The Armada Trilogy III: Unicorn's Horn

by TheMysteryMuffin

3 - The Reunion

Author's Note:

Hello there. Don't worry, I'm still here.

More to come! Stay tuned!

"I've made so many mistakes, mum."

The tears rolled down Fizzlepop's face as her mother led her along the dirt road deeper into the overgrown woods. Her injuries ached and patches of wounds were bright red and bruises were black like ink. The exhaustion caught up to Fizzlepop, who was now limping, her breaths were weak and her eyes were half open, half closed.

"I hurt so many creatures."

"Shhh, sweetie, we're nearly home."

As they reached the front garden of Fizzlepop's home, which was now covered with vegetation and brambles, Fizzlepop could no longer stand by herself and soon her back hooves were dragging along the ground. Mrs Berrytwist went up to the door and opened it by using her magic. There, she took Fizzlepop inside.

Fizzlepop saw that the house had over time been left to crumble, cobwebs hanging from the wall and the rooms all faded from colour and life. All except for Fizzlepop's room, which was just the same as she had left it fourteen years ago. The guilt got to Fizzlepop, as she started crying, wailing and howling, as she tightened her front hooves around her mother.

"There, there. I promise I won't let you go."

Her mother gently laid Fizzlepop onto her childhood bed, her cuddly toys still sitting on her pillow. Fizzlepop rested her head on her pillow, her arms still clinging to her mother. She was just like a child again.

"D-don't go, mummy!"

"No, I would never, my angel."

"I-I'm so sorry!"

It was the first time since fillyhood that Fizzlepop said 'mummy'. Her eyes were balling with salty tears streaming down her face. Fizzlepop yelped as she lay on the bed, her mother stroking her mane. Miss Berrytwist then quickly rushed to the medical cabinet, grabbing some antiseptic wipes, bandages and plasters, before attending to Fizzlepop's wounds.

"This may sting a little, honey."

Trying her best, Fizzlepop kept her mouth shut as she groaned from the antiseptic wipes being rubbed over her exposing wounds. Mrs Berrytwist spent some time cleaning out her daughter's wounds, picking out the infections and throwing the wipes into the bin next to the bed. She then used her magic to wrap up Fizzlepop's hooves, hind legs and forehead with more bandages. Mrs Berrytwist then grabbed a bottle of water, poured it into a cup and brought the cup to Fizzlepop's swollen lips.

Fizzlepop shivered as she tried with what little strength she had to lap up the water. Some poured down her chin, dripping and soaking into the bandages. Her breathing was heavy, gasping for what air was around her. She could feel her mother stroking the top of her mane, hearing her hush her and her hoof intertwined with hers.

"There... shhhh, it's okay. I'm now here."

The two of them were together for a while. Fizzlepop knew that after fourteen years, her mother couldn't possibly bear to lose sight of her. Mrs Berrytwist held onto Fizzlepop tightly, allowing Fizzlepop to calm down a little, yet she could still feel the tears stinging in her eyes as she cried.

"I was so stupid... I thought running away would help, but it made things worse! I'm sorry, mummy."

Her voice squeaked, her mind coming back to a child's again, after being away from the comfort of her mother for so long. She trembled, her swollen lips shaking. Saying that word; 'mummy'. She was talking like a filly again. That inner foal inside of her. The one that didn't have a fillyhood like the other fillies in her village. Her fillyhood was stolen, corrupted, lost... and now it was coming back.

As she cried, memories of her younger days came flooding back, like she had thrown herself into a brick wall. Everything was there, but it was all jumbled. The memories that included baking with her mother and getting frosting all over each other, as they laughed happily. The days where her father would carry her on his back, sometimes on the way to school. Every laughter, every tear, every outburst, every hug, every moment of tender love. Nothing was holding it back anymore.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Fizzlepop," Mrs Berrytwist whispered.

As Mrs Berrytwist poured some water over the wounds, Fizzlepop groaned and yelped. Tears were rolling down her cheeks, leaving soaked sheets underneath her. The burning sensation rippled through Fizzlepop's body. It even made her broken horn spark what little magic it had left.

"There... the wounds are bandaged," Mrs Berrytwist said softly, "you need to rest to help ease the pain. You must be exhausted. How did you get here all by yourself? I thought you were in Equestria?"

Fizzlepop quietened at the mention of Equestria. She started turning red with embarrassment and shame. All those ponies she hurt, all those ponies she captured, all the lands she conquered alongside the Storm King. All this time. For fourteen years she had been away from home, from her family, and from her friends. At least her mother recognised her broken horn, knowing exactly who she was. That saved explaining.

"It's a very, very long story, mum." Fizzlepop replied. But to be frank, she wasn't really in the mood to tell the whole story to her mother just yet. What would she even say? "I... I wanted to leave, because... I felt I didn't belong here."

Mrs Berrytwist gave a soft smile and held her daughter's crippled, bleeding, infected hoof. "Fizzlepop... you will always belong here. No matter what happens and nopony can ever take that away from us. You are our daughter. Our only pony. I can't imagine what it must be like to lose your horn. But not having a horn is not what makes you a unicorn, sweetheart. It is what's inside of you that matters the most."

Fizzlepop was beginning to calm down and her breathing had slowed.

"You must rest, Fizzlepop. Don't you worry. I'm not going to leave you. I never have and I never will."

---

The loud chirping of birds woke Fizzlepop up from her deep sleep. Expecting to be covered in sand again from the never-ending sand dunes of the desert, she instead found out she had been tucked up into her fillyhood bed, with her head resting next to one of her plush animals. The duvet sheets were the same as she remembered and as she looked around her old bedroom, she noticed the pantings she made as a foal, old posters of rock bands she used to listen to, photos of her and her parents, and her make up stand and mirror. It was exactly as she left it. Not a single thing had moved, been altered or changed in the slightest.

Groaning as she got up, Fizzlepop threw the duvet off with her front hooves and swung her hind hooves round to the edge of the bed. Fizzlepop slowly lowered her back hooves onto the wooden floorboards, feeling the uncomfortable burning sensation inside. Instead of seeing cuts and bruises, Fizzlepop's hind hooves were wrapped up in white bandages, tied neatly in a bow.

"Mhm..." Fizzlepop mumbled, but then managed to find the words she was looking for. "Nicely done, mum."

Yawning, Fizzlepop started limping to her bedroom door. She pushed it open with her right front hoof and then continued her way along the first floor and then down the stairs, where she could hear noises. As Fizzlepop grew closer, she could tell that the noises she was hearing was faint chatting.

Fizzlepop recognised her mother's voice, of course, but the other sounded male and deeper. It also sounded tired, slow, aged. However, that didn't stop Fizzlepop from beaming a smile on her face as she came face to face with her father.

Mr. Berrytwist stopped talking to Mrs Berrytwist and turned his face to meet with Fizzlepop's. As soon as he saw his daughter's smile, he smiled too. A tear poured out from his left eye and travelled down his cheek, soon dropping onto the blue wooden table.

Other than the wrinkles under his eyes and his mane turning a shade of grey, Fizzlepop's father was just the same as she remembered.

"Welcome home, my bundle of joy!"

The stallion's voice was deep, but was still recognisable to Fizzlepop. Still the loving, yet stern, tone she remembered all that time ago. Only age was the clear change Fizzlepop could see in her father.

"Hi, Dad."

Fizzlepop trotted up to her father, suddenly being met with a giant hug, where the two stood on their hind hooves for a while. As much as Fizzlepop loved the long-awaited hug from her dad, her hooves started to hurt again and she winced as she backed down, holding onto a chair for support.

Mrs Berrytwist used her magic to pull out a chair for Fizzlepop, where she sat down and looked back at her parents from across the table.

"You must be starving!" Mr. Berrytwist said, "Here..."

Mr. Berrytwist used his magic to conjure up a bowl of fruit in front of Fizzlepop. Fizzlepop's pupils widened and her mouth started drooling. With her hooves, Fizzlepop started munching on the fruit, eating quickly and loudly. The sweet juices of the fruit embellished her, her life almost coming back again.

Soon, her bowl was finished and her mouth was covered in fruit juice. Mrs. Berrytwist chuckled and used her magic to wipe Fizzlepop's face with a cloth.

"Such a messy eater!" Mrs. Berrytwist said, chuckling, "Exactly how you were as a filly."

Fizzlepop blushed again. "Thanks, Mum, but I am twenty-four now."

Mr. Berrytwist also chuckled and sighed, as he sipped his coffee. He let out a loud cough, continuing into a sequence of coughs. Fizzlepop frowned. She had never seen her father this ill before. Fizzlepop watched as her mother bashed Mr. Berrytwist on his back, ending his saga of coughing.

"Well, tell us about Equestria!" Mr. Berrytwist said, "What did you get up to?"

Fizzlepop made a face and leaned back and forth, trying her best to avoid the fact that she attempted to conquer Equestria as part of the Armada's empire, ruled by the ruthless Storm King.

"I made some new friends..." Fizzlepop started, speaking as honestly as she could, "...including the Princess of Friendship."

Mr. and Mrs. Berrytwist looked at each other wide-eyed and then back to Fizzlepop. "The Princess of Friendship?! The Twilight Sparkle?!"

Fizzlepop nodded. "Well, yeah. She rules alongside Princess Celestia, you know? She actually came with me along part of the journey along with my other new friends, like Spike, Capper, Princess Skystar and Celaeno. We were travelling on a skiff when in crashed in the desert. I... I don't know if they made it."

"Oh no!" Mrs. Berrytwist cried.

"So, I just kept walking through the desert to find help and... well, managed to find you two again." Fizzlepop then gasped. "I need to help them. I- oooo!"

As Fizzlepop jolted out of her seat, pain hit her like a hard punch, forcing her to sit down again.

"No, no, no, no, no, you must rest, darling!" Mrs. Berrytwist ordered. "I'm sure your friends are safe and well. But you must recover. Besides, we must have a reunion party immediately! We need to invite the whole town here and celebrate that you're back home safely!"

Then Fizzlepop remembered two very special ponies she used to know and love very well. "Avon and Star Myth! Are they-?"

"Yes, they're still here. Bigger, mind you!" Mrs. Berrytwist said, chuckling. "They will be very excited to see you again."

Mr. Berrytwist then coughed, but this time with intention and less violent. Fizzlepop and Mrs. Berrytwist turned to face him.

"Eleana, I believe we should present our daughter with the 'welcome home' gift."

"Oooo! Yes, you're right, dear!" Mrs. Berrytwist exclaimed.

"My 'welcome home' gift?" Fizzlepop laughed gently, trying not to strain her chest, "What have you got for me?"

Mrs. Berrytwist pulled out a brown wooden box from the highest shelve in the kitchen. It was covered in cobwebs and dust. Mrs. Berrytwist made sure to blow the dust away from her husband and then placed the box onto the table.

"Here," Mrs. Berrytwist said, "we've been saving this for you on your return."

Fizzlepop Berrytwist was really back in her childhood home. It was as if she had never grown up and time had stood still. She couldn't believe it. A gift? After everything she had been through, her mother and father had to be the most generous and kind ponies in all the land. With a smile on her face, Fizzlepop creaked open the lid of the box and pushed it up. And then stopped.

Suddenly, the happy and joyful world she had been teleported back into had stopped. Dread started sweeping back into her. Her ears flopped to her sides and her pupils shrunk in disbelief. How? How could it still be here? Why did they keep it for all this time? And why did they give it to her? Showed it to her? Part of Fizzlepop wanted to throw the damn thing out of the window or use her unreliable magic to disintegrate every inch of the gift that was before her.

Inside were fragments of a dark orchid unicorn horn, along with the long top half of the horn, resting on a padded turquoise base. It was Fizzlepop Berrytwist's old horn.

Comments

[Bronycommander]

nicely done!

[TheMysteryMuffin]

11752534
thank you!

[Bronycommander]

11752538
youre welcome

[Starlight Nova]

But doesn’t Unicron have two horns?

[Zekrom117]

i never knew Fizzlepop could be so childish lol, its hard picturing her like that when her personality is always stern and stone-faced hehehe, awesome job Muffin XD

[Great White Prime]

A very welcoming chapter and return of this story. It will be interesting to see Fizzlepop's reunion with her old friends. I do hope that party won't be too long, however. The others are still very much in need of assistance.

I look forward to the next chapter!

[TheMysteryMuffin]

11752736
11752862
Thank you so much!

11752686
Typically, unicorns have one horn, but some out there can have two.

[MLPFollower]

11752944
Like a rhino!

[protator]

11752944
You should take a moment to think about the meaning of the word 'UNIcorn'.
A unicorn with two horns is about as logical as a MONOwheel with two wheels, or a BIcycle with three.