from the book

It took a little while to get to the vault as it was on the same floor as the library.
When she entered the anteroom she was in front of the huge circular door made of enchanted steel to be resistant to almost everything, next to it there was a kind of panel on which the plinth could be placed, its purpose was to read the magic signature.
Fizzlepop slammed the plinth on the panel that lit up upon contact, after a few seconds it went out and the armored door made metallic sounds of moving gears, the door slowly opened revealing the interior.
The walls were covered with the same steel as the door, in one corner there were piles of gold bars put in order, on the other side thousands of bills and coins, she turned hiergaze and found what she wanted: there were crates full of gems, they were small and would certainly shine when exposed to light.
Fizzlepop took a small jute bag, filled it with gems and then closed it with a rubber band making a double knot, finally she put it in the backpack along with the map and food.
She stopped for a moment to stare at the gems, all of a sudden they seemed tasty to her, she remembered that as a child they share her food with gem dust.
Se approached and took one with magic, it was small and red, without thinking she put it in her mouth and began to chew it, initially she was afraid of breaking her teeth but she realized that it was like eating a candy, even if slightly harder than normal, the taste was remotely reminiscent of a cherry but slightly salty.
When she swallowed she came to the conclusion that she really liked the buds, she took another one which, however, was yellow, the consistency was the same but the flavor was of banana, this was definitely excellent.
Fizzlepop took another jute bag and filled it like the other, then put it in the backpack in the opposite pocket to balance the weight.

She was about to leave the vault but she noticed a showcase near the gold bars, inside there were three brooches, each had a gem set and they were finely detailed, in the one on the right her name was engraved at the bottom and the gem was of the same color as her fur, a dark red tending to purple.
These brooches were the royal seals, they were used to immediately recognize a member of the royal family and when worn they granted several privileges as official representatives of the nation.
Fizzlepop took hers and put it in the pocket where she had just put the gems.

She came out of the vault and closed the door, she had almost everything, so she decided to go back to her room to get the last few things.

When she entered the room she saw that everything had remained the same as that afternoon, the furniture was destroyed, the curtains and paintings torn, the only thing that seemed to be in place was the bed.
She went to the bathroom and took her toothbrush and toothpaste, she was not willing to give up oral hygiene.
She looked at the sink, the broken mirror reflected the jagged image of her, at the bottom was the box for contact lenses; she took it and put it together with everything else.
She came out of the bathroom and took other useful items: a compass, a flashlight, matches, and a small first aid kit.
Fizzlepop was about to leave the room but stopped, went back and rummaged in the closet until she found the cloak she had discarded two days ago, it was black and had a hood that covered her whole head leaving only her mouth and nose, it was long enough to hide it up to the legs.
Feeling that she had everything she needed, she left her room and went down the stairs to reach the hall, she opened the front door revealing the outside world.
The moon was still high in the sky, in the middle of the square there was the fountain that sprayed water, it was the only source of noise in the silent night.

Fizzlepop took a deep breath, did one last mental revision, finally she took the first step out of her house, the first step on a long adventure.

Chapter 12: Train

Fizzlepop looked at the map, the only way to reach overseas lands would be by airship, so she would first have to reach a port, luckily all of Iponia had a complex network of railways connecting every city from the west to the east coast.
The railway had been built shortly after the founding of the nation, the aim was to connect each region in order to allow exchanges and trade, movement of troops and resources, and of course to allow non-Pegasi to go from one place to another. more in a very short time.
The train ran on coal, however years earlier Fizzlepop had developed a way to optimize its efficiency: it had devised catalysts that allowed to slow down the combustion of coal so as to use less than half of it and achieve the same result, it was a true technological marvel. .

It was still night and there were some ponies on the streets, the sidewalks were illuminated by street lamps.
Fortunately, in the capital there was a very low level of crime, this was due to the fact the level of well-being of the population was high; enough not to make it necessary to steal to survive.
She had walked for over half an hour and finally reached the station, the building was very large as it was a very important stopover, over 600,000 ponies and other creatures passed by every day.
When she arrived at the reception sshe saw that the station was more crowded than it seemed, there were masses of ponies walking around wearing backpacks and bags, some were in a hurry while others were walking slowly, alone or in groups.

Fizzlepop glanced at the board that marked the trains arriving and departing, most were going to other cities inland but eventually found what she needed: in an hour a train would arrive for Blapolis, a port city overlooking the ocean.
She decided she went to the reception to get the ticket, she kept her head down so as not to show the face and the horn.
"Hi, I'd like a ticket to Blapolis." she asked the conductor.
The pony just tore out a ticket and then used a stamp to mark it.
"Twenty dollars please." the conductor said as he handed her the ticket.
Fizzlepop took a wallet from her purse and handed over the twenty dollars, took the ticket and put it back in the backpack along with the rest.
"Thanks, good morning." she turned and walked away from the ticket office.

She glanced at the billboard again, the train would arrive at the quays thirteen by four in the morning, the journey would take eleven hours, so she would arrive in Blapolis by three in the afternoon.
She began to walk towards the quays, while she was walking she noticed that the train station had its own economy, there were shops, restaurants and entertainment points, it seemed to be a shopping center.
It occurred to her that the journey would take a long time and she certainly would be bored with nothing to do, she walked into a shop that sold many things including items and food, she decided to buy a book and a box of bananas dry.

When she reached the quay she noticed that there were few ponies waiting, most were sitting on the benches while the others were standing.
Fizzlepop sat down on one of the free benches, took her backpack off her back and placed it between her legs so that it was always within reach of the hoof.
Since there were still 40 minutes left for the train to arrive, she decided to think about what she should do, look in her wallet and saw that there were still a hundred dollars left, she had taken enough money to get to a port city, she would pay the airship trip with gems.
"Mom, Dad, we have to hurry or we miss the train!" she heard the voice of a filly screaming with excitement
"Yes dear, here we come." the father answered affectionately.
Fizzlepop interrupted her thoughts, hearing that scene of affection made her remember when she was little, when her parents loved her.
Deep down she felt a little sorry, maybe she shouldn't have abandoned her parents like this, maybe she should have left a letter or said goodbye.
"Now that's enough, it doesn't make sense to think about it now, they made their choice, and I made mine."
She shook off her sad thoughts and went back to planning the trip.

"Chooo-chooo" Fizzlepop heard the typical sound of the train whistle, looked up and saw the locomotive in the distance and behind it there was a cloud of steam coming out from the top of the tube placed on the boiler.
As it got closer, you could hear the rhythmic metallic noise of the wheels and engine.
The train stopped in front of the quay and blew a last whistle, in a short time the passengers began to get off the train.
When the stream of ponies that came out stopped Fizzlepop got up and boarded with the few who waited.

Although the carriages were not like the royal ones, they were still welcoming and elegant, the corridors were wide enough to allow two ponies to pass at the same time, on the sides there were cabins and in each there were two sofas facing each other.
Fizzlepop went into one of the many free cabins and closed the door, put the backpack on one of the sofas and sat down so that she was facing the direction of travel.
The seats were comfortable and from her position she could see out the window, it was still dark but the moon was no longer visible, soon the sun would rise.

"Everyone in the carriage, we're leaving!" she heard the wagon leader scream and followed by a long whistle.
The train began to move slowly and then took on more speed, she was amazed that from inside the carriage you could barely hear the wheels turning and the roar of the steam engine.

Passenger carriage cabin, to enter you can use the door you see in the image or go from inside through the corridor.

"Knock knock ..." she heard someone knock on the door.
"Forward." Fizzlepop said.
The door opened and a stallion dressed in a uniform entered, carrying a purse and a kind of scissors.
"Hi Miss, I'm the conductor, can you show me the ticket?" he asked her.
"Of course." Fizzlepop took the bag, took out the ticket, and handed it to the conductor.
The stallion examined it and then he nodded, took the scissors and cut it, put one part in the bag and the other gave it back to Fizzlepop.
"All right, I wish you a good trip." the conductor said politely and left the cabin, closing the door behind him.

Fizzlepop took a deep breath and got comfortable on the sofa, looked out and noticed that they had already abandoned the capital, instead of the palaces and buildings there was a vast countryside, on the horizon she could see fields and some houses and farms.
She remembered a speech she had heard long ago at a party among nobles, according to them the land ponies were inferior and their work was crude and useless.
That day Fizzlepop wanted to strangle that unicorn, the work of the land ponies was very important, they were the ones who produced most of the food and raw materials, if there were no land ponies the economy would collapse.
However, those snobs did not understand it, for them it was only wealth, lavish dinners and extravagant clothes that mattered.
At that moment she felt a wave of anger, and to think that her father also wanted to defend them and agree with them.
Sparks began to come out of Fizzlepop's horn and afterwards she felt the usual headache.
"Calm down Fizzlepop, there's no point in getting mad now, let them drown in their pool of gold."

Fizzlepop decided to read to relax her mind, took the book she had bought at the station and gave it a look, she honestly hadn't looked at what book she was getting, the only thing she knew was that it was in the adventure novels section.
On the cover there was an image of a yellow pegasus with a gray mane, hung from a vine and under it a crocodile with its jaws open, at the top the title said "Daring Do: Quest for the Sapphire Stone"
The book looked tempting so she began to read it with good taste.

Fizzlepop gave a long yawn and put the book down and closed it after placing the bookmark, she realized that the sun had risen and was high in the sky, certainly more than 4 hours have passed since she left.
She stood up and stretched well, sitting for too long was not good for her joints.
"Grouggrrrr" she heard the familiar gurgling in her stomach.
"Of course you are always hungry." she said good-naturedly to her imaginary friend.
She turned and took the bag, the only things to eat were a couple of apples and carrots, the dried bananas and finally the buds.
She decided it was best to leave the buds for last and eat the fresh food first as it go bad in a couple of days.
She took the apple and began to eat it; the fruit was yellow and she liked it a lot, she hated red apples since they had a more floury consistency and were less crunchy and juicy.

When she finished eating she felt that she was sleepy, in fact she had slept little at night and has remained awake until now.
She got up and locked the door, however they could still have opened it from the outside thanks to the keys that the conductor or the train leader had.
She also closed all the curtains so as to let in less light and block prying eyes.
She lay down on one of the sofas and used the backpack as a pillow, that way she would be comfortable and she would keep the backpack safe close to her.
She settled back and closed her eyes, the lack of rest and the light movements of the train were a good combination that plunged her to sleep in minutes.

Ursa

Library

School

Parents

The nightmares of Fizzlepop took place in this order, sometimes they mixed with each other creating confusion and disorder, those were the worst.
Sometimes they were single events but with variations, she in rare cases she heard only whispers while she remained suspended in the dark void.
Fizzlepop had gotten used to it, at first she would cry and then stay depressed all day, now instead she would wake up with a start as if she heard a loud noise, she would feel a slight pain in her head and a gash in her soul, but she wouldn't shed a single tear, now she knew it was just memories that haunted her.

Fizzlepop opened her eyes, saw the sofa in front of her, sat up and yawned.
After rubbing her eyes she looked towards the window, pulled up the curtains and was blinded by the sunlight; Fizzlepop looked away and waited for her eyes to adjust.
When she saw what was outside she was pleasantly struck, in front of her she could see a vast landscape, apparently they were quite high given the angle with respect to the plain.
From where she could see a huge flat area, in the distance there was a large city highlighted by tall buildings and skyscrapers, moving away from the city the number of buildings slowly decreased until there were only crop fields or simple green areas.

Fizzlepop felt a certain mouth water, she decided to eat a carrot, she liked things with a crunchy texture, when she finished eating it she put the leftovers in a bag where she had also put the apple core.
However she felt that she was not yet full, she took another look in the backpack, at that moment she no longer wanted fruit or vegetables, her gaze fell on the bags of gems.
She took one and opened it, the gems seemed to glow with their own light as they were bathed in sunlight, to Fizzlepop's eyes they looked truly delightful.
She took a blue one and put it in her mouth, initially it seemed to taste like lemon but then it began to crumble and gave off an aroma of elderflower, the gem also seemed to be slightly fizzy, not like candy with that strange sour substance on it, but like a fizzy drink.
When she finished tasting it, she was tempted to eat another one but she didn't, she decided it was better to spare them, besides they were very satiating and gave a lot of energy, it was like drinking a large cup of coffee in sugared form.

She satiated and rested she decided to resume reading the book of Daring Do, she was enjoying it a lot.
She settled into a comfortable position and resumed reading from where she had left off.

“Chooo-chooo” the train whistle woke her from her reading, she looked out the window and saw that the previous landscape had been replaced by houses and buildings, the train was slowing down.
It was impossible that they had already arrived, from the sun you could see that it must have been at the latest 11 in the morning.
She got up and opened the door that gave onto the corridor, she noticed that there were some ponies that were walking to get out, at that moment the conductor passed with the usual uniform and bag.
"Excuse me, have we already arrived at our destination?" she asked the stallion.
The conductor stopped and gave her a smile.
"No miss, we stopped to refuel coal and water, we will stay here for about half an hour and then we will leave again, I recommend that you go down to stretch your paws, there are also some shops at the station." he kindly suggested.
"Thank you very much, goodbye." Fizzlepop thanked him and closed the door again.
She liked the possibility of getting out of that cabin for a while, however she was not willing to leave anything on board so she put on her backpack after putting her book inside.

When she got off the train she noticed a large influx of ponies running from side to side.
Fizzlepop walked along the quay, she was surprised by the fact that no one glanced at her, everyone had their own things to think about, in fact since she had started this journey she felt freer and less judged, she was not afraid to show herself for what it was since most ponies she met would see her once in their entire life.

"Din-dong" she heard a sound above her.
She raised her head and saw that there was a suspended clock, it showed that it was 11 in the morning.
"I was right." she realized that she actually did not have a watch with her, she could have used the sun but she was not reliable, if there were clouds or it was night she would not have been able to know what time it was.
"Perfect, this is my chance." Fizzlepop kept walking until she arrived in the station hall, it was very similar to that of the capital but smaller, the area was crowded and noisy.
She looked around until she saw a souvenir shop.

As she entered she noticed that there were many objects, T-shirts, mugs, postcards, magnets, costume jewelery and other typical things in shops of that kind.
She stayed for a few minutes looking until she found what she needed, on a shelf there was a display stand showing some onion clocks, she didn't pay much attention to detail and took one, before buying it she made sure it worked well and did not make strange noises or creak.
Making sure it was okay, she went to the cashier to pay.
"Good morning, do you need a bag?" she asked the cashier while she removed the anti-theft.
"No thanks." she replied simply as she pulled out her wallet.
"$ 8 please." the mare said after passing her the clock.
Fizzlepop handed over the money and put the watch in the bag.

Onion clock, attached to the ring there is a chain that is used to put it around the neck

When she left the shop she took another look at the large clock and found that she had 13 minutes left.
She smelled a sweet aroma in the air, it seemed to be the scent of freshly baked croissants, it made her very hungry.
Fizzlepop followed the scent and saw that a few meters from where the souvenir shop was there was a pastry shop, she didn't think twice about approaching it.
Outside the club there were several tables, most of them were busy but she didn't intend to stay longer than necessary.
When she got to the counter she saw that it was full of delicacies, there were cakes, donuts, pastries and above all what gave off the scent of before: the croissants.
"Hi, what can I help you?" she asked the cashier politely, it was an earth pony with cocoa-colored fur.
"I'd like a brioche with vanilla." Fizzlepop said.
"Of course, I'll be right there." the waitress went to get the brioche and put it in a paper bag along with a handkerchief.
"Here you go, it's $ 3."
Fizzlepop paid for the brioche and left the place.

She ate the dish on the way back to the train and before boarding she threw out the paper bag and the remains of the apple and carrot.
As soon as she returned to her cabin the train whistled loudly and began to move.
"Just in time." if she missed the train she would have to wait two full days at the station. She sat down and continued reading for the rest of the trip.

“Attention passengers, I'm the conductor. I announce that we will arrive at Blapolis station very soon, so please get ready to get out of the carriages, thank you very much and good afternoon. "
The conductor's voice rang through the speakers.
Fizzlepop had finished reading the book a few minutes earlier and was staring out the window, luckily from where she was she could see the sea and the coasts, it was a completely different environment than the capital.
After hearing the announcement, she got up from the sofa and stretched, then she put on her cloak and finally her backpack.
She decided to leave the book there as she would no longer need it and it would just clutter up space.
When she arrived she got off the train and looked around to find the exit from the station, luckily there were signs indicating the right direction, it would have been enough to follow them.

As soon as she got out she was shocked by the temperature difference, the weather was hotter and drier but she liked it.
She went to a notice board showing the map of the city, she had to go to a port and the station was in the city center, to get there she would have to walk or take a taxi, she preferred the second option.
She turned and went to the area where there were taxis, it didn't take much for a yellow carriage to stop in front of her, there were two stallions pulling it.
Fizzlepop climbed aboard and put the backpack next to her.
"To the port please." she said to the two stallions.
"Certainly miss." said the left one and they began to gallop.

While traveling she had the opportunity to see the city, there were several ponies on the street but also some anthropomorphic creatures such as birds, cats and some marine creatures.
She also seemed to notice a zebra and a few mules.
At a certain point she could see the sea in the distance, in the air she could taste the salt.
The journey lasted another few minutes, when she arrived at her destination she got out of the carriage with the backpack on her back and paid the taxi drivers.

"Here I am, last stop before leaving Iponia."
In the port there were many ponies who were in a hurry, most of them pulling carts with goods, she had to be careful not to get run over.
You could clearly hear the screeching cries of the seagulls and the movement of the waves.
There were lots of ships of all sizes moored at the piers, however this is not what she needed, only one airship could cross the entire ocean without risking sinking, plus they were much faster and took a quarter of the time it employed a normal ship.
The airships had the hull of a ship but instead of the sails there was a huge air chamber filled with helium and reinforced with a wooden frame, which served to keep the airship in the air.
To make it move, there were large turbines powered by an engine similar to the train, instead of the propeller wheels facing parallel to the hull.
The airships were very useful because they could also be used on the water and parked on the mainland, however they could only be used along the coasts due to some laws that prohibited air traffic.

She had been walking for a while and she saw only ships around, she was afraid there were none until an immense long-shaped balloon appeared from behind the sails.
Fizzlepop quickened her pace, and as she approached it revealed the shape of an airship.
When she reached the piers where the vessel was docked she saw that there were no ponies working there, but there were anthropomorphs, one seemed to have the features of a bird, one of a wolf, then there was a bigger one that looked like a shark and finally a cat.
The latter was near the helm and was giving orders.
"Come on, move, we have to leave before the sun goes down." he said to the others, his tone was not that of someone commanding subordinates but as if he was trying to make them go faster.
"Yes captain." the others answered in unison.

Fizzlepop was enchanted by the airship, the shape of its hull resembled that of a galleon, but what was really special was the air chamber, it was clearly inspired by a shark.
The size of the aircraft was considerable, however it was also very refined, had gold details and the part above the waterline was painted blue.
"Hey, what can I do for you little pony?" she heard the voice of the anthropomorphic cat from before, now he standing in front of her.
In reality, he was not much taller than her if you took into consideration the standards of her species, in fact Fizzlepop could reach the sternum of the other creature with his theta.
"Hi, my name is ...." it was better not to give her full name "Fizzle" she could have come up with something better but at that moment she couldn't think of anything else.
"Hello Miss, I'm Captain Flynn and that's my steed." she said politely as he pointed to the vessel behind him.
"Are you going to overseas lands?" she asked them.
"Yes, why are you interested?" Flynn replied with a frown.
"I need a ride"
The captain raised his arm and began to tease his mustache.
"Mmmm, we don't usually do this kind of thing, but if you're willing to pay we could make an exception."
"Oh, of course, I have some gems with me if they'll fit you." Fizzlepop said.
Flynn exploded with excitement but did not show it, gems were a very precious commodity and were worth a lot all over the world.
"And how many do you have?" he asked her.
Fizzlepop knew it was best to pretend to have few, she knew the methods of contract and exchange.
"I can give you 3 now and another 5 if we arrive at our destination." she said confidently.
The captain already smelled the scent of money, with so much he could easily have bought a small airship. It was a deal not to be missed.
"Deal, you've just won a place on my crew, welcome board." the captain said as he bowed.

Fizzlepop smiled.
"I did it, there's no turning back from here."

Flynn's airship.

Author's Note

if it was not understood for this chapter I have made a lot of reference to America

Chapter 13: Airship (Part 1)

"Welcome on board." Flynn said as he bowed.
"Thanks, I can't wait to leave." Fizzlepop said.
Flynn straightened up and cleared his throat.
“First of all I have to give you some information, we will not leave immediately as we have to finish loading the goods, so I advise you to enjoy the mainland while you can. Secondly, I warn you that the trip will last about a month if all goes well, so you should bring something to pass the time, I recommend books and maybe a diary, it can be useful to stay sane." Flynn winked and then spoke again. "We will leave around 8 this evening during twilight, so you better get ready, in the meantime I will go and notify the rest of the crew."
"Perfect, all clear." Fizzlepop answered as she nodded.
"Great, see you later." the cat said cheerfully and turned to go back to the airship.

Fizzlepop remained standing on the quay, took the watch from her backpack and gave it a look.
"He said I have to be here by eight, now it's five so I have another three hours left."
She put her watch away and went back to the city.
As she walked she thought about what the captain had said, first she thought about what to bring to pass the time, she really liked the book she had read on the train.
She should have looked for a bookstore but she didn't have the faintest idea where to go and if there was one nearby, the only option is to ask someone.
"Excuse me, I need some information." she tried to ask a mare passing by but she was ignored.
"Hi, I wish ..." she didn't have time to ask another pony who was almost hit by a stallion running with a cart.
Fizzlepop took a deep breath and saw that another mare was passing, did not seem to be in a hurry and was not carrying anything.
"Hi, I would need some information."
"Hello to you, please tell me." the mare gave her the grace to stop and listen to her.
"I would like to know there is a library around here." Fizzlepop asked.
"Of course, just walk about three hundred meters in that direction and you won't be able to lose it."
the mare pointed with her hoof in front of her.
"Thank you very much, I wish you a good evening."

Fizzlepop walked in the indicated direction until she was in front of a building with "Port Blapolis Library" written on it.
"It must be this."
She pushed the door and entered, the library was not very large, derisory when compared with the royal one but she had to be satisfied.
She began to wander around the library in search of something interesting, she really liked the book she had read on the train, maybe there was a continuation.

After several searches she found the object of her desire, in a low and hardly visible shelf there were 3 other books in the series, she decided to take them all.
However, they wouldn't be enough for the whole trip, she thought about what she might be interested in.
Eventually she also picked up a book on navigation and one called "Myths and Legends".
She was about to go to pay but noticed that there were other books on a table, they were empty.
"Diaries ... Flynn advised to take one." Fizzlepop had never written her own memoirs, however it would have been interesting since she would have lived for centuries or even a few millennia, maybe someday she will read the diary and old memories will surface.
"Why not?" she took one and placed it on top of the pile of books she had on her back.
She arrived at the counter and she handed them to the cashier who checked them one by one to see the price.

"That's sixty-two dollars." said the cashier flatly, she seemed to be bored.
Fizzlepop didn't comment and gave her the money.
"Could I have a bag?" she asked the mare.
The cashier put the books in a fairly strong plastic bag and handed it to Fizzlepop who grabbed the bag with her teeth and put it her back.

When she left the room she saw that the sun was starting to set, she looked at her watch and realized that she had spent over an hour and a half in the library.
"I better get back to the ship."
However, since there was still enough time, she decided to take all the necessary time.
During the walk she had visited the stalls along the pier, there were all kinds, most of them sold food such as fish, fruit and vegetables, dried or in oil; the latter were very important as they could be kept for months.
Fizzlepop had little money left but it was better to spend it all because then it would be like waste paper.
She had also bought a mane brush, a fur shampoo, a quill and a bottle of ink, finally a small lockable steel box to put the gems in.
"Trust is good, not trust is better."

When she reached the dock where the airship was docked the sun was disappearing on the horizon.
She noticed that the crew had stopped moving crates and were working on the boat, Flynn was outside writing something on paper.
"Here I am." Fizzlepop said.
The cat turned, "Oh, welcome back Fizzle, I thought you pulled back, crossing the ocean is not something that many do."
The alicorn said nothing to the captain's comment.
"Come on, I'll take you aboard." Flynn said as he climbed the ramp that connected the ship to the dock.
Fizzlepop followed him but she was stopped before putting a plinth on the wooden plank.
"But payment first, I need to make sure you're not trying to scrounge a free ride." Flynn said as he reached out with an open palm.
Fizzlepop rolled her eyes, turned to take three gems and gave them to the cat.
"Perfect! follow me." he said happy after putting the precious stones in his pocket.

She arrived on the deck of the ship.
"Crew, come here." Flynn yelled. All the creatures stopped doing what they were doing and approached the two of them, another anthropomorph appeared from below deck.
"My friends, here is the passenger I told you about." Flynn said pointing to her, "Her name is Fizzle and she will stay with us until we get to Saddle Arabia, so treat her like one of the crew."
"Nice to meet you." Fizzlepop said.
"Come on guys, introduce yourself." Flynn urged.

First the anthropomorphic wolf came forward, he had gray fur, his stature was not imposing but he was not even skinny, he had a patch on his left eye and a scar that started from the cheek and went down the neck up to disappear under clothes.
"I'm Boomer, I'm the engineer and repairman for the ship, nice to meet you."
Boomer didn't seem to be a bad person, his voice was welcoming and his expression friendly.

After the wolf came the bird, looking more like a hawk or something similar. He had his arms crossed and a serius expression.
"I'm Tread, I'm the smart one in the crew." his voice was deep and the cadence of his words slow, his appearance was slightly somber and he seemed to have an apathetic character.

Finally stepped forward the shark, among the four he was the largest and most imposing, he was tall and overlooked the others, instead of his left hand he had a hook and a stick instead of a leg.
His face was hard and his posture intimidating.
"I am Bash, I am the muscles of the crew, I protect the ship and eliminate the hassle." he said as he gave a deep and hoarse laugh that made her fur crawl.
Fizzlepop had to raise her head to be able to look him in the eye, it was better not to turn him against.
"Nice to meet you." she said as she smiled the best she could and stretched out a paw.
Bash took the hoof with his right hand, it was big enough to wrap around her leg.
"Welcome aboard pony." he gave another laugh and let go of her hoof.

“Great, now that we've met, I'll show you where you'll be staying. You others get back to work.” Flynn said.
The captain went to the aft castle and Fizzlepop followed him.
As soon as they entered they were in a corridor with many doors.
"So, the room down the hall is my quarters." Flynn pointed to the back door as he kept walking.
They took a couple of steps and stopped in front of another door next to the captain's quarters.
"And this is your room." he said as he opened the door, stepped aside to allow Fizzlepop to enter.

The room was bigger than she had expected, on the wall opposite the door there was a long window, it was not high enough to lean out but it let in a lot of light, under it there was a shelf that ran through it from side to side of the window.
In one corner was the bed and next to it a bedside table with an oil lamp on it.
Immediately on the right there was a table with a chair and next to it a small wardrobe with one door.
"It seems perfect." Fizzlepop said after peering inside.
"Great, I'll show you the rest of the ship."

Flynn showed Fizzlepop the bathroom, it was the only one on the ship but it was well equipped, there was a shower and a squat toilet, she noticed that if you looked at the hole from a certain angle you could see outside. Flynn had explained to her that everything was thrown straight out of the ship but when they flew over land it was customary to attach a tank to the hole.

Later he showed her the galley, the kitchen and the engine room.
Fizzlepop was amazed by the latter.
The engine was completely automated, it had a conveyor belt that loaded the coal into the furnace, obviously it was equipped with a catalyst to reduce consumption exponentially.
The engine did not have the only function of making the ship move, it also worked as a boiler and water purifier, the latter function was innovative since it was usually necessary to have a purification device on board.
In practice, it evaporated the water that was collected in a tank and then used for washing or cooking.

"I think in the meantime the others have finished preparing the ship, if you want you can go back to your cabin or give us a hand." he proposed her.
"Of course, but I'd like to go put my things down first." Fizzlepop answered.
"Ok, I'll wait on the main deck."

Arriving in her room, she took off her backpack and emptied it, she decided to leave only the box with the gems inside, she put the key around her neck along with the watch, and finally she put the backpack in the small closet. She wore no clothing but the black cloak she was wearing at the time.

She left her room and went back to the main deck, as Flynn had said everything was ready, the ship just had to be untied.
"Here you are, Fizzle, have you got everything right?" Flynn asked from above her, the captain was at the helm and had a map and a compass in his hand.
"Yes, I've done everything, what can I do?" she asked them.
"You can help me untie the moorings." Boomer had appeared from behind her.
"Ok, tell me what to do."
"It's simple, you have to stay on the ship, when I have untied the knots you just have to pull the ropes and roll them up." he explained quickly.

Fizzlepop went to the side of the ship facing the dock, when Boomer untied the first rope she pulled with all her might, the rope was thick and heavy.
When they untied the last, Boomer quickly got on board and pulled the ramp inside.
"Great job Fizzle, you will become an excellent sailor." he complimented her with his thumbs up.

"Now we have to get the airship off the ground, luckily it's much easier than it seems, the captain will explain." Boomer said as he disappeared below deck.
"Exactly, come up here Fizzle." Flynn called her.
Fizzlepop climbed the stairs and stood next to him.
“So, this is the rudder, it is to control the ship horizontally, if you turn it right the ship will go starboard, if you turn it left it will go port. In addition, if we are stationary and you turn the rudder, the aircraft will rotate on its axis. "
Fizzlepop listened carefully, she was not a navigational expert but she was very interested, Flynn was very quick and clear to explain.
"In addition to the rudder there are also three levers, the first from the right adjusts the altitude, if you pull it up you go up and down you go down. The second is used to adjust the speed and direction of travel. And last but not least, the lever that is used to make the aircraft move perpendicularly to the right and to the left, used for maneuvers such as parking or passing in tight spots. " he finished explaining.
"All clear." Fizzlepop said as she nodded.
"Great, would you like to try?" he proposed her.
Fizzlepop was somewhat perplexed “Are you sure? I don't want to destroy your ship. "
"Don't worry, I'm here." Flynn said confidently as he moved to make room for her.

"Okay, we can't get up in the air right away, we have to get out of the harbor first, so back off." he gave her directions.
Fizzlepop pulled back the second lever and the ship moved slowly.
"Well, now that we are far enough away we can take off, push the first lever to an altitude of 500 meters."
The alicorn followed the orders and the airship began to rise in altitude, the sensation was strange because there was no longer the movement generated by the waves, more they climbed and smaller the world below, for Fizzlepop it was an experience new and exciting.

"Perfect, now we have to head east so we need to turn the ship first." Flynn pointed to a compass that was mounted near the rudder, now they were facing west.
"I'll ask you a question, Fizzle, now that we're stopped, would you use the rudder or the third lever to turn the ship?" The captain tried to test her but the pony had listened carefully.
"The rudder." she replied with certainty.
"Okay, go ahead."
Fizzlepop turned the rudder to the right and the ship turned 180 degrees.
"Well done, and now full speed ahead." the cat yelled happily.
Fizzlepop was infected by the captain's cheerfulness and smiled, looked at the second lever and pushed it forward without hesitation.
She suddenly felt thrown back but she remained steadfast on her hooves, the ship began to move forward and continued to accelerate until it reached cruising speed.

"Boomer was right, you will become an excellent sailor." Fizzlepop turned her gaze to Flynn, the cat was leaning against one of the stair railings.
"Thank you, few have ever paid me a compliment."
Strangely Fizzlepop was fine, since she had started this journey she no longer felt any weight on her shoulders, it was like being free, she had no school to think about, prejudices to hide from, expectations to keep.
Maybe one day she would return to Iponia, but for the moment she didn't even think about it.

"It's been a while, and it will soon be dark, I think it's time to go for dinner, I can't wait to eat what Tread cooked."
Fizzlepop was shocked, she would never have thought the apathetic Hawk was a cook.
"OK let's go."
Fizzlepop followed Flynn into the dining room.
When she arrived shw felt that there was a good scent in the air, however she could not recognize it.
The environment was cramped but still allowed to move around without hitting walls or furniture.
On one long side of the table was Bash, he had to be there because of his size, he wouldn't have been next to someone else.
In front of him was Boomer, the two were talking animatedly.
Flynn sat at the head of the table, he motioned for her to sit beside him, to his right.
Fizzlepop sat down, a wooden plate and a steel spoon were placed in front of her, everything was very different than it was in the royal palace, however she did not mind, in fact she found it much more practical and quick.

From the kitchen door Tread appeared, as soon as she saw him Fizzlepop burst out laughing.
He was dressed in an apron, in his hands he held a large pot and had the usual apathetic expression even though he seemed slightly annoyed.
For Fizzlepop it was a comical thing that made her die with laughter, the others of them had a grin on their face.
"Sorry, I couldn't help myself, I hope I didn't offend you." Fizzlepop said as she wiped a tear with his hoof.
"You didn't offend anyone, in fact we made a bet to see if you were laughing or not." Boomer replied witty. "Come on, pay out the money!" he added as he reached out to Bash.
The shark made a kind of grunt as he rolled his eyes, moved slightly to the right and took the money out of his pocket, counted it and slammed it into Boomer's palm.
"Ha ha ha." Tread pretended to laugh "Instead of sitting there and having a good time, pass me the dishes."
One by one they passed their plate which was filled with some kind of soup.
"What is it?" Fizzlepop asked.
"Fish soup." Boomer answered "I recognize it by the smell." he added.

Fizzlepop was somewhat perplexed, although ponies were omnivores, they never ate any type of meat or fish, it was simply a matter of ethics and a habit they had always had.
She smelled the dish again, the scent was really inviting, the coloring was rather dull, it was a mixture of gray punctuated by bits of vegetables such as carrots and onions.
She took some with her spoon and stuffed it in her mouth without thinking twice.

She was amazed by the taste, it was quite savory and the texture was silky, you could feel the bits of vegetables on the tongue and the softness of the fish.

"It's really good!" she said as she took another spoonful.
However as soon as she looked up at her and saw that they were staring at her, she immediately stopped and put the spoon down.
"What's up? Did I do something wrong?" she asked worriedly.
"No, we just didn't know you could use magic, we were convinced only unicorns could." Flynn said.
Fizzlepop realized they hadn't seen what's under her cloak yet, she was undecided whether or not to show her scars and horn but in the end she decided that she didn't make sense to hide it, sooner or later they would find out.
She grabbed the hood with her hooves and pulled it back revealing her ashamed.
Fizzlepop expected to hear noises of disgust or nasty words.
"Wow, you are the coolest pony I've ever seen!" Boomer said with his mouth open and the spoon suspended.
"He's right, you're even scarier than that dog over there." Flynn said good-naturedly.
"Mr. Shiny Hair spoke." Boomer responded to the taunt with a laugh.

"So I don't make you sick?" Fizzlepop asked.
"Of course not Fizzle, in our country having a scar is a source of pride, it means that you survived another day to tell what happened and sometimes brag to others." Flynn explained, then pointed at the shark with a finger. “Take for example Bash, he has suffered almost every kind of injury: he has lost a hand, a fin, an eye, a leg and even a few teeth. However, he faces them with pride and head held high as every wound is a testament to how strong and resistant he is. In addition, the scars give a lot of style and frighten the opponents. " he finished saying while he winked.

The scarred alicorn smiled "I had never thought of it this way, I have always tried to hide the scars for fear of what others thought, but now you have made me change my mind, thanks." she said happily to the others.
"You're welcome, and now let's start eating again before it gets cold." said the captain.

For the rest of the evening they talked and joked with each other, Fizzlepop enjoyed hearing the stories of the four sailors, in return she told them about the boring life in the royal palace and the stupid nobles, obviously ignoring the fact that she was a princess and an alicorn.

When they finished dinner it was already half past eleven in the evening.
Fizzlepop gave a long yawn and rose from the chair.
"I'm tired and it's been a long day, I think I'll go to bed."
"Certainly Fizzle, good night." Flynn said.
"Good night." the other three repeated.

Fizzlepop went back to her room and got under the covers, and within minutes she was asleep.

Flynn

Boomer

Tread

Bash

Chapter 14: Airship (Part 2)

"Knock knock ... Fizzle?"
Fizzlepop was awakened by her nightmares.
“Knock knock… Fizzle? Are you alive?" she heard Flynn calling her.
It took her a few seconds to settle in and realize where she was.
"Yes, I'm awake." she yelled back.
"Perfect, when you're ready, come down and have breakfast." she heard the footsteps of the captain going away.

Fizzlepop got out of bed and stretched, snapping her leg and neck joints, even though she hadn't slept on her bed she had managed to rest quite well.
She looked out the window and saw only sky and a few clouds, obviously she couldn't see anything else as they were flying.
She moved towards the door, today she decided not to use the cloak, the speech of the night before was imprinted in her mind.
She left her cabin and went into the dining room.

"Good morning everyone." she said as she entered the room.
"Good morning to you." the others answered.
Flynn and Bash were already seated, Boomer and Tread missing.
"Nice look." Flynn told her as he whistled to emphasize his statement.
Fizzlepop blushed slightly and went to sit in her place.
"I thought about what you said yesterday and I decided not to wear the cloak, from now on I want to be proud of my scars." she explained.
"Well said Fizzle." Bash answered in his hoarse voice.

At that moment Tread appeared from the kitchen wearing an apron, Fizzlepop was tempted to laugh again but restrained herself, he had a large frying pan and a wooden spatula in his hand.
As soon as he saw Fizzlepop he gave her a quick glance but he didn't comment on her appearance.
"Good morning Fizzle." he greeted her.
"Day to you." she returned the greeting.

"Where is Boomer?" Fizzlepop asked.
"He usually wakes up a little later." Flynn said as he handed the plate to Tread.
"What's for breakfast?" There was a very delicious aroma in the air, she could recognize the eggs but there was certainly something else.
"Eggs and bacon." Tread said as he handed her the plate.
Fizzlepop saw that inside there was scrambled egg and next to it a brown stripe with white veins, it seemed to be crunchy and that was what gave off the intoxicating scent.
"What is bacon?" she asked as she inhaled the pleasant aroma.
"It's pork, especially a very fat side cut into thin slices." Tread explained.

Like yesterday, she was somewhat reluctant to eat parts of animals, however she could not be picky as there was only that, besides yesterday's fish was very good so it was worth tasting.
Se took a piece of it with the fork and brought it to her mouth, chewed it and savored it.
The texture was crunchy at the edges while the inside was soft, the flavor was very salty but tasty.
"It tastes very ... intense." she commented.
"That's why there is an egg, try eating them together." Tread said.
Fizzlepop followed the advice and took a piece of bacon and omelette with a fork. "
When she put them in her mouth she was amazed, the flavor of the meat was contrasted by the egg, in this way a perfect balance of flavors was created.
"It's really good! I think it's my new favorite dish, you are a myth Tread! " Fizzlepop said excitedly as she took another bite.
For the first time since she met him, she saw a slight smile on Tread's face, but it disappeared immediately.

They ate for a few minutes in silence until Flynn spoke to her
"So Fizzle, we're going to do some work on the ship this morning."
"Of course, I can't wait to help out, I'm not just going to be a passenger." Fizzlepop said as she chewed, it was not polite to talk and chew but from what she understood these frivolities did not matter now.
"Glad to hear it, I'm glad when my crew members aren't listless." if he could he would have shot Boomer a dirty look.
When they finished eating, they cleared the table and went to the main deck, Tread stayed in the kitchen washing the dishes and pans.

“So Fizzle, we're going to do a lot today, but we have to get the ship off first. This will be your first task. " he told her and motioned for her to go to the helm.
"There are two types of landing, the horizontal one where the airship drops in altitude as it moves forward. And the vertical one where the airship drops in altitude but remains stationary horizontally. The horizontal landing is used when you are in a hurry and you have a lot of space to maneuver, however it is better to do it only when necessary, the vertical one takes a little more time but there is no risk of damaging the hull."
Fizzlepop listened very carefully and nodded to show that she understood.
"Great, go ahead." Flynn said.
Fizzlepop turned to the rudder, put a hoof on the second lever and pulled it towards the center, the airship slowed to a stop, then pulled down the first lever to descend in altitude and in a few minutes she could see the surface of the 'Ocean . When the hull sank in the water, the airship shook slightly and then began to rock to the rhythm of the waves.
"It was great, you managed to land without any instruction, I congratulate you." Flynn said as he clapped his hands.

"Yawn…" they heard a long yawn from beneath them.
Fizzlepop looked down and saw that Boomer had just come out of the aft castle.
"Finally you woke up lazy!" Flynn yelled at him.
"Good morning to you too captain." Boomer said sarcastically.
The wolf stretched and then looked around.
"I see we're ditched, are you explaining to Fizzle what to do?" Boomer asked.
"Exactly, however I didn't have to tell her anything, she landed the ship all by herself. She is better than you. " commented the cat as he winked at her.
“I have to go back to my quarters to handle some paperwork and calculate the route for refueling. Now it's up to you to explain to Fizzle. " Flynn said as he descended the stairs and disappeared into the aft castle.

Fizzlepop walked down the stairs and stood in front of Boomer.
"Nice look FIzzle, I bet you well punished the beast that made those scars on you" Boomer commented after seeing her body.
"How do you know it was an animal that hurt me?" Fizzlepop asked puzzled.
"It can be seen from the scratches close and parallel to each other." said the wolf and then changed the subject.
"So Fizzle, we have some things to do before we leave, since we are on the water it is best to use it while we can. First of all we should clean the deck while the sun is not yet high. " Boomer explained.
Fizzlepop nodded.
"Great, I'll show you where the tools are and then we'll start."
The two went into the closet, got some buckets and snot, and went back to the main deck.
“So Fizzle, I'll clean the stern and foredeck, you can clean this central area. Remember to empty the bucket every now and then and use a little soap. " Boomer said and then took his bucket and went up the stairs.
Fizzlepop began to clean but soon found that she was having a hard time pressing snot to the floor using only the horn, so she balanced on her hind legs and used the others to grab the handle.
She was amazed at how easy it was, in fact it was not the first time she had stood upright on two legs, this was due to the fact that her joints had a wider range of motion, she had discovered this after some x-rays and the doctors told her which was a simple consequence of her "particular nature".

"Wow, I didn't realize you were that tall." Boomer had noticed her.
If he had stood next to her, his eyes would have been level with her horn.
"I guess it is strange for you to see a pony on two legs, usually we are always on four." Fizzlepop said.
"But it seems to me that you are taller than a normal pony, in fact I have never seen a pony as tall as you." Boomer had stopped moving his snot and looked at her with curiosity and perhaps a hint of suspicion.
"Why don't we talk a little about you? How did you end up being part of this crew? " Fizzlepop tried to change the subject.
"Oh, it's been a long time since I first met Captain Flynn." Boomer said as he resumed cleaning “my story is not that interesting, I was a very ordinary young man who worked with his parents on a remote farm in the middle of the countryside. I hated living there, nothing interesting happened and I spent my days dreaming a different life. "
"I would never have taken you for a farmer." Fizzlepop commented.
“Ahahahah, you're damn right, I can hardly believe it too! In short, a wolf who raises animals? It sounds like a joke. " Boomer said in a witty way and then resumed his story.
“One day while I was plowing the fields an airship landed abruptly near our shed. I ran to see what had happened and when I arrived I met the captain and Bash getting off the airship. The two were not injured but the airship had a seriously damaged engine, it was practically unusable. Since there were no mechanics in the area, I offered to repair the ship. "
"How did you know how to fix an engine?" Fizzlepop asked.
"From an early age I had always been passionate about mechanics and I had always dreamed of being able to get my hands on an engine."

"The repairs went on for several days, when I was not repairing the airship Flynn and Bash were helping me in the fields and on the farms. We had become familiar and had become friends. When the ship was ready to leave they asked me if I would like to come with them. Initially I thought it was a joke but when they asked me again I didn't think twice and accepted, I didn't want to spend a minute more in that place. And here after twenty years I continue to work on this ship. " Boomer finished telling.
"And your parents? Didn't they tell you anything? " Fizzlepop said.
"Oh yes, they were very against the idea of me abandoning the farm, however I told them it was my life and only I could decide what I wanted to do and be."

When the story was over, Fizzlepop resumed cleaning in silence.
She mulled over the last sentence said by Boomer, in some way it was similar to her, he had lived a life that did not satisfy him and one day he decided to leave his home and his parents.
She felt reassured knowing that she was not the only one to have committed a madness.

"Great, I think we can stop." Boomer's words roused her from her thoughts.
Fizzlepop checked her watch, it was half past eleven. Time had passed quickly.
"Now that we have pretended to clean we can go and check the engine and the cleaner."
The two went to put away buckets and snot and headed to the engine room.

"This engine does not require a lot of maintenance, the only thing we have to do is clean and oil the gears and make sure that the ash drain is not clogged."
Boomer passed her a rag and a can of oil.
"You just have to wet the rag with some oil and wipe it between the gears." he explained to her as he made the gesture as a demonstration.
"Got it, do I also have to make the conveyor belt?" Fizzlepop asked.
"Yes, in the meantime I'm going to see the exhaust and if there are any faults." Boomer answered.

Fizzlepop scrubbed the oil all the gears in just 15 minutes and Boomer had given her a hand as he was done before her.
"Now we need to check the water purifier." said the wolf as they moved to the other side of the engine.
Boomer opened a door revealing a large compartment, on the bottom there was a large amount of white powder.
"What you see is salt, which is the residue of water purification." Boomer took a pinch and handed it to Fizzlepop, the alicorn licked it and felt the strong taste of the salt on her tongue.
"We do not throw away the salt but we will put it in a container, in this way we can reuse it or resell it." Boomer said as he pointed to a barrel, there was more salt inside. Fizzlepop was given a shovel to move the salt and in a few minutes she finished the job.
Boomer closed the door and stood next to a control console.
"Now you just have to activate the pump to fill the water tank, just press this button." he pointed to a blue button on the panel.
Since it was at the height of an anthropomorphic, Fizzlepop stood up on his hind legs and pressed the button.
"Great, we're done for this morning, we will resume this afternoon after having lunch." Boomer said.

They left the engine room and they went to eat; when Flynn and Bash arrived they were already sitting at the table, obviously Tread was working in the kitchen.
"Welcome, you have worked a lot." Flynn greeted them.
"That's right, Fizzle gave me a big hand, mostly to clean." Boomer said as they sat down.
"I'm happy, in fact we would need a fifth crew member." replied the captain.
Fizzlepop thought about the situation, even though it had only been a day and a half she was already adjusting to life on board. She remembered the story of Boomer, would they ask her to be part of the crew?
At that moment Tread came from the kitchen, holding a large steaming pan.
"What have you prepared today?" Fizzlepop asked.
"Salmon fillet." Tread said in his monotone voice as he motioned for the others to bring the plates closer.

The five talked over lunch and when they finished Flynn turned to Fizzlepop.
“You've already done your bit of work for today. We will finish arranging the ship, you have the whole afternoon free. " Flynn said.
"I'm not tired, I can still help." Fizzlepop protested.
"I don't doubt Fizzle, but it's best not to overdo it, and remember we'll be together for a whole month so take your time."

After finishing lunch Fizzlepop went back to her room, in reality she was undecided on what to do, she rummaged in the bedside table to check what she had brought.
In the top drawer she had put the map, the royal pin, the pen and ink, a flashlight, a compass, the first aid kit, and the matches. The latter were not particularly necessary, she could have easily used the breath of fire but it was better to use the matches in case she did not want to reveal her drachronic part.
There were also personal hygiene products: the toothbrush and toothpaste, the mane brush, the shampoo and the box for contact lenses.
She brought it only in case she had to remove the lenses, but she could have kept them on practically forever since they were specially designed not to dry the eyes or become annoying over time.
In the lower compartment there were the books she had bought at the port of Blapolis, her eye fell on the diary, she hadn't written anything yet.
"I could start writing, it's only been two days but some things have happened."
Before she started writing she decided it was best to brush her teeth, in fact she hadn't brushed them since she left and her breath smelled faintly.
She grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste and headed for the bathroom.

Before entering she knocked on the door, it was better to make sure no one was there.
Nobody answered so she walked in without delay, she stood in front of the sink and after spreading the toothpaste on her toothbrush she brushed her teeth thoroughly.
She was about to go back to her room when she noticed the shower in the corner.
"I better cleanse me this evening, I wouldn't want to smell next to others."
She shivered as she imagined one of the guys telling her to wash, if that happened she would jump out of the airship in shame.

She returned to her room, closed the door and took the diary, pen and ink. She sat down and put everything on the desk.
When she opened the diary she did not start writing immediately but she thought about what to tell; she laughed if she took into consideration that she would be back from school by now and she would be having lunch with her parents.
Thinking about those two she felt a slight sense of guilt and lack, however it was not that strong since in recent times they spoke little to her and were only together when they ate. The memory of that last discussion made her boil by anger but she refrained from destroying the room.

About an hour passed and Fizzlepop was still writing, she decided that she didn't want to write a simple list of events like a report, but she wanted it to be similar to a story with the features of a diary.
"Knock knock ... Fizzle are you here?" she heard Tread's deep, dark voice.
Fizzlepop put her pen down and turned toward the door.
"I'm here, come in."
The door opened a little and Tread's head appeared.
"I came to warn you that soon we will take off again." said the bird.
"Okay, fine and thanks for telling me." Fizzlepop answered.
Tread disappeared closing the door.
Within seconds the ship began to tremble slightly and rise in altitude, the undulatory movement of the boat ceased and was replaced by the almost imperceptible feeling of emptiness under the hooves.

Another hour passed and finally she finished writing, reread the content and was happy, she had always been a skilled writer, there were no grammar and syntax errors.
She put the diary away on the bedside table while the pen and ink left them on the desk.
She looked at her watch and saw that it was still three in the afternoon, the only thing she could do was read or go to see what others were doing, the latter option was ignored because she did not want to disturb.
She took the second book in the Daring Do series and lay down in bed to read.

"Knock Knock…." someone knocked on the door again.
"Enter" Fizzle said as she closed the book and got into a sitting position. The door swung open and Flynn entered.
"Hey Fizzle, I came to tell you dinner is ready."
Only now did Fizzlepop realize that the room was dark and the sun had gone down outside.
"Sure, I'll be right there." said the alicorn as she got out of bed and put the book back on the bedside table.

When she arrived in the dining room she went to sit in her place.
"Welcome back Fizzle, we haven't seen you all afternoon, what did you do?" Boomer asked.
"I started writing my diary and then I read." Fizzlepop answered.
"Interesting, you should see Tread's book collection, he has tons of them in his cabin." commented the wolf.
"Nobody will get their hands on my treasure." Tread said, there was a hint of fear in his voice.
"However, I am afraid that the books will not be enough for me for the whole trip." Fizzlepop pointed out.
"You don't have to worry about that, in a few days we will stop to stock up on coal and provisions and you'll have the chance to buy something." Flynn assured her.
"What have you prepared anyway?" she asked Tread.
"Nothing special, a simple onion and chickpea soup." the cook answered as he filled her plate.

"Fizzle, I wanted to ask you a question." Bash spoke after a few minutes they were eating.
"Sure tell me." Fizzlepop said as she took a spoonful of soup.
“I've always wondered one thing, you are a pony.... so could you tell me how your logic of dressing works? Don't you feel… naked? " asked the imposing shark.
Fizzlepop thought about it for a while, it was the first time someone asked her a similar question but it made sense for someone who wasn't a pony.
"I guess you'll wonder why ponies don't regularly wear clothes like anthropomorphs."
Bash nodded.
"It is a matter of habit and comfort, since we are on four paws it is difficult for us to wear clothes, and then they would hinder us in our movements, in addition we have evolved to have a fur that is very resistant to cold but which does not make us overheat when it's hot. However, there are cases in which we use clothes such as when we have to be elegant, other times we only use some pieces of clothing such as hats or jackets to distinguish ourselves, for impious the postmen use a hat with the symbol of the post. " Fizzlepop tried to explain as best she could.
"And as for the… I don't know how to say it." Bash said slightly embarrassed.
"Do you mean the private parts?"
Bash nodded again.
“Given our structure, the private parts are covered by the tail and the hind legs, but I think that stallions have more difficulty in case they have an erection, however if it happens, to us it is not a scandal, we consider it as a completely natural reaction. " the alicorn said quietly.
"Really interesting." Tread commented as he had a hand on his chin, he had been listening intently to the whole conversation.

"Can I ask you a question?" Fizzlepop said.
"Of course." Flynn replied.
"What is the name of this ship?"
Flynn's eyes widened and leaned forward.
"Haven't we told you yet ?!" asked the astonished cat.
Fizzlepop shook his head no.
"Then I have the pleasure of introducing you to this wonderful vessel for the second time." Flynn said as he stood up.
"Welcome to the Skyshark." the commander's voice was full of pride.
"It's a beautiful name." Fizzlepop simply said as she ate the soup.
The cat deflated and sat down again.
"Feel free to comment, I bet you're thinking it's a trivial name." commented the saddened cat.
"No no no, it's absolutely a lovely name ... and perhaps a little predictable." the last part she just thought of so as not to hurt the captain's feelings.
"Glad you think so." Flynn finished saying.
Throughout the rest of the dinner they questioned each other until Fizzlepop gave a long yawn and put a hoof in front of her mouth.
"I think I'll go to bed, but I want to take a shower first." Fizzlepop said.
"Okay, good night Fizzle." Flynn said.
"Good night Fizzle." the other three repeated.
"See you tomorrow." Fizzlepop greeted them and left the dining room.

Chapter 15: Stopovers

It had been 13 moons since Fizzlepop had first written in her diary, by this time she had established a kind of routine: during the morning she helped to do the work on the airship such as cleaning it, making some repairs or just helping in the kitchen.
During the afternoon ahe had free time, sometimes ahe spent it reading while at other times ahe enjoyed talking to the other crew members or still working for lack of anything else.
In the evening she updated her diary.
One afternoon they stopped to catch some fresh fish and Fizzlepop took the opportunity to take a dip in the sea; she was amazed by Flynn's reaction when she tried to splash him with water, the cat made a strange noise and jumped in fright, suffice it to say that the captain sulked her for the rest of the day.

That morning Fizzlepop was checking all the knots and laces of the ropes, it was something that had to be done often for safety reasons.
"Land in sight!" Tread's voice stopped her as she tied a knot.
"Land in sight!" The hawk repeated as he was flying in circles around the Skyshark.
Flynn immediately exited his cabin and reached the deck, Tread landed beside him and pointed away and down.
Fizzlepop finished tying the rope and she walked over to the two, she was curious to know what had seen Tread.
"What did you see?" she asked the bird.
Flynn responded for the bird by holding a snot suspended in front of the pony's face.
"Look." said the cat only.
Fizzlepop rested her eye on the eyepiece and observed.

She could see an island from above, however it was quite particular.
There was a central area on which a small city had been built, it extended for a few kilometers in length and width but was also very tall, it seemed that the buildings had been built on a mountain or probably a volcano.
Surrounding the city there was water and then all around a small mountain range no higher than two hundred meters that completely surrounded the island as if it were a natural ring and barrier.
The waves crashed violently on the rocks and in some places you could see the wrecks of ships stranded among the rocks.

"That is Rocky Island, one of the very few ports in the middle of the ocean as well as a stop for airships only, normal ships cannot even approach because of the reef and the strong currents present all year round." Flynn explained.
"And are we going there?" Fizzlepop asked.
"Unfortunately we are obliged to refuel the coal, if I could I would avoid that island, it's just a den of scum and evil." the captain said scornfully.

"Let's get ready to go downhill!" Flynn yelled at the others and then turned to Fizzlepop.
"Fizzle, when we dock I want you to always be with one of us, that island is full of people with bad intentions ready to do everything to get rich and above all take advantage of those like you."
At these words Fizzlepop worried, the cat had never spoken to her like this since they had known each other.
"What do you mean by people like me?" she asked Flynn looking into his eyes.
The captain looked away slightly and then answered her.
"You must know that ponies are considered valuable commodities in these parts, especially unicorns."
"Why?" Fizzlepop was slightly frightened by Flynn's somber tone.
"I'm not sure why, but it's certainly not good." Flynn sighed and then resumed speaking in a slightly lower voice "but too many times I have seen ponies being sold and bought as if they were mere commodities ... I don't want the same thing happen to you." the cat finished speaking and put a hand on her shoulder, his tone almost paternal.

"Go get ready, we'll get off when we've docked." said the cat.
Fizzlepop went back to her cabin, took the cloak and backpack and put them on.
As she put on her backpack she remembered keeping the box with the gems inside.
"It is better to leave them on board."
As she locked them in the nightstand, it occurred to her that he couldn't pay with the dollars she had left.
"I'll ask Flynn to lend me some money."
She left the room and went to the deck.

"There you are, Fizzle, we're about to dock." Flynn told her from the helm.
The aircraft descended from altitude and stopped next to one of the docks, unlike the classic ones these were suspended because they were only used for airships, in this way it was also possible to put piers one on top of the other.
Boomer and Tread got out first and tied the ropes to the moorings.
"Me, Boomer and Tread will take care of replenishing the rations and the coal." the captain gave orders and then turned to Bash and Fizzlepop.
"Fizzle, you can get off the airship to get what you need, but Bash will accompany you."
Fizzlepop rolled her eyes. “Yes daddy. How will I pay? I have no credit. "
Flynn gave a small grin at Fizzlepop's mockery but he pretended not to hear.
"Do not worry." the captain took a silver ingot from his pockets and passed it to Fizzle.
"Since you can't pay with gems because they are worth too much I thought I'd give you this, just outside the docks there should be a money exchange willing to exchange it for shillings." each shilling was worth about twelve dollars.
Fizzlepop grabbed the ingot and put it in the bag.
"Are you sure about give me so much?" she asked.
"Don't worry, it's nothing compared to your gems, and then I was already thinking about taking shillings as they are valuable in almost all of the ocean and surrounding coasts. Buy what you want and then you can give me the rest. "
"Okay, thanks again." Fizzlepop stepped off the ship with Bash.
"And please, stay close to Bash and don't trade that bar for less than eighty shillings." the captain yelled at her as they walked away.

As Flynn said just beyond the docks there was a currency exchange, it was a building with a counter facing the outside.
"Welcome, how can I help you?" said an anthropomorphic mouse on the other side of the counter, his build was small and his voice slightly hoarse.
"Hi, I'd like to exchange this bar for shillings." Fizzlepop said as she pulled out the piece of silver.
"Of course, just put it on the scales and we'll see what it's worth." the money changer pointed to a large scale with equally large plates.
Fizzlepop placed the ingot on the plate closest to her and then the mouse began to add weights until it reached equilibrium.
"That's 32 grams, so I can give you 67 shillings." the mouse was about to grab the ingot but Fizzlepop quickly removed it from the plate it was leaning on and brought it to her chest.
"Okay, I think I'll go and trade somewhere else." Fizzlepop was already about to put it back in her backpack before being abruptly stopped by the mouse.
“Wait wait wait! I can give you 70 shillings. " the money changer spoke hastily as he leaned over the counter.
"I want 100." Fizzlepop said flatly.
"100 is too much, 75" the mouse tried to bargain.
"So let's do this: you give me 100 shillings and I don't scream that your scales are rigged."
The money changer drew back and looked at the pony with disdain.
“How dare you imply that I'm cheating ?! I am an honest mouse. "

Fizzlepop looked around and saw that there was a well a few meters away, approached it and grabbed a handful of water with magic. When she returned to the counter she dropped the water next to the scale.
"What are you going to do?!" said the mouse.
"Shut up and look!" Fizzlepop cut him off.
The water on the counter slowly slid towards the mouse and fell to the ground.
"From what I know international trade law says that currency exchange counters must be perfectly flat, it would be a real disgrace if an inspector found out that a gentlerat like you is transgressing." said Fizzlepop flirtatiously.
The rat began to sweat, if he hadn't accepted this pony would have been the bane of his business.
"Okay, I'll give you 100 shillings but you have to keep your mouth shut." he said hastily in a low voice.
"It is a pleasure to do business with you." Fizzlepop didn't bother to whisper and gave him the silver bar.

After slicing through the exchange the two walked away.
"Bash, can you keep some shillings?" Fizzlepop asked as she handed him a bag full of coins. It was better not to keep all the money in one place.
The big shark grabbed the bag and put it in the shoulder bag. He had carefully observed the exchange that had taken place before and was amazed by the pony's audacity.
“How did you know that rat was trying to trick you? It could not see with the naked eye that the counter was not completely flat. "
Fizzlepop continued to walk forward but turned her left ear.
"Honestly I was not sure that the counter was wrong, but what made me discover the cheat is that under the ingot it was engraved that it weighed exactly 40 grams, when the mouse said a lower value I sensed that he was trying to scam me. " Fizzlepop explained.
“I admit you were smart. Where are we going anyway? " Bash asked
"I'm looking to see if there is a map of the city."

The two walked for about fifty meters through the streets until they reached a small square, luckily there was a notice board with various hanging sheets and a large map.
Fizzlepop walked over and examined it.
"Rocky Island is developed in height, it is divided into five levels and we are on the fourth and to reach the library we have to go down to the second."
Bash nodded and they began to walk.
On the way they moved between streets and alleys, most of the buildings were shops, some were selling handicrafts or even exotic products that she had never seen before. There were also many taverns where people could be heard talking, some screaming while others seemed drunk.
At one point they come across a typical street fight between two anthropomorphs, one seemed to be a feline while the other was clearly a fish; Fizzlepop and Bash ignored them and went on their way.
As they walked they also saw a brothel, so it seemed.
Fizzlepop didn't react in any way, she didn't feel embarrassed at the mention of sex even though she never did, yet she occasionally masturbated when she was in her privacy.

They passed a shop that attracted the attention of Fizzlepop, in the window were exposed a myriad of blades of different lengths, some were inlaid and decorated while others were more practical and without frills.
"You should get one, it can be very useful." Bash told her.
"Actually it's not a bad idea."
The duo entered the shop, the room was not very large, on the walls were exposed various blades including swords at one or two hands, knives, axes, spears and many other tools of death.
At the bottom there was the counter.
"Hi, how can I help you?" an old griffin appeared from a door behind the counter.
"I saw that you sell knives, I would like to buy one." Fizzlepop said.
"Of course, please come and tell me what you want." the griffin signaled her to approach a showcase in which there were many knives.
"How long would you like the blade?" he asked her.
"I wish it was short enough to be hidden and long enough to be practical."
"Excellent choice, then I recommend one of these." the griffin pointed to the shelf in the middle.
"The blades are all in Damascus steel, highly resistant but at the same time flexible, designed to always be razor sharp."

Fizzlepop looked at them one by one.
"What about this?" she said, pointing to a knife she liked very much.
"Ah, an excellent knife." the griffin opened the case and grabbed the knife to show it.
"The blade is fifteen centimeters long while the handle eleven," the griffin swung it a couple of times and then balanced it on a claw.
"The knife is perfectly balanced, it is light but strong, it has a reinforced tip to pierce anything without bending, the blade is sharp enough to cut meat like air but it can also cut fibrous materials such as wood thanks to the serrated part next to it. 'handle."
Fizzlepop was delighted by the presentation.
"However this is not only an instrument of death, but also of elegance." the griffin handed her the knife and she grabbed it with magic.
"As you can see the handle is made of oak, the details are pure silver and a small gem is set on the tip which, I must admit, perfectly matches her beautiful eyes." the compliment he paid her was not to woo her but was the sincere opinion of an old gunsmith.
"Since you are a pony it is possible to cover the handle with leather, in this way you can grab the knife with your mouth without breaking your teeth."
Fizzlepop had listened carefully and was already tempted to buy it.
"It is truly a beautiful piece of craftsmanship. However, no offense, I would like proof that you are not trying to cheat me. "

Instead of indignation, the griffin smiled.
"you're absolutely right, it's always better to be wary, I couldn't wait for you to ask me. Now I'll show you a live demonstration, pass me the knife please. "
Fizzlepop gave him the knife, the griffin went behind the counter and fastened the handle to a vise, then took a large hammer.
"Come on miss and observe, as I said the blade is resistant and flexible, to prove it will help me your friend who seems to be quite strong."
Bash stepped forward and stood next to the griffin.
"What should I do?" asked the shark.
"It's simple, you have to hammer the blade of the knife with all your strength, if it breaks the lady can get another knife for free and I will be a liar."
Bash glared at Fizzlepop, who merely motioned him to proceed.
The shark grabbed the hammer and began to bang it fiercely on the blade from different angles; the blows were violent and so strong that all the window panes shook.
Bash gave the knife about twenty strokes and then stopped, the griffin took the knife back and showed it to Fizzlepop.
"As you can see the blade is perfectly intact, there are no bends, cracks or chips."
The griffin exuded pride in creating him.

"Okay, I'll take it, how much does it cost?" Fizzlepop asked excitedly.
"Excellent choice miss, this magnificent knife is worth 60 shillings, but for you I am willing to give it to you for 50."
The proposal was tempting.
"It seems like a great price, you should accept." Bash encourage her.
"Deal." Fizzlepop said.
"Perfect, I'll go get the sheath, do you also want me to cover the handle with leather?" he asked her.
"Of course."
The griffin disappeared into the room from which he had appeared before and after about ten minutes he returned with the knife and a holster.
“Does the knife want to keep it attached to the legs or torso? I recommend one of the hind legs. " said the shopkeeper.
"Then go for the right hind leg."
The griffin approached her and lifted the cloak to reveal the paw, didn't even comment on the scars and quickly tied the sheath straps to the thigh.
Fizzlepop shivered slightly at the touch but when he finished adjusting the holster she felt only a light weight on her thigh, the straps were tight enough not to come undone but loose enough to be comfortable and leave no marks on the fur.
When he put the cloak back down the knife was almost completely covered, only part of the sheath protruding.
"Thanks so much." Fizzlepop thanked him and gave him the bag with the 50 shillings.
"Thanks to you." the griffin returned the gesture.
Fizzlepop left the room satisfied with Bash.

"I almost forgot I got off the airship to get some books." she told Bash, the two had resumed walking towards the second level.
"Yeah, is there something else you need to take?" Bash asked her.
"I think I also need more shampoo and ink."
When they got to the library she turned to the shark.
"Listen, it could take some time, so you'd better go and do something else in the meantime."
"Are you sure? I can just wait. " the shark said apprehensively.
"No need, I don't want to bore you and certainly nothing bad can happen in a library." Fizzlepop reassured him.
"Okay, but if something happens, scream and I'll come right away."

When she entered she saw that the library was quite large, there were two floors each more than 60 square meters, certainly it would have had a lot to look at.
As she walked among the shelves she noticed that many books were written in other languages although basic was the official global language, this had been decided over 800 years earlier to simplify international relations.
"They should do the same thing with the currency."
As she scrolled through the books she thought about what she could get, she liked novels very much, she had read a myriad of them and she had even written a few, and the beauty was that there could be endlessly because the imagination had no limits, unlike texts specialized in subjects such as biology or history.
After over forty minutes she had managed to choose some books, had taken a couple more adventure novels and a detective story about a murderer on a cruise, then had taken a book on marine flora and fauna and the part two of myths and legends. She had already read the first in the previous days.
She went to the cashier and put the books on the counter, the clerk was an anthropomorphic with the likeness of a parrot.
"Do you also have ink?" Fizzlepop asked.
The parrot reached under the counter and took out a bottle full of black ink, the blue one was rare expensive.
"That's 4 shillings please."
Fizzlepop pulled the bag of coins out of his backpack and handed four to the parrot.
"Thank you very much and have a nice day." the clerk greeted her.
"Good day to you." Fizzle said goodbye and put all the books in the pockets of his backpack.

When she came out of the library she noticed that Bash had not returned yet, the only thing to do was to wait there because going around looking for him blindly would not have helped.
While she waited she began to leaf through Myths and Legends, she enjoyed reading bizarre stories about ancient relics and mysterious creatures.
"Who knows if some of these are true."
In fact, most of the myths were born from misunderstanding, sometimes the stories were explained with science and logic, but sometimes they remained covered by a veil of mystery.
"Every legend has a grain of truth."

"Hey little pony, what are you doing here alone?" a large anthropomorphic fish walked in front of her followed by three other smaller ones.
Fizzlepop put the book away and looked up.
"I'm waiting for a friend, go away."
"You have to be careful, there are shady people around, maybe you better come with us." the fish's voice oozed evil intentions, and their presumptuous smiles only confirmed her theory.
"So these are the guys Flynn warned me about."
The big fish was as tall as Bash but this one had no muscle but was fat and ugly.
The three henchmen were a bird, a lizard and a fox.

The three henchmen had taken months to her right and left to corner her.
Fizzlepop carefully analyzed the situation and possible escape routes.
She could have tried to deal with all four of them, it would have been a great way to try the new knife but it certainly would have been too reckless and dangerous.
The second option was to scream out loud in the hope that Bash would arrive, however he could not easily defeat the four bastards; in addition to it there was the possibility they grabbed her to kidnap her before the shark arrived .
the only option was to escape and search for Bash in the meantime.

Fizzlepop charged her horn.
"I'm sorry, but your presence is somewhat ... unwelcome." the moment she said the last word she threw a powerful magical discharge at the guy who stood to her right.
The reptile fell to the ground screaming in agony holding its face, the blow being powerful enough to cause serious damage to the henchman.
Fizzlepop did not wait for him to get up but ran away in the freed direction.
"GET HER!" she heard screams from behind her as she moved as fast as she could.
“BASH WHERE ARE YOU ?! BASH! " Fizzlepop yelled the name of his friend.

Fizzlepop had been running for a while, being a pony she could have run long distances without getting tired but apparently her pursuers too were determined to catch up.
She had arrived on a platform with piers, beyond the ledge there was 60 meters of free fall, it was a dead end.
"Bash! Where ... "Fizzlepop did not have time to finish the sentence that from above her landed the big fish.
"And where the fuck does this come from ?!"
"Give up little pony, there's no point in running away." the thug said as he approached menacingly with a sword in his hand.
Fizzlepop tried to unleash a burst of energy but as soon as she charged the horn she felt grabbed by her neck, the fish with a quick movement lifted her off the ground with a firm grip around the pony's throat.
Fizzlepop tried to kick and hit him with her hind legs while with her front legs she held herself up to keep from suffocating.
"You will make me rich by selling yourself." the thug said and laughed.
"Put her down Vynce!" Bash had finally arrived.
"Bash you lousy traitor, how dare you introduce yourself here ?!" The fish turned but held his grip on Fizzlepop's throat.
"Let her go Vynce!" he screamed at the shark as he grabbed the handle of his machete.
"So that's what the bastard is called, these two know each other."
"Or? What are you planning to do? You are alone and we are four. " at that moment the other three henchmen also appeared.
Fizzlepop saw that the grip on her throat had loosened slightly and the fish was no longer paying attention to her.
"This is the moment." she silently took her knife from the holster and with a sharp blow thrust it into the fish's arm.
When Vynce felt the dagger stuck in his forearm he grunted and threw the pony away in pain.
Fizzlepop flew in the direction of the ledge but she was grabbed by Bash, she felt slightly humiliated at being handled by other people with such ease.

"Are you OK?" Bash asked as he set her down.
"Yes, all right." Fizzlepop answered after getting back on all fours.
"Thats enough! Give up or we'll make you have a nice flight. " the four thugs had regrouped to get around the pony and the shark.
"We are trapped." Bash said softly.
Fizzlepop looked around for a way out, there were no airships docked at the piers, the only road was blocked by the four bastards who were also armed, behind them they had a precipice that would have led them to certain death.
Fizzlepop continued to search until she saw behind them there was a barrel, on it there was written oil for lamps.
"Bash, when they are in range, take the barrel behind us and throw the oil on them." she explained in a low voice as she continued to look forward.
Bash listened carefully and looked behind him with the corner of his eye and then nodded.
The two backed away slowly as the delinquents moved closer to each other.
"NOW," Fizzlepop yelled.
Bash grabbed the barrel and removed the lid, then with all the force he had he flooded the enemies who were soaked in the black liquid.
As soon as he realized what the viscous substance was, Vynce's eyes widened.
"No, please don't!" he tried to beg.
Fizzlepop didn't listen to him and took a deep breath ... the thugs were engulfed in flames.

Bash was shocked by the scene in front of him, Fizzle had just breathed fire like a dragon, Vynce and his henchmen were screaming in agony and pain as they burned alive.
Never would he have expected Fizzle to kill so brutally and in cold blood.
What scared him was the pony remained motionless watching with a slight grin on her face even though the enemies were begging for mercy, one was even asking to be killed, however Fizzle didn't move to finish them.
Bash couldn't stand by and with quick movements he stabbed all four thugs with his machete.
Fizzlepop did not comment the act of mercy, but thought about what she had done: she had just killed four people by setting them on fire, it was certainly one of the worst ways to die.
"They deserved it." in her heart she felt no regret, but she was happy to have rid the world of such scum, she felt like when she had electrocuted that bully at school.
"Fizzle, are you okay?" she was awakened by Bash's words.
"Yes, it's best to get out of here as soon as possible." she said coldly.
Fizzlepop leapt and passed the flames, stepped forward and picked up the knife.
The blade was stained with blood, the pony grimaced in disgust but not at the sight of the red fluid but because her beautiful knife had been soiled with that bastard's blood.
She ran the blade over her cloak and when it was clean dhe put the knife back in the holster.
She was about to return to the fourth level but saw that Bash was not following her, he was still motionless looking at the corpses.
"Here we go?" she screamed at the shark.
Bash came out of his trance, passed the flames, and took a step alongside Fizzlepop.
"There we are, let's go back to the airship."

As he walked behind the pony he kept remembering what had happened, he would never forget the coolness with which Fizzle had acted.

Chapter 16: Memories

Fizzlepop and Bash had finally arrived at the Skyshark, along the way she had stopped to take the shampoo and as if that were not enough they were also lost in the alleys and streets.
Neither of them talked about what had happened and they had remained silent during the walk, Fizzlepop had no regrets for what had happened and Bash had completely changed his opinion of the pony: if before he saw her as a creature albeit weak and defenseless , now he realized she could hurt and kill without batting an eye.

"Fizzle, Bash, you're back." Flynn called them, the cat was standing on the dock holding a notepad.
"Yes, we had an unwanted encounter." Fizzlepop said.
"Vynce." Bash said this only but it was enough to make Flynn realize what had happened.
"Is he still chasing you?" he asked the two in a worried tone.
"He and his henchmen won't bother anyone anymore, we killed them all." Fizzlepop spoke coldly and climbed aboard leaving the cat baffled.
"I'll tell you later, now it's best to leave as soon as possible." Bash said.
"I see, I'm going to get Boomer and Tread, then we'll sail."

Fizzlepop had gone back to her room, took off her backpack and then her cloak, unfastened the holster straps and laid it on the back of the chair.
She opened her backpack and put away the books she had bought and put the new ink bottle on the table next to the pen.
"All done." Fizzlepop stood motionless for a moment in the middle of the room.
It is not that she was thinking of anything in particular but she felt as if the adrenaline of the battle had left her, now she felt slightly as if something was missing.
She took a deep breath but made a grimace of disgust, there was an unpleasant smell in the air that seemed to come from her.
She sniffed and smelled a slight stench of sweat mixed with burnt fur and dry blood, the latter could be recognized by the ferrous smell and the fact that the fur on the front legs was encrusted.
"I better take a shower."
Fizzlepop took the shampoo and went to the airship bathroom.

To wash herself she used cold water, perhaps in this way it would have washed away that strange sense of dizziness that ahe felt, plus she didn't like hot water on scars.
"Fizzle, are you here?" ahe heard Boomer's muffled voice.
"Yes, what is it?" she asked him as the icy water ran over her.
"I just wanted to warn you that we are about to take off." he told her.
"Okay thanks." replied the pony.
Fizzlepop continued washing for a few seconds.
"Look Fizzle, I heard what happened..." Boomer wasn't gone yet.
"I don't want to criticize you or lecture you, but just know this: that feeling of emptiness... that hole you feel in your soul will go away with time if you are able to go on, but if you stop and think about it... it will devour you." finished saying that Boomer went away.
Fizzlepop had stood still and silent with her eyes on the ground to meditate on the wolf's words.
"Does he know anything about it too?"

After she finished washing she dried as best she could and went to the main deck.
As soon as she got out from below deck she felt the light wind blowing on her fur and moving her mane, they had taken off and had already reached full altitude.
"Fizzle, welcome back again." Flynn spoke from the helm station.
Fizzlepop went up the stairs to reach him but when she stood next to him she didn't say anything, in fact she didn't feel very talkative.
"Today you have experienced a new adventure..." Flynn said as he looked forward to the horizon.
"Do you regret it?" he asked her, it was implied that she was referring to the killing of Vynce and his henchmen.
"No, they got what they deserved. Anyway Bash seemed to know him pretty well, what relationship did they have?" Fizzlepop said quickly and confidently but the cat stood for a few seconds to contemplate the view.
"If you don't want to tell me it doesn't matter." Fizzlepop was about to go down the stairs but she was stopped by Flynn.
"Bash used to work with him, they were great friends but one day they quarreled and separated, I met him a few days later. I can't tell you anything else, you'll have to ask Bash if you want to know the details. " Flynn said and then released the rudder after locking it in place.
"It's lunch time." the cat said as he put his hands on his stomach to make it clear that he was hungry.
The two went into the dining room.

When they arrived they each sat in their own seats and Tread had already filled the plates.
For a few minutes they all ate in silence, occasionally glancing at each other and then returning to focus on the meal.
"Fizzle, there is one thing we wanted to ask you." Flynn said as he set the silverware down and leaned back in his chair.
"Of course." Fizzlepop answered.
The four in front of her looked at each other intently and then all turned their gaze to her.
"You're not a normal pony, it is so?" the captain asked her.
Fizzlepop dropped the fork, her blood running cold in her veins.
"Did they find my true identity!?"
She looked up and saw that they were waiting for an answer.
"It makes no sense to keep hiding, they will have guessed everything by now."
However she preferred not to reveal everything immediately, maybe she was misunderstanding.

"What makes you say that?" she asked puzzled.
"We have noticed that you are too tall to be a normal pony." Boomer said.
"And that you can see in the dark just like me." Flynn added.
"Besides, the scars on your back don't seem to be claw marks but as if you've had other appendages." Tread pointed out.
"And then today you spit flames like a dragon and your teeth are particularly pointed."Bash finished saying.

As she had predicted, the four had managed to discover everything, the fault was hers too because she had not been more careful.
Fizzlepop took a deep breath.
"You're right, I'm not a unicorn ... I'm an hybrid between an alicorn and a dragon."
The four were amazed, for the first time on Tread's face there was an expression of shock mixed with curiosity, Flynn's eyes narrowed as Bash and Boomer had dropped their cutlery.
"What do you mean by hybrid?" Tread asked.
Fizzlepop decided it would take her too long to answer one question at a time.
"Maybe it's better that I explain everything to you from the beginning but try not to interrupt me, I will answer you at the end of the story."
The anthropomorphs recovered and then signaled Fizzlepop to proceed.

“My father and my mother are the rulers of Hyponia as well as both alicorns. Being their daughter I was also an alicorn but for some reason I also had dragon traits, that is teeth, eyes and the ability to breathe fire. " Fizzlepop paused, the four said nothing but were listening intently.
"One night while I was on a trip I was attacked by an ursa, I fought it but my friends ran away abandoning me, the ursa overwhelmed me and tore my wings and broke my horn." in the tone of the pony there was hatred and pain.
"I was in a coma for a year and when I woke up everyone I knew began to treat me differently, it made me feel bad and on two occasions I had bursts of magic and anger and ended up hurting several ponies but I was provoked and I had reacted accordingly.
My parents decided with the other nobles that I was not ready to be queen even if I was fully capable of it.
Angry and betrayed, I realized that it made no sense to stay there and I decided to embark on my own journey, away from what was hurting me, to discover new experiences and things. " she finished explaining.

The others weren't expecting a similar story at all, they struggled even to process the information.
"I think I'll never stop saying that but you are the most interesting pony I've ever met." Boomer said excited.
"Now that you don't have wings and a horn can you still be considered an alicorn?" Tread asked her, the hawk was interested in more "scientific" issues.
"If you are referring to the fact that I will live for millennia and have unlimited magical power then the answer is yes, however I cannot even do the things that would be natural for a normal unicorn or pegasus." Fizzlepop repeated what the doctors had told her.
"Don't you regret leaving your home?" Boomer asked.
"Honestly no, I think I can no longer consider it home." she answered them.
"How do you see in the dark if your pupils are like those of a normal pony?" said Flynn as she approached to look into her eyes.
"I'm wearing contact lenses, this is because it was necessary to hide my dragon characteristics from the other nobles."
Fizzlepop took off her contact lenses and then looked at them.
"They are gorgeous, you should show them more often, just like the rest of your body." said the fascinated cat while holding his chin with one hand.
"Are you serious? Doesn't that look strange or creepy? " Fizzlepop asked, struck by the cat's statement.
"She's right, they look good on you." Tread said.
"I completely agree." Bash added.
Fizzlepop put the lenses back on, she would take them off when she returns to her room to put them in the their box.
"So... you won't chase me away?" she asked uncertainly.
"Fizzle, if you think our opinion of you has changed or we no longer want you among us, know that you are wrong, you are now a full member of the crew and nothing will ever change that."
Flynn reassured her with sincere words.
"Thanks, I'm happy to have met all of you."
Fizzlepop felt that her hole in her soul had filled slightly, even though they recently knew each other, they made her feel happy and welcomed much more than the alleged "friends" she has known for years.

The crew finished eating and everyone went to their cabin, they were all tired after the latest events.
When Fizzlepop arrived in her room the first thing she did was take off her contact lenses and put them in their box.
She gave a long yawn and lay down on the bed under the covers resting her head on a pillow, in a few minutes she fell asleep.

She was walking in a pitch-black ocean, the sky was dark and the air smelled of burning.
"Is anybody there!?" her voice echoed.
Every step she took her hooves sank into the murky water creating small waves.
"It must be a dream..."
"My child, why did you go away?!"
Fizzlepop turned abruptly and saw her father flanked by her mother.
"Dad, my friends have abandoned me, you have abandoned me." she answered them.
"You weren't worthy." said her mother, her gaze was directed ahead, it seemed that they were not even listening or seeing her.
"Since I was born I have been preparing for the role that was rightfully mine, but you have decided to listen to those filthy worms!" Fizzlepop yelled at them.
The two made no move, they remained straight with their eyes towards the horizon.
"You are not an alicorn, you will never be queen!" Brisk spoke sternly.
Angry and choleric she hit her father with a hoof who fell to the ground without making any noise, however his body was swallowed by the water without leaving any trace.
Fizzlepop was puzzled by the strange scene as she stared at where her father's body had disappeared.
She moved her gaze to Cherry but the mare was disappearing as she was sucked into the water as if she were sinking into quicksand.
"Mom! grab my paw! " she commanded her as she reached out to join her.
Cherry did not move, as before she seemed to be in trance.
"Fizzlepop Berrytwist, you have deeply disappointed us ... never come back!" the queen said before being swallowed completely.

Fizzlepop was alone again in the dark ocean , the conversation she had just had angered her.
"Hey Fizzlepoop, what a pain it must be for your parents to have to keep up with a handicapped pony." the arrogant bully appeared behind her.
"I see you haven't had enough!" Fizzlepop unleashed a burst of energy at the bastard.
The stallion fell to the ground wriggling and screaming in pain, the body caught fire and was in the flames, the screams of pain began to blend with spasmodic laughter.
The body sank into the water but as soon as it disappeared all around her a fire broke out.
Fizzlepop looked around in fear, the air was becoming hot and difficult to breathe.
"Fizzlepop, are you going to kill everyone who wants to hurt you?"
The four henchmen had appeared around her, they were standing but their bodies were burning, their skin was blackened, there were burns and blisters, on the faces it was possible to see some parts of bones such as the cheekbones and the forehead.
"RROARRR!" as if that were not enough, the Ursa also emerged from the water.
Fizzlepop tried to escape from the beast who haunted her nightmares but she was grabbed by the four henchmen and held steady, the flames engulfing her and burning her alive.
Her fur was burning, she felt a hallucinating pain that made her want to die, it was like being skinned alive.
"So that's what those bastards heard as they died." she found it hard to think.
"RROARR!" the ursa stretched out a paw and hit her in the face causing her to sink into total darkness.

"Fizzle!"
"Fizzle!"
"Fizzle!"

Fizzlepop was abruptly awakened by someone calling her and shook her holding her shoulders.
She opened her eyes and saw Bash standing by the bed, looking worried and scared.
She rose quickly to a sitting position.
"Bash, what's going on ?!" she asked hastily.
"Nothing, it's just that you were screaming and waving while you slept, I had to wake you up." Bash said trying to reassure her.
"Well, thanks for waking me up, now you can go." Fizzlepop said and then turned her head to the wall.
Bash straightened up and sighed.
"You dreamed of this morning, right?" more than a question it seemed like a statement.
"I dreamed that too." the pony answered in a low voice.
"If you want to talk about it, know that I am there." Bash said.
The imposing anthropomorph was about to leave the room, he had his hand on the handle and was about to open the door.
"Why did you know that criminal?" Fizzlepop asked the question that had been buzzing in her head since she'd spoken to Flynn.

The shark stopped and then turned back, took the chair under the desk and got so that he was sitting in front of Fizzlepop, he looked into her eyes and then let out a sigh.
"We were once great friends, traveling the world trading exotic and rare goods to earn a living." Bash began to tell the story of him.
"However, a great economic crisis came and what we were selling was no longer worth, Vynce decided that the only way to earn something was to trade something that was worth a lot.
One day he decided to kidnap a unicorn without my knowledge, he sold him in a slave market and made a lot of money, I didn't know where he started making all that money because he didn't tell me what he was doing. Vynce fell into a vicious circle, he had created a trafficking in sentient beings. " Bash slumped slightly in the chair, his voice withering away.
"Inevitably I learned of his terrible acts, I immediately strongly opposed what he was doing, we quarreled to the point of resorting to weapons." Bash was panting and his hands were shaking slightly, Fizzlepop put a hoof on his shoulder and gave them a reassuring look.
“We fought to the point of killing each other, I managed to hurt him but he cut off my left hand. I had to escape and a few days later I met Flynn. " the shark paused, raised his head and saw that he had a look of determination and his fist was clenched.
“I promised myself that if one day I had the chance I would have stopped him at all costs. But ... you took care of it. " Bash finished saying.

Fizzlepop drew back slightly.
"I'm sorry, I should have left him to you." she apologized.
“No no no, you misunderstood. To stop him I didn't mean killing him, but stopping the trafficking of sentient beings. " Basch tried to reassure her but the pony still looked disconsolate.
"Plus he got what she deserved, you were brave and you acted in good faith, you can't be blamed for doing what you can to defend us." at these words Fizzlepop raised her head and gave a small smile without showing her teeth.
"Thanks, I'm glad you think so." Fizzlepop spread its front legs.
"Hug?" she didn't know why she wanted it, it wasn't her style but in that moment ,maybe, it would have served to both of them.
Bash wrapped his large arms around her and squeezed her to show affection.
"Your fur is pretty soft for a scarred renegade princess living with a crew of scoundrels." Bash said as he ran his right hand over Fizzlepop's fur.
"And your touch is quite delicate for an anthropomorphic giant shark without a hand and a leg." the pony responded to the friendly teasing and Bash laughed.

The two remained embraced for a few seconds until Bash released his grip and stood up.
"I have to get back to work, see you later." said the shark.
"Okay, I'll do something else." Fizzlepop answered.
Bash put the chair back and then left the room.

Now that she was awake she got out of bed and checked her watch, it was already six in the evening.
"Damn, did I sleep that much ?!"
Even though she had rested all afternoon she didn't feel very energetic.
At that moment she didn't want to read so she started looking for something to do.
She went to the main deck and found Boomer near the helm holding a wrench in his hand.
"Hey Boomer, do you need a help?" she yelled at him from the bottom of the stairs.
"Hi Fizzle, I've just finished putting the maneuvering mechanisms in place so I don't need help anymore." he answered her while she gave a last squeeze to a bolt.
"Oh .. I was bored and didn't know what to do." Fizzlepop said disconsolately.
Boomer leaned against the railing.
“I'm sorry, I have nothing to make you do and Flynn is locked up in his office. Maybe you could help Boomer who is putting the goods right, as for Tread I think he's cooking at the time. " said the dog.
"Thanks, see you later." the dog replied by waving hello.

Fizzlepop decided to go and see what Tread was doing as she wouldn't be useful for moving the heavy crates, there was a reason why Bash was the storage guy.
As Boomer had said, the hawk was in the kitchen untangling among pots and stoves, wearing his usual apron and apathetic face.
"Hi Fizzle, did you come to help me?" Tread had already noticed her, which was no surprise as nothing ever escaped him.
"Yes, I didn't know what to do." Fizzle answered as she approached.
Fortunately, the kitchen was quite large if proportionate to the rest of the ship, you could move in two without problems, in addition Fizzle had learned to stand on its hind legs so as not to hinder the path with its length. When she remained in that position she was almost the same height as the falcon.
"Great, I need you to slice the onion, chop the parsley and mix every now."
Fizzlepop immediately grabbed a cutting board and a knife and began slicing the vegetables.
"What are you preparing?" she asked him, there was an enjoyable aroma in the air.
"Ramen, is a recipe from the Far East. The flaw is very laborious and complex to do. " Tread answered as he handled a piece of meat.

The two worked in sync for a while until strangely Tread started a speech.
"As for this morning ... we have all killed someone, for good or bad reasons." Tread said as he moved a pan.
"Really? I did not know." Fizzlepop said curiously, even though she was turned with her back to the hawk her ears were turned so that she could hear him.
"Yes Fizzle..." Tread sighed "and I most of all." he admitted in his usual monotone voice.
"How many?" the pony knew it was rude to dig into other people's past but now she wanted to know and besides she hadn't started the conversation.
"Unfortunately more than I would like to admit." Tread suddenly stopped doing what he was doing "I haven't always been a sailor, I was once part of a brotherhood of assassins, initially our goal was to clean the world by people like Vynce, we were criminals who acted with noble intentions." Tread's gaze was distant as if he were reviewing his memories.
“However everything is bound to rot... By the time the fraternity had taken on a new form, we were turning into mercenaries in the pay of those who could pay the most. Noble intentions turned into personal interests and honor became gain." the hawk's tone grew heavier.
“Some of my brothers and I opposed this change, we knew it was not right as it went against the principles we had always followed. There was an internal conflict in the brotherhood, we spent every day trying to kill each other. The result of that war is that they control the brotherhood and I am the only survivor among my comrades." he finished saying.
Fizzlepop had stopped moving for a while and she had focused only on the story.
"I'm really sorry for your teammates." she said saddly.
"It's a thing of the past now, now I'm just a ship's cook cooking for a crew of misfits." Tread gave a small smile full of melancholy.

"How did you feel when you had to kill someone?" Fizzlepop asked.
"It depends on who I was killing, if I had to eliminate a criminal who had exterminated entire families then I was happy to do so, however when I had to kill my brothers and sisters ... it was another matter." Tread made a slight grimace of pain as if he had been stung.
"Remember this Fizzle: It doesn't matter if you kill someone, it only matters who you kill and how you do it." Tread's words exuded wisdom, experience and bad memories.

The mood in the room had dropped drastically, the two remained silent to meditate for a few minutes.
"It's ready, go tell the others." Tread told her as he turned off the stove.
Fizzlepop came out of the kitchen and went looking for the Bash and Boomers, Flynn was probably still in his cabin.
Ten minutes later they were all sitting at the table enjoying the delicious dinner cooked by Fizzle and Tread, they implicitly decided not to talk about bad memories but to have fun drinking and laughing at the funny adventures of the crew.

Chapter 17: Arrival

It had been another 20 days since they left, time had passed quite slowly as there was not much to do on an airship like the Skyshark, plus if the work was split between all five chores took place in one morning.
Fizzlepop spent her free time reading or talking, sometimes taking advantage of the moments when they were standing in the sea to take a dip, Bash had taught her how to swim fast in the water and how to hunt fish, she had a lot of fun playing pranks to Tread and Flynn: the two were not lovers of water.
For the first time Tread had shown his room, when she saw it she was struck by all the books he had, most of it talked about science subjects like anatomy or physiology, mathematics and biology, and many others.
Fizzlepop told him about the royal library and the Chamber of Wisdom, suffice it to say that he had made her promise to take him there someday if she ever returned to Iponia.
Bash had gladly opened up to her and told her the story of every injury he had; she would never have expected that a giant rabbit had taken the leg of the massive shark.
Flynn had taught her how to chart routes, maneuver the airship, manage maritime trade, and even showed her some hidden smuggling routes.

Fizzlepop was on the main deck leaning against the starboard railing, she was deep in her thoughts of traveling and what to do after disembarking at Ashtethos.
A few days earlier they had flown over the first island in a long time, which meant that in less than a week they would arrive at their destination and after which she would have to part by the rest of the crew, she would go on her way while they would continue their journey around the world.
This made her feel sad and a little lonely even though she was still in the company of all four.

"Hey Fizzle, how's it going?" Flynn had stood beside her leaning forward and with his elbows resting on the railing, his gaze fixed on the horizon.
"I am fine and you?" the answer was devoid of interest or substance since it was only a prerogative of good manners. The cat sensed that the pony was not simply admiring the sky, but she was afflicted by something that made her feel bad in her soul.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked her gently enough to seem interested and indifferent enough not to be an interrogation.
Fizzlepop watched the clouds pass for a few seconds and then turned to the cat for the first time since they had started talking.
"I was thinking about what will happen when this journey is over, we should separate and that makes me feel ... sad ..." Fizzlepop looked down slightly "I know we've only known each other for a month, but to me it's like we've been together for years, I ended up getting attached to you and now I'm afraid to leave, I'm afraid to leave my friends for the second time, and maybe ... a family. " she said the last word in a low voice, maybe she didn't have the right to consider herself part of this family. After all she couldn't compare the month she had spent with the decades in which they knew each other.

Flynn felt empathy for the pony, deeply respected her concerns as he too had grown fond of her, truly appreciated her company, her way of thinking, her charisma, and ultimately her feminine charm as well. This last thing he would never reveal to anyone since it was an intimate fantasy buried deep in his heart.
He looked into her eyes and smiled with his lips "I know how you feel ... I haven't always been a captain." Flynn began to tell his story.
"The previous owner of this airship was called Fling: he was my older brother, my best friend and mentor." the cat made a slight grimace of melancholy.
"I was traveling with his crew, we were merchants who traveled the world to trade spices because it was a profitable job and we liked it a lot." Flynn paused and looked back at the infinite sky.
“But one day we were attacked by pirates, we didn't back down and fought to defend what was ours. However, we were in the minority and half of our crew was killed or wounded. Since we were desperate, my brother decided to invoke the law of the Command and openly challenged the enemy captain in a one-on-one fight to the death. "
Fizzlepop was amazed by this last statement, she had read in a book of the existence of a pirate code, however she was convinced that it was just a fictional story and that the pirates did not care at all about rules and honor.
In the book it was written that the law of the Command allowed any person to challenge the captain in a duel that ended with the death of one of the two. The winner could take possession of all the assets of the loser and these also included the title of captain and consequently the command of the crew.

"Before starting to fight my brother putted his hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eyes, he said these exact words: The journey of your life will never end, along the way you will face joys and sorrows, you will meet many people and many of them you will say goodbye for the last time . But remember this: never turn back because you have to live the present and look to the future."
“Fling fought bravely and skillfully, but even if we knew how to use a sword we were still merchants, unlike the pirates who lived by pillaging and killing.
Inevitably my brother was overwhelmed and was killed stabbed in the chest by the opponent's blade.
For me it all happened so quickly ... one moment I was talking to my brother and the next moment I find him lying down in front of me immersed in a pool of his blood with his eyes lifeless. "
For the first time, Fizzlepop saw strong feelings welling up from the calm captain of the Skyshark: his fists were clenched and his jaw slightly trembling, his eyes shining and his head down.
"Full of pain and anger I did the only thing that came to my mind, I drew my sword and went to the helm killing everyone who got in the way, I crashed the airship on to the enemy one causing the destruction of the inner tubes . Immediately we began to fall and the last thing I saw was the approaching earth. "
Flynn stopped talking leaving Fizzlepop in suspense, the pony was tempted to encourage him to continue but resisted the urge.

"When I woke up I saw that we had crashed, the airships had suffered serious damage and the members of both crews had died except me." the cat took a deep breath, then resumed speaking in his usual calm tone.
"I was tempted to sink into despair, the only thing I wanted to do was take a barrel of rum and get drunk to death." in his words she could feel the sense of loss and pain.
"However, the words my brother said to me came back to my mind and after thinking and rethinking I realized that it made no sense to wallow in despair of what we have lost because we risk forgetting what we have and not seeing what we might have." Flynn felt relief in his heart and smiled faintly on his lips.
"I decided to rebuild the Skyshark with the pieces of the pirate airship and after having restored it to its splendor I met Bash, then Boomer, Tread and finally you. And I couldn't be happier. " he finished saying as he turned to look the mare in his eyes.

"I ... I'm so sorry for your brother, I really wanted to know him." Fizzlepop said sorry.
"You don't have to feel sorry for those who are no longer there, the only thing we can do is remember them and always move forward." Flynn reassured her.
"Thanks Flynn, it's always nice to talk to you." Fizzlepop now felt more confident and less hesitant about what she would do from now on.
"Maybe it will be the cat charm." Flynn joked as he stepped back and took off his hat to make an exaggerated bow.

"I think it's time to go for lunch, Tread said he had baked fish with potatoes and I can't wait to eat it." Flynn said as she licked his whiskers.
Fizzlepop mentally laughed at how much he liked fish, just like a real cat.
At lunch all five ate with good taste, savoring the delicacies cooked by the hawk.

"Fizzle, what are you going to do after we get to Ashtethos?" Bash asked and then took a large piece of potato in his mouth.
"I think I will visit Saddle Arabia for a while, from what I have heard and from what you have told me it is a very beautiful country, I would like to see arabs, I know they are very similar to ponies but have a thinner and taller build to withstand hot temperatures. After that I will move to the Northeast until I reach the western border of Equestria, I would love to know the princess who moves the sun and the moon. Then I think I will continue my journey to discover the world. " Fizzlepop explained.
"It seems like a great plan" Boomer spoke "honestly the last time we were in this continent was over two years ago, when we arrived in Iponia we decided to stay there for a while, we liked that country, the trade is very advanced, the territory is huge and the anthropomorphs coexist peacefully with the ponies unlike here. "
"Boomer is right" the captain took the floor "In Iponia we managed to make a lot of money but it was time to go home, even if it is not one of the most beautiful places in the world." he said the last sentence in a more subdued tone.

“What about you? What are you going to do?" Fizzlepop asked.
The gazes of the others fell on the captain who was stroking his mustache with one hand.
"I think we will stay there for a few years and then we will move to the Far East." Flynn declared.
"The Far East ..." Fizzlepop put a hoof on her chin to think "Very little is known about what is in that area, the only certain thing is that there is an empire but it is very isolationist and does nobody gets in or out. " she was trying to remember what she had read in the books.
"I know, but a friend of mine is willing to let us in secretly." explained the captain.
"For sure we'll get into trouble like the time we faced an army of indigenous people." Boomer said jokingly.
At these words Flynn rolled his eyes while Bash and Fizzlepop laughed slightly.
For a few more minutes they were all silent until the captain cleared his throat and got to his feet.

"My friends, in a few hours we will reach the port of Ashtethos, we have embarked on a long journey and finally we have reached our destination." the cat looked into the eyes of all the crew members, saw that they did not seem to be excited but were slightly saddened, smiled and spoke again "However, we must not be discouraged, we lived an unforgettable journey together with our new friend and sister, we sailed the skies and seas, we defeated a big bastard and his henchmen, we had fun and we shared the memories of our adventures."
The faces of all five rejoiced and seeing this the cat grabbed the mug in front of him and held it up. "So I'd like to make a toast." immediately all the others grabbed their mugs and raised them imitating the captain's gesture.
"To Fizzle!" Flynn said aloud.
"To Fizzle!" they all repeated in unison and banged their mugs spilling a few drops of rum on the table.
The five drank everything in one sip and then approached the glasses on the table in a noisy way.

For another hour they continued to eat and talk to each other. Boomer was about to start getting drunk but Flynn stopped him by taking the bottle of rum from his hands.
Tread sporting the usual apathetic and serious facade, however, Fizzlepop had learned to know him and knew that in reality he was sorry for her departure because the two had spent a lot of time talking about science for hours and hours without even noticing the setting of the sun.
Flynn and Bash had advised her of places to visit as they were among the most experienced in traveling around the globe.

"I think it's time we all got ready for landing." Flynn said after getting up again.
"You're right, I'll go get my things." Fizzlepop said as she stood up too, then turned to Tread.
“Can I leave you my books? Now that I have read them, I no longer need them and they are a hindrance to me. "
The hawk was carrying the dishes in his arms.
"Of course, just leave them on the desk in your room and then I'll go get them." he answered her and then disappeared into the kitchen to go and clean the dishes.

Fizzlepop returned to her room and closed the door behind him, stood for a moment to observe the surrounding environment.
It seemed surreal to her that she had lived in that room for over a month and that now she had to leave it, she had grown fond of this room more than the one she had in the royal palace, even though it was much smaller and devoid of decorations and furniture.
She had spent hours sitting at her desk writing the pages of her diary which was more like a story written in the first person.
She went to the wardrobe and took her backpack and cloak and put them on the bed, then opened the bedside table and looked at what to get.
Se put all the books on the desk except for the diary that she put in the bottom of the right pocket of the backpack.
She also took all the objects she had with her like the map and the box with the gems inside. When she grabbed the royal brooch she stood looking at it.
She thought about her family, it had already been a month since she had started this journey. Who knows if they missed her, maybe they were looking for her desperately.
"They don't care, they just have to be with those parasites." she thought with a hint of anger.
She took everything that was left and divided it between the two pockets of the backpack to balance the weight.
She put on her cloak and backpack, before leaving she took one last look around the room.

"FIZZLE COME HERE!" she didn't have time to say the last goodbyes which was interrupted by Flynn's sudden worried voice.
Fizzlepop closed the door and ran to the main deck, immediately went right to climb the stairs and stood next to the captain who was at the helm, his eyes wide open and a face of pure shock.
"What happens?!" she asked in alarm.
The cat pointed in the direction of the bow, Fizzlepop looked in that direction and what she saw made her shiver.
In front of them was the city of Ashtethos, however it did not seem to be the rich and thriving city that was expected: many houses were destroyed, from a distance she could see columns of black smoke rising up into the sky obscuring the city below, the air it stank of burning and there were no signs of life in the streets, many of the ships docked were destroyed and the royal palace that stood on the top of a hill had been razed to the ground.
"Is this how Ashtethos should be?" she asked incredulously.
The cat continued to look ahead, he was stunned by the destruction.
"Not at all, something really bad must have happened and it certainly can't have been a natural cause." he answered her.
Fizzlepop agreed with the cat, there were no signs of a tsunami or a tornado, it could have been an earthquake but it would not justify the numerous fires and the complete absence of people.

"Captain! Airships in sight from the stern! " Tread yelled as he flew around the Skyshark.
Flynn and Fizzlepop ran to the rear of the aft castle and what they saw made their blood run cold: three airships almost three times the size of the Skyshark were approaching menacingly and at great speed, behind them they left a grayish cloud and they were painted in black.
The design was completely different from the usual airships, the stern tower was fused with the inner tube and there were no ropes or other masts, on the front there were long beaks that certainly could have cut a small airship in two .
"Friends or enemies?" Fizzlepop asked worriedly.
Flynn took the monocle strapped to his belt and held it up to his eye. "I don't know, they don't look like pirates but there is a coat of arms on the tip of the inner tube that I can't recognize, besides those are clearly warships."
At that moment Bash and Boomer also appeared from below deck.
"Captain, what's going on?" asked the wolf hastily.
"I don't know, but it's best to leave immediately." the cat moved quickly and went to the helm and then yelled at the others "Get ready to do evasive maneuvers!"
Immediately everyone took their positions and Flynn pushed the accelerator to full throttle.
The airship shot forward and accelerated to maximum speed.
Flynn was proud of how fast his beloved Skyshark could go, however when he looked back again he was frightened.
The three airships were fast enough to have almost reached them in no time.
"They are catching up!" Tread yelled as it was hard to hear the words with the wind whipping and the deafening noise of the propellers spinning at full power.
"How is it possible?! Those ships will weigh at least one hundred tons each. " Boomer exclaimed.

In a few seconds the three airships had reached about ten meters from them, there was one on both sides and the third remained behind them.
"ATTENTION NOT IDENTIFIED AIRCRAFT , STOP IMMEDIATELY BY ORDER OF THE KING!" a strange voice boomed from the aft airship.
The five observed the crews of the other airships, they were made up of strange creatures belonging to a race never seen before.
Their structure was similar of a gorilla, they had larger front legs than the hind ones and most were standing on two legs, in their hands they held a shield and a spear.
Their fur was gray but it was hardly noticeable as they wore armor over a black vest that adhered to the body. Their face looked like a mask and they had thick white hair that started from the chest and covered their shoulders and back.
"I WILL NOT REPEAT IT ANOTHER TIME, STOP OR WE WILL OPEN FIRE." the voice made itself heard again.
Fizzlepop saw that another creature had appeared on the prow of the airship behind them, holding a kind of megaphone beside him.
It was a short creature that could reach no more than half of Fizzlepop's thigh, it was slightly fat and remotely similar to the other larger anthropomorphs, the face did not look like a mask as the features of the mouth and nose could be recognized.

"What are we doing?!" Tread yelled at the captain.
Flynn was trying to come up with a plan but it was the first time he had faced three enemy vessels at once, he didn't know what to come up with.
"I do not know! Anyone have an idea? " he asked the others.
The airships on either side were now beside them with their guns aimed at the hull.
"NOW WE WILL SHOOT" the low creature began to speak "THREE ... TWO ...."
At that moment, Fizzlepop came up with a plan but as there was no time to explain she went to Flynn and moving him abruptly, she grabbed the lever to adjust the altitude and pulled it upwards.
Immediately the ship tilted and climbed.
"ONE!"
The short creature did not have time to realize what had happened and without thinking he ordered to shoot.
Since the Skyshark had promptly pulled out of the cannon's trajectory, the two airships on either side inevitably ended up hitting each other.
The hulls of the airships exploded in a riot of pierced wooden planks and splinters flying around hitting anyone in the vicinity.

While the Skyshark had moved away a little, the five looked at each other in amazement for a second and then Boomer let out a cry of happiness.
"Fuck you! I thought we were going to die! You're a Fizzle Myth! " howled the wolf as he leapt for joy.
"Ouch." Flynn had managed to get up even though he was staggering slightly.
"Oh Flynn, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." Fizzlepop said as she stood beside him for support
"Don't worry Fizzle, it was a matter of circumstances." the cat straightened up and then looked at her proudly "Plus you had a brilliant idea and you saved us and my beloved Skyshark." he told her as he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Attention, they are back!" Tread yelled.
Three more airships were coming, one behind and two in front.
"They don't give up." Bash growled.
"And neither do we." Flynn replied with newfound determination.
The cat returned to the helm and pushed the accelerator to maximum again.
The Skyshark moved at great speed in the direction of the airships in front of them.
"What are you doing? Do you want to go crash into them ?! " Boomer asked with wide eyes.
Flynn didn't answer and continued to keep his hands steady on the rudder pegs.
The airships ahead of them kept approaching fast, and the one behind same.
"We will crash!" Fizzlepop said as she steadied herself to the railing of the aft castle.

Their fate now seemed decided but at the last second the two enemy airships turned abruptly in opposite directions leaving the way clear to the Skyshark.
"Ahah!" Flynn exulted "I knew they didn't have the courage to come on us!"
"Damn you filthy cat!" Boomer yelled him while his tail was between his legs.
Fizzlepop and Bash laughed at the wolf's reaction but the moment of happiness lasted very little as the airship behind them had come a long way and the other two had turned to chase them.
"BOOMM"
The enemy vessel fired with the bow guns going to hit the side of the Skyshark.
"They're shooting at us!" Bash said.
Flynn turned the rudder left and right to try to dodge the blows.
“BOOMM” another shot went off which destroyed one of the lifeboats.
“BOOMM” this time the hull was punctured in the lower part.
"Bastards, they're destroying my airship!" the captain swore as he tried at all costs to preserve the Skyshark.

"BOOMM" another shot went off which unfortunately hit the starboard propeller which exploded halving the speed of the Skyshark.
In no time at all the enemy airship had flanked them from the right, the whole crew had lined up on the port side.
"They want to approach us!" Bash warned as he pulled his large machete out of its holster.
"Try to hold them back if they can get on board." Flynn ordered, the cat knew what to do in similar situations.
When the enemy crew finished preparing they all jumped at the same time to board the Skyshark, however Flynn predicted it would happen and before they got their feet off the ground he swung the rudder sharply to the left.
Most of the large creatures fell into the gap between the two airships but still six of them had managed to land aboard the Skyshark.
Bash immediately charged, knocking one overboard, then went off to fight two others. The shark was not afraid to face two enemies at the same time as he had trained for similar situations.
Boomer and Tread faced an enemy each, it was much more difficult for them to fight as they had to face enemies larger than themselves and equipped with shields and armor.
Tread held two long curved daggers while Boomer held a rapier in his right hand.

Fizzlepop also finds herself having a fight against one of the creatures, given her posture it was difficult to fight an enemy so she decided to immediately end the fight using a ranged attack.
The pony jumped back and charged the horn as she lowered her head slightly to take aim. In a few moments she reached the necessary power and hurled it against the tall creature.
The enemy raised his shield and parried the blow, however even if he managed to avoid a direct hit he certainly could not avoid the effect of the mechanical energy transfer. In fact, the creature was thrown backwards by the energy discharge on the shield and crashed with force against the main mast that held the hull and the air chamber together. The enemy fell limp to the ground.

Fizzlepop was about to go to help Boomer who seemed to be the one most in difficulty but as soon as she moved the other two airships appeared, the crews were already lined up ready for boarding.
"Fizzle, we can't resist any longer, hit the air chamber of the airship on the left." Flynn yelled at her as he released the helm and pulled his sword out of its sheath.
Fizzlepop didn't let him say it twice and pointed the horn towards the target, charged all the energy she could and then sent a powerful blast of magic into the middle of the huge balloon.
Immediately the enemy airship exploded and rushed downwards at great speed taking all the crew with it.
Fizzlepop was shocked by what had happened, she had not expected such an explosion, in theory it should have simply pierced the inner tube but apparently it was not filled with helium but rather with hydrogen, which allowed to lift greater loads but it was highly explosive and flammable.

"Fizzle, we need help!" Flynn yelled as he battled a couple of enemies.
Fizzlepop looked in the captain's direction and saw that about twenty creatures had been able to board the Skyshark from the other ship that was still attached to the starboard side.
The pony charged the horn and managed to hit four other enemies, however when she tried to charge another shot she felt the headache was too intense and she couldn't even take aim without collapsing to the ground.
Since she couldn't take advantage of a ranged attack she decided to switch to a more direct approach.
She spotted three creatures coming in her direction, Fizzlepop ran to the one in the center holding her head down like a bull and swooping in on the enemy.
Using all the momentum and her body mass she managed to lift the large creature and threw it over the parapet causing him to fall below.
When she turned around, she saw that another one had been added to the other two creatures and now they had surrounded her.

For a moment she panicked but then she remembered her ace in the hole.
She took a deep breath and then spat a wave of flames on the enemies.
The three unfortunates had not expected such a thing and were inevitably overwhelmed by the dragon breath. Their coats caught fire and they started running around and rolling on the ground in hopes of extinguish the flames but within seconds they were burned alive while emitting some sort of screams and grunts.
About a dozen of the other creatures broke off the fight they were having against Boomer, Tread and Flynn and ran after Fizzlepop, apparently they understood that the pony and the shark were the biggest threat.
Fizzlepop managed to spit more flames at a couple standing in front of her but within moments she was overwhelmed by the other creatures that threw themselves on her.
Fizzlepop ended up being held on the ground lying on her side, two of them were holding her paws, another one was pinning her to the ground leaning on her torso while another was holding her mouth shut with his hands .
The pony tried to free herself in every way but she could not make any movement, she had been defeated.

Inevitably within minutes everyone else was overwhelmed and landed like Fizzlepop.
After the battle was over, both airships were stopped and left hanging over the destroyed city of Ashtethos. Meanwhile, the airship that first attempted to board them had also arrived. Piloting it was the remaining crew who had not attempted to jump onto the Skyshark.
The five were brought to their knees side by side with their hands tied behind their backs, the weapons and Fizzlepop's backpack had been confiscated
An exception had been made for the pony: she had been lying on the ground with her paws tied, she also had a rope between her teeth that passed around her mouth preventing her from speaking or throwing flames.
Fizzlepop felt humiliated in that position, she had tried to bite the rope or put herself in a more dignified position but she couldn't, the best she could do was stand on her side and keep her neck up.
"Are you okay, Fizzle?" Flynn asked worriedly.
Fizzlepop nodded.
"You have fought well my friends." the captain complimented the others to try to reassure them.
"Especially Fizzle, she did the hard work and roasted them well." Boomer played down and the others laughed.

"Vrooommm" the enemy airships started their engines and moved in front of the Skyshark, a couple of creatures tied thick ropes to the Skyshark's foremast.
The ropes tightened and they moved forward; they were towing tthe Skyshark somewhere.
"Where are they taking us?" Boomer asked.
"To the south, but I don't know why since there is nothing in that direction." Flynn replied.
The wolf sighed.
"I don't know about you, but i think we got into a big trouble this time."

Chapter 3 : Loss

"Crack"
Fizzlepop suddenly opened her eyes as soon as she heard the sound of a twig being snapped, over time she had got into the habit to be a light sleeper even if there was really no need for it.
She looked up and saw that the fire was now extinguished and cold, in the sky for sure you could have seen the firmament and the moon that illuminated the environment with a very faint if not imperceptible bluish light, however for her things at night were much clearer and more visible.

"Crack"
She heard again in the distance, about 10 meters from her the group with which she had gone to look for wood the day before had gathered together, a little distant from the others and behind a boulder to hide from the guard who in that moment he was on the lookout.
Apparently they had decided to really take that night walk in the woods even though she had warned them of the risks.
“From now on, what happens is their problem” Fizzlepop thought and pulled back the covers.
A couple of minutes had passed and yet the alicorn could not fall asleep, "why do I worry about them?", After a few seconds of brooding over it, she got out of the duvet and got up "maybe it's better that I go and see what those four are up to after all it is the duty of a queen to be careful of her subjects. "

Fizzlepop had walked for over two hundred meters in the direction they left but he had not yet found anyone, he was starting to return to the camp, "maybe they have already returned to the camp".
She was about to back off when ... "Help!" she heard a scream coming in the distance, she recognized the voice of Smooky Jaster and immediately began to run in that direction, she wanted to use her wings to go faster but could not because of the thick brush that surrounded her.
On the way she stumbled a couple of times on roots she hadn't seen and had made a few cuts on her face, chest and forelegs as she ran through the vegetation, after about thirty meters she came to the mouth of a cave.
"Ahhhhh" Immediately she ran into the cave which was over 15 meters deep and 6 meters high, at the back she could see Smooky Jaster slumped on the ground, his left rear hoof had a strange angle, probably it was broken or dislocated, next to him there were Glitter Drops and Spring Rain attached to the wall, they were trembling with fear and on their faces they had expressions of terror.

Fizzlepop followed the line of their gazes, "Grrrrrrr" heard a loud, deep growl that shook the cave, what she saw made her blood freeze in her veins, in front of her was a ursa, apparently a minor date the dimensions which, although small compared to those of a larger ursa, it could almost reach the ceiling of the cave.
For a moment Fizzlepop froze in place until Glitter Drops yelled at her, “Fizzlepop help us! Smooky has a sprained ankle and we can't escape! "
The alicorn had to act in a slice, to raise the stallion the help of the two mares put together would have been necessary, but someone had to distract the ursa, apparently Smooky's friend was also missing, “where is Rose ?! " she asked to the unicorns.
"She went to warn the guards" they said fearfully.
When Spring Rain replied the Ursa tried to attack Fizzlepop but she barely dodged, when the Ursa stopped Fizzlepop found herself with her back turned towards the bottom of the cave and between her and the exit was the imposing ursa minor.
She could catch a glimpse of Glitter and Spring standing on either side of Smooky to help him stand up, but what made her frown was that they were coming out of the cave… without her, "hey where are you going ?!" she called, however they didn't even deign to look away and kept walking forward, "help me!" she said desperately, but the three were already gone.

Fizzlepop couldn't believe it, “they really abandoned me, without thinking twice” it made her feel bad, she wanted to scream, cry, get angry with those she considered friends… friends who left her there to die so that they could save their skin. ..
"Grrrrr" she felt in front of her realizing the situation, the ursa had begun to approach her in a threatening way, it was obvious that he wanted to hurt or kill her, her urge was particularly territorial and aggressive.
Instinctively, Fizzlepop did the only thing that came to her mind, took a deep breath, opened her mouth and threw a flame at her huge creature.
Immediately the fur caught fire and the ursa took a few steps back while struggling to put out the fire, at this moment Fizzlepop had an escape route but could not run, it was in danger of being crushed by the enormous paws of the ursa, the only option it was trying to fly over it.

Fizzlepop rose from the ground with outstretched wings and flew as fast as possible towards the exit, the creature made sudden and random movements to try to put out the flames and in the meantime perhaps try to hit the alicorn.
Fizzlepop had just managed to get over the ursa's head and salvation was almost near, except that the ursa long limb and with a quick movement managed to grab Fizzlepop's left hind leg and slam her to the ground.

As soon as she felt the claws sink into the flesh, Fizzlepop was thrown to the ground and stunned, behind her the ursa had managed to put out the flames and her fur was blackened and burned, he walked over to her and put his paws around her abdomen and squeezed with an iron grip.
Fizzlepop felt the air coming out of her lungs as she desperately tried to free herself, she tried to bite the paw but it only served to anger the beast it held even tighter, she began to feel the claws cutting her skin and blood leaking from the wounds.
The ursa stretched out the other leg and took both wings of the prey it had in its clutches in its hand and began to pull at them with all the strength it had.

Fizzlepop felt a pang of pain on her back and then…. "crack" was the sound of her wings being snapped and ripped off.
“Aaaaaaggghhhhhhh” an excruciating scream of pain from her came out of her mouth, her blood gushing from the stumps that had been her wings and her excruciating pain ran through her entire body.
In anger and panic, Fizzlepop channeled all the magic she had in her horn and shot it in the face of the Ursa.
The creature grunted in pain as it brought a paw to its face and tossed Fizzlepop to the ground.
Fizzlepop tried to crawl away as she couldn't even stand up “help! Somebody help me! Please!" she screamed with all her voice that she was left, but no one came to her rescue.

By now the princess knew she was going to die, a myriad of thoughts were going through her head: her death, her parents, what she still had to do in life, the lands she wanted to visit, and finally…. her friends.
All thoughts were replaced by just one word ... BETRAYAL.
Fizzlepop felt a mad anger coming from deep inside, an anger against her friends, against her peers, against all those who envied her, against the friendship that she had betrayed her.
However Fizzlepop could not finish her thoughts, behind her she felt the ursa approaching again, again she tried to channel all the magic that was left in her body, she could feel it accumulating on the tip of her horn and empower them there was anger and hatred for the creature in front of her.
The ursa understood that it had to kill the intruder, so it threw the most powerful blow it could.
The moment she saw her claws approach her face Fizzlepop fired the blow that came out of her horn with lethal power, but it was not fast enough, the ursa had managed to hit her by moving her body with pure force of the blow; Fizzlepop flew a few meters out of the cave and when he landed, he felt a huge pain in his right eye and forehead.

The pain was equal to what she felt on her back where the wings used to be, now the pain was unbearable and she was starting to faint, the last thing she saw was black armor running in her direction …. “They finally arrived, even if it's too late for me now”, this was the last thought before closing her eyes.

"Help! Help! Guards! " Ebony Rose was screaming loudly as she ran towards the camp as fast as she could.
Hearing her screams, some suddenly woke up and the guards ran to her "what's up Miss?" one asked.
"I need help, my companions are stuck in a cave with a minor ursa, you have to help them!" Rose explained, still out of breath from running.
They looked at each other for a moment and then said "okay, show us where they are."
The three ponies ran through the forest in a desperate attempt to come to the rescue before it is too late; by now they had almost reached their destination except that they had stopped abruptly.
In front of them were Glitter Drops, Spring Rain and between them was Smooky who limped and was leaning against the other two, Rose gave a sigh of reassurance seeing that the three had managed to escape "you did it, you safe and sound!" she said running to hug the stallion, yet their looks were anything but joy.
Glitter Drops, after taking a breath, began to cry and collapsed on the ground and said "Fizzlepop is still there, we left her to die!" Rose and the guards looked at her with concern and one of her said “are you talking about the princess ?!”.
Glitter Drops sniffed at her and then nodded "yes, we left her with the ursa, we didn't know what to do and ran away while she was a distraction, in panic we ignored her screams .... we could hear them even after we left. " she finished saying as she started crying again.

A guard realizing this turned to the other, "take these 4 to the camp, I will go to the princess's rescue", the guard did not wait for an answer and ran in the direction they were headed before.
After about fifty meters he reached the mouth of the cave but what he saw almost gave him a heart attack: in front of him was the princess immersed in a pool of blood and behind her, inside the cave what seemed to be the carcass of an immense beast.
He immediately moved near the body of the princess who was still alive but unconscious, he tried to assess the damage of her: her wings had been torn, she had deep cuts all over her body and her horn had been broken.
Her blood kept gushing from the stumps that were her wings and from the deep cuts, which was good because it meant her heart was still beating; he took a knife from his saddlebag and with magic heated the blade until it was hot, when it was hot enough he placed it on the open wounds to cauterize all the cuts.
After making sure the princess wasn't bled to death he lifted her body gently and placed her on his back, her hooves hanging limp on either side and her head hovering over her neck, but at least she not would fall as he ran.

In the meantime, the group followed by the pegasus had arrived at the camp, and a professor immediately came forward who began to take care of Smooky Jaster's paw and to accompany him was Ebony Rose.
Glitter Drops and Spring Rain sat on the logs that were around the fire they had rekindled, the moon was still high in the sky and illuminated the earth with the usual bluish glow.
Glitter Drops was still crying while the other sat silently mulling over what had happened, around them they could hear the other students who had woken up and were chatting, while others had gone back to sleep.

The silence was broken by the metallic sound made by the armor of a guard running towards the camp, in the distance he seemed alone but the closer he got closer the more he could make out the slumped shape of the princess above him.
The ponies that had been watching had expressions of horror on their faces, it must have been shocking to see a body mutilated like that for students their age.

The guard ran towards his colleague and spoke quickly but clearly "the princess is still alive but she is badly injured, we must absolutely take her back to the royal palace!"
"Okay" replied the other one "I'll take her in flight, put her on my back"
The guard who still had the princess draped over him did not think for a moment and with his magic moved her onto the other's back, tied her so that she did not fall and immediately the pegasus took off and disappeared on the horizon .

The students who had been watching did not say a word, they were bewildered by the latest events, the professors were the first to decide to move and they ordered everyone to go back to sleep, but no one closed their eyes, apart from those who were already asleep: unaware of what the princess had just been through.

Author's Note

And here is also the third chapter, I thought about it a lot and did not know how to make Fizzlepop lose the horn, initially I thought I was following the original story told in the film, but then I wanted the story to be more dramatic and justify the hatred of Fizzlepop towards friends who have betrayed her.
I hope you liked it.