//------------------------------// // Three // Story: The Armada Trilogy I: The Lieutenant // by TheMysteryMuffin //------------------------------// Fourteen years ago The school day was over at last for the fillies and colts in the village. The school gates were opened and all the students rushed out like wolves spotting their prey and chasing it down at speed. Many of the parents waited for their fillies and colts just outside on the cracked and damaged pavement, whilst others made their way home by themselves. Also, it was winter for the counties and cities outside Equestria, so there were piles of snow in certain areas and the roads were icy and dangerous. A light blue colt and lime-green filly, both unicorns, trotted outside into the cold air whilst having a discussion. Both were carrying books on Equestrian history and unicorn magic inside their backpacks, and the little colt was bouncing a yellow and blue ball whilst walking down the path. They were laughing at a recent prank on another unicorn who was in the same class as they were and remembering how their friend managed to turn their mane from a light chestnut brown into a bright sickly green. The pony in question did see them on the way out and in response walked off in a huff, not bothering to look at the pair of them. Another unicorn filly walked out behind the colt and filly from the main entrance and caught up with them. She was a shade of Indigo and had her blue-green eyes and crimson mane and tail, but her ponytail that tied up the back of her mane was not as long as other fillies in her class. No, this unicorn was rarely like any other unicorn filly. She was the smartest and the most intelligent unicorn filly in her town, however, this did mean she had very limited friends for other ponies were very jealous of her. The lime-green filly stopped and turned around to face the other unicorn. Soon enough, the blue colt also stopped and waited for his friend. "Come on Fizzlepop!" the lime green unicorn said, "What's taking you so long?" Fizzlepop Berrytwist then galloped in order to catch up with the others. They continued on their journey home, trying to not slip on the icy surface or trip up on the cracked pavement. Luckily, they had become used to what winter had given them, so all three ponies managed to continue on their way safely and steadily. They spotted some younger foals playing in the snow and making snow ponies in the empty fields. It was Hearth Warming's Eve after all, so the festive celebrations were coming in like a storm. Some of the ponies saw Fizzlepop and her friends and stared at them as if there was something off about them. Fizzlepop and her friends ignored them and continued on walking. The blue colt held onto his yellow ball, knowing that any pony could steal it and keep it for their own. Also, with the slippery surface that they were on, it could go in all sorts of directions, he played it safe and kept it in his bag. Soon enough, the three little ponies came across Fizzlepop's street and prepared to separate to their own homes. Fizzlepop turned to them and gave them a giant hug. "Have a wonderful Hearth's Warming, guys!" she said to them. "You too, Fizzlepop!" the two ponies said together. After a wave goodbye, Fizzlepop walked on down to her street. Luckily, it wasn't too slippery to walk up, so Fizzlepop managed to head back up safely and happily. She noticed that her mother was putting up decorations on their house and her father carrying a cart-full of Hearth's Warming food and presents. A group of earth ponies were using snow ploughs to tidy up the pavements and paths that led to each of the residents' accommodations, and then a gathering of unicorns followed up behind and used their magic to put the snow into large containers that were driven by very strong stallions. They would carry on along the pavement and they would leave a path that was assessable to the other ponies. A brown unicorn mare was following up from behind the convoy and noticed Fizzlepop walking up towards them. She waved and called out to her. "Hey there, Fizzlepop! How are you and your family?" Fizzlepop caught her eye and waved back. "They're fine, thank you for asking, Acorn Delight!" the crimson unicorn replied. Fizzlepop watched them walk on before walking onto her drive to her house. Going up it required a lot of stableness and not rushing on the frozen ice that had come from a leaking tap a few days ago. A pony could easily land and break their legs whilst trying to work their way up the brick-layered driveway, so Fizzlepop took her own time and didn't rush the process. By the time Fizzlepop made it to her door, she was exhausted. She used her horn to ring the doorbell and then waited for some pony to answer it for her. Fizzlepop never took a key with her to school, for some of the unicorns stole from other students and sold their most-beloved items to older ponies for a great deal of money. They did it right under the teachers' snouts, without them even raising an eyebrow. The door opened to reveal a brownish red unicorn wearing an apron and a woolly hat. Her eyes were a dark red and her cutie mark was a black rose surrounded by white sparkles. Her horn was slightly longer than Fizzlepop's, but not as smooth and her tail was messy and dirty. "Oh hello, sweetie!" Fizzlepop's mother said, "How was school? Come on in quickly, because I'm getting supper sorted." Fizzlepop trotted in, hanging up her school supplies and cleaning off the snow from her hooves. "School was fine," she replied, "I'm glad we've broken up though." Fizzlepop's mother went over and closed the door behind her. "Oh," she said, "and why's that?" Fizzlepop went into the kitchen. "Because I'm tired." The brown-red unicorn turned to face her daughter. "I understand, sweetie. It's that new headmaster, isn't it?" Fizzlepop turned away and started helping on the dishes. "Of course it's that new headmaster!" she exclaimed, "Ever since he took charge, he's just been piling work on us and he's already fired Mrs Pompeii! I hate him. Everyone there hates him." The other unicorn continued working whilst listening to her daughter. Mrs Berrytwist was a very wise pony and knew a lot about what sort of problems happened around town, even if she was inside all day long trying to do all the housework. Every morning, the post would come through with new information about what was happening in the town's council centre, so that she was up to date on what was going to go through. A lot of ponies went to ask the Berrytwist family for any wise advise that they could use to run their town, instead of looking through centuries worth of books on useless information. Next door to Mrs Berrytwist's office was the village's library, where she went after her shift had ended for the day. She would spend from ten minutes to hours on end inside reading either fiction or useful information and would even forget to come home some nights to cook dinner and that would result in her husband to come and pick her up himself. "Just remember, Fizzlepop" Mrs Berrytwist noted, "he's there to teach you and give you a decent education." The little filly frowned and then sat down at the table. "Come on, Sandals!" the unicorn called, "Your daughter has arrived. Dinner is serving!" The sound of heavy hooves coming down the stairs made the small house that they lived in a shake. "But mummy, he's nice to all the other unicorns!" Fizzlepop cried, "He just doesn't like me!" "I'm sure that's not true, sweetie pie," her mother said sweetly. She then raised her voice. "SANDALS?! WHERE ARE YOU?!" The heavy hooves continued walking down the stairs and making a loud thud every time they landed on a step. Sandals then jumped from a step and landed with a loud thud on the floor. Both his wife and daughter wobbled as the ground shook from the force of the landing. "Is supper ready, dear? Is Fizzlepop home yet? Is the table sorted at all-?" Sandals was talking at great speed, not giving either Fizzlepop or Mrs Berrytwist the chance to answer. "Calm down, Sandals!" Mrs Berrytwist said, "Fizzlepop's here and supper is ready." Sandals Berrytwist went over to Fizzlepop and gave her a hug. "How was school, sweetie pie?" Sandals asked. Fizzlepop was beginning to feel annoyed by all the attention and decided to push her father away so that she could answer this question from a decent distance. "It was fine, thank you..." Fizzlepop groaned. Mrs Berrytwist laid out the table and then grabbed hold of her husband and daughter and dragged them to where they would be eating. Sandals Berrytwist looked around and simply watched his wife sort everything out on the table and then sit down on the spare chair. Afterwards, they began eating. "Was work good, honey?" Sandals asked his wife. Mrs Berrytwist simply looked up, before returning her gaze to her food. "Busy as usual," she replied, "but still as fun as it always has been." Fizzlepop turned away from the conversation and focused on eating some oats whilst looking out of the window. It was starting to snow again and it came all down very quickly. The wind got stronger and blew a wave of snow all over the village, including blocking more of the roads and pavements and landing on top of the roof of the Fizzlepop's family home. Soon enough, the snow was covering some of the windows and blocking half of the view of the road. It had become bitterly dark as well, consuming all of the light like a vacuum cleaner sucking up rubbish. The streetlights barely lit up anything, thanks to the engulfing fog that had landed on the town. No pony was out anymore, for they feared that something could happen to them. Fizzlepop's attention came back to the sound of her mother putting some berries on her plate. "Oh, err, thanks, mummy." "You don't seem to be paying much attention, dear? Are you completely sure that you're alright now?" her father asked. "Really, I'm fine. It's just been a very long day." The meal continued. The Berrytwist family eventually finished their meal and after she had completed her homework, Fizzlepop headed up to bed. *** Fizzlepop's room was not too big and not too small, but it was very dark. Only a small candle ignited the dim room which Fizzlepop was using to read a story, Pirate Griffons. It was her favourite and she had at least read it a few times before, but that still didn't stop her from relaxing with a good book. She then put the book down and began to tuck herself in, when there was a knock at the door. "Come in." The door opened, to reveal Mrs Berrytwist. Fizzlepop sighed in frustration and settled down into bed. "Are you okay, dear?" she asked Fizzlepop. The filly sighed. "I'll be fine tomorrow," Fizzlepop replied, "myself and my friends will go out in the afternoon and play hoof ball or something. I'll leave you guys to it." Mrs Berrytwist walked over to Fizzlepop and opened up her arms. "Come here." Her daughter went into her arms and held onto a hug. Fizzlepop's book fell to the floor, but its owner didn't bother to reach down and pick it up. "Don't let today ruin your holiday. Your friends will be coming tomorrow, so you'll be doing at least something. Just remember that." "I know, mum." "Shall I turn off your light for you, then?" "I've got it, thank you." Mrs Berrytwist blew out the candle and put Pirate Griffons near her daughter's bed. "Goodnight, Fizzlepop." "Goodnight, mum." Mrs Berrytwist closed the door behind her, leaving Fizzlepop alone in the darkness. Fizzlepop always had trouble going to sleep. She could never nod off as quickly as her parents could do, plus, her neighbours were as loud as dragons on a bad day. There were just too many distractions. But eventually, when it turned completely black, the little filly fell into a deep, deep sleep. *** The noises became louder and soon she could hear conversations easily. Fizzlepop could see ponies in strange looking armour marching across hundreds and hundreds of miles all over Equestria. They were huge, with long spears in their right hands and chanting some pony's name. "Storm... Storm... Storm..." Fizzlepop was confused. Who was this Storm? A Pegasus, perhaps? She had never heard the name of Storm before, nor did she know a pony called that. All she knew was that she could see them marching towards a city and they were preparing to throw huge boulders at the walls of the boundaries. There were torches of fire and horrible beasts being dragged along and whipped by a guard. What was this? A dream, maybe, but of what and when? And then she saw it. Fizzlepop had been taught about this city before for many years in Primary school, but never had the chance to visit it. It was, of course, the most powerful city in all of Equestria. Canterlot. All of a sudden, a giant airship came into view, which had a giant marking on the front. The airship was being driven towards the city square at great speed and cannons were being armed, ready for an attack. The soldiers moved forwards quickly and soon reached the very edge of the city. The walls were soon damaged by the force of the attacks from the huge army. One of the airships carried a female pony on board. She was at the front, watching what was in front of her and soon turned to face the driver of the airship. She said something that Fizzlepop couldn't understand and then saw the face of the pony. It was her. Why was she invading Canterlot? It didn't make sense. She loved Canterlot and always wanted to visit it. Why would she destroy one of Equestria's most famous cities to have ever been built? No pony from there had ever done something horrible to her or her family. It made no sense whatsoever. "Storm...Storm... Storm..." The chanting continued, along with the invasion. Fizzlepop tried to get away, but she found out that she was frozen in place, forced to watch this madness. Then, the worst happened. Some ponies who were in the way of the soldiers were attacked and either killed or badly injured. The airships started bombing the area and turning the sky into a tar black colour. What she was witnessing wasn't a dream. It was a vision.