//------------------------------// // Six // Story: The Armada Trilogy I: The Lieutenant // by TheMysteryMuffin //------------------------------// The Next Day The sound of the beeping from Fizzlepop's alarm clock woke her up with a start. Breathing rapidly, Fizzlepop reached her hoof for a glass of water, only to knock it on the floor and causing it to smash on the hard surface. The unicorn filly groaned in frustration, before lying down again on her bed. She asked herself how it could be so hard to reach for a glass of water. After all, it was her horn that was the problem, not her hoof. The daylight creeping through the blinds of her window told Fizzlepop that it was morning. After looking at the rays of sunshine landing on her room's floor, the filly turned back onto her side and looked at her alarm clock. 8:12 am. Fizzlepop threw the covers off and sat up straight. She tasked herself to call for assistance and ask for breakfast before she would nod off to sleep again. Fizzlepop would have got up to look out of her window and see the beautiful sunshine land on the hospital's garden, however, she soon remembered that she was attached to some machines and therefore couldn't leave her bed without taking the machine with her to the window. And also, she didn't dare attempt to use her magic to levitate the machine as she would walk around her room. The best thing was to just sit still. Five minutes later, her nurse came in with a trolley with a tray of food and drink placed on the top. Underneath the tray of food was a tray holding a selection of cards, letters, flowers, chocolates, perfumes, lipstick, shampoo and fruit. Many of these gifts had labels, the majority saying the same thing: To Fizzlepop, Get well soon. We all love you. Best wishes from your school. These were all followed by other messages from hundreds and hundreds of students, including Avon and Star Myth. Fizzlepop was surprised. Her school had never done anything like this to her. At least she knew that there were other ponies from her school that cared as well. Then again, it's not every day that a unicorn loses its horn and lives to tell the tale, especially if the creature was none other than a baby Ursa. Fizzlepop didn't rush reading each and every card that she opened. Each one was in different handwriting and from a different student from the infant section next door to her school up all the way to Year 6. Some were scribbled with crayons and others were beautifully designed by quill and ink. Some were covered with messy drawings and others were shaded sketches of her, all of which included her horn. After reading each card and letter, Fizzlepop put them onto the table next to her bed and then threw away the envelopes. She then wrote on a scrap piece of paper to remind her to do something in return for the kindness and presents they had given her. Her year group, Year 5, were a large group, consisting of around 120 students of the three different species of ponies; earth, unicorn and Pegasus, so there was a large collection of presents and treats from them. Fizzlepop felt that they had been too generous to her since her incident with the Ursa, after all, she was just a student, just like the rest of the fillies and colts in her class. Fizzlepop reached out both her arms to pick up a large, red present that was placed underneath the tray of other gifts. She shook the cube-shaped object to hear what sort of thing could be inside, but Fizzlepop could hear no sound. She wondered what it could be; something large, perhaps? The unicorn rattled the present again, to hear the same response to nothing. Giving up, Fizzlepop decided to unravel the ribbon and take off the lid of the present. Inside was a collection of sparkly lipstick, ranging from pale white to a strong crimson colour, and a beautiful, large, dark blue dress. She took it out of the box and laid the dress over the sheets of her bed, seeing the shine of the sparkly gems that were embedded into the skirt, and as her eyes widened, Fizzlepop saw how stunning and breath-taking this dress was. She pulled the dress towards her and placed it on her chest, feeling the texture of the clothing over her skin. After sleeping underneath the thin and exposed hospital bed sheets, it just felt so good to have the material of a dress touch her skin. The feeling of joy soon left Fizzlepop as quickly as a galloping gazelle, when her tummy had decided that it was the time for something to eat. As it was morning, Fizzlepop decided not to have some of the treats that were given to her, so instead, she called for room service from one of her nurses. Thankfully, it was early in the morning, so the wait was short for assistance. A white pony, with a pink mane and tail, and blue eyes walked through Fizzlepop's door with another trolley with food and drinks. She parked the trolley next to her patient's bed, before leaning forward to place a hoof on Fizzlepop's head. "Good morning, deary," she said quietly, "feeling any better?" "I am, thank you" Fizzlepop replied, "I've been drowned with all these gifts from my school. I didn't know that I had so many friends." Nurse Redheart picked up a thermometer from her tray and placed it into her patient's mouth. Fizzlepop kept her lips as tight as they would go to prevent the thermometer from falling out and also stayed perfectly still. She decided to lie back down again and rest her head on the pillow behind her and focused on looking at the ceiling. "You'll have to keep that in your mouth until I've finished checking up on you," Redheart explained, "I'll let you know when you can take it out." Fizzlepop stayed still whilst watching the nurse pick up and inspect some of the particular objects that were on her tray. Some included very long needles and others were glass bottles containing liquids of various colours. Nurse Redheart picked up a tiny magnifying glass and went over to her patient, holding onto the top of her head. "Now hold still," Nurse Redheart said, "this won't take long." Keeping Fizzlepop's head still, Redheart leaned forward with the magnifying glass and looked at the damage at the top of Fizzlepop's forehead. The nurse stuck her tongue out whilst inspecting the stitches and exposed cuts in Fizzlepop's head, including the remains of her broken horn. Fizzlepop had been given something to prevent the pain from getting to a point where she couldn't bear it, especially if some pony was going to be sticking a needle into her head. The white earth pony slowly picked out the tiny pieces of horn out of Fizzlepop's crimson skin and put the pieces of horn into a glass cylinder. Once some of the pieces were placed into the glass, they gave out one final flash of magic, before going out for the very last time. Soon enough, every piece of horn had been taken out of Fizzlepop's head. The next step was to sow the wounds up. Nurse Redheart quickly sowed her way through Fizzlepop's head, running through the cuts and open wounds. Luckily, during the stitching, Fizzlepop didn't feel any pain whatsoever. There was very little to do afterwards as well; only a quick clean up. For being brave, Fizzlepop was given something to drink after Nurse Redheart had finished on her. After sitting up in the upright position, Fizzlepop starting drinking her reward; raspberry milkshake. She remained sitting down and managed to forget about the bloody scenes that she had witnessed whilst Nurse Redheart was working on her. The pony in question was busy washing up her equipment in a washing up sink, cleaning away all of her patient's blood and disinfecting them. Whilst doing that, Fizzlepop continued reading some of her Best Wishes cards and opening the remainder of her presents. Many of the presents were Gusty the Great novels, legends of famous unicorns and translation books from Latin to English. Fizzlepop soon had a stack full of books and large collections of stories. For the first time in over twenty-four hours, she smiled in joy at how her friends had become so kind to her, even the ones that she didn't get on with. If she thought her tenth birthday was amazing, then receiving presents on the day afterwards was just unbelievable. Nurse Redheart then went over to Fizzlepop and stroked her mane. "You've been great, Fizzlepop," she said, "tomorrow, I'll be happy to discharge you from the hospital. I bet your friends and family will be pleased about that, eh?" "That's great!" Fizzlepop cried, "Thanks. Besides, I have to catch up with school work." "I'm glad to hear that you're regarding what you need to do when you go back to school," Nurse Redheart said, "many of my patients in Canterlot worry if their fillies and colts are catching up with homework when they're in the hospital. It's lucky that their youngsters have an older sibling to keep an eye on them. Do you have any sisters or brothers, Fizzlepop?" "No, I'm the only filly in the house," Fizzlepop said, "mummy's never had any other infants. My friends Avon and Star Myth have siblings though." "I see," Nurse Redheart replied, "have you ever been to Canterlot?" "I've never left the town," Fizzlepop explained, "my parents have promised me that they'll take me to Canterlot for my thirteenth birthday. After school, I want to get a job so that I can pay to visit places in Equestria. I've always wanted to see that part of the world." "Well, I assure you," Nurse Redheart said, "Equestria is the most beautiful place to ever visit. Many famous ponies have come from that part of the world. I have had the privilege to nurse Princess Celestia herself, believe it or not. And also her prize pupil, Twilight Sparkle." "Twilight Sparkle?" Fizzlepop repeated. "Oh yes, Twilight Sparkle is one of the smartest unicorns to have ever attended her school in Canterlot. Lavender coat, bright purple coloured star cutie mark and the brain of a genius. One of a kind, let's say. Hey, she seems similar to you in a way." Fizzlepop thought for a while and the name of this particular unicorn remained in her head. The name of "Twilight Sparkle" played on her mind like a memory that she couldn't get out of her brain. Nurse Redheart said that she was Celestia's prize pupil. Celestia, the ruler of Equestria and pretty much the goddess of the sun, had a pupil? The princess had a pupil? "Is she still in Canterlot?" Fizzlepop asked. "Oh yes," Nurse Redheart replied, "she's always lived there. Her family have been based there for generations. I only know so much though; I can't remember anything else about her." "I see." "If you had to leave your town," Nurse Redheart said, "would you think of going to Canterlot?" "My parents have thought about going there for work," Fizzlepop explained, "they have also asked me if I wanted to go to Celestia's school, but it's very expensive." "That is true," the nurse pony replied, "it's like five hundred bits for the whole academic year. The education they teach though is worth the money. Only the really worthy ponies allow their fillies and colts to go study there, especially if the headmistress is none other than Princess Celestia herself." Nurse Redheart then went over to her trolley of equipment and put all the blood coated bandages into a small metal bin. Afterwards, she pushed the trolley towards the door and prepared to leave. "I'll be back in a few minutes to see how you're doing," she said to Fizzlepop, "try to get some rest now, dear." After her nurse closed the door, Fizzlepop turned to her side and attempted to fall asleep. It took longer than anticipated though, as she was still recovering from the strange feeling of having bits of horn stuck in her head. The feeling, however, was losing the battle against tiredness and soon, Fizzlepop fell once again into a deep, deep sleep. For the remainder of the day, Fizzlepop was asleep in her room with strict orders from Nurse Redheart that she wasn't to be disturbed under any circumstances. The nurse pony wandered down the corridor every thirty minutes or so, just in case her patient needed her aid. However, her job was interrupted at the arrival of Mr and Mrs Berrytwist coming through the main entrance of the hospital and heading over to the reception. "Hello, we've booked an appointment to see our daughter, Fizzlepop Berrytwist," the crimson mare said, "is it okay if we see her?" Nurse Redheart went over to the receptionist's desk and introduced herself to the two unicorns. "Mr and Mrs Berrytwist, I believe?" she asked, "Hi, I'm Redheart and I'm your daughter's nurse. How are the two of you doing?" "We just wanted to see our daughter before we went out to work today," Mr Berrytwist explained, "is it okay if we get to see her?" "I'm very sorry, sir, but your daughter is sleeping off the effects of the stitching and medication she's received today. She would be up to scratch until this afternoon, only then we can allow visitors to see her. Besides, she'll be discharged tomorrow, so you can take her home anyway." The couple frowned in disappointment, before turning around to head out of the hospital. They went through the main entrance and left the building. Mrs Berrytwist fell to tears, with her husband holding her in a hug as they walked through the cool breeze of autumn. "Well, err, thanks anyway," Mr Berrytwist said, "see you tomorrow then." Watching the two unicorns from a window far off was Fizzlepop herself. The feeling of guilt swept through her like the effects of a drug taking hold on her mind. It didn't feel nice to see her parents just walk away, but she knew that they had to get back to their jobs in the village. Fizzlepop reminded herself that they would be back tomorrow to pick her up from the hospital and everything would be all okay. Everything should be okay from then on. Right? The next day, Fizzlepop was woken earlier than anticipated by Nurse Redheart. Her alarm clock seemed to have reached the end of its career and what used to be a loud beeping sound was now a mere vibration. Before she could reach over to turn it off, the white unicorn simply lifted the alarm up with her magic, turned it off with her hoof and set it down again on Fizzlepop's table. The filly groaned with tiredness before covering her head with a pillow, turning to face away from her nurse. Nurse Redheart ignored her and continued working getting everything ready for her departure. "Too early!" Fizzlepop murmured from underneath her pillow. The nurse pony simply smiled, whilst laying out the portable breakfast table and pushing Fizzlepop's gifts aside. "Today's the day!" Redheart said, beaming a grin on her white face, "You're being discharged from hospital and be able to go home. Your parents are expected to collect you late morning, so I recommend that you get everything packed. The scars and damage to your horn should be completely healed within a month's time. If you have any problems, book an appointment with me and we can meet again in a private meeting. Sounds good?" The only response that Redheart received from her patient was the muffled sound of her groaning. "Excellent! I'll get one of our chefs to make some breakfast for you and then I'll help you pack your things. Fun, right?" The filly eventually sat up straight with her pillow balancing on top of her head. She turned to look directly at Nurse Redheart, before grinning to say that she understood her task at hoof. "I'll leave you to get changed for the time being." The nurse pony walked out of Fizzlepop's room, closing the door and blind of the door's window. Fizzlepop then turned down the blinds of the large window which showed the view of the entrance to the hospital and turned on the light. She then went over to the pile of gifts that she received yesterday and pulled out the blue dress. After making sure that the dress was her size, Fizzlepop pulled the dress over her head and allowed it to fall down her body. She then tried to grab the zip on the back, but that was easier said than done when you had hooves and no horn. Eventually, Fizzlepop gave up and decided that she would get Nurse Redheart to help her get zipped up into her dress. Fizzlepop pressed the button that requested help and within a few seconds, her nurse arrived and went over to help her into a dress. After that was achieved, Nurse Redheart picked up Fizzlepop's stuff and followed her out of the room, walking over to the reception. Mrs Berrytwist was waiting on one of the small plastic chairs that were all placed in a line against one of the walls. She was watching a long queue of ponies waiting to be served at the prescription desks, as none of the beauty magazines were to her taste. She looked at her pocket watch and tutted at the disgraced waiting time. "What's taking them so long?" she asked herself. Suddenly, Fizzlepop came round the corner along with Nurse Redheart. Mrs Berrytwist went over to Fizzlepop and gave her a hug. "You've been so brave, Fizzlepop!" she said, "I must thank you, Miss Redheart. How can I ever repay you?" "No need," the unicorn replied, "if you ever need anything, call me at this number." Redheart gave Mrs Berrytwist a small white card with her name and cutie mark on. It was reflective and had a shine to it. "Thanks for everything," Mrs Berrytwist said again, "come on, Fizzlepop. Time to go." "Thanks, Redheart!" Fizzlepop said, waving goodbye to her nurse. "Anything for you, dear!" Nurse Redheart replied, "Anything for you." Fizzlepop and her mother walked through the entrance to the hospital and started the long walk home. There was a cool breeze that was sweeping through the town, gentle and not too cold. It was yet another busy day, with every pony out and about, shopping, travelling, going to work, taking fillies and colts to school; just another day in a town outside Equestria. The pavements were blocked with ponies selling food and expensive beauty products to the rest of the citizens, along with the odd entertainer performing a talent of some sort. Ponies were consuming all the available space that was left, leaving none for others like Fizzlepop and her mother to get past. Once among the crowds, Fizzlepop put her cloak and hood on, covering up her broken horn. Her mother kept her close by, trying not to let any pony see her daughter's head or face. The only thing that emerged from the darkness of Fizzlepop's hood, were her two blue eyes, still sparkling with beauty and colour. Other than that, black was the only thing to be seen. Keeping her head down, Fizzlepop trusted her mother and followed her through the sea of ponies, trying not to give eye contact to any of them. A very tall and thin yellow unicorn, with a green mane and a blue star for a cutie mark, was being guarded by two large grey stallions whilst walking down the street past all the market stalls and groups of civilians. Every pony noticed her, all except for Fizzlepop, who couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. "Mummy, who's that unicorn?" Fizzlepop asked. All of a sudden, Mrs Berrytwist started giggling with excitement. "Who's that unicorn?" she repeated back, "That's Diamond Delight, the biggest pop star outside of Equestria! What's she doing here, though? This is just a small town, with no history of any sort." The grey stallions marched their way to the centre of the town, holding back the crowds to give Diamond Delight some space. The yellow unicorn simply walked through the crowds without a problem whilst blowing kisses to her fans. Lots of ponies waved her by, cheering and crying in delight. As the convoy carried on down the road, Fizzlepop and her mother tried to squeeze their way through the last of the crowd. They were almost there, until suddenly a black Pegasus stallion stepped back, tripping Fizzlepop up and made her land face first onto the floor, right in the way of Diamond Delight. The cheering stopped and there was complete silence throughout the town. The guard ponies stepped right next to Diamond Delight, stretching out an arm each in front of the celebrity's chest. Fizzlepop looked up, holding onto the hood to prevent it falling down and exposing her to the crowd. Diamond Delight leaned forward and presented an arm to the filly. Accepting her kindness, Fizzlepop held onto the hoof and lifted herself up back onto all four hooves. After a quick smile, Diamond Delight carried on walking and the convoy continued following her. Mrs Berrytwist was left speechless and didn't dare move a muscle. Her daughter had just fallen in front of one of the hottest celebrities out there, but thankfully the secret of her condition wasn't discovered. The mare went over to Fizzlepop held onto her for a while, whilst both of them watched the celebrity walk off into the distance. "Are you okay, dear?" Mrs Berrytwist asked Fizzlepop. The filly didn't respond for a while, for she couldn't believe that she almost gave away the identity of a unicorn with no horn. "I... I am..." Fizzlepop replied, "I think I am anyway." "Come on," her mother said, pushing her along the path, "let's get out of here." Five minutes later, Fizzlepop and her mum arrived back at home, to be welcomed by Sandals Berrytwist at the front door. The smell of bacon travelled out of the window and into the street, which drew in the two unicorns without hesitation. Fizzlepop ran up to Sandals and jumped into his arms, still with her hood on. "How is my angel today, eh?" Sandals asked Fizzlepop. He gave her a nuzzle, before letting her go. "Fine thanks, Dad" Fizzlepop replied, "I'm feeling better already." "That's really good to hear, sweetie" Sandals Berrytwist said, "I heard from Avon and Star Myth's families that they're available to spend the time you after tea. They were wondering if you would join them in the park, this time away from any possible disasters." "That sounds great!" Fizzlepop said. She went inside and dumped her stuff on one of the sofas, before lying down in a reading chair. "You're lucky to come out of the hospital in time for the weekend," Mrs Berrytwist said, "otherwise you'd have to be getting ready for school again. Tomorrow's Saturday, so you have the whole day. Again remember, don't-" "Get involved with any disasters," Fizzlepop finished, "I know, mum." Mrs Berrytwist gave one final nuzzle, before walking off to do the dishes. Fizzlepop, however, just remained sitting in the chair, looking through the window as she watched the chaos outside die off. It was beginning to become very chilly and soon, too cold to be hanging around outside. Sandals started up a fire, laying it with newspapers, logs, pieces of wood and coal. It lit up the room, giving it a dim orange glow and a relaxing heat. The smell of burning coal went up Fizzlepop's nostrils, causing her to sneeze every so often, but it still made her feel sleepy. After sitting around for a while, Sandals and his wife had a quick glance at their daughter, noticing that she had fallen asleep. The pair of them smiled and went over to pick her up. They crept up the stairs as quietly as possible, before placing her back into bed, covering her crimson body with the devout. Afterwards, they began to leave, giving one final look at the unicorn filly one last time that night. "Goodnight, Fizzlepop" Mrs Berrytwist whispered, "we love you, so much."