A Storm on the Horizon of the Arcane World

by Fluttercheer


Prologue: A Storm Rises

.
It was a midsummer day and the sun burnt down from the sky. The mountain village its rays fell upon, despite being closer to the sun than other settlements in Equestria, felt slightly chill on this morning. Even though there wasn't a single cloud in the sky, the climate in this part of Equestria made the summers less warm than in the rest of the kingdom. It was nothing the unicorn citizens of the tiny village complained about, they had gotten used to it across many generations that were born in this village.
In one of the houses, located in the middle of the village, lived a filly called Fizzlepop Berrytwist and she was no exception. The night had been colder than the morning and yet, she was sleeping with her window widely opened. The brisk air of the night had made her sleep an exceptionally good one even, as any other pony in the village could have attested, but now the moment came for Fizzlepop to awake.
Feeling the last traces of a wonderful dream leaving her mind while slowly opening her eyes, Fizzlepop stirred in her bed, the covers rustling and the blanket getting partially pushed to the side by her movements. She yawned. Then, having fully opened her eyes, Fizzlepop rubbed the last sleep out of them. As she was done, the filly pushed the blanket off her body completely and dashed for the window.
She propped her head on her forehooves, slightly squishing her cheeks while leaning down on the windowsill. Fizzlepop let her eyes wander; over the houses her own was surrounded by, the paths, which were still empty, and the pine trees that formed a forest at the bottom of the mountain located just south of the village's border. Everything her eyes fell upon was clad in the thick, white mist of the early morning.
The forest she could see looked beautiful this morning, as it did on most, yet Fizzlepop had never been to it. She knew that behind the forest and behind the mountain, the wide world began, filled with towns and cities much bigger than the village she lived in, probably offering spectacular things far beyond her wildest imaginations and dreams. But, somehow, Fizzlepop had never felt any desire to leave her village and to go see those things. She had not even read books about this outside world, from the few the small library right around the corner of her house offered. Fizzlepop was content with her village and fully satisfied with the beauty it offered. She was a simple filly, one who could wait with seeing the outside world until she was an adult. Or, perhaps, even forever.
Fizzlepop closed her eyes and took in a deep breath of the morning air, sighing in delight as its cold chill filled up her lungs. She presented the village and the surrounding landscape with a last glance and a smile, then she retreated from the window and returned to her bed.
Lighting up her horn, she wrapped the pillow into a purple aura and smoothed its surface, until there was no sign of how her head had rested on it minutes ago anymore. Following up on this, she spread the blanket over her bed until half of the pillow was covered. Directing her aura to the corners of the blanket, she pulled at each one, until it was perfectly aligned with the rest of the bed. Fizzlepop stepped away from her bed and cast an observant glance over it. Finding everything to be well done, she let the magic around her horn vanish. “Um-hm!” Fizzlepop nodded, proudly, then she marshed out of her room.
Arrived in the corridor, she nonchalantly wrapped the door into her magic and closed it shut without turning around, then she cantered down the stairs, youthful energy spurring her to begin the day.
It didn't take her long to reach the small kitchen of her house. Seeing the table already being laid and the smell of the breakfast on it entering her nose, she did not waste time to sit down either. Eagerly, the hungry filly planted her flank on the chair and began to stuff the food into her mouth, from where it quickly found its way down her throat. Her mother was still at the kitchen unit, cleaning her hooves, but turned around after just a few moments. Sitting down at the table opposite of her, she presented her daughter with a warm smile.
“Good Morning, Fizzlepop,” her voice rang through the room and into Fizzlepop's ears like a sweet melody.
“Moarnim, mom!” Fizzlepop replied without stopping to eat. She opened her mouth and gave her a mother a smile, not caring about any etiquette. A few bits of chewed bread landed on her plate.
“Swallow before you talk,” her mother scolded, the melody of her voice being of a sharper nature now, but her smile remained.
“Sowwy,” Fizzlepop apologized immediately after, causing her mother to sigh and shake her head, then she reached for a glass of milk to her right and started to gulp it down. She was holding the glass with her magic and simultaneously wrapped another piece of food into her aura and levitated it up to her mouth. She had barely swallowed the milk as she put it between her teeth, bit off a chunk and started chewing again.
“Was your sleep alright, Fizzlepop?” her mother asked, now starting to eat herself.
“Um-hm!” Fizzlepop nodded. “It waf, but–” She halted her speech as she saw a strict frown building on her mother's face. Eyes growing slightly bigger, she swallowed before she continued to talk. “It was, but I don't have much time to talk, mom. Glitter Drops and Spring Rain probably already wait for me outside and–”
“FIZZLEPOP!”
She was once again interrupted, the loud shout from outside confirming her words. Startled, Fizzlepop leaned back in her chair too far and almost fell backwards together with it, an accident only prevented because her mother was wrapping the chair into her magic and put it back into its proper position. There was no way for Fizzlepop to be mistaken, this was Glitter Drops' shrill voice.
Suddenly in a hurry, Fizzlepop picked up the last pieces from her plate and let them hover into her mouth all at once, then she poured the remaining half of the milk after it, making a soaky mess of the bread in her mouth. Now unable to talk, she rushed at her mother's side and crushed her with a strong hug. She was met with an embrace in return, then her mother placed a kiss on her horn.
“I love you, my proud daughter,” she said as her lips were free again.
Fizzlepop squeezed her mother tighter, her mouth still busy with the wet mass inside of it, then she dashed to the door, pulled it open with her magic and smashed it shut, without looking behind. Her mother sighed a little, then focused on her plate and continued eating.
Outside, Glitter Drops and Spring Rain awaited Fizzlepop, eagerness and impatience in their faces. They stood at the end of the small path that led away from Fizzlepop's house. Glitter Drops was holding a yellow ball in her aura, waving around with it to greet her friend. At her side, Spring Rain sported an enthusiastic grin.
Seeing the faces of her two best friends, Fizzlepop raced down the path. Without lowering her speed, she ran up to Glitter Drops and glomped her. Unprepared for the impact, Glitter Drops was knocked down by the bundle of energy, losing the grip around the ball. It dropped from the air and landed on Spring Rain's head, where it bounced off. But before it could fall to the ground again, Spring Rain wrapped it into his blue aura, saving it. He scowled.
“Hey, Fizzlepop! Be more careful, this ball is brand-new!” he shouted at the filly.
Fizzlepop did not react. Now lying on top of the other filly, she rubbed her head against Glitter Drop's chest, smiling in content. It was a heart-melting sight and within seconds, the scowl vanished from Spring Rain's face and he joined in on the embrace by leaning down on Fizzlepop and hugging her from behind, all without loosening the grip around the yellow ball. Together, the three foals formed a slightly awkward, but still cute-looking, group hug. They remained like this for a few seconds, then parted.
Fizzlepop and Glitter Drops got up on their hooves proper. The green unicorn panted slightly. “You are going to crush me one day, Fizzlepop!”
Taking the words as compliment, Fizzlepop flashed Glitter Drops a proud grin. Then she stuck her tongue at her, cheekily.
As Glitter Drops had her breath back, Spring Rain passed the ball to her, the aura around it switching colors. Glitter Drops turned at Fizzlepop, now a proud grin forming on her own face. “What do you say about my new ball, Fizzlepop? It even matches the color of my magic!”
Only really recognizing the ball now, the dark purple filly with the crimson mane and tail gasped. “Wow, you really got a new one? After all this time?!”
“Yes!” Glitter Drops shouted in joy, rearing up. “Now I just need to make sure that Spring Rain doesn't bounce it against the spikes on one of the trees or drops it down the ravine again!”
“I didn't!” The blue colt shot her a glare and let a hoof come down on the ground. “You just lost control of your magic when you flung it at me, should have practiced more!”
Glitter Drops returned the glare and gasped, mouth open in shock. But before she could protest against the doubts about her magical prowess, Spring Rain leaped her.
“And you didn't tell me there's a ravine at the other end of that hill we were playing on last year! This was all your fault, Glitter Drops, stop blaming me for everything!” He huffed.
“W-What?!” Glitter Drops growled at him. “How dare you.....” She approached him and a moment later, shoved her face into the colt's. Both of them exposed their teeth now, gnarling at each other like wolves, their noses pressed flat by each other's faces. Feeling their anger rising they were about to get into another shouting match, as they suddenly felt forcefully separated.
Fizzlepop squeezed herself between the two, pushing them away from each other with her hooves. “STOP IT!” she yelled at the top of her lungs.
The expression in her friends' faces did not change. “But she says I destroyed her last two balls and that's not true!” Spring Rain protested against the intervention.
“But it is! You are responsible for this, Spring Rain!” Glitter Drops countered.
“No, I'm not! It was your fault! Every time!” the colt shot back.
Glitter Drops shook her head. “Your fault!” the filly insisted on being right.
“No, your fault!” Spring Rain refused to take the blame.
“YOUR. FAULT.” Glitter Drops felt she was at the end of her patience, her head turning red. Growling, she lifted a hoof menacingly, intended to slap the colt in the face.
Seeing how the situation escalated, Fizzlepop ignited her horn and wrapped her two friends in a magical grip. A stern frown on her face, she lifted them up into the air and held them tightly in a safe distance from each other. They struggled, but soon had to give up against the powerful grip of their friend.
“Now you two calm down!” Fizzlepop shouted up at them, a strictness, seemingly unfitting for a foal but perfectly familiar to the two other unicorns, permeating her voice. “Both of you!” Fizzlepop added as she noticed that Spring Rain had stopped exposing his teeth, but that Glitter Drops continued to growl at her friend. The sharp command let the other filly finally stop, too. She crossed her arms and looked to the side, defiantly.
As Fizzlepop was sure that Glitter Drops and Spring Rain acted peaceful now, she slowly let them down on the ground. But as none of them said a word to the other, she levitated them close to each other, their hooves scraping over the ground as she did so. “Now apologize, finally!” she shouted, getting slightly angry herself now. “I finally want to play, so stop fighting!”
Bedgrudgingly, the other two foals reached out a hoof, their eyes narrowed at their opponent. They bumped their hooves together and shook them hesitantly. But Fizzlepop still frowned.
“Now?” she asked.
Glitter Drops and Spring Rain rolled their eyes. “I'm sorry!” they pressed out between their teeth at the same time. Then they took down their hooves and looked expectantly at their mediator. “Are you happy now?” Glitter Drops snarled.
“Yes,” Fizzlepop answered. “For now, at least. Don't start fighting again.” She gave them another stern look, then she wrapped Glitter Drops' yellow ball, that had rolled off during their fight because Spring Rain hadn't been paying attention to it anymore, into her magic and zipped away with it.
“Hey, my ball!” Glitter Drops shouted, then started following. Behind her, Spring Rain sat himself into motion, too, and chased after them.
The three unicorn foals played for a while, standing in a remote corner of the village and flinging the ball from one to another using their magic. Here and there, they interrupted it with a round of tag, but quickly returned to their ballgame afterwards.
As the sun had risen higher, with still a few hours to go before noon, Glitter Drops started to complain. Having caught the ball with her magic after Spring Rain sent it into her direction, she kept it hovering over her head instead of passing it on and sat down on a rock at the wayside. “I'm bored,” she moaned, propping her head on her forehooves.
Fizzlepop and Spring Rain looked at each other. Cluelessly, they sat down in the grass left and right of their friend's heightened seat. For a few moments none of the foals said anything, then Glitter Drops spoke up.
“What now?” She yawned in demonstration of her boredom.
The solution got provided by Fizzlepop. She looked up at the yellow filly, a naughty grin on her lips. “I bet you wouldn't catch it anymore if I'm running while throwing it at you!” Not awaiting an answer by Glitter Drops, she wrapped the ball, that was still hovering over Glitter Drops' head, into her own magic and began to pull at it. First Glitter Drops was clutching her ball while giving an expression between concerned and angry, but then her yellow aura vanished and was replaced by purple. Giggling, Fizzlepop bolted away with the ball, Glitter Drops and Spring Rain chasing after her immediately.
Leading them through the village, Fizzlepop turned around occasionally. As her two friends had nearly caught up, she flung the ball at Glitter Drops and released it from her aura. Glitter Drops gasped at the speed the ball was approaching her with but before it could fly over her head, she jumped up and caught it. “So much for I can't catch it while running!” she said as she was on the ground again, huffing. Glitter Drops shot the ball back at Fizzlepop, who caught it with ease.
Glitter Drops was better prepared for the next shot. Not letting the ball out of her vision, she ignited her horn immediately when Fizzlepop began to throw it and caught it mid-air. A victorious laughter ringing out from her mouth she let it fly towards Spring Rain, who was now close behind her. The colt caught the ball and sent it back to Glitter Drops, who in turn passed it on to Fizzlepop again.
The back-and-forth between the three foals continued, until Glitter Drops suddenly tripped over a root and kissed the ground. The ball flew over her and got caught by Fizzlepop instead. Spring Rain slowed down just after passing Glitter Drops and, having noticed the mishap of his friend, turned around to her. Offering a hoof, he helped her back up, watched by Fizzlepop who was standing ahead.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
Taking her friend's hoof with a thankful smile, Glitter Drops rose up. She looked down at herself, owing Spring Rain an answer while she wiped the dirt of her coat. “I'm fine,” she said the moment she was finished. Her attention not focused on her coat anymore, Glitter Drops looked around, an expression of surprise growing on her face. “Wow, are we that far away from the village?”
Their friend's remark having caught their attention, Spring Rain and Fizzlepop looked up and took in their surroundings, too. In front of them, they were greeted by the first trees of the forest north of their home, behind them, was the dim forest light. All they could still see of their village were tiny houses in the distance at the end of the path they had, distracted by their cheerful game, come down on. It wasn't the first time the trio had ventured into the forest, but that they had lost attention of their surroundings like that was new to the foals. The initial surprise wore off soon, though, and their minds returned to their game.
“We've been here before, it's nothing special! We should play more and not just stand around!” Fizzlepop prompted them to continue their ballgame.
It returned the enthusiasm of her friends. Smiling, Spring Rain took the ball from Fizzlepop. A split-second later, they were enthralled by their game again, running on the path between the trees, just like before. None of them noticed how they went further and further into the forest and how the trees around them changed. It was when they saw a cave in the distance that they realized there were suddenly black trees with spikes, instead of the usual pine trees, around them. Yet, it wasn't enough for them to interrupt playing. Only when Fizzlepop, distracted by a sound coming from between the trees, accidentally shot the ball into the wrong direction it was that they finally stopped. Their eyes fixated on the ball, they watched it rolling into the cave that was now right ahead of them, just a few meters away.
Their hearts suddenly pounding faster, the three foals approached the cave with caution and fear. Now fully aware of their location, they cast glances over their backs, checking if anything dark was emerging behind them. As they stood right in front of the entrance, nopony moved. Glitter Drops and Spring Rain stared in fear at the boards the entrance was blocked with, something that was done both to keep what's in it inside, as well as to prevent ponies who were more curious than it served them from attempting to explore its depths. And not more than an attempt it would be, that was something all three foals knew, as the cave was home to the only monster that existed in the otherwise so peaceful forest: The Ursa Minor.
A gulp went down the throats of all three of them as their eyes rested on the picture that was showing the monstrosity as a warning sign. After seconds filled with the sounds of clattering teeth and shivering bodies, Glitter Drops and Spring Rain ducked their heads and crouched backwards, slowly. Seeking cover and protection, they cowered down behind Fizzlepop. Glitter Drops poked her friend from behind. “You go and get it,” she said. “You are the bravest of us!”
And it was true. The sight of the cave and the thought of what was in it and what might just wait right behind the planks, eager to bury its sharp claws into their small bodies, was making her uncomfortable as well. But unlike her two friends, Fizzlepop felt much less fear in her heart and it was rationality that dominated inside of her. She turned around.
“No.” Her face was grim. “I can't go inside, no one of us should. We can't fight an ursa minor, not even all three of us. We should return to the village and tell the adults what happened. They know when it is asleep and if it should wake up, they can defend themselves much better.”
The intelligent advice was not met with approval. Spring Rain just continued clattering with his teeth, not responding, but Glitter Drops flashed an angry glare at Fizzlepop.
“You lost it!” she hissed. “It's brand-new, I just got it yesterday and now you lost it already because you didn't focus enough on your levitation magic! Go and get it!” She poked Fizzlepop again, stronger and forceful this time.
The third unicorn dropped her ears. “But.....” She looked over at Spring Rain, feeling helpless. But she did not see what she hoped for in the face of the colt.
Spring Rain nodded, his face as stern as he could manage with all the fear he felt. “Glitter Drops is right. You messed this up, Fizzlepop. And you know how hard it is to deliver toys to the village. If her ball is gone now, she will have to wait months again to get another one.”
At these words, Glitter Drops lowered her ears as well. Some tears started to appear in her eyes, making them sparkle in the faint sunlight that shone through the thick canopy above them. She sniffed.
Spring Rain gave his friend a compassionate look, putting a hoof over her back, then looked at Fizzlepop again. “Go inside and bring it back before you ruin this. This is your mess, Fizzlepop, you need to clean it up.” His voice did nothing to hide how angry he was now and neither did the expression in his face.
Fizzlepop looked into the crying face of Glitter Drops and guilt came over her. She looked down and bit her lip, trying to ignore the feeling, but it took only mere seconds until all of her rationality had been dissolved by the guilt she felt. “Okay,” she said quietly, then looked back up at her sad friend. “I get it back for you, Glitter.” She reached out with a hoof and stroke it gently over the upper part of Glitter Drops' mane. “Don't worry!”
Having said that, she turned around and scrutinized the entrance of the cave. The planks were old and damaged, worn by many more years than Fizzlepop was a part of the world. A rotten smell wafted into her nose and she scrunched it. Two of the planks were nailed diagonally over a third one, which was even. The picture of the ursa minor was on top of the construct and there was no possibility of getting in at this spot. But below it, near the ground, a hole gaped, just big enough for a filly to slip through. This was her way inside, Fizzlepop concluded.
The young filly did a step closer to the cave. She lifted her head into the air and perked up her ears, listening in concentration. No sounds came from inside the cave. No claws scratching over the ground, no thundering steps of giant paws, no roars, no breaths. It was completely quiet behind the planks and although that was eerie, it meant there was no danger right now. It boosted Fizzlepop's confidence and she went closer by another step.
For a moment, she felt tempted to shout inside and ask if someone's there, but she pressed her hooves on her mouth in the last moment, only a very muffled “Hello?” escaping them. That there were no sounds inside the cave, it had to mean that the ursa minor was asleep. This was her chance and a careless shout would ruin it. But if she stayed quiet.....
The ball couldn't have rolled into the cave very far, Fizzlepop saw that it had already slowed down when it bounced past the planks. She got down on her belly and crawled carefully closer to the entrance. As inches separated her face from the hole, she peered inside. Fizzlepop squinted her eyes at the darkness trying to catch sight of the ball, even if it would just be a faint outline. She tried to accustom her eyes to the darkness but, with the brighter environment outside of the cave, it proved impossible. No matter how hard she squinted, there was nothing but black. Sighing, Fizzlepop got back up on her hooves.
There was only one way, she had to tap into the darkness and search around to find the ball. But it should be safe, she assured herself. The ursa minor was asleep, that was as much as she could tell from the outside, so all she had to do was sneaking in, grabbing the ball as quickly and as quietly as she could once she found it and then sneaking out again. Her body was shaking, but it was an easy enough task.
Gulping one last time while looking at the entrance, Fizzlepop braced herself, then got down again and crawled under the lowest plank. Inside the cave, she immediately found herself being engulfed by the darkness. Unable to see now, Fizzlepop ignited her horn and cast an illumination spell. It was only a weak one, to not wake up the sleeping beast, but it allowed her to see what was in front of her. Glitter Drops' ball was nowhere to be seen.
Fizzlepop stood still, concentrating on possible sounds around her once again. A bird squawked outside of the cave, making her heart almost skip a beat, but this was all she could hear. As no more sounds entered her ears for a few more seconds, Fizzlepop slowly set herself into motion.
The cave walls were close to her, it was narrow so near at the entrance, but would probably become wider deeper inside of it, she figured. Fizzlepop hoped to find the ball before she would come this far. Putting one hoof in front of the other cautiously, Fizzlepop snuck through the cave, the light coming from her horn only illuminating the path one step ahead of her. Suddenly, her head hit something hard and Fizzlepop could not suppress a squeal of pain. Hastily, she pressed both forehooves on her mouth in shock. Looking up, Fizzlepop could see what she had bumped into. The cave took a turn here and since her spell was so weak, she hadn't noticed early enough. Rubbing her aching head, some tears glistening in the corner of her eyes, the little unicorn looked to the right, trying to spot the ball. Once again, only darkness greeted her.
With a sigh, Fizzlepop let her horn glow brighter. It now shone ahead a fair bit, even though she still didn't dare to use it to the full extent. Slowly, Fizzlepop continued to creep into the new direction.
It was a few meters ahead that she finally spotted the object of her desire. Glowing like the sun, Glitter Drops' ball reflected the light of her horn, greeting her warmly. A smile flashing up on her face, Fizzlepop increased her pace and cantered to the ball. Quickly, she wrapped it into her purple aura and got ready to turn around and leave, as she suddenly heard a few pebbles roll across the cave floor in front of her. The ground began to erupt under heavy footsteps as something headed into her direction. Before Fizzlepop could react, she froze in fear at the sight of malicious-looking, yellow eyes that glowed at her from the darkness. Just a second later, the owner of the eyes revealed itself and Fizzlepop stared into the face of the ursa minor she had tried to avoid!
Rearing up in fear, Fizzlepop dropped the ball and it rolled away. But her shock over the appearance of the beast only lasted for a moment. Ready to put up a fight and to defend herself, Fizzlepop got down on all fours again and focused on one of the combat spells she knew. Teeth clenched, the young filly was ready to shoot the face of the creature with what little power she had but, before she could fire even just one ray from her horn, the ursa minor swung his claw at her. It came down right on her head and, affected by the massive impact, Fizzlepop got flung to the side and smashed against the wall of the cave. She could hear something crack and felt a sharp pain on her right eye. Feeling dizzy, her vision became milky and her mind blanked out.
Looking at her motionless body, with eyes that could even see in the total darkness that had returned now, the ursa minor let out a massive roar. Menacingly, he approached his prey, ready to finish what he had started. As he was towering over the tiny body that laid before him, the ursa minor lifted his paw one more time to strike a finishing blow. Only moments before he could hit Fizzlepop again, something green whizzed through the air and illuminated the cave once more. The ursa minor let out another thunderous roar as an arrow of light pierced through his paw and dissolved at a rock behind it.
“LEAVE YOUR CLAWS OFF MY DAUGHTER!” a deep voice, saturated with anger and desperation, sounded from the corner Fizzlepop had come from in such a carefree way minutes earlier.
The beast roared again, pain emerging from its paw and flooding through its leg. A stream of blood gushed from the hole in its limb and splashed down onto Fizzlepop's form before the rage and the pain made the ursa minor turn around, ready to enact revenge on its assaulter. But before it could do even just one step into the direction the spell had been fired from, more arrows got in the way of his path, piercing into his chest. The barrage of magical arrows continued, coming from a bulky stallion who fired them into the chest of his opponent, forcing the ursa minor to step back more and more.
Finally, the ferocious beast collapsed with a fading roar right next to Fizzlepop. A pool of blood spread out under its massive body, painting the cave floor a dark red. The ursa minor wheezed repeatedly, hate-filled eyes fixated on his murderer, then the rattling breaths became quieter and his eyes broke, still locked in their last expression.
With haste, the stallion slid a large axt he was hovering back into the sheath that was tied to his torso and went for the still unconscious filly. Swiftly, his hooves grabbed for her and picked her up, moments before the blood of the dead predator could reach her. Pressing Fizzlepop against his chest, the stallion was about to rush out of the cave already as his eyes fell on her head. He froze. Her horn was missing! Where it used to be was now nothing more than a jagged, uneven stump. Blood trickled out of it and ran down her forehead, where it met with the blood that came from the wound on her right eye. Short remnants of nerve fibers were hanging out of the hole in the middle of the stump, the thin, fleshy cords appearing lifeless in the light of his horn.
Fizzlepop's father gritted his teeth, horror building in his face as his mind began to process what had occured. Tears appearing in the corner of his eyes, he bit down on his lip and began to search the ground around the large puddle of blood frantically. As his efforts had delivered no results, he wrapped his daughter into his green aura and hovered her carefully on his back, then turned around.
While trotting back towards the corner to leave the cave, he kept his eyes focused on the rocky ground and attentively searched every inch of his path. Only as he was close to the corner, at the spot where Fizzlepop had been initially attacked, his eyes finally fell on the object of his desire. The tip of the tiny horn, which was just as jagged as the stump on Fizzlepop's head, glistened in the light from a tiny amount of blood that covered its edge. Allowing himself a small breath of relief, he snatched up the horn and carefully placed it between the hooves of his unconscious daughter. It was only then that he stampeded out of the cave in a fast gallop and past Glitter Drops and Spring Rain, leaving the worried questions of the two foals unanswered.....
“Hang in there, Fizzlepop,” the stallion whispered to his filly.


Hours later, the uncertainty had become a feeling in the chest of Fizzlepop's father like something was trying to rip his heart to pieces. A glance to the left confirmed the stallion that his wife felt the same way. It must have been four or five hours that passed since their daughter was rushed into the treatment room of the doctor's house and since his wife had arrived, alarmed by the news that spread out like wildfire in the tiny village, the stallion estimated.
A sob by his wife, another one of many, let the feelings of impatience and dread vanish once more, replacing them with a feeling of warm concern. He reached out with his left hoof and pulled his wife closer, who readily accepted the gesture and leaned in on his chest, where she started to cry without restraint. Fizzlepop's father looked up at the pendulum clock on the wall, starting to torment his mind with the question of how long it will still be until they would find out if their daughter survived and if she will recover from the attack.
Before he could bring this thought to its end, a door behind them got opened, which was a sound that brought cool salvation over his agitated mind, and the doctor trotted inside with slow steps. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead and face and he breathed a sigh as he went past them, aiming for the chair behind his desk to sit down. He grabbed a piece of cloth from the desk with his magic and wiped over his forehead with it, then faced the anxious parents in front of him with a grim and dark expression.
Fizzlepop's father gulped. Suddenly, the air around him felt like it would suffocate him, instead of letting his lungs breathe. After just a few seconds that felt like eternity, the doctor finally started to talk.
“Fizzlepop,” he began, his voice weak and husky, “is still alive.”
Cold relief washed over Fizzlepop's parents instantly, causing her mother to sob again.
Patiently, the doctor waited until both of them had processed the information, then continued. “Her injuries were severe,” he announced them. “Her spine and her skull got fractured when the ursa smashed her against the cave wall and most bones in her spine shattered at the impact.” He breathed out strongly, then leaned back in his chair, creating a nerve-wrecking pause for the parents in front of him, whose faces showed horror over what they had just heard.
“Thankfully, as by a miracle, her spinal cord was not harmed by the impact. I succeeded in piercing together the broken and shattered bones with a number of different medical spells. Fizzlepop will have to stay in bed for the next few weeks and even once she can leave it, will have to go at everything slowly, but she will not suffer from any paralysis now or later in her life.”
In front of him, combined sighs of relief happened.
“I was also able to save her right eye,” he continued. “That the strength of the blow flung her to the side immediately saved her eye from worse damage. The eyelid got torn in half, but there is no retinal damage and Fizzlepop will still be able to see as well as she did before. The gap in her eyelid will close again and only a scar will remain. However, her horn.....” His voice faltered at these last words, then died before he could finish the sentence. His face took on an even grimmer expression, which got mirrored in the faces of Fizzlepop's parents as they started to figure what he was about to tell them.
The doctor eyed them silently for a few moments, trying to find the right words. “I..... I could not save it,” he said then, haltingly. “The nerve fibers inside the upper part of her horn are irreparably damaged, I fear. I have done my best to stitch them together and to reinstate the cerebral connection to her brain, but even after a few tests, there was still no spark leaving her horn.” He sighed deeply. “Fizzlepop's magic will never be the same again. I'm sorry.”
Fizzlepop's parents, who had listened quietly until now, too shocked to comment on what they heard, gasped. Their faces broke suddenly; a cold, expressionless look on them as the realization washed over their minds. A second later, Fizzlepop's mother erupted into a new wave of sobs, that got almost instantly muffled by the coat of her husband as she huddled into his chest. Gritting his teeth, Fizzlepop's father embraced her with both hooves, then he addressed the doctor with a question.
“How.....” He looked away for a moment, one of his hooves starting to tremble. “How much magic will Fizzlepop still be able to do?” His deep voice had almost become a quiet whisper.
The doctor closed his eyes. Slowly, he shook his head. “Not much, if anything. The lower parts of the nerve fibers are still able to transport the magical energy coming from her brain, but her ability to perform actual spells is in question. With some luck, she might still be able to do some light levitation, but you should not hope for more.”
Once more, it felt like the ground was disappearing to the two parents. Fizzlepop's mother continued to sob, while the face of her father slowly, but steady, turned into unrestrained anger. Gritting his teeth stronger than before, he lifted his right hoof and brought it down on the table, leaving a cracking sound that echoed through the room. After a second of silence, he removed his hoof from the desk and slowly got up, pulling his wife with him. “Let's get our daughter,” he said. His voice had become cold and devoid of emotions. Fizzlepop's mother left her chair, aided by her husband. Cradled close and weeping, she trotted alongside him as they followed the doctor through the door he had entered his office from a few minutes ago.
Fizzlepop was lying motionlessly on a bed at the backwall of the examination room. Her body was clean now, freed from the ursa minor's blood, and her breath was steady. But her sleeping face showed distress and anxiety, like her slumbering mind had overheard the conversation in the other room. Her horn was also free of blood now and the nerve strands that had been hanging out of it were cut off, as a check by her father confirmed to him. Her right eye was patched up with a thick piece of bandage.
Still gritting his teeth, disappointment and hurt in his face, the strong stallion lifted his daughter up with levitation and draped her over his back. Turning around, his glance fell on the doctor, whose eyes expressed compassion and a bit of concern. He placed a hoof on the shoulder of Fizzlepop's father, firmly, and stared at him intensely.
“Show Fizzlepop that you still love her. It's something she needs.”
After a few moments, he removed his hoof, but the piercing expression remained. The father huffed. Giving the doctor nothing but a glare, he dragged his wife along.
Outside, a crowd expected them. Shocked faces and the occasional murmurs when the eyes of the gathered unicorns fell on Fizzlepop's splintered horn confirmed to the parents that the news had spread through their tiny village. At the front of the crowd, Glitter Drops and Spring Rain looked over to them, their worried faces fixated on their injured friend. As Fizzlepop's parents had set themselves into motion again, the two foals cantered up to them, their little hooves pounding on the ground.
Glitter Drops found her speech first. “What's with Fizzlepop?!” she asked. Rearing up, she placed her forehooves on the stallion's back, left and right of Fizzlepop's head. Tears formed in her eyes as her friend did not respond. Behind her, Spring Rain watched the scene with a shocked face. Glitter Drops looked over to Fizzlepop's father, then to her mother, silently pleading for an answer.
“Fizzlepop is okay. S-She just needs some sleep,” the mare managed to answer.
“What about her horn?” Spring Rain chimed in. “Is Fizzlepop's magic okay?”
The question burned in the hearts of the parents and their faces darkened instantly. “Y-Yes. It is okay.” Fizzlepop's mother started to shake. “Her magic will be okay!” she added in a louder and more hysteric tone before moving on and hurrying through the crowd, not paying anymore mind to the two foals. Her husband followed closely.


When Fizzlepop awoke one morning, weeks of rest she had spent lying in her bed behind her, a feeling in her gut told her that her village was different now.
She sat up in her bed and let her eyes wander around her bedroom. Somehow, she felt, the air around her was chilly and she knew that it did not come from the open window this time. It was frightening. Her heart began to beat faster as she tried to figure out what it was. Minutes passed and yet, Fizzlepop did not come to a conclusion. The only things that happened were that she suddenly felt a pressure building in her head and that her stomach clenched. Her instincts told her that she was hungry and that it was time for a good breakfast. She couldn't help but suspect that there was something else, though, something bothersome that hadn't been in her home before and that affected her stomach by its presence alone.
Fizzlepop grimaced as she climbed out of her bed. When her hooves touched the floor, the clenching in her stomach became stronger. Then a loud growl came from it and it made Fizzlepop's heart jump. Startled, she approached the door and proceeded to open it. The knob turned only slowly in her hooves. The amount of time she needed to pull it open surprised her and she went outside and into the corridor with a sigh leaving her lips. Fizzlepop did not bother to close the door and made her way towards the stairs, with an ever-growing trepidation inside her chest. Slowly, she trudged down on them, step after step, until she found herself inside the kitchen.
Her mother was there, preparing breakfast as usual, but she did not turn around. “Morning, Fizzlepop,” she heard her say as she sat down at the table, but it did not sound like the voice Fizzlepop was familiar with. There was something new in her mother's voice, something that Fizzlepop still couldn't identify even though it bothered her for weeks now. It gave her an uncomfortable feeling. She just couldn't get used to it.
As breakfast was prepared, her mother put down a plate with baked goods and a mug with milk in front of her, silently. Fizzlepop, as she had always been used to, focused her magic and tried to levitate the mug, then the plate. Both attempts failed and a sudden pain rising in the stump that was once her horn made the little filly wince. As the pain extended to the scar above her right eye, she whimpered.
Her mother gave her a scowl. "Don't do this," she said, strict. "You know what the doctor said. Your magic is gone now." Then she turned around and went back to the kitchen table.
Fizzlepop ate her breakfast quietly, the words ringing back in her mind and coming down on it like small hammerblows. Her head was filled with questions, yet, something inside her prevented her from asking them. Something unpleasant. A feeling that, in a strange way, almost made Fizzlepop cry. As she was finished, Fizzlepop slipped down from her chair. “I go and see Glitter Drops and Spring Rain,” she whispered, just loud enough for her mother to hear it.
The mare twitched slightly, then turned around at her daughter. She opened her mouth, then closed it again almost in the same second. After she had stared at her daughter for a few moments, the mare nodded. “Alright. Go meet your friends.” Then she turned her back at Fizzlepop again.
There was once more something weird in her voice, something that let Fizzlepop shudder for a moment. She motioned towards the door, mechanically. “Bye,” she whispered, then she pulled the door open with both hooves and crept outside.
Fizzlepop trotted through the streets quietly. She let her head hang and eyed the ground, because she could feel that the neighbors looked at her. At first, she was looking back at them. But after just a few minutes of enduring all the piercing looks, the scowls, the hushed whispers and the pointed hooves by the proud unicorns, it had become too much. It all overwhelmed her and for the first time in her life, Fizzlepop felt real embarrassment. It was a strong feeling and it got only interrupted as she saw her two friends, who suddenly crossed her path in some distance. She turned left, then found herself looking into their smiling faces as they ran up to her.
“Fizzlepop!” Glitter Drops shouted joyfully, coming to a halt. She looked at her sheepishly, but also relieved. Her yellow ball rolled away from her, then stopped, an unambigious sign for it that the two foals had been busy playing their favourite game.
“You still have your ball?” Fizzlepop asked, disbelief ringing in her voice, and she raised her head. Finally, she felt something like familiarity on this morning.
“Um-hm!” Glitter Drops nodded, flashing a broad grin. “I heard that your dad killed the ursa minor, so I went inside and claimed it back!” She stroke a pose, one that was much more prideful than the simple task of trotting into an empty cave and carrying a ball out of it warranted. As she noticed the sad look on Fizzlepop's face, she gave her an uplifting smile. "I'm so happy you're finally back, Fizzlepop! Me and Spring Rain missed you the last few weeks!” She came a little closer and patted her back. “Now let's play!" she chimed then.
Spring Rain trotted at her side. “Yeah!” he supported the notion of the filly. “Your horn looks pretty bad, but we heard your magic still works!”
Hearing this, Fizzlepop winced. Realizing that her friends didn't know the bad news yet caused a cold shudder to run down her spine. She hesitated to answer.
“Fizzlepop?” Spring Rain asked after a few moments of silence. “You can do this, right?” Fizzlepop looked into the faces of her friends. They were filled with expectation and hope.
“I-I think I can!”
Against all better judgement, Fizzlepop readied herself. She bent down to the ball, forelegs spread apart, pointed the remains of her horn at it and focused. Unlike earlier at the breakfast table, her increased concentration had an effect this time. A small amount of magic manifested under the ball but, instead of lifting it up, it only produced a pile of smoke.
The two other foals twitched. “Don't burn my ball, Fizzlepop!” Glitter Drops squeaked, worried.
Fizzlepop focused even stronger and gave it another try. This time, white lightning emerged from the horn stump on her head. It was hitting the ball, heating it up and letting it glow red. A purple force field spread out around it, startling Glitter Drops and Spring Rain. Glitter Drops reared up, hooves flailing in panic, and Spring Rain turned his head away, wincing.
As the out-of-control magic had vanished, Glitter Drops hastily wrapped her ball into her aura and together, the two foals turned around and ran away. “She can't even do magic anymore, Fizzlepop is inept now!” they shouted in unison while looking back at her with scared expressions.
Following them with her eyes, feeling worse than before, Fizzlepop saw a yellow unicorn filly approaching them. “I can do magic!” the filly shouted. Without a trace of hesitation, Glitter Drops and Spring Rain passed the ball to the filly to continue their game, not turning back at Fizzlepop anymore. Their faces were smiling again already. As they slowly vanished from her sight, Fizzlepop felt something breaking in her. Then her chest became cold and she started to feel ill.
A lump forming in her throat, Fizzlepop choked and trembled. Very slowly, she detracted her eyes and continued down the path alone. There was a cold bitterness in her heart now, something she had never felt before. After just a few steps, though, Fizzlepop noticed that the feeling inside her changed. The bitterness turned into hot anger first, then it became cold again and her heart felt only numb anymore. The reaction of her friends flashed up in her mind again, then the looks the other village ponies had given her and, finally, the reaction of her parents and how strange her mother had acted this morning and for the past weeks. Suddenly, everything fell into place for Fizzlepop.
She increased her pace, now wearing an expression of grim determination. “If they don't want a filly without magic,” she thought, “then they won't get one!”
A plan was forming in her mind and Fizzlepop followed this plan with every single step. Faster than she had expected, she was on top of the hill to the south of the village. Fizzlepop stopped and turned around, taking one last look at the village she had just left.
“I don't need them either,” she spoke out loud now. Her voice was ripe with disgust. “From now on, I will live on my own.” She turned back at her chosen direction and, devoid of any sudden concerns, headed towards the mountain in the distance.
She was alone now. Alone and free to do whatever she wanted in the wide, wide world that lay before her now.....
.