//------------------------------//
// Chapter 49: "Going Back Home" 
// Story: The Redemption of Tempest Shadow 
// by twilightsparkle3562 
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For the second time in as many days, Tempest Shadow was awakened by the sounds of knocking on her door. The embittered mare simply could not catch a break from the negativity of all that had been going on in her life. Grudgingly coming out of bed, she walked to the door expecting to be told that she was going to be brought to the dungeons of Canterlot.However, rather than a guard, she saw Razzle Fizzle standing in front of her. "What do you want?" Tempest asked, bitterly.

"I've talked to the guards," Razzle replied. "And I have asked them if I could bring you back to where you really belong…at our house."

Tempest's eyes widened in shock upon hearing this, remembering how Razzle had rudely pushed her away when she begged her for her forgiveness of her actions earlier!

"But," Tempest remarked, briefly turning away from her sister. "I thought you said…"

"Forget what I said before, Fizzlepop,” Razzle protested. “Now, I think it's best if I brought you home for the rest of your sentence. If Princess Twilight was here, she would be saying the same thing to you. It's about us right now, Fizzlepop, it's about us."

Tempest took an enormous gulp upon hearing this.

"I'll be downstairs, waiting." Razzle called, turning away to leave her sister alone to prepare for the short journey into Canterlot.

"Home? Did I hear that right?" Tempest asked herself out loud as she sat on the bed, contemplating what to do. "Why would you bring me back home, Razzle? I thought you banned me from ever setting foot into it."

"She must have had a change of heart," A familiar voice answered, and Tempest looked to see the Friendship Festival Crown coming back to life. "And besides, I think Princess Twilight would appreciate it if you and your sister made up. Your friends are one thing, your sister is another. She's your family."

"But, she’s taking me back so easily now,” Tempest protested. “Could it be that Twilight is faking out of her panic attacks just to get us together again?"

"Why would you say that, Tempest?" The crown asked, floating into her face. "The feelings that Twilight has are very real. But, I think that she still believes in you, Tempest, despite all you have done. She knows the bond you and Razzle share, is deeper than anything in Equestria."

Tempest took this to mind as she left the Castle of Friendship and was once again thrown in the cage for all of Ponyville to see. However, the same ponies who had called for her blood were silent, now opting to show signs of support for Twilight. They didn't jeer, they didn't yell and scream, they just stood there coldly, looking at Tempest.

"Why don't you speak to me?" Tempest whispered. "Did Princess Twilight tell you to not scream at me? Did she ask you to not show your displeasure towards me?"

Still, the crowds didn't respond.






A little while later, Tempest was brought into Canterlot where she was met with the same cold response as Ponyville. No screams, no cries, nothing.

Finally, the guards brought Tempest to the very same house that she had lived in as a filly, the same house she’d never expected to ever again set hoof in.

"We're finally home, Fizzlepop." Razzle sighed in relief, as the guards led Tempest out of the cage and towards the front door of their home. Opening the door, the guards brought Tempest into the house and released the chains holding her.

"We will have guards standing outside 24/7, Ms. Fizzle," The lead guards pony reported. "Your sister will resume her sentence tomorrow morning."

Turning away, the guard left the two sisters alone and Tempest looked around to see how her fillyhood home had changed. "It sure looks different," Tempest remarked, walking around. "A lot has changed."

"Yes, the damages were done out of anger, Fizzlepop,” Razzle confessed. “My anger over you running away from home and returning…"

"Please!" Tempest cried, suddenly glaring at her sister. "Don't play that over and over again, Razzle."

"Alright, but it's true what I said, none of this would have happened if you hadn't done what you did,” Razzle scolded. “This house would likely be the same as when we were fillies, and when Mom and Dad were alive," It was then that Razzle got herself an idea. "In fact, if you want that, you can help me turn this house back to where it was before." To prove her point, Razzle walked into the kitchen and held out a hammer and a box of nails in her aura.

"Are you certain?" Tempest asked with great reluctance.

"Yes, I am certain, Fizzlepop,” Razzle nodded. “This is a necessary first step towards healing.”
Taking the two working tools into her broken magic aura, Tempest immediately went to work on trying to restore her home.






Meanwhile, Scootaloo sat in the Cutie Mark Crusader Clubhouse alone. She had come to the conclusion that Tempest needed guidance from someone who was just like her…with a disability.

"Hey, Scoots," Rainbow Dash called, walking into the clubhouse. "I just got back from the hospital. Twilight's in good hooves, but she’s a lot more damaged than we all thought."

"Do you think she'll get better, Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo asked.

"Eventually," Rainbow Dash sighed, briefly lowering her head down towards the floor. "But, it won't be right away. The psychiatric doctors at Canterlot Hospital are among the best in Equestria and will give Twilight the help she needs. But mental wounds don’t heal the same way physical wounds do. Anyway, I've been doing a lot of thinking."

"What kind of thinking?" Scootaloo raised an eyebrow, skeptical of where the conversation would go.

"That maybe you and Tempest should bond in a sense. Twilight said that Tempest truly deserves another chance despite all she has done,” Rainbow explained. "Before we met and became sisters, when my friends and I first met Zecora, we all learned a lesson about never judging a book by its cover. Everything that has happened recently, made me rethink that lesson repeatedly. I feel that maybe for Twilight's sake, you should at least try to bond with Tempest, help her understand what it is like to have a disability, and how you can be great despite it."

Scootaloo felt a sense of satisfaction hearing this from Rainbow Dash. After all, she had been trying to get her big sister figure to open up about not turning her back on Tempest. "Well, at least you finally came to your senses," she remarked. "When do you think I should help her?"

"Wait until she completes her sentence for one," Rainbow Dash suggested. "And also, she needs time to make amends with her sister."

Scootaloo understood and she began to make preparations to help Tempest see the truth about her broken horn.