//------------------------------// // Solace // Story: Fizzlepop's Future // by milesprower06 //------------------------------// The dining room was quickly becoming one of Fizzlepop's least favorite places in the castle. She glanced at the clock, and saw that it was 2130 hours, and she was the last pony sitting here at the tables. Her eyes fell from the wall clock back down to the plate of food that she had barely touched; this was why she was growing to despise the dining hall; every single one of Grubber's plates looked divine enough to feature in a 5-star restaurant, and for the past week, she couldn't bring herself to eat barely any of it. He had managed to keep meals fresh and exciting over an entire year of running the kitchen, always bringing back squad favorites once or twice a week. Local eateries had started to take notice of the word spreading around town, and had so far unsuccessfully tried to poach the hedgehog out of the castle kitchen and into theirs; he had even once gotten an offer from Canterlot. Her eating habits had decreased to a few bites every meal, and forcing herself to be clandestine when she took her plate to the kitchen only made her feel worse. She knew Applejack never minded getting castle leftovers for her pigs, but lately she felt like it was nevertheless wasting food, and thus the effort that Grubber had put into it. And it wasn't like she felt hungry through her shift... she just didn't feel like eating lately. With a sigh, she pushed her chair out from the table and got up, silently taking her plate to the kitchen, putting it in the fridge for leftovers if she felt any hungrier in the morning. With that, she shut off the kitchen light and walked out of the dimly lit west wing hallway, her hoofsteps echoing on the crystal floor. Stepping out into the main hall, she headed back to the foyer, passing Amethyst on her nightly patrol, nodding in greeting, before heading upstairs and into the east wing, to her bedroom. Having already removed her armor before dinner, it was only a matter of drinking a few sips of water in the bathroom, before she crawled into bed for the night. Her eyes shot open. There it was again, that overwhelming sense of dread. She quickly shot up in bed, and lit up her horn. The staff in the adjacent corner of the room glowed, and she summoned it to her grasp as she got out of bed. "You know, you've been leading me on quite the chase," the malevolent voice echoed through the walls. She galloped to the door, yanked it open, and cast illuminare as she leapt out into the hallway, and a brilliant spotlight shone out from the tip of her horn. She wished it made her feel better, but the light from her horn made the hallway shadows all the more pronounced as she made her way towards the main hall. "I could use someone like you. Smart. Talented. Driven." "Never!" She shot back as she arrived at the main foyer, skidding to a halt on the first set of stairs as they split off into the east and west wings, as well as the second floor balcony ringing the foyer. With her Illuminare spell, her head darted every which way, looking for an attack from any conceivable angle, as the disembodied voice laughed. A shadow passed over her, sending her gaze back towards the east wing from which she came. Out of the pitch black, came two brilliant opal eyes and a pair of elongated black horns. Another two steps, and the towering form of the white-coated, black-armored satyr came into the full illumination of her light. "Come then, Tempest," The Storm King taunted, planting the bottom of the Staff of Sacanas on the marble floor, sending a chilling reverberation through the entire hall. "Show me what you can really do." He acted first, leaping into the air over the flight of stairs, staff over his head, and brought it down towards the unicorn. She brought her aetherial staff up in a defensive position, holding it horizontally over her head to block the blow as she was forced to take steps back up the opposite flight of stairs. He landed on the carpet with a thud, and was ready with a second swing. Fizzlepop was ready, leaping back up another three stairs, and countered. The Storm King merely leaned back out of the way. With his towering form, even the stairs didn't give Fizzlepop even a second's advantage of height. He thrust forward, and she deftly sidestepped, countering again and slamming the front end of the Staff of Sacanas into the floor as she took another three steps back to remain just out of reach as he also started to ascend the west wing staircase. "Haha, it's like you're not even trying! This was the pony I put in charge of my invasion?! Talk about a personnel slip-up!" The Storm King taunted. It didn't take her more than a few moments to realize she was being toyed with. The swings she was able to counter forced her to take more steps back, and then there were times he didn't even attempt to get around her staff, and swung full force into it, and the force of the blows likewise forced her back even further if it meant keeping a hold on her weapon. He was in complete control, and she was barely able to maintain a defense as she was pushed back along the second floor towards the exterior balcony. "Let's get this storm started!" He swung out to the right, and was blocked, but he had anticipated the move, drew the Staff of Sacanas back just far enough to slip by her block, and thrust forward, jabbing the jeweled tip of Sacanas into her chest, giving her a paralyzing shock. He cackled menacingly as lightning surged through her. "Deliver the punchline, Tempest, because this has gotta be a joke!" The Storm King pulled the staff back, brought it around his shoulder, and swung forward with all his might before Fizzlepop could recover from the jolt. There was an earsplitting crack as the staff made contact with the tip of her horn, emitting a shockwave that sent her flying backwards and smashing through the doors to the front exterior balcony. She cried out in pain as she flew through the air and landed on the balcony, rolling over the shards from the stained glass door. She heard her staff land on the marble floor with a metallic clang as she came to a stop, and in front of it, just outside the remains of the door, she saw the smoldering top half of her horn, moments before the Storm King crushed it to dust as he stepped out onto the balcony. "Ba-ba-ba-BOOM baby!" He shouted, rising the Staff of Sacanas above his head, lightning surging forth into the night sky. Thunder rumbled as Tempest struggled to get to her hooves. Sparks of blue energy spat from her horn uselessly as she tried to telepathically reach for her staff. The moment she was able to get to a standing position, she felt herself forced back by a violent wind, and lifted up into the air moments before colliding with the railing. She reached out and clung onto it for dear life as the raging tornado between the castle and the rest of Ponyville touched down on the ground behind her. "Where's your precious princess to save you now?!? Hahaha!!!" The Storm King laughed triumphantly. "No... No...!" Fizzlepop pleaded as she felt her grip loosening. The deafening wind finally became too much, and the crystal railing slipped from her grasp. "Twilight!!!" She cried out as she was carried off into the storm. "Enough!" A commanding, feminine voice called out over the storm. Suddenly, the violent winds seemed to die down, and before she could fall to the Ponyville streets below, she felt herself caught in the grasp of a larger pony, and risked opening her eyes, and saw Princess Luna glide back down to the balcony, set her gently down, and saw her horn glow a brilliant, blinding white In a flash, the sickening skies had been replaced with a clear starry calm, and the Storm King vanished. Lastly, she reached a hoof up to her forehead, and confirmed that her horn was still intact, and finally let out a deep breath, along with some tears. "P-Princess Luna..." Fizzlepop began, trying to get herself under control. "H-How are you here? I... I thought..." "I have maintained a connection to the realm of dreams, so that I may provide aid to struggling ponies. For the vast majority of the last millennium of my sister's reign, I was imprisoned in the moon, so it didn't feel right to resign my obligations of watching over my sleeping subjects. If it were solely up to Princess Twilight all the time, I fear that she would get no rest at all." The Princess of the Night replied. Fizzlepop wiped her eyes, lit up her horn, and levitated her staff that had been dropped inside the doorway to the balcony, pulling it to her, taking hold of it and planting it on the floor of the balcony, leaning forward on it. "Is everything alright, Fizzlepop? The single most noticeable disturbance in the dream realm is recurring nightmares. This is not the first night, is it?" Luna asked, taking a seat next to her. "More like night five or six..." Fizzlepop answered as she stared out onto the now peaceful Ponyville night. "Things have slowly been getting worse. A knot in my stomach that I can't explain, going absolutely stir crazy in this castle... Sometimes going an entire day with hardly eating a thing." The unicorn sighed through her nose, and glanced at Luna. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I've never felt like this before." Fizzlepop confessed. "Not even when you left home the first time?" Princess Luna asked her. "Honestly, I think I was too angry and bitter over what had happened to me to care all that much." "These feelings have coincided with Twilight departing for Canterlot. 'Leaving the nest' can be a considerable struggle for young mares and stallions. You're leaving those who have watched over you your entire life." "But I haven't gone anywhere. Twilight did. I'm hardly alone on a day-to-day basis, that's obvious, but... It still feels like I am. It still hurts." Fizzlepop admitted, her expression turning sorrowful. "Perhaps if you were too bitter to feel any kind of homesickness or separation anxiety from your parents or friends when you left your hometown, maybe that's what you're going through now. No doubt you had to grow up impossibly fast to survive beyond our borders when you were younger. Maybe your mind is taking a few steps back to feel now what it couldn't feel then. With everything Twilight has done for you; offered you friendship, spared you from our judgement, given you a home and a purpose... Is it so far-fetched to consider, that perhaps a part of your subconscious has latched onto her as a child would a parent or guardian?" The Princess of the Night asked. Fizzlepop had never considered it before, but she listened to Princess Luna's words, and took them to heart. A guardian? Yes, absolutely. The image of Twilight defiantly standing between her and Celestia's sentence was forever etched in her mind. Then she brought her down the mountain and gave her a shelter and a future. Once she was set on her path down here as Captain of Ponyville's E.U.P., she had gotten through the initial days with her reassurances and encouragement. Princess Twilight had become much more than a friend; she had been her guide and guardian for two years now. "So what do I do? I mean, I can't go up to Canterlot chasing after her every time I start to feel this way." "You are correct, that is probably not the best, nor most practical solution. But a solution must be sought if your nightmares are to cease. There are times to lean on others, Fizzlepop, and there are times to stand on your own. You did so before with a young, cold heart. Perhaps now you must go back and learn to do it over again with a warm, compassionate one. You never gave yourself the chance to cope with separation as a younger pony. Maybe now you should set aside some time to do so. As for how, well, that is what you must find out. Like you said, Princess Twilight has departed, but you are hardly alone. Seek solace from your friends and colleagues. Good luck, Fizzlepop." With a flap of her wings, Princess Luna took to the night sky, ascended to the moon, and vanished. Fizzlepop took one more breath, and the balcony under her hooves and staff fell away, sending her into a free fall into blackness. Fizzlepop bolted up in her bed, returning to the waking world. Taking a deep breath, she glanced over at her clock, and saw that she hadn't been asleep even four hours, and once again found herself and her bed a damp, sweaty mess. Running a hoof through her mane, she got up to get a drink of water. It hadn't even been two weeks since Twilight had left. After she had gulped down a glass of water at the bathroom sink, she set the tumbler down on the counter, and looked at herself in the mirror, and shivered. She no longer saw the esteemed E.U.P. Captain looking back at her; nor the wanderlust who had seen far more of this world than most Equestrians ever would. All she saw was the scared little unicorn filly coming out of that cave. Her emotions bubbled to the surface and she couldn't stop further tears from escaping her eyes as she turned from the mirror, shut off the bathroom light, and returned to her bed, curling up, and softly crying herself back to sleep.