"Twily, not that I mean to question you, but I sure hope you know what you're doing," Shining Armor said to himself as he stood in the mirror of his and Cadence's bedroom. He was still trying to process the idea of taking a pony under his wing who had helped seize Canterlot (and hunted down his sister). "Part of me wants to see this pony punished for what she’s done. But if what you say and the princesses say about her is true, then... I guess I can trust you. Please don’t make me regret it." As Shining picked up his helmet, he looked at a picture taken of him, Cadence, and their daughter, Flurry Heart at Flurry Heart's crystalling not too long ago. The thought of his wife being turned to stone was still very difficult to process. To say nothing of the fact that he had once again not been there to help her. Still, he tried to remain flexible in giving Tempest Shadow a chance. After what had happened with Thorax, Shining felt that he needed to be more open and give others a chance.
"Tempest Shadow is arriving now," A crystal guards pony reported as Shining Armor let out a deep sigh. Nevertheless, he remained on his guard, as he led his platoon of guards away towards the train station. "Remember," He said to his fellow guards, who were armed to the teeth as they walked. "What we are dealing with is a pony who had served under Storm King's command. If she tries anything at all, be ready to act. But no one makes a move unless I give the command."
From up on the castle balcony, Cadence watched as Shining Armor and the guards stood their ground at the entrance. "Please don't do anything crazy, Shining Armor," She whispered to herself. "We've been through enough already."
Out in the distance, the train carrying Tempest neared the Crystal Empire. Because Tempest was still under arrest, she was placed in a car at the very back of the train, which was heavily guarded at all times. However, that was the least of her worries.
"You know, I'm beginning to feel that Tempest doesn't deserve all this harsh treatment," Twilight remarked to Spike, Starlight and Sweetheart as she watched from the next car over. “She’s confessed to her crimes and is willing to atone for them, there’s no need to have her be caged up and monitored 24/7.”
"Maybe, but she’s still considered a war criminal, Twilight," Starlight cautioned. "There’s no question that security is being tightened, especially knowing how protective your brother is. And you know that these guards are just as much responsible for keeping Tempest, as they are making sure she carries out her sentence."
"I know my brother is protective,” Twilight nodded. “But I at least hope he can give Tempest a chance. Everypony deserves a second chance, you all know that. No matter what happens, thank you all for at coming to help me support Tempest. I have a feeling things will go much smoother if Tempest has multiple ponies to make the case for her."
"Of course, Twilight," Sweetheart nodded back. "I felt it was best to tag along and provide continued psychological support for Tempest. The last thing anypony needs is for her to suffer a relapse."
"And I think Sunburst will want to see me after all that has happened," Starlight added with a sigh. "He must be worried sick about me, especially since he wasn’t at the friendship festival."
Twilight nodded, then sighed as she once again looked back at the caged Tempest. "Well, what Tempest wants right now, is support. Support from more ponies."
"Well, you are taking a big risk gamble with Tempest, Twilight," Spike remarked. "I mean, no offense, but what do you see in Tempest that makes you think that she can be your captain of the royal guard?"
"Much, Spike. Very much,” Twilight replied. “Tempest wasn't born evil, but nopony realizes it. I’m the only one who knows the truth, the secrets she’d sooner take to her grave than tell anypony else. And being my royal guard captain will help her make atonements for her actions. It’ll let ponies see that she’s making a difference for the better, not for the worser." Twilight then placed a hoof on the glass window of the train car and caught Tempest's attention.
The broken horned unicorn gazed back at the Princess of Friendship with puppy dog eyes and Twilight glanced back with a reassuring look on her face.
Back in Canterlot, Celestia and Luna were in Celestia's private quarters, still trying to go through some of the mountains of evidence that they had discovered in the Storm King's former homeland. They asked Grubber to help them go through some more of the evidence, hoping that he had more exclusive knowledge about the so called king’s real objectives.
"His excellency would often use this for amusement," Grubber explained, handing the royal sisters a cat-o-nine-tails that had blood stains on the ends. "I would often be forced to watch his prisoners be whipped so severely with it."
"It makes me sick," Luna muttered in a bitter voice. "Hearing that creatures were being treated like this. Was this another one of the intentions that the Storm King had, Grubber? To inflict pain on others for his own added amusement?"
"That's only the tip of the iceberg, Princess Luna,” Grubber glumly confessed. “Take a look at this." He handed Celestia a picture of what appeared to be a pile of gold objects.
"What is this?" Celestia reluctantly asked, horrified of what other sadistic desires the Storm King had planned.
"Some of the lands we conquered had plenty of gold objects that were owned by its citizens," Grubber explained. "After torturing and killing the owners, the Storm King would claim them as his own and I often heard him say that he would love to make a profit off of them. That he wanted to open a slave trade with other lands to sell the gold to them."
"And where were these objects stored?" Celestia asked.
"There was an underground vault that the Storm King had underneath his throne," Grubber explained, handing the princesses more pictures. "It wasn't just jewelry, there were gold watches, gold earrings, gold eyeglass frames and gold teeth."
"Another example of his warped ideology, Grubber," Celestia sighed, a hint of anger reflected in her voice. "Turn his captives into slaves and treat them as property. Hearing this makes me want to bring him back to life and…"
"But we can't!" Luna interrupted quie hastily. "He's dead now, sister. He's dead."
"Besides, what good would it do anyway?" Grubber added. "Believe me, I felt like saying something, but he threatened me with death if I dared defy him. I was perhaps the only one who knew his true schemes. I only wish I’d had the courage to defect when we set out to conquer Equestria! Maybe then, that monster could’ve been captured and made to suffer for what he did and wanted to do!"
Knowing that she needed to find some way to calm her sister down, Luna got herself an idea. "Perhaps we should find the families whose relatives owned these objects sister," She suggested. "It could not only provide the victims’ families with closure, but us too."
"You're right, Luna," Celestia sighed, looking at her sister. "It would provide closure for the families. But, it doesn't erase what happened to us."
"It won't erase anything," Grubber glumly commented. "But if you want, Hannibal and I can help in any way possible. Believe me, this has been hard for both of us as well. To know that the Storm King sold us the world on false promises, for the sake of his own sinister dreams."
"Thank you for your offer, Grubber. For now, you are dismissed." Celestia replied, as the hedgehog left the quarters to return to the kitchen and his duties.
Back in the Crystal Empire, the train carrying Tempest Shadow arrived at the train station and Tempest was led out of her car as Twilight and the others looked on.
"Are you Tempest Shadow?" A crystal guards pony, pointing his spear at her throat.
"Yes," Tempest answered, her voice trembling as Shining Armor approached her, looking at her with a grim expression. "I am Tempest Shadow and I have come to atone for my actions while under the Storm King."