It was only the first day of her sentence, but Tempest already felt that she had made the first step in her redemption. After having spent the day repairing the buildings still greatly damaged, Tempest was escorted back to the Castle of Friendship. However, as she was being led, she heard a rustle in the bushes in front of the castle.
"Rest up tonight," One of the guards instructed. "There’s another day of service ahead of you tomorrow."
But, Tempest ignored the guards and walked over towards the bushes, intent on knowing who or what was making that rustling sound. As she walked, she heard a faint breathing noise.
"Excuse me, Tempest Shadow?" The voice asked.
"Yes?" Tempest nervously replied. What if this was somepony intent on harming her, or worse?
The head of a small, orange coated pegasus filly emerged from the bush and looked up at Tempest with sympathetic light purple eyes.
Tempest gasped upon seeing this pony, something about her seemed vaguely familiar! "Who are you?! Where did you come from?!" She asked, slightly taken aback. Then, in a flash, she remembered who this pony was. "Wait a minute, I know you! You were one of the ponies I caged in Canterlot, weren’t you?"
"Yes. My name’s Scootaloo,” The filly answered, coming out of the bushes. "I'm also one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, a group of fillies who help other colts and fillies earn their cutie marks."
"I see. But, why do you come to me after everything I’ve done?" Tempst asked. “Don’t forget, I was the one who left you caged up like a wild animal.”
"Because, I understand what you are going through, Tempest," Scootaloo acknowledged, as they walked over towards a clearing next to the castle (the guards seemed hesitant, but Tempest shot them a look that told them she’d be okay without their protection for the time being). "You aren't the only pony with a disability, you know."
Tempest felt her heart sink upon knowing that she was talking with a pony who had a disability. Almost immediately, she could feel a connection to Scootaloo. What if she’d known that sooner? Would she have let herself cage that filly? "What disability do you have?" She reluctantly inquired.
"I’m a pegasus pony who… can’t fly, at least not yet," Scootaloo sighed. "But, I've learned to not let it get me down, Tempest. I may not be able fly right now, but I’m still full of awesome anyway! Rainbow Dash taught me that!"
Tempest turned her attention up towards her broken horn. "So, you’ re happy with not being able to fly? Is that true?” She asked, to which Scootaloo nodded. "Have you ever thought about…I don't know, going to ask somepony with magical powers, to give you the ability to fly?"
"No, I haven't, unless you count Zecora. But she specifically said she couldn’t help me." Scootaloo replied.
"Who?" Tempest asked. This was her second time hearing about Zecora, but it seemed to be a popular face, at least among the citizens of Ponyville.
"A Zebra that lives in the Everfree Forest not too far from Ponyville,” Scootaloo explained. “She was at the festival, selling her potions. But, she managed to escape along with a few others, unlike my friends and I."
At that moment, Tempest looked over, and saw another disabled pony walking past the castle. The pony had his rear legs tied to a wheelchair cart, and looked over to Tempest briefly, before he continued on his way. "Who’s that pony who was looking over at me just then?"
"That's Stellar Eclipse," Scootaloo answered. "He's a pegasus pony who has some kind of back issue that causes him to need wheels because his back legs are useless. Don't ask me how he became like that, he just is who he is."
"Just who he is?!" Tempest gasped, taken slightly aback and looking over at Scootaloo. "You mean, he was born that way?! He didn't have an accident like I did?!"
"Well, I don’t know for sure, but Rainbow Dash talks highly of him,” Scootaloo told Tempest. “She says she saw him at Rainbow Falls one time at the Traders Exchange. You should meet him at some point. He’s a really nice guy"
"Um, yeah, sure I'd like to meet him one day, Scootaloo," Tempest stammered, knowing that she needed to get back inside. "Listen, I need to get back before the guards start to worry. But it was nice meeting you, Scootaloo."
"Nice meeting you, too, Tempest Shadow." Scootaloo replied, before Tempest hastily headed back into the castle.
In the dining room, Grubber and Hannibal were in the process of making dinner for Twilight, Spike, and Starlight, when they saw Tempest walk into the castle's dining room.
"Hey, Grubber," Tempest spoke, sitting down at the table and removing the hard hat and vest while sighing heavily. "How was your day?"
"Not bad, Hannibal here is getting the hang of being my sidekick in the kitchen," Grubber laughed. But his laughter soon stopped when he noticed Tempest's tired look on her face. "What's wrong? I thought that you…"
"You'll have to excuse me, Grubber. I was talking to a pony who was one of the ones we caged in Canterlot." Tempest explained.
"Which pony was that? Gonna need to be more specific." Grubber told Tempest.
"Her name is Scootaloo, and she’s a pegasus pony who cannot fly, at least not at the moment,” Tempest told Grubber. “And while we were talking, I saw another disabled pony who cannot use his legs. Grubber, I…I connected with them on their level."
"What do you mean?" Grubber asked, hoping for more details.
Tempest sighed for a moment and then looked over at Grubber. "They’re just like me, Grubber, I'm not the only who has a disability and I can make a difference in the way that I am,” She explained to her former sidekick. “It gives me…a sense of…renewal and determination."
"So, what are you going to do now?" Grubber questioned.
"Continue what I've been doing: finishing the sentence that has been passed down to me." Tempest answered.
As Tempest spoke, she was unaware that Twilight and Starlight were standing right outside the dining hall, listening in to the conversation.
"Well, if there was anything that will drive Tempest into redeeming herself," Starlight whispered. "It's being around ponies who are disabled or handicapped. I mean, being around Scootaloo…"
"…helped Tempest to realize that there are other ponies just like her, Starlight," Twilight finished. "But, Tempest let her disability get the better of her. Another reason for her to redeem herself in the eyes of Equestria, Starlight."
The student and teacher continued to stand by the door, as they both tried to absorb what they’d heard Tempest say. And when Twilight went to bed that night, she was already thinking of doing for Tempest what she did for Starlight…allow her to make her own friends in addition to becoming a royal guard captain. After all, the magic of friendship had helped to bring many a former foe to the side of good. Why should Tempest be any different?