The Nail

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter One: A Day in the Life
Chapter Two: A New Case
Chapter Three: Home is Where the Heart is
Chapter Four: A Turn For the Worse
Chapter Five: Chaos Rains Down
Chapter Six: Punches and Discussions
Chapter Seven: Common Threat
Chapter Eight: Life Isn't Fair

Prologue

Alone.

That was all Fizzlepop knew right now. Being by herself, where nopony would ever look at her again.

Her broken horn let off another few sparks, causing some of the grass to burn at her hooves. She didn't care, because it didn't matter. Nothing mattered.

Fizzlepop turned her head around, taking a look at the small town behind her. She remembered playing with Glitter Drops and Spring Rain as though it were yesterday, when in reality it had been months. Months since she'd gone to retrieve the ball from that cave, since the ursa minor scarred her, months since her so-called "friends" had begun to fear what her now broken horn could do. Months since Fizzlepop had realized she would never be accepted into Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Fizzlepop jerked her head back, refusing to give the past anymore thought. It was time to move on.

As she trotted across the grass, her sensitive ears picked up a faint sound. Instinctively, Fizzlepop dived behind a fallen tree off the path, fearing another animal attack. When no creatures appeared, she cautiously poked her head out, looking for the source. The sound seemed to come from behind a few trees, so Fizzlepop squeezed her small form in between them. The sight that awaited her was shocking.

It was a pegasus chariot that had landed in a small clearing in the forest. However, it wasn't just any pegasus chariot. There were two white royal guards, both pegasi, standing around, apparently attempting to fix the chariot. It looked like part of the harness had snapped off. That wasn't what drew Fizzlepop's attention. What did was the passenger, Princess Celestia herself, who was currently standing off to the side.

"Sorry about the stop, Your Majesty," said one of the guards. "It appears there was just a loose nail in the harness. We'll have it fixed as soon as we can."

"Don't concern yourself with it, Thunderbolt," replied Celestia. "I don't mind having to wait a few minutes."

Fizzlepop felt afraid of the princess for reasons she didn't fully understand. She decided to simply sneak around the carriage and continue running away. But as she stepped back, she made the mistake of stepping on a branch, which snapped beneath her hoof. The sound immediately alerted the royal guards.

"What was that?" asked Thunderbolt. "Some kind of animal?"

"Possibly," replied his comrade. She called out, "If anypony's out there, show yourself!" Princess Celestia perked up, taking an interest in the disturbance.

Fizzlepop quivered from her position in between the trees. She used one of her forehooves to clamp her mouth shut, terrified she'd make more noise. Mentally, she debated simply running off, but she probably wouldn't be able to outrun two full-grown ponies. And if they caught her, she feared what they'd do. Finally, she simply obeyed their command and stepped out of the trees into the clearing.

The two royal guards relaxed. "It's just a foal," said Thunderbolt. "What are you doing out here, kid?" Then he took a closer look at her. "Oh my goodness..."

Fizzlepop winced. No doubt they'd noticed her broken, useless horn.

The guards moved to approach Fizzlepop, but Princess Celestia called out, "Wait." The alicorn took a couple of steps closer to Fizzlepop, causing her to shut her eyes. Fizzlepop was barely fighting back tears. She forced herself into a bow, but a hoof carefully pushed her back into a standing position. "Are you alright, my little pony? What's your name?"

"F...Fizzlepop Berrytwist," she squeaked out. Steeling herself, Fizzlepop looked up at the princess's face for the first time, fully expecting her to be repulsed.

However, Princess Celestia had a soft smile on her face, and her eyes were filled not with pity, but compassion. She reached over and placed a single hoof on Fizzlepop's shoulder.

"That's a lovely name," she said. Her voice never shifted from its kind, gentle tone. "What are you doing out here all alone, Fizzlepop? Where are your family and friends?"

Fizzlepop's lips quivered, and a single tear dripped from her scarred eye. "I-I'm running away," she answered, truthfully. "They don't want me back there anymore. Now that my magic doesn't work..." She indicated her broken horn.

Princess Celestia looked at the stub. She also seemed to notice the scar over Fizzlepop's right eye for the first time. "I'm sorry that you have suffered. Can you show me your magic?" The princess's own horn lit up with gold light, and she levitated over a small rock. "Try lifting this."

Fizzlepop swallowed, certain that she'd drive Princess Celestia away just like all the others. However, she saw no other option but to obey. So she focused, channeling her magic into her horn like she used to. A few sparks of loose magic leaped out of the stump, and electricity began to surround the rock. A bolt leaped out of her horn, blasting the rock and knocking off a few pieces of it, but it did not float.

Princess Celestia thoughtfully placed a hoof on her chin. "Your magic isn't broken," she said, after a few moments of consideration. "It will be hard for you, but if you could learn to control it-"

"I can't!" Fizzlepop cried out. "I tried, I can't use magic like I used to!" She was now crying harder than ever before, even more than after the ursa attack. She looked into the princess's deep purple eyes. "Oh, Princess Celestia, can you fix my horn?! I'm begging you! Please, I'll do anything!"

For the first time, Princess Celestia's smile faltered. "I'm sorry, little one," she replied, "but that is beyond my power, even. If I could, I would bring back your horn in an instant."

Fizzlepop was crushed. Even the princess couldn't fix her. She tried to mumble something out, but she gave up and simply collapsed into a crying fit. However, she felt a soft hoof stroking her mane.

"I cannot restore your horn, Fizzlepop," said Princess Celestia. "But I can help you. How would you like to become one of my personal students?"

Fizzlepop's eyes snapped open. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her head lifted up once again, looking into the princess's eyes.

"Do you...really mean that?" she sniffed.

"Of course," Princess Celestia replied. "I can teach you how to use your magic in ways you never knew. The road will be long, and I'm sure it will be difficult for you, but I will do everything I can to help you. What do you say?"

For the first time since the ursa attack, Fizzlepop actually had a reason to hope that things would be okay.

"Yes," she answered, before burying her face in the princess's leg, crying again, but this time from happiness.

Chapter One: A Day in the Life

Several Years Later...

At the blaring of her alarm clock, Fizz rolled over in bed, reaching with one leg to silence the blaring. She attempted to move back into her previous sleeping position, only for one of her new wings to accidentally spring outwards, nearly smacking her in the face in the process. Fizz groaned, trying not to get any feathers in her mouth like last time.

"Stupid princess wings," she complained. Deciding that there was no real point trying to sleep in, Fizz climbed to her hooves and yawned. She stretched out her wings, and with a flap, gently flew out of bed and landed on the floor. "Good, I didn't slam into the ceiling again." She moved into the bathroom, and fixed her messy mane back into her preferred style.

It had only been a week since Fizz managed to solve the riddle behind—what was his name, Star Swirl's—unfinished spell. Growing wings had been an unexpected result of that effort. Celestia said that she'd accomplished the task she'd been meant for all along, and unlocked the true power of the Elements of Harmony. Fizz didn't really understand what that meant, but she was proud to become the Princess of Friendship.

Sometimes, Fizz wondered why Celestia had set her up here in Ponyville, or more specifically, in this library. Even before the ursa attack, she hadn't been much of a bookworm. She was a far more hooves-on pony. Still, she had to admit the books had come in handy. In the years since she'd become Celestia's student, she'd spent whole days trying to figure out alternative ways to channel her magic. As it turned out, she wasn't the first unicorn to have her horn snapped off.

Trotting downstairs, she lit up her stump, causing a few loose sparks of magic to jump out. As more and more electricity came out, it eventually collected together, forming a long, five-fingered arm out of pure magic. The hand reached over to the cabinet, popped it open, and grabbed a box of cereal. Fizz's hooves had already procured a bowl, and she set about making herself breakfast.

As she ate, a knock at the door briefly drew her attention. "Hang on a second!" she called out after swallowing her mouthful. She created another magic hand, and sent it over to unlock the door. On the other side, she discovered her friend Rainbow Dash, hovering in the air with her wings.

"Yo, Fizz!" said the prismatic pegasus. "I'm right on time for our flying lesson! You didn't forget, did you?"

"Of course not, Dash," replied Fizz. "Congrats on getting up on time for something other than cider season."

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Very funny. I can stop napping when it's something important."

Fizz finished off her cereal, dumping the empty bowl into the sink for later. "So are we just going over more of the same basic stuff from last time? Or is this where you start training me to be a Wonderbolt?"

The blue pegasus shrugged. "More of the basics. After all, I can't have you competing with me for the Wonderbolts until I've secured my spot."

"Gotcha." Fizz grabbed a set of saddlebags and trotted out the door of the library. She locked the door before placing the key in her bag. "I might have to leave early. Black Belt wants me back at the dojo this afternoon. Apparently, he's got some students that want to watch a pro in action."

"Sometimes, I wish I'd taken up martial arts like you," admitted Rainbow. "Not that they would've helped much against Nightmare Moon or Discord, but I could've made myself even awesomer than I already am." She scratched her ear. "Then again, I already train for racing all the time. Maybe I wouldn't be able to fit it into my schedule."

"It is a lot of work," replied Fizz. "But it's kept me in shape all this time. I doubted it when Celestia suggested I take it up, but she was totally right."

"Why'd she recommend it, anyway?" asked Rainbow. "Was it because of...um...y'know..." She paled a little, like she'd just realized she'd made a horrible mistake and was feeling the shame. Her ears turned downwards.

Fizz groaned internally. She was used to this happening, but it still annoyed her. If the others were going to talk about her horn, they should at least be upfront about it. The way they danced around it never failed to get on her nerves.

"I guess she thought it would be a good outlet." She left out the fact that it was an outlet for her anger.

Soon enough, the two were flying leisurely at a good height over Ponyville. Rainbow had instructed Fizz on how to stay airborne previously, along with things like how to use the wind to keep oneself aloft, conserving energy. Fizz wasn't the best flier, but she was a good student.

"Remember to flap your wings rhythmically. Otherwise, you might not be able to keep yourself going," Rainbow reminded her.

"Got it," Fizz replied, before executing a small loop-de-loop in midair. "Seriously, you'd better watch out, Dashie. I think I'm starting to get the hang of this!" She was so busy showing off, she didn't notice the cloud in her path. Fizz flew face-first into it, and quickly yanked her head out, coughing and spitting out bits of cloud.

Rainbow chuckled. "You still have a long way to go before you're on my level, Fizzy," she laughed. Fizz was laughing as well, since they both knew it was all good-natured.

Aside from that cloud incident, Fizz performed satisfactorily to Rainbow. The two eventually descended from the skies, making their way towards the Ponyville Dojo.

"You sure you don't want to watch?" asked Fizz. "I bet you could learn something to use the next time we have to save Equestria."

Rainbow laughed again. "Thanks, but I don't think hoof-to-hoof combat beats rainbow lasers. Anyway, I have a race I need to train for. But thanks for the invite, anyway."

Fizz waved as Rainbow took off again, then stepped inside the dojo. She'd packed her gi in her saddlebags the night before, and quickly changed into it. She'd earned the black belt before she even came to Ponyville, but there was always more to learn. None of the other Element Bearers seemed to be particularly interested in taking up martial arts, but when they had free time, they came to support Fizz in her matches. Really, she didn't think she could ask for better friends.

Black Belt was demonstrating some moves to a class of fillies and colts when Fizz walked in. He turned at the sound of her hoofsteps.

"Glad to see you made it, Princess Fizz," he said, giving a small bow.

Fizz giggled. "For the last time, Belt, you don't have to call me princess. When I'm here, I'm just Fizz."

"Ooh! Can we all call you Fizz too?!" exclaimed one of the kids.

"To you, I'm Sensei Fizz," she replied. "But I won't be angry if you slip up."

The children all cheered, while Black Belt pulled Fizz aside so they could speak.

"Thanks for showing up early," he whispered to her. "Honestly, even since they found out you were coming today, they haven't been able to focus. The idea that a princess is going to be showing them some moves..."

"I'm not surprised," Fizz whispered back. "If I'd been a filly and Princess Celestia showed up to my dojo, I would've lost it."

Turning back to the foals, she continued, "Alright, so Black Belt and I are gonna do a little exhibition match for you. Hopefully you guys can learn something from it."

The foals cheered again, as Fizz and Black Belt moved to opposite sides of the mat. They gave each other a respectful bow, before moving into fighting stances.

"Remember the rules, Fizz," said Belt. "No sucker punches. First one to fall loses."

"Don't worry. I know," she answered.

Belt was the one to throw the first punch, rearing up on his hind legs. Fizz had expected a simple attack, and easily tilted her head to the side to dodge. She'd even anticipated the fact that the punch was simply a feint, and leaped upwards to avoid Belt's follow-up sweep. Then she retaliated with her own sideways blow, catching Belt on the side of his neck.

Belt stumbled a little, but he didn't let Fizz's small victory hold him back. He stood back up on his hind legs and kicked with one. While Fizz used her foreleg to deflect it, Belt used his momentum to swing around her and wrap his leg around her neck. Then he tilted backwards, pulling Fizz down with him.

Before they hit the mat, Fizz bucked with her back legs, pushing herself out of his grip. Assuming a bipedal form, Fizz bent her back legs and swept them around, kicking Belt's legs out from under him. Belt made an attempt to catch himself with his forehooves, but failed, and slammed into the mat back-first.

"Game," declared Fizz, before offering a hoof to help Belt get back up.

"Good match, Fizz," replied the stallion, before the two bowed to each other once again.

The foals, who'd been properly quiet for the duration of the match, exploded into cheers, clapping their forehooves together.

"Go, Sensei Fizz!" exclaimed a colt, who looked like he was barely holding himself back from jumping up and down.

Fizz smiled gracefully. She hadn't been a princess for very long, but if it gave her more opportunities to keep making foals happy like this, she wasn't going to complain. She knew that she'd been incredibly lucky to become Celestia's student, and she knew there were very few other ponies who'd get that luxury, so any chance to pass on knowledge made her feel good.

"That's right, thank Sensei Fizz," said Black Belt. "You sure you don't want to stay around and watch the rest of the class? I'm sure you could give them some better pointers."

"I'd love to, but I promised the others I'd meet them at Sugar Cube Corner in a little while," replied Fizz. "I'll let you know when my schedule opens up, and we can discuss another visit."

The children looked sad to see Fizz go, but nopony complained, and they all thoughtfully waved good-bye as she headed towards the changing rooms.

Fizz, having changed out of her gi, strolled back out onto the Ponyville road, waving to everypony she passed by. When Princess Celestia had suggested she stay in this town permanently following the Nightmare Moon fiasco, Fizz harbored some doubts. Sure, she liked the other five Element Bearers, but it reminded her a little too much of home, as well as Glitter Drops and Spring Rain. She hadn't seen those two since before becoming Celestia's pupil, but even if they'd made it into the school like they'd planned, she doubted they were happy she'd become the protege to the princess herself.

However, as time had gone on, Fizz had discovered that most ponies in Ponyville (barring, perhaps, Spoiled Rich) were actually good deep down, and didn't treat her any differently because of her horn. It was certainly better than the snobs in Canterlot. Fizz suppressed a shiver, wondering why Rarity was so obsessed with that place.

Eventually, Sugar Cube Corner entered Fizz's field of vision. She smiled fondly, recalling the memories she'd formed at this place. While she wasn't as sweet crazy as Pinkie Pie, she did enjoy one on occasion. Plus, it gave her the chance to hang out with the others.

Fizz reached up with one hoof to push open the door, and was greeted with the sound of a ringing bell. Glancing around at the interior, she noticed that, with the exception of Rainbow Dash, who was likely still training, Fizz's best friends were all gathered. Pinkie was behind the counter, while Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack were all gathered at a table.

"FIZZLEPOP BERRYTWIST!" shouted Pinkie, jumping up and down with excitement. "So glad you could make it!"

"Again, you don't have to say the whole name every time you see me," Fizz replied, but she was laughing all the same.

"But it's such a fun name to say!" Pinkie whined. "It's like the best combination of words ever!" The earth pony stepped out from behind the counter to give Fizz a hug. Fizz eagerly returned the gesture.

"At least you're not calling me 'Princess Fizzlepop Berrytwist,'" she continued. "That's a mouthful, even for you. Plus, I'm still not used to the princess thing."

"You're better than I am, darling," said Rarity. "I don't know if I could keep myself from correcting ponies if they didn't call me princess. Speaking of which, how come you never wear your crown? It would look fabulous with your mane!"

"I told you, Rares, that crown has the Element of Magic in it. Walking around wearing it everywhere would be a huge security risk. Besides, I don't want to go everywhere with a status symbol like that."

"I don't blame you, Fizz," added Applejack. "Personally, I think it's mighty kind of you to not flaunt your new princess-hood. It shows you don't think you're better than other ponies."

"Well, at least you wore the coronation gown I made for you," Rarity said with a sigh. "I guess that's all I can ask. Honestly, you and Rainbow Dash are the two most stubborn ponies I've ever met. Who refuses to make themselves look pretty? Even Applejack understands the importance of appearances once in a while."

"I think they just don't care about looks as much as you do, Rarity," replied Fluttershy. "I'm not saying either of you are wrong, it's just that ponies have different tastes from each other."

"Yes yes, you're right," admitted Rarity.

Fizz ordered her usual from Pinkie (a red velvet cupcake), and sat down with the others.

"Anything new on your ends?" she asked. "I've been trying to get used to these," she gestured to her wings, "and that's about it for me."

"Well, apple-bucking season just wrapped up," said Applejack. "Thanks again for helping out with that, by the way. Had to talk Apple Bloom and the others out of trying to get their Cutie Marks in cave exploration."

Fizz giggled a little at the thought of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Sure, maybe they were going about getting their Cutie Marks the wrong way, but they were just kids. They might as well have all the fun they could while they had the chance.

"I've spent the last few days working on new commissions," chimed in Rarity. "Oh, and we've got Fashion Week coming up in Manehattan in a few months! Mustn't forget that!"

"Angel's been behaving a little better recently," added Fluttershy. "I guess I've finally learned to be more assertive around him. I've started weekly tea meetings up with—"

A sudden popping sound reverberated throughout the building. Fizz groaned, knowing exactly what was coming. A long, snaking form materialized around their table, wrapping itself around the necks of the four ponies.

"Did somepony say my name?" asked Discord. "My ears are burning!" He showed off his ears, which were literally on fire.

"Actually, no," said Fizz. "She was just about to say your name, but didn't get to it."

Discord made a shocked face. "Oh, Fizzy, you are no fun! Don't friends appreciate each other's dumb jokes? Fluttershy told me they do!"

Fizz shot a small glare at Fluttershy, who blushed and covered herself up with her wings.

"Could you please remember to use the front door next time?" demanded Fizz. "Not gonna lie, it's even more irritating when you just pop in unannounced."

Discord rolled his eyes so far back the pupils actually disappeared under his eyelids. "Honestly, why Celestia would choose to make such a stick in the mud a princess is beyond me. Fluttershy is the most worthy of all you. Then again, she's the most worthy of everything."

Fluttershy laughed a little behind her hoof. "Thank you, Discord, but there's no need for flattery."

"And for the record, I'm way less of a stick in the mud when I'm not annoyed," Fizz snapped.

"Fizz! Come on, we discussed this!" Fluttershy implored her.

"I know, I know. I still don't trust him, though," replied Fizz. "Especially after he brainwashed all of you into being your worst selves."

"I said I was sorry! Geez!" complained Discord. "You try to take over Equestria one time—"

"Twice."

"Okay, twice. And you'll never hear the end of it! I bet you're not this snippy with Princess Luna."

"I was at first," said Fizz. "Luna's earned my trust by now. You have not."

"Fizz," Fluttershy said again. She didn't have to warn about the Stare, the implication was there.

"Oh, fine. I'm sorry, Discord. I'll try to be more civil with you," said Fizz, albeit with a degree of reluctance.

"Alright, I'll accept your apology for now, Princess Fizzlepop," said Discord. "I know when to make my exit. See you for our next tea time, Fluttershy!" With that, he snapped his fingers and disappeared.

Applejack turned back to Fizz. "Maybe it ain't the best idea to antagonize him, Fizz."

Fizz shrugged. "I still don't get why Celestia wanted to reform him so much. All he's done so far is annoy us, except maybe Fluttershy. Sure, he hasn't tried to take over again, but he shouldn't get a prize for basic decency." At the looks her friends were shooting her, she continued, "I know, the Princess of Friendship is supposed to offer it to everyone, but I don't think it would kill him to tone down the random chaos a little."

"One step at a time, darling," insisted Rarity. "I'm certain the rest of us will get through to him in due time."

"I agree," added Fluttershy. "He's really sweet once you get close enough to him."

"Plus, he can make it rain chocolate milk!" exclaimed Pinkie. "What could be cooler than that?!"

"If you say so," said Fizz. Part of her thought maybe her friends were being a little too naive for their own good, but the rest of her knew they were smarter than that.

A knock at the door suddenly drew everypony's attention. The door opened, revealing a familiar gray pegasus with mismatched eyes and a blond mane. She trotted into Sugar Cube Corner, before pulling a letter out of her saddlebags.

"Express delivery for Princess Fizzlepop Berrytwist!" she said in a sing-song voice.

"Thanks, Derpy," said Fizz.

She took the offered letter, before pulling a few bits out of her own bag and passing them over. Derpy took the money with a smile before spreading her wings and flying out of the bakery. Fizz, meanwhile, looked down at the letter, discovering it was marked with Princess Celestia's royal seal.

"A letter from the princess?" asked Fluttershy.

"Yeah. Must be important if she sent it through the express," said Fizz.

She created her magic arm from her horn again, and used it to rip open the envelope. It only took her a few seconds to read the message inside.

"Somepony get Rainbow Dash," she said. "They want us back in Canterlot."

Chapter Two: A New Case

Despite having spent a good portion of her life in the city, Fizz honestly didn't care for Canterlot. Sure, it was the location of Equestria's central government, and the princesses lived there, but beyond that, she didn't see anything really special about it. For her, the fact that so many of Equestria's elite, upper crust ponies lived there was a downside, seeing how annoying they were. She'd had several debates with Rarity over this. Thankfully, over time, Rarity had softened on her opinion. She'd realized there were more valuable things in life than being the elite pony everypony should know, or whatever.

If Celestia had called all of them to Canterlot, it must've been for something important. So Fizz wasted no time in buying train tickets for her and her five best friends, and set off for the mountain city with all due haste. In what seemed like no time at all, they were disembarking from the train and dropping onto the platform.

"So did Princess Celestia say what it was she needed us for?" asked Rainbow, who was flying above the group as usual. "Is there another Equestria threatening villain whose butt we need to kick?"

"She didn't specify, actually," replied Fizz. "She just wanted us to come to Canterlot. She didn't even make it sound that urgent."

"Aw," Rainbow whined. "I was hoping we'd get to look awesome saving Equestria again."

"Don't worry, Rainbow!" said Pinkie Pie, bouncing up to her friend's height. "With our track record, I'm pretty sure something evil will come along that we have to defeat! Besides, the story needs to have some conflict!"

"I'm always up for another adventure!" chimed in Applejack. "Though I wouldn't complain about a break either. It's only been a couple of weeks since we convinced Discord to reform, and then you got your princess wings."

Fizz smiled as her friends continued to debate. She wasn't going to voice her opinion, but she would've liked some quiet time as well. She still needed to get fully accustomed to her new wings. Thankfully, it was going better than when she'd had to learn to use her magic in a completely new way. It had taken her months to even figure out how to levitate things again. Her magic hand ability was the product of hours upon hours of practice. She knew some more advanced spells, but didn't need to use them for everyday things.

Strolling up the road, the six mares soon found themselves at Canterlot Castle. The royal guards stepped aside to let them in without question. Fizz already knew the quickest way to the throne room, so she led the others.

"Oh, to live in such a glorious palace!" squealed Rarity. "Really, Fizz, you should ask Princess Celestia when you're getting your own castle."

Fizz suppressed a snort of laughter. "I'm content to wait as long as possible for that. I don't think a castle would really suit me."

"Well, it looks like we agree on something," came a voice from down an adjacent hall.

Fizz groaned internally, but she nonetheless turned her head towards the source, as did the others. Stepping out of the nearby hallway was a white unicorn stallion with a blond mane, wearing an outfit that screamed "expensive."

"A castle certainly wouldn't suit a crippled pony like you," Prince Blueblood continued. "Neither do those wings you have so unfairly stolen from much more deserving ponies."

Fizz narrowed her eyes, and a few sparks of loose magic jumped out of her horn, but she gave no other sign that she was anything more than annoyed. She'd dealt with this loser more than enough to be used to his insults.

"What do you want, Blueblood?" she asked. "Don't you have a rock to crawl back under? Or some snooty party to attend where nopony actually eats anything?"

"Not when unworthy ponies pervert the name of royalty," the prince growled back. He looked over the other five, his eyes lingering on Rarity for a minute. "Looking at the company you keep, I'm more convinced than ever that Aunt Celestia made her greatest mistake in choosing you."

Fizz opened her mouth to snap back, but before she could, Rarity stepped in front of her.

"Leave Princess Fizz alone, you scoundrel!" snarled the fashionista. "She has more dignity in one hair than you have in your entire body!"

"Thank you, Rares, but you don't need to—" Fizz began.

"Yeah! Back off, creep!" added Rainbow Dash. "Who's more worthy of being an alicorn? You?! You couldn't become an alicorn if you all you had to do was tape wings to your back!"

"Girls, it's really not a big deal—"

"They're right!" chimed in Fluttershy, who stomped up to Blueblood and gave him the full power of the Stare. "You should be ashamed of yourself, you pathetic—"

"GIRLS!" Fizz yelled, causing her horn to shoot out a few bolts. She stomped one hoof for extra emphasis. Surprised, the other five turned to look at her. "Come on. We don't need to keep Celestia waiting to deal with this idiot."

With that, she turned on one leg and stomped down the hall. After about one second, she heard the others following after her. She shot a quick glance at Blueblood, who was still paralyzed from the Stare. Fizz allowed herself a small smile at the sight. That would shut him up for a while.

"What's wrong, Fizz?" asked Applejack. "We were only trying to stick up for you. It ain't like that creep is gonna get you in trouble or anything."

"That's not the problem," replied Fizz. "Look, I appreciate your efforts, but I can fight my own battles. I've been dealing with that loser Blueblood since I was a filly, I can handle a few snooty remarks."

"Oh. Okay," said Fluttershy. "Sorry about that. We didn't mean to imply—"

"I know you didn't," said Fizz. "I'm not mad at you. Just forget about him. He's not worth remembering." The others all nodded, though they looked a little guilty.

The rest of the trip to the throne room passed in silence. Soon, the six mares were approaching Celestia and Luna's thrones. While her five friends bowed, Fizz stayed standing, merely smiling up at her teacher. Celestia had told her so many times she never had to bow, even before she became a princess.

"Princess Fizzlepop. I'm glad you all made it here safely," said Celestia. "We have a few more guests on the way, but that shouldn't take too long."

"So this meeting's not anything especially urgent?" asked Fizz.

"Nothing apocalyptic," replied Luna. "But it is something we are concerned about."

Fizz gave Luna a polite nod. She recalled the day Luna had been released from the grip of Nightmare Moon. She'd had her doubts about the princess of the night, even after Celestia told her the whole story. Were they just supposed to forgive the whole trying to take over Equestria thing? But after meeting Luna on Nightmare Night and spending some time with the socially awkward princess, she'd decided Luna could be trusted.

A knock at the door suddenly drew her attention. Turning, Fizz and the others watched as a turquoise aura enveloped the door before pushing it open. On the other side stood a pink alicorn mare and a white unicorn stallion.

"Cadence. I didn't know you were coming," said Fizz. "This must be big if Celestia's even calling you in."

Fizz and Cadence weren't the best of friends or anything, but Fizz had no reason to dislike her. It was just that Cadence, as the Princess of Love, was focused on sappy stuff that annoyed her. Then there was her husband Shining Armor, former captain of the royal guard. He was polite and civil, but he always seemed to be depressed about something. Fizz had asked Cadence about it, but the alicorn had only grown quiet, eventually saying that it was family troubles. Fizz, not wanting to pry, had backed off.

"From the letter, it did sound important," replied Cadence. "Sorry for the late arrival."

"It's no trouble," Celestia assured her. "Now, we can finally begin the meeting.

"Last night, a discovery was made in the Canterlot Royal Library archives, particularly the Star Swirl the Bearded wing. We found that certain books and scrolls are missing from the collection. As you know, that wing is restricted, only accessible by myself and Luna, as well as ponies who we authorize to get inside. However, no ponies have been granted our permission over the past month."

"Meaning somepony stole them," summarized Fizz.

"That is what we believe," replied Luna. "Nopony in the royal guard reported any kind of break-in. As such, we have increased security around the castle. We're increasing restrictions to the archives until we can recover the stolen materials. We have no clues as to the identity of the thief right now, but we want all of you to be on the lookout for similar thefts. One of our theories is that somepony may be attempting to gather forbidden knowledge across Equestria."

"What exactly was stolen?" asked Cadence. "Maybe we can build a more concrete theory if we look at the contents of those books."

Celestia levitated up a list. "From what I recall, most of them consisted of Star Swirl's notes on Discord's chaos magic, as well as other unusual forms of magic. Not that anypony could harness chaos magic just from reading those materials. In fact, only a few of our highest level unicorn mages could even hope to comprehend them."

"So whoever stole that stuff, it's useless to them?" asked Rainbow Dash. "All they can do is try to sell it for a bunch of bits?"

"Not necessarily. Remember, we don't know anything about who the thief is," Fizz reminded her. "They'd have to be pretty good at magic to get past all of the security here."

"As I stated, we'd like you all to keep an eye out for anything suspicious," Celestia continued. "If you see anything, don't hesitate to inform us."

"You got it, Your Highnesses," said Shining Armor, speaking for the first time. He gave a salute, but Fizz could tell it was half-hearted.

Celestia gave him a nod. "Then you are all dismissed. Except for Princess Fizz. I'd like to have a quick word with her in private."

The others all nodded, and proceeded to trot out of the room. Even Luna left without protesting. Fizz approached Celestia's throne, where the larger alicorn proceeded to drape one of her forelegs over Fizz.

"I'm guessing this isn't a top-secret conference where you tell me some details you couldn't say in front of the others," she said, nuzzling into Celestia's chest.

"Of course not, my faithful student. Well, former student," replied the princess. "I just wanted to check in with you. See how you are progressing."

Fizz took a step back. "Well, I do have to admit I haven't gotten fully used to these yet." She gestured to her wings. "Not that I'm ungrateful for them or anything, but they keep messing with my sleep."

"Not surprising. I remember my first few nights with my wings. Cadence had similar problems with her horn. How are your flying lessons coming along?"

"Good. Rainbow Dash is a good teacher. She hasn't started trying to get me to do stunts yet, so that's nice."

Celestia gave a small giggle at that. "I'm glad. How about your magic? Is it still working the way it should?"

Fizz gave a small grin at that. "You know you don't need to keep checking on that. It's not like I've done anything to it."

"You're right, I apologize." Celestia's warm smile shifted to a slightly displeased frown. "Blueblood didn't come up to you on your way here, did he?"

Fizz shrugged. "He did, but don't worry about it. I can handle that waste of air." She lowered her ears a little. "I've gotten used to complete strangers staring at my horn (though that doesn't happen much in Ponyville), and Blueblood's just a pest I can ignore, but I wish my friends would stop acting like I'm helpless because of it. I'm in great shape, and words don't hurt me anymore."

"That's still happening? Have you ever tried to get them all together and talk about it?"

Fizz looked down. "The last time it was a conversation topic between all six of us was when I told them what happened to me. They were all very nice, assuring me they didn't see me as anything less because of it, but they dance around the topic like they're terrified of offending me. I've got thick skin, they don't need to worry about that. All I want is for them to treat me like any other pony."

Celestia reached down with her hoof, patting Fizz on the wing. "I'm sorry, Fizz. For now, I'd advise you to gently correct them when they make mistakes, and let them learn how you want them to handle it. I believe trying to force it will only make them feel unnecessarily stressed."

Fizz looked her teacher in the eye. "Alright, I'll give it a try. Thanks, Celestia. By the way, I was wondering..." She cut herself off. Fizz had wanted to bring this up for quite a while, but talking about it with Celestia didn't feel right for some reason. There was somepony else she thought would understand better.

"Was there something else?" asked the solar alicorn.

Fizz shook her head. "It's nothing. We can talk about it another time."

"Alright. If you insist."

The two shared one brief hug, before Fizz trotted out of the throne room to join her friends.

"Well, that was kind of a bust," complained Rainbow Dash, as the six mares headed back towards the train station. "I wanted an Equestria-destroying monster to blast with rainbow lasers, not some boring stolen property case!"

"I don't mind," said Fluttershy. "It'll be nice to have a quiet adventure for once."

"I agree," chimed in Rarity. "Whenever we have an epic, long-winded quest to save Equestria, I always fall behind on my orders, and have to pull multiple one-nighters just to get back on schedule."

Fizz was quiet as her friends continued to talk around her. She was thinking about the reality she now lived in, a reality where she was a princess. Back when Celestia had first taken Fizz under her wing, Fizz had never imagined reaching this status. Oh, she knew there were noble ponies who objected to her ascension. Blueblood was their leader, after all. But something she hadn't discussed with Celestia was what she was going to do as a princess. Would she have her own kingdom or something? She;'d come close to bringing it up in their last conversation, but she wanted to save it for somepony else. Somepony very specific.

"Hello, Fizz? Equestria to Fizz?" came Applejack's voice, knocking Fizz out of her thoughts.

"I'm sorry, what were we talking about?" she asked.

"We were just wondering if you were gonna come back to Ponyville with us," said Pinkie. "Or were you gonna stay here in Canterlot, maybe search pawn shops for those stolen books?"

"Oh, okay. No, actually, I was planning to make a trip back to Coronet Circle. I realized I haven't talked to mom in a while, and I wanted to check in with her." It was embarrassing for Fizz to admit that, but she hated lying to her friends even more. Plus, Applejack probably would've seen right through it.

"Alright, if you're sure," said Applejack. "We'll check Ponyville's pawn shops. A smart thief likely wouldn't have sold that stuff anywhere near Canterlot, anyway."

"Thanks, girls," said Fizz. "I should be back in Ponyville sometime tomorrow."

The six mares began making their way back towards the train station. However, they didn't notice a single bird sitting on a nearby rooftop watching them intently. The bird's eyes were not normal, glowing a bright shade of red.

Miles and miles away, a pony watched through the bird's eyes in a puddle of water. She grinned to herself. Using birds as eyes always worked.

With a pulse of magic, the bird's vision zoomed in on Fizz. The pony raised a hoof to her chin.

"Hm. Interesting."

Chapter Three: Home is Where the Heart is

The train ride back to Coronet Circle passed uneventfully. Fizz wore a Rarity-made coat to hide her wings and a hat to hide her stump of a horn, both things that would've given her away as Equestria's newest princess. She wasn't ashamed of her position, of course. She just preferred to go about her business without having ponies jumping all over her and asking for autographs. Fizz was no fool. She knew that, as a princess, she'd be expected to carry out royal duties, make public appearances, and things like that, but she wanted to be seen as a normal pony when possible.

Fizz sighed to herself as she recalled exactly where she was going. She wasn't worried about a bad reaction from her mother, of course. The two had never had a strained relationship, and Fizz knew Cherrybliss loved her. What worried Fizz was being recognized by other ponies in Coronet Circle. She hadn't been home since becoming Celestia's student for that exact reason. If Glitter Drops and Spring Rain were still there, they probably wouldn't be happy to see her.

The memories of her fillyhood were so vividly burned into Fizz's brain, she could recall them as if they'd occurred days ago. She recalled the days after the ursa attack, when her two best "friends" had flinched at the mere sight of her. Fizz didn't fully blame them for that, since they were just foals, and Fizz had been mutilated. But then they'd run away from her when her magic didn't work the same way anymore. It didn't take them long to find a replacement in their little group, and as far as Fizz knew, they'd carried out their goal of attending Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. She doubted they were happy when they'd found out the friend they'd abandoned had become the princess's star pupil. They probably thought Fizz was just a charity case or something.

Fizz was jolted from her thoughts as the train came to a complete stop. The conductor's voice came overhead, but she didn't hear it. She was too busy gathering what little she'd brought and cramming it back into her saddlebags. Making sure her hat didn't fall off, Fizz got off her seat and trotted to the door, dropping to the platform with a thump.

"No turning back now, I guess," she said to herself. She really needed to get out of that habit.

Fizz strolled out into the center of the small town, wings and broken horn fully visible, since she'd stuffed her disguise into her saddlebags. She'd debated the pros and cons of wearing it, and came to the conclusion that anypony would recognize her even with it. As much as she disliked the idea of being recognized, the idea of how ponies would respond if she tried to hide herself was worse.

The town square was empty. It wasn't usual, Coronet Circle was a small town, formed mostly of unicorns, though the occasional pegasus or earth pony lived there as well. Fizz was glad she didn't see anypony else, wanting to simply go to her mom's house, have a nice conversation, and go back to Ponyville.

"Hey, is that Fizz? Fizz, that you?!" came the call of a voice. A familiar voice.

Fizz had to bite her tongue in order to keep herself from groaning. She turned around very slowly, discovering exactly what she'd dreaded ever since she got here. Why did they have to stay in this town?

Glitter Drops and Spring Rain were both there, now adults, with Cutie Marks. They looked about the same as they did before, except larger. There was a third pony there, presumably the one they'd replaced Fizz with. She was a golden unicorn mare with a blond mane. Fizz swallowed, figuring she might as well get through this while she was here.

"Hey, girls," she said, giving a smile that she prayed was convincing. "I haven't seen you two in a while. How are you doing?"

"Oh, we're...good," replied Glitter Drops. She stumbled over her words, probably feeling some of the same awkwardness as Fizz did right now. "We heard about you becoming Princess Celestia's student and everything. And now you're...an alicorn."

Fizz stuck out one of her wings. "Yeah. Haven't really gotten used to these yet, but I'm working on it."

"So...you're a princess, too?" asked Spring Rain, her eyes glowing with what might've been awe.

"Yeah. The Princess of Friendship. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but—"

"Great, great. So anyway, we were wondering...would it be possible for you to put in a good word for us with Celestia?" asked the third mare. "We graduated from the school not too long ago, and we're looking for research jobs."

Fizz blinked a couple of times. "I'm sorry, what was your name?"

"Summer Skies," replied the unicorn.

Spring Rain took over. "Yeah, would you be able to help your friends out? I mean your real friends, not those ponies the princess assigned to hang out with you."

Fizz's jaw dropped, but she managed to compose herself. She'd expected that her old friends would be annoyed at her success, but not that they'd try to suck up to her like this.

"Yeah, we know you have to say they're your best friends to keep up appearances," said Glitter Drops, "but you grew up here. We're your real friends, and you'd do anything for us, right?"

It was an internal fight to stop Fizz from grinding her teeth in fury. Her horn stub sparked a couple of times, like it always did when she got angry. She took a deep breath, then let it out slowly, the way Applejack had taught her.

"First of all," she began, "those five are my best friends. It's not a publicity stunt. Second, we haven't spoken to each other in years, so what made you think I considered any of you my best friends? Especially after you ditched me when my horn broke. Sure, we were just kids, and maybe you didn't know how to support me, but you still abandoned me when I needed you. That's not what a friend does. Third, this blatant attempt to piggyback on my new status pisses me off." She pointed at Summer Skies. "I don't know you, so I'm willing to be a little lenient with you. But as for you two, you'd better stay away from me if you know what's good for you."

As she spoke, the three mares' jaws dropped further and further. Their eyes widened, and they looked genuinely shocked. Of course, that had been the effect Fizz was going for. Satisfied, she turned on her hoof and stomped away.

As she went, the three mares managed to regain some composure.

"So what? We're not good enough for you now that you're a princess?!" snapped Glitter Drops.

"Didn't say that," Fizz called over her shoulder, not even bothering to turn her head.

"Well, fine! You know Princess Celestia only took you on because she felt sorry for you, right?! You don't deserve those wings!"

There it was. Exactly what Fizz had been expecting. She kept going as the others continued to yell insults after her. They eventually stopped, probably because they realized it wasn't affecting her. She had a more important destination, anyway.

Fizz soon reached her fillyhood home, which looked exactly the same as it had before. The same pale white fence, the same plain brown walls, even the door was still painted blue. Here, the butterflies in her stomach began to flutter once again, but she shut them down quickly this time. Unlike with the other mares, she'd at least seen her mother since the day she'd tried to run away.

Tensing her body, Fizz raised one hoof and knocked on the door. There was silence for a few seconds, before she heard the clopping of hooves on hardwood floors and the jiggling of the lock, before the door finally opened.

"For the last time, I'm not interested in—" Cherrybliss began, only to freeze as she noticed who exactly was standing on her doorstep. She looked exactly the same as she always did. The same bright pink mane, though it was straight, unlike Pinkie's. The same blue coat, and the same deep green eyes.

"Hey, mom," said Fizz, putting on her most sincere smile. "Can I come in?"

"Of course you can, Fizzlepop," replied Cherrybliss, after she'd recovered. She stepped aside, allowing Fizz access to the house.

Fizz trotted in, and was immediately bombarded with a familiar swarm of sight, sounds, and smells. She remembered how the floor creaked before it actually did, the scent of the casserole that Cherrybliss was making yet again, and a small stain on the floor where she'd dropped the jam when she'd been practicing levitation. It was all the same, even though Fizz hadn't stepped into this house in years.

"Can I get you anything, dear? Water, soda?" asked Cherrybliss.

"Just some water would be nice," replied Fizz. "Do you mind if I sit down?"

"Absolutely not. Go ahead."

Fizz settled down into one of the old chairs set around the living room. The furniture hadn't been updated in this place since Fizz was a child, but she didn't care. She liked the older style, and it felt comforting to be reminded of her fillyhood. Cherrybliss came back into the room, levitating a glass of water.

"Here," she said, as she passed the glass over to Fizz. Fizz created her magic hand and grabbed it, pulling it towards her. She took a long sip. "I'm surprised to see you drop by. I thought you'd be busy with princess duties and things like that. Plus, I thought you didn't want anypony to see you around here anymore."

"I decided it was time to face my fears," replied Fizz. "As for the whole princess business, I don't exactly rule my own kingdom yet or anything, so I've still got some free time." She set her glass down on one of the coffee tables, making sure to slip a coaster under it. "To be honest, that's kind of the reason I'm here."

"I see," said Cherrybliss. Fizz was fairly certain that was a lie, but she didn't call it out. "So how's life been treating you, sweetie? I barely got the chance to talk to you at your coronation."

"Guess I can't really complain. I've been learning to fly, we haven't had any big Equestria-ending threats recently, and I've been spending time with my friends." She shuddered. "I suppose I should thank Celestia again for sending me to Ponyville in the first place. It was the first time in my life anypony treated me as a real friend."

Cherrybliss frowned. "Glitter Drops and Spring Rain give you a hard time when you got here?"

"How'd you know?"

Cherrybliss facehoofed. "Let's just say, ever since they got back from school, they've been saying some pretty rotten things about you. Garbage like the idea that you conned your way into becoming a princess. They're just jealous, of course, and few ponies take them seriously, but it still infuriates me."

Fizz groaned again. "They tried to get me to let them into Celestia's inner circle. They really do have no shame. How did I ever consider them friends?"

"It's not like you knew who they'd grow up to be. You were just a foal, anyway."

"Fair enough. Anyways, like I said, I came here because I wanted to talk to you about the whole princess thing."

Cherrybliss looked confused. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Fizz spread out her new wings. "See, Celestia didn't give me a warning or any indication that I could get these. It just sort of happened when I completed that old Star Swirl spell. I'm not complaining, don't get me wrong. It's just that I haven't fully figured out the ramifications of these wings yet. Celestia hasn't even told me what my role as the Princess of Friendship even means. I mean, yeah, I get that friendship is important and all. Without friendship, we wouldn't have the Elements of Harmony. But I don't understand what being the princess of it is supposed to mean."

Cherrybliss placed a hoof on her chin, looking thoughtful. "Princess Celestia didn't tell you what your new duties would be?"

"Not really. She said I had a part to play, and even she wasn't sure about the specifics. Luna probably knows even less, considering the whole thousand years in the moon thing." Fizz sighed, placing her face in her forehooves. "I love Celestia to death and everything, but she can be frustratingly vague sometimes."

"I suppose," replied Cherrybliss. "Not a day goes by that I don't thank her for being there when you ran away. I know you, you wouldn't have turned around. The things that could've happened to you..."

Fizz winced. Sure, she'd been totally set on abandoning everything she'd ever known that day, but after Celestia had brought her home, seeing the tears in her mom's eyes, her resolution had wavered. She long since apologized to Cherrybliss many times for her actions that day, but it was one of those things you never thought you'd fully make up for. She loved her mother dearly, and the thought that she'd hurt Cherrybliss left a heavy burden on her shoulders.

"I'm sorry I ran away, Mom," she said, for what had to be the thirtieth time.

"Like I told you, I forgive you, sweetie," insisted Cherrybliss. "You were just a filly. Besides, if you hadn't run away, you might not have met Celestia, and you might've had a hard time getting out of that rut you fell into when you lost your horn."

"Fair enough," replied Fizz. "Still, I'm not sure what I'm gonna do with the whole princess thing. Do I go around Equestria solving problems in everypony's friendships? Do I bring friendship to the friendless? At this point, I just don't know what I'm supposed to do."

Cherrybliss placed a soft hoof on her daughter's shoulder. "I wish I could just give you the answers you're looking for, honey," she said. "Though I'm sure you're aware I can't. What I do know is you were a kind-hearted filly who grew into a kind-hearted mare, and Princess Celestia couldn't have chosen a better pony to be the Princess of Friendship. I'm sure you'll figure out what you need to do in time."

Fizz smiled. As much as she loved Celestia, as well as her five best friends, there was just something about her mother's love that the solar alicorn couldn't compete against. Even if Cherrybliss couldn't solve her problems, it felt amazing just to be heard. She felt some of the weight on her back lift off.

"What about your friends?" Cherrybliss continued. "Do they have any idea about your role as a princess?"

"The thing about them is they all have different ideas about what being a princess means," said Fizz. "Rarity's all about the glamor, Fluttershy talks about being a friend to all your subjects, Applejack thinks it's about the work of running a country, Rainbow asked me how it feels to be the most awesome pony in Equestria, and Pinkie...well, let's just say that she would keep everypony's spirits up if she were a princess, and leave it at that. Not that any of their theories are bad, but I don't know if they're accurate."

Cherrybliss smiled. "Like I said, you're a smart mare. Even if it takes you a little bit of time, you'll find your purpose in due time. Besides, you have good friends to support and help you all the way."

"Yeah, you're probably right," replied Fizz. She looked over to the mantlepiece, looking over the old photos. "Have you heard from Dad recently?"

"No. I think the last time he ever spoke to me was right after you moved to Canterlot," said Cherrybliss. "I suppose we should count ourselves lucky he's not also trying to cash in on your new princess status."

"Yeah. I'm honestly surprised he hasn't done that. Or tried to get some of the allowance Celestia gives me." Fizz sighed to herself. "What is up with him, anyway?"

"Last I heard, he was working as a bartender in Manehattan to make ends meet," said Cherrybliss. "You know him leaving had nothing to do with you, right? He was just..."

"Don't worry, Mom. I barely remember Dad anyway, but I know he...wasn't really equipped to raise a foal. That doesn't justify him ditching you, of course. I think we're better off without him, though."

"Maybe you're right," replied Cherrybliss. "I just wish you'd had more support after you lost your horn."

"You did the best you could, Mom. It wasn't your fault I tried to run off. I just felt like my dreams were dead and I'd never belong among other ponies again. That had nothing to do with you."

Cherrbliss sighed. "Well, it's in the past," she said. "Do you want to stay for dinner? I could make it your favorite."

"No thank you," replied Fizz. "Celestia has us working on a case right now, and I don't want to leave the others to do it alone. I should probably get back to Ponyville."

"Alright. I understand." Cherrybliss got to her hooves, giving Fizz a long hug with one leg. "Make sure you take care of yourself, okay sweetie?"

"I promise, Mom," Fizz answered, simply.

With one last hug, Fizz parted from her mother and trotted out of the house, heading back towards the train station. She didn't feel confident enough to fly all the way back to Ponyville on her own stamina.

Fluttershy gently glided across Ponyville towards her cottage at the edge. The day had been an attempt to be productive for her and her best friends. They'd checked the Ponyville pawn shop for the materials stolen from Canterlot, but had no luck. They hadn't made any concrete plans for tomorrow, since Fizz wasn't there, but they planned to suggest to her that the group split up and check more pawn shops around Equestria. Rarity insisted she would check Manehattan, while Applejack wanted to visit Appleloosa.

She touched down in front of her home, and approached the door, gently pushing it open with one hoof.

"Angel?" Fluttershy called out. "I'm home! I know you wanted more lettuce, but I wasn't able to get it today. I promise, I'll buy it tomorrow, but until then—"

She froze in her tracks. The house itself was undisturbed, but Angel Bunny was cowering in the corner, along with several other animals. Even Beary looked terrified, and it didn't take long for Fluttershy to discover why.

Standing in the middle of the room was a unicorn mare. Her horn was sparking with loose magic, and it seemed to emit a darkness that chilled Fluttershy to the bone.

"You will do," said the mare, with a wide and horrifying grin.

Chapter Four: A Turn For the Worse

It was an uneventful ride back to Ponyville for Fizz that evening. She used the time to think over the conversation she'd had with her mother, as well as her role as princess. She still wasn't sure what it meant, but she did feel more confident about it, and less consumed with fear over being the only alicorn without a kingdom. She'd figure it out eventually, as long as she had friends by her side. Plus, at least she was a princess of something she had knowledge of.

The train came to a halt in Ponyville station, and the doors opened to allow Fizz and the other passengers to disembark. The other bearers weren't around to greet her, but Fizz wasn't surprised or annoyed by that, considering she had no way to send them an advance notice or anything. She guessed they probably weren't together right now, since they'd probably run out of time searching for the stolen Star Swirl items already. They were most likely at home, resting and waiting for Fizz herself to return. Now that her little detour was over, Fizz decided she might as well have dinner and go to bed.

Fizz made her way to the Golden Oaks Library, finding it had gone undisturbed since she'd left that morning. She unlocked the door and slipped inside, before grabbing some loose snacks and filling her stomach (Fizz was never much of a cook). Then, after a quick search to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything, she climbed into bed, pulled up the covers, and went to sleep.

Fizz's eyes snapped open to the sound of banging on her front door. From the light outside, she could tell it was many hours later, but that didn't mean she liked being awoken like this. She groaned as the assault on her ears continued, before throwing off the covers and climbing out of bed.

"I'm coming, cool it!" she shouted. Finally, the knocking ceased.

Fizz dragged herself down the stairs towards the door, before conjuring her magical hand and using it to pull the knob. There, standing in front of her house, were Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie.

Fizz gave them a glare. "This had better be an emergency," she slurred, still half-asleep.

"I'm pretty sure this qualifies as one, sugar cube," replied Applejack.

Fizz groaned quietly, but she supposed she at least owed the others a listening ear. She sat down.

"Alright, what's going on?" she asked. Now that she was starting to wake up more, she looked from side to side, noticing something for the first time. "And where's Fluttershy?"

"That's why we're here," replied Rainbow. "Listen, we were gonna come and get you to go over all the stuff that got stolen from Canterlot, but we decided to let you sleep in a little. Anyway, I went to go pick up Fluttershy this morning, but she wasn't there, and there was a gigantic hole burned into the side of her cottage. And...also, this." Rainbow reached up to her own back, pulling down a white shape. The shape unfolded, revealing itself as Angel Bunny. Fizz looked closer at the rabbit, and gasped as she noticed that he was missing several patches of white fur. The spots looked like they'd been singed off. Angel, for once, wasn't displaying his usual attitude, but instead shivering in place. "The rest of the animals are fine, but something must've really spooked them, because they were hiding in every nook and cranny of Fluttershy's house."

"We've already looked all over town, and asked everypony," said Rarity. "No one's seen her since yesterday."

Fizz gritted her teeth. If Fluttershy really was missing, there was only one suspect in her mind.

"Discord," she growled.

The others all blinked in surprise. "Wait, I thought they were friends," said Pinkie. "Why would Discord kidnap her?"

"I bet you anything he's been planning this," said Fizz. "First, he 'gets really close' to one of us. Then, he removes that pony, so we can't use the Elements of Harmony. He can't brainwash us like last time, that wouldn't fit his chaotic nature. He doesn't want to use the same trick twice, if you know what I mean."

"Darling, that seems a little harsh," said Rarity. "I know you don't fully trust Discord, and I can't say I blame you, but even if he went to all that trouble, wouldn't he make sure we knew it was him? He always loved to gloat."

Fizz opened her mouth to retort, but a thought cut her off. Perhaps Rarity was right. If Discord really was behind this, there was no way he'd be able to resist rubbing it in their faces.

"You may have a point, there," she eventually conceded. "I still think we should call him and ask him what he knows. Plus, if he didn't do it, maybe he could help."

"Well, I suppose it can't hurt," said Applejack.

Fizz nodded, before rushing back inside her house. She pushed one of the bookshelves out of the way, revealing a hidden safe. Then she conjured her magical hand, using it to turn the dial of the safe until it popped open, revealing the necklaces and crown that contained the Elements of Harmony.

"Just in case," she said to the others, before getting them out and stuffing them into her saddlebags.

Then the five mares moved out to the grassy land outside the library. Fizz lit up her horn, causing a few sparks to jump outwards. Rarity powered up as well, sending a magical tether to Fizz in order to add their magic together. With a pulse, Fizz cast the spell to summon Discord from wherever he was.

In a blinding flash of white light, Discord appeared in the center of the group of mares. The draconequus was currently sleeping, but being Discord, he slept in reverse, with his legs lying on the pillow and his head snaking over the bottom headboard of the bed. He snored loudly, only waking when Fizz trotted over and poked him in the eye with one hoof. With an annoyed yawn, Discord snapped his fingers, sending his bed back to wherever it belonged.

"Princess Fizzlepop, to what do I owe the pleasure?" he demanded. "Remember, Celestia said to only use that spell to summon me in emergencies!"

"Well, this is actually an emergency," said Fizz. "Have you seen Fluttershy today?"

"No, actually, I haven't," replied Discord. "We were supposed to have tea time in two days, but I haven't spoken to her since..." He stopped in his tracks, as the implications finally caught up with his brain. "Wait, did something happen to Fluttershy?"

"That's why we called you here!" snapped Fizz.

Discord didn't respond. Instead, he snapped his fingers, and the whole group was enveloped in white light. When it faded, they were all standing outside of Fluttershy's cabin. Rainbow Dash's description hadn't done it justice. It looked like the entire front of Fluttershy's house had been burned away. The door was completely gone, chunks of singed wood stuck out at every angle, and the animals Fluttershy kept inside were cowering in fear.

Discord froze where he stood, as his pupils widened in shock. Then he started grinding his teeth.

"Who. Did. This?!" he demanded, rounding on Fizz. His brown and yellow eyes were glowing red with fury. "Where. Is. Fluttershy?!"

"We don't know," replied Fizz, standing her ground, despite the fear that wormed its way into her heart. "Can you teleport us directly to her location? I know you can sense the magical signature of other creatures, so—"

"No," Discord snarled, standing up to his full height. "I'm going alone. Whoever did this is going to face so much chaos, they'll need a straightjacket by the time I'm done with them."

"Discord, wait!" Fizz tried to yell, but it was too late. Discord had already snapped his fingers and disappeared in another flash. Fizz punched the ground in frustration.

"So...that's it?" asked Applejack. "We just wait for Discord to bring Fluttershy back? After all, it's not like anything besides the Elements can stop him, as far as we know."

"I guess," replied Rainbow. "Boy, I've never seen him that angry. I pity whoever took Fluttershy. What do you think, Fizz?"

But Fizz wasn't listening. She was investigating what remained of Fluttershy's house. She examined the scorch marks closely, before lighting up her stump of a horn and creating her magic hand. It reached down and probed the burned wood.

"There's a magical signature here," she announced to the others. "This was clearly done by somepony with very powerful magic. Almost comparable to an alicorn. But why—" Then the memories of the last few days came rushing back to her. Fizz remembered the theft of the ancient knowledge. The pieces came together in her mind like a self-assembling jigsaw puzzle. "Oh, that idiot."

"What? What's wrong, Fizzy?" asked Pinkie Pie.

Fizz spun around on one hoof to face the others. "We have to get to Canterlot. NOW," she shouted. "Discord's walking into a trap!"

Discord reappeared on the side of a mountain. Glancing around, he discovered that it overlooked the city of Canterlot, which stuck out of the side on the way down. Beyond that, the location itself was fairly barren. No grass grew beneath his mismatched feet, no trees stood out from the earth anywhere. Of course, the Lord of Chaos wasn't concerned with any of those things.

"That's strange," he said, earnestly. "I meant to teleport directly to Fluttershy's location, yet she's nowhere to be found. Where—"

"Greetings, Discord," came a voice.

Discord spun around on his bull hoof, facing the opposite direction. The speaker standing behind him was a lavender unicorn mare with a dark blue mane and tail, one pink stripe running through it. He didn't recognize her, but that wasn't a concern.

"Ah, so you must be the one who took Fluttershy," he growled through clenched teeth. Chaos magic began to gather in the palm of his lion's paw. "Listen, whoever-you-are, I suggest you give me back my friend before I really get mad. I promise, you won't like me when I'm angry."

"Fluttershy? Why, she's right here!" announced the unicorn, lighting up her horn. Next to her, reality seemed to peel away like a strip of wallpaper. Beneath the illusion sat a blue, transparent sphere of energy, containing a clearly terrified Fluttershy.

"Discord! Get out of here!" she called out, pounding her hooves ineffectually against the sphere.

"Fluttershy, why would I do that?" asked Discord. "When I can simply free you and then teach this foolish pony some manners?" He confidently snapped his fingers, casting a spell that would shatter the barrier holding his friend, before starting to rain cherry pies down onto the unicorn.

Or, at least, that's what was supposed to happen. All that actually happened was a few sparks of white magic flying out of his hand.

Discord blinked in surprise. This had never happened before. His magic had never failed him. Annoyed, he tried again, only to achieve the same result. He grew angrier and angrier with every failed finger snap.

"What's going on?!" he demanded. "I swear, this never happens to me..."

"I'm aware," replied the unicorn, sounding unnervingly calm. She lit up her horn, causing the dust around them to be brushed away in a magical breeze. Underneath were certain runic symbols, burned into the very earth with magic. They glowed bright orange, and even though he'd never seen them before, Discord felt his hair stand on end at the sight of them.

"Anti-chaos magic runes," explained the unicorn. "Developed by Star Swirl to nullify your magic completely when you're near them. Though he wasn't around long enough to finish them. Let me tell you, it took a lot of labor to get them into proper working order."

Fluttershy swallowed in fear.

"But don't worry, Discord," continued the unicorn, "I'm not going to hurt her. In fact, I'd like to propose a trade." She powered up her own magic once more, creating another sphere of blue energy. "All you have to do is step inside this, and I'll release Fluttershy. You have my promise."

Discord gritted his teeth again, clenching both mismatched hands. "How do I know I can trust you?" he demanded.

The mare gave a sly smile, one that definitely didn't inspire any further trust in Discord.

"Why Discord, you think I'd lie to you? Well, to be fair, you don't know me. But let's be honest, what other choice do you have?"

Discord opened his mouth to issue some sort of snarky retort, but it died in his throat as his brain caught up. He had to admit, whoever this pony was, she had a point. His magic was completely useless here, and he couldn't think of any way around it. Swallowing in fear, he glanced between Fluttershy and the unknown mare repeatedly.

"Don't do it, Discord!" Fluttershy shouted, as she jumped up and down and waved her hooves. "You can't trust her! Don't do it!"

Discord closed his eyes, looking away from his closest friend. There was simply nothing else he could do.

"Fine. You win," he declared, looking the strange mare in the eye.

"Wonderful!" she replied. She beckoned with one hoof. "Simply step into the sphere, and that'll seal the deal."

Fluttershy continued to protest, but Discord tuned her out. His shoulders slumped, but he stomped obediently towards the sphere. Finally, he pushed himself inside of it, passing through the magic like water.

"Excellent," said the mare. "I did promise, so here you go." She fired up her horn one more time, and the sphere around Fluttershy faded away, and the butter yellow pegasus fell to the ground.

"Why did you do that?" she asked, looking at Discord. Tears began to gather at the corners of her eyes.

"I'm sorry," he replied, turning away from her. "That's what friends do for each other, isn't it?"

Fluttershy couldn't respond to that. What could she say?

"Now that we've gotten the introduction out of the way," continued the unicorn, "it's time for all the real work." She dismissively waved her hoof at Fluttershy, not even bothering to look at the pegasus. "Go on, get out of here. Go and warn Celestia about me, or something, I don't care. It won't matter in the end, anyway."

Fluttershy's whole body was trembling, but she managed to climb to her hooves. She spread her wings and took off, flying as fast as she could towards Canterlot. Discord watched her go, knowing he should feel better that his best friend was safe, but the pit in his stomach remained.

The mare, of course, didn't seem to care about that. She was busy levitating a hooful of ancient-looking books at once, flipping through them and glancing between them.

"No, that's not the right spell matrix. Come on, where? I knew I should've marked the page better—AH-HA! There it is!" She shut all the tomes at once, before lowering them to the ground. "Oh, Spike?"

From a short distance away came a small purple dragon with green spines on his back. Discord felt the weight of the dragon's reptilian eyes settle on him. Spike grinned, showing off his sharpened fangs, and Discord swallowed.

"I'm ready, sis," said Spike.

"What...what are you going to do?" Discord asked, nervously.

The unicorn gave Discord another smile, but it brought no comfort. "It's a simple process, my friend," she said, putting an unsettling emphasis on that last word. "I need your chaos magic, but I have no way to control you. So I'm going to remove it, and place it in a vessel more loyal to me." She indicated Spike with a wave of her head.

Discord gasped. "But you can't!" he shouted. "Chaos magic is impossible to control for anyone besides me! You don't know what you might create if you—"

"Oh hush, you big worrywart," insisted the mare. "I know what I'm doing."

She charged her magic, a raspberry aura gathering around her horn. She pointed it directly at Discord as he continued to protest, begging her to reconsider. From the tip of her horn, a bolt of purple lightning lanced forward, hitting the bubble containing Discord. For a few seconds, nothing happened, but then he was assaulted from all directions by the worst pain he'd ever felt. It was like every nerve was on fire at once. Then his stomach began to lurch, and he vomited. Out of his mouth came a stream of dark purple energy, accompanied by carnival noises. Discord felt his powers leaving his body as the magic floated over towards the mare, who took a hold of it with her telekinesis. Inside the bubble, Disocrd slumped to the ground, weakened.

"Alright. Now Spike, this may sting a little."

"I'm ready," replied the dragon.

The unicorn gave a smile, before she used her magic to lift Spike off the ground. He opened his mouth, and the mare began feeding the chaos magic directly into it. Discord could only watch as Spike's eyes began to glow bright orange, and his body expanded as more and more magic went inside.

"Slow and steady," said the unicorn. "We've got the time."

Chapter Five: Chaos Rains Down

Fizz wouldn't admit it to Rarity, but there were some perks to being a princess. One of which was the fact that, since it was an emergency, she was able to get five tickets for the next train to Canterlot immediately. Her friends were naturally a little shocked by her sudden freak-out, followed by her flying to the train station faster than anypony had ever seen her fly, but they said nothing. Evidently, they trusted her enough.

Once aboard the train, Fizz filled them in on what she'd managed to piece together.

"Basically, whoever stole that stuff from the Star Swirl wing had to be extremely powerful. I scanned the magical residue at Fluttershy's cottage, and it had to have come from a pony who'd be more than strong enough to pull that theft off. So it's likely that the same pony perpetrated both crimes."

"Okay, seems simple enough," said Rainbow. "But what does that have to do with Discord?"

"Remember, the materials stolen from Canterlot were mostly about him and his magic," Fizz continued. "What if they stole that stuff in an effort to understand how his magic works? Possibly to contain him, or find a way to steal his magic. What if somepony's been watching us, saw that he was friends with Fluttershy, and kidnapped her to lure him into a trap?"

The other four all processed her words. Fizz knew she couldn't prove her theory was correct, but something in her gut told her she was right.

"It makes sense," said Applejack. "But what if this mystery pony isn't as smart as they think? What if they can't hold back Discord's magic, and he just overpowers them?"

Fizz shrugged. "That is a real possibility, I admit. If that happened, we'd have no problem. But I'm not willing to take that chance. We have to get to Celestia and Luna."

"She's right," said Rarity. "We had enough trouble subduing Discord before. If somepony who already has powerful magic adds his to their own, we might be in over our heads."

"Don't worry, girls!" chimed in Pinkie Pie. "We always save the day!"

Fizz forced a smile onto her face. She appreciated Pinkie's optimism, but that didn't mean she shared it. They'd never gone up against somepony who was clever and subtle like this. The enemies they'd faced in the past were always loud and out in the open. Whoever was behind this, they were an unprecedented threat to Equestria, at least for Fizz's team. Sure, they had the Elements of Harmony, but would they be enough?

Fizz was jolted out of her thoughts by the sound of the train pulling into Canterlot. She wasted no time jumping out of her seat and galloping to the exit, with the others close on her tail. Once she'd disembarked from the train, Fizz spread her wings and took off with a single flap, zooming towards Canterlot Castle. It was times like this that she wished she'd learned the accelero spell.

In no time at all, the five mares burst through the front doors of the castle, startling the royal guards. They scurried down the hallways towards Celestia and Luna's throne room, only stopping to pull Rarity away from slapping Blueblood. Once they reached the entrance, Fizz created her magical hand and used it to shove the doors open.

"Celestia, Luna! We need to talk to you immediately—HUH?!"

Fizz came to a screeched stop at the sight that awaited her in the throne room. Celestia and Luna were there, of course, but they weren't alone. Hovering just above the thrones, looking rather distraught, was Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy! Oh, thank heavens!" exclaimed Rarity. She charged over and hugged her friend. "We were so worried about you!"

"I'm fine, everypony," said the timid pegasus. "But we've got trouble. Really bad trouble."

"I'm guessing whoever lured Discord into a trap knew what they were doing?" asked Fizz, stepping up next to Fluttershy.

Fluttershy blinked, clearly surprised. "How'd you know about that?"

"You'd be surprised what some simple deduction can do," replied Fizz. She turned to Celestia and Luna. "So she's already told you what's going on?"

Celestia nodded. "We've already gotten started on evacuating the city, just to be safe. Cadence and Shining Armor have been summoned here. We don't know who this unicorn is, but we're not taking any chances."

Fizz breathed a sigh of relief. At least they had a bit of a head start. Then something occurred to her.

"Hey, how'd you get away?" she asked.

"The unicorn who foalnapped me just let me go once Discord submitted to her," explained Fluttershy. "She said it didn't matter if I warned everypony or not."

"You'd better repeat everything to us," said Rainbow Dash. "Just in case."

Fluttershy nodded, and quickly relayed everything that had happened to her since she was taken from her home. Fizz and the others listened attentively.

"Well, that fits what I thought was going on," said Fizz, once Fluttershy finished. "Still doesn't explain what this pony wants from us or anything."

"Fluttershy, can you describe this pony's appearance?" asked Celestia. "Perhaps one of us knows her, and can shed some more insight on her motives."

"She was purple," replied Fluttershy, "with a dark blue mane with one pink stripe running through it. Her Cutie Mark was an asymmetrical six-pointed star. And before you ask, she never said her name the whole time I was there."

The others all thought, but their internal searches proved fruitless. "I know nopony with those features," admitted Luna. "It would seem this mare has no connection to any of us."

Fizz opened her mouth in an attempt to point out that it was possible one of them had met this mare and simply didn't remember it, but it was interrupted by the throne room doors banging open again. Everypony turned to discover Cadence and Shining Armor coming through, and Fizz shelved the thought for later.

"We got your summons, and came as fast as we could," said Cadence. "What's going on?"

"There isn't much time to explain," said Fizz. "Basically—"

This time, the disruption came in the form of an enormous crash that shook the entire castle. Fizz guessed that the entire mountain itself was rumbling from the force, and everypony who was standing on their hooves nearly fell over. Pinkie Pie began bouncing up and down and shivering.

"Ooh, I'm getting the doozy feeling again!" she informed everyone else. "And it's not a good doozy!"

Another thump made the castle vibrate again. Fizz took off into the air with a flap of her wings, grabbing Rarity and Pinkie by one leg each to keep them from falling over. Fizz focused, creating her magical hand, and popped over her saddlebags. She pulled out each Element of Harmony one by one, and tossed them to their bearers, who fastened them around the neck.

"Necklace. Necklace. Necklace. Necklace. Necklace." Then she produced the Element of Magic, and clamped it onto her head. "Big crown thingy. Alright, girls, time to do what we do best!" She turned to Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and Shining Armor. "You need to coordinate the evacuation in case we fail."

She turned and flew back the way they came, the other five mares on her tail. She faintly heard Celestia call out "Fizz, wait!" but ignored it.

It was a matter of minutes before the six made it outside. Fizz dropped to the ground once they did, both in anticipation, and in surprise at the sight that awaited them. Clinging to the side of the mountain was a gigantic dragon, so large he dwarfed Canterlot Castle. His scales were a bright purple, his spines and eyes were a brilliant green. He had no wings, but he was evidently strong enough to dig clawholds into solid rock. The thumps from before had come from his banging one massive fist into the side of the mountain. Once the six mares came out of the castle, he focused his slit pupils on them and grinned, his tongue darting out and licking his fangs.

"A d-d-d-dragon...!" Fluttershy squeaked, shivering in terror. She ducked behind Rainbow Dash, who groaned and pulled her fellow pegasus back into the open.

"Come on, Fluttershy. You faced down a dragon before, you can do it again!" she said.

Fluttershy swallowed, but she didn't attempt to hide again.

Fizz stared back into the dragon's eyes. With a flap of her wings, she took off and approached him, but still maintained a safe distance, so she could retreat if need be.

"Alright, punk!" she growled at him. "I don't know what you're doing here, but you'd better get away from Canterlot before we—"

She yelped before diving backwards to avoid a beam of pure magical energy that dug a small crater into the Canterlot street, before looking back up at the dragon. Standing atop his head was a unicorn mare that perfectly matched Fluttershy's description of her foalnapper. Fizz gritted her teeth, causing a few sparks of loose magic to jump out of her horn stump.

"You'll have to forgive me, Princess...what was it, Fizzlepop?" said the mare. I tend to get irritated when somepony threatens my little brother. Although you're not so little anymore, are you, Spike?"

Spike (the dragon) snorted, releasing a small cloud of black smoke from his nostrils. "Not with all this chaos magic coursing through my veins, Twilight."

Twilight (the unicorn) gave a soft little giggle. "Exactly."

"What do you want from us?!" Fizz demanded, pointing at Twilight with one hoof.

"And what have you done with Discord?!" cried Fluttershy, having evidently found her courage again.

"Calm down, I didn't do anything to him after I drained his magic," replied Twilight. "I simply left him on top of the mountain. He'll be fine. As for what I want...well, let's say it's complicated."

"Enough talking!" yelled Rainbow Dash. "I don't know who you are, but I'm past the point of caring! I say we kick this dragon's butt and take that pony in!"

"For once, I agree with you!" chimed in Rarity, powering up the Element of Generosity.

Fizz floated back and joined the others, using her own magic to start up her Element. The others followed suit, as each Element began to glow its respective color. A stream of rainbow light stretched out from the Element of Magic and began linking it to the rest of them, and the eyes of the six mares turned white.

Twilight kept her smile. "This should be interesting..." she muttered to herself.

Fizz's sensitive ears picked it up, though. She hesitated, her instinct telling her something was wrong. However, as she felt the power of the Elements surging, she realized she couldn't stop it even if she wanted to. If she stopped the attack now, the magic backlash could actually hurt her and the others.

With one final pulse, the Element of Magic fired its rainbow beams upwards. They entwined like a pair of snakes, ascending towards the heavens, before launching downwards towards Spike. Any second now, they would purge him of Discord's magic.

Or at least that's what they would've done, had Twilight not lit up her horn, and created a vortex in midair above herself and Spike. The rainbow beam plunged directly into the hole, where it vanished from sight, leaving Spike no worse for the wear.

As the Elements powered down, the mares' eyes stopped glowing, and six jaws dropped open.

"...I'm sorry, what just happened?!" demanded Applejack.

"I sent your harmony blast into an alternate dimension," answered Twilight in an eerily calm manner. "It takes a lot of magic, but I know your Elements will need time to recharge." She smiled. "And Spike won't be giving you that time."

Fizz barely had time to scream "MOVE!" before one of Spike's gargantuan fingers stabbed into the earth where the ponies had been standing mere seconds before. Fluttershy, Rainbow, and Fizz managed to fly in one direction, while Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack charged in the other. Everypony was safe, but the two halves of the group were cut off from each other by the finger.

"Okay," Fizz grumbled, pulling the crown off her head and stuffing it back into her saddlebags, "we'll do this the hard way."

"Oh, I was so hoping you'd say that," replied Twilight.

Spike lifted his finger, preparing to stab it downward again, but Rainbow Dash flew upwards, building up speed, and slammed both her forehooves against the side of his jaw. The blow wasn't especially powerful, but it was enough to draw his attention. Rainbow, taking her cue, began flying away, while Spike's claw chased after her. Pinkie and Rarity followed to help out.

Fizz, meanwhile, scooped up Applejack in her forelegs, and zoomed towards Twilight, with Fluttershy on her heels.

"We have to remove Twilight from this fight," she said. "As long as she's in the game, we can't use the Elements to take out Spike."

"How are we gonna get rid of her?" asked Applejack.

"Still working on that!" was Fizz's reply, as she dodged a bolt of magic.

Twilight had taken notice of their approach and opened fire on them. Fizz and Fluttershy veered left and right to avoid her shots. Fizz's frustration was growing by the second, as she knew she couldn't return fire without the risk of hitting Applejack or Fluttershy. She powered through it until they got close enough that she could drop Applejack onto the dragon's back.

"Alright," said Applejack, pulling out her lasso. "Let's go, partner!"

She whirled the rope in the air, before tossing it forward, intending to wrap it around Twilight's body, only for the unicorn to snag it in her telekinesis. Twilight pulled, and Applejack was yanked off her hooves, and left dangling in midair, her teeth hanging onto the lasso. Twilight smiled, until she realized the frontal assault was a distraction.

Fluttershy was flying around them, intending to tackle Twilight from behind. Once she realized this, Twilight cracked the rope like a whip towards her, forcing Applejack to release her grip from the sudden movement. Applejack was sent flying towards Twilight, who ducked, allowing the farm pony to crash into Fluttershy.

Fizz groaned again. She should've known a trick that simple wouldn't work. She began charging electricity in her horn, creating her magical hand, and sending it forward to snag Twilight around the barrel. Fizz lifted Twilight off her hooves, and prepared to punch the unicorn in the face.

However, Twilight caught her off-guard by casting a shield spell, encasing her in a raspberry bubbled of magic, severing Fizz's hand. Then Twilight turned and launched another magic beam. Fizz was able to avoid a direct hit, but still got clipped on the wing, sending her into a downward spiral towards the ground.

"FIZZ!" screamed Fluttershy. She grabbed Applejack and dived off the side, racing down after Fizz. However, a short distance from impact, Fizz managed to flap her wings again, regaining control.

"What are you doing?!" she shouted at the other two. "I'm alright! You should've taken the chance and attacked Twilight!"

"But we were worried about you!" insisted Applejack. "Besides, if you hit the ground—"

"You know what? Fine! Whatever! Let's just get her!" yelled Fizz. Her horn kept sparking as she spoke, but she ignored it. She took off back towards Twilight, and after a second, she heard Fluttershy following after her.

Rainbow Dash had looped around Spike's head by this point, and was currently carrying Rarity while flying towards Twilight. Pinkie was still keeping Spike's attention, bouncing from place to place while the dragon tried to pin her down.

"You're still it, silly!" she sang while charging away from a finger. "You're supposed to tag me!"

Spike growled, and his growling shook the city. But that didn't deter Pinkie.

Rainbow and Rarity landed on Spike's neck, facing Twilight from one direction, while Fizz, Fluttershy, and Applejack came at her from another. Fizz stomped on the dragon scales with one hoof, trying her best to look intimidating.

"You can't possibly take on all of us, Twilight," she sneered. "You may as well throw up your hooves and surrender now. Nopony needs to get hurt today."

"Unfortunately, that's not in the cards, Princess Fizzlepop," replied Twilight, powering up her horn again. "More often than not, somepony needs to get hurt for the sake of progress."

She fired a sweeping beam, which Fizz narrowly ducked under. Rainbow and Applejack leaped towards the mare at the same time from both sides, but Twilight teleported at the last second, forcing the mares to crash into each other. When she reappeared, Rarity and Fluttershy tried a similar attack, only to meet the same result. Fizz's frustration was growing by the second, and she roared as she charged towards Twilight. Her broken stump flared with electricity.

Twilight simply smiled, before she teleported again. Fizz had anticipated this tactic, and turned around, readying a punch and expecting Twilight to reappear behind her. However, the unicorn had instead warped to a spot in the air above Fizz, before dropping down and landing on the alicorn's back. Twilight then tapped Fizz on the back of the neck with her glowing horn, sending a jolt of magical electricity through her system. Fizz screamed in agony and fell onto her stomach.

Through the pain, Fizz faintly heard Applejack, Rainbow, Rarity, and Fluttershy scream her name and rush towards her. Still, she climbed to her hooves, throwing off the spell.

"Fizz, are you alright?!" demanded Rainbow.

"Maybe you should sit this one out, dear," said Rarity. "You're taking a lot of hits—"

"I'M FINE!" Fizz shouted, stomping her hoof against the dragon scale. Lightning bolts launched out of her stump, and the others were forced to jump to dodge them. "I'M NOT SOME FRAGILE FLOWER THAT YOU NEED TO PROTECT JUST BECAUSE I'VE GOT A BROKEN HORN! YOU'RE WASTING A CHANCE TO TAKE OUT TWILIGHT TRYING TO BABYSIT ME, AND—"

Her enraged tirade came to an end as another volley of magic beams came flying their way. All five mares were hit by the attacks, and sent plummeting off the side of Spike's neck. Before they fell too far, Twilight's raspberry magic aura enveloped them, stopping their descent. Twilight herself floated down next to them, using telekinesis on herself.

"My goodness, Fizzlepop," she joked, with a shake of her head. "You really shouldn't keep all that anger bottled up the way you did. It's just not healthy."

Fizz glared at her opponent, but she couldn't do more than that, as Twilight's magic prevented her from moving anything besides her eyes.

Twilight ignored her, of course, and instead focused on the dragon. "Spike, bro, could you please catch that obnoxious pink pony?"

"With pleasure, Twilight," he replied, as his hand continued to pursue Pinkie. Annoyed, Spike slammed his open palm against the ground, causing a shockwave that knocked Pinkie off her hooves. He capitalized on the opportunity and snagged her between two fingers. Even the abnormally squirmy Pinkie couldn't escape from his grip. He brought her over, where Twilight's magic spread to envelop her too.

"Perfect," said Twilight. She cast another spell, turning the field of magic into a net that constricted, pinning all six mares together. Twilight then lowered the net to the ground, all while the six tried desperately to escape it. However, even the strength of Applejack and Rainbow couldn't push through.

"Great. Now what?" grumbled Fizz. The others didn't respond. It was likely that they were still shocked from her outburst earlier.

Twilight levitated herself downward, landing on her hooves next to the net. "Don't worry, this will be over soon. We just need a few more guests to join us. And here they are!"

Indeed, Fizz's ears picked up the sound of hooves coming towards them from inside the castle. Evidently, Celestia and Luna had finished evacuating the city. Sure enough, the doors were soon enveloped in a golden aura, and the doors swung open to reveal Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and Shining Armor.

"Alright, whoever you are!" shouted Shining. "You're trespassing on Canterlot, and as Captain of the Royal Guard, I—" He stopped mid-heroic speech, frozen at the sight of the mare in front of him. "...Twily?"

Twilight smiled that same smirk. "Hey there, BBBFF. Did you miss me?"

Celestia looked over at Shining. "You know her?"

"We do," Cadence admitted. "Twilight, what are you doing? You disappear for years, and then you—"

"Sorry, Cadence, but as much as I'd love to reminisce with you," Twilight replied with a smirk. "I've got more important things to take care of."

She fired a magical bolt from her horn, but Shining Armor managed to regain enough composure to throw up a shield in time. While it absorbed the attack, it seemed to just barely be holding.

"Ah, you and your protection spells," Twilight mused. "You always were better than me at those. Still, you're not all powerful. Spike?"

Spike obeyed the unspoken command, reaching down with one massive finger. With just a poke, he pierced through Shining's barrier, leaving the stallion wide open for Twilight to hit him with a stun spell. Which she did, knocking him to the ground.

"Shining!" Cadence cried out, rushing to her fallen husband. She turned towards Twilight, fury etched into her face. "You'll pay for that!" She powered up her horn, flapped her wings, and charged towards Twilight, followed closely by Celestia and Luna.

"Spike, now!" shouted Twilight.

Spike raised his unoccupied hand, and snapped his fingers. Instantly, purple chains sprang out of the ground, and launched themselves at the three approaching alicorns. They had no time to react before they were ensnared, and sent tumbling to the earth in a heap. Twilight then produced three metallic clamps, which Fizz recognized as anti-magic rings used to prevent prisoners from using their powers. Twilight fitted one ring each around Celestia, Luna, and Cadence's horns.

"Hah! And Discord said nopony else could control chaos magic!" she gloated. The princesses continued to struggle in the chains, but even their earth pony strength was locked.

Twilight then fired up her horn yet again, this time levitating up the three princesses off the ground. Beneath them, she began inscribing a complex rune that Fizz had never seen before, even in her advanced magic classes. Once the rune was complete, all three princesses suddenly stopped squirming, then vomited out streams of magic. Celestia's was her usual gold, Luna's was blue, and Cadence's was light blue. The magic began gathering at the tip of Twilight's horn, and was soon sucked inside.

"There," she announced, after a quick pause to catch her breath. "We have the magic of Discord and three of the princesses. Which leaves..." She turned on one hoof to face Fizz, who was still trapped in the net.

Fizz's brain was kicking into overdrive to process this. Whoever Twilight was, she'd managed to steal the magic of the four most powerful beings in Equestria. She hadn't said what she was planning to do when she got Fizz's magic, but Fizz's gut told her it wouldn't be good. She had to escape, now, before everything was lost. Luckily for her, Twilight had made the critical error of forgetting to put an anti-magic ring on her.

Most of the time, Fizz kept her emotions on a leash. This was because magic was fueled by strong emotions, and with her broken horn, strong emotions meant lots of leaking magic that could harm nearby ponies. Now, however, she was out of options. She allowed herself to again feel every ounce of rage and frustration that had been building up in her mind, even as the tiny bolts of electricity from her stub zapped her five friends. She couldn't afford to worry about them, and she knew they'd only have minor injuries. The static magic pushed against the magical net, until it burst like a firework, creating a hole to allow Fizz to slip out.

Twilight groaned, clearly annoyed with this latest development. "Now why did you go and do that?" she demanded. "Now I'm going to have to actually try to take your magic."

Fizz stomped her hooves angrily. "Come and get it," she dared.

Chapter Six: Punches and Discussions

Fizz and Twilight slowly paced around in a circle, staring each other down, like a pair of prowling cats. While Fizz didn't understand exactly how Twilight was able to siphon the magic of the other princesses, she knew the unicorn's goal was to add her magic to the pot. With the magic of four alicorns and Discord, the question wasn't what could Twilight do. It was what she couldn't do. Fizz wouldn't allow that to happen.

"It doesn't have to be this way, you know," said Twilight. "You could just give up your alicorn magic. It'd be quick and painless, I promise."

"Let me guess: if I did that, you'd spare me and my friends when you destroy Equestria?" Fizz snapped back. "Please. Like I'm going to trust your word on that."

Twilight blinked. She actually appeared confused. "Destroy Equestria? Why would I ever want to do that? I love Equestria! Everything I've done has been for the greater good of Equestria!"

"Oh, yeah. Stealing the princesses' magic? Totally the thing Equestria needs! What, do you think you can do a better job raising the sun and moon?!"

"I'm not stealing it!" Twilight insisted. "I'm just borrowing it until I do what needs to be done!"

"Whatever. I don't care what your crazy plans are," Fizz snapped back. Tiny bolts of static zapped out of her horn, burning the earth beneath her hooves. "I'm doing what's right, that's all."

"But you don't—" Twilight began, only to be interrupted by a bolt of lighting launching out of Fizz's stump. Twilight barely managed to raise a shield in time. The force of the attack pushed her back a little, but with the magic of three alicorns, it held.

Fizz spread her wings and flew forward, aiming a descending punch towards Twilight's head. However, this attack was easily foiled by a quick teleport, putting Twilight behind Fizz. Twilight then launched her own magic beam, blasting Fizz directly between the wings and knocking her out of the air.

"I meant what I said!" Twilight shouted. "I'm doing this for the good of everypony! I know my methods aren't the kindest, but—"

"Zip it," Fizz shot back, climbing to her hooves once more. "I don't care about whatever crazy motive you have. I'm gonna stop you, no matter what."

Twilight gritted her teeth. "You don't understand!" she retorted. "Granted, I haven't explained everything, but to be fair, you aren't really giving me a chance! Now if you'd just stand still and listen—"

That was when Fizz struck. She launched another ball of lightning towards Twilight, and though she missed a direct hit, it still exploded like a firework at Twilight's hooves. Twilight was launched off the ground and fell back, slamming into the dirt and sliding a good distance. Fizz closed in on her with her alicorn wings, preparing to seize Twilight's horn with her magic hand. Hopefully, this act would serve to stop Twilight from casting spells, canceling out most of her offensive and defensive options.

Unfortunately, Twilight recovered faster than she expected. The unicorn teleported away just before Fizz could grab her horn, appearing a short distance away, back on her hooves. Fizz grunted, and continued flying towards Twilight, but Twilight lit up her horn, before sending a pink wave over Fizz's body. Suddenly, the effort required to keep her in the air increased tenfold, and Fizz dropped like a rock. Twilight had increased the gravity around Fizz, pinning her down.

"There," Twilight said, in between pants. The effort of keeping the princesses' magic, as well as the fight, was clearly getting to her. "Now, if you'll just wait a few seconds, I can explain why I need your—"

This time, the interruption took the form of Fizz using all her strength to raise her head, and firing a flurry of lightning bolts from her horn stump. Twilight raised a shield to block them.

"You're not making this easy, Princess Fizzlepop," she said, the annoyance clear in her voice.

"Bite me," Fizz growled back.

"Come on, Fizz! Fight through it!" yelled Rainbow Dash. "You can't let this wannabe take you out!"

"Fizz, you must keep going!" implored Celestia. "I know you can stop her!"

Twilight groaned. "Your little cheering section is getting on my nerves." She enveloped Fizz in her magical aura, pulling the alicorn over to her. "We're gonna go somewhere quieter, if you don't mind."

She lit up her horn, and teleported, taking Fizz with her.

Fizz and Twilight reappeared on the top of Mt Canter. Fizz, still under the effects of Twilight's gravity spell, grunted as she slammed into the ground once again. Twilight wobbled on her hooves, but managed to keep her balance.

"Whoa...sorry, I didn't mean to teleport us this far," she moaned. "I'm not used to having that much magic. Oh well, I'll get it under control."

"Keep telling yourself that," Fizz grunted. "Keep telling yourself that you're not in way over your head."

"Hey, I know what I'm doing!" Twilight snapped back. "I've been planning this for a long time, and figured out every tiny detail! That's kinda my thing!"

"Yeah? Well, you forgot the fact that this plan was completely insane! Seriously, what could possibly make you think this was a good idea?"

"You don't understand," replied Twilight. She looked forlornly down at the earth beneath her hooves. "I have to explain everything. Then I'm sure you'll willingly let me borrow your magic."

Fizz rolled her eyes, but she didn't interrupt this time. She did genuinely want to know what had set Twilight down this path.

"It all started with my entrance exam to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. For my exam, I was tasked with hatching a dragon egg - Spike's egg - with my magic. I tried my best, but it just wasn't working for some reason. Then, all of a sudden, there was this huge explosion of sound, and a blast of rainbow light washed over. It super charged my magic, and all of a sudden, Spike hatched into a giant dragon, my parents turned into potted plants, and the judges all turned into rocks."

Fizz's brain suddenly remembered Rainbow Dash's story of her first Sonic Rainboom. It had to be that same event that triggered Twilight's magical surge.

"Princess Celestia wasn't around, so it took a team of unicorn mages hours to undo the spells. I was still allowed into the school, because I did technically hatch the egg, but it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows from there. Everypony was afraid of me because of what happened at the exam. They called me a freak, a disaster waiting to happen, all sorts of nasty things. I'm guessing you're no stranger to insults, what with your broken horn."

Fizz gave her a small glare, but nodded nonetheless.

"I did my best to ignore the taunting, but it became too much. Nopony would work with me, and they actively sabotaged my attempts to find work, even with my vast knowledge of magic. Eventually, I just couldn't take it anymore. I took Spike from the school and ran away.

"I watched from afar as you and your five friends rediscovered the Elements of Harmony, defeated Nightmare Moon and Discord, and you ascended to become an alicorn. If I said I never felt jealous of you, I'd be lying, but I don't hate you. In fact, you're part of the reason I decided to go through with this plan."

"Me?" asked Fizz, confused.

"Look at this world ponykind has created, Fizzlepop," continued Twilight. "Some ponies go through life never experiencing loss, desperation, or misery. For others, those are the only things they know. I'd never claim my life was the worst, but it certainly wasn't easy. Princess Luna had to be imprisoned in the moon for one-thousand years. Then...you. I don't know everything about you, but I can tell your life hasn't been just prancing through the flowers. So I'm going to fix that."

"What are you talking about?" asked Fizz, growing uneasy as to where this conversation was going.

"I'm borrowing all the magic of Discord and the princesses so I can undo all those things. With Star Swirl's time travel spells, and a little bit of creative rearranging, I can fix everything that's ever gone wrong in Equestria. No more suffering, no more abandonment, no princesses being trapped for one-thousand years in the moon." She turned to Fizz. "No more broken horn. Doesn't that sound great? Living your life without anypony looking down on you."

Fizz just stared, unable to comprehend exactly what she was hearing. Finally, she shook her head.

"I was wrong when I said you were crazy. You are completely unhinged, Twilight," she finally said.

Twilight blinked. "...what?" she asked, after a long pause.

"I said, you're completely unhinged," replied Fizz. "There's a reason Star Swirl never put those time travel spells to the test, you nutcase! Do you have any idea how many things you could screw up by going back in time?! Especially as far back as Nightmare Moon's time?! You could completely erase yourself from existence! And don't get me started on the damage you could do to Equestria!"

"But I'll have the magic of the princesses and Discord!" Twilight shot back. "I'll disconnect myself from the time-stream until I put everything in the right place, and—"

That was when Fizz struck. Twilight's gravity spell had been gradually wearing off, and now it had broken completely. Fizz lunged forward, wrapping her forehooves around Twilight's neck and rolling forward, sending the two ponies rolling in a ball over the grass. After a few rotations, Fizz threw Twilight off of her, sending the unicorn into a tree before she could teleport.

"And besides," continued Fizz, getting back on her hooves, "I don't want my horn restored anymore."

Twilight rubbed the back of her head where she'd been struck. She got back into a standing position as well.

"Why not?!" she demanded. "I've studied your life. I saw how Blueblood and all those snooty rich ponies looked down on you because of it. I saw how you lost your friends back at your home, how they abandoned you just because of your injury! For what reason could you possibly want to keep those experiences in your life?!"

"Because they're part of me," Fizz replied, simply. "They helped make me the pony that I am, for better or worse. I'm sorry for what you went through in magic school, Twilight, but that's no excuse for what you're doing now. You've gotta stop this madness."

"NO!" Twilight yelled back, charging up her horn. "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ME AT ALL!"

Fizz wisely took off with a flap of her wings, just in time to avoid the magic beam Twilight launched at her. Looking down at her opponent, Fizz noticed Twilight grimace and squeeze her eyes shut, as bolts of loose magic zapped out of her horn. Clearly, she had not planned on holding onto the magic of three alicorns for this long, and the strain was beginning to get to her. Fizz had a window, and she intended to take it. And this time, she wouldn't play by Twilight's rules.

She dived downwards, creating her magic hand in the air above her. Twilight recovered enough to see the attack coming, of course, and blasted Fizz's magic hand apart. However, the hand was just a distraction. The alicorn continued her descent, until her forehooves slammed into the dirt. Before the rest of her body could follow, she swung her back end around, in an improvised version of the sweeping kick she'd practiced a thousand times. Twilight's legs were knocked out from under her, and she fell onto her side. Not content to end there, Fizz grabbed Twilight's mane with one hoof and tossed her to the side, where she landed with another painful thump.

Fizz fell into her familiar fighting stance as Twilight was forced to climb to her hooves once more.

"You'll pay for that," growled the unicorn.

"I'm sure you'll try," retorted Fizz. "Probably won't succeed, though."

With a roar of frustration, Twilight teleported behind Fizz and seized a chunk of the earth with her magic. Before she could bring it down on the alicorn, Fizz dropped her whole body down and rolled like a log, evading the clumsy attack. Fizz then created another magic hand, which flew forward and punched Twilight in the face. Twilight, clearly getting more irritated, responded with a blast that split the earth beneath Fizz's hooves, sending dirt and grass into her eyes.

As Fizz tried to clear her vision, Twilight enveloped the alicorn in magic, intending to drain her powers in one quick stroke. However, Fizz cut her off by channeling all of her anger into her horn stump, sending several electric bolts out that zapped Twilight. Freed from Twilight's magic once more, Fizz nailed the unicorn with a roundhouse punch to the jaw, staggering her opponent once more.

"I'm trying to fix everything, you idiot!" Twilight grunted, massaging her sore cheek where she'd been hit. "Why couldn't you at least let me try?!"

"Because I'm not willing to gamble the fate of everypony everywhere on a theory," Fizz shot back. Part of her briefly considered pointing out how she'd handled the misfortune life had dealt her much better than Twilight had, but her brain reminded her that, had it not been for Celestia's kindness, she probably would've run away from home. It was very possible that Fizz herself might've ended up like Twilight, or worse.

Twilight didn't seem to care either way. As Fizz sent another few bolts of lightning towards her, Twilight raised a shield to deflect the incoming assault. However, as soon as she dropped it to launch another attack of her own, Fizz struck with a jumping kick, nailing Twilight right in the pectorals. Then Fizz dived down, grabbed Twilight's tail with her mouth, and swung the unicorn against the ground like a golf club. Twilight's horn dug into the earth, creating a long, grassy scar, and her mane was messed up even further.

At this point, Twilight apparently had had enough. She teleported out of Fizz's grip, appearing in the air just above the alicorn, and dropping down onto her back. Fizz reached up with her forelegs, intending to grab Twilight and perform an overhead smash, but Twilight had already cast a spell before she could. That spell took the form of a raspberry wave that pulsed outward from Twilight's horn, which diffused into Fizz's skin. Nothing happened until two seconds later, when Fizz felt her muscles slacken, like they'd turned to rubber. She immediately tried to tense up, but the spell was too powerful, and her whole body collapsed. The only things she still had control of were her eyes, ears, and mouth.

Twilight climbed off the paralyzed alicorn. "There. I don't know why I didn't do that in the first place," she grunted. "Now I can borrow your magic without you interfering."

"No...you can't..." Fizz weakly protested, unable to so much as lift her head.

"I'm sorry," Twilight replied, "I know this hasn't been a pleasant experience for you. I promise, when I'm done, I'll make it all up to you. I—"

"By making it so I never become Celestia's student in the first place?!" Fizz shouted, though her voice was somewhat muffled by the grass.

Twilight flinched a little, but soon recovered. "I beg your pardon?" she asked.

"I first met Celestia when I was running away from home!" Fizz snapped. "It was months after my horn first broke! If you change that, make it so I never met that ursa, I might not become Celestia's student at all! Then you'll be missing the magic of a fourth alicorn! What are you gonna do then, genuis?!"

"Well, I'm sure there's some way I can make it—"

"ALSO, IF LUNA NEVER GETS SEALED BANISHED TO THE MOON," Fizz continued, screaming now, "CELESTIA AND LUNA WILL NEVER NEED TO FIND NEW BEARERS FOR THE ELEMENTS! WHAT ABOUT DISCORD?! WHAT IF HE NEVER REFORMS AND JUST STAYS TRAPPED IN STONE FOREVER?!"

"I can fix all of that!" Twilight insisted, though her words didn't have much weight behind them. "You're just trying to confuse me—"

"NO, I'M JUST POINTING OUT ALL THE THINGS YOU DIDN'T CONSIDER! ALL YOU CARE ABOUT IS PREVENTING YOUR OWN PROBLEMS, AND YOU ACT LIKE YOU'RE GOING TO FIX EVERYPONY'S SO YOU CAN HOLD THE MORAL HIGH GROUND—"

"SHUT UP!" Twilight screamed back, punching Fizz in the face. She flinched, as if she herself couldn't believe what she'd just done.

Fizz spat out a few drops of blood. "See? You can't even deny I'm right. You're not trying to fix Equestria, you're trying to ruin everypony's life so you feel better."

"No...that's not true, I-I just wanted..." Twilight was on the verge of tears now. "I-it hurts so much, I—"

The paralysis spell was wearing off by now, and Fizz was able to lift her head ever so slightly. "I know," she said, softly. "I've been where you are now, trust me. I was about to abandon ponies altogether after I lost my horn. If it hadn't been for Celestia, I would've done just that. I'm sorry nopony was there to do the same for you."

Twilight fell to her stomach, weeping into her forehooves. "I...I'm so sorry," she said in between sobs. "I thought I could...make everything better...but I didn't think it through..."

Fizz managed to shrug off enough of the spell to get to her hooves. "I know I said some pretty harsh things, but you can still stop. Just give up the magic, and you can end it. You haven't done anything that can't be reversed."

Twilight trembled a little more, but she managed to stand up as well. "I-I'll give it back...I'll—"

And that was when a thunderous crash drew their attention. Fizz and Twilight both spun around, looking back at the city of Canterlot. A massive cloud of smoke began to rise upwards from the city, indicating a fire had started somewhere.

"On second thought," said Fizz, "maybe you should hold onto it for a little longer."

"Spike..." Twilight muttered, the worry fully evident in her voice.

Author's Note

Sorry this took so long. The last two chapters will probably take a long time, too, because I'm working on my entry for the Choices: A Species Change Contest.

Chapter Seven: Common Threat

Fizz and Twilight popped back into existence on the front lawn of Canterlot Castle. The princesses, as well as Shining Armor and Fizz's friends, were still bound in Twilight's magical chains. Fizz stumbled and nearly fell over, looking like she was about to vomit for a minute.

"Not used to teleporting, huh?" asked Twilight, looking sympathetically over at her.

"Not really," admitted Fizz. For all her unique magic skills, teleportation was one thing Fizz had never quite managed to master. Every time she tried, her horn would just spark some more and burn things around her.

Twilight gave a soft smile, before taking a quick look around. She released a horrified sounding gasp, and Fizz followed her gaze to see why.

Canterlot was burning.

Spike was still clinging to the side of the mountain, but his eyes had become glazed over, and he was breathing streams of emerald fire all over the city. Everywhere, buildings were burning, ponies were screaming in terror, and it was all utter chaos.

"Spike! What are you doing?!" Twilight screamed. "Snap out of it!"

The dragon did stop breathing fire, but as he turned towards his sister figure, Fizz could tell it wasn't for a good purpose. He inhaled, preparing to release another blast of flame on her, and Twilight was too stunned to react. Thinking quickly, Fizz fired a bolt of lightning that sailed upwards and struck Spike in the eye, dazing him.

"What the heck is going on?!" she demanded.

"We're not sure!" responded Rainbow Dash. "One minute, he was doing nothing, like Twilight told him to, and the next, he's setting Canterlot on fire! We didn't do anything!"

"It's Discord's chaos magic," said Twilight, realization slowly dawning on her face. "He told me that nopony besides him could control it. I thought he was just lying to try and get me to stop, but..."

"Uh, maybe we could reflect on what went wrong another time?!" shouted Pinkie Pie. "Because I don't think he's happy!"

Indeed, Spike had recovered from Fizz's earlier assault on him, and was now glaring down at the ponies. He lifted one giant claw off the side of the mountain, and reached down to grab the ponies and crush them. Thinking fast, Twilight lit up her horn and magically removed the chains binding the Element bearers and the princesses. Everypony broke free and ran away, avoiding Spike's claw as it slammed into the ground.

"This is all my fault," Twilight whimpered. "I'm so sorry!"

"Sorry? SORRY?!" shouted Rarity. "Do you have any idea what you've done, you uncouth scoundrel?!"

"Hey!" snapped Fizz, jumping in between the two unicorns. "Look, I agree that this is all her fault, but we need to put that aside for now and get this fixed before Spike destroys Canterlot!"

"She's right," said Applejack. "We've got work to do!"

Twilight lit up her horn again, creating a ball of golden magic at the tip. The ball slowly grew in size, before it shattered into three pieces. The pieces flew towards Celestia, Luna, and Cadence, restoring their magic to its proper place. Celestia and Luna's manes began flowing the way they usually did.

"Thank you, Twilight," said Cadence. "We'll help out however we can."

Celestia turned to Fizz. "Can you all use the Elements to purge Spike of Discord's magic?"

Fizz swallowed. After her little outburst (which she didn't regret, but still), she wasn't sure she was in total harmony with the others, which was one of the requirements for the Elements to work. Without them, she didn't think they could overcome a giant dragon with chaos magic.

"I-I guess we could try," she finally said, forcing a smile onto her face. The other five looked at her, their expressions ranging from confused to nervous.

"Good," said Luna. "We'll attempt to keep Spike busy. You use the Elements to stop him."

All three princesses spread their wings and took off towards the sky. Shining Armor shot a concerned look towards his sister, before charging after them. Twilight made no move to follow, instead slumping where she stood. Fizz turned towards the other Element bearers.

"So..." she began, "I guess we have a lot to talk about, huh?"

"Y-yeah," replied Fluttershy, quivering on her hooves. Fizz felt a stab of guilt pierce her, knowing how sensitive Fluttershy was.

"Look, I'm sorry I lost my temper," she continued. "I could say it was a combination of the stress of being in the middle of a fight, plus the fact that you all have been acting nervous about me more and more, but that's not an excuse. I know none of you meant to offend me by acting the way you did. I'm sorry."

"We should apologize as well," said Rarity. "You were right when you said you don't need us to look out for you like that. You're a strong pony, and we should've understood that better."

"And we shouldn't just dance around the topic of your horn like you'll explode if we say the wrong thing," added Rainbow Dash. "We said we didn't think less of you, and we meant it."

Fizz smiled a little more. "That's good," she replied. "I guess we all have to learn from our mistakes." Satisfied, she turned to Twilight. "Alright. Can you help the princesses distract Spike while we power up the Elements of Harmony?"

"Me?!" exclaimed the purple unicorn. "Are you crazy?! I'm the reason this disaster is happening in the first place! Why would you want me to do anything related to stopping it?! What if I just make everything worse?!"

"I hate to agree with something so negative," said Applejack, "but she's got a point. Why are we not arresting her right now, anyway?"

Fizz sighed. "It's complicated," she answered. "Let's just say it turns out she's not evil, just really, really misguided." She turned back to Twilight. "Look, you made this mess, true, but if you really want to make reparations, that starts with helping clean it up. So get off your rear, stop feeling sorry for yourself, and help!"

Twilight swallowed. "Alright, fine. What do you need me to do?" she asked, after a moment's hesitation.

"Well, the thing you have to know about the Elements of Harmony is that they can't fire those rainbow lasers over and over again in rapid succession," said Fizz. "They need time to recharge their magic, and so do we. Can you help the princesses keep Spike busy and keep ponies safe?"

Twilight nodded. "How long do you need?"

Fizz powered up her stump of a horn, probing the Element of Magic to see how much power it had left. "Let's say about fifteen minutes. After that, one blast should be enough to change him back to normal."

"I'm on it!" Twilight turned and galloped towards Spike.

Fizz breathed a sigh of relief. "Good thing we talked over my whole meltdown before doing this. You know, because the Elements don't work if we're not in perfect harmony."

"Yeah," agreed Rainbow Dash. "We'd better try and help the ponies in the city while we're waiting."

"Good thinking," replied Fizz. "When the fifteen minutes are up, I'll signal the rest of you, and we can finish him off."

Spike gave another fierce roar, attempting to blow Celestia, Luna, and Cadence away, but the three alicorns floated firmly in the air. The three of them launched their horn beams at once, where they collided in the air and combined into a single beam. As it flew towards Spike, it transformed into a long, magic tether connected to their horns, and wrapped around his jaws, sealing them shut. Spike grunted in frustration, his mouth opening a few inches at various locations and panting out green flames, but the rope held.

He then reached up with his free claw, attempting to rip the tether off his maw, but a magenta-colored dome encased his head, and his fingers bounced off it. Down below, Shining Armor grunted as he struggled to maintain the shield spell.

"Keep holding it, honey!" yelled Cadence.

"Trying...to!" grunted the unicorn, as he squeezed his eyes shut from the strain. Spike took another poke at the shield, and it started to crack from the strain.

Suddenly, a wave of magic, the same color as Shining's, washed over his shield, reinforcing it against Spike's assault. Shining and the princesses looked surprised at the sight, until they saw the familiar unicorn trotting up to Shining.

"I got you, BBBFF!" she shouted as her horn flared. "I never forgot that shield spell!"

Despite the fact that he was still fighting to keep the barrier from breaking, Shining Armor smiled at his little sister.

"Thanks, Twily," he said, quietly.

Meanwhile, in the city, Fizz and her best friends were doing their best to minimize the damage and casualties. Fizz and Rainbow Dash, the fastest fliers, had zipped across the nearby sky and gathered every loose cloud they could get their hooves on. Then they mashed the clouds together, forming one big cloud, pushed it over the burning parts of Canterlot, and jumped up and down on it, releasing the rain drops from inside to douse the fire.

The other four found themselves tasked with saving as many ponies as they could. Rarity used her magic to snag a hooful of tapestries from the outer gates of the castle, and hurried up to a burning building. Levitating a single tapestry upwards, she placed one end in the window, and the other end on the ground, creating a makeshift slide. Pinkie Pie then produced a hammer and stake, and nailed the bottom in place.

"Hurry, girls!" shouted Rarity. She was already rushing off to the next building. "We've got ponies up there!"

Fluttershy obeyed without question, flying straight towards the top of the slide. She shielded her face with her hooves, and smashed through the glass window, landing inside the apartment. Looking around, she discovered an adult earth pony mare cowering in the corner, cradling two foals in her forelegs.

"It's okay," Fluttershy assured her, coming closer. "Let's get you out of here."

The mare still looked afraid, but she nonetheless obeyed, getting to her hooves and passing one of her children to Fluttershy. Then she followed the butter yellow pegasus out the window, sliding down the tapestry, while Fluttershy simply flew down, passing her other foal back once they were both safe.

Above the city, Fizz called out to her friends, using a simple spell to amplify her voice.

"Earth ponies to seventh! There's a bunch of ponies trapped in the bank! The front arch collapsed, and it looks like the rest of the building is gonna follow!"

Indeed, she was correct, but that didn't matter with Applejack and Pinkie on the case. The two earth ponies charged up to the pile of rubble and reached under it with their forelegs. Utilizing every ounce of strength in their bodies, they lifted, creating a passage through which the ponies trapped inside could escape.

"Everypony out!"yelled Applejack. "But don't trample each other!"

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash discovered a building where some fire remained burning at the top, despite their impromptu rain shower. It was small, just a one-story house, but there could easily still be ponies inside. Rainbow wasted no time, punching through a window to find a family of three unicorns trapped in the bathroom by debris.

"Okay!" she called out, looking around the room for anything she could use. "Everypony in the tub!"

Her orders were obeyed quickly, and once the three ponies were inside, Rainbow put her forehooves under the tub. It was heavy, but she managed to lift it up, then carried it out the way she'd come in.

Fizz, seeing that her friends had things mostly under control, took another glance at Spike. Shining and Twilight's shield was holding, and the princesses still kept his mouth closed, preventing more fires from breaking out. But she knew they couldn't keep it up forever, and going by the look of insanity in his eyes, he wasn't getting any more control over the chaos magic. A quick glance at the clock confirmed that about ten of the fifteen minutes she'd allotted had passed. Fizz cursed quietly, wishing time would go faster.

Suddenly, Spike stopped scratching at the barrier, and snapped the fingers on his free hand. Remembering what had happened the last time he did so, Fizz's eyes widened in fear, wondering what effect he'd caused.

As it turned out, she didn't have to wonder for long. A large ball of rubber chickens, about the size of a carriage, suddenly materialized over Canterlot, and dropped into the city. Fizz started to laugh, until the chickens suddenly stood up, and opened their mouths, revealing two rows of razor sharp teeth.

"Oh, come on," she groaned. "Stupid chaos magic. Even Discord never made things that attack ponies."

The chickens were clustered in a small area around Canterlot's restaurant row, so that's where Fizz flew. She landed in the center, and immediately lit up her stump. Several rubber chickens, who were evidently looking for a snack, charged her, but found themselves vaporized by bolts of lightning.

"You need a hoof there?" asked Rainbow, as Fizz seized another chicken by the throat and slammed it into the sidewalk.

"No, I got this," insisted Fizz. She turned around and bucked three chickens, scattering them like bowling pins. "You just make sure none of the ponies fleeing come this way."

"On it!" replied Rainbow, before she zoomed off. Fizz smiled a little, before a chicken bit her leg, and was promptly zapped by her horn.

Celestia, Luna, and Cadence were running out of magic. The strain of making a tether strong enough to keep Spike's massive jaws closed, plus the fact that they had to keep flapping their wings to stay aloft, was beginning to get to them. Down on the ground, Shining and Twilight were in a similar situation. Spike had gone back to scratching at the barrier that encircled his face, and cracks were beginning to form. Twilight and Shining had nearly fallen to their knees from stress.

"Can't...hold...much...longer..." whimpered Twilight.

"Hold firm!" yelled Princess Luna. "Just a bit longer...!"

But her words proved to be in vain. Spike reached back with his free hand, and drove his claws as hard as possible through the shield, piercing it like a javelin through glass. Twilight and Shining both screamed in pain as the magic backlash went down their horns directly into their brains, and fell to the ground. With the shield gone, Spike grabbed the magic chain with two fingers, and ripped through it as though it were made of straw. Celestia, Luna, and Cadence were nearly knocked out of the sky.

Spike, free at last, turned his sights towards Canterlot, and opened his mouth, preparing another mighty gush of flame. He would've burned the entire city to the ground in one blast, had he not heard a faint, "Hey! You big meanie!"

Annoyed, the dragon turned once more. There, flying above the city, were Fizz (holding Applejack), Rainbow (holding Pinkie), and Fluttershy (holding Rarity). Fluttershy was the one who'd made the call, and she was giving Spike the full force of the Stare. Unfortunately, in Spike's current condition, he didn't feel the effects.

"Now, girls!" shouted Fizz, powering up the Element of Magic.

A rainbow thread emerged from within the gem set in the crown, linking the element to Loyalty and Kindness, and then to Laughter, Generosity, and Honesty. The six mares floated in midair as the rainbow line of power began to charge, preparing to blast Spike with the full force of Harmony itself. Spike noticed this, of course, and turned his maw towards them, preparing to incinerate them. However, a single beam of magenta magic blasted him in the eye, drawing his attention once again.

"There..." breathed Twilight. "That's...all I've got..."

The eyes of Fizz, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rarity, and Applejack all snapped open, and they were pure white. From their bodies came a blast of magic, all the colors of the rainbow, that stretched towards the sky, and came down like a waterfall, aimed directly at Spike. The dragon barely had time to look up before the beam hit him directly in the eyes, and went inside his body, zapping him and making him roar in pain. He lost his grip on the side of the mountain, but he didn't fall. Instead, he floated in place, and from out of his mouth came Discord's chaos magic, which zipped through the air before flying back towards the top of the mountain, where Discord presumably still was.

Meanwhile, Spike's body was shrinking back down to its original size. The downside of this was that he dropped like a rock, plummeting towards the bottom of Mount Canter. Fortunately for him, Fizz noticed this right away, and, after depositing Applejack on the ground, rocketed towards him. She just barely managed to snag him out of the air before he fell too far. Looking down at the dragon, Fizz saw that he'd passed out from the harmony beam. She made a quick u-turn, and flew him back upwards, towards Twilight.

"Spike!" Twilight wheezed, struggling to get to her hooves. Shining Armor placed himself against her side so she wouldn't fall.

Fizz came to a stop in front of them, and laid Spike on the ground.

"I think...he's okay," she panted. It was clear the day's efforts had taken a toll on her, too. She could barely stand. The other Element Bearers all scurried over to her, though they were exhausted as well.

"So...that's it? It's over?" asked Applejack.

Fizz looked over at Canterlot City. Though their efforts had reduced the casualties and contained the damage to a few blocks, several buildings were still charred black, and fire damage had caused them to cave in in certain areas.

"Maybe not..." she muttered, looking over at Twilight.

Chapter Eight: Life Isn't Fair

Fizz stormed into Celestia's chambers, slamming the door behind her on the way.

"I can't believe Blueblood!" she snarled, spitting from sheer fury. "Why haven't you thrown him out yet?!"

Celestia sadly shook her head. "I wish I could," she replied, "but technically, he's committed no crime."

It had been a few days since the incident in Canterlot. Thanks to the efforts of everypony present, nopony had been killed, thankfully, but there were still millions of bits in property damage. Many ponies had been displaced from their homes, and the Canterlot Hospital was nearly full with ponies suffering from injuries, especially burns. When Celestia and Luna had revealed to everpony the cause, ponies had immediately began calling for Twilight Sparkle's head, as well as Spike's.

Even worse was the nobles. While they claimed to be looking out for everypony's best interests, Fizz saw right through them. They knew that the princesses would increase their taxes to pay for the property damage and temporary shelter for the displaced citizens. So they joined the crusade for Twilight and Spike to be punished.

Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and Shining Armor had appealed to everypony, of course. They'd argued that Spike hadn't been in control of his actions when he'd attacked Canterlot, thanks to Discord's magic, and based on Fizz's testimony, Twilight had relented in her plans when she could've won. Plus, she'd helped the princesses halt Spike's efforts. However, the ponies and nobles hadn't relented. Fizz had just returned from Blueblood's house, trying to convince him Twilight had earned a little leniency at least. It had gone about as well as she'd expected, with Blueblood once again calling her a crippled pony unworthy of the title of princess, and saying he'd make sure Twilight never saw the light of day again.

Naturally, Fizz was infuriated by the prince's retort, and barely managed to restrain herself from burning down his entire estate. She'd dragged herself back to Canterlot Castle to tell everypony the news of her failure, though, based on her expression, she didn't have to say anything.

"Well, I don't see why you're all so dead set on getting these two in the clear," snorted Discord, as he floated above the thrones. "I can think of quite a few punishments I'd love to inflict on Miss Sparkle."

Twilight lowered her head a little, and Fizz shot a glare at the draconequus.

"What if Celestia had that attitude when it came to you, Discord?" she snarled.

That shut Discord up. He hurriedly teleported away, for which Fizz was thankful.

"So...what's gonna happen to us?" asked Spike. Twilight pulled him closer to her with one leg, and he wrapped his arms around her barrel.

Fizz turned to Celestia and Luna. "Come on, can't you just pardon them, and say 'Screw you' to Blueblood and the others? You're the princesses, you raise the sun and moon!"

"We could, Fizz," said Celestia, "but we are not tyrants. Plus, it's not just the nobles who are demanding retribution for the attack on Canterlot."

Fizz groaned. "Give me a break, Celestia! Whatever happened to doing what was right, no matter the consequences? So what if the decision won't be popular? Who cares?!"

"It's not that we want only the adoration of our little ponies, Fizz," said Luna. "If we act without their consent, it weakens their faith in us, and they may no longer see us as worthy of our titles. I'm not saying that a revolution would begin the next day, but it could have dire repercussions down the road."

"But...but..." Fizz stammered, before she shouted in anger and punched the wall. She hated this part of being Celestia's student. It angered her to no end, seeing how much politics prompted ponies to ruin each other's lives. Twilight's plan may have been idiotic, but she didn't deserve this. Even worse, Fizz knew she was basically facing a lifetime of this, since she was now a princess.

Celestia spoke again. "We're working towards a compromise. I believe we can get away with not sending Twilight to Tartarus, and instead having her serve a light sentence here in Canterlot. She'll be able to shorten her time by performing community service."

"What about Spike?" asked Fizz, still irritated.

"They won't separate us, will they?" asked the young drake, fear palpable in his voice.

Luna took over. "Since Spike was driven mad by Discord's chaos magic, we believe we can avoid imprisoning him. However...ponies are demanding he be kept under constant watch until Twilight is released, at minimum."

"So what? He's gonna be caged, like an animal in the zoo?" Fizz snapped, her anger growing by the second.

"Actually, we had a better idea," said Celestia. "Fizz, how would you like to become Spike's temporary guardian?"

Fizz blinked, taken aback for a second. This was not a path she'd considered. "Are...are you serious? They'd let us do that?"

"You are a princess, after all. They have no legitimate challenge to your title. If they try, they'll have to answer to us. You earned your alicorn wings, you know."

Fizz swallowed. She had been wanting more responsibilities as a princess, but this was a lot to throw onto her at once. Not as much as ruling a kingdom, of course, but still a lot. She turned towards Spike and Twilight, who both stared back at her, with something like hope in their eyes.

"I think...that decision should be made by them," she said. "Spike, if you're okay with this, I'd be happy to look after you for a while. Twilight, what do you think?"

"I trust you, Fizz," replied Twilight. "And I'm grateful. Ultimately, it's up to Spike, of course."

The dragon looked up at his sister figure, as his whole body trembled. Eventually, however, he let go and walked up to Fizz.

"If Twilight trusts you, then so do I," he responded. "I'll be good, I promise."

Fizz smiled, and draped a comforting wing over Spike's back. "Thanks for putting your faith in me, little guy," she said. "I'm...sorry we couldn't do any better for you two. Those scumbag ponies don't deserve their titles."

"It's alright," Twilight insisted. "You showed me far more mercy than I deserved. Honestly, I'm in your debt at this point."

"Not really," said Fizz. "We just did what any decent ponies would've done." Her expression fell, and she ground her teeth. "Blueblood can eat my—"

"Fizz!" exclaimed Twilight, covering Spike's ears.

"Sorry!"

Fizz, Spike, and Twilight trotted out of the royal chambers, into the main lobby of Canterlot Castle, where the other five Element bearers, along with Cadence and Shining Armor, were waiting patiently. Upon their arrival, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie immediately jumped to their hooves.

"Well? How'd it go?" asked Rainbow.

"Are we gonna throw an epic 'We Saved Equestria Again and Made a New Friend' party?!" asked Pinkie, bouncing up and down.

Fizz looked at her friends, and lowered her head a little. "Honestly, I don't think a party is really appropriate at this time, girls," she said. She proceeded to recount the final decision Celestia and Luna had come to, and what would happen to Spike and Twilight.

"Are you kiddin' me?!" exclaimed Applejack. "What kinda sense does that make?! If it weren't for Twilight, Canterlot would've been burned to the ground completely!" Then, as her brain caught up to what she'd just said, she quickly added, "No offense, Spike."

"Don't worry, none taken," said the dragon.

"So...Twily's gonna have to serve a prison sentence?" asked Shining Armor, looking sadly at his little sister. Twilight gave a small nod, and Shining's eyes started to water. He looked like he was gonna break down any second.

"She'll get out soon, I promise," Fizz hurriedly added. "I'm sorry, I did everything I could, but Celestia and Luna told me—"

"It's okay, Fizz," said Shining. "I don't blame you." He reached up with one leg and wiped his eyes. Then he turned back to his sister. "It'll be okay, Twily. We'll wait patiently until you come home."

"He's right," added Cadence. "And if you need anything, we'll fight for you."

"Thanks," said Twilight, stepping forward to hug them both. Fizz watched this unfold with a sad frown on her face.

Spike observed them as well, and from the expression on his face, Fizz could tell he was close to crying. She draped a wing over his body again.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to him. "I know it hurts. But it'll get better."

"I hope you're right," he responded, barely managing to keep his voice from cracking.

Twilight noticed a dragon-shaped whole in her family hug. "Come on, Spike," she said. "You're as much a part of this family as any of us."

Spike's mouth shifted into the ghost of a smile, and he strolled towards the three ponies, joining them in the hug. For the first time that day, Fizz felt a burst of hope. It wouldn't be easy, but perhaps they'd recover from this. Fizz wouldn't have to live with the fact that she'd destroyed a family.