Fizzlepop's Past

by milesprower06

Departure

Gallus marched out of the general armory and down the barracks hall in full armor, turning to the left to Lieutenant Colonel Berrytwist's armory and office before the stairs. The griffon came through the doorway, walked over to the front of the occupied desk, and came to attention.

"Reporting as ordered, Lieutenant Colonel." He stated to the unicorn sitting at the desk.

Fizzlepop looked up from her file folder at the griffon, looking him up and down.

"Private Gallus, it is my understanding that you took more than your fair share of watches outside of my room for the past week, and that your armor was absolutely pristine each and every time, and that is a notably marked improvement on one of the areas that you've been struggling with recently."

"Yes, ma'am." The griffon replied. The unicorn gave him a smirk.

"Well, maybe I'll make Canterlot material out of you yet."

"Ma'am?"

Fizzlepop got to her hooves, using the chest bolster for support, and magically opened a polished oak box that Gallus had not noticed on the desk.

"Private Gallus, you are hereby promoted to the rank of Corporal, with all the rights and privileges pertaining thereto. I am going to be taking an extended leave of absence. You'll be taking orders and patrol assignments from Captain Thunderlane, who will be assuming full command of the squad until I return. I believe he's also searching for somecreature who can instruct you in advanced melee techniques and combat; your front talons give you an edge in dexterity that airborne E.U.P. troops don't normally have. I expect the same marked improvement from you when that time comes. Congratulations."

With that, Fizzlepop magically removed the additional set of chevrons, and attached them under the set the griffon currently had on both sides of his armor collar. As much as Gallus wanted to immediately look down at them, he knew there would be a time for that, and instead remained at attention as they were properly fastened, rendering a salute with his right wing when the deed was done.

"Thank you, ma'am. I won't let you down, ma'am."

---

Fizzlepop stepped off the train, keeping an eye on her bolster, making sure the wheels weren't going to get wedged between the passenger car and the platform.

"You need me to get your bags?" Soapberry asked. Her daughter shook her head.

"No, this is regulation weight, and you've already got more than enough there." Fizzlepop told her as they made their way down the platform stairs onto the dirt path that led to the hills that the village of Foal's Peak was nestled behind. IN the past two days, Fizzlepop had gotten used to slowing her pace to little under a trot. It was liberating in a way. Almost every day, she had been headed somewhere, patrolling somewhere. Now as she walked beside her mom towards town, she took in the scenery in a way that she hadn't really before.

"Just to let you know hun, I hadn't made the time to clear out your bedroom or get it re-furnished before I left for Ponyville." Her mom warned her.

"No worries, mom. My pack includes a full camping kit. If the weather is nice enough, I'll have no trouble camping in the backyard."

Fizzlepop felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders compared to coming into town the last time, when she was dreading returning, and had done it primarily because of what Glitter and Gallus had said to her. Needless to say, with her newfound clarity thanks to Zecora's potion, she was glad to be back here. At this point, she was entirely used to the chest bolster, that was almost like a reverse standing wheelchair. She hoped physical therapy would go smoothly when she would be able to start in a few weeks. Her shoulder still throbbed lightly, but unless it got worse, she wouldn't resort to the painkillers she had packed in her kit. The only time she was seriously worried about moving her leg in the wrong way was in her sleep. She hoped she could figure out a way to hang a sling akin to her hospital bed.

As they came into town, she got friendly waves as she smiled and nodded at passers by, noting that the lack of reception on her first visit back might have been due to her lack of interaction. She hadn't engaged with or greeted anypony. But this time, she felt like she was home again.

The pair of mares made their way to their small neighborhood, coming up to her old home. Rather than going up the front walk, Fizzlepop walked around the side towards the backyard, looking at the berry bushes that had been planted for years, as well as the new ones that she had helped plant just before leaving last time.

"So where do you think you'd like to set up?" Soapberry asked her daughter as she surveyed the available spaces in the yard. Fizzlepop spotted an area between a small flower garden and the main berry patches, and lit her horn up, beginning to rummage through her left saddlebag, and came out with a densely packed and folded purple polyester, with a pull string at one of the corners. She gently set it out in the open where she didn't believe it would hit anything once it was triggered, then gave the string a magic yank.

With a huge rush of air, the small pouch rapidly inflated and grew into a two-story purple tent, complete with a flag on the very top with the Kingdom of Friendship's emblem.

"You have got to be kidding me..." Fizzlepop groaned, resisting the urge to slam her face into her hooves as her mom, unable to contain it through short snorts, burst into a fit of laughter.

"Did you grab Rarity's camping kit or something?" Soapberry asked as she got herself under control to mere giggles.

"No, but I believe I'll have to have a talk with her about what she so generously packs in mine next time..." Fizzlepop replied, walking forward, lifting the wheels over the doorway and peeked inside.

There would be no using the second floor, but she very quickly realized why Rarity had packed this absolutely over-the-top tent; the planter hooks on the 'roof' of the first floor would quite easily accommodate a sling if she placed her cot underneath it. Maybe she had known what she was doing; it would have taken awhile to fashion something that would keep her leg secure and relatively immobile in the tent that was in her regular camping kit. She'd just have to deal with how ridiculously over the top it looked for now.

---

After getting her cot set up, Fizzlepop and her mom broke for lunch. Afterward, Soapberry went inside to start clearing out her daughter's former bedroom while the unicorn continued to establish her backyard campsite. By the time she had everything set and her sling ready for safe sleeping, the day was nearly done. She stepped out of the tent, and saw that a small neighborhood crowd had started to gather around the garden and berry patches, with her mom standing at the entrance to the tent.

"What's all this?" The unicorn asked, seeing that several of the neighbors had brought chairs, and a few fillies and colts had spread out a blanket to sit on.

"Well, Grubber told me about how you put on a fireworks show for special occasions in Ponyville. We didn't have anything else planned today, so we were hoping you'd give us a little demonstration." Soapberry said, giving Fizzlepop a hopeful smile.

Fizzlepop took one more look around at the gathered neighbors, and smiled back.

"Judging by the size of this crowd, I think I can give all of you a bit more than that." Fizzlepop said, pushing her bolster out to a clearing in the berry patches. She took a deep breath, and she began to meditate as her horn began to glow a brilliant blue. Her breathing slowed, and on her next exhale, a sparking orb of light shot skyward, exploding in a brilliant pattern of light.

Soapberry teared up, silently watching as the young and old ooh'd and aah'd at her daughter's magnificent display. She would treasure the coming days, and weeks, and years. She wasn't sure that she'd be able to make up for the past twenty years, but she would certainly try, and she would absolutely cherish every moment going forward.

Fizzlepop deserved nothing less.

Author's Note:

Thank you all for reading my latest Fizzlepop tale. I sincerely hope you all enjoyed.

Comments

[Level Dasher]

Looks like some mother-daughter recovery time will do some good for their relationship. And maybe Soapberry will make some more visits to Ponyville after Fizzle heads back home.
Not a bad addition to this Fizzlepop timeline! I'll keep my eyes out for another if you have any interest in it.

[Wing]

This very quickly became one of my favorite stories that I've read on this site.

[Mlp_Starry_Night]

This was amazing!

[milesprower06]

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Thanks for reading! Currently working on my next couple (non-Fizzlepop) stories!

[Katarina Mau]

Another full of feels story on everyone's favorite ex-villain that invaded Canterlot. I waited until the story was complete to read it, and it did NOT disappoint.

[milesprower06]

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Thanks for reading! Glad you enjoyed!

[ClosetBrony]

Feels were masterfully poked in this installment. Good job milesprower06. I look forward to reading the next one.

[SpeedyTheCheetah]

This series is awesome! 🎇
It too bad that FIM never did any more with Tempest, and I don't really like how IDW continued with Tempest in the comics, being quite mean and uncaring and so crass still...

Your series of stories just how i kinda figured her future may end up like.

Thanks so much for this! Was a pleasure to read.

[milesprower06]

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Thank you very much for reading! Glad you enjoyed.