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// Chapter 5: "Spirit of the Friendship Festival Crown" 
// Story: The Redemption of Tempest Shadow 
// by twilightsparkle3562 
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As Tempest finished her breakfast that morning, she had no idea of the potential outcomes that were in her distant future. The idea of going to a therapist to air her grievances was the farthest thing from her mind, and Tempest felt like she was going to get the help she so desperately wanted. However, she still had her reservations. After all, she’d never met the pony Twilight was now suggesting, and it’s not like her grievances were so easily reconciled, not after she’d already inflicted so much trauma on so many others.

When breakfast was over, she confided in her sidekick, Grubber, as he went about cleaning in the kitchen. "Tempest, I've got to be honest with you," Grubber spoke, as he went about washing the dishes. "These ponies are right to say that you should air your feelings out. What we did under the Storm King was wrong."

"Easy for you to say," Tempest remarked, a hint of jealousy creeping out. "You'll see, Grubber. Nopony is going to give us any slack. We captured, we enslaved, and we turned over four innocent alicorns over to a monster that stole their magic because of us. Just because you got a lighter sentence, doesn’t mean ponies are just going to accept you, anymore than they’re going to accept me."

"I know, but I can't help but share some of that responsibility," Grubber sighed, turning to Tempest. "All I ever wanted was to do something that would give me a chance to become a proud warrior. Like you, I've been ostracized and humiliated because of how small I am."

Tempest was shocked to hear such a confession from her sidekick. "I never knew that, Grubber. Why didn't you tell me that before?! I could’ve easily made a request to the Storm King, or you could’ve even taken my position had you so desired!"

"Because I was afraid to admit it,” Grubber confessed. “Like you, joining the Storm King was my way of channeling my stress, my humiliation of being picked on by my fellow warriors for my size. But now, that the princesses have made me their personal chef, I've realized that there are other ways to channel your anger. Ways that don’t involve hurting other ponies."

"Is that so?" Tempest skeptically asked.

"Yes," Grubber nodded, turning around to face Tempest. "They made me see the error of my ways. And rather than simply punishing me, they gave me a chance to atone for my actions. To be honest, I'm really just a good guy that put himself in a bad situation. Had I not been so desperate, I probably wouldn’t have been so easily tempted by the Storm King’s promises."

Tempest absorbed all that her sidekick said in silence. Deep down, she realized that she wasn't going to get that easy of a chance. After all, she was the one who had turned Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadence to stone, and had personally hunted Princess Twilight down on top of that. Sure, it had been under orders from the Storm King, but he’d never threatened her, she’d compiled of her own free will. "Just like I was, Grubber," She whispered in a low voice. "I wasn't born evil, but I became evil because I felt betrayed. I sometimes ask myself ‘Why?’ ‘Why did I go towards that cave in the first place?’ ‘What if I had stayed away?’ ‘Could my life have been different from what it is now?’"

"Don't ask me," Grubber remarked as he nibbled on some table scraps. "You were the one who fashioned those memories yourself, Tempest. I never made it a point to know about your past. You never asked about mine, so I never asked about yours, kind of felt like that’s how it worked."

Tempest sighed as she left the kitchen. Going back up to her room, Tempest looked at herself in the mirror and sighed heavily. "Fizzlepop Berrytwist, look at yourself," She unhappily grumbled. "Grubber is right, I fashioned those memories, and I…I reveled in it. How could I, a pony who felt betrayed, ever have the honor of being accepted again?!"

Then, all of a sudden, Tempest heard another voice behind her. "By accepting responsibility through an act of kindness." It answered.

"Who said that?!" Tempest cried out, nervously looking around the room. "Who are you?!"

"Look at the nightstand next to your bed," The voice said again, and Tempest walked over, eyeing the broken Friendship Festival crown. "Do you see me now?"

"What in…what on earth?!" Tempest exclaimed, trying to make sense of what was happening in front of her! "You're…you're just a crown! Why are you talking to me?!"

"Because I represent each of the lives you turned upside down!" The destroyed crown answered. "Every piece of me represents a pony you terrorized during the attack on Canterlot. I’ve might be a crown created for the Friendship Festival, but I am much more than you think."

"Twilight must have enchanted you, this must be a trick!" Tempest cried, as she fell back on her bed. "Crowns can't talk! Is this enchantment all because I stomped on you out of frustration?!"

"No, its not an enchantment," The crown replied, its broken pieces rising up into the air and staring right at Tempest. "I am who I am for a specific purpose, Tempest. I represent the Princess of Friendship, the one who is responsible for bringing friendship throughout Equestria."

"If you are who you say you are," Tempest cried, taking an enormous gulp. "Then, what is it that you want me to do?"

"Fix your mistakes!" The crown answered. "With each mistake you fix, a piece of me comes back together, and once you have fixed all your mistakes, then I will be whole again. I’ll be watching your every move, Tempest, every act of repentance that you do will be watched by me."

"But…but…" Tempest started to say, but just as quickly as the crown appeared to Tempest, it floated back down onto the nightstand.

At that moment, Twilight came walking by. "Tempest? Is everything alright?" She called.

"Did you enchant your crown?" Tempest gasped, panting heavily and her eyes narrowing.

"What are you talking about?" Twilight replied, walking into the room as if nothing had happened. "What do you mean ‘Did I enchant my crown’? It's just sitting there," Twilight motioned for Tempest to look at the crown as it sat on the nightstand. "It must be your imagination," She remarked in an innocent manner. "Why don't we head down to Sweetheart's now, and you can start progress on your redemption?"

Tempest gulped as the Princess of Friendship led her downstairs. As she left however, she saw the crown take life once more, almost giving her a warning of sorts to start atoning for her actions. "It's alright, Tempest," She thought to herself as Twilight led her outside. "It's just your mind getting the better of you. You know better than to believe that broken crowns can talk. And besides, Twilight herself told you that every piece of that crown represents a life that you turned upside down. And with each life I mend, a piece comes back together. I just don't want to be constantly reminded. There’s no way the crown came to life all by itself, your mind’s just playing tricks on you."






Meanwhile, Luna and Cadence were standing in the throne room. Celestia was still asleep from having been up all night last night.

"I can assure you that this is something that won’t be easily fixed, Aunt Luna," Cadence cautioned, looking down at the mini waterfall that was right next to the throne. "You know very well that relationships cannot be mended by magic alone. Not even my love magic can just magically fix broken bonds. There must be at least a spark for my magic to have any effect."

"I’m very well aware of that, Cadence," Luna sighed. "But, it would be a big help to your Aunt Celestia if we helped reunite Fizzlepop Berrytwist with her family."

"But, the pony in this picture is the same one who turned us to stone!" Cadence protested. “I’m for all forgiveness and second chances, but this is the very pony who committed crimes not unlike those of Tirek!”

"Yes, but she only did it out of orders from the Storm King himself, even if there’s no signs that she was forced to obey against her will,” Luna responded. “We need to dig deeper into Tempest's dreams. And that way, we can start to piece together the events that led to this moment."

"How do you propose we do that?" Cadence asked, then quickly realized what Luna was proposing. "You don't mean…?"

"Yes, we need to go inside her dreams," Luna firmly answered. "You, me, Twilight and Celestia. We have a duty as princesses to help those we govern. So, we start tonight."

Still completely unsure of what Luna was talking about, Cadence nevertheless agreed to this proposal.

But at that very moment, the doors to the throne room opened and Celestia emerged, feeling very well rested. She had overheard everything. "What are you proposing, dear sister?" She spoke up. "That we go into Tempest’s dreams? I hope you have a good reason for crossing such a personal boundary."

…