"Fizzlepop!!!" Comet Crescent yelled into the black forest, the echo quickly being drowned by the torrential downpour as the entire region was drenched with a passing storm. He was half-surprised his oil lantern wasn't doused by the never-ending rain. He looked to his left and right, seeing similar orange glows stretching out for nearly a quarter mile as the search party spread out as they ventured out into the forests outside of town. The thundershower also severely diminished the usefulness of the lanterns, as the best look he got was when lightning flashed overhead.

The logger's brimmed hat did very little besides shield his eyes from the rain; the water began to flow around and pool in back, dripping down onto his neck and back every time he surveyed his surroundings. He was becoming increasingly concerned that this endeavor was absolutely fruitless. There were entirely too many directions she could have gone, even up over the mountains to the south if she was seriously determined. He had sadly noticed too late how increasingly withdrawn the young filly had gotten in the two weeks since Glitter Drops and Spring Rain departed for Princess Celestia's magic school. Soapberry had been working her berry fields all day and when she had come in from the rain, she couldn't find her daughter anywhere. When she noticed her rain cloak and bit bank were missing, she quickly ran to Comet, who got a search party to go out into the forest.

He almost couldn't hear the other voices in the search party calling out her name, as the rain only got heavier as he approached the west side of the forest. The sound of the rain on the steel rails running east and west further drowned out the search party. He looked to the left and right, confirming that no trains were coming as the tracks faded into the black on both sides, and he stepped onto the crushed stone ballast, looking behind him, and seeing how quickly his hoofsteps in the mud were being washed away. With a defeated sigh, he looked back east into the forest.

Fizzlepop had likely gotten several hours worth of a headstart, and it had been downpouring for two of them. If it was her intent to run away without a trace, she had picked the absolute perfect night to do it.

Soapberry sat in the window seat towards the center of the first passenger car on the Friendship Express as it steamed west, not able to take her eyes off the passing scenery.

For all the trips she had made to the Foal's Peak train platform to sign off on berry shipments, Soapberry couldn't remember the last time she had been on a train, nor the last time she had left the Foal Mountain Valley. But all of that changed when she got a letter delivered via Royal Express a couple days after Fizzlepop had left.

I understand that my former Captain of the Guard and your daughter, Fizzlepop Berrytwist, recently came to visit you in Foal's Peak.

I won't presume to know anything about your relationship with your daughter, Miss Soapberry, but I do know three things. I know she's led quite a complicated life, that she's spent most of that life abroad, and that I have watched her grow immensely these past three years upon her return to Equestria.

She has expressed to me how she believes her reunion with you could have gone better when she returned to Foal's Peak. In the time I have spent with her, I know she can sometimes struggle with communicating her feelings when she feels conflicted. So, I am quite eager to extend to you an opportunity to return the favor to her.

I proudly invite you to come to Ponyville, all expenses paid, to see everything your daughter has accomplished since returning to Equestria. Just show the enclosed royal seal, and any expenses will be forwarded to the Canterlot Treasury.

I truly hope this can help the two of you take a first step to rekindling or restarting the bond a mother and daughter should have. Please enjoy yourself.

She quickly made arrangements with Comet to keep an eye on her house for a few days, and packed a bag. Sure enough, when she showed Twilight's royal seal to the ticket booth at the Foal's Peak platform, she didn't have to pay a single bit for a round trip ticket to Ponyville, and she was on her way barely before sunrise. But she was determined to not live like a queen on somepony else's bit, so her breakfast was just a fruit and oatmeal bar from the passing food cart, and that would no doubt hold her over until arriving in town.

"Next stop, Ponyville!" The conductor announced as he made his rounds. Soapberry made sure her saddlebags were fastened, and looked out the right window as they passed over the next hill.

It didn't look all that dissimilar from Foal's Peak, but it was easily more than four times the size, with a crystal castle all the way on the north end, and a stunning view of Canterlot. The train slowed to a stop at the platform, and all the doors opened, and more than half of the passengers on her car also got up to disembark.

Fizzlepop stood in front of her full length mirror in her personal armory, making sure she had gotten the armor polish applied in all the right places. Special guests weren't exactly her responsibility any more since Spring and Glitter joined the small castle staff, so she wondered why Princess Twilight had sent her a letter alerting her that a VIP would be visiting in the next few days, and to make her feel right at home. Even if she had her regular duties to attend to today, she still wanted to make a good impression en route to her patrols today, if they arrived this early in the morning.

Seemingly satisfied with how the chest piece looked, she picked up her helmet, gave it a good look over, and put it on. Doing one last check of herself in full uniform, and deeming it acceptable, she turned, grabbed her staff, and headed out into the hallway towards the stairs. When she was halfway up the stairs, she heard the overly excited voice of Glitter Drops.

"Oh my gosh, how are you??" The muffled caretaker's voice asked through the door.

She reached the top of the stairs, pushed the door open, and stepped out into the main foyer, and saw Glitter embracing...

"...Mom?" Fizzlepop asked, stopping just as the door behind her closed. Soapberry broke off the hug with Glitter Drops, and her eyes widened as she saw Fizzlepop in her full armor.

"Oh my Celestia..." Soapberry greeted, looking Fizzlepop up and down as she took in her beautiful armor. "You look stunning, Fizzlepop."

"Princess Twilight didn't tell you? She invited Soapberry to Ponyville to visit you for a few days." Glitter told her.

"So, that's what... Ugh..." Fizzlepop said, rubbing her snout with a hoof momentarily. "Alright, great. I'm sure Spring and Glitter can make you feel right at home. I'll see you after patrol, alright?"

With that, Fizzlepop put her staff to her shoulder, and headed for the exit, and Glitter and Soapberry were pretty sure they heard soft grumbling as she pushed the front doors open.

Soapberry wasn't sure how pleased Fizzlepop was that she had shown up without letting her know.

"Don't take it personally, Soapberry, she usually keeps to her patrol schedule pretty strictly. Actually, I take that back, I'm not sure if you should take that personally or not, I hear her visit last week didn't go so well, but if it's any consolation, she's annoyed by pretty much any third-party meddling, be it of the Princess or Castle Map variety."

"Well, I am here to see her, and I'd rather not wear out my welcome immediately." Soapberry told her daughter's fillyhood friend.

"Let's let her be for now out on patrol, and see how she's doing when she gets back. For now, let's get brunch, and I can introduce you to Grubber, our Head Chef."

Fizzlepop wondered why she hadn't put the pieces together sooner. Like, 'as soon as she finished talking with Twilight last week' sooner. Maybe Twilight was trying to preempt the map, because surely if she took too long, that damned thing would start going off again, and her flanks wouldn't stop glowing and shimmering until she decided to solve this relationship problem.

It didn't take her more than a few moments of thinking about it, of course. Her mom wasn't getting any younger, and barely a week ago, they had seen each other for the first time in over two decades, for maybe a grand total of five minutes. Soapberry jumping at the first opportunity to see her again, instead of merely waiting an indeterminate amount of time through correspondence, honestly made sense.

But she still honestly believed what she had told Comet as well, about leaving broken pieces of the past in the past, burying them and not disturbing them.

She shoved this train of thought off to the side for now. She had opted for the outer patrol today, it was time to visit Fluttershy, the Apples, and Dami again. Maybe when she was done by early afternoon, she'd be ready to talk.

"You certainly keep yourself busy here, Grubber." Soapberry commented as she saw how the hedgehog had put a temporary hold on lunch preparations to put together a quick brunch dish for himself, Glitter, Spring, and herself, and had come out of the kitchen 15 minutes later with fresh hay-and-vegetable-covered ponish muffins.

"Rest assured, I love absolutely every second of it. Thunderlane and Gallus pretty much have things under control here for lunch. If you like, I can give you a tour of the school and castle." Grubber offered as he continued into his cheese-drizzled muffin.

Once the meal was done, Soapberry took Grubber up on his offer, and after one last check of the kitchen, the two were off down the halls of the castle. The library had been restocked in the nine months that Twilight had been gone, largely with surplus from the libraries of the School of Friendship, the School for Gifted Unicorns, and Canterlot Public Library.

"Spring consistently keeps the Princess' former personal quarters spotless, in case she wants to come down from the mountain for a visit. Fizzlepop hasn't moved since she was given the first bedroom in the east wing. Spring and Glitter took the rooms next to hers, and that leaves us with six guest bedrooms, as well as a group dormitory, which can sleep another dozen guests. After Princess Twilight's departure for Canterlot, the east wing has largely been repurposed to house our continually growing classes for the School of Friendship." Grubber said, as he and Glitter had largely taken the job of guided tours of the castle and school from Spike, and Pinkie, when she was in town, still took part.

"So Glitter tells me you and Fizzlepop knew each other before she had come to Equestria. How did you two meet?" Soapberry asked.

"Well, I imagine that it was a period of our lives that neither of us are very proud of. We met each other out in the desert. She had stolen a magical stone that my boss was after, and she had led me on quite the chase. I caught up to her in the mountains. She demonstrated what her broken horn could do, and I was amazed; so much power for a creature her size. So I introduced her to my boss, and he made her his second-in-command, with me as her assistant. Working under her was certainly better than the sheer indifference everycreature else showed me. I occasionally think back to that time as... Doing the wrong things with the right friend." Grubber explained as they made their way back to the foyer.

The hedgehog and pony descended the stairs and headed towards the door in the back right corner.

"After the Storm King's raid on Canterlot ultimately failed, I was one of the few to get away. I spent a couple months foraging for food where I could around the Everfree Forest, until I saw what had happened to her; Princess Twilight had saved her from prison, and put her in charge of creating a division of royal guards for the town. We reunited on Hearth's Warming Eve, and I spent a few more months trying to find where I fit in here, until she, Spike, and Princess Twilight figured out my true passion; cooking."

Grubber pushed the door open and they descended the stairs down into the cobblestone barracks.

"When she was just getting started with the squad, they held practice sessions and drills in the castle library. But when the enlistment numbers grew to the double digits, she knew that wouldn't do, so Princess Twilight cleared out the storage rooms down here, and she repurposed it as the barracks for the E.U.P. The bunk rooms can house 24 ponies, although hardly anypony stays down here as they're all local residents. Down that bend there is the main practice room. They've got weights, spears, and even shield talismans so they can practice with full contact techniques. And here on the right, is her personal armory."

Grubber and Soapberry stepped into the 10'x10' room. A small desk had been set up in the back right corner with a few pieces of parchment on it next to an inkwell and quill. The right wall had a full length mirror. The left wall had three full size armor mannequins set up. The left one had a black dress jacket on it, Soapberry recognized it from the day Fizzlepop showed up in Foal's Peak last week. The middle one was currently bare, and the right one had a polished, magenta-colored steel armor on it. And on the back wall, hung a collection of pictures, newspaper clippings, and display cases with medals.

In the center, in an oak and glass display case, hung a single silver medal that Soapberry had last seen around her neck. She slowly stepped up to the case and read the golden etched plaque directly beneath the medal.

THE KINGDOM OF HIPPOGRIFFIA
Hereby presents the Wings of Valor to

CAPTAIN FIZZLEPOP BERRYTWIST
of the Equestrian Ponyville E.U.P. Guard

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of her life,
in defense of soldiers and civilians both foreign and domestic,
above and beyond the call of duty.

"I'll go out on a limb and say she's particularly proud of this one." Soapberry commented, seeing how immaculately polished the medal was.

"As far as I know, she's the first, and only, pony to receive it. To hear her tell it, she nearly drowned, but to her it was absolutely worth it. She was there to make amends for past crimes. She saved the daughter of the queen, and she in turn used her kingdom's magic pearl to restore her horn. It was one of the most wonderful days of her life."

Soapberry continued to look down the line at various medals and photos of new recuits the squad as it slowly grew to the current roster of 37, with the newest being a cerulean-coated griffon.

The pair's attention was drawn to the doorway as they heard plated hooves descend the stairs, and saw Fizzlepop enter the room.

"I was just showing her around, Fizzlepop. I'll let you two be." Grubber said, quickly scampering off out of the room and back upstairs. Fizzlepop silently went over to the center mannequin on the left of the room and removed her helmet, carefully setting it on the top of the wooden figure before starting to magically unbuckle her chest plate.

"Fizzlepop... If you don't want me here... I'll leave." Soapberry softly told her, continuing to stand in front of the wall of medals and photos as her daughter removed her armor piece by piece.

The unicorn said nothing, until she had her chestplate neatly arranged on the mannequin, and she unbuckled and stepped out of her steel hoof guards last of all, before finally turning to her mom.

"It's a bit more complicated than whether or not I want you here, mom. The main problem I have is... What happened twenty years ago, I don't know whose version to trust, even my own." Fizzlepop admitted.

"Well, sweetheart, I'm not too sure what you'll be able to do about that, unless you know some magic spell that can go back and take a closer look at those memories." Soapberry replied.

Fizzlepop raised an eyebrow as she pondered what her mom had just said, as an idea came to her.

Fizzlepop's Past

by milesprower06

Meddling